Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1905-07-20
or For The North Pole !?


Robt. E. Peary, with his ship the
Roosevelt, specially built and equip
ped for the service; started from New
York harbor, for the North Pole or as
near as he can get to to it, last Sunday,
this being his ninth attempt.
His first stop will be at Cape Breton,
where the present ships complement
will leave her and the crew which will
take her into the Arctic regions will be
shipped. Here he will take on the re-
mainder Of his stores and five hundred
tons of coal. From Cape Breton he
will steam at q reduced speed, in order
to economize coal, direct for the north
ern coast of Greenland. the scene of his
former explorations. The large amount
of ice which has been coming down
from the North this year encourages
the belief that more than usually open
water will be found. When the
Roosevelt" encounters the ice the real
battle with the difficulties of the frozen
the powerful compound engine and the
broad d-bladed propellers OF the ship will
be called on for their supreme effort.
Normally the engine horsepower is
from 1000 to LOO, but as soon as the
ice pack il encountered, live steam will
be turned into the low-pressure cylinder
and the available thrust on the pro-
peller will represent about 1,500 horse
power. The peculiar form Of the bow,
and the underwater section forward,
will now begin to tell, and the good
ship will be able to smash her way
through ice which would haye been
impossible to any of Commander
Peary's earlier ships.
He expects to reach latitude SO north,
off the most northerly point of Grant
Land, before he is frozen in, or by
September Is. The winter will be
spent in preparing the outfit, and Com
mander Peary states that this work
alone will furnish abundant occupation
and interest during the long winters
night. The articles to be made include
fur clothing. sledges for the final dash
to the Pole. harness for the dogs, whips,
tents, stoves, and the preparing and
packing of rations. The sun begins to
shows its rim above the horizon on
February 28; but, of course, there is
twilight tor many days preceding that.
Hence, the start on the great sledge
journey will be made early in February.
The ship will be the base from which
the expedition will work, and the com
plement of fifteen men who constitute
it's crew will remain on her The North
Pole party will be made up of twenty
five sleds with one Eskimo and six to
eight dogs to each sled. They will be
heavily loaded down at the start with
provisions, outside OF which very little
will be carried beyond the necessary in
struments in the way OF sextant, theo-
dolite, aneroid barometer, etc.
Regarding the character OF the travel
which be would be likely TO meet with
on the 420mile journey from the ship
to the Pole, Commander Peary frankly
admits that he expects it to be Of the
very roughest. consisting probably. un
less land should be found, of mass OF
broken and up-eDded ice. presenting a
scene OF confusion that it would be
difficult to describe He estimates that
he will make about ten miles a day on
the outward trip. and fifteen miles a
day, because of his lighter load, on the
return journey. Should the difficulties
prove even greater than this rate Of
speed would indicate, and provisions
run short. it would become necessary to
kill off the dogs for food "A contingency
which happened on one Of his excur
sions, when the party returned with
but one dog left out OF the many with
which the expedition started. Sci. Am.