THE NORTH POLE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9608, 30 September 1909, Page 5

THE NORTH POLE.

DR. COOK'S DASH. AN INTERESTING NARRATIVE. NEW LAND DISCOVERED United Press Association—ny Telegraph Copyright. Received September 29, 10.20 a.m. 3 PERTH, September 29. English files received by the mail contain Dr. Cook's account of his ' dash to the North Pole. He says : "The expedition the outcome of <i summer cruise in the Arctic Seas in the yacht Bradley. We arrived at the limits of navigation in Smith's Sound late in August, 1907. The conditions were found favourable for a venture to the Pole, and Mr J. R. Brandley liberally supplied provisions and equipment. "At sunrise in February, 1908, the main expedition embarked for the Pole. It consisted of eleven men and 103 dogs, drawing eleven heavily-laden sledges. The gloom of the long night was relieved only by a few hours of sunshine. As we crossed the heights of Ellesmere Sound 83 degrees below zero was registered i for several days. The frozen men I suffered severely, but soon found game trails, along which an easy way was forced through Nansen Sound to Land's End. In March we secured 101 musk oxen and 355 hares. "We pushed out into the Polar Sea from the southern point of Heiberg Island on March 18th. Six Eskimos returned from here. With four men and forty-six dogs moving supplies for eighty days, crossing the circumpolar pack began. Three days ater two other Eskimos forming the last supporting party, returned. Euskishook and Welsh, two of the best men, and twenty-seven dogs, were picked for the final 460 miles to the goal. "On March 30th the horizon partly cleared the smoky agitation, and over the western mist we discovered new land. Observations gave the position latitude 84 degrees 47 minutes, longitude 86 degrees 36 minutes. The urgent need of a rapid advance did not permit us to detour and explore. Here were seen the last signs of solid earth. "We advanced steadily over a monotonous moving sea of ice. We found oarseives beyond the range of all life, and the maddening influence of the shifting desert of frost became almost unendurable. In the daily routine the surface of the pack offered less and less trouble. The weather improved, but there still remained a lifd sapping wind which drove deipair ro its lowest recass. ' "The night of April 7th was made notable by the rising of the sun at midnight over the northern icelands. Observations on April Bth placed the camp in latitude 94 degrees 2 seconds. , In spite of what seerr.ei a long march, we had advanced little over one hundred miles in nine days, though we were still equal to about , fifteen miles daily by extended marches and long hours. The travelling with which fortune had favoured us earlier was t.o longer possible." Dr Cook continued:—We were now ' about two hundred miles froin the Pole. The sledge loads were reducid. One dog after another had to go into ' the s';omachs of the surviving champions, unti the teams were considerably reduced. The icefields became , more extensive, and the heavier crevasses fewer and less troublesome. From the 87th to the 88th parallel, much to our surprise, there was an . indication of land ice. For two days ' 1 we travelled ice which re ( sembled a glacial surface, though there were no positive signs of land ( or sea. The temperatira remained . below 40 degrees, "cementing together quickly new crevasses. Young ] ice spread over the open water so . rapidly that little delay was cause! , in crossing from one field to ano- < ther. "The tima had arrived to muster t our energies for the last efforts, j Signs of land were still seen every j day, but they were deceptive ilu- , sipns. ] On April 21st the first corrected latitude by the sun gave 88 degrees , 58 minutes 46 seconds. The Pole was i therefore in sight. We advanced to < 14 seconds, made supplementary ob- ; servations, and prepared to stop | long enough to permit of a double < round of observations. At last we had pierced the boreal mystery, and ] the American flag was raised amid j the coveted breezes of the Pole. j "The day was April 21st. The sun , indicated local noon, but the time ; was negative. The problem of north, ; east, west bad vanished; it was | south in every direction, but the compass, which was pointing to the magnetic pole, was as useful as ever. "Though overjoyed at the success of our quest, a sense of intense . loneliness came with further scrutiny of the horizon—endless fields of purple snow, no life, no land, no spot to relieve the monotony of frost. We were the only pulsating breathers in a dead world of ice. "We turned our backs to the Pole on April'23rd. The return journey was made westerly. With fair wea- ; ther and good ice, the long distance 1 was at first quickly covered Later the weather became bad and food was very scarce. We suffered severe privations until we reached open water at Crown Prince Gustav Sea, . i wbere we managed to live on game ! till sunrise of 1903, and we reichsd

• the shores of Greenland on Aprf 15th. Received September 29, 9.50 p.m. NEW YORK, September 29. Commander Peary raises, numerous technical points controverting Dr. Cook'B claim. He declares that Dr. Cook violated the custom by not bringing back records found in the cairns. He contends that it was impossible for Dr. Cook to have travelled 25J degrees in one sledging season. His best previous record was 11 degrees, and Commander Peary's best journey was in 1909, when he travelled 14 degrees. He concludes by criticising D>\ Cook's equipment adversely,' and declares that he (Commander Peary) and Henson talked to every member of the Smith Sound tribe of Esquimos, and obtained testimony corroborating the statement of the two Esquimos accompanying Dr. Cook that the latter had not been out of sight of land.