Arizona republican., 1909-09-24

New York, Sept. 23.-Cheered by a thousand men and women, as he en- tered the banquet hall on the arm of Rear Admiral Winfield S. Schley, Dr. Frederick A. Cook told his story to- night before the most brilliant audience that he has addressed since he left the court of Denmark.
 The banquet was given by the Arctic Club of America of which pr. Cook is a member. The assemblage was cos mopolitan and enthusiastic. Crowded in the great ball room of the Wal dOrf-Astoria, Dr. Cooks admirers list ened attentively to his recital in the form of an after dinner address.
 Dr. Cook said: This is one of the highest honors I ever hope to receive. You represent most of the frigid ex- plorers of Europe and nearly all of the Arctic explorers in America. Your welcome is the explorers guarantee to the world-coming as it does, from fellow workers, from men who know and have gone through the same ex- perience-it is an appreciation and a victory, the highest that could fall to the lot of any returning traveller.
 
 sistence. There is nothing in the en- tire realm of the arctic which is inn possible to man. If the animal fires are supplied with adequate fuel there is no cold too severe and no obstacle too great to surmOunt. No important expedition has ever returned because of unscalable barriers or impossible weather. The exhausted food supplies resulting from a limited amount of transportation has turned every aspir- ant from his goal. In the ages of polar quest much has been tried and much has been learned. The most i'm portant lesson is that civilized man, if he will succeed, must bend to the savage simplicity necessary.
 The problem belongs to modern man, but for its execution we rust begin with the food and the means of transportation of the wild man Even this must be reduced and simpli- fled
 'Candor compels me to say that the effort of getting to the pole is not one of physical endurance, nor is it fair to call it bravery; but a proper understanding of the needs of the stomach and knowledge of the limits of the brute force, of the motive pow CT of man or beast. Our conquest was only possible with the accumulated les sons of early ages of experience The failures of our less successful predeces- sors were stepping stones to our sue cess. The real pathfinders of the pole were the early Danish, the Dutch, the English, the Morse, the Italian and American explorers. With these worthy forerunners we must therefore share the fruits which your chairman has put into my basket.
 "A similar obligation is due to the wild man. The twin families of wild folk, the Eskimo, and the Indian, were important factors to us. The use of pemmican and the snow shoe, which makes penetration of the arctic mys tery, barely possible has been bor- rowed from the American Indian. The method of travel, the motor force and the native ingenuity without which the polar quest would be hopeless task, have been taken from the Eskimo. To savage man, therefore, who has no flag, we are bound to give a part of this fruit. So John R. Brady-the man who paid the bills belongs at least One-haif or this fruIt-
 "The Canadian government sent its expedition under Captain Bernier l. GOO miles out of its course to help us to it. l gladly pass the basket. In returning, my shriveled skin and withered muscles were filled out at the expense of Danish hospitality And last but not least, the reception by my fellow eXplorers-to you and to all-belongs this basket of good things which the chairman has plac- ed upon my shoulders.
 Nothing would suit me better than to tell you the complete story of our quest. but the very first telegram gives more specific data than I could hope to tell you in an after dinner address. Therefore I shall devote the time to an elucidation of certain phases of our adventure.
 one of the most remarkable charges brought out is that l did not seek d geographic license to start for the pole Now. gentlemen, to the large public that may be a mystery, but you who know will appreciate that no explorer can start and say that he will reach the pole. Many a good man has tried and failed. and all have failed All who understand the problem know that success is but barely possible when every conceiv- able circumstance is favorable. IL IS only necessary to announce that s.G expedition embarks for the pole to start an undesirable bombast and flourish of trumpets. This I chose to escape. Mir. Bradley furnished the funds. I shaped the destiny of the expedition. For the time being the