Polar Pathways: Robert E. Peary's Arctic Expeditions
The North Pole - Loading the Sledges
The expedition sledges
"The standard method for loading each sledge was as
follows: On the bottom was a layer of dog pemmican in red tins, covering the
entire length and width of the sledge; on this were two tins of biscuit, and
crew pemmican in blue tins; then the tins of alcohol and condensed milk, a
small skin rug for the man to sleep on at night in the igloo, snowshoes and
spare footgear, a pickax and a saw knife for cutting snow blocks. Practically
the only extra items of wearing apparel which were carried were a few pairs
of Eskimo sealskin kamiks (boots), for it can readily be imagined
that several hundred miles of such walking and stumbling over snow and ice
would be rather hard on any kind of footgear which could be made.
Compactness was the main idea in packing one of these sledges, the center of
gravity of the load being brought as low as possible in order that the sledges
might not easily overturn." - Robert E. Peary in The North Pole,
published in 1910
"Sledges aboard the Roosevelt" by Donald B. MacMillan, 1908, Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum Collections
