Lower coast gazette., 1909-10-23

hing yer twenty.
How many sledges did they have
when they got back to land" Ans.
Two.
Did they have any prOvisions left on
their sledges when they came back to
and? Ans. Yes; the sledges still had
about all they could carry, 50 they
were able to take but a few things
from the cache.
From here they went southwest
along the northwest coast of Heiberg
Land to a point indicated on the map
(Sverdrup's Cape Northwest).
From here they went west across
the ice. which was level and covered
with snow, offering good going, to a
low island which they had e e from
the shore of Heiberg Land al Cape
Northwest. On this island they
camped for n sleep.
From this island they could see two
lands beyond (%sverdrup's Ellef Ring.
res and Amund Rhymes Lands). From
the island they journeyed toward the
Ieft-hand one Of these two lands
(Amund Hinges Land), passing a
small island which they did not visit.
The answers Of the Eskimo boys to
Commander Peary's series of indie.
pendent questions, showing that they
killed nc game, made no caches, lost
no dogs, and returned to the land
with loaded sIedges, makes their at.
tainment Of the pole on the trip
north Of Cape Thomas Hubbard a
physical and mathematical impossi.
bi'ity, as it would demand the sub.
s~istenee Of three men and over TWEEN.
ty dogs during a journey Of ten hun
dred and forty geographical miles on
less than two sIedge loads Of supplies.
II it is suggested that perhaps Dr..
Cook got mixed and that he reached
the pole, or thought he did, between
the time Of leaving the northwest
coast Of Heibere Land at Cape North.
west, and his arrival at Rhymes Land,
where they killed the deer, we must
then add to the date Of Dr.. Cooks let.
ter Of March 18th, at or near Cape
Thomas Hubbard, the subsequent four
or five sleeps at that point, and the
number Of days required to march
from Cape Thomas Hubbard to Cape
Northwest Ia distance Of some sixty
nautical miles), which would advance
his date Of departure from tho land
to at least the 25th Of March, and be
prepared to accept the claim that Dr..
Cook went from Cape Northwest
(about latitude eighty and a half de-.
grees north> to the pole, a distance Of
five hundred and seventy geographical
miles, in twenty'seven days.
After killing the deer they then trav.
eled south along the east side of Ring.
mes Land to the point indicated on the
chart, where they killed another deer.
They then went east across the
south part of Crown Prince Gustav
sea to the south end of Heiberg Land,
then down through Norwegian bay,
where they secured some bears, but
not until after they had killed some Of
their dogs, to the east side of Ora.
ham Island; then eastward to the lit.
tie bay marked Eds Fiord" on Sver.
drup's chart; then southwest to Hell's
Gate and Simmons peninsula.
Here for the first time during the
entire journey, except as already
noted off Cape Thomas H. Hubbard.
they encountered open water. On this
point the boys were clear, emphatic.
| and unshakable. They spent a good
deal of time In this region, and finally
abandoned their dogs and one sledge,
took to their boat, crossed Hells Gate
to North Kent, up into Norfolk Inlet,
then back along the north coast OF
Colin Archer Peninsula to Cape Vera,
| where they obtained fresh elder duck
eggs. Here they cut the remaining
sledge off, that is shortened 1t, az II
was awkward to transport with the
boat, and near here they killed a wal
rus.
From Cape Vera they went on down
| into the southwest angle Of Jones
| Sound, where they killed q seal;
thence east along the south coast Of
the sound, killing three bears at the
| point noted on the map, to the PENN
sula known as Cape Sparbo on the
map, about midway on the south side
of Jones Sound. Here they killed
| some musk.oxen and, continuing east
killed four more at the place indi
Gated on the chart, and ere finally
stopped by the pack ice at the mouth
of Jones Sound. From here they
| turned back to Cape Sparbo, where
they wintered and killed many musk
oxen.
After the sun returned in 1909 they
started, pushing their sledge, across
Jones Sound to Cape Tennyson; thence
along the coast to Clarence Head;
(passing inside of two small islands
not shown on the chart, but drawn or
it by the boys), where they killed 9
bear; thence across the broad blight
| in the coast to Cadogan Nord; thence
around Cape Isabella and up to Com
magder Peary's old house in Payer
Harbor near Cape Sabine, where the,
found a seal cached for them by Pan
ikpah, l.took.a.shoo's father. From
here they crossed Smith Sound on thu
ice, arriving at Anoratok.
(Signed) r. +. PEARY, U. S. N.
ROBERT A. BARTLETT,
Master s.. s. Roosevelt