tly simplify the
proposition.

"On the return march in the next expedition I shall probably do
voluntarily what I did involuntarily last time; that is, retreat upon
the north coast of Greenland (a course diagonally _with_ the set of the
ice) instead of attempting to come back to the north coast of Grant
Land (diagonally _against_ the set of the ice). An adjunct of this
program will probably be the establishment of a depot well up the north
coast of Greenland by the first of the supporting parties returning to
the ship."

The main features of this program I summarized as follows:

"First, the utilization of the Smith Sound or 'American' route. This
must be accepted to-day as the best of all possible routes for a
determined, aggressive attack upon the Pole. Its advantages are a land
base one hundred miles nearer the Pole than is to be found at any other
point of the entire periphery of the Arctic Ocean, a long stretch of
coast line upon which to return, and a safe and (to me) well-known line
of retreat independent of assistance, in the event of any mishap to the
ship.

"Second, the selection of a winter base which commands a wider range of
the central polar sea and its surrounding coasts than any other possible
base in the Arctic regions. Cape Sheridan is practically equidistant
from Crocker Land, from the remaining unknown portion of the northeast
coast of Greenland, and from my 'Nearest the Pole' of 1906.

"Third, the use of sledges and Eskimo dogs. Man and the Eskimo dog are
the only two machines capable of such adjustment as to meet the wide
demands and contingencies of Arctic travel. Airships, motor cars,
trained polar bears, etc., are all premature, except as a means of
attracting public attention.

"Fourth, the use of the hyperborean aborigine (the Whale Sound Eskimo)
for the rank and file of the sledge party. It seems unnecessary to
enlarge upon the fact that the men whose heritage is life and work in
that very region must present the best obtainable material for the
personnel of a serious Arctic party. This is my program. The object of
the work is the clearing up, or at least the fixing in their general
proportions, of the remaining large problems in the American segment of
the polar regions and the securing for the United States of that great
world trophy which has been the object of effort and emulation among
practically all the civilized nations of the world for the last three
centuries."

The detail