The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-09-07
CONTROVERSY BEGINS.
Cook Supporter Expresses Doubt Re
garding Peary's Success.

Cook Supporter Expresses Doubt Re-
garding Peary's Success.
New York, Sept. THE Cook-Peary
controversy opened here with the firsc
expression of disbelief in the report that
the latter had reached the pole. The
denial came from Captain Bradley S.
Osborn, a veteran polar explorer, secre-
tary of the Arctic Explorer club ard
one of Cooks most earnest supporters.
IT am extremely doubtful that Com
rnander Peary has reached the pole,'' he
said. Mr.. Peary must have encounter
ed very smooth ice and water to have
succeeded in such a short time. All
news hitherto indicates that he made
his dash for the pole In the summer of
1908. I do not see how 1t would have
been possible for him to have arrived
and returned with the news so early
Peary's friends have for several
that he had already reached his go al
and that the news was delayed only by
the difficulties of transmission The re-
ceipt of his message is taken to mean
that the relief ship Jeanne, which left
here a month ago, has reached Etah,
Greenland, and established communica-
ton with Peary at that point 1t is
possible. however, that Peary sent
word by a chance whaler.
The last word from Peary prior to
his message yesterday was received
October z, 1908, from Harry Whitney,
wealthy resident or New Haven,
at Etah, in charge of Peary's pro-
visions. He said that the Roosevelt
left Etah on August IS on its north
ern journey. The last Peary expedi-
ton sailed from New York July 6.
1903 Commander Peary's last words
were: Unless unforeseen circum-
stances intervene within the next year.
I hope to plant the Stars and Stripes
at the POLE
From New York the Roosevelt went
SV6nPH thence hQrhnr
where she took on supplies. then fol-
lowed the coast from there to Cape
York Etah was reached sometime in
August, and from that point the route
of the expedition can only be conjec-
tured from the plans its commander
had already announced.
Peary's idea was to reach the pole
by the American route" which he
himself had studied and developed
during his former expedition.
An advantage of this route is that it
allows base of supplies approximately
100 miles nearer the goal than the
chief rival The advantage of the route
appear by Peary's trip in 1906 when he
attainedy the northernmost point hith-
erto reached by man-s7 degrees min
utes, at about the 49th meridian, west
longitude. This was on April 81 The
commander, on his present expedition,
hoped to follow the path taken three
years ago which lay in almost a
supposed rorthernnost extremity of
GrinneIl land. to latitude "a degrees
and Sc minutes. At this point Peary
had discovered what he afterwards con-
cluded to be the open Polar sea. In
1906, his journey over the ice was de-
layed at this point for week by an
open lane of water two miles wide.
When the ice finally allowed him to
proceed, heavy gales sprang up, which
forced him to abandon the greater part
of his provisions. Comparatively smooth
travelling he then found until he reached
b degrees II minutes. There he en-
countered a terrific storm which held
him prisoner while the ice drift car
RED him 20 miles to the east.
These handicaps and the constantly
widening lanes of water and increasing
roughness of the ice, together with
threatened failure of supplies, forced
Peary to turn back on April FL, when
he had reached latitude ST degrees 6
minutes. After putting up flags and
depositing a brief record of his
achievements, Peary started back for
Cape Morris Jessup.
On his present expedition Mr.. Peary
announced that he would take route
from Grantland more to the west and
not SO directly north as that of his
former attempt, heading almost as far
as the eightieth meridian of longitude,
and thus compensa ting for the indrift.
He planned to establish his last base
on a newly found island northwest of
Grantland. Peary based great hopes
on the results to be obtained by fol-
lowing the Arctic currents, which he
had studied on his previous expedition.
One of hihs theroies was that ice
nearest the pole moved faster than
further south For this reason in go
have to work against the drift. but
nearer the pole he believed that the
drift would be in his favor.