Some of the things that will be described are well known to all polar explorers who have had serious practice, while others will be new to all except those who have had opportunities to obtain the information by personal conversation with members of my parties.

In extending the scope of the present book to touch on polar exploration, it seems well to post the reader at the very beginning on the striking antitheses of natural conditions, apparently known to only a few even among the best read and most intelligent people, existing at those mathematical points, the north and south poles, where the earth’s axis intersects the surface of the earth.

The north pole is situated in an ocean of some fifteen hundred miles’ diameter, surrounded by land. The south pole is situated in a continent of some twenty-five hundred miles’ diameter, surrounded by water. At the north pole I stood upon the frozen surface of an ocean more than two miles in depth. At the south pole, Amundsen and Scott stood upon the surface of a great, snow plateau more than two miles above sea-level. The lands that surround the north polar ocean have comparatively abundant life. Musk-oxen, reindeer, polar bears, wolves, foxes, arctic hares, ermines, and lemmings, together with insects and flowers, are found within five hundred miles of the pole. On the great south polar continent no form of animal life appears to exist.

Permanent human life exists within some seven hundred miles of the north pole; none is found within twenty-three hundred miles of the south pole. The history of arctic exploration goes back nearly four hundred years. The history of antarctic efforts covers a little more than one hundred and forty years. The record of arctic exploration is studded with crushed and foundering ships and the deaths of hundreds of brave men. The records of antarctic exploration show the loss of only three ships and the death of a score or more men.

For all those who aspire to the north pole the road lies over the frozen surface of an ocean the ice on which breaks up completely every summer, drifting about under the influence of wind and tide, and may crack into numerous fissures and lanes of open water at any time, even in the depth of the severest winter, under the influence of storms. For those who aspire to the south pole the road lies over an eternal, immovable surface, the latter part rising ten thousand and eleven thousand feet above sea-level. And herein lies the inestimable advantage to the south polar explorer which enables him to make his depots at convenient distances, and thus lighten his load and increase his speed.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
IBuilding a Polar Ship[3]
IISelecting Men[40]
IIISupplies and Equipment[58]
IVIce Navigation[84]
VWinter Quarters[126]
VIPolar Clothing[160]
VIIUtilization of Eskimos and Dogs[179]
VIIIUtilizing the Resources of the Country[206]
IXSledge Equipment[240]
XSledge-traveling[267]
Conclusion[310]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE
The Stars and Stripes Flying from the North Pole[Frontispiece]
Beginning of the “Roosevelt”[5]
Midships Cross Section of the “Roosevelt”[5]
Stem, Forefoot, and Bow Frames[11]
Massive King-Post Trusses Strengthening the “Roosevelt’s” Sides Against Ice Pressure[11]
Bow of “Roosevelt” in Dry Dock[18]
Stern of “Roosevelt” in Dry Dock[24]
Putting on the Greenheart Ice-Sheathing[30]
Bow of the “Roosevelt” in Ice[35]
Launching the “Roosevelt”[35]
Captain Robert Bartlett[41]
Matthew A. Henson[47]
Henson in Full Winter Costume with Snowshoes[47]
Oo-tah[53]
George Borup[53]
Whale Meat for Dog Food[64]
Labrador Whaling Steamer[69]
Off for Whales—Labrador Coast[69]
Dunham Snowshoes[76]
Items of Sledge Rations[76]
Beginning the North Pole Voyage[85]
Drying Sails on the “Roosevelt” at Cape Sheridan[95]
Shear-Poles for Handling the “Roosevelt’s” Injured Rudder[95]
Comparative Pictures of Various Exploring Ships[101]
Ice Navigation before the Advent of Powerful Steamers[108]
The “Roosevelt” Beset in Wrangel Bay[108]
The “Roosevelt” Steaming through the Ice-Pack[117]
Floe in Lady Franklin Bay That Lifted the “Roosevelt” Nearly Clear of Water[117]
The “Roosevelt” Lashed to the Ice Foot[123]
In the Crow’s-Nest[123]
Complete Polar Winter House[130]
A Scene at Hubbardville[130]
After a Winter Blizzard[139]
Unloading Ship at Winter Quarters[139]
An Inopportune Snowstorm[150]
Polar Clothing[163]
A “Tug of War”[163]
Polar Clothing—Spring and Summer Working Costume[169]
Polar Clothing—Full Winter Sledging Costume[175]
Eskimo Dogs[175]
Young Eskimo Mother and Baby[181]
Eskimo Family and “Tupik,” or Summer Tent[181]
Deck Scene on the “Roosevelt” (Not a Pink Tea!)[187]
Some of My Hunters[187]
Eskimo Man, Summer Costume[194]
Eskimo Woman, Full Summer Costume[194]
Eskimo King Dog[203]
Giant Polar Bear Killed in Buchanan Bay, July 4[209]
Bringing Narwhal Ashore[216]
Walrus-Hunters and Their Kill[216]
A Magnificent Bull Musk-Ox[225]
Reindeer of 83° N. Lat.[225]
Securing Birds at the Bird Cliffs[236]
Hare Hunting at 83° N. Lat.[236]
Eskimo Type Sledge[245]
One of the Peary Sledges[245]
Polar Sledge Costume[251]
Compass Course Indicator[258]
Peary Sledge in Action[258]
Hugging the Shore to Get Around Huge Ice Fields[271]
Party Leaving the “Roosevelt” for Cape Columbia[271]
Over a Pressure Ridge[281]
A Halt on the March[281]
Sledge Party on the March with Good Going[287]
Hard Going[287]
Crossing Narrow Lead[298]
Through a Cañon of the Polar Ocean[298]

SECRETS OF POLAR
TRAVEL