The Colorado statesman., 1909-09-11


to be printed exactly as written.
Summary OF north polar expedition
Of the Peary Arctic club
The steamer Roosevelt left New
York on July 6, 1908; left Sydney on
July II; arrived at Cape York, Green
land, August l.; left Etah, Greenland,
August 8; arrived Cape Sheridan, at
Grantland, September 1; wintered at
Cape Sheridan.
The sledge expedition left the
Roosevelt February Is, 1909, and
started for the north. Arrived at Cape
Columbia March 1; passed British
record March 2; delayed by open wa
ter March 2 and 3; held up by open
water March to IL: crossed the Saith
parallel March II; encountered open
lead March 15; crossed S5th parallel
March 1S; crossed seth parallel March
%; encountered open lead March %;
passed Norwegian record March %;
passed Italian record March "a; en-
countered open lead March 10th;
crossed S7th parallel March 9th;
passed American record March 2Sth;
encountered open lead March 2Sth;
held up by open water March 29th;
crossed SSth parallel April End;
crossed seth parallel April 4th; North
pole April 9th.
All returning left North pole April
7th, reached Cape Columbia April
23rd: arriving on board Roosevelt
April 27th.
The Roosevelt left Cape Sheridan
July 18th, passed Cape Sabine Au-
gust Sth; left Cape York August 26th;
arrived at Indian Harbor with all
members of expedition returning in
good health, except Prof. Ross G.
Marvin. unfortunately drowned April
10th; when forty-five miles north of
Cape Columbia, returning from sc de
grees north latitude in command OF
the supporting party.
RORERT E. PEARY.
Story of the Trip.
Cyrus c. Adams, the author of the
following article relative to Peary's
summary of his voyage, is one of the
most noted geographers of the world,
and is prominent in geographical So
cieties, not only in this, but in other
countries.
New York.-Peary's dispatch. print
ed above. though very condensed,
tells clearly the leading facts in the
story, not only of Peary's journey to
the North pole. but also of a remark
ably fast sledge trip over the ice of
the open polar sea. The dispatch says
that the Roosevelt passed the winter
of 190S-1909 at Cape Sheridan. on the
coast of Grantland.
The vessel had threaded the COM
paratively narrow channels. several
hundred miles in length, leading from
Cape Sabine 10 the Arctic ocean. This
journey is apt to be very difficult. and
sometimes impossible, but the condi-
tions were evidently favorable. The
ship that disappeared in the fog while
the crew of Pearys auxiliary steamer,
Erik. were watching her departure
from Etah. made very good passage
through the large channels, and ar
rived safely on the shores of the sea,
where the explorer was to start on his
sledges for the North pole.
But at Cape Sheridan he was not as
far west as he probably had hoped to
ton in the previous year of making his
sledge route to the pole along some
meridian much farther to the west of
his route in 1906. when he made the
highest north attained up to that time
81 degrees, seconds.
On that occasion he was greatly i'm
peded by the rapid drift of the ice to
the east, which retarded his progress
north, and, worse still, carried him so
far to the east that he had to make
his landing on the coast of North
Greenland, many days march from
| the Roosevelt, his base of supplies.
On his expedition of 1866 he tried
very hard to force the Roosevelt a
good distance to the west of Cape
Sheridan, but the ice baffled him.
For one reason or another. on the
edge of the Arctic winter last year,
he did not. or could not. take his ves-
sci along the northern coast of Grant
land to the west of Cape Sheridan,
and so she spent last winter not so
very far from her old berth in the ice
in-the winter of 1905-6.
The sledge expedition left the Roos-
|