of Esquimau colonies at certain distances
apart, and leave supplies with each colony on which he can fall back in
case of need.

He reports that he will have no difficulty in carrying out his plan. He
met a number of old friends among the Esquimaux, all of whom were eager
to help him in his work of exploring the north of Greenland and
searching for the North Pole. He has every hope that the new trip which
he is about to undertake will be a successful one.

Lieutenant Peary reports that he is bringing with him the great Cape
York meteorite, which he intends to place in the American Museum of
Natural History in New York.

A meteorite is a fallen meteor or star, a mass of metal that has fallen
upon the earth from space. It is often called a fallen star.

From the earliest times to the present there is a record of 520
meteorites having fallen upon the earth; 142 of this number fell in the
United States; 13 were seen to fall.

Forty-five years ago a traveller visiting Greenland noticed that the
natives used some kind of metal with which they put tips and edges on
their weapons. On inquiry they told him that they obtained it from some
large stones, but they could not or would not show him where the stones
were to be found.

Lieutenant Peary determined to find them, as he suspected that they were
meteorites, and after a long and careful search he found them on
Melville Bay, a little east of Cape York.

There were three rocks, all of uncommonly large size, and on examination
they proved to be meteorites, one of them being the largest ever found.

In 1895 the two smaller ones were brought back by Lieutenant Peary; but
before he was able to move the larger one, the ice began to form in the
bay, and not wishing to be blocked in for the winter, he had to leave
the prize where it was.

Last year he made another effort to secure the big stone, but the
machinery he was using to raise it got out of order, and he again had to
abandon the attempt.

Now a message comes from Sydney, a port on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia,
which says that he has arrived safely, bringing with him the famous
meteorite.

When his vessel, the _Hope_, steamed into port she was in a very
battered condition. She had encountered so many storms and such furious
seas that her bulwarks had been washed away.

In addition to this she was burning her last ton of coal as she steamed
into port, and so her crew must have been very glad when they sighted
land.