THE PLAN 5 



Land (diagonally against the set of the ice). An 

 adjunct of this program will probably be the estab- 

 lishment of a depot well up the north coast of Green- 

 land by the first of the supporting parties returning 

 to the ship." 



The main features of this program I summarized 

 as follows: 



"First, the utilization of the Smith Sound or 'Amer- 

 ican' route. This must be accepted to-day as the 

 best of all possible routes for a determined, aggressive 

 attack upon the Pole. Its advantages are a land base 

 one hundred miles nearer the Pole than is to be found 

 at any other point of the entire periphery of the Arctic 

 Ocean, a long stretch of coast line upon which to return, 

 and a safe and (to me) well-known line of retreat 

 independent of assistance, in the event of any mishap 

 to the ship. 



"Second, the selection of a winter base which com- 

 mands a wider range of the central polar sea and its 

 surrounding coasts than any other possible base in 

 the Arctic regions. Cape Sheridan is practically equi- 

 distant from Crocker Land, from the remaining 

 unknown portion of the northeast coast of Greenland, 

 and from my 'Nearest the Pole' of 1906. 



"Third, the use of sledges and Eskimo dogs. Man 

 and the Eskimo dog are the only two machines capa- 

 ble of such adjustment as to meet the wide demands 

 and contingencies of Arctic travel. Airships, motor 

 cars, trained polar bears, etc., are all premature, 

 except as a means of attracting public attention. 



"Fourth, the use of the hyperborean aborigine (the 

 Whale Sound Eskimo) for the rank and file of the sledge 



