CHAPTER XL 



THE BATTLE OF THE HEROES. 



The battle of brawn was destined to be followed by a battle of brains. 



Such an achievement as the pole discovery is always likely to bring a host 

 of unpleasant developments in its wake; and it is sometimes followed by a 

 quarrel. Damage suits and fights with deadly weapons have attended the 

 great discoveries of riches. The heroism of American sailors in the war 

 with Spain had, unfortunately to be followed by the Sampson-Schley contro- 

 versy. And in the case of the North Pole discovery a quarrel was even more 

 inevitable than in similar circumstances in the past. It was not in human 

 nature that two men should stand at once on the pinnacle of fame. 



This chapter does not aim to plead the cause of either Cook or Peary. It 

 is included simply because the controversy, and the developments thereof, 

 are vital parts of the history of the great polar discovery. 



The trouble started promptly on the arrival of Peary at Indian Harbor, 

 Labrador, the first port he touched on his return journey. One may readily 

 understand the bitter, the almost unbearable disappointment of Commander 

 Peary when there was brought to him, as almost the first news from his native 

 land, the announcement that Cook had outstripped him by a year. It meant 

 that he had fulfilled an ambition that had, inspired him from boyhood, only to 

 -find himself outdistanced in the final stretch. Under this torturing sensation 

 Peary rushed two telegrams to America before he had seen or talked with a 

 relative or an adviser. The first telegram was to his wife, the other to the 

 Associated Press. Said the former message : 



"Delayed by gale. Don't worry about Cook. Eskimos say Cook never 

 left sight of land. Tribe confirms. BERT." 



The dispatch to the Associated Press read : 



"Indian Harbor, Labrador (By Wireless Via Cape Ray, N. F.), Sept. 7. 

 — To Associated Press, New York: I have nailed the stars and stripes to 

 the North Pole. This is authoritative and correct. 



"Cook's story should not be taken too seriously. The two Eskimos who 



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