ARCTIC S. S. "ROOSEVELT'* 369 



beams just below the water-line forming with steel 

 rods and inclined posts and struts to the ship's sides 

 and bilges, a strong truss at an interval of every four 

 feet in the length of the ship. 



The housing of the personnel of the expedition in 

 light structures on deck, which personal experience 

 has shown to be much the simpler and better plan 

 than below decks, permits a stronger and more effec- 

 tive arrangement of these trusses than has been at- 

 tained in previous ships. The interior of the bow, 

 which is to the ship what the cestus was to the ancient 

 gladiator, is filled in solid with timbers and iron. 



The stem also, as well as the stem, is iron-plated, 

 and the rudder post, which is the Achilles's heel of an 

 Arctic ship, is of unusually strong construction. The 

 rudder is so arranged that it can be hoisted on deck 

 out of the way of the ice if necessary. The propeller 

 is so arranged that it can be used either as a two- 

 bladed or a four-bladed propeller, and is made of 

 unusual strength. Powerful deck appliances in the 

 shape of windlass, steam capstans and winch, enable 

 the ship to warp herself out of a dangerous place, or 

 pull herself off the bottom should she get aground. 



The whole plan and theory of the ship was, first, 

 that her strength, her power, her weight, her carrying 

 capacity, should all be below the main deck, and that 

 everything above deck — houses, bulwarks, spars, sails, 

 rigging, boats and equipment — should be as light as 

 possible, to permit more coal in the hold; and second, 

 that not a dollar was to be wasted on fittings or frills, 

 everything to be for strength, power, and effectiveness. 



The keel of the Roosevelt was laid October 15, 1904, 



