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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by Donald B. MacMillan 

 AE-NING-WA, AGED TWENTY-TWO, WIFE OF ARKLIO, A DOG- 

 DRIVER OF THE MAC MIELAN EXPEDITION, 

 DRESSED IN BLUE-FOX SKINS 



and our knowledge in Arctic matters in- 

 creasing day by day and beheld an equip- 

 ment being perfected which we knew 

 must win. 



Certain items were so far superior to 

 anything yet devised for Arctic work 

 that their value, even to a novice, was 

 obvious. Such were perfected by Peary 

 following years of repeated struggle. 



PEARY DEVISED A NEW ARCTIC STOVE 



Do not forget the great word experi- 

 ence. As an illustration, previous to the 

 1908 trip the most satisfactory stove for 

 Arctic sled?e-work was the so-called 



Primus, which con- 

 verts cracked ice at 

 60 below zero into a 

 gallon of tea in about 

 20 minutes. Peary 

 reasoned that the 

 more rapid his stove, 

 the more sleep for 

 his men at the end of 

 the long march. He 

 thereupon devised a 

 stove which is so eco- 

 nomical in fuel con- 

 sumption and so quick 

 in its action that many 

 are almost inclined to 

 doubt the fact that 

 we had our gallon of 

 tea in nine minutes 

 from the time that the 

 match was applied. 



Our clothing, that 

 of the Smith Sound 

 Eskimo, could not be 

 improved upon. Our 

 food was amply suffi- 

 cient for the mainte- 

 nance of health and 

 strength. Our sledges 

 were modeled by 

 Peary for the rough 

 ice of the Polar Sea 

 and skillfully fash- 

 ioned by our master 

 mechanic, Matt Hen- 

 son. Our equipment 

 was without a doubt 

 the most nearly per- 

 fect yet devised for 

 Polar work. 

 Peary's plan for advance and attack 

 upon the Pole, based upon his experience 

 and failure in 1906, was unique and a 

 large factor in his final success. 



From the time when one leaves the 

 northern shores of Grant Land or Green- 

 land, one must depend wholly upon the 

 food on the sledges for sustenance of 

 men and dogs. An occasional bear or 

 seal might be secured, but such would 

 be the exception, as proved by the ex- 

 perience of Nansen, Sverdrup, Captain 

 Cagni, Peary, and every man who has 

 been north of 84 . 



To feed Pearv and his men until he 



