The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-13
BOOKS OF THE TIME.
Lieut.. Peary's Arctic Work, "North-
ward over the Great Ice.'"

Lieut. r. E. Peary, of the United States
navy, has established his record as one of
the bravest and most successful of Arctic
explorers His expeditions have gathered
valuable scientific material in ethnology,
meteoroiogy, geography and natural his
tory. This material has not as yet been
digested and collated by experts When it
has it will be presented in monographs
form. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Peary him.
self has written the narrative of his trav-
els in form that presents a complete au-
thentic record of his Arctic work, outside of
the scientific results above referred to. The
complete title of the work is 'Northward
Over the Great Ice: A narrative of life
and work along the shores and upon the
interior ice cap of northern Greenland IN
the years 1856 and 1S91-1S97, by Robert E.
Peary, civil engineer, U. S. N, member of
the American Society of Civil Engineers,
with maps, diagrams and about eight hum
dred illustrations" 1t is in two large vol
umes The author says in his preface:
This is my first and only book, and it
covers all my Arctic work 1t contains the
cream of my Arctic material, literary and
pictorial. The reader will find no padding.
My constant aim has been condensation.
The reader will find neither resumes of pre-
explorers This is not because 1 do not APP
preciate their magnificent achievements,
and have not profited by the experience of
Kane. Hayes, Hall. Greedy. Melville and
the long list of my gallant countrymen, as
we'll as those of other countries, my prede-
cessors, but because I have no room or
right to rehash their experiences and re-
suits. = The constant incentive in my
work has been an ineradicable feeling that
I saw something before me worthy and
possible of accomplishment, and that l
could never have been content until it was
done, or that l had satisfied myself that
was not the one to do it," The work seems
to have been written wholly in this spirit,
for it is a modest, frank and interesting &C
count of a series of remarkable adventures
and exploits The Arctic work of Mr..
Peary comprises in his own words
L A summer voyage and reconnaissance
of the Greenland inland ice, 1886.
2. A thirteen months sojourn in north
ern Greenland, including twelve months
sledge journey across the ice cap, and the
determination that Greenland is really an
island, 1892.
g. A twenty-five months stay in northern
Greenland, a second twelve-hundred-mi
sedge journey across the ice cap, the COM
pletion of the study of the Whale sound ma
lives, a detailed survey of that region. and
1885
Guiding the securing of the last and largest
of the Cape York meteorites, the ninety
ton mass.
Peary was the first Arctic explorer to
use the hard crust of inland ice for sledge
journeys, made with a good team of dogs
and light equipment, the expedition con-
fined to two persons By this means ne
reached some hitherto unprecedented regions
and added materially to the worlds stock
of Arctic information In the interior he
explored the Great Ice Cap" which forms
the backbone of G~eenland-the backbone of
a region which appears small on the map.
but which is some 800 or 900 miles broad
and as long as from the city of Washington
to the City of Mexico. The monotony of
these snow bound regions does not lend it.
self very easily to verbal description, but
the text is aided by about eight hundred
pictures of Arctic scenes and ice scenery
which give special vividness to the descrip-
tons. The work makes two large volumes
which in Typography, paper and binding are
fine specimens of bookmaking. New York:
Frederick A. Stokes Company.