Frederick Cook and the Forgotten Pole

IN 1909, DR. FREDERICK A. COOK created a worldwidesensation when he announced that he had reached theNorth Pole. Although the debate about Cook’s expedi-tion still rages in some circles and new books are published on the controversy each decade, most polar historians and editors of encyclopedias agree that Cook never went out of sight of land, let alone to the North Pole. Robert E. Peary is generally credited with being first at the North Pole, although even his claim has detractors (Herbert, 1989). Before Peary could be acknowledged as the discoverer of the North Pole, he had to wrestle that honour away from Cook, who had won the hearts of the public. In one of Peary’s first attacks, the Peary Arctic Club (PAC) issued a press release that included a map showing what Peary said was Cook’s actual route (Fig. 1). Cook’s companions on the journey, two young Polar Eskimos from Greenland named Etukishook and Ahpellah, had marked their rout