The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1910-12-03
COOK NOT sure
Nays He Does Not Kaow Whether He Dis
covered Pole ar Not.
WILL TELL HIS STORY

WILL TELL HIS STORY
Statement May BE Startling, but He
Is Willing to Startle the World
If He Can Present Case. and Re~
gain Sympathy and Confidence OF
! His Fellow Men.
"Dii I get to- the, North Polea
Perhaps made a mistake In think
ing that / did. Perhaps, l did; nss
make mistake. After InaturG
thought confess. that do, not know
absolutely whether I reached the.
pole or not This may come as am
amazing statement, but; ! am will
ing to startle the world il, by SO
doing, ! can get an opportunity 10
present my case. By my case:
mean not my case as geographicaE
discoverer, but my case as a MANI;
Much as the attainment of the North
Pole once meant to me, the sympa-
thy and confidence Of my fellow mem
mean more"
In this way Dr.. Frederick A.
Cook, the Brooklyn explorer, IN am
article which will be published, in
Hampton's Magazine, confesses; that
he does not know whether he reach
ed the North Pole or not. 4
: The publishers OF the article is.'
sued statment. Wednesday night
saying that nowhere in his narrative
does Dr.. Cook either cast any re-
Election on Peary or question Peary's
cl9ims. DR.. Cook, who has been in
hiding for over year, has inform
ed the editors Of the magazine pub
fishing his story that he will RETURN
to the United States with his wife
and children, December 90, in oder
to spend Christmas here.
/ Continuing DR.. Cook says:
Fully, freely and frankly I shaN
tell you everything. Tell you ev-
ervthing-and leave the decision
with you. IF, after reading my story
you say, Cook is sincere and hon
est; half crazed by months Of isola-
tion and hunger, he believed that he.
reached the pole; he is not fakers
then shall be satisfied" ~,
Dr.. Cook tells the story, Of bis
life and pictures what he calls the
over-poweriny ambition OF explora-
I, tion, until it finally eliminated In
his effort to reach the pole. DR..
Cook declares that at the time he
convinced his wife that he discover:
ed the pole, he was half mad. He
spent two years in his quest and
during that time endured hunger and
privation that, he says, would un-
balance any mind. DR.. Cook says
that It would be impossible for any
man to demonstrate beyond gues-
tion that he had been to the North
Pole. EIe characterizes the region
as region of insanity, wler, one
can, not believe the evidences gath
cred before one eyes.
II have been called the great
est liar in the world, the most mon-
umental imposter in history" says
DR.. Cook. II believe that in eve.'y
undesirable way stand unique the
object of such suspicion and vituper-
alton as have assailed few men,"
With this realization, DR.. Cook
wrote his story and says that to nm
the honor Of discovering the North
Pole no longer means anyth!Lr. The
explorer has been wo k'.l.r en h'n
story since last August, ard sayh.
according to the editor Of Hamp-
tons MAGAZINE, 'that his sole desire
Is to make the people Of the United
States realize just what he went
through during his two and hal8
years in the Artic fastuess, and to
make them see what processes oz
thinking--or lack OF thinking--'t
was that lead him to do the thing
,, which confirmed to the average mind
the worst suspicious against him.
iDr. Cook then tells the story OF
the days in Copenhagen and later in
New York and of the crisis in his
life that led to his flight from New
, York and his voluntary exile from
the United States.
Dr.. Cook and his wife are now in
, Europe, and the children are nov
in a convent in France. Most OF The
time during his exile DR.. Cook has
been In London.