The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-10-13
Commander Peary's Charges
Against Explorer Cook.


Peary's charges against Cook have
At last appeared. They have. as we
all know, been for several days before
the Peary Arctic Club and that body
no doubt feels It its duty to let the
world know all about the matter. The
charges are signed by Peary himself,
with u. s. n. after his name, by Bart
lett. the master OF the S. S. Roose-
welt, by d. B. Mcmillan and George
Borup, and, last but not least, by the
faithful Friday. Matthew Henson, who
accompanied, so they say. his master
20 the north pole. the color Of his skin
saving him from the jealousy of the
commander" who would permit none
of the whit< men of the party to par
ticipate in his glorious triumph.
OF course no sane man viii reach q
final conclusion from these charges.
They are speciously drawn. They
are. moreover, cleverly executed. But
Peary can scarcely expect an enlight-
ened people to accept off-hand a chart
which he declares to have been drawn
by the two Eskimo boys I-took-a-shoo
and Ah-pe-lah. Surely intelligent peo-
pie will never accept such evidence
as superior to the word of an Ameri
can who has given his life to explora-
lion and scientific research, against
whose character there stands no JUS
tihable reproach and whose very edu-
cation and pursuits are a warranty
that he cannot be classed as a COM
mon liar.
More especially is this the case as
the Eskimos who, Peary claims, drew
this chart and gave him evidence alb
solutely contradicting Cooks story are
the same young men who. Cook de-
clares. accompanied him to the goal
OF his ambition, and whom he has al
ready taken steps to have brought to
this country to testify as to his
achievement. And apart from any
consideration of Cooks moral charac-
ter It is quite impossible to believe
that he would be guilty of the folly of
entrusting his reputation, his whole
future career, to couple of unedu-
Gated Eskimos who shared with him.
according TO Peary,. the secret OF one
OF the most outrageous frauds ever
attempted upon au audience world
wide in it's extent. If he did so, he
can only be looked upon as madman,
and his dignif1ed, gentlemanly be-
havior in the face of Peary's rude on
slaught, aided and abetted by a negro
henchman, seems to lift him out of
that category.
OF course we know next to nothing
about the technical side of the ques-
ton; but the following paragraph
from the charges has attracted our
attention:
II 1t 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 in Ringnes Land,
where they killed the deer. We must
then add TO the date OF DR.. Cooks
letter Of March II, at or near Cape
Thomas Hubbard. the subsequent four
or I'VE sleeps at that point. and the
number of days required TO march
from Cape Thomas Hubbard to Cape
Northwest Ga distance of some sixty
nautical rcfles) which would advance
his date OF departure from the land
TO at least the 25th Of March, and be
prepared to accept the claim that DR..
Cock went from Cape Northwest
(about latitude eighty and half de-
erees north) to the pole. distance OF
five hundred and seventy geographical
miles. in twenty-seven days.
This would be only about twenty
one miles a day: and why should that
be impossible. when Peary stated, to
the best Of our recollection. that he
tourned at times as much as forty
miles a day?
There is no doubt but that now DR..
Cook viii meet these charges. The
gauntlet has been thrown at his feet
and unless our Judgment is faulty he
is not the man to refuse to pick it up
In the meantime let Us possess our
souls in patience. Truth IS mighty
and viii prevail" But it is easy to
see that there lies before rs one of