The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-09

efforts Of the Peary Arctic Club, ar a point
higher than that obtained by the Arctic
Adventures of any other nationality.
Commander Pesry said the Roosevelt
was the irst American built ship to enter
the arena of polar exploration" and that
she had proved herself 20 be better than
any other vessel ever equipped for the
Sc rvioe. The foreign searchers for polar
81 DRY had worked on a side OF the pole
di rectly opposite from that penetrated
by the Peary expedition. Only one other
ship than the stout Roosevelt had gone
further north. She WAS the Fran, and
unlike the Roosevelt, which had been navi-
gated to her high position, she had drifted
into a higher region.
Commander Peary said the old method
of reaching the pole by establishing caches
might be practicable If the ice near the pole
were solid He had found it otherwise.
The caches he established at certain points
had been the plaything OF the Arctic drifts
and the gales. Caches were useful within
narrow limitations; beyond the land they
could not be depended upon, and the re-
hottest land apparently was Cape Morris
h. Jesup, Greenland.
Commander Peary praised the mar
vellous instinct of the Esquimau hunters,
who really saved the expedition from
failure by supplying it with Arctic hares,
musk OK and reindeer. He also said fine
things about the wonderful endurance Of
tNO NC8Es ~ ~
laughter when the explorer remarked:
As the dogs dropped out from exhaus-
ton on the way north they were fed TO
other dogs. Finally. we were glad to join
them in their repast,"
At last when the little party led by Com
mander Peary got to 81 degrees 8 minutes
the lecturer said he was 40 exhausted that
he missed the elstion of having beaten
the record. That was only a small thing
compared with the disappointment OF
mtaain0 tho laval for which / had hpan
striving. the discovery OF the pole"
When he encountered the two and a half
mile ice fissure--or lead-that barred him
for many days on his course back TO the
his dogs. Eventually the thin ice OF the
lead became thick enough to bear the
weight OF men on snowshoes. Then the
party started across. The ice swayed under
them and il they had worn ordinary shoes
they would have vanished beneath it.
Commander Peary said that he didn't
care for any similar experiences and that
II was the first time he ever had felt some
what fearful Of the result Of an adventure.
The homeward voyage had been annoy
ing. He felt in the attitude OF a man who
had mistakenly boarded a freight train
under the impression that 1t was an ex-
press. On the way home through ice
clogged bays and seas, lumber of all sorts,
trunks OF trees n their roots had been
used as fuel for the Roosevelt's boilers.
Every man aboard had helped TO saw Inc
chop the wood. He himself had sawed
two days and 10 was the hardest work he
ever had performed.
Many photographs taken by q e explorer
were thSown on the screen, including sew
eraI that showed the study Roosevelt in
ice that overtopped her bulwarks. Peary
said tina the ship never tried to evade the
i~oe-unlike some other Arctic craft--but
actually butted into It at q speed of about
2 knots. Sometimes member Of the party
standing on deck were thrown down by
the impact. No other ship engaged in
Polar research ever had the
terrific smashing and squeezing endured by
rhe Roosevelt.
Commander Peary said finally that IL
ne had known what the polar conditions
were beyond the remotest land-Cape Nor
ris X. Jesup-.h he would ave mOdined his
route somewhat and would have brought
hack the Pole anyway
He said his expedition had been ca rried
out on the sssump ton thai the rOlar ice cap
was paleocrystic. In reality IL APPARENTLY
IA otherwise. II he were 10 go Pole hunting
again ne would carve a more direct course
and would return by utilizing the great
polar drift. He was sure that he could, by
two expeditions. delimit the coast OF Green
land and probably find he Pole within
less time and with less cost than were neces-
sary in his unsuccessful expedition.
Commander Peary ridiculed the dea Of