144 PEARY'S LATER VOYAGES 



84 degrees north latitude. The expedition of 1905-6, however, was more 

 important than any Peary had undertaken as a stepping-stone toward his attain- 

 ment of the North pole. This time he dashed as far as latitude 87, the highest 

 mark yet attained by any polar explorer. This expedition is worth consider- 

 ing in some detail. Peary and his followers left New York July 16, 1905. 

 The loyal old Kite had long since been out of service, and a staunch new boat, 

 one of the best ever designed for polar service, was the vessel on which the 

 explorer rode out of New York harbor. It had been christened by Mrs. 

 Peary, who appropriately broke a piece of ice over its bows, and its name 

 was the Roosevelt. As the reader will recognize, this was the same craft that 

 took Peary to Greenland on the pole-finding trip of 1909. 



The Roosevelt sailed up Baffin Bay to Etah, Greenland, the favorite port 

 for Arctic travelers, and there was put in final shape for a hard journey amid 

 the ice. After taking on board a large party of Eskimos, to act as hunters 

 and guides, the boat sailed from Etah Aug. 17 of the same year. Among the 

 most important travelers were 200 Eskimo dogs. After cruising about for 

 some time in an effort to find the best place "from which to begin a swift journey 

 toward the pole, Peary ran his craft into a nook under Cape Sheridan, one of 

 the most northerly capes of Grant Land. Here some terrible experiences 

 were met, which are vividly told in one of Peary's own accounts of the expe- 

 dition: . ~ 



"Sept. 16," says Peary, "a large floe pivoted around Cape Sheridan, crush- 

 ing everything before it, until at last it held the ship mercilessly between its 

 blue side and the unyielding face of the ice-foot. Its slow, resistless motion 

 was frightful, yet fascinating. * * * The pressure was terrific; the Roose- 

 velt's ribs and interior bracing cracked like the discharge of musketry. The 

 main deck amidships bulged up several inches, the main rigging hung slack, 

 and the masts and rigging shook as in a violent gale; then, with a mighty 

 tremor and a sound which reminded one of an athlete inhaling his breath for 

 a .supreme effort, the ship jumped upward. The big floe snapped against the 

 edge of the ice-foot forward and aft under us, crumpling up its edge and 

 driving it inshore some yards, and the commotion was transferred to the outer 

 edge of the floe, which crumbled away with a dull roar as other floes smashed 

 against it and tore off great pieces in the onward rush— leaving us stranded 

 but safe. This incident, of course, put an end to all thoughts of further 



advance." 



Further advance by ship, Peary meant. He had no thought of being dis- 



