Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-18
DASH FOR NORTH POLE
Commander Peary Relates
Story of Frozen North.
HIS JOURNEY IN SLEDGES
Real Obstacles Which Confront the
Arctic Explorer.
HORROR OF WINTER NIGHT
discovery of North and South Poles a
Matter of Duty and
Destiny.
HORROR OF WINTER NIGHT

how he succeeded in planting the Amer-
can flag within 200 miles of the earth's
axis at the National Theater yesterday
afternoon. The lecture was given under
the auspices of the National Geogra phic So
ciety for the benefit of the Socictys re-
search fund, and the theater was filled to
its capacity. His lecture was made doubly
interesting by numerous stereopticon views
of the polar regions, which afforded the
audience an idea of what the neghborhood
around the pole looks like
The lecturer told how his trip was made
possible by the Peary Arctic Club and
of the pains and care with which his ship,
the Roosevelt, was constructed.
1T is the strongest vessel ever built" he
said.
AT noon of April 81" Commander Peary
said, we had reached a point which my
observations showed to be in 81 degrees
and minutes north latitude the nearest
approach yet made to the pole. 1t is per-
haps an interesting illustration of the in
congruity of human nature that at this
time. when it might be thought that my
feelings should be those of eXultation only
they were, as matter of fact, just the
reverse. While l endeavored to be as
thankful as possible for what l had ac-
complshed, still the mere fact of breaking
the record fell so far short of the splendid
jewel to secure which l was straining my
life out that my feelings were of the in
tensest disappointment, and this. combined
perhaps with the physical exhaustion re-
sulting from our heart-breaking pace on
half rat!ons, gave me the deepest fit of the
blues"
Forced to Turn Back.
Thus the commander described his feel
lngs at the time when he had set the rec
ord for all arctic explorers. He told how
after killing dash across the arctic ice
pack from the latter part off February to
April -21 he looked at the drawn faces of
his men, the skeleton shapes of his dogs
and the scant provisions on his sledges and
was forced to turn back after cutting the
margin of endurance as narrow as posi-
BILE.
Had the winter of 1905 been a hard one.
and the ice pack closed in the spring, it is
the commanders firm conviction he would
not have had to turn back when within 200
miles OF the pole, and 1t Is his belief that
taking advantage of the experience gained
on this last trip not only can the pole be
reached when the next dash is made from
the American side, but that the one remain
ing UNEMPLOYED strip of Greenland coast
can be mapped at the same time The sledge
parties should start on the next trip from
a point much farther west than did his
sledges. and should aim not directly at the
pole but toward point west of it. so that
the drifting ice will carry the party to it.
The Real Obstacle.
ut is not severely low temperature" he
said. that is the obstacle to arctic ex-
ploration. sound man, properly cared for
and properly clothed should not feel that
as much as We in the temperate zone do
the sudden changes of temperature to which
we are subject. 1t is the long winter night,
a nerve-wearing experience, one which has
driven men insane, and the necessity of
carrying all provisions which make arctic
exploration peTilous.
"Arctice exploration expeditions must be
made in two seasons. Through one summer
the explorer must drive his ship as far
north as possible. and then establish his
base near to land before the six months
night sets in in October. From then until
the last few days of February, when the
first gimmerings of the arctic dawn are
seen, the explorer must live inert In dark
ness that is relieved only once month by
the pale light of the moon. Then when light
comes for an hour or less day he must
start north by sledges.
Factors in the Exploration.
'This 1 did Four parties set north, each
with it's sledges and dogs and Eskimo
drivers and hunters These Eskimos with
their dogs, the commander said, are the
factors that make the search for the pole
feasible. Two days march brought Peary's
party to a lead-a rift in the ice pack where
open water prevents a further progress.
For six days the party camped at this
lead until thinly forming shell of ice gave
them a precarious passage to the northern
side Only fairly started north from here
they were entirely cut off from the three
supporting parties by blizzard which de-
layed them five days longer. From then
on the diminishing amount of provisions
and the serious delays demanded that one
mad rush be made to the north.
Drift of Polar Flow.
1.-The drift of the polar ice flow is constant
ly to the eastward. On the side of the
pole adjacent to eastern Siberia and Alaska
is great field of ice whence the chilled air
flows east to equalize the barometric pres
sure in the north Atlantic. where from the
perennially open waters the comparatively
warm air rises. This wind, blowing with
a constantly varying intensity, drives the
packed ice eastward, and the explorer
travelling toward the pole is as man at
tempting to row across a river"
Commander Peary concluded by saying:
THE discovery not only of the north but
of the south pole as well is not only our
privilege, but duty and destiny,
much as the building of the Panama canal
and the control of the Pacific"