Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-10-19
Affidavits That Cook
Faxed Mountain Story.

Faxed Mountain Story.
NEW YORK, Oct 16.-Four more afti-
davits were made public here today by
The New York Globe in connec-
ton with the investigation of DR..
Frederick A. Cooks expedition to Mount
Mckinley. Three of them are by mem
bers of the Cook party-FTed Printz,
guide; Walter p. Waller, photogra pher.
and Samuel Beecher. Their testimony re-
lates in detail the movements of the par
ty explaining that Cook and Barrill were
alone together during the period in which,
DA Cook claims to have reached the sum-
nit OF Mount Mckinley. All three say that
Rarrill assured them later that DR..
Cooks story was false.
The fourth affidavit is that of DR.. John
z. Shore, physician of Leavenworth,
Wash. who tells Of a conversation with
Oscar T. Blankenship, of the United
States forestry service. in which Blan-
kenship said that DR.. Cooks claims to
have climbed Mount Mckinley were false
incsmuch as the feat was impossible In
the short time which Cook and Barriil
were absent. Blankenship was located
near Mount Mckinley at the time Cooks
expedition was there.
PRINTZ' AFFIDAVIT.
The affidavit of Fred Printz the guide,
is dated October 4. It says that at the
time of DIR. Cooks alleged ascent of the
peak he and several others had been sent
on side trip to hunt specimens for the
Smithsonian institution. The affidavit
continues:
Then the doctor picked up Dokken for
a cook and taking Barrill. left in the
launch for Shushnta station. From there
he said they were going up Shushinta. Up
the Culitna. and up to the TOkositna to.
the head of navigation, then explore the
e. q T,Ty ir,
ley
Miller and I returned to- Shushitna
station, September II. where the doctor
Joined us with Barrill on September 22.
saying that he had made the summit %
Mount Mckinley
From there we left for home. On leav-
ing the doctor at Seward. he promised
that part of my pay for the summer
would be in Seattle for me. but on ar
rowed money on which to get home. and
having written the doctor several times
since for the amount due, have received
500, leaving a balance of $s25 due me at
this date
"In about one month after BarriH and
] returned home from our trip with Dr.
Cook. in 1906 Barrin laughed and told
me that he and Cook never got to the
top of Mount Mckinley"
MILLER AFFIDAVIT.
Walter p. Miller, the photographer. in
his affidavit says that he was with Printz
on the side trip during the time DR.. Cook
claims to have gone to the summit of
the mountain. His testimony continues:
"Dr. Cook and BarriIl took the launch
and went down the Yetna. announcing
heir intention of ascending the Shushitna.
the Schuletna and exploring the Talshet-
ma glacier for a possible route for future
attempt to ascend to the summit OF
Mount Mckinley; Printz and l returned
to the Shushitna station: on the 22d Of
September we met DR. Cook and Barrill
at the station, and thence we all came
together to Seward
II was called east by Henry Disstor
of Philadelphia, the hacker of the expedi-
ton. to whom I related all the circum-
stances of the trip
80 far as I am advised Barrill is the
only man who has personal knowledge
as to whether or not DR.. Cook assembled to
the summit of Mount Mckinley.
I'm May, 1903. l met Edward NJ. Darrell
at Missoula. Mont. He then informed me
for the first time that he and Dr. Cook
had never reached the summit of Mount
Mckinley. I then said to him: Where
were your when he remarked, I'VE were
only on the first ridge, this side Of the
mountain I asked him about his picture
SiONh OppOSllG page AEt III LII bOoh >
book, when he replied. That is my pic
ture. but is not the top of the mountain 1"
BEECHER AFFIDAVIT.
The affidavit of Samuel Beecher, after
describing the early experience of the
party, tells of a trip which he and sew
eral other members of the expedition took
from their base camp" He says:
ION July %. we reached our nearest
point to the mountain, the point being as
r. w. Porter said. IA miles from the
summit. On this trip we were mapping
and taking observations of the country
At our last camp the elevation was in the
neighborhood of 5000 feet, and from that
point l could readily recognize all the
pictures shown by DR.. Cook in his maya
zine article on his ascent of the mountain.
with the exception Of the pictures shown
as being the summit and the one on page
$50. which are such as might have been
taken at elevations of 5000 or 5000 feet.
Pictures that l recognized could not
have been taken at an elevation of above
1900 feet.
The point located by Edward BarriH