Ellsworth American., 1907-04-03
xE,R THE NORTH POLE.
0,rcKspoRr MAN TELLS OF TRIP
WITH PEARY.
aropas A. wARpwELL, ENaiNEER OF
THE POLE HUNTING STEAMER
ROOSEVELT.


ia hack at his home from the frozen
18th Mr.. Wardwell was chief engineer
!, commander Robert E. Peary's vessel,
,,s Roosevelt, recently returned from the
,,st northern point OF country from
-. man has ever returned to tell the
,o,e of hardship and peril.
pncksport is proud OF Chief Engineer
,y,rdyell. and well she may be. He is
nan among men-able and courageous,
.os.e,sing all the elements OF character
i.,n;cb make lifelong friends and admir-
.,s Throughout the two years in which
,he peary party vas absent, the oversight
:, the Roosevelt's engineering was en-
,irely under the guidance Of Chief Ward
well He was assisted by six other men
sns o;lsr. four firemen and an assistant
engineer; all men Of the best calibre.
now THE ROOSEVELT WAS BUILT.
p-ohsb bly no wooden vessel was ever so
.ro,, constructed as the Roosevelt. Old
seafaring men have informed the writer
that il was altogether the most remarkably
s,;,, craft th,v ever beheld. They say,
trrtbsrmore, that it is without doubt the
,t,onpest wooden vessel th7t ever set sail
barring none whatever.
The Roosevelt is 1Sl feet long, 3'-f'ot
heam. draft l6 feet and his dis?la ement
=, 7oo tons. The keel, keelson, stern aud
stern- post were OF solid white oak timber,
veil seasoned, and brought from the
,orests of Virginia. The ribs were Of
white oak sawed into their curved shape
and made triple. In other words, there
were three frames bolted together, where
Init one is usually placed. The shape Of
the peary vessel was al oval, impossible
q, being caught and held by an outward
nressure. To further this intent, heavy
white oak guard rail, X 20 inches, was
built at the water line, from stem to STERN
This was so firmly fastened to the ship
that it was able to support the entire
weight OF the vessel and cargo. On the
face and under side, this guard strip was
protected by heavy angle bar OF steel.
The purpose OF this was two fold. First,
TO add to the longitudinal stiffness OF the
vessel; secondly, to assist the foes pres
sing the ship out OF the water, in case of a
heavy strain against the sides, Each OF
these triple ribs was composed Of twenty
odd pieces of wood, fitted into the required
shape with the utmost nicely. Over this
frame was laid double course of five
inch planking, the inner of yellow Georgia
pine, the outer of white oak. Between the
two was placed sheathing of tarred
hemp.
From one end OF the keel to the other,
at intervals of four feet, four-inch verti-
cal steel rods, running from the keel to the
upper deck, acted as supports for diagonal
braces OF heavy white oak, 12x14.
The Roosevelt was most emphatically a
steamship, her sail power being merely
auxiliary The motive power was single
inverted compound engine, driving sin
gle 1O-foot screw, the steam being supplied
by two water-tube boilers. Under forced
draught it was capable of developing IA
horsepower.
The Roosevelt contained two big deck
houses, which provided for Commander
Peary, the ships officers and members of
the scientific staff. These houses were OF
peculiar construction, and were designed
to be portable. Ths object of this was to
enable their reno ,al from ship to shore in
case of emergency, where they might be
turned into reasonably comfortable habi-
tations, capable of economical heating and
maintenance. The bulk of the crew were
housed on the berth deck, in excellent
quarters.
The hull OF the Roosevelt was con-
structed at the shipyard of Mckay
Il Dix at Verona. The engines and
boilers were installed in her at Portland.
The cost of the hull and machinery COM
plete was s125 200, about $4,000 OF which
covered the motive power. She is able
to make Ia or Is. knots an hour. The
Roosevelt was OF course not constructed so
much for speed qualifications as for abil-
hy to successfully withstand the scraping
and crushing of the powerful Arctic ice
Dergs. While she was successful in the
latter, however, she was able to speed
"ANH6 Pfctty tdSt Uuuer any IaROEADic hlhu
Oh conditions.
While being constructed at Verona, hum
ofeos OF curiosity seekers visited the
anlpyard to view the craft in which
lieutenant Peary was to renew his en-
aeavors to reach the North Pole. At her
launching thousands of people lined the
anores OF Bucksport, across from Verona,
- well as those Of Verona, while on the
prospect shore, near grim Fort Knox,
sooaiy number had congregated to see the
Asoot ship start on her mission.
COMMANDER PEARY's PARTY.
Inc Roosevelt left Bucksport, April 2,
ivo, was at Portland for short tir,e, and
mHh everything in readiness, sailed from
Aew York, July IS, 1905, and after many
experiences, anchored on the morning of
sept b, about 6 o'clock, at 50 deg. q min.
uorth latitude. Here the Maine built
vessel went into winter quarters. A
ueaVy snow storm came on the next day,
sad from that time until the next July,
y, .le nercest of raging gales and snow were