The National tribune., 1901-10-17
PEARY'S WORK.
What the American Explorer
Has Accomplished in the North.


Bridgman, Secretary iof the Peary Arctic
Club, in a telegram TO the National &c
ographic Magazine from Sydney, G. B.,
Sept. 10, 1901.
A detailed statement of Peary's very
important work during the past two years
follows:
On April 10, 1900, Peary left Fort Con-
ger, 81 degrees Al minutes north latitude,
and, accompanied by his faithful Henson
and five Eskimo, crossed Robson Chan
mel to the Greenland coast and followed it
on foot and over the sea ice to the north
ward. He had devised an ingenious
scheme for making his little force as mo
bile as possible. Each sled was stocked
with complete outfit of provisions as
though it We're the only store from which
the party had to draw. All hands used
from 1t until it was emptied, when it was
| sent back in charge of its Eskimo driver
and drawn by only two of the dogs. The
other dogs were attached to the remain
ing sleds. In this way two of the Eskimo
were sent back on April g. and two
others early in May.
Lockwood's farthest North Cairn of
May IL, 1882, was opened May s, and its
records were taken; and at Cape Wash
ington, the headland seen by him ID miles
northeast in 1882, another cairn was
erected and copy of the ''Farthest"
| record and additional memoranda were de-
| posted. Peary pushed on, and at SO de.
greeS 80 minutes north rounded the north
ern extremity of Greenland, finding the
| coast at this point to trend rapidly east
| ward. There, on the most nOrtherly
known land in the world, Peary built n
cairn, in which he deposited records, etc
Peary then struck over the sea ice for
| the Pole, but was able to advance only to
SO degrees 30 minutes north, when he was
stopped by the broken pack and much open
water Retracing his steps, Peary pushed
on along the Greenland coast, all the time
eastward, about 160 miles beyond Lock
woods farthest, to latitude SO degrees
north, longitude % degrees west, or ap-
proXimately but little more than a degree
from Independence Bay, discovered and
named by him July 4, 1892. The recon-
| noissance ended with a definite demon.
stratiOn of the western and northern
coasts of Greenland.
pronounced change in the character
of the coast was found beyond Cape
Washington, the bold, PERCEPTIONS head
lands and deeply cut fjords being sue
ceeded by low rolling foreland suggest
ing possible glaciation at some earlier
period; and all along the northern coast
much open water was met. Bear, musk
oxen, hare, and lemming were killed in the
newly-discovered country, affOrding an
ample supply of fresh meat for men and
dogs; and stray wolf was seen. Having
practically connected his work of eight
years before with that of 1900, and COM
pleted the determination of the northern
boundary of Greenland, Peary, on May
y, turned back, following practically the
line of his outward march, and on June
10 arrived at Fort Conger, having been
three months in the field without accident,
illness, or serious mishap Of any kind to
himself or any of his party.
Peary's own estimate of his work in
1900 is given in letter to Mr.. II. L.
Bridgman, from which the following ex-
tracts are taken:
'Conger, April 4, 1901.
MY Dear Bridgman: 1t gives me great
pleasure to present to the club the results
of the work of 1900.
First. The round of the northern
limit of the Greenland archipelago, the
most nOrtherly known land in the world
probably the most northerly land.
Second. The highest latitude yet at
tanned in the Western Hemisphere (S3 de-
grees 30 minutes north.
Third. The determination of the origin
of the so-called 'paleocrystic ice (tioe
berg, etc.
considering that l am an old man,
have one broken leg and only three toes,
and that my starting point was Eth, |
feel that this was doing tOlerably well.
1t is almost thousand years since Eric
tremity Of the archipelago, and from that
time Norwegians, Dutch, Danes, Swedes,
Englishmen, ScOtchmen, and Americans
have crept gradually northward up its
shores, until at last, through the instru-
mentality and liberality of the club, it's
northern cape has been lifted out of the
Arctic mists and obscurity. 1t seems fit
ting that this event, characterized by Sir
Clements Markham as second in i'm
portance only to the attainment of the
Pole itself, should fall in the closing year
of the century. If | do not capture the
Pole itself in this Springs campaign,
shall try it again next Spring. My graft |
tude and respects to all the members of
the club
always most sincerely,
"PEARY."
Or. Dedricht takes this letter south, |
to be sent by natives to Cape York, thence
by whaler to the British Consul at any |
civilized port"
Peary sends to the club complete and |
detailed chart of his newly discovered |
coast and other work, reserving until the |
completion of his work the nomenclature |
and its publication.
Having eliminated the Greenland archi-
pelagO as a desirable route to the Pole,
and no further advance northward being |
possible until the opening of the season of |
1901, Peary decided that his next attempt
would be from Cape Hecla, the northern
port of Grinnell Land, and from Fort Con
ger as base. Deciding thus to Winter at
COnger, the Autumn was spent in hunting
and obtaining the necessary fresh meat for
men and dogs. So diligently was this
work prosecuted that il was not suspended
on the approach of Arctic night, and hunt
ing parties were actually in the field dur
ing every moon of the Winter. Game.
musk oxen, was found much
more abundant in the Lake HaZen cOun-
try, 30 or 40 miles westward of Fort Con
ger, than in its immediate vicinity, and it
proved more feasible, therefore, to subsist
the dogs where the meat was killed than
TO pack it across the country to the coast
Snow iglOos were built, and in these Peary
and his hunters practically spent most of
the Winter, the rationsi of the hunters be-
ing supplemented from the supplies found
at COnger. In all, nearly 200 musk oxen
were killed and eithern consumed by the
expedition or packed for its later demands
Peary, accompanied, as in the previous
year, by Henson and five Eskimo, left
COnger April >, l9O14 for the north by the
way of Cape Hecla; but after some 10
days march along the ice both the men
and dogs proved to be out of condition
and unfit for the most .arduous work GER
tainly ahead of them Unwilling to risk
the success of the undertaking with an in
adequate force, or TO imperil the lives Of
any of the party, Peary' rctraced his steps
and returned i'll COED order and without
loss to Fort COnger- Late in April, with
his entire force, Peary retreated south
ward to open, if possible, communication
with the clubs steamer of 1900. from
which nothing had been heard. The Wind