The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-10-13

various expeditions for some fifteen
years, came in and indicated the same
localities and details as the two BOYS.
Then the first boy was brought in
again, and with a pencil he traced on
the map, their route, members of our
party writing upon the chart where,
according to the boys statement, they
had killed deer. bear, some of their
dogs, seal, walrus and musk-oycn.
The second boy was then called in
and the two went over the chart to-
gether, the second boy suggesting
some changes as noted hereafter
Finally, panikpah. the father, was
again called in to verify the details
of the portions of the route with
which he was personally familiar.
The bulk of the boys testimony was
not taken by Commander Peary,. nor
in his presence, a fact that obviates
any possible claim that they were
awed by him.
Certain questions on independent
lines from the direct narrative OF the
Eskimo boys were suggested by Com
mander Peary to some of us, and
were put by us to the Eskimo boys
u.
the Eskimo boys two or three casual
questions on minor points that had
occurred to him.
During the taking of this testimony
it developed that DR.. Cook had told
these boys, as he told Mr.. Whitney,
and Billy Pritchard, the cabin boy
that they must not tell Commander
Peary or any of us anything about
their journey. and the boys stated Dr..
Cook had threatened them if they
should tell anything.
Narrative of the Eskimos
The narrative of these Eskimos is
as follows:
They, with Dr. Cook, Francke and
nine other Eskimos. left Anoratok,
crossed Smiths sound to Cape Sabin,
slept in Commander Peary's old house
in Payne harbor. then went through
Rice strait to buchanan bay. After
a few marches Francke and three Els
kimos returned to Anoratok
DR.. Cook, with the others, then pro-
ceeded up Flagler bay. a branch of
Buchanan bay, and crossed Ellesmere
Land through the valley pass as the
head of Flagler bay, indicated by
Commander Peary in 1898, and utiliz-
ed by Sverdrup in 1899 to the head
of Sverdrup's bay Fiord" on the west
side of Ellesmere Land.
Their route then lay out through
this ford, thence north through Sver-
drup's "Heureka Sound" and Nansen
strait.
On their way they killed musk-ox-
en- and bear, and made catches. arriv-
ing eventually at a point on the west
side of hansen strait (shore of Axel
Helberg Land of Sverdrup,) south of
Cape Thomas Hubbard.
A cache was formed here and the
four Eskimos did not go beyond this
point. Two others, Koolootingwah
and Inughito, went on one more march
with DR.. Cook and the two boys, help
ed to build the snow igloo. then re-
turned without sleeping.
(These two Eskimos brought back
letter from DR.. Cook to Francke,
dated the 18th of March. The two
men reioned the other four men who
had been left behind, and the six re-
turned to Anoratok, arriving May 7.
This information was obtained not
from the two Eskimo boys but from
the six men who returned and from
Francke himself, and was known to
MS IN the summer of 1908, when the
Roosevelt first arrived at Etah. The
information is inserted here as sup
Elementary to the narrative of the
two boys)
Eskimos' Answers to Questions
After sleeping at the camp where
the last two Eskimos turned back. DR..
Cook and the two boys went in a
or northwesterly direction
with two sledges and twenty odd dogs
one more march, when they encoun-
tered rough ice and a lead of open
water. They did not enter this rough
ice, nor cross the lead, but turned
westward or southwark a short dis
lance and returned to Heiberg Land
at a point west of here they had left
the cache and where the four men
had turned back
Here they remained four or five
sleeps and during that time I-took-a-
shoe went back to the cache and got
his gun which he had left there and
few items of supplies.