POLAR EXPLORATION

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 26

POLAR EXPLORATION

RETURN OF DR COOK, 'A SUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION. REPORTED TO HAVE BEACHED THE NORTH POLE. DR COOK'S AdBOEVEMJENT, DETAILS OF THE JOURNEY* EXTREME HARDSHIPS. SCIENTIFIC ' OBSERVATIONS. : SUCCESS DUE TO ESKIMOS AND DOGS. ( PRESSMEN SATISFIED. LONDON,. September 2.

. Dr Frederick Albert -Cook, the Arctic -.^explorer, .^telegraphed to his s wife from „ Ueiwiek. as YoUows : — -" Successful and -rreU;' address Copenhagen." "No tidings of Dr oook had been received since the despatch of a " cablegram 'on October 5 until the arrival of €he Danish steamer Hensegede at Lerwick' yesterday. The steamer anchored for two hours, and then proceeded to Copenhagen. Absolute secrecy regarding Dr Cook's journey has been maintained. The Danish Consul was bound over to secrecy by the explorer before receiving any information, but an inspector- of -Greenland was a passenger, And telegraphea to -the administration of the Greenland colonies at Copenhagen : "We have aboard Dr Cook, who reached the North Pole on 21st April, 1908." Dr Cook arrived at Uperavik from . Cape York in May, 1909. ' The" Eskimos at Cape York confirm the. truth of Dr Cook's journey. Dr Cook's (Randolph Francke), finding the climate too severe, returned to Newfoundland in 1908, and Dr Cook proceeded alone with two Eskimos and eight' dog-teams Jaden with supplies. He was then 500 or 600 miles from the Pole. • • Reuter's Brussels correspondent telegraphed on Wednesday that M. Locointe (Pirector of the" Uocle Observatory) had received a telegram in which Dr, Cook announced that , he had reached. the Pole,. And that -he had discovered . land in the extreme northThe Times' New York" correspondent states: "The news has been received here ~trith elation. So little, wublicity has been grven to Dr Cook's expedition and so much to Lieutenant Peary's attempt to reach the Pole that almost -everybody = has been taken completely by surprise. Even the officers of the National Geographical Society afc Washington oonfessed that they knew little about the expedition." • There is great excitement and enthusiasm "at Copenhagen, where Dr Cook is expected on Saturday. • Lieutenant Shackleton, who_ is in London, and King Edward, who is at Marienbad. were highly interested in the Greenland inspector's message. The news has startled London. The Times remarks that the evidences as yet are very incomplete, but the message has the appearance of being bona fide, and Dr Cook's previous record must be taken seriously. A later message gays that after the Hensegede's departure yesterday it was stated at Lerwick that Dr Cook had merely reached the magnetic pole. If this i« .so the exploit is not remarkable, as Ross" attained the magnetic pole in 1836. < Lieutenant Shackleton calculates that if the Pqie itself has been reached Dr Cook has covered 483 miles in 35 days. The Paris edition of the New York Herald has commenced publishing details " of the early stages of Dr Cook's journey. The party left Annatok on the 19th of . February with 11 men, 103 dogs, and 11 sledges, and started to cross the Pokr Sea on the 18th of March from Heiberg Island, at which stage some of the Eskimos with a number of dogs and supplies of „ „ food returned. September 3. Dr Cook has informed the New York Herald that he felt the bite of the cold, especially on the heights bordering on Ellesmere Sound. The temperature was 83 degrees below zero (Centigrade). Several dogs were frozen to death, and the men suffered cruelly. Along the game tracks from Nansen Sound to Landsend ihe party killed 101 musk oxen, seven bears, and 325 hares. The crossing of the circumpolar pack was commenced on March 21, 1908, two Eskimos and 26 dogis accompanying Dr Gook. They made long marches for the first few days in the face of persistent ■winds. They camped in snow houses, eating dried beef and tallow and drinking hot tea. Observations were made on March 13 in lat. 84.47 N. and long. 86.36 W. Here the last signs of solid earth were seen. • Continuing, .Dr Cook says : "We advanced over a monotony of a moving sea <jf ice, there beine neither bears' footyi"ints nor seals' Dlowhoies. Beyond the 86th parallel the icefields became more extensive and the crevasses fewer and less i, troublesome. Tfiere was little or no crushed ice as barriers. We were surprised to meet indications of land ice from the 87th to the 88th parallel.- We were now within 100 miles of the Pole, and e^ the temperature tcs below 40 degrees.

Signs of land were still seen, but thej were deceptime illusions, mirages showing an inverted mountain. Good dailj astronomical observations were made, bui there was a depressing monotony aboul the scene. On April 21 we reached 89deg 59min 46sec, and the Pole was in sight. We advanced the 14 seconds, and , made supplementary observations, and then a flag was raised .to the coveted breezes of the North Pole. The temperature was 38 degrees below zero (Centigrade), and the barometer stood at 29.83. The compass, pointing to the magnetic pole, was useful on the ever-endless fields of purple snows. There was no Kfe, no land, no spot to relieve the monotony. T 'We turned homewards on April 23, long distances at first being quickly covered. We watched the daily reduction of our food supply. We reached on May 24 the 84th parallel. Near the 97th meridian the ice was much broken. We had on our sledges scarcely enough food to reach our caches in Nansen Sound. We could hardly equal 10 miles, instead of the necessary 15 miles, per day. A course was then set for the musk ox lands. The temperature' rose to zero, and there J was a persistent mist. After a struggle lasting 20 days through fog we found * ourselves far down in the Crown Prince Gustav Sea. In a few days bears came along, .and they proved to be life-savers. We then crossed into Jane's Sound. Frost * early in September stopped our progress. As .we had neither food, fuel, nor ammunition, new implements were shaped, and Cape Spardo was selected as a likely place for game. The bow and arrow ' yielded meat,, skins, and fat. I "An underground den was prepared, and there we remained until sunri.se in 1909. We started on February 18 for Annatok, 1 and reached Greenland shores on April ■ 15." ' Though Dr Cook is a person with a high reputation, some people are still sceptical in England, France, and America. Lieutenant Shackleton does not think that' the long time occupied in the return journey tells against Dr Cook's statements. The Mail describes the narrative as . bald and unconvincing. I The enthusiasm respecting Dr Cook runs high in America. Mr G. H. Wickersham fthe Attorney-general) declares thai/ the Constitution will follow the flag. i Dr Hugh Robert Mill, a director of the British Rainfall Association, commenting ,on -Dr Cook's 83deg below zero (CentigVade), says that this is the lowest by 20deg Fah. of anything oxperienced on the earth's surface before. I M. Levacseur, a member of the French Academy of Sciences, an eminent geo graphical authority, has expressed his astonishment over some of Dr Cook's statements, such as the enormous distance he travelled over th-e ice- and the temperature recorded (83deg below zero, Centigrade), which is the lowest ever recorded. 1 The members of the British Association at Winnipeg generally accept the bona fides of Dr Cook's narrative. They ' agree that the only evidence Dr Cook can have will be his astronomical notes, and with these his good faith cannot reasonably , be challenged. j The Daily Telegraph deprecates any ' hasty condemnation of Dr Cook's narrative. t Mr Bradley, who bore a large portion of the expense of Dr Cook's expedition, , estimates the cost at 90.000d0l (£18.000). i The Jewish World states that Dr Cook is a member of a well-known Jewish 1 family at Frankfort, and that his real name is Koch. I [The explorer chanee-d his name formally , and legally from KoA to Cook some years * ago.] I September 5. { Mr Bradley states that Dr Cook had a I valuable 6extant in aluminium, several ' compasses, an artificial horizon barometer. , some thermometer charts 5000 gallons of ' gasoline coal (a sufficient supply for three years), hickory-built sledges, 100 gallons of alcohol, and 25 guns (which were given him as presents), biscuit*, axes, tobacco, ' and other things dear to the Eskimos' heart, besides 10,000 boxes of matches i (than which there is scarcely anything } that the Eskimo appreciates more highly). The details of the equipment were kept I a strict secret in order to forestall Lieu- | tenant Peary. j Mr ' Bradley adds that Dr Cook's col- , lapsible canvas boat enabled him to cros.* lanes of water obstructing his course, and that the dog sled«es usually could easily cover 60 miles a. day over reasonably good ice. j The manager of Luna Park, the famous Coney Island resort, has cabled Dr Cook an offer of £50.000 for a seiies of 250 lectures. Dr Cook adheres to all his statements, notably that of 117deg below zero (Fahr.). Lieutenant Peary's record was 65deg, an-:l Lieutenant Shnckleton's 56deg. Admiral Nares points out many reasons for scepticism. He b!am«s Dr Cook for taking Lieutenant Peary's Eskimos, whom Peary had" kept alive and trained for J years. The doctor had done this appar- ! ently without consulting Peary, or attempting to bee Peary on his return. September 6. i The Times' epscial correspondent and Mr W. T. Stead searchingly cro^sexamined Dr Cook in the presence of 60 I journalihts. The Times and Mr Stead are entirely satisfied that Dr Cook is an upright and honest man. Tli9 Daily Chronicle's correspondent was sceptical. The Daily Mail «tates that

r the majority of the correspondents came j away with a full belief in the narrative, r Dr Cook stated that the lowest temperat ture was 83deg (Fahr.) below zero, not i Centigrade, which was due to a tele- [ graphic error. He took 100 photos, i whjch are still undeveloped. His sextant I and practically all his instruments and I records were left at Etah for direct shipI ment to America. Dr Cook afterwards dined with the King • of Denmark and the Royal Family. Mr Knud Raasmussen, the Danish j Polar explorer, has interviewed the Cape ! York Eskimos who accompanied Dr Cook, i and they corroborate some of Dr Cook's statements. COPENHAGEN, September 3. Great preparations are being made to welcome Dr Cook when he reaches Copenhagen, including bis reception by the King and banquets by the Minister of > Commerce and the Town Council. j Septemiber 4. ! Dr Cook, in an interview in Denmark, stated that he struck out west from « Greenland and then northward, and, returning "from the Pole, took a more westerly route. During the last fortnight .before reaching the Pole he took daily observations, and also during the first 10 days homewards, but no measurements of the depth of the sea were obtained, he having no instruments for that purpose. He ascribed his success to using Eskimos and dogs \ and living in the same manner as the Eskimos. September 5. Dr Cook had a tremendous reception at Copenhagen. In reply to his critics, he declared that he had deposited records of his journey in a sealed tube on the place where the Pole was located, which was among ice drifting eastwards. NEW YORK, September 3. Rear-Admiral Melville, of the United States navy, after reading Dr Cook's narrative, declared that he was convinced that the reported discovery was a farce. September 5. Mr Taft has cabled Dr Cook as follows : " Your report that you had reached the Pole calls for my heartiest congratulations. It stirs the pride of -all Americans that an achievement which had so long baffled the world has been accomplished by the intelligence, energy, and wonderful endurance of a fellow countryman." OTTAWA, September 4. Mr W. F. King, the Dominion, astronomer at Ottawa, thinks that if Dr Cook encountered smooth ice it is quite possible that he did reach the North Pole. MELBOURNE. September 4. The Government Astronomer can see no reason to refuse credence to Dr Cook's exploit. Some of his obr-ervations certainly seem at variance with those of other expeditions, but it would not be fair to refuse to beJieve them when we have believed all the rest. The most unconvincing thing to him is the vast amount of shooting reported. He cannot see how three men carried so much ammunition, besides food. Perhaps, however, they had a very small store of food, and made their ammunition act as their source of food supply. SYDNEY, September 3. ■Professor David considers it very probable that Dr Cook has discovered land in the extreme north. AH the soundings taken by Nansen and other explorers indicated the presence of a very deep ocean at the Pole. The existence of isolated land of a volcanic nature was possible, but a large stretch of land was unlikely. Mr Douglas Mawson considers that the report that Dr Cook had discovered the Pole might well be believed. He thinks that probably Dr Cook journeyed north a year before, and wintered in a hut built on the moving ice, relying on walrus food, and that he made a dash for the Pole afterwards with the appearance of the sun. That would explain his absence for two years. It seemed to him (Mr Mawson) quite feasible to reach the Pole so early in the season. September 4. Professor David accepts Dr Cook's dibcovery of the Pole. He says: — "Apart from Dr Cook's general reputation, which in itself would be a sufficient guarantee, I should say that the internal evidence of his diary should show the world the accuracy of Uis statements." September 6. Professor David and other experts declare that the temperature recorded by Dr Cook, though improbable, is not impossible, and that a suitably-provided man could endure it without much difficulty