54 THE STORY OF PEARY'S GREAT EXPLOIT 



Farther north trouble began, heavy ice being met, the "Roose- 

 velt" being driven ashore twice by the ice and somewhat injured. 

 On September 2d they succeeded in getting past Cape Union, at 

 which these troubles had occurred, and northward until Cape Sheri- 

 dan was reached on the 5th. They were now through Robeson 

 Channel and in the Polar Sea, at the northeast extremity of Grant 

 Land, opposite Greenland, which here trends off to the east, while 

 Grant Land trends to the west. Here the ship was put into winter 

 quarters, at a point close to the position at which it had wintered 

 three years before, and which was reached on the same day as on 

 that occasion. 



It had been Commander Peary's desire to winter at some point 

 much farther west, to avoid the difficulties which had formerly 

 imperilled his expedition. On that occasion he was greatly impeded 

 by the rapid drift of the ice to the east, which a little retarded his; 

 progress north, and, worse still, carried him so far to the east on 

 his return that he had to make his landing on the coast of North 

 Greenland, many days' march from the "Roosevelt," his base of 

 supplies, and put him in imminent danger of starvation. As it 

 happened, however, the ice conditions obliged him to put the "Roose- 

 velt" into nearly her old quarters of three years before. 



Cape Columbia, a point on the northern coast of Grant Land at 

 a considerable distance westward from Cape Sheridan, was now 

 selected as the starting point of the northward trip, and after the 

 work of landing stores and erecting a house and workshop had been 

 completed, sledging trips westward were inaugurated for the pur- 

 pose of conveying supplies to the chosen starting point. This con- 

 tinued from September I7th to November 5th, by which time a large 

 store of supplies was collected at Cape Columbia, ready for the 

 northward journey in the coming spring. Hunting parties were 

 also kept busy and much game was brought in. Meanwhile the ice 

 lifted the "Roosevelt," listing her eight or ten degrees to port, and 

 all winter she remained with her decks at a considerable slant. 



