On returning to the Fram he found, to his regret, that she was so firmly fixed in the ice that even blasting operations on a large scale had no effect, and he was, in consequence, obliged to resign himself to the inevitable and to spend another winter at the mouth of Belcher Channel. Fortunately, however, he had by no means exhausted the possibilities of that neighbourhood, and he occupied himself with making a journey north, for which cartographers have every reason to be grateful to him, though he failed in his endeavour to reach Aldridge’s farthest. In the following summer the Fram was set free, and was able to return to civilised regions.
Sverdrup’s voyage was unrelieved by any very sensational or exciting incidents, but the work that he did during those four years was admirable. He mapped out the west coast of Ellesmere Land—a most arduous task, as it is broken up by a singularly intricate system of fiords—he discovered three large islands west of that land, he explored North Devon and the northern shores of North Cornwall and Findlay Island, and he proved that land existed north of the Parry Islands, a point on which diverse opinions had hitherto been held. Consequently, though he never reached the northern shores of Greenland for which he had set out, he had no reason to be dissatisfied with the result of his journey.
The energy and enterprise which Lieutenant Peary displayed in carrying on his chosen work in the Polar Regions aroused so much sympathy in America, that not long ago a number of those who were interested in it formed a club which they called the Peary Arctic Club, and which was founded with a view to providing him with funds for carrying on the explorations in which he had already achieved so conspicuous a success. It was principally owing to the exertions of this club that in 1898 Peary was able to set sail from Sidney in the Windward, which had been presented to him by Sir Alfred Harmsworth, with the double end in view of completing his examination of the northern shores of Greenland, and, if possible, of reaching the North Pole. This expedition was, probably, the most perfectly planned that has ever set out from any shores.
The Windward had been preceded by the auxiliary ship the Hope, which, after depositing her stores at Etah, sailed for home, while the Windward herself tried to push on north up Smith Sound. Ice, however, proved an insurmountable obstacle, and she was obliged to go into winter quarters near Cape D’Urville, on the north side of Princess Marie Bay. Peary’s plans for the autumn were threefold. In the first place, he wished to survey the land around his winter quarters, in the second place, he was anxious to obtain a supply of fresh meat for his party, and, in the third place, he intended to convey as large a supply of provisions as possible along the coast. He was completely successful in fulfilling each of these three objects. By the end of September he had explored much of the surrounding country, proving the continuity of Ellesmere and Grinnell lands, and dissipating several illusions which existed concerning Hayes Sound, which he was unable to find at all, Buchanan Bay, which had hitherto been held to be a strait, and Bache Promontory, which was popularly supposed to be an island. Early in September he relieved himself of all further anxiety concerning his supply of fresh meat, by killing a herd of seventeen musk-oxen, while, by using every ray of moonlight and often working in complete darkness, he had, by December 4, cached 3300 lbs. of provisions at Cape Wilkes. “No one,” he says, “who has not had the actual experience can imagine the work and annoyances involved in transporting, in semi- or complete darkness, those supplies along the frightful ice-foot which lines the Grinnell land-coast.”
On December 20, when the winter, that is to say, was at its worst, he started off with six men and thirty dogs on a singularly unattractive journey to Fort Conger. The darkness was intense, the weather was bad and the way lay through most unpleasant places, but they stumbled on over the rough ice as best they could, and on January 6 they succeeded in reaching their destination. Peary, unfortunately, had to pay for his boldness in thus facing the Arctic winter, for he found, on arriving at the Fort, that both his feet were so badly frost-bitten that he was unable to walk, and when the time came to turn he had to be lashed to a sledge and dragged the whole way home. Worse, however, was to come, for the doctor found it necessary to amputate eight of his toes on his arrival at the ship in March, and Peary felt the effects of the operation for a long while afterwards. But he was not the sort of man to give in even to such a disaster as this, and in the early summer he insisted on making another trip to Fort Conger, in spite of the pain that walking over the hummocky ice caused him.
The Windward was set free in August, and proceeded at once to Etah, where Peary had decided to spend the winter, as he did not consider the ship fitted for an attempt to push northward through the ice. Here she was joined by the Diana, which had been sent out with supplies, and, after spending a few weeks in walrus-hunting, the two ships sailed in company for America.
During the latter part of the winter Peary and his whole party left Etah for Fort Conger, which they succeeded in reaching by the end of March. After a few days’ rest the commander, with some of his Eskimos, started off on what was to be the great event of the summer—a journey round the north coast of Greenland. The way was exceedingly rough, and days were often spent in the arduous work of hewing a way for the sledges through the rugged ice. Determination, however, made light of the great difficulties, and they pushed gamely on past Lockwood’s farthest point and round the north coast of Hazen Land, till, on May 19, Peary’s eyes were gladdened by a fleeting glimpse of a mountain of peculiar shape, which he recognised as the peak that he had seen rising proudly to the north when, in 1895, he stood on the ice-cap south of Independence Bay. Unfortunately, a heavy fog came down upon the party, and they were prevented from exploring the rest of the Bay before lack of provisions obliged them to start for home two days later.
Fort Conger was reached in safety, and the rest of the Arctic day was spent in laying in a supply of fresh meat for the long night. On April 17, after an ineffectual attempt to push north, Peary and his men started off for Payer Bay. Here, as he expected, he met the Windward, which had been sent out with supplies. All of these were taken ashore, and the rest of the summer was spent in re-establishing the line of caches to Fort Conger. The winter was destined to be trying, for several of the Eskimos fell ill, and Peary was consequently obliged not only to nurse and see after them, but also to do most of the hard work of preparing for the summer journey single-handed. By February 1, however, his arrangements were complete and most of his patients had recovered, so he started for Fort Conger once more, intending to make it the base of his dash for the North Pole. It was not, however, until April 1 that he was able to leave Cape Hecla with nine sledges, and he soon found that the lateness of his departure made it practically impossible for him to win success that year. Huge pressure ridges, great masses of ice-rubble, frequent open channels and deep snow made the way almost impracticable, and on April 21, after reaching 81° 17,´ 27´´, he had to make this entry in his journal.
“The game is off. My dream of sixteen years is ended. It cleared during the night and we got under way this morning. Deep snow. Two small old floes. Then came another region of old rubble and deep snow. A survey from the top of a pinnacle showed this extended north, east and west as far as could be seen. The two old floes over which we had just come were the only ones in sight. It is impracticable and I gave the order to camp. I have made the best fight I knew; and I believe it has been a good one.”
There was now nothing for them to do but to make the best of their way back. They reached Payer Harbour on May 17, where the Windward, with Mrs Peary and her daughter on board, joined them on August 5. Shortly after this the whole party set sail for home.