Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-16
INTIMATE FRIEND
SPEAKS OF COOK
WILL WEAR FURS, GIFT OF
POLE DlSC0VERER
MRS. (. n. coNGER OF PASADENA
ApMlRER OF EXPLORER
Woman Who Has Known Arctic Con-
queror for Many Years Firmly
Believes He Reached
Farthest North
Especial to The Herald.l

PASADENA, Sept. 15.-Capes mdue
from soft grey eiderdown, collected by
DR., Frederick A. Cook, who claims to
have first discovered the north pole,
will be worn this winter by Mrs.
Sarah Pike Conger, widow Of the late
DR. E. H Conger, former minister to
China, and her daughter
Although she has known Dr. Cook
intimately for more than ten years,
Mrs. Conger's naturally modest and re-
tiring disposition has kept this fact a
secret until today.
Il have no use for controversies of
any kind" she said, when asked
whether she regards the charges of
Lieutenant Peary, his rival, as un-
founded. 1.-THE truth is sure to prevail
sooner or later, and l am sure DR..
Cook assuredly believes what he has
stated. / am very glad of Or. Cooks
success, for it has been his life work,
and I am glad, too, of the success of
Commander Peary, whose greatest am
bition has been realized, but there is
glory enough for both. Both are
Americans and both should stand to-
gether for the glory of their country
and not for their personal ambition"
Mrs. Conger has known during her
lifetime many of the distinguished
men and women of the nations of the
world, her husband having been a
leading HB uTe III ulplollldLAC ClA C4SS'
DR.. Cook Her Guest
She met DR.. Cook, the explorer, on
beard the steamer Seguranza while on
the way to Brazil in 1896 or '97, as she
remembers it, when her husband was
made minister to Brazil. DR.. Cook
went with the new minister and Mrs.
Conger to Petropolis in the Brazilian
mountains, where the legation was
spending the summer, and remained
there a week as their guest
At that time DR.. Cook was on an eX-
pedition to discover the south pole
and was to Join other members of his
party at Rio Janeiro later OF this
acquaintance with DR.. Cook, Mrs.
Conger said today;
He would tell US of his plans and
of what he had done, If asked to do
so, but always in a straightforward
and modest manner. He had then
made two expeditions to the far north
and told us in many long eonversa-
tions of the details of his journeys.
OF course / cannot now remember the
details of his plans for reaching the
north pole, but he is a very scholarly
man and his plans were scientifically
made and logically carried out. In
recalling his conversations, 1T is not
surprising that he has accomplished
the feat of finding the north pole. 1t
seems that his schooling, his life plan
and previous expeditions had fitted
him for the work.
Although Mrs. Conger has not seen
DR.. Cook since entertaining him in
| Brazil she has closely followed the
| reports of all the achievements of the
| great explorer. She greatly treasures
a picture of Dr. Cook which she her
self took in Brazil, showing the ex-
plorer in the fur costume worn in the
polar regions. She also has a book
containing his autograph.
When she met DR.. Cook In Brazil,
Mrs. Conger's interest in explorers
had already been aroused in Washing
ton while her husband was in congress
as representative from Iowa. 1t was
then that General Greely was rescued
in the far north and became the lion
of washington society.
"Dr. Cook impressed everyone at the
legation in Brazil with his quiet bear
ing and modest demeanor," said Mrs.
Conger He is both a gentleman and
a scholar, two things that do not al
ways go together"
Understood English
The Eskinos who were with them,
with one exception, understood Eng
lish.
"At the pole" continued Henson, 1--WE
could see no land and we went no dis
tance beyond the flags. The ice near
the igloos was at least ten feet high,
and the flags were placed on a hum
mock twenty feet in height. The ice at
the pole was about the same.
Nearly all the winds we had were
from the northeast. Commander Peary
had three thermometers, and the
coolest day was 81 degrees below zero
Fahrenheit I believe there is a little
difference in the temperature at the
north pole from that some distance
SOUTH"
Henson learned from the Eskimos
that for three days in Whale sound last
month they saw cloud of smoke and
there was an odor like birthstone. The
natives were greatly frightened, anc
Henson thought a new volcano ha6
erupted, and SO informed them.
Henson made his first trip north il
1891. He went there because he was
interested, and kept on going year after
year.
OF Commander Peary he said:
HE is the best man that we coulC
have for Arctic expeditions. He has
wonderful endurance and the weather
never is too cold for him.
MANY times I would not leave the
camp except for him. A compass
course Is all he desires. So long as
man does MS WOTk HdlL QeC6UIlV, Ilt
commander never complains. The Es,
kimos think that there is no man like
him."
Matthew Henson was born in Wash.
ington, but lived for a time in Florida
He is quite proud to be the only negro
to go the farthesc north. He is il
good health, but lost twenty pounds
in the sixty-eight days march to the
pole and return.
The only frost bites he suffered were
on the cheek and fingers. He thinks
some negroes can endure as much ex.
posure as a white man, although he Il
not sure that he stood the cold thu
first year as well as his white com
| panions.
Speaking of the Esl1imos, Hensor
said they could draw as good a char
of that country as any person.
They do not know the length Of {
mile, but can estimate distance verl
exactly. To one who knows thu
Language they will tell dates within {
few days. They cannot take observa'
tions but they know what they arr
taken for
Henson said that he would go to thu
south pole tomorrow If he had
chance, as he was interested in ex
ploring and it would be hard to dis
continue.