Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-10-01
BIG GAME HUNTER REACHES ST.
JOHNS, N. F., AND GIVES HIS
SIDE TO SCRAP.
holsters UP THE COOK SIDE.
Heard of Doctors Discovery Last April,
but Was Pledged Not to Tell
Peary.
EsKIMos RECOVER INSTRUMENTS.

81. JOHNS, N. f., Sept. ZS.-Ihe
| Arctic vessel jeanne, with Harry Whit
ney, the New Haven big game hunter
on board, has arrived here from the
| Greenland coast by way of Indian Har-
| Dor, Labrador.
Mr.. Whitney was questioned regarding
| the statements made to him by DR..
Frederick A. Cook in Greenland. He
said Cook arrived at Annotock in April
| of this year, and declared that he had
! reached the north pole year before.
| lie pledged Whitney, however, not to tell
| Commander Peary, who was to be in
formed only that Cook had gone farther
| north than Peary's previous record, 81
| degrees, minutes.
Continuing DR.. Cook told Whitney that
he had accomplished all he expected to,
and more besides, and that he was
| through with the northern country
! Whitney did not communicate the latter
| part of this statement to Commander
! Peary. Mr.. Whitney said that DR.. Cook
had complained to him of Pearys taking
! over OF his house and stores, but de-
clared that he had suffered no unfair
| ness.
Steward Heard Statements
Peary's steward, William Pritchard,
| was present when these statements were
made. Like Mr.. Whitney PrItchard was
| pledged to secrecy by DR.. Cook. Muir
ply, Peary's boatswain, who was in
| charge OF the stores was absent at Etah
on this day and did not hear DR.. Cook
! communications
There We're two houses on the Green
| land shore, one at Annotok, holding
| Cooks stores, and another at Etah, hold
| ing Peary's stores The three white
men, Whitney. Murphy and Pritchard,
| sometimes occupied one and sometimes
| the other of these houses. Murphy was
in charge of both houses. He is not
able to read or write. He had written
instructions from Peary which Whitney,
! at Peary's request, read over to him
| from time to time. These instructions
were very stringent. They directed Muir
| ply to use Cooks stores first and Peary's
| afterwards. Murphy was told in them
that he was to give DR.. Cook every help
] if he came along in a needy condition,
! and furthermore the instructions implied
! that Murphy was to organize an eXpedi-
| ton to search for DR.. Cook, but accord
| ing to Mr.. Whitney this part of the in
s,ructions was worded very ambiguously.
| Mr.. Whitney said that Cook had a copy
of these instructions, and would doubtless
make them public. Murphy treated Cook
very civilly and Cook suffered no dis
| courtesy.
Eskimos Recover Sledge.
When DR.. Cook and his Eskimos ar
| rived at the house they had no sledge;
being too tired to drag it over the rough
ice. they had left it twenty miles from
Etah The follwing day some other Els
! kimos went out, recovered the sledge and
brought it in. On it were DR.. Cook S
Instruments, clothes and food.
After spending two days at Annotok,
where Cook first met Whitney, Cook
started for Etah. Whitney accompanied
him. Cook remained for three days at
Etah. organizing for his trip south to
| Upernavik.
The doctor figured out rightly the date
that he would likely get to Uppernavik,
and when the Dundee whalers or the
| Danish store ships would reach there,
and he argued that he had no time to
lose. He planned originally to take two
eskimOs and two sledges. but one Els
| kimo fell sick and this made it necessary
! for him to cut down the luggage he could
take with him south. DIR. Cook conse-
uuently asked Whitney to take charge of
the instruments with which Cook had
made observations at the pole. There
were three cases, one containing a sex
tant, another an artificial horizon, and
the third an instrument which Mr. Whit
Tey said he could not recall. 1t possibly
, might have been a chronOmeter. Cook
! left no written records with Whitney
/ that Whitney is aware of. There may
! nave been some RECORDS. however, IN the
other boxes in which Cook packed his
| clothes and his personal effects. but Cook
! did not tell Whitney especially that he
! was leaving any written records with
him. Mr.. Whitney was very positive
about this
Uses Eskimos on Hunt
! After Cook departed for the south.
| Whitney resumed his hunting. He took
over Cooks two Eskimos. Etukishuls and
Arwalalv, to show him the country
where Cook had shot musk oxen. This
the two men did, and Whitney bagged
all the oxen he could carry out in his
sledges. He said he found these two
Eskimos quite satisfactory in subordi-
nate capacities but he knows nothing of
| their value in a dash across the polar
! sea.
| Mr.. Whitney said that last month
| when Peary. on board the Roosevelt.
| reached Etah from the north after the
winters work there. Whitney Informed
| Peary of Cooks arrival in April. adding
that Cook had told hinl-Whitney-to tell
/ Peary that Cook had gone beyond
| Peary's farthest north. Peary made no
! comment on this. Whitney said he was
not asked any other question by Peary.
! But the next day Cooks Eskimos came
| to Whitney and asked him what Peary's
men were trying to get them to say.
| Peary's men had shown the Eskimos
papers and maps, but the Eskimos de-
| clared they did not understand these pa
pers. So far as Mr.. Whitney is aware,
| Cooks Eskimos never admitted that
while with the doctor they had only pro-
! crossed two sleeps from land