44 COOK'S STORY OF HIS DISCOVERY OF NORTH POLE 



misused our station with its equipment, under the protest of Mr. 

 Whitney." 



The Mr. Whitney above mentioned was a sportsman from New 

 Haven, who had gone north on a hunting trip and made Annootok 

 his headquarters, and was consequently on hand to meet and greet 

 him on his return. As the story is told, Commander Peary had put 

 Murphy, his boatswain, in charge of Cook's supplies at Annootok. 



"The Commander gave Murphy instructions to use Cook's sup- 

 plies first," says Whitney, "because he said they were improperly 

 packed and would spoil earlier than Peary's. We built our box 

 house at Annootok and used the Cook provisions. I read the instruc- 

 tions to Murphy and they were clear. He was not ordered to start 

 out in search of Cook, who was believed to be somewhere in the 

 region. If Dr. Cook came through, however, the instructions to 

 Murphy were to let him have what supplies he wanted and to take a 

 receipt for them. Dr. Cook was shown the instructions, and he was 

 given what supplies he asked for." 



It appears, however, that Murphy was a burly, hot-headed 

 Newfoundlander, who did not know Cook and was not inclined to 

 treat with courtesy the half-famished claimant of the goods in his 

 charge. Whitney told his friends of many months of bickerings 

 and quarrels with Murphy, of Murphy's bulldozing and bullying 

 methods and of the final quarrel over Cook's stores and the Peary 

 provisions at Etah in which the boatswain flared up with savage 

 fury and seized an axe with what seemed a palpable desire to attack 

 him. The cabin boy, Pritchard, it seems, was on Whitney's side 

 and seized a gun as Whitney did. By threatening to shoot the fiery 

 boatswain they succeeded in bringing about more amicable relations. 

 In the end, as we are told, Murphy consented to shave the returned 

 explorer, and for the few days that Cook remained more amicable 

 conditions existed. 



Shortly afterwards Dr. Cook left Annootok and made his way 

 southward to Upernavik, hoping to find there some means of trans- 



