Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-12-16


OF Arctic travel as anyone in New York
~ Washington. Yet they concluded that
The doctors claim was rrma facle
worthy OF belief TIE Danish public did
not lead them it followed them.
In accounting for such conduct on the
part of competent authorities, j; is neccs~
sary to examine moro closely the evil
dences in favor OF Cook In all the at
lacks upon him. there has never been the
slightest attempt TO explain how. as an
mpostor, he could ma &c guessed ac
curately the physical conditions that un.
doub; eddy exist at and II the vicinity OF
the North Pole. That Cook knew moth
ing of peary's success in reaching the
Pole when he sailed from Greenland for
Denmark last summer. and had enjoyed
no facilities for Information as 30 what
Peayy had found farthest north. is evil
dent In the fact that not one of the Danes
on the steamer Hans Egede had learned
of the success of Peary's expedition. II
Cook had known it, they. too must
have known It. since the Dan
ish government officials in Green
land enjoyed much better facilities for
obtaining news IN the far North than Cook
did. Cook. therefore. could not have made
what Pear had discovered. True or
false. that story was original with him.
Cook reported that there was no land at
the pole. or in its vicinity. If he is an i'm
postor, he dared to guess that vital fact.
although he knew that Peary was himself
In the North and might return soon with
the report that the pole was .ocatcd on
an island or in an archipelago. But
Peary returned and confirmed Cook. Sup
pose. however, that that was merely a
lucky guess. The next point to consider
Is that Cook reported that as one neared
the pole the ice conditions for travel be-
came much more favorable. that is. the
ice pack was smoother than farther south.
\ faker might guess there was no land at
the pole. but would one who was never
nearer the pole than Cape Thomas Hub
bard guess that the nearer the pole you
20. the easier is the going? Such 4
fact had never been adumbrated as posi-
BILE in any work on Arctic travel. Such
fact was in the nature of a new dis
cnvery. Peary came back with the same
report.
BY this time il is necessary to admit
that, if he - an imposter Or. Cook was
u remarkable guesser. But there is an
other point in the same line Of argument
An impost r, merely in order to make his
story seem plausible, would have reported
"A temperature at latitude 90 considerably
colder than one 600 miles further south
All our ideas OF polar warmth were up
set. however. by Or. Cook He said he
found the temperature as low as Sc minus
way down In the valleys o, Ellesmere
land, but at the north pole he found it as
high as about IS minus. that is. below
zero Now up in Vermont some winter
mornings. the temperature drops to 80
degrees below zero. The doctor there
fore, gave to the world a polar tcmpera-
ture which one can experience in Windsor
county, VT, while the really low temper
allure which he found he had credited to
spot not within GOO miles OF the pole
If Mr.. Peary had not reported for the
north pole a temperature even warmer
than Or. Cook did, that Is one OF "a de-
grees below zero. Cooks temperature fig
urcs would now be used against him. 1t
is certinly extraordinary that IL Cook is
! an impostor he should not only have re-
ported so warm temperature for the
| pole. but one which tailed with Mr..
! Peary's In an amazing way.
The Cook argument. ct this stage, sums
up as follows: He might have guessed
| accurately that there was no :and at the
! pole, but It Is not humanity prObaole thht
| he could have guessed. OF have dared 20
guess, what turns out TO be the actual
| facts as to the conditions Of travel near
| the pole and the temperature at the pole.
| Explorers on land are judged somewhat
| by what they ray they have seen, in case
later explorers verify essential facts re-
ported by them. DIR. Cook must, In par,
at least be judged in the same way. The
well filled food caches which Cook left IN
| Ellosmere land and at Svarteveg, on the
| shore OF tho polar sea, must also be con-
| sidered in deciding whether he made q
| genuine effort To reach the pole The
| cache al Svartevcg is still there. I'M
| touched so far as Is known. Had Cool,
been an impostor, planning to turn south
after short run over the ice pack, why
should he have prepared these caches 30
carefully and then never have availed
himself OF them, notwit hstanding that he
faced starvation in his subsequent extend
ed journey? Or. If an impostor, is Il
probable that he would have wintered 30
far from those caches that they could be
of no possible use to him. when the food
on the two sledses had been consumed?
Authorities like Gen. Greedy and Knud
Rasmussen probably find In all these con-
siderations evidence to support their un-
abated confidence in DR.. Cook Rasmus-
sen, as is well known bases his faith in
part on what he gathered among the Cape
York Eskimos after Cook had departed
from among them. There arc two sides.
Until a final Judgment can be rendered
by competent and unprejudiced men. 1t Is
necessary to ho'd these facts in mind.
EXPRESSIVE BUT NOT VULGAR
Lady spectator--Just listen to him. I
do wish YOU knew French. George; It's
much more expressive and not nearly so