The Montgomery tribune., 1909-10-15

could carry so that they could not
take more.
After being informed Of the boys
narrative thus far, Commander Peary
suggested series of questions to be
put to the boys in regard to this trip
from the land out and back to 1t.
These questions and answers were
as follows:
Did they cross many open leads or
much open water during this timer
| Ans. None.
Did they make any caches out on
the ice? Ans. No.
Did they kill any bear or seal while
out on the ice north of Cape Thomas
Hubbard? Ans. No.
Did they kill or lose any of their
dogs while out on the ice? Ans. No.
With how many sledges did they
start? Ans. Two.
How many dogs did they have7
Ans. Did not remember exactly, but
something over twenty.
Did they have any provisions left
! on their sledges when they came back
| to land? Ans. Yes: the sledges still
had about all they could carry sc
they were able to take but few
things from the cache.
From here they then went south
west along the northwest coast OF
Heiberg Land to point indicated or
the map (Cape NorthwesD.
From here they went west across
the ice, which was level and covered
| oTn 20
low island which they had seen from
the shore of Heiberg Land at Cape
Northwest. On this island they
camped for one sleep.
The size and position of this island
as drawn by the first boy, was crit
icised by the second boy as being toe
large and too far west, the second bo!
calling the attention of the first te
the fact that the position of the island
was more nearly in line with the poin'
where they had left Heiberg Lane
(Cape Northwest) and the channe'
between Amund Ringnes Land ant
Ellef Ringnes Land.
This criticism and correction was
accepted by the first boy, who started
to change the position of the island
but was stopped, as Commander PearJ
had given instructions that ne
changes or erasures were to be made
in the route as drawn by the Eskimoi
on the chart.
From this island they could see tive
lands beyond (Sverdrup's Ellef Ring
mes and Amund Ringnes Lands. From
the island they journeyed toward the
left-hand one of these two land,
(Amund Ringnes Land), passing &
small island which they did not visit.
The above portion of the statement
! of the Eskimo boys covers the period
of time in which DR.. Cook claims ia
have gone to the Pole and back, and
the entire time during which he colid
possibly have made any attempts to
go to 1t.
The answers of the Eskimo boys tA
Commander PearyS series of inde
pendent questions, showing that they
killed no game, made no caches, lost
no dogs, and returned to the land with
loaded sledges, makes their attain
ment of the Pole on the trip north oi
Cape Thomas Hubbard physical and
mathematical impossibility, as II
would demand the subsistence OF
three men and over twenty dogs dur
ing journey of ten hundred and for
ty geographical miles ON less than two
sledge loads of supplies.
If 1t 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 Heiberg Land at Cape North
west, and his arrival at Ringnes Land
where they killed the deer, we must
then add to the date of DIR. 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
/ nautical miles), which would advance
his date of departure from the land te
J at least the Goth of March, and be pre-
, pared to accept the claim that DR.
, Cook went from Cape Northwest
| (about latitude eighty and half de
, grees north) to the Pole, distance
, of five hundred and seventy geograph
> ical miles, in twenty-seyen days.
: After the sun returned in 1909 they
3 started, pushing their sledge, across
Jones Sound to Cape Tennyson;
3 thence along the coast to Clarence
!, Head (passing inside of two small
4 islands not shown on the chart, but
drawn on it by the boys), where they
i, killed bear; thence across the broad
: blight in the coast to Cadogan Fiord
: thence around Cape Isabella and up tt
l Commander Peary's old house II
I Payer Harbor near Cape Sabine
t where they found seal cached fol
I them by Panilpah, I-took-a-shoo'i