THE NORTH POLE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 804, 27 January 1910, Page 3

THE NORTH POLE.

London, Jan. 25

Tiie British Royal Geographical Society has awarded its gold medal to Commander Peary (who in April, 1909, reached the North Pole), and its silver medal to the Newfoundlander Captain Bartlett (who accompanied Peary to within a few miles of the Pole). WHERE IS DR. COOK ? A New York message, dated November 27, states : “Dr. Frederick A. Cook dropped completely from public view to-day. Not even John R. Bradley, whose money was behind his Polar expeditions, knows where he is tonight. “Confiding his secret to only one man, and perhaps to his wife, the explorer slipped quietly and mysteriously away, leaving behind him a string of puzzled and exasperated friends, and a debate more acrimonious than that which followed his announcement of September last that he had discovered the North Pole on April 21, 1908. “Charles Wack, a lawyer, appears to be the only one who knows the mystery of Dr. Cook’s whereabouts. And Wack is firm in his resolve to keep his lips sealed until Cook himself sees fit to take the public into his confidence.

“In the meantime, concern is expressed over the condition of Dr. Cook’s health. Although some of his friends maintain he has borne up well under the continued strain of lecturing and preparing his data, as opposed to this an intimate associate of the doctor said to-night Cook appeared to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown when he conferred with him on Monday night. This friend, who is a newspaper man, issued a statement to-night, quoting Dr. Cook as saying: “If this thing keeps up a few months longer I will be in the insane asylum.” Subsequent advices indicate that Dr. Cook’s friends suggest mental hallucination. The report of the Copenhagen University Council finds Dr- Cook's North Pole claim not proven. Dr. Cook’s secretary, Mr Eousdale, says the explorer is “living at home at Bronxville, near New York.