Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-10-21

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 havef
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 then went south
west along the northwest coast OF
Heiberg Land to a point indicated on
the map (Cape Northwest).
From here they went west across
the ice, which was level and covered
with snow, offering good going, to a
low island which they had seen from
the shore of Heiberg Land at Cape
Northwest. On this island they
camped for n 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 channe
between Amund Ringnes Land and
Ellef Rhymes 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 Pearl
had given instructions that nj
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 LandsJ. From
! the island they %journeyed toward tn
(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 uC
have gone to the Pole and back, and
the entire time during which he coulc
possibly have made any attempts t.
go to 1t.
? The answer of the Eskimo boys tt
Commander Peary's series of indie
, pendent questions, showing that the!
killed no game, made no caches, los
/ no dogs, and returned to the land witt
Z loaded sledges, makes their attain
T ment of the Pole on the trip north O
Cape Thomas Hubbard a physical an,
mathematical impossibility, as !
would demand the subsistence G
n three men and over twenty dogs dul
ing a journey of ten hundred and fol
n ty geographical miles on less than tw
q sledge loads of supplies.
q If 1t is suggested that perhaps d
/. Cook got mixed and that he reache
g the Pole, or thought he did, betwee
the time Of leaving the northwes
e coast Of Heiberg Land at Cape Mort
G west, and his arrival at Ringnes Lam
h where they killed the deer, we mu'
h then add to the date of DR.. Cooks lie
4 ter of March 18th, at o. near Car
Thomas Hubbard, the subsequent fol
or five sleeps at that point, and tt
a number Of days required to marc
d from Cape Thomas Hubbard to Cal
Northwest Ga distance of some six
d nautical miles,, which would advan'
ID his date of departure from the land
Il at least the 25th Of March, and be pr
M pared to accept the claim that Z
,e Cook went from Cape Northwe
m (about latitude eighty and a half d
to grees north) to the Pole, a distan'
,e Of five hundred and seventy geograp
he ical miles, in ~twenty-seven days.
y. After the sun returned in 1909 thu
ne started, pushing their sledge, aero
Jones Sound to Cape Tennysol
thence along the coast to Claren
k, Head (passing inside Of two SIN;
a islands not shown on the chart, b
On drawn on it by the boys), where tn
rs, killed a bear; thence across the bro
IN blight in the coast to Cadogan Flor
"a thence around Cape Isabella and up
Oh Commander Peary's old house
ed Payer Harbor near Cape SabiI
,rt where they found a seal cached I
nd them by Panikpah, I-took-a-sho'
eft father. From here they crossed Smi
en- Sound on the ice, arriving at Anol
tok.
We (Signed) R. E. PEARY, u. S. N.
20 ROBERT A. BARTLETT
rot Master SIS. Roosevelt.
nd D. b. MCMILLAN.
GEORGE BORUP.
ID MATTHEW A. HENSO