Peary's Work in igoi-1902 



385 



March 6 I started with the main party 

 of iS sledges, leaving Percy in charge 

 at Payer Harbor. 



Conger was reached in 12 marches, 

 arriving within an hour or two of the 

 advance part}-. 



My supporting party of Eskimo re- 

 turning from Conger brought down the 

 instruments, chronometers, and Arctic 

 library. 



Eight marches more took us to Cape 

 Hekla. The north end of Robison Chan- 

 nel was all open water to the Greenland 

 coast, and lakes of water extended north- 

 ward as far as could be seen from Black 

 Cape and Cape Rawson. 



From Hekla another supporting party 

 returned. 



April 1 I started northward over the 

 polar sea with Henson, four Eskimo, 

 and six sledges. 



Old floes covered deep with snow and 

 intersected with rubble ridges and lanes 

 of young ice were encountered from the 

 moment we left the ice foot. The same 

 kind of traveling (except the lanes of 

 young ice) was found by the English 

 expedition of 1876. 



After six marches open leads and 

 floes in motion were encountered. Two 

 natives were sent back. 



As we advanced the floes became 

 smaller, the pressure ridges on a grander 

 scale, and the open leads more frequent. 

 Each day 's march was very tortuous and 

 our general course deflected west by the 

 character of the ice. 



Finally atS-i 17'north latitude, north- 

 west of Hekla, the polar pack became 

 impracticable and further efforts to ad- 

 vance were given up. New leads and 

 pressure ridges, with foggy weather, 

 made our return in some respects more 

 trying than the advance. Hekla was 

 regained April 29 and Conger May 3. 

 Leaving Conger May 6, Cape Sabine on 

 the 17th, a few days later, I went north 

 as far as Cape Louis Napoleon to com- 

 plete the survey of Dobbin Bay, return- 

 ing the first of June. 



A proposed trip westward across 

 Ellesmereland was prevented by open 

 water in Buchanan Bay. The ice broke 

 up earlier than in 1901, and Payer 

 Harbor was blockaded almost contin- 

 uously. 



The Windward bored her way through 

 the ice and entered the harbor on the 

 morning of August 5, and got out the 

 same afternoon, with scarcely 15 min- 

 utes to spare before the harbor was 

 closed by the ice. Forcing our way 

 across Smith Sound, my Eskimo with 

 their belongings were landed in Ingle- 

 field Gulf, and several days devoted to 

 hunting walrus for their winter sub- 

 sistence ; then the Windward started 

 south, reaching and leaving Cape York 

 the afternoon of August 28. 



Calling at Godhaven, Greenland, and 

 Cape Haven, Baffinland , the Windward 

 arrived at Choteau Bay, Labrador, Sep- 

 tember 14 and sent dispatches. 



The summer voyage has been with- 

 out mishap, and the Windward, with 

 her new engines, has made as good time 

 as the larger and more powerful ships 

 that have been going north the past ten 

 years. 



The year at Payer Harbor was passed 

 comfortably, though the anxious strain 

 caused by the ravages of disease among 

 my faithful people was not light. Food 

 was abundant, and our supply of musk 

 ox and deer meat continuous through- 

 out the year. 



The northern sledge trip in the spring 

 was arduous, but not marked by special 

 exposure, suffering, or danger more 

 than is necessarily incident to serious 

 Arctic work. 



The equipment and personnel was 

 satisfactory, and further advance was 

 vetoed by insuperable natural condi- 

 tions. 



The Wi?idivard has on board the in- 

 struments, chronometers, and Arctic li- 

 brary abandoned by the Greely expedi- 

 tion at Conger, numerous specimens in 

 natural history, bear, musk ox, rein- 



