Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-10-14

l
returned without sleeping.
| These two Eskimos brought back a
letter from DR.. Cook to Franckie, dat.
ed the seventeenth of March. These
! two men rejoined the other four men
returned to Anoratok, arriving May Z.
This information was obtained not
! from the two Eskimo boys, but from
the six men who returned and from
Franckie himself, and was known TO
us In the summer of 1908. when the
1 Roosevelt first arrived at Etah. The
information is inserted here as supple
mentary to the narrative of the two
boys)
Didn't Enter Water.
| After sleeping at the camp where
the last two Eskimos turned back Dr..
Cook and the two boys went in a
northerly direction with two sledges
and twenty odd dogs, one more march.
| when they encountered rough ice and
a lead of open water. They did not
enter this rough ice nor cross the lead,
but turned westward or southwest
ward short distance and returned to
Heiberg Land at point west OF
where they had left the cache and
where the four men had turned back.
Here they remained four or five
jsleeps, and during that time 1-took-a-
shoe went back to the cache and got
4 his gun which he had left there, and a
few items Of supplies
4 When asked why only few sup
plies were taken from the cache, the
boys replied that only small amount
Of provisions had been used in the
few days since they left the cache,
and that their sledges still had all
they could carry, so that they could
not take more.
After being informed of the boys
: narrative thus far, Commander Peary
suggested a series of questions to be
put to the boys in regard to this trip
from the land out and back to it.
These questiors and answers were
as follows:
Did they cross many open leads or
much open water during the time?
Ans.-None.
Did they make any caches out on
the ice? Ans-No.
Did they kill any bear or seal while
out on the ice north of Cape Thomas
Hubbard? Ans-No.
Did they kill or lose any of their
dogs while out on the ice? ADs-No.
With how many sledges did they
start? Ans-Two.
How many dogs did they have? Ans.
Did not remember, but something
over twenty.
How many sledges did they have
when they got back to land? Ans
Two.
Did they have any provisions left Oh
their sledges when they came back to
land? Ans.-Yes; the sledges still had
about all they could carry, so they
were able to take but a few things
from the cache.
Camped on Island.
From here they went southwark
along the northwest coast of Heiberg
Land to point indicated on the map
(Sverdrup's Cape Northwest).
From here they went west across
the ice, which was level and covered
with snow, offering good going, to a
low island which they had seen from
the shore Of Heidelberg land at Cape
Northwest On this island they camp
ed for one sleep.
4 The size and position of this island,
as drawn by the first boy, was criri-
cised by the second boy as being too
large and too far to the west, the sec
ond boy calling the attention of the
first to the fact that the position CT
the island was more nearly In line
with the point where they had left
Heiberg land (Cape Northwest and
the channel between Amund Ringnes
land and ELF Ringnes land.
This criticism and correction was
accepted by the first boy, who started
to change the position of the island but
was stopped, as Commander Peary had
given instructions that no changes or
erasures We're to be made in the route
as drawn by the Eskimos on the chart.
From this island they could see two
lands beyond (Sverdrup's Ellef Ring
mes and Amuni Ringes lands). From
J left hand one of these two lands Gam
und Ringnes land) passing a small is
, land which they did not visit.
Arriving at the shore of Amund
Ringnes land, the Eskimos killed a
deer as indicated on the chart.
Peary's Argument.
The above italicised portion of the
statement of the Eskimo boys covers
) the period of time in which DR.. Cook
claims to have gone to the pole and
back and the entire time during which
he could possibly have made any at
tempts to go to it.
; The answers of the Eskimo boys to
lSOnllIldnQer FedTy 5 Settles u niue
pendent questions, showing that they
killed no game, made no caches, lost
no dogs, and returned to the land with
D loaded sledges, makes their attain
. ment of the pole on the trip north of
= Cape Thomas Hubbard physical and
. mathematical impossbility, as it would
= demand the subsistence of three men
. and over twenty dogs during journey
.. of ten hundred and forty geographical
4 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
y the time OF leaving the northwest coast
|, of Heiberg land and Cape Northwest
= and his arrival at Ringnes land. where
b they killed the deer, we must then ado
to the date of DR.. Cooks letter OF
4 March IT., at or near Cape Thomas
!, Hubbard, the subsequent four or FIVE
3 sleeps at that point, and the number .
2. days required to march from Cap
Thomas Hubbard to Cape Northwes
h Ca distance Of some sixty nautica
!. miles), which would advance his dat
g of departure from the land to at leas