Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1909-09-08
STARS AND STRIPES
AT THE NORTH POLE.
DIR. Frederick Cook and Commander
Robert T.. Peary, on Separate
Expeditions, Unseen by
Each Other, Discover
North Pole.

points of the world last week that
the North Pole had been discovered.
DR.. Frederick A. Cook, the intrepid
American explorer, as soon as he got
within communication with the
world, telegraphed that on April 21,
1908, he stood at the North Pole
and planted the Stars and Stripes
there. At first skeptical, the world
awaited with great anticipation his
arrival at Copenhagen, Denmark
where he was received on Saturday
by the populace and by royalty with
all the honors possible to pay him.
The story of his arrival is best told
by newspaper correspondent, who
went out to sea to meet his steamer,
the Hans Egede. 1t is as follows:
''As the steamer Hans Egede
steamed by l caught glimpse of
small man in dark suit and peaked
cap shading his eyes with his hands,
as if straining to see the welcome
civilization after years in icy exile.
1t was DR.. Cook, the explorer whose
name is on every tongue. He was
chatting with the captain on the
bridge, now smiling, now waving his
hand. l was allowed to board the
Hans Egede.
Somebody gave DR.. Cook a bou-
quet. Tears dimmed his eyes as he
buried his face in their fragrance.
It's years since l have seen flowers,
said the explorer with quiver of
emotion in his voice.
followed him to the cabin. His
face was tanned from exposure. He
looked the picture of splendid
health. Only when he smiled one
noticed the loss of two teeth. A
fight with polar bear did that he
said.
DR.. Cook briefly described his
journey. Regarding his discovery,
after describing his long and ardu-
Gus struggle to reach the pole, he
said:
Then came April 81. That was
the great day. We looked for the
sun. AS soon as we got it, made
several observations. Great joy
came over us. We were only sixteen
miles from the desired spot. l said
to myself, bully for Frederick.
! Their we went on.
"fhe last stretch was the easiest
ever made in my life, although |
had still to make two observations
and the ice was broken. But my
spirits were high and l shouted like
boy. The Eskimos looked at one
another surprised at my gayety.
| 1,l, cho,
Il felt that i ought to be there. /
made my last observation and found
was standing on the pole.
My feelings? Well, l guess l was
! too tired really to feel any sensation.
/ planted the stars and stripes in the
ice field, and my heart grew warm
when l saw it wave in the wind
How does the north pole loOk?'
Cook was asked.
Well he said, smiling, 1T
amounts to the size of twenty-five
cent piece. There is nothing to see
but ice, ice; MO water, only ice.
There were more holes here than at
the eighty-seventh degree, which
shows there is more movement and
drift here but this and other OBJ
servations / made afterwards, when
/ got more settled. / stopped two
days at the pole, and / assure you
therefore, / again turned my nose
southwark, which was much easier,
as you cannot turn your nose in any
other direction when you stand at
the pole
Describing the return journey, DR..
Cook said:
Fortune now smiled. We made
twenty miles day until We reached
the ominous eighty-seventh degree.
Then | felt the ice moving eastward,
carrying us with it. A terrible fog
swept round us and kept us there for
three weeks. We got no further than
the eighty-fourth. Then began a
heavy walk towards Heibergsland
and another three weeks of fog.
| When that cleared | saw we had
drifted southwest of Ringnesland,
where We found open water and
tower high screw ice, which stopped
cur way eastward.
We now began to suffer hunger.
Our provisions were becoming ex-
hausted and We were unable to find
depots. We entered Ringnesland
and on June 20 found the first ami
mails on our return--bear and seal.
We shot bear.
And now our goal was the whal-
ers at Lancaster Sound. We followed
the drift ice to the south.
The explorer said he did not con-
slider the location of the pole as i'm
portant as the fact he had discovered
and traversed 10000 square miles OF
new land. He stands by his state
ment as having encountered tenn
perature of S3 degrees below zero
centigrade. This is a degree of cold
never before observed outside of a
laboratory and equivalent to lao de-
grees Fahrenheit of frost. The
greatest cold previously recorded
under natural conditions is 81 de-
grees Fahrenheit, observed by Peary.
He said there was no land around
the pole, only a sea which he was
unable to sound, as he had no in
struments for that purpose. Mr..
Cook said he was willing that all his
observations should be submitted to
any scientific authority for examin-
alton and said he trusted his claim
be tested by his figures.
DR.. Cook told the correspondent