On 12th January 1897, Peary announced his plan for reaching the North Pole. A sufficient sum was to be raised to continue the work of exploration for five years, if necessary. A ship was to be taken north through Robeson Channel to the highest latitude possible along the Greenland coast. Stores were then to be landed and advanced in stages until the northern terminus of the North Greenland Archipelago was reached, and from this point a dash to the Pole would be made. Should the ship be unsuccessful in the passage of Robeson Channel, the party was to land at Hayes Sound and devote the first year to explorations of that unknown region. In the spring of 1897, Morris K. Jesup suggested the formation of the “Peary Arctic Club,” which raised funds for the expedition. At the end of 1897, Alfred Harmsworth offered the _Windward_ to Peary, who accepted it. As it could steam only at the rate of 3½ knots at most, Harmsworth offered to have the _Windward_ re-engined, but unfortunately this could not be done owing to an engineers’ strike. In consequence of this, Peary had also to charter the _Hope_ as an auxiliary ship. The _Windward_ left New York on 4th July 1898, but Peary sailed from Sydney, C.B., in the _Hope_ on the 7th. As soon as the Whale Sound region was reached, Eskimo were engaged, and the work of hunting walrus for dog-food was prosecuted by both ships. At Etah, on 13th August, the two ships separated, the _Hope_ bound for home, and the _Windward_ for the north. After a good deal of trouble with the ice, the _Windward_ reached Cape D’Urville, near Cape Hawks, on the 18th, but was here stopped by a large floe, and before the ship could get farther it was frozen in. As soon as Peary saw that preparations for winter would require to be made, he landed a year’s supplies at the cape. He then took steps to secure fresh meat, and in a short time a considerable number of musk-oxen were obtained. He also began to survey the region near Hayes Sound. He discovered that Bache “Island” is a peninsula, and that “Hayes Sound” does not exist. Peary now decided to utilise the winter moons in pushing supplies north as far as Fort Conger, where he purposed to take his party in February. From Fort Conger he intended to make an attempt on the Pole in the spring. Now commenced a series of desperate sledge-journeys. Snow igloos were formed at several of the capes. At the end of October, Peary advanced some supplies as far as Cape Frazer. At the end of the November moon about 30 cwt. of supplies had been sledged as far as Cape Wilkes, on the north side of Richardson Bay. The mean daily minimum temperature was more than 40° below zero, and on four successive days it was 50° below zero.