The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1912-04-18

as to travel light we shall do away
with sleeping bags, simply tying up
the hood around our head, tying the
clothes about the body and the trous-
ers at the feet and drawing our arms
up into our sleeves.
"On our hands we wear sheepskin
mittens with the wool inside. and
over them bearskin gloves with the
fur outside. In this way there is
/ little danger of over exposure, be-
cause on the Peary trip there were
only two or three days and nights
when we really suffered from cold.
The problem of making our tea
and cooking our food will be met by
using Peary's famous alcohol lamp,
which SO astonished scientists. Where
previously Arctic explorers had found
that it took from hour to An hour and
half peary invented a stove which,
with six ounces of alcohol, would
| transform a cylinder of cracked Ice
at 60 below zero into gallon of boil
ing tea In 10 minutes.
We shall try to get members of our
party men who have never been
smokers, because the history of ex-
ploration has shown that they are
more desirable than smokers. AS
long as their tobacco holds out it is
all right. but If it is gone or they
lose their pipe. they become irritable
and there is trouble.
1T is a peculiar coincidence that on
the ill-fated Greedy expedition in 1881,
all but six of the men were smokers.
One by one they died. until when the
rescuers under Schley arrived, seven
were living OF these, one had had
his hands and feet frozen OF. They
had dropped of by natural amputa-
ton, and the man had had a spoon
buckled to one stump in order that
wifi he outlived the rest, he might feed
himself with it. This man died on the
way back, and the rest were In hor-
rible shape. But they lived-and
they were the six non-smokers.
When on a side excursion from the
Peary expedition l was told to pick
out reliable man as companion, and
chose little fellow who\was an in
yeterate smoker. l cautioned him to
look to his tobacco, and he did, but
after some time he lost his pipe.
From bright, CHEEKY little fellow,
he became morose and sullen, and the
only words | ever heard him say
were, Gee, seven weeks without
smoke"
Finally | had one of the Eskimos
go back and search for the pipe She
found 1t, and Jack was back in his
spirits again.
AS soon as we reach Croker
Land we shall split up. One group
will go northward, delineating the
coast line. Another will go south,
and third will push inland, making
observations and discovering every
thing possible,
I'VE calculate that the provisions
we shall take will, in themselves, be
sufficient to carry US for the time be-
fore, late in April, we shall have to
turn back again over the ice in order
IN, uyit jnu uDt nr
between us and Cape Thomas Hub
bard.
"lf we should stay too long, and the
ice should begin to break up, 1t
would mean that We should have to
stay on Croker Land all summer, and
woe to us II there should be no game.
I'VE expect, however, to find some
game, and 1t may be great deal. All
the country from Flagler Bay to Cape
Thomas Hubbard Is one of the best
game sections in the North, and
there Is no reason why we should not
find the same conditions in practical
ly the same latitude.
"Peary found the trail of fox
when he was only 100 miles from the
pole, and we are confident that we
shall find musk oxen, caribou, foxes
and Arctic hares. If we do, then there
will be some relief from the monotony
OF our provisions, but we are not
banking on It,
The main object of our whole ex-
petition Is to be the investigation of
Croker Land, of which we hope to be
able to get news back to civilization
In the fall of 1913.
Then. If we have been successful,
we shall push into the interior of
Greenland, which no man has as yet
explored Men have been In Green
land, to be sure-Peary on the extreme
north and hansen through the south.
But we plan to work 300 miles into
the interior.
THE two or three men who are to
be the companions OF Borup and my
self have not been selected as yet,
though one will be a physician and
surgeon. Great care will be exercised
in their selection. for on an Arctic eX-
petition the best of men may come
to hate each other.
IT To