The party went into winter quarters
near Cape Sheridan at the head of the strait. The winter was spent in
exploration and in preparation for the sledge journey. The necessary
supplies for the journey were carried to Cape Columbia, the northerly
point of Grant Land. The sledge party started northward from Cape
Columbia February 28--seven members of the expedition, seventeen
Eskimos, and nineteen sledges.

[Illustration: Commander Robert E. Peary and three of his Eskimo dogs on
the Roosevelt]

When the expedition reached latitude eighty-eight degrees, Captain
Bartlett and Professor Marvin, with most of the Eskimo guides, were
ordered back; Peary with his companion, Hensen, and several Eskimos
started on the final dash. Fortunately the ice was smooth, and but few
breaks, or "leads," were encountered. It was not difficult to make
twenty-five miles or more a day during several days of the journey. At
last a temporary break in the clouds gave Peary an opportunity for
observation, which showed his latitude to be 89 deg. 57'. Ten miles more
were made, and another observation showed that the party had actually
gone several miles beyond the pole.

A cairn of ice blocks and snow bearing the American flag was erected
approximately at the pole, April 7, 1909, and the party started on the
return trip. There being a plain trail and smooth ice, the return trip
was made in about half the time required for the outward trip. The
reserve party was joined at Cape Columbia, and all hands returned to the
_Roosevelt_, which was at anchor near Cape Sheridan. The only fatality
of the expedition was the death of Professor Marvin, who was
accidentally drowned while on his return to Cape Columbia.

The open polar sea which had been observed by Kane and several other
explorers was closed by ice at the time of Peary's dash; indeed, the
entire route lay over ice and snow that apparently was several years
old. After leaving Cape Columbia no land sky was seen anywhere about
the horizon. A single sounding was made about five miles from the pole,
but no bottom was found at fifteen hundred feet, the length of the
sounding wire.

For his services Peary received the medal of the Royal Geographical
Society, and an admiral's commission from the United States Government.

In spite of the desolation that pervades polar regions, the resources
are considerable and have attracted much commercial activity. For many
years whale oil was about the only illumina