The Green Forest tribune., 1909-09-10
|HARDSHIPS
 TEST THE
 EXPLORER
Brief Account of Experiences in Making Periious Trip
 to the Big Nail"


 amounts to nothing less than the sue cessful crowning of an effort covering a period of hundreds of years, and entailing a sacrifice of more than a thousand lives.
 The first official statement from Dr. Cook, cabled direct to the Paris edi- tion of the New York Herald, was as follows:
 After prolonged fight with fam inc and frost we at last succeeded iii reaching the north pole. A new high way, with an interesting strip of ami mated nature, has been explored, and big game haunts located which will delight sportsmen and extend the Es- kimo horizon.
 Land has been discovered on which rest the earths northernmost rocks. A triangle of 30,000 square miles has been cut out of the terres- tial unknown. The expedition was | the outcome of a summer cruise in the Arctic seas on the schooner Brad | ley, which arrived at the limits of navigation in South sound late in Au- gust, 1907. Conditions were favor. able to launch venture to the pole. J. R. Bradley literally supplied from his vessel suitable provisions for To- cal use.
 My own equipment for emergen- cies served well for every purpose in the Arctic travel Many Eskimos have gathered on the Greenland shores at Annatoak for the winter | bear hunt. Immense quantities of meat had been collected, and about the camp were plenty of strong dogs. The combination was lucky, for there was a good material for equipment All that was required was convent ently arranged for at a point only | 700 miles from the boreal center. A house and workshop were built of packing boxes by willing hands, and this northernmost tribe of 250 people | set themselves to the problem of de vising a suitable outfit. Before the end of the long winter night we were ready for the enterprise, and plans had matured to force new route over Grinnell Land northward along its west coast out on to the Polar sea-
 At sunrise of 1908 (February 19) the main expedition embarked on its | voyage to the pole. It consisted oi II men and 103 dogs, drawing Il heavily laden sledges We forced through Nansen sound to Lands End | T,, roh Icl, oxen, seven bears and 335 hares.
 We pushed out into the Polar sea from the southern point of Herbert island on March IS. Six Eskimos re turned from here. With four mer and 46 dogs moving supplies for SC days the crossing of the circum-Polal pack was begun. Three days later two other Eskimos, forming the last supporting party, returned, and the trials had now been reduced by the survival of the fittest. The two besl men and 26 dogs were picked for the final effort.
 For several days after the sight of unknown land was lost the over cast sky prevented an accurate de termination of our position. Or March 30 the horizon was partly cleared and new land was discovered Our observations gave our position as latitude S4.47, longitude S636. There was urgent need of rapid advance Our main mission did not permit 8 detour for the purpose of exploring the coast. Here were seen the last signs of stable earth; beyond there was nothing stable to be seen.
 'The night of April was made notable by the sinking of the sun al midnight over the northern ice. Sun burns and frost bites now were re corded on the same day, but the dou ble days glitter infused quite an in centivo into ones life of shivers.
 Our observation on April placed the camp in latitude S696, longitude 94.2. On April 21 we had reached 8S degrees, 59 minutes and 46 seconds The pole was in sight. We covered the remaining 14 seconds and made few final observations. I told Etuk ishok and Ahwelsh (the accompany ing Eskisos) that we had reached the Great Nail' Everywhere we turned was south. With a single step we could pass from one side of the earth to the other; from midday to mid night. At last the flag floated to the breezes at the pole. It was April 21 1908. The temperature was minus 3S centigrade.
 "On the return trip our provisions became entirely exhausted. No ani nal life was visible, and for three days we had nothing. Then in crev' ice we obtained some walrus meat
 I had only few cartridges left in my belt. I crept along the ice on my stomach, approaching the animals slowly so as not to scare them I ex pended all my cartridges, and as a result secured two of the walruses Our lives were saved
 We then broke up our only sledge and made bows and arrows of the wood, as do the Eskimos, and we SC cured game with these arms, while again, near Cape York, we were virtually on the point of starvation when we found a young seal sleeping ] on the ice