Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-11-07
THE SPORTING NEWS.
WHAT PEARY HAS DONE
Arctic Explorers Latest Polar
 Trip Made In Shortest Time.
REMARKABLE sLEDGE JOURNEY.

REMARKABLE HLEDGE JOURNEY Nothing te Compare With His Attain
 meat Over Hunnocky Ice of NortI Polar Sea h Arctic AnnaIs--Ha, Highest Northing Made In Any Par of Far North to His Credit-His For mer Achievements.
 In reaching the latitude of S7 de
 grees minutes Commander Robert E
 Peary, the intrepid arctic explorer, ap preached to within 20O.36 statute milei
 of the north pole, says the New YorL Sun. All the highest records have
 been made within the last twenty -foul
 years. Here is the list: The Duke of
 the Abruzzi, 1900, o39.l5 statute miles from tue pole; Nansen, 1895, 261 miles the Fran, 1895 (during her drift after Nansen left herr, 2S0.55 miles; Peary,
 1901, 39675 miles; Lockwood, 1Sy2
 456.5O miles.
 It 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 15, 1905. He does
 not give the date of his highest north,
 but 1t seems evident that he was with
 in POO miles of the north pole some
 eight or nine months after he left New
 York.
 The Duke of the Abruzzi came near est to emulatlng 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 450 miles south of the highest point he at tained, he was in open water, bound for home. and the telegraph had all ready flashed the news of his success and his return all over the world.
 The facts given in his dispatch show that Peary made q terrific struggle to reach the pole. His feat of sledging over the lee of the polar ocean will stand in class by itself. Nothing like it has hitherto been achieved. We may get some idea of the work he dit when the fact is mentioned that from his last land base at cape Colombia to his most northern point he advanced more than AGO miles toward the pole.
 His journey may have been Q great deal longer. as hls course was defiected by Ice ridges to the right or left of straight line, but what he did was to make northlng of over 400 miles from the pr0montory of Grant Land, where he struck out on the ice. It 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 Open water has been seen along the southern border of this part of the Arctic ocean and to the north of Robeson channel. The Greedy party found reaches of open water in this sea along the Greenland coast. but 1 no explorers who have been north on his sea ice have ever before met wa er. Considering the great distance Peary made from his land base. it is lot ct all unlikely that If he had found | co all the way to the'pole. as he had yood reason to expect. he would have cached his goal.
 As near as can be judged. the ex- 'lorer must have been at least 200 niles from land when the whole pack vas disrupted by gale. and he drift d east to the coast of Greenland. at east about 200 miles 10 the northeast f the winter quarters of the Roose- cit. His caches had been destroyed: e rpached land by eating his dogs. nd his party were csstaways on this leak coast. Pcary's knowledge of this osst undoubtedly gave him confidence hat he would meet musk oxen there. Ie did. and they saved his life again . on his second trip to the north of ;recnlsnd over the inland ice. when iusk OK meat was the only resource nat enabled him to rctrace his steps O0 mics to his camp on TnglcfieId uif.
 It seems evident from the great o-thing he has made that as long as P had firm ice under his feet the con. itions of Ice travel were better than icse he made on his previous trip Ter this same part of the sea in the bring of i9c2. |, "As we went farther north bc said ' that trip. ''our difBculties were iu- -eased by deep. soft snow. This savy covering on tho prssure ridges reetly increased tho work of crossing ,em. If we had moi needed every an with tbe dog teams and could ,ve spared a few for pioneer snd work we should have ado naor rapid prcerese. If we had Id pioneers they would have cDne ,ead and nszfEed out the track Ore I them vclI have asceDiei a high itIook on the ridge and nred the I see ou the next rtir~ where it might I