Magnetic Survey of the Pacific 



447 



PEARY'S POLAR EXPEDITION 



THE substantial and exceedingly 

 generous subscription of $10,000 

 by Mr Zenas Crane, of Dalton, Massa- 

 chusetts, to the Peary Polar Expedition 

 will probably enable Commander Peary 

 to go north again in July, 1908. The. 

 Roosevelt has been refitted with new 

 boilers and machinery and stocked with 

 sufficient provisions for three years' ab- 

 sence. Provided $15,000 additional is 

 subscribed, and we are informed by 

 Commander Peary that he has good 

 hope of obtaining this amount, the ex- 

 pedition will leave New York early in 

 July. Commander Peary will take a 

 second ship as far as Smith Sound to 

 carry extra supplies and coal for the 

 Roosevelt. After embarking his Es- 

 quimo at Etah, Greenland, he plans to 

 force the Roosevelt as far north as the 

 ship attained on his last expedition, and 

 then to winter on the north coast of 

 Grant Land, making his polar dash in 

 the spring of 1909. 



If Commander Peary can establish his 

 winter's base for the coming expedition 

 as far north as he had it last time, we 

 have strong reasons for believing that he 

 will succeed in reaching the Pole on the 

 next attempt. His last dash across the 

 ice was unsuccessful largely owing to the 

 rapid current discovered by him setting 

 eastward across the northernmost coast. 

 This current, however, he intends shall 

 help his advance on the present expedi- 

 tion, as he will march in a northwesterly 

 direction instead of aiming straight for 

 the Pole when he leaves land. The cur- 

 rent would then carry him toward the 

 Pole instead of- away from it. Readers 

 of this Magazine are referred to the spe- 

 cial map of the North Polar regions and 

 the Arctic number, July, 1907, which 

 shows the route planned by Commander 

 Peary for the present expedition. 



It would be most unfortunate if suffi- 

 cient funds were not forthcoming to en- 

 able Commander Peary to go north once 

 more. He is in the prime of life and has 

 more than twenty years of success- 

 ful Arctic experience behind him. Mr 

 Zenas Crane merits the cordial approval 



of all Americans who want to see this 

 great geographical problem solved soon 

 and by an American. 



MAGNETIC SURVEY OF THE 

 PACIFIC 



WITH the return of the yacht Gali- 

 lee to San Francisco on May 

 21, after an absence of nearly three years, 

 a most successful expedition is brought 

 to a close. This yacht was chartered by 

 the Department of Research in Terres- 

 trial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institu- 

 tion of Washington in order to make a 

 magnetic survey of the Pacific Ocean, 

 both in the interest of safe navigation of 

 these waters and of r r.gnetic science in 

 general. 'For a fuller statement of the 

 objects of the work and of the results of 

 practical and scientific importance ob- 

 tained, the reader is referred to the ar- 

 ticle by the Director of the Department 

 of Terrestrial Magnetism, Dr L. A. 

 Bauer, on "The Work in the Pacific 

 Ocean of the Magnetic Survey Yacht 

 Galilee," in this Magazine, September, 

 1907. 



For the greater part of her lengthy 

 cruise the Galilee was commanded by 

 Mr W. J. Peters, the scientific repre- 

 sentative of the National Geographic 

 Society on the Ziegler Polar Expedition. 

 He has been assisted by the following ob- 

 servers, assigned to him at various 

 times : Messrs J. P. Ault, D. C. Sowers, 

 J. C. Pearson, P. H. Dike, Dr Martyn, 

 and Dr George Peterson. Captain J. T. 

 Hayes, a skillful sailing master, had 

 charge of the navigation of the vessel 

 throughout the cruises. Dr Bauer in his 

 various reports accords the highest 

 praise to Mr Peters and his assistants 

 for the very satisfactory and expeditious 

 manner in which the magnetic work was 

 performed. 



The total length of the cruises exe- 

 cuted in the Pacific Ocean during the 

 period of not quite three years aggre- 

 gates 65,000 miles, or equivalent to a 

 circumnavigation of the globe two and a 

 half times. The cruises extended from 

 the Pacific to the Asiatic coast and from 

 the Aleutian Islands down to New Zea- 



