DR. COOK 
his story has caused, I will quote from my 
diary the impressions noted in regard to him: 
"August 17, 1909, Etah, North Greenland. 
"Mr. Harry Whitney came aboard with 
the boatsw^ain and the cabin-boy, who had 
been left here last fall on our way to Cape 
Sheridan. Murphy is the boatswain and 
Pritchard the boy, both from Newfoundland, 
and they look none the worse for wear, in 
spite of the long time they have spent here. 
Mr. Whitney is the gentleman who came up 
on the Erik last year, and at the last moment 
decided to spend the winter with the natives. 
He had a long talk with the Commander be- 
fore we left for the north, and has had quite 
a lengthy session with him since. I learn that 
Dr. Cook came over from Ellesmere Land 
with his two boys, Etookahshoo and Ahpellah, 
and in a confidential conversation with Mr. 
Whitney made the statement that he had 
reached the North Pole. Professor MacMil- 
lan and I have talked to his two boys and have 
learned that there is no foundation in fact for 
such a statement, and the Captain and others 
of the expedition have questioned them, and 
if they were out on the ice of the Arctic Ocean 
177 
