Robert E. Peary, Civil Engineer, U. S. Navy, returned in the autumn of
1892 from his second Arctic exploration, bringing with him a number of
dogs, the sledges on which he made his journeys, and a collection of
Esquimau souvenirs, such as sledges, dog harness, clothing, tents,
spears, fishing tackle, cooking utensils, and furniture, and gave an
exhibition in the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, under the auspices of
the Academy of Science. I attended the lecture, or rather, exhibition.
Mr. Peary appeared in his Arctic costume, with the dogs, sledges, tents,
weapons, bear skins, and seal furs in great quantity and variety on the
stage--a sort of Esquimau village. It was an interesting exhibit. Mr.
Peary gave a delightful lecture, illustrated with some of the finest
stereoscopic views of Arctic scenery I had ever seen presented, views
which he had himself taken while on the expedition.
[Illustration]
I tried my best to secure Mr. Peary for some lectures in New York,
Boston, and other cities, but, being an officer of the Government and
under orders, it was impossible to secure him. Later on he obtained
leave of absence and permission to fit out a second expedition, and he
could lecture from January until April, so I arranged for what proved to
be one of the most vigorous lecture campaigns that I had ever managed up
to that time.
We began in the Academy of Music, Brooklyn, and up to the first of April
(one hundred and three days) Mr. Peary gave one hundred and sixty-five
lectures. The five dogs were as much a drawing feature as Peary himself,
and were a great advertising card, especially where there was sleighing,
as Henson, Mr. Peary’s colored servant, who had accompanied him on the
expedition, hitched them up and drove them about the cities wherever
they went, attracting the attention and wonder of the entire
communities. They seemed to take as much interest in the show as they
probably had shown in their great overland journeys across the Greenland
Ice Cap with their master. The dogs were very fond of being petted, and
liked ladies and children. After the lecture they were brought on the
stage and the children in the audience were allowed to rush forward and
meet them. There was never an instance of the dogs showing the slightest
ill temper or of objecting to be caressed or fed by the auditors. One
remarkable thing about the dogs was that they would insist upon their
rights and their share of the entertainment. They would wait very
patiently until the time for Mr. Peary to finish, but if he happened to
speak a little longer than the usual time, the dogs would set up a howl
so that he would have to stop. They never became uneasy until their own
time arrived.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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