, and in other
cities on the Hudson, commemorative of the discovery of that river by
Henry Hudson three centuries before and the trip up the river by Robert
Fulton's steamboat in 1807. The leading feature of the pageant was the
assembling in the harbor of the largest fleet of international character
ever brought together at one time, and the cruise up the Hudson as far
as Newburg of eighty war vessels selected from the navies of the United
States, Great Britain, Germany, France, and other powers. These huge
vessels were in striking contrast to the two small ones which were given
the place of honor in the pageant, the replicas of the Half Moon and
the Clermont. The land parades were likewise spectacular in their
effects.

In October, 1909, Commander Robert E. Peary and Dr. Frederick A. Cook,
two American travellers, returned to the United States, both making
claims to having discovered the north pole. The accomplishment of this
task, which had baffled so many arctic explorers, was hailed as a
triumph throughout the civilized world. Ardent supporters of each of
these men began to champion the right of their favorite to the great
honor. It was shown that Commander Peary had for twenty-three years been
engaged in arctic exploration. His first voyage was made to Greenland in
1886, and in his numerous expeditions to the frozen north since that
time he had secured much scientific data relating to the glaciology,
geology, and ethnology of those regions.

[Illustration]
Commander Peary's ship, The Roosevelt.

When Commander Peary left the Roosevelt, the ship which bore him as far
north as navigation permitted, on February 22, 1909, his expedition
consisted of 8 white men, 59 Eskimos, 140 dogs, and 23 sledges, with the
necessary equipment for arctic travel. Upon returning to the United
States after overcoming the many dangers incident to such exploration,
he submitted his records to the National Geographical Society. A
committee of that body, after passing upon these documents, declared
unanimously that it was their opinion that Peary had reached the north
pole, April 6, 1909. This report further commended him for his
organization and management of this expedition and for his contributions
to scientific knowledge.

Before his return to America, Dr. Cook had been hailed as the discoverer
of the north pole by European scientists, especially those of Denmark,
who accepted his story of the accomplishment of this task in Apr