The times., 1898-06-12
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I hands, and they expressed themselves as per-
fectly willing TO take the chances | never think
/ OF that camp without thrill of admiration FOR
/ the two brave, loyal. unquestioning with
me, who did not hesitate a moment. In the midst
of the STILL thick weather started back for our
cache the ice-hidden cap in the clouds and fog,
everything invisible in the gray shroud.
There are few things more tircsome, physically,
than the monotOnous drudgerV of dragging hour
after hour at a sledge, and when this has to be
done IN one OF those dense fCgs of the ice-cap,
under the intense mental strain of trying TO keep
straight course with absolutely nothing on
which the eye can rest. or toward which the
mental fatigue is added. which eXhausts one com
| pletely. Twenty-Five miles of this killing work,
for my dogs were utterly useless now, brought
US back TO my cache, and gave US a foretaste OF
what the homeward journey would be if we found
no musk-oxen. Matt and myself were thoroughly
used up, feet legs and eyes, when we halted.
Lee, having had two or three days rest WAS
fresher. Yet no ones courage waYered, and after
few hours sleep we were ready to start for the
land again. with everything except sledge
and scant rations for ourselves for the return
journey. They were left in the camp.
Never shall forget that time and scene; three
exhausted men and nine starved dogs, standing
there in the gaunt, frozen desert. These and the
gllsiening snow, the steel-hue sky, and the cold
white sun. Five numbered miles in an air line
across waste of to the nearest human be
ing, with insufficient Tations for even that dis
tance. vet we were still facing the other way
| think that, started, each one of US felt
an unspoken prayer that the constant petitions
Of the dear ones in that far-off homeland. where
birds were singing and flowers blooming. might
be listened TO, and that the All-Seeng Eye would
watch over us
l felt then as feel now, that in that cool de
liberate moment, We took the golden bowl of life
in our hands, and that the bowl had suddenly
grown very fragile. And / feel now, as | felt
then, that We were neither rash foohardy in
so doing, but simply followed the dictates of
temperamentS which could not act otherwise and
which would do the same thing again under the
same circumstances.
The encounter which the little party had
with the herd of musk-oxen, shortly af-
terward, IS told in the same graphic way
The action of Mrs. Peary in accompany
ing her husband 10 this far Northern re-
gion has perhaps attracted as much atten-
ton as any feature of the expedition. and
the explorer takes occasion to say that
her good sense and bright spirits. as well
as the actual services she performed for
the party, were almost invaluable. He
also says that Mrs. Peary, being strong,
young and full of courage. saw no reason
why she should not try the experiment
of living for a short time in a climate
which Danish women, wives of Greenland
settlers, endure for many years.
The book will inevitably be compared
with Nansen's "Farthest North" which
appeared at so nearly the same time The
difference between the books is simply the
difference between the two men.
Nansen comes OF race which has for
years been striving 10 penetrate the mys-
ter1es of the Arctic Zone His career is
natural, Inevitable and in no way strange.
considering his race and his temperament.
his Journal shows US a man absolutely
without fear, intent upon one purpose.
and with the hOme-lOvng. afTectionate.
simple nature OF the Norseman
Peary, on the other hand, might easily
have won his fame in some o.her land.
a different turn of events might have
made him an explorer in Central Africa.
Siberia or the islands of the sea Ad-
venturous by nature. he does not go at
his Arctic journey with the calm delib-
Grafton of the Norseman. There is the
dash and daring of the American temp
erament in his behavior and his writing
As home-loving as the Norseman-and
there are no people more devoted 10 home
than the Americans-he is more demon
strative more openly enthusiastic in his
affection. But. like Nansen. he seems TO
be smitten with the incurable fever of
Arctic exploration. and. like Nansen, he
has not lost faith in his plan for reaching
the Pole. The probabilities are that
both these men will continue TO Try their
respective experiments until one of them
reaches the Pole or both lose their lives
(New York: Frederick A. Stokes Com
pany. Washington: All booksellers.)