PEARY AS A LEADER 



;05 



I\[elville Bay. Holds were carefully re- 

 stored; necessary food and equipment 

 made readily accessible ; boats supplied 

 with provisions, rifles, and ammunition 

 for a retreat following a possible loss of 

 our ship, and all without a single order 

 from the man who has been called tyrant 

 and martinet. To us, his assistants, it 

 was always : "I would like to have you 

 do this" ; "Some time today" ; "Tomor- 

 row will do," etc. We were amazed, for 

 we did not expect such consideration. 

 Kindness toward his men was apparent 

 at every stage of our voyage. 



Borup was summoned to Peary's cabin 

 from the after hold, where he was mis- 

 erably seasick but pluckily sticking to his 

 job of packing away skins, with now and 

 then a dash to the rail. He returned an 

 hour later, enthusiastic over his visit and 

 over the kindness shown him by the 

 leader of the expedition. 



PEARY REVERED BY THE ESKIMOS 



Those happy days of wending our way 

 northward in and out between floes and 

 icebergs passed all too quickly. Finally 

 that day arrived when we passed in under 

 the big hills of Meteorite Island and 

 heard the glad cry of those Far North 

 natives upon beholding "Peary-ark-suah" 

 (Big Peary) back again. 



Let there be no doubt as to Peary's 

 popularity in the Far North. Absolutely 

 honest and square in all his dealings with 

 these black-haired children of the Arctic, 

 firm but ever just and kind in all his re- 

 lations, he remains to them as the great 

 "Nalegak," a leader or chief among men. 



We can never forget this reception at 

 Cape York — kayaks darting about the 

 ship, the shouts of his former dog drivers, 

 men who had starved with him on the 

 Polar Sea, others on the shore standing 

 at the water's edge ready to grasp the 

 bow of our boat, women laughing, babies 

 crying, and half-grown children with that 

 look of mingled fear and animal curiosity. 



How happy they were to see him back 

 and how eagerly and how impatiently 

 they awaited the word to pack their 

 world's goods and transfer all to the deck 

 of the Roosevelt for the long voyage 

 northward. 



And so it was at every village ; the best 

 men in the whole tribe awaited his call — 



a fact not without significance, in view 

 of oft-repeated statements that Peary was 

 unkind to his native help. 



INTO THE HEAVY ICE 



Some three weeks later, with decks al- 

 most awash and black and fuzzy with 

 dogs and Eskimos, the saucy - looking 

 Roosevelt swung around Sunrise Point 

 and into the heavy ice of Smith Sound, 

 her destination the northern shores of 

 Grant Land, far up at the edge of the 

 Polar Sea. 



Behind us, upon the shores of Foulke 

 Fiord, was a reserve of coal and food, to 

 which Peary and his men could retreat 

 if their ship was crushed. Such wise 

 precaution was the result of his years of 

 labor in the North and his repeated fail- 

 ures. 



The successful negotiation of this last 

 dangerous stretch Peary considered as 

 the crucial link in the long chain of suc- 

 cess. That no opportunity for advance 

 should be lost was very evident from, his 

 almost constant vigil on the bridge, in the 

 main rigging, or in the crow's nest. 



Bartlett and Commander were a per- 

 fect team ; the former young, intensely 

 energetic, courageous ; the latter experi- 

 enced, cautious, of excellent judgment, 

 constantly advising and holding his cap- 

 tain in check. 



No braver man ever trod the quarter- 

 deck than Bartlett. I sometimes think 

 that Bob would rather lose his ship for 

 the pure love of the fight southward in 

 the drift-ice or in open boats than sail 

 into port with his charge staunch, trim, 

 and unscarred. 



FARTHER NORTHWARD THAN ANY OTHER 

 SHIP EVER STEAMED 



Together they drove their ship farther 

 northward than any other ship ever 

 steamed. Boats were ready for immedi- 

 ate launching; food lined the rail; emer- 

 gency bags were packed. 



Once in our winter quarters, Peary 

 again displayed his qualities of leadership 

 by removing from the ship everything 

 absolutely needed for the attainment of 

 the Pole and the retreat southward, if the 

 vessel should be crushed, carried away by 

 the ice, or burned. 



In spite of the loss of the Roosevelt, 



