The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-09-29
v HI THEY THINKS
BOTH REACHED
NORTH POLE
New Haven Sportsman's Testi-
mony to Controversy
HAS NONE OF COOKS RECORDS
Is Positive That Packages Left With
Him in Far North Contain
No Data

st. Johns, n. F., Sept. 29.-Harry
Whitney of New Haven believes that
DR. Frederick A. Cook found the Pole
and that Commander Peary did the
same. In expressing this belief Mr..
Whitney said that he knows no rea-
son for doubling Cook more than
Peary. DIR. Cooks story" he added
seems to me truthful and probable.
Nothing else would explain his ~
months absence"
Mr. whitney denied that Comman-
| der Peary had removed Or. Cooks
stores from Annatok to Etah What
Peary really did was to transfer a
few things and rebuild the house at
Annatok. Boatswain Murphy's only
reason for refusing to help Captain
Bernier's Canadian expedition TO get
dogs and sledges at Etah was that
they were short of dogs themselves.
The schooner Jeanne arrived here
yesterday with Mr.. Whitney aboard,
coming from the Greenland coast by
way of Indian Harbor, Labrador. Mr..
Whitney feels keenly fhe position In
which he Is placed. He went north,
he said, merely on a hunting trip and
now finds himself in the storm cen
ter of Polar controversy. DR. Cook
left with him at Annatok several ca
SEES containing instruments and some
count of his trip to the Pole Mr.. Whit
ney knew, no written records.
Speaking of DR.. Cooks detailed ac-
count of his trip to the Pole Mr. Whit
ney said that the explorer showed him
how the western drift of the ice had
landed him in a region far remote
from where he expected to go and ne
was unable to get back.
MIR. Whitney received messages
from Commander Peary yesterday,
complaining that he had not fully in
formed the commander about the ma
ture of DR.. Cooks belongings left with
Whitney at Etah. Mr.. Whitney says
that Commander Peary is in error as
he informed him fully and Capt Rob
ert Bartlett of the Roosevelt saw all
the things, as he helped Mr. Whit
ney to bury them at Etah after Peary
had refused to take them aboard his
vessel.
Mr. Whitney was questioned re-
garding the statements made to him
by Dr. Frederick A. Cook in Green.
land He said Cook arrived at Anna
tok in April of this year and declared
that he had reached the North Pole
i year ago. He pledged Whitney
however, not to tell Commander
Peary who was to be informed only
that Or. Cook had gone FARTHER north
than Pearys previous record, 81 de-
grees, six minutes. Continuing. DR..
Cook told Whitney, that he had ac-
,omplished all he expected to and
mere besides, and that he was through
with the northern country. Whitney
did not communicate the latter part
of this statement to Commander
Peary.
Continuing, Mr. Whitney said that
DR.. Cook had complained to him OF
Peary's taking possession of his house
and stores and declared he had no
suspicion of unfairness. Peary's ste
ward William Pritchard, as present
when these, statements were made.
Like Mr. Whitney he was. pledged to
secrecy by DR.. Cook Murphy,
Peary's boatswaiR who was in charge
# the stores, was absent at Etah on
his day and did not hear DR.. Cooks
communications.
There We're two houses on the
Greenland shore, one at Annatok,
holding Cooks stores and another at
ltah holding Peary's stores. The
three white men Whitney, Murphy
and Pritchard, some times occupied
one and sometimes the other of these
houses
Murphy was in charge of both hou-
SEES. He is not able to read or write.
He had written instructions from
Peary which Whitney at Peary's re-
quest read over to him from-time to
time. These instructions were very
stringent. They directed Murphy to
use Cooks stores first and Peary's af
forwards. Murphy was told III them
that he was to give DR.. Cook every
help If he came along in a needy con-
dition, and furthermore the instruc
tions implied that Murphy was to or
ganize an expedition to search for DR.
Cook but according to Mr.. Whitney
this part of the instructions was word |
ed very ambiguously. Mr.. Whitney
said that Cook had copy of these
instructions and would doubtless
make them public. Murphy treated
Cook very civilly and Cook suffered
no discourtesy.
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 20
miles from Etah. The following day
other Eskimos went out. recovered
the sledge and brought it in. On it
were DR.. Cooks instruments, clothes
and food.
After spending two days at Anna
tok, where Cook first met Whitney,
Cook started for Etah. Cook remain
ed for three days at Etah, organizing
for his trip south to Upernavik. The
doctor had figured out roughly the
date he would likely get to Upernav-
Tx. and when the Dundee whalers or
the Danish storeships would reach
there, and he argued that he had no
time to lose.
He Manned originally to take two
Eskimos and two sledges but one Es-
kimo fell sick and this made It neces-
sary for him to cut down the lug
gage he could take with him south
He consequently asked Whitney to