280 PEARY WELCOMED HOME 



of ten school girls dressed in white then went forward and while Commander 

 Peary stood at attention before them Miss Naomi Kehl, daughter of the Amer- 

 ican consul, recited a short address of welcome and presented the commander 

 with a beautiful bouquet. 



The party then entered carriages and were driven to their hotel. The 

 police had to clear a way for them through the crowd of 10,000 people that 

 filled the square. At the hotel Commander Peary was Avelcomed by the city 

 aldermen. 



At the hotel Commander Peary was soon holding an impromptu reception. 

 Standing on the steps of his carriage, he shook hands with scores of people who 

 struggled to reach him. Rising in his carriage, Mayor Richardson read an 

 address of welcome from the citizens of Sydney congratulating Commander 

 Peary on his success in reaching the pole and his safe return and wishing him 

 and the members of his family good health and a long life. 



Commander Peary expressed his appreciation of the welcome extended 

 him. Eleven times, he said, he had sailed from Sydney for the north ; once he 

 had returned with "farthest north" and now he came back with the pole itself. 



At the conclusion of the handshaking and greetings Commander Peary 

 retired to his room. 



The Roosevelt had passed the previous day at St. Paul's island and James 

 Campbell, superintendent of the Canadian government station there, enter- 

 tained Capt. Robert Bartlett and Prof. McMillan of the Peary expedition at 

 his residence on shore. As soon as his guests were in his house Mr. Campbell 

 turned to them and said : 



"Now, gentlemen, this island is yours; what is the first thing you want?" 

 Without a moment's hesitation and in unison Capt. Bartlett and Prof. McMil- 

 lan replied : 



"A glass of real milk." 



Commander Peary, after leaving Sydney, made a kind of triumphal tour 

 through Maine on a railroad train. 



On his arrival in Portland the evening of September 23, Peary was given an 

 enthusiastic welcome by a large portion of the population. He was met at the 

 station by Mayor Leighton and the reception committee in carriages and es- 

 corted to the Auditorium, where he held a public reception. 



Four companies of militia and a long procession of residents, all carrying 

 red fire, marched behind the carriages. The streets from the station to the 

 Auditorium were lined with people. Thousands cheered the explorer as he 

 passed. 



