After a rest and some repairing of the sledges the little party started northward. The sun shone brightly out of a deep blue sky, and a finer morning for the journey could not be imagined. Except for some pressure ridges which were nearly fifty feet in height, the ice was hard and level. The ridges corresponding to hills on land were not as hard to pass over as were the leads of water which Peary had met with before during the journey.
With weather in their favor the party made great progress. In one march of twelve hours thirty miles were covered. As they neared the Pole, the wind grew bitterly cold. Even the Eskimos complained of it, and said that their noses would freeze. This was unusual, for the nose of an Eskimo is supposed to be so hardy that no frosty winds could freeze it. But all soon forgot the cold in their joy in drawing near the Pole.
On April 6, 1909, at ten A.M. the last march ended, and Peary found by his observations that he had arrived at 89° 57ʹ north latitude. Here the party camped, and Peary called the place Camp Morris K. Jesup in honor of the man who had done so much to further discoveries in the Arctic regions.
From Camp Jesup, Peary traveled on about ten miles beyond the Pole, crossing and recrossing in several directions over a radius of ten miles. Strange were his feelings when he stood at the place where north, east, and west were eliminated, and every direction was south. He was also at a place where there is in the year but one night and one day, each six months in length. The stars circle round overhead during the night and the sun during the day.
As far as the eye could reach was a vast, white expanse of ice. No living creature was to be seen, no sign of life anywhere, only a great silence, a great whiteness, and dazzling sunlight. Peary placed the American flag in the ice. The Eskimos and Henson gave three cheers, and all shook hands.
The Eskimos did not understand what made Peary so happy, but they did know that he had succeeded in reaching a wonderful spot, which he had searched for during many years.
Thirty hours were spent at the Pole taking observations and photographs. The maximum temperature was -12° and the minimum was -30° Fahrenheit. Peary put records of his journey and a piece of the American flag in a glass bottle, and wedged it in between blocks of ice and left it. As the ice is constantly shifting and changing its position, it is hard to tell where this bottle may drift.
The ice at the Pole was too thick for Peary to measure the depth of the ocean. But on returning he found a place, five miles from the Pole, where the ice was thinner. He succeeded in making a hole with a pickax and dropped his sounding lead. The wire ran out to a depth of fifteen hundred fathoms (nine thousand feet) without touching bottom. Then the wire broke, and it and the lead were lost. We do not know how much deeper the Polar ocean may be.
The return journey to land was made by forced marches of about twenty-nine and a half miles a day. This speed was made possible by the lighter sledge loads, and the fact that they were retracing their steps over a trail kept partially open by the other detachments. But the Eskimos said, “The devil is asleep, or we never should have come back so easily!” Peary knew that they came back easily because of favorable weather and ice conditions, and because his plans had been wise.
When the party came in sight of the Roosevelt again, the joy of the men cannot be described. Captain Bartlett saw them and went out to meet them. His face was sad, and Peary felt that he was to hear some bad news. Bartlett then told him of the death of Marvin by drowning while on his return march. Peary felt keenly the loss of his brave companion who had accomplished so much valuable work, and who had made himself respected and loved.