The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-05-09
THE REPUsl1oAN JOURNAL, THuRsDAY, MAY 8, 1907

naming dogs, at his nearly empty
sledges, and remembered the drifting
ice over which the party had come and
the unknown quantity of the ''big lead''
! between them and the nearest land. he
felt that he had cut the margin as mar
| row as could reasonably be expected.
II told my men we should turn back
from here.
"My flags were flung out from the
summit of the highest pinnacle near
us, and hundred feet or SO beyond
this l left a bottle containing a brief
record and piece of the silk flag which
six years before I had carried around
the northern end of Greenland.
Then we started to return to our
last igloo, making no camp here"
AS on the outward, so on the return
journey, scarcely for an hour did the
wind cease its internal rush and hiss
and assault upon the mems faces. The
interest and excitement of the advance
were gone; the reaction had come.
Peary's feet, he confessed, dragged like
lead.
At last they reached Cape Rawson,
and as they rounded it the slender
spars of the Roosevelt came in view,
Cooking very, very beautiful in the
yellow midnight May sunlight
Long before they reached the ship
some of the Eskimos in the shore set
Element spied them. 81 saw them sour
rying across the ice on foot to the ship,
and a few moments later several figures
came ont from the ship to meet u.s.
After despatching some Esquimos
to look after stragglers, Peary's first
thought was to strip off his rank fur
clothing, throw it out on the quarter
deck and plunge into bath in his
room. After that to dinner, ga real
dinner with real food, such as civilized
men cal" and then to blankets and to
sleep.
He quotes from his diary of next day:
What delicious thing rest is! With
JOS picture on the wall above my head,
with my face buried in AhIighito's pill
| low OF Eagle Island fir needles and it's
exqulsltely. delicious fragrance in my
! nostrils, l for the moment echo from
the bottom of my heart Ootah's re-
mark, I have got back again, thank
God! Yet know that little later |
shall feel that l might have done more
deeper down l know that we went to
the very limit and that had we not got
across the big lead when we did we
should not have returned.
| "Since reaching the ship l have had
an aversion to pencil and paper and
have only cared to lie and think and
plan. To think, after all the prepare
ton, the experience, the effort, the
strain, the chances taken and the wear
| ing of myself and party to the last inch,
! what little journey it is On the map
and how far short of my hopes it fell.
To think that have failed once more;
that shall never have chance to win
| again. Then to put this useless repin-
ing aside and plan for my western trip,
and, when have done my duty by this,
| to plan for mine and Eagle Island"
The main results of the expedition
are summarized by Mr.. Peary as fol
lows
'First-The attainment of the high
est north leaving distance of but ia
nautical miles yet to be conquered this
side of the pole, narrowing the I'M
known area between my highest and
Cagnis to less than 3S1 miles, and
throwing the major remaining unknown
Arctic area into the region between
the pole and Boring Strait.
'Second-The determination of the
existence of a distant new land north
west of the northwestern part of Great
Land, probably an island in the wester-
ly extension of the North American
archipelago.
''Third-The distinct widening of our
horizon as regards ice and other condi-
tons IN the western half of the central
Polar Sea.
"Fourth-The traversing and deiinea-
ton OF the unknown coast between
Aldrich's furthest west, in 1876, and
Sverdrup's furthest north, in 1902
''Fifth-The determination of the
unique glacial fringe aud foeberg
nursery of the Great Land coast
'Tidal and meteorological observa-
tions have been made, soundings taken
in the Smith Sound outlet of the Polar
Sea, also along the north coast of Grant