Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-07

the supposed northernmoSt extremity
of Grinnelland, to latitude 1896 At
this point Peary had discovered what
he afterward concluded to be the open
Polar sea.
Delayed by Water
In 1906 his journey over the ice was
delayed at this point for a week by an
open lake of two miles wide. When the
ice finally allowed him to proceed heavy
| gales sprang up, which forced him to
abandon the greater part of his pro-
visions.
He then found comparatively smooth
| travelling until he reached latitude 85.12
| There he encountered a terrific storm
which held him prisoner, while the ice
drift carried him seventy miles to the
| east.
These handicaps and the constantly
widening lead of water and increasing
roughness of the Ice, with a threatened
failure of supplies, forced Peary to
turn back April 81 when he had
reached latitude 87.6. After putting up
flags and depositing a brief record Of
his achievements Peary started back
for Cape Morris Jessup.
| On his present expedition Peary an
nounced he would take a route from
Grantand more to the west and not so
directly north as that of his former at
| tempt, heading almost as far as the
eightieth meridian of longitude, and
thus compensating for the eastward ice
drift He planned to establish his last
base on newly found island northwest
of Grantland.
Followed Currents
Peary based great hopes on the results
to be obtained by the following Arctic
currents which he had studied on his
previous expedition.
| Commander Peary has stood 1t the
foremost ranks of the Arctic explorers
for nearly two decades. He was born
at Cresson Springs, Pa, in May, 1856.
He entered the navy in 1881.
| His first Polar experience was ac-
quired in 1886, when he made recon
noissance of the Greenland island ice.
In June, 1891, he sailed from New York
on the Kite, and making his headquar-
! ters at Mccormick bay, on the west
coast of Greenland, penetrated as far
north as latitude SO.
In 1S94-95 he reached the seventy
eighth parallel on the west coast of
| Greenland. In 1898-99 he went to a
point between the seventy-ninth and
eishtieth parallels on the east coast of
Eilsmereland. In 1900 he reached the
eighty-second parallel on the east coast
of Grinnelland
of Grinnelland and made an attack
upon the pole from Cape Moss. rms
was the expedition which reached what
was at that time "farthest north.
Nothing More Heard
From the time Peary wrote his last
letters home from his depot of sup
plies at Etah in August, 1908, until he
flashed the magic words from Indian
Harbor, nothing was known of the fight
he had been making across the frozen
crust of the north.
Access was obtained today, however,
to a number of personal letters which
Commander Peary had written to
friends and business associates in New
York between the time he sailed on
July and the time he left his supply
depot at Etah in the following August
The last words from him came in the
mails of September 1, 1908
The letters We're written in August
aboard the Roosevelt, but were not
dated. Some were to Mrs Peary, and
others to personal and business friends.
These letters told little of conditions
at Etah, nor did they speak of what his
hopes or misgivings might be. Mrs.
Peary in writing to a friend in June,
1909, said:
"Nothing has been heard from Mr..
Peary since last fall, when the letters
dated Etah in August were delivered.
L "
will be much disappointed If I don't
see the commander himself"
Established Station
At Etah Pearv had established a sta
tion for training Eskin1os and dogs and
accommodating supplies. On former eX-
petitions it had been his plan to take
his ship as far north as he could pen
etrate and there put into winter quar-
tore ttciDo Etab base of SunnlieS.
This time he divided his party into
three groups-one to make geological
observations, another to make meteor
ological notations and a third of five or
six men with dogs for the last dash to
the pole, while the first two followed
more slowly as supporting parties and
established bases of supplies for the
return trip.
That Peary's friends foresaW some of
the criticisms likely to be evoked by
DR.. Cooks claims and that they under
took to guard against such situation
is shown by the remarkable plan ar
ranged here for reporting the discov-
cry he hoped for.
1t was agreed that If Peary found the
pole he should notify the world in a
simple sentence. Then "a messenger
from his publisher was to start north
| from New York and get his story OF
the expedition.
To Go to Labrador
This man was to travel post haste to
Labrador. There he was to charter q
fishing smack and sail northward as
far as possible toward Cape Chidleyr
On these bleak shores he was to camp
and wait for the faint trace of smoke
over the horizon which would herald
the Roosevelt.
With that signal the messenger
would set sail again and when the two
crafts came within hailing distance
the Roosevelt was to heave to while
the messenger sailed as near as he
dared alongside. Peary was to cast
over a waterproof packet containing
the account of his expedition, with
photographs or undeVeloped films, and
with these the messenger was TO turn
IL. IittIn nhirn to the sn1Ifh while the