NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ON Thursday the world learnt with astonishment., not unmixed with scepticism, that Dr. Cook, an American Arctic explorer of experience, who was surgeon to the Peary Expedition, had arrived at Lerwick, and was on his way to Copenhagen, and that he claimed to have reached the North Pole on April 21st, 1908,—a date which, if his claim is made good, as we sincerely trust it will be, must for ever be memorable in the history of the world. Precise details of Dr. Cook's alleged exploit have not yet been published, but his telegram to the Hew York Herald, published in the Paris edition of that paper of Thursday, gives in outline what be asserts that he has accomplished. We must pass over 'his account of how.he organised his rush for the Pole, but will quote verbatim his description of the last act of his drama:— " On April 21 the corrected altitude- of the sun gave 89deg 59min. 443sec. The Pole therefore was in sight. We advanced the 14mec., made supplementary observations and prepared to stop long enough to permit a double round of observations. At last the flag had been raised to the breezes of the North Pole. The day was April 21, 1908. The sun- indicated local noon, but time was a negative problem, for here all meridians meet. With a step it was possible to go from one part of the globe to the_ opposite side—from the hour of midnight to that of midday. The latitude was 90deg., the temperature 38deg. below zero Centigrade, the barometer 29'83. North, east, and west had vanished. It was south in every direction. But the compass pointing to the
Magnetic Pole was as useful as ever." . .
Dr. Cook began his return journey on April 23rd. On May 24th he had reached the 84th parallel near the 97th meridian, but only after severe privations. The frost stopped progress at the end of the summer, and he and his Eskimos lived in an underground den until February, 1909, when a start- was made for Annatok; Greenland was reached on April 15th, and 1Jpernivik on May 21st.
