Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-02-05
(Medford Mail.Tribune.

"Admiral" R. E. Peary, as Arctic
explorer and diseoverer of the North
Pole, stands branded as a greater
fakir than DR.. Cook was labelled
That his alleged discoveries, extending
over period of thirty years, are fakes
is admitted and confirmed by the
withdrawal and cancellation by the
United States government of charts
and maps depicting "North America
Polar regions, showing recent discov-
cries by Civil Engineer R. E. Peary,
United States navy"
Peary's claim TO fame was based up
on his alleged discovery of 'Peary
Straits" ," "East Greenland sea-" the
insularity Of Greenland" of "Jesup
Land" of "Croker Land" and of the
north pole. In truth, it seems to have
been based upon gigantic gall, men
dacious mendacity, brazen blatancy
and pernicious publicity.
The branding of Peary as a faker of
magnitude was very artistically, scien-
tifically and efficiently accomplished
by Congressman H. r. Helgesen of
North Dakota, full report of it being
contained in the Congressional Record
of January 13, 1916. 1t was made pos
sible by subsequent explorations made
by expeditions sent by the Danish
government, Norwegian government
and American societies, including such
renowned explorers as Mylius-Erick-
sen, Koch, Mikkelsen, Rasmussen,
Mcmillan and Nansen, as well as prev.
ious explorations by General A. w,
Greely, u. S. A., of the Lady Frank
lin Bay expedition, all of whom proved
the falsity of Peary's claims.
Peary posed for years as the dis
coverer of "Peary channel" connect
ing the Arctic ocean with "East
Greenland sea-" another of his dis
coveries, rated as most important as
proving his great discovery, the in.
sularity of Greenland. This discovery
was made in 1912 and is described
in Peary's book, "Northward Over the
Great Ice" To quote Peary: "This
channel marked the northern bound
ary of Greenland"
Mylius-Ericksen and two companions
lost their lives through believing in
Peary s statement, which their records,
afterwards recovered, proved false IN
every particular. Rasmussen confirm
ed their discovery that Peary channel
does not exist, that East Greenland sea
is solid land and that Greenland is not
insular-a fact that Greedy had ten
years previously ascertained.
"Jesup land" was named in honor
of Morris X. Jesup, president and
financier of the Peary Arctic club
This is a large island southwest of
Grant Land. This land was really dis
covered by Sverdrup in 1900, mapped
and explored and named "Axel Hei
berg land.D Peary in his book
" Nearest the Pole, " in 1907, says that
from a 2O00-foot summit on Grant land
he saw "west the unbroken surface OF
Nansen's strait, and beyond it the
northern part of that western land
saw from the heights of the Ellesmerc
Land ice cap in July, 1898, and named
Jesup Land"
Mr.. Helgesen calls attention to the
fact that in Peary's report to the
Peary Arctic club, published in "Near
est the Pole" Peary states that in
Puly, 1898, he was journeying tC
Cape York, thus "solving the hither
to unsolvable problem of how to oc
cupy two widely separated points al
one and the same time" Nor coulC
Mr.. Peary have possibly seen th'
"Jesup Land" where he located it
since land does not exist there, but
much further south and a great dea
further west.
"Croker Land" adorned maps for {
considerable period. This was an un
defined body of land in latitude about
So degrees north longitude, 102 de
grees west, claimed to have been dis
covered by Peary in 1906, "its snow
| clad summitsp seen from a distance
described in "Nearest the Pole"
Accepting this discovery as authen
tic, the "Crocker Land expedition
was sent out in 1913 by the American
Museum Of Natural History and th'
American Geographical society unde
the leadership Of Donald b. Mcmillan
a member of the last Peary expedition
TO explore and chart "Crocker Land
Mcmillan thus describes the result:
1--WE not only reached Crocker lane
on the map, but were 30 miles inland
You can imagine how earnestly vi
scanned every foot Of the horizon--no
a thing in sight. We are convinced
4bot no ,uara Il, v,,,ve,,;t op n Mill n >