NORTH POLE DISCOVERY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 182, 6 September 1909, Page 2

NORTH POLE DISCOVERY.

THE EXPLORER'S COUKSE. DAILY OBSERVATIONS. SUCCESS ASCRIBED TO HELP OP ESKIMOS AND DOGS. By Cable.—Press Association.—-Copyrigi Received 5, 6,6 p.m. Copenhagen, September 4. Dr. Cook, in an interview in Denmark, stated that he struck out west from Greenland, thence north ward, and, on re. turning from the Pole, took a more westerly route. During the last fortnight before Teaching the Pole, be took daily observations and also on t'lio first ten days homewards, but no measurement of the depth of the sea, having no instruments for the <purpose. He ascribes bis success to the use of .the old means, namely, Esquimog and dogs, and living the same as the Esqui--11108.

I-OWEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED.

:J' DPINION OF SCIENTISTS. London, September 3. (Lcvasseux, a member of the Academy of Sciences, and an eminent geographical authority, expressed astonishment at some of Dr. Cook's statements, such a» the enormous distance he travelled over the ice and the temperature lie recorded —B3 below zero Centigrade is the lowest ever recorded. Members of the British Association at Winnipeg generally accept the bona fides of Dr. Cook's narrative and agree that the only evidence that Dr. Cook can have will lie astronomical notes and with these his good faith cannot reasonably be challenged. Dr. Hugh Robert Mill, Director of the British Rainfall Association, commenting on Dr. Cook's figures, 83dcg/ below zero Centigrade, says this i« lower by 20 degrees Fahrenheit than anything experienced on the earth's surface before.

ENTHUSIASM IN AMERIC/L New York, September 3. Enthusiasm respecting Dr. Cook runs high in America. Mr. J. Diekcrsham, Attorney-Genera l , declares that the Constitution will fo - low the flag. The Telegraph deprecates any ha.ty condemnation of Dr. Cook's narrative.' The Jewish World states that he ta a member of a well-known Jewish family at Frankfort, and that his real name is Koch.

A ROYAL RECEPTION. Copenhagen, September 3. Great preparations are being made to welcome Dr. Cook to Copenhagen. They include a reception by the King and banquets by the Minister of Commerce and Town Council.

DR. COOK'S CLAIMS' ACCEPTED Sydney, September 4. [Professor David accepts Dr. Cook's discovery of the Pole and says: "Apart from Dr. Cook's general reputation, which in itself would be a sufficient guarantee, I should say in the intervtl that the evidence of (his diary should show the world the accuracy of his statements." Melbourne, September 4. The Government Astronomer can «w no reason to refuse credence to Dr. Cook's exploit. He says: "Some of his observations arc certainly at variance with those of other expeditions, but it would not be fair to refuse to believe them. We have liclieved all the rest. The most unconvincing thing is the vast amount of shooting reported. J cannot see how three men carried so much ammunition 'liesides food. Perhaps, however, they had a very small store of food and made the ammunition act as their food."

THE COST OP THE EXPEDITION.

London, September 3. Mr. Bradley, who bore a large portion of the expense of Cook's expedition, estimates it at 00,000 dollars. "QUITE POSSIBLE TO REACH THE POLE." Received 5, 5.5 p.m. Ottawa, September 4. Mr. W. F. King, Dominion Astronomer at Ottawa, thinks fliat if Dr. Cook encountered smooth ice it would be quite possible to reach t'hcPolc. LOOKING FOR THE POLE PREVIOUS- EXPEDITIONS. CENTURIES OF EFFORT. The coveted discovery of tho North Pole—the goal of many ambitions, the grave of many hopes of men of ma'iy nations throughout the ages—apparently lias now come to pass. It is claimed in some quarters that the first attempt on the fastnesses of the north was made in the days of Alfred the Great; at any rate, it can fl>e stated with certaincy that the Norsemen made voyages to Greenland and the opposite coast of America in the 10th nnd following centuries. It was not, however, till the 10th century—that age of discovery, when men stood on the threshold of a great new 1 world—that any genuine attempt was made to ascertain what was defended by the perpetual ice of the northern seas, and then attempts were made to discover what came to be known as the north-west aud aorth-east passages to Asia. Fired by the success of Sebastian Cabot's discovery of Newfoundland and Labrador, in 1495, Gaspar Cortereal and his brother three years later made three separate voyages in the same direction, sailing northwards by Labrador, •where they were stopped in 00 degrees N. latitude. In an attempt to discover a way' to Asia, Sir Hugh Willoughby led the way to the north-east passage in. 1553. He sighted Nova Zemlbla.'but he and his wen ultimately perished on the coast of Lapland. Other attempts were made in succeeding years to find a north-east or northwest passage to Asia, but they were ail doomed to failure, though many valuable geographical discoveries were made' i?, °! , „ H . udson succeeded an reaching 81de£ 30min N. in the neighborhood of Spitsbergen. In &e latter years of the -fltn and the early part of the 17th century many valuable discoveries were made north of America, the great navigator Davis, m 1585-88, coasting the west of Greenland, "the land of deso'a

vSSu 1 *" lh i° Grcat aBCM ' W lllr la Arctic-exploration, and various 1W wan expeditions equipped in the 1811, and early part of the 10& centurK were instrumental in adding to tie world's geographical knowledge record. George 111. there was a new revival of Lnglish «eal i n naval adventure ami the Inst century many successful raids were made on_ the Polar regions, the various expeditions gradually irotttoa nearer the famous Polo. • 8

FRANKLIN'S EXPEDITION of S-^L 18 ! 5, the m * M expedition to.Jum an* his crew, 8() f amous fro the number of search parties whiehif England. "kIU Strait from Lancaster Souad. In 7Mw * . Jat - OSdog 30m. W. long., o„ thf west 6 ,d 0 of King William's land, the search expedition* were seat out. One of these, under Collinson and.McClur» :

ward voyage A McClure's ah™ cued next spring by Sir eL™? » cher about GO mile? west „7 J? Bcl " *>gc from ocean to oceaa I„ ig 7 K m 6 „ d ro? t r' T7 cast parage, and, Cat Ta VP *' death ofW CihW" rfter «»

DnrinVTh. ° NORTHWARD. lion. i„ £>l„ m J?%* ConstituKASBEJre EXPEDITION. Tom Christiana n the Pram n. .-f way from civilisation fo a thVeoV« Md got within 170 miles nearer J» Ma than any of hi 8 predecessors lo ffi made no discoveries of land but nl »** a» a beyond «,, %££&

proved to be without land or M island*, it more extensive then

of land and water together n>Hwß] ue by all former expedition! cowlttiftl On March 14, 1805, when the Fra« jg»] 'in latitude 88deg. 6»m., Hansen «°i«W-a I'd the bold plan, adopted with P*/<W|| success by subsequent explorers, of m-\ ecrting bit ship and travelling wit* wl dog sledgoe across the ice toward* agtjj .Pole. Hansen and hit sole Lieutenant Jobantcn, after 25 days' j%] auous labor, had reached 86deg. 14m. ffJ Mdeg. £., when they found the whoM pack was slowly drifting to the touthj their daily progress thut scarcely exceeding (our or five miles. They there lore gave up the attempt. ATTEMPT BY BALLOON. We now come to the ill-fated attempt of Hcrr Andree. to reach the Pole by balloon. After an unsuccessful attemptj a year or two before, be with two eomjj panions got away from Dane's Itlanfl on July 11, 1897, and was never t»ea again. Ue waa reported to have been killed by nativct. Polar exploration wat at the dote of the century carried on by Walter Wellman and by the Duke of Abrutxl, who made a good but unsuccessful attempt on the Pole.

TWENTIETH CENTURY EFFORTS. Various attempts have been made on the Pole during the current century. Mr. Harrison made his way in the spring of 1907 to Banks Land, from which he made some interesting observations. Mr. Mikkclson, who wan in command of tie Danish expedition, had the misforttrne in this year to lose his ship, in whlcn be and his party had witered at Human Island, and this somewhat delays 1 his start on his sledge expedition over the ice to the north, nut he pushed on for a considerable distance, and was enabled to gather tfome valuable information regarding the great ice regions. AIRSHIP EXPEDITION.

Mr. Wellman, who is political correspondent at Washington for the Chicago Record-Herald, has led several Polar ex-' peditions. In 1906 he organised la airship expedition far his paper. The airship was built in Paris, and was taken to Spitsbergen. In the following year it was enlarged, and in September, 1907, Mr. Wellman made a plucky attatapt to reach the North Pole. The expedition ended in disaster, the airship being partiallv wrecked, but.Mr. WelUnai, realising the difficulties and dangers, set about repairing the dirigible, and preparing for another attempt., A.lew weeks ago he was to have made a Start from Dane's Island, Spitsbergen, but found on arrival there that the balloon shed had been wrecked. Some days *ga it was reported that the bag provisions, and used as an equDlbrator, had «mrst, and compelled the return of, the ship. Mr. Wellman then; relinquished his attempt for the pretest year.