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"Cook was not at the North Pole on April 21, 1908, nor at any other time. Cook's story should not be taken too seriously. The two Eskimos who accompanied him say he went no distance north, and not out of sight of land. Other members of the tribe commemorate this story. He has simply handed the public a gold brick." But when Peary returned to civilization his own story sounded as dubious as Cook's. He had taken even fewer observations of his alleged position than Cook had done. The fact that he left his white companions behind and had no witnesses cast doubt on his claims. When Cook was doubted when he said he made fifteen miles a day in sledge traveling, Peary claimed he made over twenty, and even forty. Since it is impossible to make forty miles a day on a dog sledge, which is admitted to be slower travel than on foot, this claim seems impossible. When questioned whether he traveled faster on the dog sledge than on foot, Peary admitted: "In Arctic expeditions a man is lucky if he is able to walk without pushing the sledge. Usually he must grip the rear and push it ahead. It is like guiding a breaking plow drawn by oxen. You must also expect at any moment that the sledge may strike some pressure ridge that will wrench you off your e--1.0 feet." According to Peary's statement it seems impossible that he could travel at speeds of twenty to forty miles a day over Arctic ice and keep it up for eight days, after doing equally arduous work for months. concludes: "The question whether Cook or Peary discovered the North Pole may never be solved. It seems to be one of history's puzzles, and to remain a matter of one weno eee 2 atk 2 When Peary submitted his proofs for investigation, the Congressional Committee that examined them acknowledged in Congress that Peary had not, no more than Cook, proved his claim of reaching the Pole. Peary claimed he traveled a distance of 270 miles from eighty-seven degrees, forty- seven minutes North to the Pole and back to the same latitude i in seven days and a few hours. This ae eed 22 eee tee te te a te te "Did I actually reach the North Pole?...If I was mistaken in approximately placing my feet upon the pin-point (North Pole) about which this controversy has raged, I maintain it was the inevitable mistake any man must make. To touch that spot For this reason, after examining Cook's and Peary's data, Honorable Mr. Miller man's word against another." speed seems impossible in the polar region. Cook admitted he did not reach the Pole in his book he wrote after he returned from his expedition, in which he wrote: would be an accident."