Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1909-10-14

Their route than lay out through
this ford, thence north through Syer
drup's Heuerka Sound" and Nanser
Strait.
On their way they killed musk-oxen
and bear, and made caches, arriving
eventually at point on the west side
of hansen Strait (shore of Axel Hell
berg Land of Sverdrup), south of Cape
Thomas Hubbard.
A cache was formed here and the
four Eskimos did not get beyond this
point. Two others, Koolootingwah
and Inughito, went on one more march
with DR.. Cook an the two boys
helped to build the snow igloo, then
returned without sleeping.
(These two Eskimos brought back
letter from Dr. Cook to Francke
dated the II of March. The two men
rejoined he other four men who had
been left behind, and the six returned
to Anoratok arriving May Z. This in
formation was obtained not from the
two Eskimo boys, but from the six
men who returned and from Francke
himself, and was known to us in the
summer of 1908, when the Roosevelt
first arrived at Etah. The information
is inserted here as supplementary to
the narrative of the two boys.)
After sleeping at the camp where
the last two Eskimos turned back. DR.
Cook and the two boys went in a
nOrtherly or northwesterly direction
with two sledges and twenty odd dogs
one more march, when they encoun
tered rough ice and lead of open
water. They did not enter this rough
ice, nor cross the lead, but turned
westward or southwestward~ short
distance and returned to Heiberg
Land at a point west of where they
had left the cache and where the four
men had turned back.
Here they remained four or five
sleeps, and during that time I-took-a
shoe went back to the cache and got
his gun which he had left there, and
a few items of supplies.
When asked why only a few sup
plies were taken from the cache, the
boys replied that only a small amount
of provisions had been used in the
few days since they left the cache
and that their sledges still had all
they could carry, so that they could
not take more.
After being informed of the boys
narrative thus far, Commander Peary
suggested a series of questions to be
put to the boys in regard to this trip
from the land out and back to it.
These questions and answers were
as follows:
Did you cross many open leads or
much open water during this time?
Ans. None.
Did they make any catches out on
the ice? Ans. No.
Did they kill any bear nr seal
while out on the ice north of Cape
Thomas Hubbard? Ans. No.
Did they kill any bear or seal
dogs while out on the ice? Ans. No.
With how many sledges did they
start? Ans. Two.
How many dogs did they have?
Ans. Did not remember exactly, but
something over 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 land? Ans. Yes: the sledges
still had about all they could carry,
so 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 a point indicated on
the map (Sverdrup's Cape North
west}.
From here they went across the
ice, which was level and covered
with snow, offering good going, 10 a
low island which they had seen from
the shore of Heiberg Land at Cape
Northwest. On the island they
camped for one sleep.
The size and position of this ISL
and, as drawn by the first boy, was
criticised by the second boy as be-
ing too large and too far to the west,
the second boy calling the attention
of the first to the fact that the posi-
ton of the island was more nearly IN
line with the point where they had
left Heiberg Land (Cape Northwest
and the channel between Amund
Ringnes Land and Ellef/ Ringnes
Land.
This criticism and correction was
accepted by the first boy, who start
ed to change the position of the ISL
and, but was stopped, as Commander
Peary had given instructions that no
changes or erasures were to be made
in the route as drawn by the Eskimos
on the chart.
From this island they could see two
lands beyond (Sverdrup's Ellef Ring
mes and Amund Ringnes Lands)
From the island they journeyed to-
ward the lefthand one Of these two
lards (Amund Ringnes Dand), pass
ing small island which they did not
visit
Arriving at the shore of Amund
Ringnes Land, the Eskimos killed a
deer as indicated on the chart.
The above italicised portion of the
statement of the Eskimo boy covers
the period of time in which DIR. Cook
claims 10 have gone to the pole and
hack and the entire time 7IIrinp