San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-03-29
NORTH POLE EXPEDITION.
Another Proposed EXplOr-
ing Party.
LIEUTENANT PEARY HAS A NEW
IDEA FOR ACCOMPLISHING
THIS FEAT.
Will Plant A Colony Near The Pole
To Furnish Provisions While
He Searches Thinks 1t
Will Then Be Easily
Accomplished,

New York, March 29.-The Advertis-
er this morning says:
Lieut.. Perry recently laid a plan for
Arctic research before the council of
the American Geographical society.
The plan includes the reaching of the
North pole. 1t was heartily endorsed
by the council and a subscription tow
ard its accomplishment promised.
Should either plan succeed, the United
States will reap the glory.
Lieut.. Peary's plan, as now matured,
is considered by arctic explorers one
of the most feasible yet advocated.
First of all, it is not to be an eXpedi-
ton in the usual sense of the term. 1t
will, beside Lieut.. Peary himself, be of
only one or two white men. If one
he will be surgeon, and if two the
other will be a scientist.
The party will be conveyed by a
chartered whaler to the point on the
western coast of Greenland which
Peary has often made his basis of
exploration. At this point lives a
tribe of Esquimaux. They form the
most nOrtherly settlement of human
beings, as far as is known, upon the
globe. They know the explorer and
have every confidence in him.
From them he will select five or six
young married couples, and will with
them push along the northwest coast
of Greenland as far as possible, and
perhaps into the Archipelago which,
it is believed, surrounds the North pole.
All their goods including dogs and
sledges, will be taken with them and
when no further progress can be made
north, Lieut.. Peary and his compan-
ions will be landed at some propitious
spot and a new colony formed. The
ship will leav a supply of provisions
for three or four years and make it's
way back to civilization before the
ice closes in.
From this point the two or
three white men will make their ex-
ploratiOns. Lieut.. Peary figures that
this colony will not be over $50 miles
from the pole. The Esquimaux will
be able to withstand the climate and
he believes they will be content as
long as they have enough food.
The women will be taken along to
do the cooking and attend to the cloth
ing and foot gear.
I'VE will live like the Esquimaux,"
said Lieut.. Peary. I'VE will take no
house with us and as little other in
cumberances as possible. Perhaps our
snow house will be kept dryer and
cleaner than theirs, but that is all"
AS soon as the ice conditions are
propitiOus an attempt will be made
to reach the pole. The Esquimaux
and their dog sledges will be used if
possible, but in any case the white eX-
plorers will push on until the stars and
stripes have been planted near, if not
on the pole itself.
Lieut.. Peary, from his Astounding
polar experience, figures that under
favorable conditions his little party
will be able 70 make ten miles a day
through tie ice hillocks and fields of
snow On this basis the could make
- distance and return in about ~
days.
This period Lieut. Peary regards as
a short one to be away from his colo
ny or base of supplies. On two for
mer occasions he was absent for a
much longer time. Once he travelled
over the fee fields for ninety-eight
days, accompanied by several Esqui-
maux and another ninety-four days
On each occasion they were out of
sight of land marks and had to guide
themselves by the compass.
Lieut.. Peary, while hoping, does not |
expect that the favorable moment for
this venture polarward from
his colony will come at once. He says |
it may be two, three or even five
years before the conditions are Just |
right.