THE NORTH POLE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2604, 11 September 1909, Page 5

THE NORTH POLE.

COOK’S? REPLY TO PEARY

United Press Association—Copyright. v : LONDON, Sept. 9. Home andj Canadian papers are already claiming the North Pole under ,-old boundary arrangements. Dr/ Cook states that he will not degrade himself hv answering Commander Peary’s allegations. His denial will not be forthcoming until the accusation is based on scientific data. He is willing himself to lay observations before a< council of scientists of all nations. The Eskimos were nomads and ' not Peary’s nor his property.- He paid them tenfold what they asked.

PEARY’S GIFT TO PRESIDENT TAFT. NEW~YORK, Sept. 9. Commander Peary has telegraphed to President Taft: “I have the honor to place the North Pole at your disposal.” President Taft replied: “Thanks for the interesting and generous offer. I do not know exactly what to do with it. I congratulate you sincerely.” DR. COOK HONORED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN.

(Received September 10, 8.35 p.m.) COPENHAGEN, Sept. 10.

The University of Copenhagen conferred the Doctor’s Degree upon Dr. Cook at a brilliant representative gathering, including the Crown Prince and other members of the Royal family, Herr Otto Sverdrup, of Fram fame, the Ministers of Instruction and Commerce, and the United States Minister. Dr. Cook stated that he intended to send and fetch his two Greenlanders in order to have them examined by unbiassed judges.

“POLAR WAR” IN THE UNITED STATES. NEW YORK, Sept. 10. » The Polar war is eclipsing all other topics in America, where the partisans of Peary and Cook are engaging in a icampagin of vituperation. Mr. Osborn, secretary of the Arctic Club of America, threatens when Commander Peary sets foot in New York to have affidavits of facts published stamping Peary as the most colossal “faker” America ever produced. Ele alleges that he has an affidavit proving that Peary opened Dr. Cook’s trunk and opened a letter addressed to Mrs. Cook.

A WORD FOR DR. COD 1C

INTERVIEW WITH ANOTHER ARCTIC TRAVELLER.

Captain Raillier du Baty, who was n member of the first Charcot expedition to the Antarctic, has personal knowledge of Dr. Cook through M. de Cerlache, the Belgian explorer, with whom Dr.. Cook served, in the Antarctic. M. de Gerlache epdke {to him in -the highest terms of D’r. Cook, and he is inclined to lend absolute credence to anything said bv Dr. Cook. Captain du Baty, interviewed at Melbourne, con.sidered that whatever glory Dr. Cook had achieved, much of it belonged to Lieutenant Peary, who made seventeen attempts along the same route. Dr. Cook served under Lieutenant Peary. Captain du Baty recently performed a marvellous journey in a 40-ton ketch from Franc© to Kerguelen Islands, thence to Melbourne. Asked about Dr. Cook bemg„ deceived by mirages, Captain du Baty ex- , plained that they are of frequent oc-<-curanee in the Polar regions. “So extraordinary are the errors of sight,’ he .said, “that the most curious mistakes are made. One day off Graham’s Land we thought we saw a big house, and it seemed to be miles away. It was but ' a box which had been blown away from the Francais, the vessel in which the Charcot Expedition sailed, and it was .only about fifty yards off. Captain du Baty, still referring to mirages, said that sometimes they made an object " look much.further off than it really is. “Dr. Cook,” sa,id Captain du Baty, “referred to the daily astronomical observations. We did the same in the Antarctic, usually choosing mid-day fox the task. The ordinary theodolite is -used, with an artificial horizon. ’ Captain dh Baty spoke feelingly of Dr. Cook’s information about the extreme • .cold which he experienced. “It was bad enough,’.’ he said, Graham’s Land, where, during the winter the ordinary temperature is 40deg. centigrade below zero; and this has led to a somewhat discouraging remark by our French savant, M. Levasseur who deecribes the temperature as the lowest .that has been registered. lam of opinion that a lower temperature has been registered in Siberih, and, it has always been understood that lower temperatures exist than is the . case close to the neighborhood of the " Pole. We suffered enough With 40deg. centigrade below zero, and the cold which Dr. Cook experienced must have been terrible, especially with so-strong , a - wind. In calm weather we did not feel the extreme cold nearly as badly .as when it blew hard. Where Dr. (Cook was lucky was to have his Esquimaux with him.” . , “Our dogs were hardly any good to ,us in the Antarctic, because we • coulcl ■never learn to drive them properly. One Esquimau can drive a team. °* twenty dogs. Dr Cook talks of having been astonished to find land ice. This is easily distinguishable, because it is incrusted with stones —hence the term Asked to explain what Dr Cook meant by describing blow holes in the me as the last signs of solid earth, Du Baty said that the explanation was simple. “The. blow holes,” lie. stated, “are made by the seats for respiratory purposes. We made holes m the icc to catch fish, and sometimes we were surprised to see the head o: a great big .seal pushing up through the bole It was easier for the »eai to use’our holes than to make them themselves. Their usual way of holes is to use their teeth. This is how Esquimaux catch seals. iney make holes in the ice, and directly the seal puts in an appearance off goes the harpoon. The holes made by the ■seals Are a ; sure sign of land being neaT, as seals as a rule do not wander very far from shore.”

CABLE NEWS.

It was mentioned to Captain du Baty that some of the places described by Dr Cook could not be found in. any of the maps that were available. “This is not astonishing,” he explained, “because two explorers—- eary and Sverdup—recently coined a number of new names, and these do not appear as yet on any map.”