The Washington herald., 1906-11-07
MAY YET REACH POLE
Admiral Melville on Lieut..
Peary'S Achievement.
THINKS ROUTE THE RIGHT ONE
The Admiral Believes that with
Light Boat with which to Cross
Temporary Riffs In lee Peary
Might Have Reached the POIe-COn-
ditiOns OF Travel Not Understood.
rom the Pbiladelnhia Public Ledger.


The achievement OF Commander Robert
E. Peary In reaching 81 degrees 6 minutes
north latitude in his latest dash toward
the pole has caused a change Of opinion
on the part of some Arctic experts as to
the best route to be followed in future
attempts of this kind. Peary's expert
ence also affords data for a more ac-
curate estimate of the difficulties to be
conquered.
Rear Admiral George NJ. Melville, who
was the chief scientific officer Of the i'll
fated Jeanette expedition, discussed
both Of these phases of the subject.
He said that while he had always held
that the point of departure chosen by
Peary in his last effort to reach the north
pole was not the most favorable one. 1t
now seemed that the route which he had
followed might eventually lead to sue
cess. Peary was actually within ia nauti-
cal miles Of the pole, or 2oo3 statute
miles Admiral Melville thinks that the
chance Of success would have been much
greater if Peary had taken with him on
leaving the ship a light boat on an extra
sled, 10 be used simply for ferrying the
broad canals which are frequently form
ed in the constantly moving eXpanse or
ice. II he had had such q boat, Peary,
he believes, might have reached the pole
in the time that was lost in the waiting
for the great icedrifts TO close so that he
might continue the use of his sleds.
Physical Conditions in the Arctic.
The public in general" said Admiral
Melville, has little conception Of the
actual physical conditions in the Arctic.
Travelling over the ice, broken as il IS
into hummOCks. ridges. deep chasms, and
jagged projections, is much ike travel
ing over the housetops of Philadelphia.
To take an ordinary Arctic sled on such
a dash as that which Peary made would
be almost out of the question. The light
est one that we had in our retreat from
the Jeanette to the Lena Delta weighed
T. 500 pounds, and the strength of our
whole force of twenty men was required
10 drag It. But 10 take a light, specially
constructed sled, 10 be drawn by dogs,
would be entirely feasible. and the dogs
would be just so much additional beef on
the hOof,' so 10 speak, for the subsistence
OF the expedition in case Of need. / see
that the Peary party, as it was, ate
eight dogs in the return to the ship.
L had no idea that Peary would get
TO the pole by the route which he chose.
It seemed TO me that the distance from
Grant Land. on the northern end Of
Greenland. was too great there being
10 known terra frma directly north
OF either and the southwark drift of the
ice in that region being so rapid But
Peary, having got 10 a point within
IA miles OF the pole, il now seems
quite possible that the whole Of the
intended journey may be accomplished by
ne .
island between Grant Land, or Green
land, and the pole, it would appear yet
more feasible, for then caches of supplies
might be made that would give greater
chances Of safety 10 the explorers. This
statement is Illustrated in the fact that
Peary lost the caches which he had
made IN the ice some Of the constantly
shifting masses probably having turned.
over dumping the provisions into the
water.
Ice Canals stopped Peary.
'Peary was not stopped by what may
properly be termed open sea- but by
merely temporary canals, caused by the
drift of the ice. Sometimes such tenn
pOraTy openings in the vast ice plain
measure hundreds Of square miles
THE fact that Poary's ship, the Roose-
time il entered the ice-locked sea. does
not impress me as very significant OF
course, il is q strongly built vessel; but
40 ship can he so stout that II may not
be crushed and wrecked in the Arctic fee
Greely's ship, which went TO nearly the
same latitude as did the Roosevelt, and
wiutered not far from Lady Franklin
Bay where the English Alert wintersd.
sustaining no serious damage was an
ordinary Newfoundland whaleT The
ship in which Lieut.. Darlington attempt
Cd 10 relieve him was also a NewfOund-
land whaler, although better than
Greely's, get she was caught in the ice
10 the north Of Cape Napoleon and was
crushed and lost. The conditions Of the
fee fields about the pole are always
changing-a ship may be safe to-day and
tomorrow be practically destroyed.
Il had supposed that If Peary failed
in one dash toward the pole he would
remain In the Arctic until the next sea
son and then make a further at
tempt ] may be that the Navy Depart
ment viii rot extend his leave of alb
sence for that purpose. There was a
great deal Of opposition to his present
leave, as fer years he had done little
actual service in the navy"
should Have Had Boat.
The admiral. replying TO a question re-
garding his own views as TO the best
route for dash to the pole. said that
idea had always been to make Franz
Josef Land the starting point, with the
hope of finding land between that and the
pole on which caches and temporary sta
tions could be established.
But since Peary has done so well this
time in starting from Grant Land, and
the worst obstacle that he had encoun-
tered had proved to be merely canals in
the shifting ice" said the admiral Il be-
liove that, If he carried a light boat for
fcrrying purposes, in case the currents
on both sides Of Greenland shift the ice
too rapidly southwark (the experience Of
most Arctic navigators heretofore, that
route might wisely be adhered TO. On
the other hand, however, if 20 the east
ward OF Spitzbergen or Franz Josef Land
the ice does not travel southwark as rap
idly rs it does where Perry made his
start, the chances would be better there.
Experience has shown heretofore that
the drift is far more rapid in the zone in
which Peary has been operating; but the
distance of S4S miles to the pole and
back from the point where he stopped
could easily be covered by an additional
team OF dogs. and, I think, therefore.
that with a light ferrying craft, the end
is attainable by that route"
THE QUARTER BACKS INVICTUS.
with sincere APOLOGIES u one OF the few roernsl