158 PEARY'S FARTHEST NORTH OF 1905-6 



far as Independence Bay, thus completing the circuit of the island 

 with the exception of a small portion of its eastern coast, which has 

 since then been traversed. 



The ship he had left no longer awaited him, but on August 5th 

 a new "Windward" steamed into the harbor, a relief ship sent north- 

 ward by the Arctic Club. And to his delight and comfort, on its 

 deck appeared Mrs. Peary and her little daughter, the "snow-baby" 

 of nine years before. Hastily getting on board all that he had to 

 take back, he crossed the sound to the Greenland side and there 

 landed at their home the Eskimos who had faithfully stood by him 

 throughout these four long years of labor and adventure. One other 

 duty remained, to provide them and their dogs with food for the 

 coming winter. This was done by the killing of sufficient walrus 

 for the purpose, and then the "Windward" turned her prow south- 

 ward, reaching the outpost of civilization at Sydney, N. B., on Sep- 

 tember 17, 1902, after an absence of four and a quarter years. 



It might be supposed that Commander Peary a rank he had 

 now attained would have been ready to desist from Arctic explora- 

 tion after his sixteen years of almost continuous effort in the Arctic 

 wilds. But what he had done only whetted his appetite for what 

 remained to be done. The Pole was not yet reached and he could 

 not rest content until that goal of his life's struggle was attained. 

 He had not even reached the latitude gained in the Siberian seas, 

 and he could not rest until America had matched Europe in north- 

 ward progress. He was scarcely home from his four years in the 

 Arctic before he began to lay plans and make preparations for 

 another journey to the north, supported as before by the Peary 

 Arctic Club. 



A new ship was built for him, the first American ship ever 

 expressly constructed for Arctic work, one in a measure laid down 

 on the lines of Nansen's "Fram," and strengthened in every way 

 available against the crushing force of the floating ice. The "Roose- 

 velt" it was called, a name significant of effort, energy and success. 



