Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-08-31
party on the arrival At the Pole warrant

"A knowledge of the exact location
OF the safety station. together with the
fact that Greenland is nearer the Pole
than Franz Josef Land. would certainly
contribute greatly as an inducemont for
any party TO return by that route. The
continued southerly drift OF ice would
also facilitate the return In that disec.
ton and thus long stretch of unknown
coast line would be added TO the chart.
"1'hat my party was loyal and faithful
in the work, with, OF course. exceptions.
Ia proved not only by the actual work
accomplished, but by numerous evidences
of friendship by documents In my pos
session and also by the testimony OF a
previously inexperienced member of the
expedition. who has sought to cast dis.
credit on the work. sfor in a statement
he saws the members of the expedition
did everything to please me. This being
the case even our critics are quite estop.
ped from casting SANDER upon the mem.
bers OF the expedition by declaring that
discomfort disrupted the party and caus-
ed its return. Such talk is pcrniciously
untrue and undoubtedly originates from
sources of envy in some cases and from
lack Of information in the Others"
Mr., Baldwin began his Arctic expiora.
tions In 1893, when he accompanied Rob-
ert r. Peary in his second search for
the North Pole as metcrorologist of the
expedition. Mrs. Peary, wife of the ex-
plorer, with a nurse. accompanied the ex-
petition, and three weeks after the ar
rival Of the party at Bowdoin Bay n
base that had been established in the
previous exploration. daughter was born
to the Pearys.
Owing to the severity Of the weather
the following spring, and an unprece.
dcntcd mortality among the dogs, the
sledge expeditions north from Bowdoin
Bay only penetrated to the head Of Great
Humboldt Glacier, in latitude of seventy
nine degrees not IA far north as Peary
had reached on his first expedition.
Twenty-Five sledres started out on the
trip. A number of men were frost bitten
on the way north and were obliged to re-
main behind. so that Peary had only two
men with him when he reached Great
Humboldt Glacier and decided to return
to his base Of supplies. The severity of
the weather was such, Mr.. Baldwin
says. that on some days working sixteen
hours. it was impossible to advance the
sledges more than a milo.
The round trip Of about 1870 miles occu-
pied forty-hve days. The loss Of dogs
discouraged Peary. Only nincty-fve of
the 100 dogs originally attached to the
expedition survived until spring Dur
ing the sledge trip many dogs persisted.
and on the return there were only TWEEN
ty-five left. many of these being unht for
duty 1t was impossible to get more
dogs at that time, and Pcary was COM
PEELED to give up the expedition for that
year.
Mrs. Pcary and the other members of
the party, with the exception Of the chief
explorer and three mon, returned to Am
erica on the relief ship which reached
Bowdon Bay some weeks later. AS the
| supplies were limited Peary could only
keep a few men with him for his next
years expedition, which did not accom-
rlsh any great results.
Mr. Baldwins second invasion of the
frozen North was in 1897, when ne made
voyage to the Island Of Spitzbergen
as volunteer to accompany the famous
aeronaut Andrce on his daring aerial
flight in search of the Pole.
Owing to favorable winds, Andree got
away before Mr.. Baldwin reached Spitz-
bergen. and to this fact Mr.. Baldwin
probably owes his life. for the ill-fat ed
balloon party never returned. nor was
heard from except through the medium
Of two pigeon messages and two buoys
despatched within twenty-four hours af-
ter the aerial voyage started. a buoy
without any message picked up later some
distance eastward indicated that the bal
loon had drifted in that direction.
Mr.. Baldwin believes that Andrcc's bal
loon. which was an immense. ono in size.
was not of n shape suited to tho pur-
poses for which ii was intended. He
thinks likely <hat tho weight of tho snow
which fell on the cana cious top OF the
balloon caused it to sink to the frozen
surface and that the occupants persisted
from exposure.
The fact that he did not connect with
Andrea led to his forming the acquaint-
ance of the late Admiral Makaroff, who
persisted early in the present war between
Russia and Japan.
Disa ppointed in the balloon trip, Mr.
BALDWIN on his arrival at Spitzbergcn con-
| tinncd his voyage in n small steamer to
investigate the condition of the ice north
of that point On this voyage Admiral
Makaron was a fellow passenger. The
latter. as the inventor of the famous
| ice breaker Yermah had visited Spitz-
bergen for the purpose of studying the
sea ice with view of inducing his
government to construct vessels of suffi-
cicnt strength to pow through the ice
| encompassing the northern coasts OF Rus
sla and Siberia. Had this been accom-
plishcd. Mr.. Baldwin said yesterday, Rus
sia would have been in position to
have placed her navy in an advantageous
position so that by utilizing Boring
Strait as a passage to the Pacific the coast
line in that direction could have been
quickly reached and Rojcstvensky would
not have been compelled to make the
long voyage which had such disastrous
sequel in the Sea of Japan.
Mr. Baldwin was second in command in
the Wellman expedition to Franz Josef
Land in ls9s-a9 The party consisting of
only seven explorers reached the SOUTH
east coast OF the archipelago in August.
Almost Immediately on disembarking
efforts were begun to erect outposts and
| advance supplies in a northerly direction.
The partv was so small and the sea ice
80 badly broken. Mr.. Baldwin says. that
the work was badly handicapped. The
most northern OUTPOST established was at
| Fort Mckinley. in about eighty-one de-
Grces OF latitude.
| Two men and some Of the dogs were
left at Fort Mckinley and the balance
| Of the party returned to the base of sup
plies for tho winter. In the spring when
| Fort Mckinley was revisited 1t was found
| that one of the men there had died aud
| thot htr ao,,ooriop had hoor tho sOii-