The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1909-12-03
.FNON FOR DOG COOK
LEHMAN SAYS NARRATIVE 10
DELIBERATE IMPosTURs'
cyrs ALL CREDIT TO PtAhf
90, Who Would Visit North Pole IN
Airshlp Attacks Man Who did
stunt on Foot.
IVES ALL CREDIT TO PtARY

washington. Special. Walter Well
~, whose preparations for CON
anest of the north pole were apah'
gnod mon the announcement OF the
s,otemeuls OF Or Frederick A. COOK
ga commander Robert y. Peary. has
,.snol long statement in which ne
an,l,,es the narratives of the two
o.niorers declaring that OF Peary
srrecise workmanlike. consistent,
,rsdibla in every particular, and de-
ropncing that of Dr. Cook as a sell
evident and even deliberate imposture.
acook's story is suspicious both In
o.bat II does tell and what II does
XXI tcl declares Mr. Wellman He
& generally vague and indefinite, but,
~ most men OF his class, entirely
,oo nrccise at the wrong place. NO
where does his story ring true. il is
oiways an approximation of reality
tself This Is true Of his figures, his
descriptions everything.
"Th0sc Of us who have had snare
IN arctic work" says Wellman, in con-
ending his analysis "and who have
felt anxiety that no blot OF fraud
should stain the proud record OF eff
lori ana sacrifice had a first hope
Nat pr COOK would be able TO demon
etrafe his good faith This has dis
solved In analysis Of his own story.
"a second hOpe-lhat he was the
victim of some hallucination or men
,al illness. and believed himself he
lad been al the pole. though, OF
course ne was ot-vanished in the
uobt AZ earlier and subsequent events.
There remains. though one says II
with Foonost regret. only the wretched
alternative that the journey which he
did make. and the report which he
gave M n were deliberately planned
from The outset"
The gist Of Mr. Wellman's finding
Is that with his meager party and
continent Or Cook could not pos
siilq have accomplished the feat; that
his astronomical data are too minutely
precise to have been made under as
serted conditions in the field. and that
the explorers dash for the lecture
plafform and his acceptance of
acrowns OF flowers placed upon his
head hv innocent women and chill
dren before submitting his field rec
ords No scientific examination, all con
spre "a his discredit.
Mr. Weilman attacks first Cook S
story az his journey. He points out
that arctic sledcing Is not a new ven
turo nor an experiment. but has been
reduced almost to a science. He pro
ceeds 10 the proposition that the first
thing 10 hc done in advancing Over
the ice fields is the reduction TO The
/, minimum Of the food and fuel 10 bs
carried and secondary the organiza
ton of supporting parties that can b.
semi back from the dwindling MAR
body. until the few who are hardies
enter on the final struggle 10 the goal
The longer the route. Mr.. Wellmar
sets forth necessarily the create
weight Of food and fuel and in conse
Quonce a much slower pace.
pcary Wellman continues. mapped
ont MS plans carefully for the ad
vance ana started with fifty or sixt,
men. az dogs and twenty-one sledges
He divided his party so that he ha'
four supporting parties who kept opei
the back trail and in leaving the mail
body ughtened the loads that men AM
dogs were compelled o draw
Dr Cook had no supporting party
saws Wellman. except for the frs
three DAYS His party consisted Q
three men, twenty-six dogs and tw
sledges in the long dash he made.
"That which he declares to hav
done" declares MI Wellman. refei
ring TO Cook with his equipment an
organization was physically impo'
sible II is beyond human power.
Later IN his statement he adds:
THE laws OF physics and OF m'
chanical forces can no more be defie
and ignored in the arctic regions tha
elsewhere. save in the Imagination"