Chapter I: Introduction

The Address of President Roosevelt on his presentation of the
Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society to Commander
Robert E. Peary, at the annual banquet of the Society, December
15, 1906.

_I count myself fortunate in having been asked to be present this evening at such a gathering and on behalf of such a society to pay a tribute of honour to an American who emphatically deserves well of the commonwealth. Civilised people usually live under conditions of life so easy that there is a certain tendency to atrophy of the hardier virtues. And it is a relief to pay signal honour to a man who by his achievements makes it evident that in some of the race, at least, there has been no loss of hardy virtue._

_I said some loss of the hardier virtues. We will do well to recollect that the very word virtue, in itself, originally signifies courage and hardihood. When the Roman spoke of virtue he meant that sum of qualities that we characterise as manliness._

_I emphatically believe in peace and all the kindred virtues. But I think that they are only worth having if they come as a consequence of possessing the combined virtue of courage and hardihood. So I feel that in an age which naturally and properly excels, as it should excel, in the milder and softer qualities, there is need that we should not forget that in the last analysis the safe basis of a successful national character must rest upon the great fighting virtues, and those great fighting virtues can be shown quite as well in peace as in war._

_They can be shown in the work of the philanthropist; in the work of the scientist; and, most emphatically of all, in the work of the explorer, who faces and overcomes perils and hardships which the average soldier never in his life knows. In war, after all, it is only the man at the very head who is ever lonely. All the others, from the subordinate generals down through the privates, are cheered and sustained by the sense of companionship and by the sense of divided responsibility._

_You, the man whom we join to honour to-night, you, who for month in and month out, year in and year out, had to face perils and overcome the greatest risks and difficulties with resting on your shoulders the undivided responsibility which meant life or death to you and your followers—you had to show in addition what the modern commander with his great responsibility does not have to show. You had to show all the moral qualities in war, together with other qualities. You did a great deed, a deed that counted for all mankind, a deed which reflected credit upon you and upon your country; and on behalf of those present, and speaking also for the millions of your countrymen, I take pleasure in handing you this Hubbard medal, and in welcoming you home from the great feat which you have performed, Commander Peary._

COMMANDER ROBERT E. PEARY
]

MORRIS K. JESUP
]

Peary’s reply to President Roosevelt on the presentation of the
Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society, December 15,
1906.

_President Roosevelt: In behalf of the Peary Arctic Club and its president, Morris K. Jesup, I beg to express our deep appreciation of the great honour conferred by the National Geographic Society in this award of its gold medal, and the double honour of receiving this medal from your hand._

_Your continued interest, Mr. President, your permission to name the club’s ship after you, and your name itself have proved a powerful talisman. Could I have foreseen this occasion, it would have lightened many dark hours, but I will frankly say that it would not, for it could not, have increased my efforts._

_The true explorer does his work not for any hopes of reward or honour, but because the thing he has set himself to do is a part of his being, and must be accomplished for the sake of the accomplishment. And he counts lightly hardships, risks, obstacles, if only they do not bar him from his goal._

_To me the final and complete solution of the Polar mystery which has engaged the best thought and interest of some of the best men of the most vigorous and enlightened nations of the world for more than three centuries, and to-day quickens the pulse of every man or woman whose veins hold red blood, is the thing which should be done for the honour and credit of this country, the thing which it is intended that I should do, and the thing that I must do._

_The result of the last expedition of the Peary Arctic Club has been to simplify the attainment of the Pole fifty per cent., to accentuate the fact that man and the Eskimo dog are the only two mechanisms capable of meeting all the varying contingencies of Arctic work, and that the American route to the Pole and the methods and equipment which have been brought to a high state of perfection, during the past fifteen years, still remain the most practicable means of attaining that object._

_Had the past winter been a normal season in the Arctic region and not, as it was, a particularly open one throughout the Northern hemisphere, I should have won the prize. And even if I had known before leaving the land what actual conditions were to the northward, as I know now, I could have so modified my route and my disposition of sledges that I could have reached the Pole in spite of the open season._

_Another expedition following in my steps and profiting by my experience cannot only attain the Pole; but can secure the remaining principal desiderata in the Arctic regions, namely, a line of deep-sea soundings through the central Polar Ocean, and the delineation of the unknown gap in the northeast coast line of Greenland from Cape Morris Jesup to Cape Bismarck. And this work can be done in a single season._

_As regards the belief expressed by some that the attainment of the North Pole possesses no value or interest, let me say that should an American first of all men place the Stars and Stripes at that coveted spot, there is not an American citizen at home or abroad, and there are millions of us, but what would feel a little better and a little prouder of being an American; and just that added increment of pride and patriotism to millions, would of itself alone be worth ten times the cost of attaining the Pole._

_President Roosevelt, for nearly four centuries the world dreamed of the union of the Atlantic and Pacific. You have planted the Stars and Stripes at Panama and insured the realisation of that dream._

_For over three centuries the world has dreamed of solving the mystery of the North. To-night the Stars and Stripes stand nearest to that mystery, pointing and beckoning. And, God willing, I hope that your administration may yet see those Stars and Stripes planted at the Pole itself. For, between those two great cosmic boundaries, the Panama Canal and the North Pole, lie the heritage and the stupendous future of that giant whose destinies you guide to-day, the United States of America._

ANNOUNCEMENT

NEW YORK, MARCH 30, 1907

The Peary Arctic Club at a recent meeting resolved unanimously to
place the _Roosevelt_ on dry dock for a refitting, and to subsequently
tender the same to Commander Peary for a final attempt to be made by
him to reach the North Pole. Believing Commander Peary will be
successful, the Club has taken this action, and they have every
confidence in the gallant and intrepid American, and share in the
pride that must animate the American people to see planted at the
North Pole the American flag.

The Peary Arctic Club asks the aid of those who have heretofore
contributed, as well as the co-operation and aid of all or any who are
interested in this patriotic enterprise. The expense of this final
expedition it is estimated will be one hundred thousand dollars.

MORRIS K. JESUP, _President_.

NEW YORK, MARCH 30, 1907

The fact, as indicated in Mr. Jesup’s letter, that the Peary Arctic Club hopes to send out another Polar Expedition the coming summer, will, I trust, be accepted as an excuse for any shortcomings in this volume.

The writer has, from the day of his return, been under the stress of insistent and incessant demands, and in working and planning for the next campaign, has found it difficult and at times impossible to put this narrative of the campaign just finished, in the shape that would do full justice to himself and his publishers.

CONTENTS

PAGE
Introduction vii

CHAPTER

I. From New York to Etah 3

II. Etah to Cape Sheridan 33

III. Autumn at Cape Sheridan 55

IV. Through the “Great Night” 73

V. Sheridan to the “Big Lead” 97

VI. From the “Big Lead” to 87° 6′ N. Lat. 123

VII. From 87° 6′ to the Greenland Coast 139

VIII. Along the Greenland Coast to the _Roosevelt_ 153

IX. Westward Over the Glacial Fringe of Grant Land 173

X. Westward Over the Glacial Fringe of Grant Land Continued 195

XI. The Return from “Farthest West” 219

XII. Cape Sheridan to Etah 247

XIII. Etah to New York 265

XIV. The Peary Arctic Club 285

XV. Report of Expedition of 1898–1902 295

XVI. The _Roosevelt_ 355

XVII. My Eskimos 375

Index 397

ILLUSTRATIONS

“NEAREST THE POLE”: COMMANDER ROBERT E. PEARY PLANTING
THE AMERICAN FLAG, LATITUDE 87° 6′, APRIL 21, 1906
(COLOURED) _Frontispiece_

FACING PAGE

COMMANDER ROBERT E. PEARY viii

MORRIS K. JESUP ix

STEWARD PERCY 7

DR. WOLF 7

COMMANDER PEARY 7

CAPTAIN BARTLETT 7

MR. MARVIN 7

MATE BARTLETT 8

CHIEF ENGINEER WARDWELL 8

MATTHEW HENSON 8

“Bo’sun” MURPHY 8

THE SAILORS 8

THE FIREMEN 8

INTERIOR OF PEARY’S CABIN ABOARD THE “ROOSEVELT” 13

A MELVILLE BAY ICEBERG 14

TYPICAL WHALE SOUND GLACIER 14

OOMUNUI, THE PECULIAR PEAK AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE NORTH
STAR BAY 23

COALING AT ETAH 24

TRANSFERRING WALRUS MEAT AT ETAH 24

THE AUXILIARY S. S. “ERIK” IN THE HARBOUR OF ETAH 27

THE BARRIER AT CAPE COLLINSON 28

ENTERING THE SMITH SOUND ICE 37

OPEN WATER OFF CAPE LUPTON 37

THE SQUEEZE NEAR “THE GAP” 38

BRINGING OFF THE “POLARIS” BOAT FROM BOAT CAMP, NEWMAN
BAY 41

CAPE SUMNER, GREENLAND 42

BIRTHDAY CAPE, WRANGEL BAY, GRINNELL LAND 42

THE “ROOSEVELT” IMMEDIATELY AFTER ARRIVAL AT CAPE
SHERIDAN 65

THE ALERT’S CAIRN, AT FLOEBERG BEACH 66

PETERSEN’S GRAVE, OVERLOOKING FLOEBERG BEACH 66

CAPE SHERIDAN AND THE POLAR OCEAN 75

THE “ROOSEVELT” AT CAPE SHERIDAN, AFTER A SOUTHERLY GALE 76

A DAY’S HARE SHOOTING AT SHERIDAN 81

RETURN OF HUNTING PARTY FROM CAPE HENRY WITH FIRST
SPECIMENS OF NEW REINDEER 81

LAST VIEW OF THE SUN, BLACK CAPE, OCTOBER 12, 1906 82

SHAPING THE RUNNERS 85

ESKIMOS MAKING SLEDGES ON BOARD THE “ROOSEVELT” 85

SALMON TROUT FROM LAKE HAZEN 86

ESKIMOS FISHING ON LAKE HAZEN 86

MOONLIGHT VIEW OF THE “ROOSEVELT” IN WINTER QUARTERS AT
CAPE SHERIDAN 89

THE BOW OF THE “ROOSEVELT” IN WINTER QUARTERS 90

WEIGHING MUSK-OX MEAT 99

REINDEER AND MUSK-OX MEAT IN THE RIGGING 99

CROSSING FIELDEN PENINSULA 100

CAPE HECLA WITH CAPE JOSEPH HENRY IN THE DISTANCE 103

CAPTAIN BARTLETT AT CAPE HECLA 104

DELAY CAMP AT THE “BIG LEAD,” 84° 38′ 107

ESKIMO DRAWINGS MADE AT STORM CAMP 108

A SAMPLE OF THE ARCTIC PACK 157

AS THEY ROUNDED UP THE HERD OF MUSK-OXEN, NARE’S LAND 158

AFTER THE KILLING 158

EGINGWAH AND THE MORRIS K. JESUP SLEDGE 175

MY ENTIRE WESTERN PARTY ON THE ROAD TO CAPE COLUMBIA 175

THE TWIN PEAKS AT CAPE COLUMBIA WITH THE MORRIS K. JESUP
SLEDGE IN THE FOREGROUND 176

LIVE BULL MUSK-OX AT CLOSE QUARTERS, CAPE COLUMBIA 179

MUSK-OX AT CAPE COLUMBIA 180

THE ALPINE SUMMIT OF CAPE COLGATE 197

CAPE THOMAS HUBBARD. NORTHERN EXTREMITY OF JESUP LAND.
(HEIBERGER LAND OF SVERDRUP’S) 198

CAPE COLGATE. NORTHWESTERN ANGLE OF GRANT LAND 198

EGINGWAH AND REINDEER AT CAPE HUBBARD 221

CROSSING A STREAM ON THE GLACIAL FRINGE 222

OUR CAMP ON LAND WEST OF ALDRICH’S FARTHEST 222

TYPICAL ESKIMO DOG 237

THE CRUSH NEAR CAPE UNION. WHERE THE “ROOSEVELT” LOST
RUDDER, STERN-POST, AND PART OF PROPELLER 238

SIPSU AND HIS FAMILY. RETURNING TO THE SHIP FROM FORT
CONGER 241

THE “ROOSEVELT” FORCED AGROUND IN WRANGEL BAY 242

THE “ROOSEVELT” IN WRANGEL BAY 242

ESKIMO FAMILY GOING ASHORE AT LADY FRANKLIN BAY FOR
WINTER AT FORT CONGER 251

TAKING SOUNDINGS IN KANE BASIN 252

BRINGING THE BEAR TO THE SHIP 255

POLAR BEAR KILLED IN KANE BASIN 255

THE SHIP BEACHED FOR REPAIRS AT THE HEAD OF ETAH FIORD 256

VIEW OF THE STERN 263

ESKIMO HOUSES AT KOOKAN 264

CAPE YORK, 76° NORTH LATITUDE. NORTHERN LIMIT OF
MELVILLE BAY, AND MOST SOUTHERLY SETTLEMENT OF THE
WHALE SOUND ESKIMOS 267

HANGING OUR NEW RUDDER AT HOPEDALE 268

SAWING WOOD TO FEED THE FURNACES 268

HULDA, A LABRADOR ESKIMO GIRL AT NAIN 273

HOPEDALE. MORAVIAN MISSIONARY STATION ON THE LABRADOR
COAST 274

OOBLOOYAH, YOUNG ESKIMO MAN OF ABOUT TWENTY-THREE 277

A GROUP OF ESKIMO WOMEN 278

HEAD OF RANGIFER PEARYI, ALLEN 347

ESKIMOS OF THE “FARTHEST NORTH” PARTY 348

CAPTAIN CHAS. B. DIX, BUILDER OF THE “ROOSEVELT” 357

THE “ROOSEVELT” ON HER TRIAL TRIP, JUNE, 1905 357

THE PEARY ARCTIC CLUB’S S. S. “ROOSEVELT” 358

A STUDY IN BRONZE; TYPICAL FACE OF ESKIMO WOMAN 367

AHWEAHGOODLOO, FOUR-YEAR-OLD ESKIMO GIRL 368

INUAHO, ESKIMO GIRL 377

AKATINGWAH, WIFE OF OOBLOOYAH 378

DETAIL MAP OF THE POLAR REGIONS SHOWING THE ROUTES AND
EXPLORATIONS OF ROBERT E. PEARY, U. S. N. FROM 1892 TO
1906; AND GENERAL MAP OF THE NORTH POLAR REGIONS END

NEAREST THE POLE