The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-05-19
PEARY'S PROOFS OF 4
POLE DISCOVERY
Explorer, In Story I'm HamptOn's Mag
azine for June, Gives Facts 10
Prove His Claims

NEW RK.-Special.-The eager
ly awaited publication OF PeaTy's ac-
tual proofs that he reached the Pole
begins in the forthcoming June num-
Der or Hampton's Magazine.
Commander Peary opens his mar
rative with a description or tho start
-unIoO 9dVO uoIJ klLBd HIBSd eul 20
bia, the last point of land. northward
across the ice OF the Polar Sea He
emphasizes the fact that there In moth
ing but water between Cape Column bia
and the North Pole. a distance OF Ala
miles.
The most dangerous feature OF Arc
tic travel. he says, lis the leads (the
whalerS' term for lanes of open wa
teri, which are caused by the move
ment OF the ice under the pressure OF
the wind and the tides. These are the
ever present nightmare OF the traveller
over the frozen surface OF the polar
ocean-the nightmare on the upward
Journey for fear that they may pre-
vent further advance; the nightmare
or the return journey for fear they
may cut off from land and life, leav-
ing us to wander about and starve to
death on the northern side. Their oc-
currence or non-occurrence is a thing
impossible to prophesy or calculate
They open without warning immedi-
ately ahead of us. following no aP-
parent rule or law of action"
Why He Succeeded.
His narrative then proceeds to DEM
onstrate why his expedition was sue
cessful, and although he does not
mention DR.. Cook by name, Peary
says: "Fortitude and endurance alone
are not enough in themselves to carry
man to the North Pole. Only with
years of experience In travelling those
regions. only with the aid OF a large
party also experienced in that char
acter OF work. only with the knOwl-
edge OF Arctic detail and the equip
ment necessary To prepare himself
and his party for any and every emer-
gency. is il possible for a man to
reach that long sought goal and re-
turn.
The reason of our success was a
carefully planned system, mathemat-
ically demonstrated. Everything that
could be controlled was controlled.
and the indeterminate factors -
storms, open leads and accidents to
men. dogs and sledgeS-were taken
into consideration in the percentage
OF probabilities and provided for an
tar as possible Sledges would break
and dogs would fall by the way, OF
course, but we could generally make
one sledge out of two broken ones,
and the gradual depletion Of our dogs
was involved in our calculations"
The main points of the so-Oailed
cess of the expedition may be aScribed
are about as follows:
ITO drive a ship through the chan
mel ice TO the farthest possible north
ern land point, from which she can
be driven back again the folio wing
year.
TO do enough hunting during the
fall and winter 10 keep the party
healthily supplied with fresh meat
To have dogs enough to allow for
the loss Of sixty per cent. OF them by
death or otherwise.
ITO have just the right number of
the best kind Of sedges
To have every item OF equipment OF
the quality best suited TO the purpose,
thoroughly tested, and OF the lightest
possible weight.
number OF Eskimos. earned by square
dea!ing and generous gifts in tho past.
any point he may specify.
To have an intelligent and willing
body OF civilized assistants TO lead the
various divisions OF Eskimos-men
whose authority the EskimOs viii ac-
cepI when delegated by the leader.
To have the absolute confidence OF
every member OF the party. white.
black, or brown, so that every cru-r
Of the leader Nill be implicitly obey At.
To have the I-ht number OF d.
VISIONS, or relay ps' ti,S each under the
leadership OF a competent assistant to
send back AT appropriate and carefully
calculated stages along the upward
journey.
ITO know exactly to what point each
man ana dog may be worked without
TO know the physical and mental
capabilities OF every assistant and Ess-
TO know. by long experience. the
best way TO cross wide leads OF open
water.
To transport beforehand to the point
where the expedition leaves the land
FOR the Polar dash sufficient food fuel
clothing, stoves Coil or alcOhoD, and
other mechanical equipment to get the
main party TO the Pole and back and
the various divisions to their farthest
north and back.
To return by the same route thar.
was Followed on the upward march
using the beaten trail and the n lready
constructed igloos, provided this trhl
shall not have been obliteratrd b.
shifting OF the ice.
To have the final party carry. on
the last leg Of the dash, enough sup-
plies TO get ii back TO land b. a new
route IN case shifting ice shall nave
destroyed the up-trail and the iEIoos
along its route"
Peary then proceeds to give the d.
tails Of each days journey, inoI aiding
scientific observations at various pofnte
~ determined their distance by dad
reckoning, which was simply the com
pass course for direction. Observe fkpna
were taken often enough to cheek Nhes0
and ascertain their accuracy
part OF the scientific work can
Peary carried two sounding apparatus
and an extra lead. the wire and heads
being made especially for the 0xurdi-
ton. They were the liShtest OF 6eir
capacity probably ever used and
weighed 1O3 pounds. Forty-fiV miles
north or Cape Columbia a sounding WAS
made and depth of 10 fathons Sas
obtained.