It seems proper also to note that the result of the last Expedition of the Peary Arctic Club has been to simplify the attainment of the Pole fifty per cent.; to accentuate the fact that man and the Eskimo dog are the only two mechanisms capable of meeting all the various contingencies of serious Arctic work, and that the American route to the Pole and the methods and equipment used remain the most practicable for attaining that object.
Had the winter of 1905 to 1906 been a normal season in the Arctic regions and not, as it was, a particularly open one, there is not a member of the Expedition who doubts that we would have attained the Pole.
And had I known before leaving the land what actual conditions were to the northward, as I know now, I could have so modified my route and my disposition of sledges that I believe we could have reached the Pole even in spite of the open season.
Another expedition, following in my steps, and profiting by my experience, can not only attain the Pole, but can secure the other remaining principal desiderata in the central Arctic Sea, namely, a line of deep-sea soundings from the north shore of Grant Land to the Pole, and the delineation of the unknown gap in the northeast coast line of Greenland from Cape Morris Jesup southward to Cape Bismarck. This work can be accomplished by an expedition absent for the same length of time as the last one, and with a lesser expenditure.
It must be borne constantly in mind that the expedition which has accomplished this work, has been the expedition of the Peary Arctic Club, and that all results are due entirely to the generosity and public spirit of the members of that Club, and particularly to the unfailing interest and unflagging efforts of its President, Morris K. Jesup.
CHAPTER XIV
THE PEARY ARCTIC CLUB
“To reach the Farthest Northern Point on the Western Hemisphere; to Promote and Maintain Exploration of the Polar Regions.”
1898–1902
The history of The Peary Arctic Club divides itself, first, into that of the subscribers sustaining the 1898–1902 Expeditions, and second, of the incorporators of the Club, in 1904, under the laws of the State of New York. The subscribers met for the first time at No. 44 Pine Street, N. Y., Jan. 29, 1899, and having before them Commander Peary’s letters and reports from Etah, North Greenland, Aug. 12, 1898, adopted the name of “The Peary Arctic Club” and a Constitution, setting forth that “the objects of the Club are to promote and encourage explorations of the Polar regions, as set forth in Lieutenant R. E. Peary’s letter dated January 14, 1897, and to assist him in securing additional information regarding the geography of the same; to receive and collect such objects of scientific interest or otherwise as may be obtainable through Lieutenant Peary’s present expedition or other expeditions of like nature; to receive, collect and keep on file narratives and manuscripts relative to Arctic explorations; to preserve such records and keep such accounts as may be necessary for the purpose of the association; and further to command in its work the resources of mutual acquaintance and social intercourse”; declaring that contributors to the expedition, including those absent, were Founders of the Club and elected the following officers: President, Morris K. Jesup; Vice-President, Frederick E. Hyde; Treasurer, Henry W. Cannon; Secretary, Herbert L. Bridgman. Alfred C. Harmsworth (Lord Northcliffe) was elected an Honorary Member of the Club in recognition of his gift of the Windward to Commander Peary.
The Club despatched the steamer Diana, Captain Samuel W. Bartlett of St. John, N. F., in command of its Secretary, H. L. Bridgman, from Sydney, C. B., on July 27, 1899, whither she returned on September 15th, having in the meantime successfully accomplished her mission in depositing at Etah her stores, effecting a junction with Commander Peary at Etah on August 12th, and returning with her consort, the Windward, which had wintered at Cape D’Urville, Ellesmere Land. The Windward, preceding the Diana one week in her departure from Etah, arrived at Brigus, N. F., two days earlier, having on board the scientific records and personal effects of each officer and man of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition; the sextant abandoned in 1876 by Lieutenant, now Rear-Admiral, Albert Beaumont, R. N. at Cape Britannia, Greenland, and copies of the Nares-Markham records from the cairns of Norman Lockyer and Washington Irving islands, all recovered by Commander Peary in 1898 and 1899. The personal effects were subsequently distributed by the Club to the survivors and next of kin of the deceased, and the relics of the Royal Navy deposited, through the Lords of the Admiralty in the Royal Naval Museum, at Greenwich.