Polar Pathways: Robert E. Peary's Arctic Expeditions
1908- Lunch
Peary shakes hands with President Roosevelt,
the namesake of the arctic vessel.
“Just before we reached Stepping Stone Light, Mrs. Peary, the members and guests of the Peary Arctic Club, and myself were transferred to the tug Narkeeta… The ship went on to Oyster Bay, Long Island, the summer home of President Roosevelt, where Mrs. Peary and I were to lunch with the President and Mrs. Roosevelt the following day… After luncheon… I said to him: ‘Mr. President, I shall put forth into this effort everything there is in me—physical, mental, and moral.’ And he replied, ‘I believe in you, Peary, and I believe in your success—if it is within the possibility of man.’”
"President Roosevelt and Commander Peary bidding good-bye on deck of the Roosevelt" by Donald B. MacMillan, 1908, Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum Collections
