PEARY AS A LEADER 



Photograph by Donald B. MacMillan 



ESKIMO WOMEN AT UTAH CHEWING SKINS 



The one on the left is chewing sealskin out of which she will make a pair of mittens. 

 The one on the right is chewing a boot sole in order that she may pass the needle through 

 it more readily and that it may be more comfortable to the foot. 



ter" ; "It is positively suicide to sledge 

 during the winter," etc. 



Peary laughed at such ideas. His men 

 were away with crack of whip and 

 laughter and enthusiasm almost as soon 

 as our keel touched bottom at the edge 

 of the Polar Sea, and they continued to 

 come and go throughout the year, far 

 into the interior of Grant Land, in quest 

 of musk-oxen, caribou, and Arctic hare ; 

 for Peary, who never had a single case 

 of scurvy on any of his expeditions, 

 fully appreciated the value of fresh meat 

 as an antiscorbutic. 



Fresh vegetables, acids, and fruits are 

 not necessary. This fact we have known 

 for at least a half century, having ac- 

 quired it from the experience of the 

 American whaling captains when winter- 

 ing on the shores of Baffin Land and 

 Hudson Bay. Scurvy-stricken patients 

 were always dispatched by them immedi- 

 ately to the igloos of the Eskimos, there 

 to be restored to health by consuming 

 raw frozen meat. 



These excursions were not merely to . 

 keep us in good health and contentment ; 

 every move was directed toward the suc- 

 cess of the expedition, geographically 

 and scientifically. There were no schools 

 between decks for the men, as in olden 

 days ; no weeks of preparation for farce 

 or drama ; no weekly or monthly periodi- 

 cal published ; no roped promenade from 

 berg to berg; no long hours in bed be- 

 tween meals. 



We were either away with our dog 

 teams among the mountains of Grant 

 Land hunting reindeer, musk-oxen, or 

 Arctic hare or were one hundred miles 

 up or down the coast, living in snow 

 houses, engaged in taking tidal observa- 

 tions, or at the ship working upon our 

 equipment for the Polar dash. 



If one word was written large upon 

 the face of every man and upon the 

 walls of every little stateroom in the 

 steamship Roosevelt, it was the word 

 enthusiasm, which may be translated into 

 good leadership ; for we felt our strength 



