The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-10-13

cOuld take no more.
After being informed of the boys
narrative thus far, Commander PeaTy
suggested a series of questions to be
put to the boys in regard to this trip
from the land out and back to it.
These questions and answers were
as follows:
Did they cross many open leads
or much open water during this
time? Ans. None.
Did they make any caches out
on the ice? Ans. No.
Did they kill any bear or seal
while out on the ice north of Cape
Thomas Hubbard? Ans. No.
Did they kill or lose any of their
dogs while out on the ice? Ans. No.
With how many sledges did they
start? Ans. Two.
How many dogs did they have?
Ans. Did not remember exactly, but
something over twenty.
How many sIedges did they have
when they got back to land? Ans.
Two.
Did they have any provisions left
on their sledgeS when they came
back TO land? Ans. Yes: the sledges
still had about all they could carry,
so they were able to take but few
things from the cache.
From here they went southwest
along the northwest coast of Heiberg
Land to point indicate on the map
(Sverdrup's Cape NOrthwest).
From here they went across the
ice, which was level and covered
off frnnH rninr 10 n
low island which they had seen from
the shore of HeibeFg Land at Cape
Northwest. On this island they
camped for one sleep.
The size and position of this is
land, as drawn by the first boy, was
criticised by the second boy as being
too large and too far to the west,
the second boy calling the attention
of the first to the fact that the posi-
ton of the island was more nearly
in line with the point where they
had left HeibeFg Land (Cape North
weSt) and the channel between
Amund RingneS Land and ElIef Rim
9nes Land.
This criticism and correction was
accepted by the first boy, who started
to change the position of the island,
but was stopped, as Commander
Peary had given instructions that
no changes or eraSures were to be
made in the route as drawn by the
ESkimOS on the chart.
From this island they could see
two lands beyond (SVerdrup's Ellef
Ringnes and Amund Ringnes Lands).
From the island they jOuneyed to-
ward the left-hand one of these two
lands (Amund Ringnes Land), pas
sing small island which they did
not visit.
Arriving at the shore of Amund
Rhymes Land, the EskimOS killed a
deer as indicated on the chart.
The above itaIicised portion of
the statement of the Eskimo boys
covers the period of time in which
DIR. Cook claims to have gone to the
Pole and back, and the entire time
+ during which he could possibly have
made any attempts to go to it.
The answers of the Eskimo boys
to Commander Peary's series of in
dependent questions, showing that
/ they killed no game, made no ca
Ches, lost no dogs, and returned to
the land with loaded Sledges, makes
/ their attainment of the Pole on the
trip north of Cape Thomas Hub
bard a physical and mathematical im-
possibility, as it would demand the
subsistence of three men and over
twenty dogs during journey of ten
hundred and forty geographical miles
on less than two sledge loads of sup
plies.
If it is suggested that perhaps DIR.
/ 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 at Ringnes
] Land, where they killed the deer,
we must then add to the date of DIR.
Cooks letter of March 18th, at or
near Cape Thomas Hubbard, the
subsequent four or five sleeps at that
! point, and the number of days re-
| quired to march from Cape Thomas
Hubbard to Cape Northwest Ga dis
tance of some sixty nautical miles,,
which would advance his date of de-
parture from the land to at least
the 2jth of March, and be prepared
to accept the claim that DIR. Cook
went from Cape Northwest (abOut
latitude eighty and a half degrees
nOrth) to the Pole, a distance of five
hundred and seventy geographical
miles in twenty-seVen days.
After killing the deer they then
travelled south along the east side
of Ringnes Land to the point indi-
Gated on the chart, where they killed
another deer.
They then went east across the
south part of Crown Prince Gustav
! Sea to the south end of Heiberg
Land, then down through Norwe-
gian Bay, where they secured some
bears, but not until after they had
! killed some of their dogs, to the east
side of Graham Island; then east
ward to the little bay marked "Eid's
FiOrd" on Sverdrup's chart; then
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