Those built for my first expedition were modeled on the same general principles as the McClintock sledge, but weighing about one-third as much. Each succeeding expedition has seen some improvement in our sledge designing and building, and the Peary sledge, used for the first time on my last expeditions, is in my opinion the best type of sledge yet built for polar-sea-ice work. Because of its model, this style of sledge proved much stronger and much more easy to draw than any others I have ever used.
They are two feet wide, from twelve to thirteen feet long, with a height of seven inches. The sides are made of solid oak or hickory, rounded in back as well as in front, and bent ash runners two inches wide are attached to the sides. The runners are equipped with shoes two inches wide and an eighth of an inch thick of cold sheared steel. Sealskin thongs lash the sides together, making a sledge which is strong enough to support from one thousand to twelve hundred pounds on level surfaces.
For antarctic or polar ice-cap work these sledges, while still retaining their dimensions and shape, can be materially reduced in weight by using framed construction for the sides instead of solid. The full length should be retained, as this is a great advantage and factor of safety in crossing the crevasses of the ice-cap.
ESKIMO TYPE SLEDGE
ONE OF THE PEARY SLEDGES
The framed, or McClintock, type of sledge, with its various modified forms as used by Nansen, Abruzzi, and others, is entirely unsuited for sea-ice work with dogs. For ice-cap work, where the surface is nearly level and composed of snow and the course is straight away, or for sea-ice work, if dragged by men who will handle it carefully, the framed type of sledge has the advantage of lightness. In some of my Greenland ice-cap work I had fifty-pound sledges that would carry one thousand pounds, and twelve-pound ones that would carry two hundred pounds.
But for the grueling rough-and-tumble work with dogs on sea ice, over the pressure ridges, through rubble zones, and among the sharp-cornered ice-blocks, flinty with minus 50° or 60°F., only the solid-sided sledge will stand the racket. With it, a sharp corner of ice, coming against the side, grates and slides along until it slips off at the stern without damage, while with the framed sledge the same sharp corner will rip out three or four side posts, and necessitate a long and trying job of repairs.
Another most important feature of a sledge for sea-ice or coast work is a shoe that will bite the ice like a skate iron and not slip sidewise.