Imperial Valley press., 1937-03-21

IN SEPTEMBER 6, 1905, the Roosevelt
- reached Cape Sheridan, Grant Land, about
fifty DAYS from New York. When we left New
York, it was hoped that would winter at
Porter Bay on the southwest side of the Ffelden
Peninsula, Grant Land This would have been an
ideal spot for winter quarters, but we succeeded
in getting only to Cape Sheridan and the low
foreshore on the southwest side was filled with
grounded bergs so that we could not get shelter
there, but had to lay on the outside of the bergs
in the hinge of the ice-foot
During our stay from fall to spring. nothing
short of : miracle kept the heavy arctic ice from
grinding us to pieces. When the warm June days
came melting the snow and ice and making
large fresh-water rivers, there remained no
longer any shelter for us, so l endeavored to get
into Lincoln Bey for shelter and wait for Peary
to return to us 1t was July fourth not until the
dav before Christmas did we reach New York.
II was well along in September when we were
here and the young ice was making rapldiy In
the fjords. Strong winds were blowing and snort
DAYS told us plainly winter was upon US Inc
first thing we did was to pick up our anchor and
chain, about a hundred and twenty fathoms in
length. the anchor weighing three thousand
pounds. Going NORTH we had left it, eliminating
weight. for we wanted all spare buoyancy for
coal then moved her up the ford and. putting
her stern on shore as far as could get her, we
began caulking her stern, also Tightening up
the nuts on the studs which fastened the blades
to the propeller boss and drove pine wedges
around the nuts
WING to the slight rise and fall OF the
I water and the long shelf running out from
the shore II was difficult to dry her out SO that
we could make good job of the propeller blades.
But the caulking we could make good job OF.
We secured about fifty tons of rock ballast
and then moved down to the point where about
sixty tons of coal in bags had been left by us
and some from the auxiliary ship Eric the pre-
vions summer Again ! had to call on my old
friend seventy-fve per cent Dupont to loosen up
the bags which were frozen from the melting Oh
the snow in the summer warmth. The young ice
was making rapidly in the ford and moving in
be sheets with tide and wind, so that it took all
our gear to hold her alongside the rocks
At length the coaling was finished and we left
To spend a couple of days walrus hunting. we
had on board very little food. But up at Victoria
Head Bache Peninsula Kane Basin we had full
stock for sixty people for twelve months, besides
tue brand-new whale boats and two new dories.
This had been left by us on our way north in the
event of our having to retreat but owing to the
ice conditions Oh our way south, we couldn't
reach it.
s,,pnose had we left the Eskinos at Etah
and gone direct for home, they would have man.
AGED somehow to exist until Smith Sound would
freeze for them to get to the cache at Victoria
Head. and with the hunting, they could have
managed all right. But Peary had promised
hem that, before leaving them, he would get
enough fresh walrus meat He had also prom
Izad Ia rx4 them with the meat at any place
FACE Two