Honors to Peary 



49 



Not only the people in the Imperial 

 Valle)' are threatened, but also the La- 

 guna Dam above Yuma, which has been 

 built at a cost of one million dollars. The 

 great cataract, which resembles Niagara 

 Falls and is 1,500 to 1,800 yards wide 

 and has a fall of 90 to 100 feet, is work- 



ing backward at the rate of one-third of 

 a mile a day. If not checked it will reach 

 and destroy the Laguna Dam, and ulti- 

 mately deprive of water every farm along 

 the Colorado River up to the Grand Can- 

 yon, causing a damage of approximately 

 one billion dollars. 



HONORS TO PEARY 



An account of the presentation of the Hubbard Medal to Commander 

 Robert B. Peary, U. S. Navy, by President Roosevelt, on behalf of the National 

 Geographic Society, at the annual dinner of the Society, December 15, 1906, with 

 the congratulatory addresses of President Roosevelt, the Italian Ambassador , 

 and the Secretary of the Navy, and Mr Peary's responses. 



ABOUT 400 members and guests 

 of the National Geographic So- 

 ciety united to pay honor to 

 Commander Robert E. Peary, U. S. 

 Navy, on the occasion of the annual ban- 

 quet of the Society, December 15, 1906. 

 Ten nations were represented by mem- 

 bers of the diplomatic corps and 20 states 

 by Senators and Representatives. A 

 number of members came from New 

 York and Philadelphia to attend. The 

 feature of the evening was the presenta- 

 tion of the Hubbard Medal to Mr Peary 

 by President Roosevelt on behalf of the 

 Society. The medal was specially struck 

 for the occasion, being made by Tiffany 

 & Co., of New York, under the direction 

 of Mr George F. Kunz, a member of the 

 Society. On one side it bears the seal of 

 the Society, and on the reverse the fol- 

 lowing inscription : "The Hubbard Medal, 

 awarded by the National Geographic So- 

 ciety to Robert E. Peary for arctic ex- 

 ploration. Farthest north, 87° 6'. De- 

 cember 15, 1906." A blue sapphire star, 

 from Montana, marks the point of far- 

 thest north attained by Mr Peary. 



The members were received in the 

 parlors of the New Willard by the Presi- 

 dent of the National Geographic Society 

 and Mrs Moore, Commander Peary (ill- 

 ness prevented Mrs Peary from being 

 present), and the Secretary of the Navy, 



from 7 to 7.30, after which the company 

 adjourned to the banquet hall. After an 

 invocation by Dr Edward Everett Hale, 

 Chaplain of the U. S. Senate, the guests 

 took the places assigned to them at the 

 twelve long tables, which had been deco- 

 rated by Small & Sons. The U. S. Ma- 

 rine Band played throughout the dinner. 

 President Roosevelt arrived after the din- 

 ner had been served and while Dr Cook 

 was speaking. 



The first toast of the evening was 

 drunk to the President of the United 

 States, and while the guests were stand- 

 ing the toastmaster. President Moore, 

 asked all to join in a moment of silent 

 memorial to the first President of the 

 Society, Gardiner Greene Hubbard. 



In his introductory remarks President 

 Moore called attention to the fact that 

 the National Geographic Society num- 

 bered in its ranks the best men of the 

 best nations of the world. He declared 

 that there were present at the dinner 

 some of the men who had achieved the 

 greatest discoveries in science, the great- 

 est lawmakers, the highest representa- 

 tives of the church. He said that from 

 small beginnings the Society had grown 

 until it now numbered 18,000 members, 

 and he added : "We are not modest in 

 our ambitions ; we wish to know all about 

 the earth, and the waters under the 



