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Peary and Cook: The Race for the North Pole
Arctic Exploration
A
fter Franklin, died a new type of explorer came to the
Arctic, whose only aim was to be first to the North
Pole. Two Americans, Robert Peary and Frederick Cook,
both claimed to be the first. Neither claim has been proved
beyond doubt.
Learning to Live Like an Inuk
Peary made eight Arctic expeditions. He trained as a
surveyor
before joining the US Navy as an
engineer
. He
was 34 when he went on his first Arctic expedition in 1891.
On it Peary showed that Greenland was an island by
mapping its northern coast. He confirmed that the way to
the Pole must be over the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean.
Peary worked closely with the Inuit. He organized
whole villages to help him. He learned Inuit ways of
sledding with dogs. He also learned how to live off seals,
polar bears, and caribou as the Inuit did.
Off to the North Pole
Peary left New York in July 1908. He sailed in the
Roosevelt
to his winter camp on the north coast of Ellesmere Island.
From here the North Pole lay across 485 miles (780 km) of
sea ice. The
Roosevelt
was frozen into the ice and gave the
expedition a home for the winter.
Peary left on February 22, 1909, for the
North Pole. He took six Americans, 17 Inuit,
19 sleds, and 133 dogs. Every few days a
group of men and sleds was sent back to
Roosevelt
. When Peary
was 155 miles (250 km)
from the Pole he
sent back the last
group.
P
eary claimed to be the first person at the North
Pole. He is wearing the clothes he wore on the
polar expedition.
P
eary often had to help
pull the sleds over
rough ice.
Other Attempts at the
North Pole
In 1827 Parry sailed and sledded to 82°
45’N but he was still 500 miles (800 km)
from the Pole. Sir George Nares led the
British Arctic Expedition of 1875-76
which set a new record of 83° 20’N.
Six years later this was broken by
Adolphus Greely, an American, who
reached 83° 24’N.
A Norwegian called Fridtjof
Nansen made an unusual expedition.
He built a special ship,
Fram
, which
could resist crushing by sea ice and set
out in 1893. Nansen let his ship get
frozen into the ice north of Siberia.
Fram
drifted across the Arctic Ocean for
three years and broke free just north of
Spitzbergen. During the drift, Nansen
attempted to sled to the Pole, reaching
86° 14’N in 1895.
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