The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-11-28
WHAT PEARY HAS DONE
Arctic Explorers Latest Polar
Trip Made In Shortest Time.
REMARKABLE SLEDGE JOURNEY

Nothing to Compare With His Attain
ment Over HummOcky Ice of North
Polar Sea In Arctic Annals-Has
Highest Northing Made In Any Part
of Far North to His Credit-His Fer
mer Achievements.
In reaching the latitude OF 81 de-
prees G minutes Commander Robert Z.
Peary, the intrepid arctic explorer, aQ-
preached to within 2OO.36 statute miles
Of the north pole, says the New York
Sun. All the highest records have
been made within the last twenty-four
wears. Here Is the list: The Duke OF
the Abruzzi. 1900, 239. Is statute miles
from the pole; hansen, 1895, POI miles;
the Fran, 1895 during her drift after
Nansen left herr, 2SO.55 miles; Peary
1901, 396.75 miles; Lockwood, 1892,
456.50 miles.
1t is the most successful attempt on
the pole yet made, not only because
Peary has made the nearest approach
to the pole yet achieved, but also be-
cause he reached his highest north in
by far the shortest time after leaving
for the arctic All expeditions except
ing those of the Duke Of the Abruzzi
and Peary that have been conspicuous
for high northing made were in the
arctic two years or more before attain
ing their highest north. Peary sailed
from New York July Is, 1905. He does
not give the date of his highest north,
but it seems evident that he was with
in 200 miles of the north pole some
eight or nine months after he left New
York.
The Duke of the Abruzzi came near
est to emulating Peary in this respect.
His work was regarded as unexampled
in the fact that only year after he was
reported to have reached the south
coast of Franz Josef Land, over $50
miles south of the highest point he at
tanned, he was In open water, bound
for home, and the telegraph had al
ready flashed the news Of his success
and his return all over the world.
The facts given in his dispatch show
that Peary made a terrific struggle to
reach the pole. His feat Of sledging
over the Ice Of the polar ocean will
stand in a class by itself. Nothing
like 1t has hitherto been achieved. We
may get some idea Of the work he die
when the fact is mentioned that from
his last land base at cape Colombia to
his most northern point he advanced
more than 400 miles toward the pole.
His journey may have been a great
deal longer, as his course was detected
by ice ridges to the right or left of a
straight line, but what he did was to
make northing Of over 400 miles from
the prOmOntOry of Grant Land, where
he struck out on the ice. 1t may be
said without any further details that
there is nothing to compare with this
attainment over the hummocky ice of
the north polar sea in arctic annals.
The fact that his journey was de-
layed by open water after he had pass
ed the highest northing ever made in
the American arctic in a surprising
circumstance. Open water has been
seen along the southern border Of this
part Of the Arctic ocean and to the
north Of Robson channel. The Greedy
party found reaches Of open water in
this sea along the Greenland coast, but
no explorers who have been north on
this sea ice have ever before met wa
ter. Considering the great distance
Peary made from his land base, it Is
not at all unlikely that If he had found
Ice all the way to the pole, as he had
good reason to expect, he would have
reached his goal
AS near as can be judged, the ex-
plorer must have been at least 200
miles from land when the whole pack
was disrupted by gale, and he drift
ed east to the coast of Greenland, at
least about 200 miles to the northeast
of the winter quarters Of the Roose-
Welt. His caches had been destroyed;
he reached land by eating his dogs.
and his party were castaways on this
bleak coast. Peary's knowledge Of this
coast undoubtedly gave him confidence
that he would meet musk oxen there.
He did, and they saved his life again
as on his second trip to the north of
Greenland over the inland ice, when
musk OK meat was the only resource
that enabled him to retrace his steps
GOO miles to his camp on Inglefeld
gulf.
1t seems evident from the great
northing he has made that as long as
he had firm ice under his feet the con.
ditions Of ice travel were better than
those he made on his previous trip
over this same part of the sea in the
spring Of 1902.
''As we went farther north" he said
Of that trip. "our difficulties were in.
creased by deep. soft snow. This
heavy covering on the pressure ridges
greatly increased the work Of crossing
them. If we had not needed every
man with the dog teams and could
have spared a few for pioneer an6
reconnaissance work we should have
made more rapid progress. If we hac
had pioneers they would have gone
ahoad apd mo rhod ont tho frool> Op-