WHAT SCIENTISTS SAID 255 



"That Peary lost grip on his better judgment for the moment and sent 

 forth statements regarding his rival's honesty that will always come up to 

 plague him, seems to be beyond question, although much must be allowed for 

 the misunderstanding of correspondents and perhaps even something for tele- 

 graphic slips. That, however, he has done, with respect to Cook's supplies or 

 records, anything dishonorable or underhanded, those who know him cannot 

 believe. It would seem, at this moment, that each might well cry: 'Deliver 

 me from my friends !' For it is the intemperate utterances of those that have 

 done most to cloud the atmosphere and eclipse the proverbial American spirit 

 of fair play. 



"Since Peary's first cablegrams, all that we have had from him bearing 

 upon Cook's claims has been corroborative, rather than otherwise. Cook's 

 experiences with unusually propitious conditions near the pole were duplicated 

 by Peary. The former's remarkable speed on his dash northward has been 

 exceeded by Peary on his return from his goal to Cape Columbia. The lack of 

 adequate witnesses, so criticised by Peary's adherents when it became known 

 that Cook had but two Eskimo 'boys' with him, has been effectually met by 

 the fact that Peary had but one such with him under like circumstances. One 

 with far northern experience can see many more unmistakable signs of agree- 

 ment in the very inadequate present accounts of the two men. While Peary's 

 account is thus far devoid of longitudinal data, it is already plain why he 

 encountered no signs along Cook's route. At their points of departure from 

 northern Grantland they were over 150 miles apart, and, as Cook's returning 

 route was still further to the west, there were only a very few miles in the 

 immediate neighborhood of the pole where by any possibility his tracks could 

 have been detected by Peary. 



"Still further, it must be remembered that these men, in common with 

 everyone who has established a far north record, approached their tasks in 

 March and April, because of the upbreak of the ice in that great open polar 

 sea during the long continuous day of the summer, and, also, that one of these 

 long days had intervened between Cook's return and Peary's start, doubtless 

 breaking up every vestige of Cook's feverishly hurried stops and dissipating 

 any records in the ice he may have sought to leave behind." 



"Then what proofs will the public ever have; how will these men prove 

 beyond doubt that they have been there?" the doctor was asked. 



"Of absolute proofs, such as would be undeniable in a court of justice, 

 there can be none. We will always be compelled to accept their words. The 



