Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1909-09-11

axis. I am reasonably sure, however,
that when my observations have been
refgured and verified they will show
that i hoisted a flag on a spot that
was for all practical purposes the
pole. 1t is, of course, possible that
there will be slight variation of,
possibly, fraction. of linear minute,
but l am certain that the spot which
calculated to be the pole was at
least within revolver shot of the ex-
act pole.
Stuck to Game ountry.
"To my mind, the biggest factor in
my success was the fact that instead
of travelling over the more direct and
usual famine route, relying upon >the
food carried by the party, we stuck
close to the game country and were
able to conserve our own supplies
and literally live off the fiat of the
land When we started out both men
and dogs were fat and in splendid
condition. Therefore we were able to
stand great hardships and travel at
top speed"
Questioned regarding his great
speed, Dr. Cook said: ''The daily dis
lance covered on the northward trip
was slightly less than Is miles; on the
southwark trip it was 10 miles. This
is not an abnormal distance for Eski-
mos on the ice. They often travel so
or 60 miles with dogs. One of the
greatest advantages of our trip was
that / did not take a famine route.
We had game for long time, perhaps
| for a hundred miles. We fed our dogs
well throughout the winter in Green
land and ran them 400 miles, giving
them fresh meat every day. Thus we
brought them to the polar sea fat and
well used. We had the best men and
the best dogs.
ave lived entirely on dried meat
and beef tallow, reducing the food
problem to a science. The last trace
of animals we saw was a bear track
at SO degrees. Afterwards we did not
even see life in the water, except
algae. The drift of the ice during the
southern trip was slightly south of
east; the direction of the wind was gen.
eral of Sverdru IS old camps. The rea-
son we utilized silk tents on some occa-
sions was that we were so exhausted
we had not strength to build snow
shed. We had carefully figured and
planned everything so that there was
no surplus weight to be carried. We
did not run short except when we went
astray.
"We brought 10 dogs back with us,
the others having been eaten by their
companions We used the lasso, traps
and bows and arrows to catch game.
It took two months to learn how to
trap a moose. One of the men shot an
Elder buck with an arrow.
No Life at the Pole.
"While, of course. we found abso-
lutely no evidence of plant or animal
life at the pole, we found bear tracks
and evidences of life in the water at
the latitude of SO degrees. At the pole
itself the ice is practically the same
: as throughout the rest of the arcic
zone, with the possible exception that
it is more active Our observations
showed that the drift of the polar ice is
southeast while the direction of the
wind is southwest. 1t was the misun-
derstanding of these conditions at the
outset of our return, that the ice did
not drift with the wind, that caused us
to go astray and delayed US on our re-
turn trip.
81 will never attempt the feat again.
have devoted a good part of 20 years
to attaining my present success. l
have won where others have lost their
! lives or health. I have retained not
only my life, but my health, and l be-
lieve now is a good time to stop.
"Right now the greatest desire of
= my life is to see my wife and children.
: 1t is my purpose to get to New York "
Asked pointblank if he had any 9TH
= er evidence or proof of the accom-
plishment of his feat than that of
. which he had spoken, DR.. Cook replied
that he had not.
> At the conclusion of the interview he
: shook hands with the newspaper men
!. and was warmly congratulated for the
> splendid impression he had created in
;. the minds of all his Copy
righted, 1909, by the United Press.)
d (By Charles P. Stewart.)
IS voliva Is Released on Bail.