The Siege and Conquest of the North PoleBryce, George
History
The Siege and Conquest of the North Pole
Bryce, George
Arctic regions; North Pole; Scientific expeditions
On the 3rd June the distance travelled was 25¼ miles, but all the party
had trouble with their feet and legs as a result of the severe work
among the rocks. On the 6th June, Lee was ill and quite used-up, but by
means of a line from the sledge to support himself by, he managed to
struggle along. On the 7th two dogs were quite exhausted, and were fed
to the other seven. On the 8th the larger of the two sledges was
abandoned. On the 9th, after 4 miles’ travelling, they were obliged to
camp on account of Lee. After fifteen hours’ rest and an extra supply of
milk, Lee was able to travel 20 miles during the following march.
Another dog fell exhausted on the 11th, and another on the 12th, leaving
five. On the 13th the five had been reduced to four, and on the 16th
only three were left. On the latter date the last of the dog-food was
consumed. On the 21st June the remainder of the venison was given to the
two remaining dogs, and on the 22nd one of the two dogs died. On the
23rd the summits of the land appeared. The remaining dog was now given a
pair of seal-skin boots and several yards of raw-hide line. Peary and
his companions had four biscuits remaining for supper and breakfast. The
Lodge was reached on the 24th June, and found to be intact.
The only dog to reach the Lodge was Panikpah, and it was fed by Peary
before he ate anything himself. The memory of the famine-days on the
ice-cap remained with the dog long after, and he might be seen at all
times hiding away every bit of meat or blubber, and every bone he could
find about the place. These noble dogs saved the lives of the party.
The journey of 500 miles across the ice-cap, from moraine to moraine,
was made in twenty-five marches of an average of 20 miles. The weather
on the whole was exceptionally good, or it would have been impossible to
cover the distance in so short a time.
Early in the morning of the 3rd August the _Kite_ arrived to take them
home. On the way south two of the Cape York meteorites were successfully
removed and shipped.
Peary made a summer voyage in 1896 for the purpose of obtaining the
third and largest of the meteorites. Before, however, it could be got on
board, the ship had to leave, in order to avoid being crushed by the
ice.
Still determined to obtain the meteorite, Peary made another voyage in
the summer of 1897, and was successful in shipping the meteorite and
taking it to the United States. This meteorite is the largest known, and
its estimated weight is between 90 and 100 tons.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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