In the spring of 1897, Morris K. Jesup suggested the formation of the “Peary Arctic Club,” which raised funds for the expedition. At the end of 1897, Alfred Harmsworth offered the Windward to Peary, who accepted it. As it could steam only at the rate of 3½ knots at most, Harmsworth offered to have the Windward re-engined, but unfortunately this could not be done owing to an engineers’ strike. In consequence of this, Peary had also to charter the Hope as an auxiliary ship.
The Windward left New York on 4th July 1898, but Peary sailed from Sydney, C.B., in the Hope on the 7th. As soon as the Whale Sound region was reached, Eskimo were engaged, and the work of hunting walrus for dog-food was prosecuted by both ships.
At Etah, on 13th August, the two ships separated, the Hope bound for home, and the Windward for the north. After a good deal of trouble with the ice, the Windward reached Cape D’Urville, near Cape Hawks, on the 18th, but was here stopped by a large floe, and before the ship could get farther it was frozen in.
As soon as Peary saw that preparations for winter would require to be made, he landed a year’s supplies at the cape. He then took steps to secure fresh meat, and in a short time a considerable number of musk-oxen were obtained. He also began to survey the region near Hayes Sound. He discovered that Bache “Island” is a peninsula, and that “Hayes Sound” does not exist.
Peary now decided to utilise the winter moons in pushing supplies north as far as Fort Conger, where he purposed to take his party in February. From Fort Conger he intended to make an attempt on the Pole in the spring.
Now commenced a series of desperate sledge-journeys. Snow igloos were formed at several of the capes. At the end of October, Peary advanced some supplies as far as Cape Frazer. At the end of the November moon about 30 cwt. of supplies had been sledged as far as Cape Wilkes, on the north side of Richardson Bay. The mean daily minimum temperature was more than 40° below zero, and on four successive days it was 50° below zero.
In the first light of the December moon, Peary with Henson and the doctor and four Eskimo left the ship with the intention of reaching Fort Conger. On the 28th all the supplies had reached Cape Lawrence on the north side of Rawlings Bay. Next day Peary started from Cape Lawrence with light sledges for Fort Conger. On the way the cold was so intense that it was too much for one of the Eskimo, who had to be left in a burrow in a snow-drift with a companion to look after him. Before Fort Conger was reached the moon had departed, and Peary had to grope and stumble in complete darkness across Lady Franklin Bay. On the 6th January 1899 the party passed through the doorway of Fort Conger. Biscuit from the table where it had lain fifteen years formed a lunch. On reaching Fort Conger, Peary had a suspicious “wooden” feeling in his feet, and on having them examined it was found that both were frost-bitten. He ultimately lost eight of his toes.
The party remained at Fort Conger until the 18th February, when a start was made for the Windward, which was reached in eleven days. The mean minimum daily temperature during this period was the astonishing one of −56.18°F., and on the day the Windward was reached the temperature went down to −65° F.
During April the supplies left at Cape Lawrence were moved to Fort Conger. On 19th April, Peary again left for Fort Conger, although he could not move without crutches, and Discovery Harbour was reached on the 28th. Early in May he attempted to make a reconnaissance of the Greenland north-west coast, but found Robeson Channel impracticable.
On the 23rd May, Peary and his party started for the ship, and covered the 250 miles in six days.