Evening journal., 1893-10-13
JOHN VERHOEFF'S 'SQUEST
Believed to Be Looking for a
Fertile Polar Continent.
LONG WINTER NIGHT ON THE FLoEs.


TO the Young Arctic Explorer, and Be
lieves He WIN lie Heard From In 1904
Lieutenant Peary Could Not Have
Heard.
Rev. A. NKeigwin. the popular pastor
Of West Presby terian Church, this city,
does not believe that his kinsmRn, John
VerhoefI, has met death on the cheerless
snowcap Of Greenland He says he
will not give up hope until the summer
Of 1894 has elapsed.
In a measure Mr.. Keigwin blames him.
self for verhoef's desertIon OF Peary's
polar expedition. Any influence exer-
clsed by him upon the young mans
movements was unintentlonal. but may
prove glorious or calamltous as future
evens transpire and determine.
"stin Alive and VIII Return ="
This morning an EVENING JOURNAL
reporter called upon Mr.. Kelgwin at the
Clayton House. and asked him for an
interview on the subject. He demurred
at FIRST, but finally consented.
"What do you think OF Lieutenant
Peary's report concerning young Yer
hoeff2 asked the reporter.
"You ask me what think Of Lieuten-
ant Peary's report, concerning John
| Nerhoeii, member Of his former expe-
ditlon, viz: that he was undoubtedly
lost in the glacier as he had surmised
and reported a year ago2
4 reply that have great respect for
| Lieutenant Peary's opinion and a great
admiration for him as an officer and a
gentleman; but that am unshaken In
my opinion that ny nephew was alive
when the Peary expedition sailed from
| Greenland In August Of 1892 and n
reasonable hope that he is stlll alive and
will return VIXEN he has accomplished
his object.
"What are Peary's grounds for the re
portg"
Lieutenant Peary Is confirmed In bis
opinion only by the fact that none Of thi
Esquimaux whom he had conversed Will
after he reached Greenland on his presen
expedition, had seen or heard OF him
That, according TO the letters he sen
back by the Falcon, is the sole ground o
his opinion, and yet, In letter from an
other member Of the party, we learn tina
: at the time the Falcon left Greenland
I the only Esquimaux whom Peary ha
seen was a party OF six families livin
fully 200 miles south OF his present cam
and requiring a land journey OF abou
SEQ miles to reach It. These he too
q aboard and carried TO Inglefeld gulf
a course they could not have heard froI
Verhoeff They left the old.camp abou
the same time Peary did and returne
with him
d "They have no means OF communici
ie tion with the natives Of any other pa
Ia OF that desolate but interesting countr
y The information would be as reliab
upon which to base the opinion Of Let
tenant Peary, as information coneernin
10 Captain Smith, who was taken prlson'
l. by the Indians in Virginia, would hay
ie been II derived from the natives livin
p. on Cape Cod They could not ha'
heard any news OF Verhoeif any mo-
J. easily than his friends at home.
% "How, then, do you account for Vel
sr hoeff not being in the neighborhood
Iugleheld gulf on Peary 8 return TO thI
le pointf'
At Explained His Theory to verhoefi.
IT "I.et me say that am afrai ] that a
!, somewhat TO blame for Verhoeii's absenc
u and therefore may be better able to 4
h terpret his singular behavior In inte
le tionally remaining In Greenland. Abol
al three years before he went on this exp
b. dition he was at my house for sever
days and talked much on this, his favo
rs ite, theme In one of the conversation
n urged my belief that there Is.
ID through the summer an open sea fill
~ | with ice foes, to the north Of Greenlan
s, and that beyond that, about the Nor
Pole, there Is continent of from d
y hundred to a Thousand miles long al
Is from fifty to FIVE hundred miles bros
g That between this continent and {
1e mainland of North America and Gree
st land there is great number Of islan6
of and that it would be impossible.
,h account Of broken ice and open watl
be TO reach the Polar continent in
ed summer time.
or "Was IL an opinion OF long g.stsnding
be "My opinion is one / have held
Id many wears, and was formed from
well.known fact that has this sumn
N led DR. Frldhof Nansen, the Norwegi
&C. explorer, 70 build a ship, sail throu
: a the Kara sea, Skirtina, the Siberi
ch coast. passing the river Lsna, where
,se brave DeLong met his death, and until
ps ice pack is reached Then anchoring to
Is float westward This westward cure
ity has long been known and shows that il
iat diverted by large island or eontin,
mt somewhere near the Pole. so that
as comes out far east OF Greenland.
il. dwelt on this opinion in talking W
as Verhoef, and said that knew no way
reach that Polar continent excep.
ill push on in the summer time to the m
be- northern point Of Greenland and "
' a for the long cold winter night to 70
IDS an ice bridge and thus cross on the fl
m, en- sea.
'Iy No idea of Influencing Him.
~ 81 had no idea when / was talk
les with him that he or anyone else VOL
an undertake the hardships TO which sue
a., Journey In the winter night Of
~ Arctic regions would expose him. bl
~ feel satisfied now that Verhoeh. '
icb knows no fear, and who would un'
the take anything, purposely hid away Il
,vvs Peary TO undertake this plan Of reach
avs the North pole. For told him Of
mn that came to me when / was a boy
MIN those who were searching for Sir j
rrht Franklin, had shot wild geese that
ont come from the unexplored North
NJ found wheat in their craws. This c
rfroaI mo that a. uvaq a laval and