Greenland were very important. Greenland was proved beyond dispute to
be an island. Smaller islands free from ice had been discovered north
of Greenland. A large part of the inland ice had been traversed and
its character studied. The shores of Inglefield gulf and Whale and
Murchison sounds had been charted. Many glaciers were discovered,
and careful observations made of the climate and tides. Considerable
information had been gained concerning a tribe of Eskimos called the
Arctic Highlanders, heretofore almost unknown.
In a few weeks preparations began for the return voyage. During the
latter part of the summer, Mr. and Mrs. Peary and their companions
bade farewell to Red Cliff House, and sailed for home on the _Kite_.
Together with the members of the Red Cliff household who embarked on
the _Kite_ were the five faithful dogs that had helped to carry Peary
to Independence bay and back again. Among them were Pau and Lion.
The _Kite_ stopped at Godthaab on her way southward, and again at
St. John’s, Newfoundland. From St. John’s the vessel was detained by
head winds, but at last the Delaware breakwater was reached. A short
distance below Philadelphia the _Kite_ was met by a tugboat, carrying
a party of Mr. Peary’s friends. They were soon on board the _Kite_,
listening to the wonderful story of the discoveries and adventures of
the Arctic travelers.
[Illustration: GODTHAAB.]
In 1893 Peary made another trip to North Greenland, and this time
remained two years and one month. He made a second sledge journey of
twelve hundred miles to Independence bay, and surveyed a large area of
the country around Whale sound. During this trip, he also discovered
the great Cape York meteorites.
Meteorites are stones, largely composed of iron, which fall to the
earth from the heavens. They are supposed to follow in the train of
meteors, or shooting stars. These pieces of meteoric iron differ from
any kind of rock found upon the earth. They are covered with a thin,
brownish black crust, and look very different from the iron which we
obtain from mines. All meteorites are carefully preserved, placed in
museums, and studied.
Many Eskimos had already told Peary of the wonderful iron mountain near
Cape York, but up to this time he had been too busy to search for it.
Now he found an Eskimo who promised to conduct him to the spot. This
Eskimo said that he would find three great pieces of iron, the smallest
about the size of a dog. One was near the water, and the other two were
upon the side of the mountain.
With fresh dogs Peary and the Eskimo were soon galloping over hard ice
toward Cape York. After a long journey the Eskimo conducted Peary to
the great brown mass.
He told Peary that his people believed that the iron mass had been an
Eskimo woman, who with her dog and her tent was hurled from the sky by
the Evil Spirit. One of the great piles used to look like the figure of
a woman in a sitting position, but the natives had chipped off many
pieces of it and carried them away. They used these pieces of iron for
making knives and for harpoon points.
One tribe attempted to carry off the entire head. They lashed it to a
sledge and started for home, when suddenly the sea rose with a loud
noise, and the head disappeared into the water, carrying the sledge and
dogs with it. The Eskimos barely escaped with their lives, and since
that time not the smallest fragment of the heavenly woman had been
disturbed.
Near the great mass of iron, called “the woman,” was another, called
“the dog.” About six miles south of these was the third and largest,
called “the tent.”
[Illustration: THE “TENT” METEORITE.]
The coast where these meteorites were found is the bleakest and
most desolate region of the Arctic land. Biting winds blow almost
continuously, and iceberg after iceberg drifts slowly past on its
journey southward. It is almost impossible for a vessel to reach this
coast.
Notwithstanding the difficulty and danger of the work, Peary succeeded
in bringing all of these meteorites to New York. Those known as “the
woman” and “the dog” reached New York in 1895, and on October 2, 1897,
the _Hope_ deposited the one known as “the tent” at the Brooklyn navy
yard. This weighs ninety tons and is the largest known meteorite in the
world.
Peary’s two trips across Greenland are classed among the most
brilliant geographical feats of recent years. His efforts extended the
exploration of the east coast of Greenland two degrees.
In 1899 Peary again visited the Arctic regions. He reached Fort Conger
in March, 1900, and the next month, with his colored servant, Matthew
Henson, and five Eskimos, started to explore the northern coast of
Greenland. He reached Cape Washington, where he erected a cairn,
and then pushing on, he rounded the northern limit of the Greenland
archipelago at latitude 83° 39ʹ north, from which point the coast
extended southward.
At this place, the most northerly known land in the world, Peary built
a cairn and inclosed records of his trip. He then changed the direction
of his course and turned northward, traveling over sea ice toward the
pole. He proceeded in this direction until he reached latitude 83° 50ʹ
north, where he found it impossible to continue the journey farther. He
therefore returned to the Greenland coast, and made explorations which
enabled him to complete a chart of the northern coast of that island.
Upon the completion of this work he returned to Fort Conger, arriving
there June 10, 1900, without accident or illness. During this trip, the
temperature ranged from 20° above to 35° below zero.
The winter of 1900 and 1901 was spent at Fort Conger, where game was
plentiful. The men passed most of their time hunting, and succeeded in
slaying nearly two hundred musk-oxen.
In the spring of 1901 Peary made a second attempt to reach the pole,
this time from the northern point of Grinnell land, using Fort Conger
as a base. But he was again obliged to turn back. Still undismayed,
Peary planned to make another dash for the pole during the spring of
1902. This expedition was also unsuccessful, and Peary returned to the
United States in the fall of 1902, without having discovered the North
Pole. But he accomplished valuable geographical work, and has added
greatly to our knowledge of Greenland and Grinnell land.
Among the important results of Peary’s work are:――
First: The rounding of the northern limit of the Greenland archipelago,
the most northerly known land in the world.
Second: The attainment of the highest latitude in the Western
Hemisphere, 83° 50ʹ north.
Third: The discovery of the character of the inland ice.
XIX. ANDRÉE’S BALLOON EXPEDITION TO THE POLE
1897
One of the most hazardous attempts to reach the pole was that made by
S. A. Andrée in his balloon. Andrée was born in Sweden in 1854, and
was carefully educated. He became a mechanical engineer, and held an
important position under the Swedish government.
In 1876 he visited America to attend the Centennial Exposition in
Philadelphia. While crossing the ocean he noted the regularity of the
trade winds, which led him to believe that balloon voyages might be
made across the Atlantic. Some years later Andrée passed a winter in
Spitzbergen, directing experiments and observations in atmospheric
electricity. This scientific work strengthened his belief that a
balloon might be navigated through the air in much the same manner as a
ship through water.
From this time Andrée studied the construction of balloons with great
care, and in 1895 he astonished the world by making known his plan to
reach the North Pole by means of an air route. He needed the sum of
$36,000 in order to carry out his project. This amount was generously
provided by King Oscar and two citizens of Sweden.
Then Andrée set about the work of having a balloon constructed which
would suit his purpose. He went to Paris, and secured the services of
the most noted balloon maker in the world. This man built a balloon
for Andrée which was ninety-seven feet high by sixty-seven feet in
diameter. It was made of three thicknesses of silk, and varnished over
twice, inside and out. It was handled by means of valves. The whole
balloon was covered with a network of hemp, ending in forty-eight
suspension ropes, to which the wooden bearing ring was attached.
The car, shaped like a cylinder and made of wicker, was covered with
tarpaulin, and was intended for rest and sleep. The place for work and
observation was a swinging gallery, which also served for the roof
of the car. In this gallery the scientific instruments were kept.
Andrée took with him thermometers, barometers, cameras, and every sort
of needful apparatus. The car contained a sleeping bag, and stores
of books, maps, toilet articles, arms, and ammunition. The balloon
was built to carry three passengers. While one slept, the other two
expected to remain on the roof, taking observations and guiding the
balloon.
The bearing ring was the main storeroom. Crosspieces of wood formed
a floor, upon which many necessary articles were packed. Boats,
sledges, sails, ropes, and provisions of all kinds were stored away in
forty-eight large sacks, which were hung to the bearing ring. Andrée
had provisions enough to last for nine months, and everything was
packed so as to occupy as little space as possible.
Three sails and three guide ropes were arranged to aid in steering the
balloon. The long guide ropes trailed behind the balloon, serving the
purpose of a rudder. The sails caught the wind, increased the speed,
and permitted change of direction.
In 1896, the balloon and all the supplies were taken to Dane’s island,
near Spitzbergen, but as the desired south wind did not blow, Andrée
returned to Sweden. In May, 1897, Andrée and his companions again went
to Dane’s island. A balloon house was built, engines were set up for
producing hydrogen gas, and in due time the balloon was inflated. By
July 1 everything was ready.
Andrée and his two companions now waited anxiously for a south wind,
which they believed would blow them to the North Pole. They waited ten
days, until, on the morning of July 11, 1897, a strong, steady wind
from the south was blowing.
Great was the excitement on Dane’s island when the men began to tear
down the house where the balloon was imprisoned, and attach the car.
At 2.30 P.M., July 11, 1897, Andrée and his two companions, Nils
Strindberg and Knut Fraenkel, jumped into the car, and gave orders to
cut the last ropes.
[Illustration: ANDRÉE BEGINS HIS JOURNEY.]
Slowly the immense, airy structure rose to a height of a few hundred
feet, and sailed in a northerly direction out over Dane’s gate. Then
it dropped suddenly, as if it had received a current of air from above,
and almost touched the sea. Andrée threw out some sand bags, when the
balloon rose again to a height of about three thousand feet, and sailed
away in the same northerly direction. About an hour after the start, it
was lost to sight in the clouds.
Some days later a carrier pigeon was shot in the rigging of an Arctic
schooner off Spitzbergen. The pigeon had a message from Andrée tied
under its wing. The message was dated July 13, and stated that the
balloon sailed one hundred and forty-five geographical miles to the
northward, and then headed east. It had traveled forty-five miles
eastward when the pigeon was sent out.
From that day to this, no other message has been received from Andrée.
Andrée believed that his balloon would float for six weeks, but the
men who watched the start, said that it lost much gas and much ballast
before it passed out of sight. They thought that it might have floated
about fifteen days. Two thirds of the guide ropes, upon which Andrée
depended for steering, were also lost at starting. At first the balloon
traveled about twenty-five or thirty miles an hour. At this rate of
speed, sailing northward, Andrée should have reached the pole in
less than two days. But every ray of sunshine, every puff of colder
or warmer wind, cause a balloon to rise or fall, and the methods of
guiding and handling the delicate appliance are not yet thoroughly
understood.
No one knows what happened to the balloon after it rose out of sight of
the men on Dane’s island. For several years Andrée’s friends refused to
believe that he had perished. They thought that he might be wandering
about in the Frozen North in the care of some of the Eskimo tribes.
Many stories have reached us from time to time bearing upon the fate of
Andrée, but upon investigation they have all proved to be false. The
only authentic trace which has been found is a buoy picked up northeast
of Spitzbergen in 1899. This buoy was taken to Sweden, and proved to be
the one which Andrée had taken with him for the purpose of dropping it,
with a letter, in case he crossed the pole. No letter was found, but
an anchor was attached to the buoy. This led to the supposition that
the buoy and anchor were thrown out to lighten the balloon and keep it
afloat a while longer, or else that the balloon had been lost in the
sea and the buoy and anchor had drifted away.
It is now generally believed that Andrée and his two companions lost
their lives through the descent of the balloon into the ocean.
XX. EXPEDITIONS OF 1902
During the spring of 1902, several expeditions were at work in the
Northern regions, each hoping to be the first to reach the pole.
One of the most important was the Ziegler-Baldwin expedition, equipped
by Mr. William Ziegler of New York, and commanded by Mr. Evelyn Briggs
Baldwin. This was the largest and probably the best equipped expedition
sent out. Baldwin had two ships, four hundred Eskimo dogs, and fifteen
Siberian ponies. His flagship, the _America_, was a stoutly built
whaler and carried a cargo of six hundred tons. His other ship, the
_Fridtjof_, carried the scientific instruments.
Through the generosity of Mr. Ziegler, practically perfect scientific
apparatus accompanied the expedition, and Mr. Baldwin was assisted by
experts in geographical charting, geology, botany, and meteorology.
Both the _America_ and the _Fridtjof_ reached Franz Josef land, but
very little significant work was accomplished. Instead of wintering
in the North as had been planned, Mr. Baldwin returned to Norway. Mr.
Ziegler, however, has not faltered in his determination to find the
pole, and he has sent out another expedition for that purpose which is
now in the North.
A Russian expedition excited widespread interest. Admiral Marakoff
constructed an ice-breaking steamship, and with it expected to
force his way through the ice to the pole. The steamer is called the
_Ermack_, and is a very powerful ship, able to stand fifteen times the
strain which may safely be brought to bear upon the average steel ship.
In breaking the ice, the _Ermack_ rises upon it and crushes it down.
The forward propeller sucks away the water underneath the ice, and thus
reduces the resistance.
Admiral Marakoff believed that the ice near the pole was thin, and that
his ship would be able to steam directly to that long-sought-for goal.
But in battling against the wide and heavy ice floes of the Arctic
ocean, the _Ermack_ proved a failure. It is said, however, that she
made five successful trips between Nova Zembla and Franz Josef land.
Another expedition, the progress of which was watched with interest,
was that of the Duke of Abruzzi, who is cousin to the king of Italy.
He started for the North Pole in the _Stella Polare_, in 1899. In the
spring of 1900, he succeeded in arriving within 239.15 statute miles of
the pole. This record surpassed Nansen’s by twenty-three miles, and is,
therefore, the best yet made.
It is said that Abruzzi and Nansen will join in command of an
expedition which will start from Franz Josef land. Both men have done
valuable work in the icy North, and important results are expected from
their united efforts.
Captain Bernier, a French Canadian, planned to enter the Arctic by way
of Bering strait. He expected then to travel over the route taken by
the _Jeannette_. Bernier hoped to be carried near the pole by the ice
drift. When he had reached a suitable place, he intended to leave his
ship and proceed to the pole by means of dog sledges, reindeer sledges,
and boats. The newly invented system of wireless telegraphy was to be
used by Captain Bernier, as a means of communication with his ship.
Captain Otto Sverdrup, in command of the _Fram_, was already in the
North in 1902. Sverdrup won his spurs, you will remember, while on the
famous Nansen expedition. He was sent out by the Norwegian government
to explore the northern coast of Greenland, and to connect Peary’s work
on the east coast with that of a German expedition on the west coast.
Robert Stein’s expedition had not the proper equipment to seek the
pole, but was designed for the exploration of Ellesmere land. Stein
returned without accomplishing much valuable work.
A novel plan has been announced by Dr. Anschutz Kampfe. Dr. Kampfe
proposes to build a submarine boat, and proceed to the pole beneath the
ice.
For more than three hundred years, men have struggled to reach the
North Pole. They have braved bitter winds and faced starvation and
death, in order to wrest the secrets of nature from the great white
North.
Since Sir John Franklin’s first trip to the Arctic regions, interest
in the Frozen North has never flagged. Very grave doubts as to the
wisdom of spending so large sums of money and of risking so many human
lives have arisen in the minds of those who have followed the story
of suffering and death. It is natural in this century, when men are
counting the cost of every project, to ask wherein lies the advantage
of exploring the polar country, since the work is in every case so
difficult, so dangerous, and in many cases fatal. But we may feel sure
that the work will never cease until every part of the Frozen North is
known.
Beyond the additions to our store of meteorological knowledge, and
of botanical and geological facts, there has been a decided addition
to the world’s wealth by Arctic exploration: not in money, but in
character; not in conquest, but in heroism; not in material success,
but in those experiences which make men strong and enduring. The world
is already richer in mines and money than it is in men of courage
and in high acts of duty and bravery. Thrilling deeds, glorious
perseverance, and unwearied patience are the noblest fruits of Arctic
exploration.
XXI. THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH POLE BY ROBERT E. PEARY
1909
The struggle to reach the North Pole was still waging. Robert E. Peary
was not a man to give up until he had reached the goal. The Peary
Arctic Club again gave him financial assistance, and a vessel was
constructed that could be forced through dense ice. Theodore Roosevelt
was then President of the United States, and Commander Peary called his
ship the _Roosevelt_, because, as he said, the name stood for strength
and determination.
In June, 1905, he set sail, and reached the north coast of Grant Land,
where he spent the winter, and in the spring he started northward with
sledges and dogs. He made his way to 87° 6ʹ on April 21, 1906. This was
less than two hundred miles from the Pole, and was the best record as
yet.
Even for the far North that season was unusually severe. Violent winds
and snowstorms separated the explorer from his supply depots, and he
was forced to return, killing his dogs for food on the way. He was not
discouraged, for he felt that every failure gave him more experience,
which would enable him to achieve success some day.
The Peary Arctic Club again helped him, and Zenas Crane and many other
public-spirited men sent donations of money. The death of Morris K.
Jesup was a severe blow to him. Mr. Jesup had given him much support,
both by his belief in Peary’s ability to reach the Pole, and by
rendering financial aid to the expedition.
[Illustration:
Copyright, 1910, by William H. Rau.
PEARY IN ARCTIC COSTUME.]
When, through the efforts of General Hubbard, president of the Peary
Arctic Club, the needed money was at last procured, Peary completed his
plans. He believed that in order to reach the Pole he must adopt the
manner of life of the Eskimos. These natives of the Arctic zone know
how to travel over the icy seas with less discomfort and danger than
any other people.
Peary again, as in his previous expeditions, decided to engage the
hardy Eskimos from Whale Sound, with their dogs, for the mainstay
of his party, and to take with him as few white men as possible.
The expedition was thus mostly made up of natives accustomed to the
difficulties and hardships of Arctic travel.
Then came the question of selecting the white men who were to accompany
him. The following were chosen: Captain Robert A. Bartlett, as master
of the _Roosevelt_; George A. Wardwell, chief engineer; Dr. J. W.
Goodsell, surgeon; Matthew A. Henson, Peary’s negro assistant, who had
been with him on many Arctic voyages, an excellent dog driver, and able
to manage a sledge nearly as well as the best Eskimo driver; Ross G.
Marvin of Cornell, Donald B. McMillan of Worcester, Mass., and George
Borup of Yale, as assistants.
On July 6, 1908, the expedition sailed from New York on the
_Roosevelt_, and July 17 from Sydney, Cape Breton. At the start, the
white members of the party numbered twenty-two, and at Etah Peary found
plenty of Eskimos willing to go with him.
These Eskimos, known as the Whale Sound Eskimos, are the most northerly
race known. They migrate along the coast from Cape York to Etah, and
are remarkable for their strength and endurance. From among them Peary
selected his company; here, also, he procured many fine dogs, without
whose help and service the Pole could not have been reached.
The _Roosevelt_ steamed northward from Etah, pushing her way through
the ice pack towards Cape Sheridan, on the northern coast of Grant
Land. During the trip the Eskimo men were put to work making sledges
and harness, and the women began to make winter garments for the men.
There was much sewing to be done, for the white men wore in winter just
the same kind of clothing that the Eskimos did.
McMillan, Borup, and Dr. Goodsell found amusement in watching the women
at their sewing. Sitting on the ground or whatever is nearest, they
take off their footgear and put out one foot. Then holding one end of
the material between their toes, using the foot as a third hand, they
sew the seam away from them, instead of toward them as our women do. It
looked odd enough, but the spectators had to admit that the work was
done well. The Eskimos sewed the furs and skins together so closely and
skillfully that the cold could not creep through.
These industrious women made stockings and mittens of fur, boots of
skins, trousers of skins of the polar bear, jackets of deer or fox
skin, and hoods of fur, finished around the face with thick rolls of
foxtails.
All were happy and comfortable for a while, but as they advanced the
ice became thicker and the ship was in great danger. It took all
Peary’s knowledge of the coast, and all Bartlett’s skill in navigation,
to keep the _Roosevelt_ from being crushed in the ice.
Every person on board, both whites and Eskimos, tied his most necessary
belongings into a bundle and stood ready to jump over the side of the
boat at a moment’s notice in case the ship should be destroyed. But
skill and perseverance conquered, and the _Roosevelt_ reached Cape
Sheridan in safety.
Here on the shore of the Arctic sea the party wintered, spending their
time in massing supplies at places farther north, where they were
likely to be needed later. Hunting was good, musk oxen, bear, and deer
were plentiful, and large supplies of fresh meat were obtained. The men
of science took tidal and meteorological observations, and a happy and
busy winter was spent.
On October 12 the party said good-by to the sun; the twilight darkened
and the long Arctic night set in. Peary did not wait for the sun to
return, but as soon as it was light enough to travel he renewed the
journey to the Pole.
[Illustration:
From “Fighting the Polar Ice,” copyright by Anthony Fiala.
MOONLIGHT IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS.]