664 The National Geographic Magazine 



the third time the portals of Smith 

 Sound, and on August 5, improving a 

 fortunate few hours of open water, suc- 

 ceeded in embarking, at Payer Harbor, 

 Commander Peary, homeward bound 

 after four years' absence, and reached 

 Sydney safely, with his comrades of 

 1898, on September 15, closing the first 

 chapter and the definitive obligations of 

 the subscribers, the founders of the 

 Peary Arctic Club. 



A season of rest, but not of inaction, 

 followed. The work of the Windzvard 

 and her power, or rather lack of it, hav- 

 ing been demonstrated in serious Arctic 

 work, the steamer was sold early in 1903 

 to a Norwegian purchaser, who later 

 restored her, for a consideration, to 

 owners in her native Scotland. Com- 

 mander Peary, having secured in Septem- 

 ber, 1904, further leave of absence from 

 the service to prosecute and complete the 

 work of his life, immediately began 

 preparations for the construction of a 

 ship which could meet the difficulties and 

 could perform the service and could 

 break down the barriers which had so far 

 stopped advance to the North. 



Commander Peary's application for 

 leave, and the correspondence incident to 

 it, between him and the Department, are 

 so characteristic, and present so fully and 

 clearly his plans and purposes, and show 

 so faithfully his methods of reasoning 

 that, perhaps, the best idea of all may be 

 gained from these extracts, here pub- 

 lished for the first time : 



Department oe the Navy, 

 Bureau of Yards and Docks, 

 Washington, D. C, September 2, 1903. 



Sir : Referring to my application for leave 

 of absence accompanying this, I beg to state for 

 your information that I propose to secure a 

 suitable ship, put her into one of our best 

 ship yards, have her reinforced and strength- 

 ened to the maximum degree and fitted with 

 American engines possessing the maximum of 

 strength and power with the minimum of 

 weight and space, so that she may go north as 

 an exponent of American skill and mechanical 

 ability. 



With such ship I should sail north about the 

 1st of next July, and on reaching the Whale 

 Sound region should take on board my 

 Eskimos, establish my permanent sub-base at 

 Cape Sabine, and then force my way north- 



ward to my proposed winter quarters on the 

 northern shore of Grant Land, establishing 

 caches as far as practicable en route. By the 

 earliest returning light of the following Febru- 

 ary I should start due north over the Polar 

 pack with a small light pioneer party, followed 

 by a large heavy main party. I should expect 

 to accomplish the distance to the Pole and re- 

 turn in about one hundred days or a little 

 more, an average travel of about ten miles per 

 day. Returning, I should break the ship out 

 late in the same season and return home. 



If ice conditions the first year were such as 

 to prevent reaching the northern shore of 

 Grant Land, I should winter as far north as 

 practicable and force the ship to the desired 

 location the following year. In this event the 

 expedition would be gone two years. 



This plan is the result of some twelve years 

 of almost continuous experience in those lati- 

 tudes, and is based upon an extended personal 

 acquaintance with the region from Sabine to 

 84 degree north latitude and a thorough 

 familiarity with climatic and other conditions 

 and with the Eskimos. 



The distinctive features of my plan are : 

 The use of individual sledges with compara- 

 tively light loads, drawn by dogs, giving a travel- 

 ing unit of high speed and radius of reach, 

 as opposed to the man sledge, with its heavy 

 load, slow speed, and limited radius ; the adop- 

 tion of Eskimo methods and costume, and the 

 fullest utilization of the Eskimos themselves. 



I beg to state for your consideration the 

 following : 



The North Pole is the last great geograph- 

 ical prize the earth has to offer. Its attainment 

 will be accepted as the sign of man's final 

 physical conquest of the globe, and it will 

 always stand as one of the great milestones in 

 the world's history. 



The attainment of the North Pole is, in my 

 opinion, our manifest privilege and duty. Its 

 attainment by another country would be in the 

 light of a reproach and criticism. 



The sense of all the foremost geographers — 

 practical and theoretical — now converges upon 

 the Smith Sound or American Route, along 

 which I have been working for years past. 

 Other routes have been eliminated. If we de- 

 lay in preempting this route, some one else will 

 step in and win the prize. 



I believe that my experience, gained in years 

 of practical work ; my special methods of travel 

 and equipment, the evolution of years of prac- 

 tical work; my personal acquaintance with 

 every feature of my chosen route and region, 

 and my command of the full resources and 

 utmost efforts of the entire little tribe of 

 Whale Sound Hyperboreans, who have lived 

 and worked with me for years, give substantial 

 reasons for anticipating a successful outcome 

 to an expedition based on the above lines. 

 Respectfully, 

 (Signed) R. E. Peary, 



Civil Engineer, U. S. N. 



To the Secretary of the Navy. 



