The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-09-24

and beast.
| Our conquest was only possible
with the accumulated lessons OF the
| early ages of experience. The failures
| Of our less successful predecessors
were stepping stones to our success
! The real pathfinder of the pole were
| the early Danish, the Dutch. the Eng
| liSh and the Morse, Italian and Amer
/ lean explorers. With these worthy
! fOrerunnerS we must therefore share
| the good fruits that your chairman has
put into my basket.
| Obligated to Wild Man.
J "A similar obligation is due to the
wild man. The twin families of wild
| folk-the Eskimo and the Indian-were
! important factors to us. The use Of
| pemmican and the snow shoe which
| makes the penetration of the Arctic
| mystery barely possible was borrowed
| from the American Indian. The meth
! Cd of travel. the motor force and the
i native ingenuity without which the
| polar Guest would be a hopeless task,
| have been taken from the Eskimo. To
| the savage man, therefore. who has no
| flag, We are bound to give a part of
| this fruit.
ITO John r. Bradley, the man who
paid the bills-belongs at least one
half of this fruit.
"The Canadian government sent its
expedition under Captain Bernier one
| thousand miles out of its course TO
ha1 70 I oil no ho S1y of
| returning, shriveled of skin and
Withered in muscles was filled out at
the expense of Danish hospitality, and
last, but not least-the reception with
open arms by fellow explorers-to you
and to all belongs this basket of good
| things which the chairman has placed
Upon my shoulders.
i Speaks on Few Phases Only.
Nothing would suit me better than
| to tell you the complete story of our
quest, but the very first telegram gives
more specific data than l could hope
| to tell you in an after dinner address.
Therefore, l shall devote the allotted
| time to an calculation of certain phas
| es of our adventure.
"One of the most remarkable charg-
! es brought out is that l did not seek
geographical license to start for the
| pole. No, gentlemen, to the large pub
lie that may be a mystery, but you
who know will appreciate that no eX-
plOrer can start and say that he will
reach the pole. Many good men have
tried befOre-all have failed. All who
understan dthe problem know that sue
cess is but barely possible when every
conceivable circumstance is favorable.
1t is only necessary to announce that
an expedition embarks for the pole, to
start an undesirable bombast and
flourish of trumpets. This | chose to
escape Mr.. Bradley furnished the
funds | shaped the destiny Of the eX-
petition. For the time being the bus
mess concerned us only. | believed
then, asl believe now, that if we sue
ceeded there would be time enough to
fly the banner of victory. You are here
tonight-Mr. Bradley is here and l am
here. We have come together to cele-
brate that victory.
Needs No License to Hunt for Pole.
Now, gentlemen, l appeal to YOU as
explorers and as men. Am / bound to
appeal to anybody, to any man, to any
BODY of men-for a license to look for
the pole?
You know we had every possible
aid to success in sledge travelling.
big ship is no advantage. An army OF
white men who at best are novices, IS
a distinct handicap. while q cumber-
some luxury of equipment is fatal 10
progress. We chose to live lie as
simple as that of Adam and we forced
the strands of human endurance 10
scientific limits. If you reach the pole
there is no other way. For our simple
needs Mr. Bradley furnished sufficient
funds We were rot Overburdened with
the usual aid to pleasure and comfort
But | did not start for that purpose.
Now. as to the efforts of the press
to force things Of their picking from
important records into print-in reply
to this | have taken the stand that
have already given a tangible account
of our Journey 1t is as complete as
the preliminary reports of any prevl-
Gus explorer The data. the Observa-
tons. records. are of exactly the same
character Heretofore such evidence
has been taken with faith and the
complete record was not expected 10
appear for years, whereas we agree 10
deliver all WITHIN q rev HlohIIS-
Arrived April ~, 1903.
Now. gentlemen. about the poie'
We arrived April 81, 1908. We dlscoV-
cred new land along the N02nd merldl-
an between the saith and 85th parallel
Beyond this there was absolutely no
life and no land The ice was In large
heavy fields with few pressure hnes.
The drift was south of east, the Wlnd
was south of west. Clear weather
gave good regular observations nearly
every day. These observations COM
bined with those at the pole on the
21st and 22nd of April, are sufi1clent
to guarantee our claim. When taken
in connection with the general record
YOU do not require this. | can see that,
hut this and all the other records Will