The daily sentinel., 1909-09-18

of 1907 made a surprising one-man
effort to reach the pole from ANIMAL
lok, on the northwestern coast of
Greenland. may mean that he has
actually reached that coveted point
is believed by many members of the
Arctic Club of America.
DR.. Cooks adventure had a num-
ber of curious features connected
with it. 1t was apparently unpre-
meditated. He is the only white man
of the expedition. He is equipped
with strange, especially built am
phibious automobile. which acts as a
high power motor boat in the water
and runs on a combination of toothed
wheels and runners on ice. His plan
was to strike the floes off Cape Hub
bard. race for the pole with I50 dogs
and few Eskimo. and then race
back to land again even faster.
He figured that his impedimenta
reduced TO the smallest form possible
at the start. would steadily lessen as
he proceeded lie made no provision
for the food of his dogs on the re-
turn trip, planning To feed the strong
er with the weaker. Literally case
safety.
The last word from DR.. Cook was
received on March II, 1908, when he
stated that he had crossed Ellsmere
Land, passed Nansen Strait and had
reached the ice near Cape Hubbard.
sixty miles below Cape Columbus
Peary's point of departure in 1906.
He was then well and expected to re-
/ in ThraA unnfhg n
year has now passed.
A number of interesting questions
arise Did he reach the pole? Is
there really hahitable land there, as
has been mans dream for years? Did
| the dogs he had intended to feed one
another fall upon him instead and
destroy him? Is he dead up there in
the frozen Arctic desolation?
Peary is now somewhere up on the
great Polar pack and should be close
to DR. Cooks old trail. By the un-
written law of Arctic exploration.
Peary is forced to do all he can to
determine whether DR.. Cook is dead
or alive and to rescue him if living.
even if he has to abandon his own
plans This is the rule of the road
in Arctic travel / one that must
be obeyed.
| From the first DR.. Cooks dash has
| been clouded in mass of curious
factors. In the spring of 1907 he
accompanied John h. Bradley. the
famous New York millionaire sports
man and traveller, in hunting trip
to Greenland. The two set sail from
Gloucester, Mass. in a fishing schoon-
er. provisioned for a two years
cruise.
1t leaked out that some curious
contrivance savoring of amphibious
automobiles, combination of motor
boat and ice runner, had been built
/ for DR.. Cook by his brother at CALI
coon, Sullivan county. When Mr..
Bradley returned from Greenland.
therefore, in August of 1907. bring
/ ing the news of DR.. Cooks adventure.
none interested in Arctic research
were much surprised. Explorer Rob
ert G. Peary, who was then preparing
for his expedition of the Roosevelt,
on which he now. is was very angry,
declaring the whole thing a pre-
meditated and put up job" to steal
a march upon him and to embarrass
him.
DR.. Cook had planned to approach
the pole from his winter quarters in
Greenland. travel acros Ellsmere
Land. over Nausea strait and out to
the Polar back. and so straight north
to the pole. Peary said this route
was "as fantastic as il would be TO
go directly TO Central Park from the
Battery by way of Jersey City" 9th
ers disagreed with Peary. At any
rate, DIR. Cook reach safely the point
he had aimed for and it does not seem
to have been far from the accredited
route.
All the animadversions against DR..
Cook Mr.. Bradley combatted when
he reached New York. He said DR..
Cooks decision had been made on
the spur of the moment, and that he,
Bradley. had thought the plan SO
good that he had financed the expe-
dition The amphibious auto. he de-
foot whaleboat. which he had built
especially and was really high pow
er motor boat. holding a 10-horse-
power engine. 1t was sheathed with
steel and weighed less than thou
sand pounds. Ii was so made that it
could travel over the ice with run
ners.
When DR.. Cook started he left be-
hind at Annatok the only remaining
white man in his party, Rudolph
Francke, young German. Francke
had been told by the explorer TO wait
at Winter quarters until he heard
from him, and when he did hear to
obey instructions literally. On May
Z, 1908, Francke received a message
from DR.. Cook telling him to go back
to New York if he did not return to
Annatok by early June. This was
the March Z letter, and must have
been written two weeks after the
stare poleward. June came and went
and DR.. Cook did not return. Francke
therefore, obeyed and started south.
He made long detour to North Star
\ Bay in Greenland, in the hope OF
meeting the whalers. On the way he
became afflicted with scurvy and
\ rheumatism and had to crawl over