The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-02-20
.ROBT. {. PEARY.
DEAD At HOME
IN WASHINGTON
I
Discoverer of North Pole Passed
Away This Morning
PERSISTENT EXPLORER
Passed Best Years of Life Beyond
Arctic Circle and Spent Fortune to
Avhieve Great Event

Washington, Feb. 20-Rear Admir-
al Robert e. Peary died at his home
here oday Of pernicious aenemia.
1t was on the afternoon of Septem
ber 6, 1909, that the following few
words reported to the civilized world
for the first time his crowning
achievement Of three centuries of ei
fort:
Indian Harbor, via Cape Ray, NJ
E., September 6-To the Associated
Press, New York.
Stars and Stripes Nailed to
North Pole.
'Peary
Peary's actua' attainment of the
Poe had been just five mon his be
fore, on April 6, 1909.
When this despatch came, the world
was quite unknown to Peary, already
praising DR.. Frederick A. Cook as
The d coverer Only four days prev
ious TO the Peary announcement.
Cook. who was on his way back to
Copenhagen on board Danish steam
er, had telegraphed he claim that
he reached the po e on April 21, 1908
neary year ahead of Peary.
There can be no one who has for
gotten the dispute. Peary's assertions
were not seriously questioned, but
among newspaper readers there came
TO be two grea camps, for and
against Cook.
Ii was only after the scientific bod
ies one by one had sifted the evidence
and pronounced Cooks claims un
founded that Pearys ii le as discov
erer of 'h7 Pole was rea ly won.
The bitterness of this episode is
Cay 1an iIom IN the price which
Peary paid for the Immortal fame
that is now acknowledged 0 be his.
He spent practically all he had in
money, gave all that was in him for
hard work, and suffered all that hu-
man frame could endure from hung
err cold and disappointment. He
made eight journeys into the Arc ic,
spent upwards of half a million dol
lars and several times he barely es-
capped the death which in. various
forms had been the fate of more than
700 exp orers before him
The explorer was So years old
when in July 1908 he set out on his
eighth and successful invasion of .he
Polar region.
Captain Bartlett, the veteran navi.
gator for Peary, shouted to Col.
Roosevelt as tbe shin was leaving
its wharf a. New York: "Its the
Pole or bust this time, Mr.. Presl-
dent"
The method of attacking the Pole
was in five detachments, pushing
north In the manner of telescope
AT tho SSH parallel Peary parted
with Captain Bartlett, In charge Of
The 4th de achment and he with one
member OF his crew and four eski.,
mos made the final dash. They GOV
erad the 1876 mi es in five days.
Thirty hours from Apri 70
were spent at and around the Poie--a
great tract of frozen sea-none Of the
land which DR., Cock repor ed The
was cloudless and fiawless.
Tho 'er'"e"ature r7rged from 80 be
low to IL below. Where open places
perm tied soundngs, 5000 feet of
wire, which was all that Peary had,
failed to touch the bo tom.
When he got back to civilization
Peary was surprised to find such q
fierce controversy raging over him
and his rival DR.. Cook. but he eas 'ly
established his claim before scientific
bodies throughou the world He was
raised to the rank of Rear Admiral
~ ho IIni ed Sates Navy and re-
tired on pay; Congress voted him its
thanks in a specia act, and gold med
ais, declara ions and honors of many
kinds were showered upon him.
Pearv's clio ing years were spent in
well earned rest, living for a large
part of the time with his family of
daughter and son-on
Eagle sland, off the coast from Port.
land, Me. Mrs Peary was formerly
Josephine Diebitsch of Washing on,
d. c., marrying tho explorer in
1888, She frequently accomnanied
her husband on his northward jour
neys. and on one of these trips Marie
Peary was born and bears
the distinction of havin been born
farther north han any other white
child in the world. She is popuarly
known as "The Snow Baby"