450 FIELD WORK OF TBE PEARY ARCTIC CLU3, 1898-1902. 



Fortunately, the night before I arrived, one of the Eskimos secured 

 several musk oxen above St. Patricks Bav, which enabled me to feed 

 my dogs Ijefore starting south, which I did with the entire party on 

 April IT. 



April 30. — At Hayes Point I met the party from the Whu7v:ard 

 attempting to reach Conger, and received my mail, learning that the 

 Windward was at Payer Harbor with Mrs. Peary and our little girl 

 on board. After a rest at the D'Urville box house, I went on to the 

 Windward, arriving May 6. 



After a few days' rest the work of establishing pew caches along the 

 coast northward toward Conger was commenced, and continued until 

 the middle of June. 



Then the preparing of Payer Harbor for winter quarters was car- 

 ried on till July 3, when the Windward broke out of the ice and 

 steamed over to the Greenland side. 



July was devoted to killing walrus, and li}8 were secured and trans- 

 ported to Pa3^er Harbor. 



Ai/r/ust 4.. — The Erik, sent up b}' the club in command of Secretary 

 H. L. Bridgman to communicate with me, arrived at Etah. 



The usual tour of visits to the Eskimo settlements was then made, 

 and both ships pressed into the work of hunting walrus until August 

 24, when the Windwa7'd proceeded southward, and the Erik steamed 

 away to land me and my party and the catch of walrus at Paj^er 

 Har})or. 



A large quantity of heavy ice blocking the way to Payer Harbor, I 

 requested Secretary Bridgman to land me and my party and walrus 

 meat in a small bight, some 12 or 15 miles south of Cape Sabine, from 

 whence I could proceed to Payer Harbor in ni}' boats or sledges when 

 opportunity offered. This was done, and on the 29th of August the 

 Erik steamed away. 



1901-2. 



On the 16th of September I succeeded in reaching Payer Harbor, 

 crossing Rosse Bay partly by sledge and partly by boat, and going 

 overland across Bedford Pim Island. 



Soon after this my Eskimos began to sicken, and ])y November 19, 

 6 of them were dead. 



During this time I personall}^ sledged much of the material from 

 Erik Harbor to headquarters, and Henson went to the head of Buchanan 

 Bay with some of the Eskimos and secured 10 musk oxen. 



The winter passed quietly and comfortabl3\ Two more musk oxen 

 were secured in Buchanan Bay, and 6 deer at Etah. 



January 2. — ^Work was begun in earnest on preparations for the 

 spring campaign, which opened on the 11th of February. On this 

 day I sent off 6 sledges, with light loads, to select a road across the 



