Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-09-18

any OF the many ways death stories
would sound plausible.
This brought Ferguson TO the present
Peary expedition and the stories Of the
final dash TO the pole Ia marches Of 40
miles to the day. This, as is stated
above, in the opinion ~ Ferguson. is an
impossible feat to accomplish. A march
OF 10 miles 10 the day Is considered
good progress and Is exceptional and
only possible under the most favorable
conditions.
SCOUTS MARVIN STORY.
Ferguson does not accept the author
lied statement by peaiy that Prof
Marvin met death while riding on a
sleigh The Peary story "a to the ef-
feet that upon the return march to
Etah II was learned from some of the
parties left behind IN the final dash
to The pole that Marvin had been riding
OF a sleigh and that the dogs had run
into hole and that the sleigh with
Prof. Marvin riding on IL had gone to
the bottom and under the ice.
ITO tell why do not believe this
story, let me tell one of my experiences
In ice travelling I was riding on a
sleigh for the first time and was not
experienced. II had p big team OF dogs
and a 30-foot whip with n bone stock
about a foot long. 7 swung this whip
over the heads ~ the dogs with a crack
al the leaders and with shout in EslSi-
mo tho dogs dashed away They nan
with me AZ almost incredible speed and
could not stop them. The Eskimos
who had seen me start laughed IN their
strange gutteral chuckle. for they knew
what I had coming ON our dash over
the ice We came 20 a hole that was
quite wide. The dogs plunged into the
water and the sleigh followed them
with me on top. NOu can better under
stand my feelings than / can describe
them. but YOU cannot understand how
happy | felt when I landed safely on
the other side OF the hole. The dogs
had cleared the hole, I had foatsd over
IL on the sleigh and I was safe, when
every instant OF my trip over the water
/ had thought that my life was TO end
IN the ice cold water Now IL / could
make that trip over the hole. an unex-
perlenced man. and II / could make
many other trips over the water on
sleigh a. / have done at other times.
Prof Marvin. who was man OF ex-
perience, could have done the same"
MARvINs DATA.
Another item in the story Of Peary
which causes some skepticism on the
part OF Ferguson is Peary's statement
that Marvin secured valuable data dur
ing his scientific observations In the
far north These records Peary says
he has. signed by Marvin himself, and
that they viii prove of great value to
him Peary also says that Marvins
feet became so badly frozen that Il
was necessary 10 send him back 20 the
depot and that II was while he was
on his way down 20 the depot with an
Eskimo companion that he met his
death. II is very strange, in the opin-
ION OF Ferguson. that n Marvin
drowned the dogs and the Eskimo. who
were In the same peril. should escape
alive. as Peary reports them TO have
done
Ferguson does not believe that either
peary or Cook has reached the pole.
OF the two he fayors Cook. m Peary
reached the pole. 80 did Cook" Is his
way OF putting Il. lie firmly believes
that there Is land al the pole for the
reason he states in his remarks repro
duced that the beginning OF this story.
The possibility OF knowing absolutely
that the pole Is al hand. he declares
would be hard indeed 20 determine for
the fact that not only the compass, but
the other Instruments requiring careful
adjustment would be IN use In such
unusual surroundings that the abso-
lutte certainty or the observations must
always remain somewhat ia doubt
The necessity Of using huge FUR NIT
tens al the pole 10 save the hands from
freezing would prevent the finer adjust
ment % the instruments and a thOus-
and other obstacles would stand la the
way 81 an absolute determination OF
the latitudinal location The astro-
nomh,al observations would b. the
safest data on which 10 rely. la the
opinion OF Ferguson and. because the
retlcal. though the theories are 10 far
proven a. 60 be accepted by the great
est scientists Of the ages, there would
be- still some doubts for several years
as 20 the positlfeness OF these data.
though other visits 90 the supposed lo-
cation OF the pole In time would tend
10 prove them.