196 THE CONTROVERSY BETWEEN COOK AND PEARY 



With only a limited knowledge of the Arctic region, it was 

 not difficult to conceive of the possibilities of "faking" the discovery 

 of the North Pole, but it was not easy to credit that any man would 

 attempt this sort of thing, hoping to escape exposure. That Dr. 

 Cook had devoted himself to exploration, that he had become an 

 earnest pole hunter, that he had actually invaded the Arctic region, 

 exposing himself to all its dangers and risking his very life^ these 

 things were immediately accepted by the public. 



That Dr. Cook and Commander Peary should have opposing 

 views as to the most practical means of making the trip to the end 

 of the earth's axis did not prove that Cook was an impostor. That 

 he should have proceeded with only two Eskimo companions while 

 Peary's party numbered forty white men and Eskimos did not prove 

 it. That they had different routes and chose different seasons of 

 the year for the final dash over the ice did not prove it. They both 

 agreed that the Pole could be reached only by means of Eskimos, 

 their dogs and sledges. Men of science and others interested in the 

 controversy gave up guessing and decided to wait for the actual 

 proof from both men. What would the records show? Perhaps 

 by them it would be possible to determine how the honor of reaching 

 the North Pole should be divided. Until these had been examined, 

 Dr. Cook stood pre-eminent as the discoverer. 



As for Peary, he deserved the nation's congratulations for his 

 persistence and his determination that he would find the North Pole. 

 There was not a man in America, however proud he was of Dr. 

 Cook, that would not have been glad to have had Peary as the North 

 Pole's discoverer after his twenty-three years' effort. He had de- 

 voted his life to the work, not merely of reaching the Pole, but of 

 showing the world the way. As with every man who has a single 

 purpose, Commander Peary's became part of his life. 



The etiquette of polar exploration is a closed book to the gen- 

 eral public, and it must be admitted that the feeling prevailed that 

 Dr. Cook had achieved his object and as first on the spot had a right 



