Mexico Missouri message., 1909-10-21

Whtu hhheu why ouiy u lew sup
plies we're taken from the cache, the
boys replied that only 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 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 have?
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, so
they were able to take but a few
things from the cache.
From here they went west across
the ice, which was level and covered
with snow, offering good going, to
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 too
large and too far west, the second boy
calling the attention of the first to
the fact that the position 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 started
to change the position of the island,
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 LandsJ. From
the island they journeyed toward the
| left-hand one of these two lands
| (Amund Ringnes Land), passing a
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 70
have gone to the Pole and back, and
the entire time during which he could
possibly have made any attempts to
go to it.
The answers of the Eskimo boys to
Commander Peary's series of indie.
pendent questions, showing that they
/ hllACh III 6callCB hAcluE hO N1IhGot lpbl
no dogs, and returned to the land with
loaded sledges, makes their attain
ment of the Pole on the trip north OF
Cape Thomas Hubbard a 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 it 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 DR.. Cooks let
ter of March 18th, at or near Cape
Thomas Hubbard, the subsequent foul
or five sleeps at that point, and the
number of days required to march
from Cape Thomas Hubbard to Cape
Northwest "a distance of some sixty
nautical miles), which would advance
his date of departure from the land tC
at least the 25th Of March, and be pre-
pared to accept the claim that DR.
7 Cook went from Cape Northwes
(about latitude eighty and half de
grees north) to the Pole, distance
OF five hundred and seventy geograph
ical miles, in twenty-seven days.
After the sun returned in 1909 the!
started, pushing their sledge, across
Jones Sound to Cape Tennyson
thence along the coast 20 Clarenc'
Head (passing inside OF two small
islands not shown on the chart, blu
drawn on 1t by the boys), where the.
killed a bear; thence across the broat
blight in the coast to Cadogan Fiord
thence around Cape Isabella and up Z
Commander Peary's old house +
Payer Harbor near Cape Sabine
where they found seal cached TO
them by Panikpah, I.took-a-shoo'
a.