THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH POLE 



71 



in America for Arctic work, for which 

 she was designed especially by the Com- 

 mander. Fighting- her way up through 

 Kane Basin and Kennedy Channel by the 

 Baffin Bay route, she reached Point Sher- 

 idan, on the north coast of Grant Land, 

 where winter camp was made. Early 

 the following spring he divided his 

 force into four parties, each with its 

 sledges and dogs, Eskimo drivers and 

 hunters. This expedition is of such re- 

 cent event that I need not remind you of 

 it. Suffice it to say that now after hav- 

 ing occupied points, "one on the most 

 northerly point of Grant Land, and thus 

 of the North American Archipelago ; 

 another on the most northerly point of 

 Greenland, and the third on the northern 

 point of Peary Land, the most northerly 

 point in the world ever visited by man, 

 he wins the pennant for highest north 

 in latitude 87° 6'." 



All this was a schooling for that "last 

 great struggle to plant the American flag 

 at the pole," the story concerning which 

 the members of the National Geographic 

 Society have been privileged to hear 

 from our honored guest's own lips. Was 

 there ever a campaign carried out after 

 so much physical and mental efifort as 

 Peary's last? If, as Dr Lyman Abbott 

 has said, its Commander has done noth- 

 ing else, he has taught the youth of our 

 country the lesson of hard work and per- 

 severance to their everlasting benefit. 



Remember the last and final effort of 

 his life in this direction was based on an 

 original design. As he says, "the Eski- 

 mos with their dogs are the factors that 

 make the search for the pole feasible." 

 He became one of the tribe — the leader 

 of the tribe. They called him their 

 father ; he called them his children. A 

 theme could be written on this one text, 

 and yet how little it is understood except 

 by those who have been Peary's com- 

 panions. 



Captain Bartlett told me that the Es- 

 kimos would follow the Commander as 

 they would no other man under the sun ; 

 that they were afraid of the sea ice as a 

 little child was of the sea water, but they 

 would follow Peary anywhere; that 



there was not another living man that 

 could get an Eskimo far away from the 

 land ; that even Peary had doubts on this 

 subject at times, and he would say confi- 

 dentially to his ever faithful assistant, 

 Bartlett, "Are there any signs of deser- 

 tions?" to which the latter would reply, 

 with a strong voice but fearful heart, 

 "Oh, no, don't think of it; they will fol- 

 low you to the last," and so they did. I 

 am satisfied that Bartlett was right — that 

 while their love was tested to the ex- 

 treme the Eskimos would follow Peary 

 to the ends of the earth, but that they 

 could be led by no other man more than 

 "two sleeps" from land. 



After returning from this last expedi- 

 tion I heard Peary say once, "I can never 

 go again to the Arctic regions; I am get- 

 ting too old," but his never-say-die grit 

 overcame his yearning for the home life 

 and rest he so much needed, and he is 

 soon in training for the death struggle 

 of his life. Acting under the laws of 

 Congress, to the effect that as far as 

 practicable all hydrographic work of the 

 U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey shall 

 be done by naval officers, he was detailed 

 by direction of President Roosevelt, the 

 patron of all such efforts as Peary's, to 

 that department to carry on hydrographic 

 investigation in Arctic seas in associa- 

 tion with the Peary Arctic Club of New 

 York. And let me say here that the one 

 sounding of 1,500 fathoms without 

 reaching bottom made by Peary near the 

 pole is worth to the country more than 

 all the money expended in the entire ex- 

 pedition, but the great mass of scientific 

 data accumulated in his 23 years of effort 

 has enriched the land beyond the expend- 

 iture of any possible amount of money. 



The last of Peary's campaigns was a 

 masterpiece of strategy. His force was 

 divided into four grand divisions, led by 

 brilliant chiefs. We can hardly over- 

 estimate the value of this organization. 



I would call your attention right here 

 to the selection of Captain Bartlett for 

 the command of his fourth division, the 

 post of honor. Remember that this was 

 the one man who alone was fully compe- 

 tent to take the Roosevelt from her ice 



