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boat, all the accounrements of a sledging party, and provisions for the crew for 10 months, repair tools and materials, 200 pounds of lubricant, 300 pounds of fresh water, and 5,750 pounds of gasoline for the engine. 
A like crew and equipment will be aboard in the next attempt. We believe the perfected and more powerful American, with a fair start, will have an excellent chance to attain the object in view— that the chance of reaching the Pole by this method is better than by any other yet tried. We believe, first, she may do this as a true cruiser of the air, working with her own power, making both the northward voyage and the return to some Arctic or sub-Arctic land. If she serves to carry us to the Pole or its vicinity, we have made provisions for doing the remainder by other means, in case of need. The crew can at any time convert themselves into a fully equipped sledging party, having only the return journey to make instead of the upwards and back trips attempted by many of us in the old ways. Should it be necessary, the crew can make a hut of the abundant fabric of the ship, and have provisions enough to enable them to winter out, returning the following spring.
Our faith that this is a rational and promising method of exploration is based upon the following:
1. The objective in view is not alone to reach the Pole, but to gain knowledge of the unexplored region lying about it. If the America were simply to pass over the unknown area the observations—as to land or water masses, ice conditions, the meteorology of the region—would be of value as pioneering.
2. If a descent were to be made upon the sea-ice or the land, and the crew to make its way homeward by sledge travel, as is not unlikely, the scientific work would be as vulnerable as that of any other sledging effort to penetrate the mysteries of the far north.
3. We believe there is a fair chance that our airship, with more than 2,000 miles of 

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