The San Francisco call., 1909-09-02


he found the Danish government steam
er Hans Egede, and shipped for Copsn-
hagen.
Well Known Explorer
Although Doctor Cook seems to oursH
unheralded upon the worlds aston
ished gaze. he has outfaced the frozen
waste places of the world before In
many hazardous journey, and earned
honor from the most prominent geo
graphical and exploration societies in
the world. Many times before he has
returned to his home at $40 Bushwick
avenue. Brooklyn. to his wife and two
children and the prosaic life OF a ply
sician. after having delved into the
earths far corners.
Cook began his wandering and ac-
quired his love for arctic exploration
while with Peary in 1912 as surgeon
and this led him TO enlist with the
Belgian antarctic expedition in 1879,
and finally to lead the expedition that
climbed Mount Mckinley, Alaska, the
highest peak in America. in 190S-6.
This latter journey, attempted in 1903
without success, and accomplished in
1905, he has embodied in the book ITO
the Top Of the Continent" The four
months climb to the summit OF the
great mountain, 20,39O feet high, is
faithfully recorded there by Doctor
Cook. and valuable data Is given on
5000 miles of country around the'
mountain
GAINED MANY MEDALS
Cooks exploration in the Antarctic
he has set down in Through the First
Antarctic Night" and this task has
brought him the decorations of the
Order OF Leopold, Belgium. the gold
medal OF the Royal society, Belgium,
and the silver medal OF the Royal geo.
graphical society. Belgium. In addi-
tion to this Doctor Cook is a member OF
the American national geographical so
ciety, the Philadelphia geographical So
.ciety and the Kings County medical
society. Cook also is president of the
Explorers club. New York.
This new monarch OF explorers was
born at CaHicoon Depot Sullivan -coun-
ty, n. Y, June 10. 1865. and thus,
despite the events he has crowded into
his life. he Is but "A years old. He is
the son of DR.. Theodore Cook. and il
Is recorded in the family history that
the ancestral name of the house was
Koch, which was changed to It's pres
ent form by the first American progen-
itor. Cook was educated in the Brook
lyn public schools and in CaIlicoon.
the university of New York. Mary
Fidell Hunt became his wife June 10.
1902, IN Brooklyn, and by her he has
had two children.
WELL KNOWN As WRITER
The explorers name often has been
seen in magazines. especially those OF
a technical character, and most often
the articles have related to the antarc-
tic or the Mount Mckinley region.
Cook just before his start for -tha
north pole excited considerable COM
ment by inventing an ice automobile
with which he hoped to traverse the
frozen region OF the antarctic. He de-
clared at that time that a machine OF
that kind could not prove OF any serv-
ice in the arctic. where the ice was
formed nearly all the time in huns
mocks and ridges. but in the calm
waters surrounding the south pole he
hoped to progress smoothly.
The explorer will find his fortunes
considerably changed since his plunge
into the arctic over two years aKO.
The recent financial stringency played
havoc with the rather modest possess
sions OF Mrs. Cook, and she finds her
self now forced to live far more eco
nomically than when her husband left
on his far quest. The failure OF New
York bank was responsible for most of
the difficulties in which the family has
been plunged