THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH POLE 



77 



Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud 

 to think that the LInited States and Great 

 Britain have been partners in this splen- 

 did work of Arctic exploration. The 

 United States took up the work some 

 forty years ago, and the names of Kane 

 .and Greely and others, above all of Com- 

 mander Peary himself, show with what 

 •energy and spirit and courage and skill 

 .and perseverance you have pursued it. 



But do not let us forget, in the pride 

 which we feel in the achievements of the 

 ■stock to which we both belong, what has 

 Ijeen done by the other great nations of 

 the world, to some of whose members ref- 

 •erence has already been made, more par- 

 ticuLrly to the Duke of the Abruzzi. 

 whose representative is present here to- 

 night. Barentz must be remembered, 

 and Weyprecht and Nordenskjold. And 

 there is another man whose wonderful 

 ieat of launching himself out upon the 

 Arctic Sea and voyaging for many hun- 

 dreds of miles upon ice floes is perhaps 

 without parallel in history for its daring, 

 and ought to be remembered in the pres- 

 ence of the Minister from Norway — I 

 mean Dr Fridthjof Nansen. 



Now, ladies and gentlemen, I have the 

 great honor of being asked to present this 

 medal of your Society to Captain Bart- 

 lett. You, Captain Bartlett, belong to a 

 ■calling which has always been able to 

 Ijoast of a host of hardy and adventurous 

 seamen. You have been, on your own 

 grim, tempestuous coast of Newfound- 

 land, accustomed to all the perils of storm 

 and iceberg, and it is in the line of your 

 calling to know how to deal not only with 

 the dangers that icebergs threaten, but 

 with all the other terrors that the north- 

 ern seas contain. You belong to a fam- 

 ily which has signalized itself even in 

 your land by the number of gallant sea- 

 men it has produced. I may state that 

 there are so many Bartletts who have 

 made distinguished and successful voy- 

 ages on the North Atlantic coasts that 

 this one who we see here tonight is famil- 

 iarly known by his Christian name. He 

 stands out from the other Bartletts as 

 Captain Bob. He has had ten years' ex- 

 perience sailing with Commander Peary 



as the captain of his ships in his various 

 expeditions. And I want to tell you that 

 in those years that Captain Bartlett was 

 sailing there never was a man lost upon 

 those ships in those expeditions. 



Captain Bartlett, I have the honor to 

 present to you this medal. Brave men 

 are always generous, and Commander 

 Peary with characteristic generosity has 

 acknowledged how much he owes to you. 

 Your name will go down along with his 

 in connection with the discovery of the 

 North Pole, and you have in this medal 

 a trophy which you can pass on to those 

 who come after you as a memorial of the 

 honor, the well-earned honor, which the 

 National Geographic Society has paid to 

 you. 



Ladies and gentlemen, I rejoice to 

 think that Great Britain and the United 

 States are associated on this occasion. 

 And as we congratulate you, Captain 

 Bartlett, so I venture on behalf of my 

 country to congratulate you. Commander 

 Peary, and you, citizens of the United 

 States, upon this splendid achievement — 

 an achievement which will stand alone to 

 the end of time. 



RESPONSE BY CAPTAIN BARTEETT 



Mr President, ladies and gentlemen : I 

 would ask you just to bear with me for 

 about three minutes. I am afraid to 

 trust myself in speaking, but I have a few 

 words jotted down here that if you v/ill 

 not mind I will read off. 



I have the medal that you have been 

 kind enough to bestow upon me, and I 

 thank you in my heart. To be thus deco- 

 rated by so eminent a body as the Na- 

 tional Geographic Society is an honor of 

 which any man can justly feel proud. To 

 say, however, that the notice which you 

 have taken of me affords me pleasure of 

 the most genuine sort would be to state 

 only a part of the truth. I am more than 

 pleased. I am deeply moved at your 

 distinguished consideration. My happi- 

 ness in receiving this honor at your hands 

 is increased by the fact that I never ex- 

 pected it. It is as unexpected as it is 

 pleasant. It may be also that my appre- 

 ciation of this medal is enhanced bv the 



