For a ship of the _Roosevelt's_ cla.s.s, this is the best and quickest return route--far preferable to hugging the sh.o.r.e.

The voyage to Battle Harbor was comparatively uneventful. It involved, of course, as does any journey in those waters, even under favorable conditions, unceasing watchfulness and skill in ice navigation, but the trip was without p.r.o.nounced adventure. On August 8 the _Roosevelt_ emerged from the ice and pa.s.sed Cape Sabine, and the value of experience and the new departure of forcing the ship down the center of the channel instead of along sh.o.r.e will be appreciated from the fact that we were now thirty-nine days ahead of our 1906 record on the occasion of our previous return from Cape Sheridan, although we had left Cape Sheridan considerably later than before. The voyage from Cape Sheridan to Cape Sabine had been made in fifty-three days, less time than in 1906.

We stopped at Cape Saumarez, the Nerke of the Eskimos, and a boat's crew went ash.o.r.e. It was there I first heard of the movements of Dr.

Frederick Cook during the previous year while absent from Anoratok. We arrived at Etah on the 17th of August. There I learned further details as to the movements of Dr. Cook during his sojourn in that region.

At Etah we picked up Harry Whitney, who had spent the winter in that neighborhood in arctic hunting. Here, also, we killed some seventy-odd walrus for the Eskimos, whom we distributed at their homes whence we had taken them in the previous summer.

They were all as children, yet they had served us well. They had, at times, tried our tempers and taxed our patience; but after all they had been faithful and efficient. Moreover, it must not be forgotten that I had known every member of the tribe for nearly a quarter of a century, until I had come to regard them with a kindly and personal interest, which any man must feel with regard to the members of any inferior race who had been accustomed to respect and depend upon him during the greater part of his adult life. We left them all better supplied with the simple necessities of arctic life than they had ever been before, while those who had partic.i.p.ated in the sledge journey and the winter and spring work on the northern sh.o.r.e of Grant Land were really so enriched by our gifts that they a.s.sumed the importance and standing of arctic millionaires. I knew, of course, that in all probability I should never see them again. This feeling was tempered with the knowledge of success; but it was not without keen regret that I looked my last upon these strange and faithful people who had meant so much to me.

We cleared from Cape York on August 26, and on September 5 we steamed into Indian Harbor. Here the first despatch that went over the wires was to Mrs. Peary: "_Have made good at last. I have the Pole. Am well.

Love_," followed in rapid succession by one from Bartlett to his mother; and, among others, one to H. L. Bridgman, secretary of the Peary Arctic Club: "_Sun_," a cipher meaning, "Pole reached. _Roosevelt_ safe."

Three days later the _Roosevelt_ reached Battle Harbor. On September 13 the ocean-going tug _Douglas H. Thomas_ arrived from Sydney, C. B., a distance of four hundred and seventy-five miles, bringing Regan and Jefferds, representatives of the a.s.sociated Press, whom I greeted by saying, "This is a new record in newspaper enterprise, and I appreciate the compliment." Three days later the Canadian Government cable steamer, _Tyrian_, in command of Captain d.i.c.kson, arrived, bringing twenty-three special correspondents who had been hurried north as soon as our first despatches had reached New York, and on the 21st of September, as the _Roosevelt_ was approaching the little town of Sydney, Cape Breton, we saw a beautiful sea-going yacht approaching us. It was the _Sheelah_, whose owner, Mr. James Ross, was bringing Mrs. Peary and our children up to meet me. Further down the bay we met a whole flotilla of boats, gay with bunting and musical with greetings. As we neared the city, the entire water-front was alive with people. The little town to which I had returned so many times unsuccessful gave us a royal welcome as the _Roosevelt_ came back to her once more, flying at her mastheads, besides the Stars and Stripes and the ensign of our Canadian hosts and cousins, a flag which never before had entered any port in history, the North Pole flag.

Little more remains to be said.

The victory was due to experience; to the courage, endurance, and devotion of the members of the expedition, who put all there was in them into the work; and to the unswerving faith and loyalty of the officers, members, and friends of the Peary Arctic Club, who furnished the sinews of war, without which nothing could have been accomplished.

FOOTNOTE:

[3] Drowned April 10th, returning from 86 38' N. Lat.

APPENDIX I

SUMMARY OF BATHYMETRICAL, TIDAL, AND METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS[4]

BY R. A. HARRIS,

_Coast and Geodetic Survey, Washington, D. C._

SOUNDINGS.--Previous to the expeditions of Peary, little was known concerning the depths of that portion of the Arctic Ocean which lies north of Greenland and Grant Land. In 1876 Markham and Parr at a point nearly north of Cape Joseph Henry, in lat.i.tude 83 20-1/2', and longitude 63 W., found a depth of 72 fathoms. In 1882 Lockwood and Brainard at a point lying northerly from Cape May, in lat.i.tude about 82 38' N., and longitude about 51-1/4 W., sounded to a depth of 133 fathoms without touching bottom.

The motion of the polar pack was inferred by Lockwood from the existence of a tidal crack extending from Cape May to Beaumont Island. Peary's journeys along the northern coast of Greenland in 1900, and upon the Arctic ice in 1902 and 1906, firmly established the motion suspected by Lockwood. In April of the years 1902 and 1906 he found an eastward drifting of the ice due to westerly or northwesterly winds. Moreover, along the line of separation between two ice-fields the northern field had a greater eastward motion than had the field to the south of the line. These facts, together with the water sky observed to the north of Cape Morris Jesup in 1900, strongly indicated the existence of deep water between Greenland and the North Pole.

Though few in number, the soundings taken in 1909 between Cape Columbia and the Pole are of great interest to geographers.

The accompanying diagram shows the results obtained.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

These soundings prove the existence of a continental shelf covered by about 100 fathoms of water and whose edge, north of Cape Columbia, lies about 46 sea miles from the sh.o.r.e. In lat.i.tude 84 29' the depth was found to be 825 fathoms, while in lat.i.tude 85 23' it was found to be only 310 fathoms. This diminution in depth is a fact of considerable interest in reference to the possible existence of land to the westward.

The three soundings taken between the point of comparatively shallow water and the Pole failed to reach bottom. The one made within five sea miles of the Pole proved the depth there to be at least 1500 fathoms.

This is not at variance with the northernmost sounding taken by the _Fram_, at a point north of Franz Josef Land and in lat.i.tude about 85 20', viz., 1640 fathoms and no bottom.

TIDES.--Tidal observations upon the arctic coasts of Grant Land and Greenland were carried out under instructions from the Coast and Geodetic Survey, this Bureau having been ordered by President Roosevelt through the Secretary of Commerce and Labor to have such work undertaken.

The object was to secure observations along the northern coasts of Grant Land and Greenland at a sufficient number of places for determining the tides in this region; it being the belief that such observations might throw light upon the possible existence of a "considerable land ma.s.s in the unknown area of the Arctic Ocean."

Systematic tidal and meteorological observations were carried on day and night at Cape Sheridan, Point Aldrich (near Cape Columbia), Cape Bryant, Cape Morris Jesup, and Fort Conger--the periods of time covered at these stations being about 231, 29, 28, 10, and 15 days, respectively.[5]

The tides were observed upon vertical staves or poles held in position by means of stones placed around them at the bottom of the shallow water along the coast. At Cape Sheridan, Point Aldrich, and Cape Bryant igloos were built over the tide staves. These being heated, usually by means of oil-stoves, the observers were enabled to maintain open well-holes with comparative ease.

In order to secure fixed data of reference, permanent bench marks were established on the land, not far from the igloos or tide staves.

The ice-covering of the water nearly obliterated all wind waves which generally impair the accuracy of staff readings made in open bodies of water. The measurement of the height upon staff of the surface of the water, as the surface rose and fell in the well-holes, was carried on with great precision, a fact which the plottings of the observations have well brought out. The observations were taken hourly; and during a large percentage of the time these were supplemented by observations taken more frequently, often at intervals of ten minutes each.

The chronometer used in connection with tidal work was compared with true Greenwich time at New York before and after the cruise to the Arctic. The comparisons showed that during this period of 461 days the average daily gain of the chronometer was 2.2 seconds.

The mean lunitidal intervals and the mean ranges of tide, together with the approximate geographical positions of the stations, are as follows:

-----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------- | | | HW | LW |Mean Rise Station |Lat.i.tude |Longitude|Interval |Interval | and Fall -----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------- | ' | ' |_h_ _m_ | _h_ _m_ | Feet Cape Sheridan | 82 27 | 61 21 | 10 31 | 4 14 | 1.76 Point Aldrich | 83 07 | 69 44 | 7 58 | 1 50 | 0.84 Cape Bryant | 82 21 | 55 30 | 0 03 | 6 22 | 1.07 C. Morris Jesup | 83 40 | 33 35 | 10 49 | 4 33 | 0.38 Fort Conger | 81 44 | 64 44 | 11 35 | 5 15 | 4.06 Fort Conger[6] | 81 44 | 64 44 | 11 33 | 5 20 | 4.28 -----------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------

The harmonic constants for these places will be given in a paper on Arctic Tides about to be issued by the Coast and Geodetic Survey.

As indicated by its name, a "lunitidal interval" is the time elapsing between the pa.s.sage of the moon across the meridian of the place or station and the occurrence of high or low water. If two stations have the same longitude, then the difference between the lunitidal intervals for the two stations denotes the difference in the times of occurrence of the tides. If they have not the same longitude, then the intervals must be converted into lunar hours (1 lunar hour = 1.035 solar hours) and increased by the west longitude of the stations expressed in hours.

The result will be the tidal hours of the stations expressed in Greenwich lunar time. The difference between the tidal hours for two stations will be the difference in the time of occurrence of the tides expressed in lunar hours.

One of the most important results brought out from the tidal observations of the expedition is the fact that high water occurs two hours earlier (in absolute time) at Cape Columbia than at Cape Sheridan.

The Cape Columbia tides are even earlier than the tides along the northern coast of the Spitzbergen Islands. These facts prove that the tide at Cape Columbia comes from the west. It is the Baffin Bay tide transmitted, first, northwesterly through the eastern portion of the Arctic Archipelago to the Arctic Ocean, and then easterly along the northern coast of Grant Land to Cape Columbia. That the tide wave should be felt after a pa.s.sage of this kind, instead of practically disappearing after entering the Arctic Ocean, is one argument for the existence of a waterway of limited width to the northwest of Grant Land.

This suggests that Crocker Land, first seen by Peary on June 24, 1906, from an alt.i.tude of about 2000 feet, may form a portion of the northern boundary of this channel or waterway.

The tides along the northern coast of Greenland are due mainly to the large rise-and-fall occurring at the head of Baffin Bay. The Arctic Ocean being of itself a nearly tideless body so far as semidaily tides are concerned, it follows that the time of tide varies but little as one goes through Smith Sound, Kane Basin, Kennedy Channel, and Robeson Channel; in other words there exists a stationary oscillation in this waterway. The northeasterly trend of the sh.o.r.e line of Peary Land beyond Robeson Channel and the deflecting force due to the earth's rotation tend to preserve, far to the northeastward and partly in the form of a free wave of transmission, the disturbance resulting from the stationary oscillation in the straits. The tide observations indicate that this disturbance is felt as far as Cape Morris Jesup, where the semidaily range of tide is only 0.38 foot. At Cape Bryant, northeast of Robeson Channel, the range is 1.07 feet. These values, taken in connection with the Robeson Channel disturbance, indicate that the time of tide along the coast of Peary Land becomes later as one travels eastward from Cape Bryant.

Owing to the comparatively short distance between Cape Bryant and Cape Morris Jesup, it is probable that at the latter point the crest of the wave transmitted from the southwest will appear to arrive much earlier than will the crest of the wave pa.s.sing between Spitzbergen Islands and Greenland. In this way the small size of the semidaily tide at Cape Morris Jesup, as well as its time of occurrence, can be partially explained.

A no-tide point doubtless exists in Lincoln Sea, off Peary Land.

The semidiurnal tidal forces vanish at the Pole and are very small over the entire Arctic Ocean. As a consequence the semidiurnal portion of the tide wave in these regions is almost wholly derived from the tides in the Atlantic Ocean. The diurnal forces attain a maximum at the Pole and produce sensible tides in the deeper waters of the Arctic Ocean. Such tides are essentially equilibrium tides for this nearly enclosed body of water. The diurnal portion of the Baffin Bay tide produces the diurnal portion of the tide in Smith Sound, Kane Basin, and Kennedy Channel. In pa.s.sing from Fort Conger to the Arctic Ocean one could reasonably expect to find a great change in the time of occurrence of the diurnal tide in going a comparatively short distance; in other words the change in the tidal hour for the diurnal wave would probably be considerable where the Baffin Bay tide joins the arctic tide.

Peary's observations show that such is the case. They show that the diurnal tide at Cape Bryant, Cape Sheridan, Point Aldrich, and Cape Morris Jesup follows that at Fort Conger by respective intervals of 3-1/2, 5, 6, and 8 hours. They also show that in going northward from Fort Conger to Point Aldrich the ratio of the two princ.i.p.al diurnal const.i.tuents approximates more and more nearly to the theoretical ratio; that is, to the ratio between the two corresponding tidal forces. This is what one would expect to find in pa.s.sing from a region possessing diurnal tides derived from the irregular tides of Baffin Bay to a region where the equilibrium diurnal tides of the Arctic become important.

The range and time of occurrence of the diurnal tide at Point Aldrich do not differ greatly from their equilibrium values based upon the a.s.sumption of a deep polar basin extending from Grant Land and the Arctic Archipelago to the marginal waters off the portion of the coast of Siberia lying east of the New Siberian Islands. But De Long's party observed tides at Bennett Island in 1881. From these observations it is seen that the diurnal tide has a much smaller range than would be permissible under the hypothesis of deep water in the portion of the Arctic Basin just referred to. The diurnal tides at Pitlekaj, Point Barrow, and Flaxman Island are, as noted below, also too small to permit of this hypothesis. The smallness of the diurnal tide in the cases cited can probably be explained on no other a.s.sumption than that of obstructing land ma.s.ses extending over a considerable portion of the unknown region of the Arctic Ocean.

No further attempt will be made here to prove the necessity for a tract of land, an archipelago, or an area of very shallow water situated between the present Arctic Archipelago and Siberia. A brief discussion of this question, together with a tidal map of the Arctic Regions, will be found in a paper about to be issued by the Coast and Geodetic Survey and which has been already referred to. A few pertinent facts may, however, be mentioned.

(1) At Point Barrow, Alaska, the flood stream comes from the west and not from the north, as the hypothesis of an extensive, deep polar basin implies.

(2) The semidaily range of tide at Bennett Island is 2.5 feet, while it is only 0.4 foot at Point Barrow and 0.5 foot at Flaxman Island, Alaska.

This indicates that obstructing land ma.s.ses lie between the deep basin or channel traversed by the _Fram_ and the northern coast of Alaska.

(3) The observed tidal hours and ranges of tide show that the semidaily tide is not propagated from the Greenland Sea to the Alaskan coast directly across a deep and uninterrupted polar basin.

(4) The observed ranges of the diurnal tides at Teplitz Bay, Franz Josef Land; at Pitlekaj, northeastern Siberia; and at Point Barrow and Flaxman Island have less than one-half of their theoretical equilibrium values based upon the a.s.sumption of an uninterrupted and deep polar basin.