The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-04-22

species of insanity that afflicted them.
After unloading, the ship Will De
sent back to New York, to come up agalu
the next year, 1893, to the point Wnere
sne lett the colony, or II she 1alls 10 reaon
1t the next year then to come again IN
the year after. After ths colony IS SET
tied my plan il to take advantage OF sncn
daylight as remains in that summer ana
OF the moons during the winter nlght TO
push out overland nOrthward, nrst re-
connolJering and Then when the way ~
marked out moving our provisions for-
ward and establishing the settlement at
each remove nearer our objective point,
leaving caches at every stopping place
and prominent headland as we go. In
this way the progress is to be kept up
until the furthest northern land is
reached, q plan easily workable. as we
shall live in the regular Eskimo snow
house. From this farthest northern
land, where the settlement will DE 1xed
temporarily, will he made the last squirt
for the pole. The talk about an open
polar sea or polar crystal sea is all nom
sense. There is no special weather made
for the pole, nor are special conditions
appointed for that particular locality.
Either there is land there or there is q
sea. and sea which is like that with
which we are familiar in that region.
wholly frozen over all the time-the ice
however or frozen solid for nice or ten
months and then internationally open
and closed as the wind listeth.
= 1.-THE colony will remain at the point
fixed upon and only the chosen party go
on. Numbers ere fatal toArctio explora-
ti,ns, the entire animus of the region
being set against them. The ideal party
is two, as Nansen and have shown, and
l shall have what Nansen lacked, Eski-
mos to drive the dogs. His experience
shows that this is necessary. ! tell you,
just as only negro can drive mule,
only an Eskimo can drive dog. The
natives will put sledge over place
where no white man could think of get
ting 1t. They ara brought up to the bust
ness If our end should be achieved in
one expedition from this Esettlement, all
well; If not, we could lie over until the
following summer. We should have
the means of life there, the line of travel
cached all the way to each summer kesp
up supplies and communication, and
in case of need, retreat would always be
posi- BILE over tbs inland ice from Sberard
Osborne Fjord to Whale Sound. where
the main body OF the Eskimo live the
year round.
"Until Nansen's return it was not
possible to say that this was the only
practicable route to the pole, but now it
is. His experience has shown that one
cannot depend upon ship, which may
drift away in the Ice that seems to be
stationary, and he found also that Franz
Josef Land does not reach to the pole.
That leaves only the American route.
This is workable one. Life and health
have been shown to be safe in those Arc
tic lands, and with the Eskimos as por-
tiers aud drivers. with small party,
with properly placed supplies, and III
ways with safe retreat, the outlook for
success Is favorable. 1t will take several
years to accomplish it. 1t might be all
over In 1890. One could not fairly expect
that all conditions would SO copduce to
successful work that his progress would
be uninterrupted, but if they did. and
we had by February, 1889, got to Ito last
point of land, from which we could when
the light came set off, say in the middle
of March, on the last dash for the pole,
it might be possible to reach il and re-
turn not only to the northern most set
element but all the way to Sherard
aboard ship III August Of that year. AT
furthest the pole could be only 800
miles. 1t might be only $50. If there
were 300 the Journey to it and back to
the settlement could he made in seventy
two days-at ten miles day-so that we
should be back there by thesend Of May.
Experience has shown that return
JOlFll0y6 Ill UuC aIOblo OnA O0 luftA0 Ill
half the time of the outgoing trip, partly
herause one knows the way and partly
because there are no supplies to carry.
In the event of this good fortune, we
should be bacx home by the end of Sep
tenn her, $780, But as I said, that cam
not fairly be hoped for; 1T is only posi-
BILE. -
Mr. t.Peary first hroached his plan for
reaching The pole by means Of picked
Eskimo, picked dogs, and regularly
renewed supplies of food before the
American Geographical Society. which
took it up. as did the American Museum
of Natural History, and especially the
museums President, Morris K. Jesup.
They oil have labored to make it's trial
possible. The museums interest is chiefly
an chronological one some scientific men,
having always held that the Eskimo of
America han come originally from Sibe-
ria, crossing the Pole in their northward
migration. MIR Jesnp has already this
year sent out expeditions at his own ex-
panse to make Investigations ma to the
origin of the aboriginal settlers of this
continenf - New York Sun