Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1909-10-20

on the chart.
From this island they could see two
lands beyond (Sverdrup's Ellef Ring
mes and Amund Ringnes Lands)-
From the island they journeyed to-
ward the lefthand one of these two
lands (Amund Ringnes Land), pass
ing small island which they did not
visit.
Arriving at the shore of Amund
Ringnes Land, the Eskimos killed a
deer as indicated on the chart.
The above italicised portion of the
statement of the Eskimo boy covers
the period of time in which Dr. Cook
claims to have gone to the pole ana
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 indie
pendent questions, showing that they
killed no game, made no catches, lost
no dogs, and returned to the lano
with loaded sledges, makes their at
tainment of the pole on the trip
north of Cape Thomas Hubbard a
physical and mathematical Impossible
ity, as it would demand the subsist-
ence of three men and over twenty
dogs during journey of ten hundred
and forty geographical miles on less
than two sledge loads Of supplies.
If it 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 at Ringnes
Land, where they killed the deer,
we must then add to the date of DR..
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
required to march from Cape Thomas
Hubbard to Cape Northwest Ia dis
lance of some sixty nautical miles,,
which would advance his date of de-
parture from the land to at least the
25th of March, and be prepared TO
accept the claim that DR.. Cook went
from Cape Northwest (about latitude
eighty and 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 indicated
~ A. ohorf ,yhoro tbo,y 1yi1Iod ON.
other deer.
They then went east across the
south part of Crown Prince Gustav
Sea to the south end of Heiberg
Land, then down through Norwegian
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 eastward to the
little bay marked "Eid's Fford' on
Sverdrup's chart; then southwest to-
Hell's Gate and Simmons Peninsula
Here for the first time during the
entire journey, except as already
noted off Cape Thomas H. Hubbard,
they encountered open water. On
his point the boys were clear, EN-
phatic and unshakable. They spent q
good deal of time in this region, auG
finally abandoned their dogs and one
sledge, took to their boat crossed
Hell's Gate to North Kent, up into
Norfolk Inlet, then back along the
north coast of Colin Archer Peninsula
to Cape Vera, where they obtatmeG
fresh elder duck eggs. Here they cut
the remaining sledge off, that is
shortened 1T, as it was awkward to
transport with. the boat, and near
here they killed walrus.
The statement in regard to the
fresh elder duck eggs permits the APP
proximate determination of the date
at this time as about the first OF
July (This statement also serves, II
indeed anything more than the inner
ent traightforwardnes and detail OF
their narrative were needed, to sub
s. antiate the accuracy and truthful
ness of the boys statement. This To-
cality of Cape Vera is mentioned In
Sverdrups narrative as the place
WuCl6 Ills oCdy III JIclI lCSiOAA
he obtained elder ducks eggs.)
From Cape Vera they went on down
into the. southwest angle of Jones
Sound, where they killed a seal;
thence east along the south coast or
the sound, killing three bears at the
point noted on the map, to the PENN
sula known as Cape Sparbo on the
map, about midway on the south side
of Jones Sound. Here they killed
some musk-oxen and, continuing east,
killed four more at the place indicat-
ed on the chart, and were tinaIIy
stopped by the pack ice at the mouth
of Jones Sound. From there they
turned back to Cape Sparbo, where
they wintered and killed many musk
oxen.
After the sun returned in 1909 they
started, pushing their sledge, across
Jones Sound to Cape Tennyson;
thence along the coast to Clarence
Head (passing inside of two small
Islands not shown on the chart, but
drawn on it by the bOyS) where they