The man who finally succeeded in reaching the pole is the intrepid arctic explorer, Robert E. Peary, of the United States navy. In the first record-breaking trip Peary started in July, 1905. Sailing through Davis Strait, Baffin Bay, Smith Sound, and Robeson Channel to Grant Island, which lies west of the northern part of Greenland, he went into winter quarters at Cape Sheridan.

In the early spring, when the daylight was an hour long, Peary set out for the north pole over the ice-clad ocean with sledges drawn by dogs. Delayed by storms and open water in some places, he succeeded after incredible hardships and suffering in reaching 87° 6', the highest point up to that time reached by man, a distance only two hundred miles from the north pole.

In previous trips Peary had crossed the northern part of Greenland twice at the risk of his life, each time bringing much knowledge of the north coast of Greenland. During one of his voyages Peary brought home three meteorites. The largest, weighing more than thirty-six tons, is now in the Museum of Natural History of New York City. These are among the largest meteorites ever found, and it is an interesting fact that so many were found in Greenland.[1]

Peary's last and successful trip began when the steamship Roosevelt, commanded by Captain Bartlett, sailed out of New York harbor, July 6, 1908. The vessel traversed Baffin Bay and reached Cape York August 1. At Etah, an Eskimo settlement, three weeks were consumed in storing supplies and selecting Eskimo guides and purchasing dog-trains. The Roosevelt then proceeded northward through the narrow strait that separates Greenland from Grant Land. The party went into winter quarters near Cape Sheridan at the head of the strait. The winter was spent in exploration and in preparation for the sledge journey. The necessary supplies for the journey were carried to Cape Columbia, the northerly point of Grant Land. The sledge party started northward from Cape Columbia February 28—seven members of the expedition, seventeen Eskimos, and nineteen sledges.

Commander Robert E. Peary and three of his Eskimo dogs on the Roosevelt
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When the expedition reached latitude eighty-eight degrees, Captain Bartlett and Professor Marvin, with most of the Eskimo guides, were ordered back; Peary with his companion, Hensen, and several Eskimos started on the final dash. Fortunately the ice was smooth, and but few breaks, or "leads," were encountered. It was not difficult to make twenty-five miles or more a day during several days of the journey. At last a temporary break in the clouds gave Peary an opportunity for observation, which showed his latitude to be 89° 57'. Ten miles more were made, and another observation showed that the party had actually gone several miles beyond the pole.

A cairn of ice blocks and snow bearing the American flag was erected approximately at the pole, April 7, 1909, and the party started on the return trip. There being a plain trail and smooth ice, the return trip was made in about half the time required for the outward trip. The reserve party was joined at Cape Columbia, and all hands returned to the Roosevelt, which was at anchor near Cape Sheridan. The only fatality of the expedition was the death of Professor Marvin, who was accidentally drowned while on his return to Cape Columbia.

The open polar sea which had been observed by Kane and several other explorers was closed by ice at the time of Peary's dash; indeed, the entire route lay over ice and snow that apparently was several years old. After leaving Cape Columbia no land sky was seen anywhere about the horizon. A single sounding was made about five miles from the pole, but no bottom was found at fifteen hundred feet, the length of the sounding wire.