The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-12-11

part in the big fake game that was
about to be staged?
Doesn't it look as though this flag
would be needed for dramatic effect
in fake photo?
Doesn't it look like a fake when
he sent all his best men away on
hunting trips while declaring that he
| himself was going to hunt and study
glaciers?
and right there don't forget his
message to Bridgeman sent at the
same time. We are making our final
preparations. VIII telegraph you If
anything important happens What
important thing was liable to happen
on hunting trip or talking around on
glacier.
THE fake was prepared by sending
all the best men away packing a silk
flag with his food and fuel, sending
the Bridgeman message and then
starting up the river. That flag got
in the pack by accident with ven
geance,
In Cooks article in Harper's Mag
azine Of May, 1907, there was moth
ing but a repetition of his previous
vague and romantic statements. His
photograph of the alleged top of the
| mountain showed open lodges and he
spoke of the sky scraped granite
blocks on top of the peak
Now as a matter of fact the peak
of Mount Mckinley is solid ice, while
the open lodges are thousands of
feet below His photographs show
open lodges while the glasses show
solid wall of ice on the peak and this
is the testimony of all other explor-
ers.
Now comes another bit of evil
dence. The photograph used in the
book is probably from the same neg
alive but not cut down. BY some
/ fearful lack of foresight there APP
pears in the lower right hand corner
another mountain peak of approx
mately the same height as the alleg
ed Mount Mckinley peak
Now any geographer or explorer
will tell you that there is not another
mountain peak within 10000 feet that
could possibly show in that picture
We can only conclude that the peak
labelled as the Top of the Continent
can only be a peak Of some eight OF
ten thousand feet in height
Another discrepancy Further
along in the book is a photograph la
belled A Shoulder Of Mount McKin
ley. 5000 feet high This photo
graph shows a large glacier at the
foot with several peaks on the other
side with a probable altitude of 1000
to 5000 feet One OF these peaks ex.
actly corresponds with the peak
shown by the side of the alleged sum
nit of Mckinley. close inspection
of the two shows the same formation
as the photograph Cook labelled as
the Top OF the Continent Here are
two photographs of exactly the same
mountain, one of which is labelled 90,
800 feet high and the other is labell-
ed 5000 feet
Still another ridiculous statement
in the Cook book He gives the
| height of Mount Mckinley as 20.390
feet and says that he read this by
his barOmeters. The highest barom-
eter scale we had was for only 49,
600 feet How could he read his bar
ometer 20,390 feet when it would only
scale $4,000?
DIR Cook proved a traitor to his
friends throughout this whole miser-
/ able affair. When confronted with
! the evidence he makes no reply. Bar
rill was the one man on whom he re-
lied to stand by his claim and he
had made affidavit to its fraudulent
| character"
IF Barrill has not told the truth
then he should be subjected to a suit
for libel but such suit Cook will
never dare to bring.
He is man OF no scientific train
ing or experience in either mountain
climbing or arctic exploration If
placed in the streets of Lewiston with
the finest of instruments, very
much doubt if he could calculate his
latitude and longitude with absolute
accuracy.
II joined forces with him on the
Mount Mckinley expedition before |
knew of his incompetence as a leader
in such work but his bravery and
good nature were such that / agreed
to go with him again the following
year"