The Portland daily press., 1900-02-13
PEARY's RELIEF LAGs.
Relief ship Ont OF Repair and Her skip
per Can't Get Crew.

G )ming summer is not very favorable
Just now, and persons here who are sp-
prebsnsIvs that the existing difficulti's
win result In the intrepid explorer hav-
ing to withdraw altogether from the
scene of his nrduous iabors for the past
ten yesrs. just at TIE tine when the full
tu tion OF his crefully laid plane resmed
linn inent. The ciisf diirc ilty in the
way is that Of finding crew suitable
and steamer for his proposed three
wears sojourn within the polar basin.
/ IL will be remembered that when Peary
outlined his set e ne for his latest and
gre tat polar expedition Harmsworth,
the Loneon publisher. eff cred him the
steamer Windward, which had previously
carried the JtcIson party to Franz Josef
Land. She proved anything but vel.
c1me gift to Psafy. Built almost forty
years ago, with engines originally intend
ed TO be mere ly auxiliary to her sailing
power, she has steadily deteriorated until
now her very best speed, under steam and
canvas, is only Gve miles an hour. Capt.
John Barilsts, IN the opening psgss Of
bis log Of h,r northward voyage In 1893,
DG1ttlJ OpstrNtSs tEA1 IN hho
slowest ship afloat." In this ancient raft
Peary went up kintoane Basin In that
year, and despite every disadvantage
rseciei Cape D'Urvilie, In Grinnell
Land, on the west side OF North wnleP,
eighty miles Rto7e Cape Sabine. Despite
all be had to contend with te advarcsd
fifty miles farther than Syerdrup got In
xvtt "a uu. nd .
base he pushed on until he reached the
old Gresly headquarters at Fors Conger,
In Lady FRANKLIN Bay. the most northsrn
house In the world. Between tho two
points, distarc, OF $50 miles by follow
Ing the coast, he opened line Of c,mmu-
nicai On and established caches, but In
one Of his journeys he had his feet FROST
bittsn and lost seven toes. four of the
right and three OF the left foot, besides
being 40 III that for three months he Was
unable to move.
The stra!ning the Windward sustained
during the winter from the pressure OF
the ic3 foes Obliged Peary to leave her
in August, 1899, and send her hack here
for general repairs and new engines. she
C Trying at the same time an outline OF
u UtOulutu pihu luz
which be was submitting to the Peary
Arctic Club, composed Of the twelve gen.
tlemen who found the funds to make his
various trips possible. Arriving in Sep
temter, she was laid up there until a
course of action SHOULD be determined
upon. The club had already expended
SOL, COO on the expedition and plans In
voiving a duplication Of this sum called
for most careful oonsidsra ton.
Two alternatives presented them selves:
to purchase q Newfoundland sea ling
steamer, or to repair the Windw6d. The
former was the preferable one, thess
Staunch ships being the best in the world
for the pur pose int nded but the oom-
parative success Of he seal fishery the
pat few years II ale II imI oSsibls to get
ons of thess, except at high 1gure, and
there was nothing remaining OF the
famous fiett of Dundee and Peserhta1
wbaiefs better than the Windward. Con.
s. quently Il ere was nothing for 1t but to
repsir the Windward and re-sDgine her.
The former po rtion of the work is being
easily done the interior and the outer
works above the weterline icing put In
order here. while she will be locked In
st. Johns IN April to have her bottom
renewed. Bet the matter OF renewing
her engines Is proving quite ano thtr
thlng. IL was intended to provide her
with a ssco od-hRnd outfit OF boilers and
machinery, and the British shi pyards
wee csnvsssed for such essentials, but
no ng could re found to suit, ana 1t Is
utterly i'm possible, with the present boom
in the iron industry, to secure the con-
stJuotion of a new set OF engines for her
by the coming midsummer, even II the
funds at ii c disposal If the club warrant
ed such au undertaking.
An n tempt Will, therefore, have to be
IN AIDE by the addition Of such improved
appliances as the existing engines will
permit of, to Increase her speed, but 10 10
not expected that any make shift OF this
Kind can do much more than add half a
knot to her steaming powers. Strong
enough she will undoubtedly be for any
thing which a ship in the Arctic can be
expected to face. hut as her slownsss
wss III, great drawback before to her
reaching an ext enc northing 1t 10 diff
cult to see how she can hops to do much
better In this particular in the future.
Even If it be decided to carry out
here for three years stay In the Polar
basin will not be an easy matter. This
IL not due to any fears al to the ship re-
turning, for the men who went mp In her
In 1873 did net hesitate on that scors.
But there is Q grievance among them
over whist they assert was deception
prsctised on them by the leaders OF the
expedition. They claim that before they
left New York, where they went to join
the ship, a bounty Of 80 per cent on
their wages was prom!tei them II they
got the ship beyond 70 north, and 500 o
man extra II they had to winter there.
When they returned they dsmaaded these
bonr Sos, but Capt. Bartlett contended
that they misunderstood him and that
the erst sum was conditional on their
attaining Sberard Osborne Fiord, the
orieirsl objective. and the latter on
their " iatering at that point. They con-
tested this aud took the matt or into the
Supreme Court there. but as they had
no wr,ttsn agreem emit on the su b ect and
there Ia a well-recognizsd legal axiom
that verbal agrt ement csnnot tes aside
the express terms Of written contract
such as Q ships arti,l's S, they RAJ no ca So.
Withoutyenturing an opinion az to wheth-
or Capt. Bartlett or the crew were right
1t can be stated that the proceed ng has
oonsids rally weakened the public CONT
dence In the bona fdss Of rotic explorers
and Ia making sailors and firemsn fight
shy OF proposals TO go north the coming
season. On her last cruise the Wind
ward went with only twelve men all told,
personnel one-fouIth smaller than she
should have had, the object being to
.onn prnvtainna