644 



The National Geographic Magazine 



An Eskimo Child 



Photos by Robert E. Peary 



Eskimo Man and Wife 



The vessel, for which funds were fur- 

 nished by the Peary Arctic Club of New 

 York, was designed particularly for arctic 

 exploration. She cost about $100,000. 

 The vessel has a crew of 20 men, under 

 Captain Bartlett. 



The best part of the last 20 years Com- 

 mander Peary has given to Arctic work. 

 He has mapped over 600 miles of coast 

 line, measuring from headland to head- 

 land, without following the numerous 

 deep indentations. Nearly half of it is 

 entirely new coast line which Peary alone 

 has seen. 



He has proved Greenland an island 

 and mapped its northern coast line ; he 

 has defined and mapped the islands to the 

 north of Greenland, known as the Green- 

 land Archipelago; he has shown that an 

 ice-covered Arctic sea probably extends 

 from the Greenland Archipelago to the 

 North Pole; he has reached the most 

 northerly known land in the world; he 



has gained the most northerly point yet 

 reached — 87 6' ; he has studied the Es- 

 kimo as only one can who has lived with 

 them for years ; he has added much to our 

 knowledge of Arctic fauna and flora; of 

 the musk ox, the Arctic hare, and the 

 deer; the notes he has made during the 

 past years will benefit meteorology and 

 geology. 



Aside from the satisfaction of having 

 done a great and heroic work, there has 

 been no material gain for Mr Peary in 

 these years devoted to Arctic discovery. 

 He is known as one of the most talented 

 men in the naval service, and if he had 

 remained in active service would now 

 probably hold a higher official rank than 

 he does. Mrs Peary, the devoted and 

 able assistant of her husband's plans ; Mr 

 Morris K. Jessup, and Mr Herbert L. 

 Bridgman, president and secretary of the 

 Peary Arctic Club, share in large meas- 

 ure in the success of the expedition. 



