34 COOK'S STORY OF HIS DISCOVERY OF NORTH POLE 



for local use and my own equipment for emergencies served well for 

 every purpose of Arctic travel. Many Eskimos had gathered on the 

 Greenland shores at Annootok for the winter bear hunt, immense 

 quantities of meat had been collected, and about the camp were plenty 

 of strong dogs. The combination was lucky, for there was good 

 material for equipment. When I reached Etah I really had no 

 definite idea of striving to reach the North Pole that year, but there 

 I found that everything was ready in the way of equipment, and so 

 I decided to risk the adventure at once. This time we started out to 

 reach the Pole and everything else was of a secondary consideration. 

 It was not possible to carry certain apparatus, and it was impossible 

 also to study the deep sea or take soundings. We carried all neces- 

 sary simple instruments for astronomical observations and we were 

 very lucky to obtain observations virtually every day. The positions 

 noted must have been nearly correct. We had three chronometers, 

 one watch, compasses and pedometers. All were carefully controlled 

 by each other from time to time; the watch, however, got out of 

 order. We had all the modern instruments which other explorers 

 have had, including thermometers, barometers and sextants of the 

 latest models. I think that all explorers will be satisfied with 

 my data. 



"All that was required was conveniently arranged for at a point 

 only 700 miles from the boreal center. A house and workshop were 

 built of packing boxes by willing hands, and this northernmost tribe 

 of 250 people set themselves to the problem of devising a suitable 

 outfit. Before the end of the long winter night we were ready for 

 the enterprise and plans had matured to force a new route over 

 Grinnell Land northward along its west coast out on to the Polar 

 Sea. The campaign opened with a few scouting parties being sent 

 over the American shores to explore the way and seek the game 

 haunts, but their mission was only partly successful because of the 

 storms. 



"At sunrise of 1908 (February I9th), the main expedition 



