Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-10-03
SCALING MOUNT M'k|NLEy.
Attempt Made By DP. Cook of
 Brooklyn.
Made An Altitude of 11,Ooo Feet on Southwestern Side-Party Stopped By Granite Slope 5000 Feet Above Them.

Them.
 New York. Oct 3.-An attempt made by Dr Frederick A. Cook Of Brooklyn, the well known explorer, to scale Mount Mckinley, in Alaska has failed. Dr Cook. accompanied by two or three other men. among them a Columbia university student left this city sew eral months ago and no news of the expedition had been received until to- day, when the following cablegram signed by the leader Of the party, was received by the Associated Press:
 Valdez, Alaska, Oct 2.-The assault upon Mount Mckinley resulted in our making an altitude of 11,000 feet on the southwestern side. At this point we were stopped by an impassable granite slope which extended 5,OOo feet above US. We searched the en- tire western side of the mountain Tor a route to the summit which might offer prospect of success, but no opportunity was found and the ascent from the western slope seems prac- tically impossible. On September A. signs of winter already were far ad- vanced and although we should have liked to search the northwestern ridge as we'll as Muldrow glacier, the rapid ly advancing season forced us on to point where we could get out of the country without horses. Therefore, It was decided to cross the Mckinley range at the first northerly break in the mountains.
 Our previous travels had been over the trail made by the geological sur vey expedition under Brooks last year, but now we travelled over unknown territory, marching about 45 mlles northward and swinging eastward lis the mountains at every available op7s portunity We crossed the divide September 9 over a new pass at an elevation of 5000 feet and camped sn the valley of Chulitna. Our aim was to reach the eastern slope of Mount Mckinley, and, on our way out, if the season permitted, to make another at tack from that side.
 A forced march was made down the Chultina, it being necessary to ford and swim the river many times. but we were compelled to abandon our horses and build rafts twenty miles north of great glacier. The latter afforded the first easterly route to the great mountain peak. We explored it and made a rapid examination of the eastern slope but the rapidly ap- preaching winter would not permit of another attempt to climb the, noun tain and with much regret we were forced to take to our rafts September 21 and to seek the headwaters Og Cook inlet which lay 150 miles to the south. Before us was a journey of 60 miles down the Chultina river of which nothing was known as to the possibility of navigation on raft Con- siderable apprehension was felt on this score, but the river proved navi- gable and the expedition reached Tyo- snek in six days. The net result of the expedition was march of 800 miles with horses, nearly four hundred miles voyage in boats and rafts, the explora- ton of good deal of new territory, the discovery of several mountains, glaciers and rivers. Tue summit of Mount Mckinley was not possible for us but the members of the expedition feel that we did all possible in the short working season of the Alaskan summer. Every member of the party has enjoyed good health and will re- turn directly to the United States. .
 Dr Cook was accompanied on his trip by Ralph Shinwald of Columbia university and Robert Dunn.