Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-10-08
COOKS DASH To
!. NORTH POLE,
Explorers Own Story Of Finding
the "Big Nail"
LIVED LIKE THE ESKlM0S.

Started At Lands End, $50 Miles From
the Pole-Averaeed Little Over Four
teen Miles a Day and "Raissd the
United States Flag" At Ninetieth
Parallel at Noon on April Fl, 1908.
Left Two Days Later.
william T. Stead. the English jour-
ualist who interviewed DR.. Frederick
A. Cook at Copenhagen for the New
York American concerning his march
to the north pole, said that there are
certain things upon which DR.. Cook
insisted, without variation or without
the shadow of . turning, from first to
last. (
The statements he persisted in were
these:
First, he discovered the north pole.
Second, he had his data in the shape
Of scientific observations. diary and
the like by which he could convince
any competent scientific authority as
to the truth of his assertions.
Third. that until he had made good
his claim by the production Of these
data he asked for nothing more than
to be left alone to complete his book
and present his case as whole to the
scientific world.
After describing the fortunate COM
bination of circumstances that brought
him to the edge Of the arctic circle at
time when good dogs, plenty Of Els
kimos and lots of food were there DR..
Cook told me the story Of his polar
march as follows:
Il started away from Annootok,
near Etah, on Feb. 10, which was the
sunrise of 1908. l had ten Eskimos,
eleven sledges heavily laden with sup:
plies and 1O3 dogs. It was the cold
est part of the winter. The thermom-
eter registered SO degrees below zero
as we passed over the heights OF
Nllesmere strait. We were bound for
Lands End. to the west, where we
were to begin our fee journey. During
the trip we struck several fine game
trails and secured 1O1 musk oxen, 1856
hares and seven hares. We reached the
end of the land and the beginning OF
the ice on March Is, 1908.
Started Dash $50 Miles From Pole.
'sThere we established supply sta
ton, and / picked out the best two
men and twenty-six Of the best dogs
for the dash across the ice. The Es-
kimos were Eutikishook and Ahwelsh.
bravest and strongest Of the tribe. We
were then at latitude 1898, or 400
miles from the pole. We started our
advance three days later. on March II.
During the first days we made long
marches. The cold persisted, and there
were strong winds.
II lived as the EsHm0s did and man
aged to get some comfort by sleeping
In snow houses which we dug out. eat
ing tallow and drinking tea. The sky
during these days was overcast by
smoky mist, so that no observation
could be taken, but on March 80 an
observation gave our position as iat-
tude 84.47. We had covered, therefore.
more than 100 miles In nine days. Be-
You'd this point we encountered mere
" a desert of ice. There was no life.
Tracks Of animals and blowholes OF
seals were absent. Nor was there a
trace of vegetation.
DAY after day from then on we pro-
crossed monotonously. The surface OF
the ice grew smoother and more level.
It was still cold, and there was q Bit
ter wind. I recorded daily our posi-
ton and the incidents of the march,
but one day was much like another.
April Z was worthy of especial note
because the SUD at midnight appeared
over the edge Of the northern ice. The
next day made an observation which
placed our position at latitude 1886.
Our speed had increased slightly. We
had traversed more than 25O miles IN
seventeen days.
Sunburned and Frostbitten Same Day.
1--WE we're then a triae more than 200
miles from the pole. We were sun
burned and frostbitten on the same
day, but the light enabled us to adj
vance more easily.
Beyond the eighty-sixth parallel the
crevices became fewer and narrower.
and between the eighty-seventh and
eighty-eighth parallels was surprised
to find indications Of land ice. For
two days we travelled over ice that
looked like a glacial surface. But
there was no perceptible elevation,
and therefore IL was impossible to tell
whether we were on land or sea.
ION April II we reached latitude
1921 and were within little bit less
than 100 miles Of the pole. We no
longer had energy to make snow houses
and slept in a silk tent which we car
ried. In the days that followed we
saw mirages-inverted mountains and
queer objects that seemed to dance
about. The horizon itself seemed to
dance, but l made careful astronom-
ical observations and always knew our