The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1910-12-16
Suffered Terrible Hardships
In Mysterious Land Of
Ice.
Thought lie Reached North
Pole.
DECEIVED ny HIS SHADOW.

New York. Dec. 16. Omitted
Press NO one should diseredit
the two and a half years OF Arctic
experlence-until he hungers with
me. freezes with me. shudders with
me In the specter-ridden Arctic night
aud grows mad with me in the glar-
ing. burning. long and cracking Arc
tie day Not until then can he un-
dorstand my mental condition at the
time and appreciate just how I feel
now and what believe TO be true"
Ia these words does Or. Frederick
A. Cook. In the first installment OF
his "own story In the January num-
Der OF Hampton's Magazine. issued
today lay the groundwork for his
defense. not OF his north pole dis
coYery claim. which he now admits
may be without merit. but OF his
honesty In believing that he accom-
pllshed this marvellous feat.
An through the story Cook refers
60 the terrible physical and mental
strain he underwent and TO the pos
ability. n not probability. that the
hardships he endured affected his
mind 80 that he was In no condition
20 make scientifically correct OBJ
seryations AS TO his movements.
lie explains how he got I'm bad"
at the outset in these words: Re
turning from a life, savage I'm its
drain on body and mind. ! was
tossed 20 the zenith OF worldly honor
on wave OF enthusiasm, world
madness which startled me. In the
ebb OF that wave was plunged into
the depths OF suspicion and dis
credit. a victim OF my own folly and
the sufferer from a storm OF adverse
circumstances"
After recIting a chapter OF hard
ships and privations that will prob
ably move TO pity many an adverse
critic, Cook says. when / recall
the many hairbreadth escapes from
death. the hazards We took. and feel
again that physical and mental suf-
fering I wonder whether any living
AaH Nohiu h' AhiH Ntit nc pith'Ni-
tatlng a lie"
II | did believe In myself. hon
estly and sincerely, II ! felt con-
WINGED OF my claim when ] reached
Copenhagen and later New York.
the explorer says. lis Il Just TO call
me the worlds most intrepid fakir,
a common. deliberate swindler? I'm,
consciously ! may have made state
ments which I myself now question.
That Is inexcusable But most em-l
phatically and positively. I am not a
thief: most certainly there was no
plan to hoax the world to my own
financial profit"
More Lied Against Than Lying.
DR.. Cook says that he has been
accused OF being colossal liar and
yet that many lies have been told on
him. He cites the gum drop story
az sample. lie says he took no
gum drops with him and never
heard the story until he got TO New
York. Cook says that the trip was
not undertaken for scientific attain
ment. 1T was a personal conquest,
I'm which | expected only the return
due o pathfinder"
Continuing. DR.. Cook says: 81
shall not give In this story my scien-
tiRc observations. They have been
published and scientific authorities
have rejected them as Inadequate.
IL may seem a curious thing, as so
much Is made OF fgures-which can
be manufactured by the ream-for
me. to say that figures of instru-
mental observations are only self
convincing But l am telling the
truth, as ] see II frankly.
MY conviction that I reached the
pole never was based solely upon
observations, figures or mathemati-
cal calculations. | did take these,
OF course. Sometimes l took them
hastily. again working them out
with most painstaking accuracy.
Sometimes my mind was clear as
crystal. again | was dazed with hun
ger, thirst and cold. These figures
did not convince me of my achieve
ment. They only corroborated my
Inner conviction Of progress.
"Was my inner conviction that
attained the pole insane? Perhaps.
Which raises the whole problem OF
the border-line of sanity. i was,
feel, no more insane than any man
who frantically pursues an ideal
an ideal which may seem hair
Drained to the practical man-aDd
who finally to himself, II to no other
is satisfied that he has accomplished
his desire. My conviction may be
CONTINUED on Page Three.)