H25.762

1/7/11
Washington, D. C.
Gift of Mr. W. H. Whelan
H25.762


Letter, signed by Admiral W. S. Schley, Jan. 7, 1911. Written to Dr. Frederick A. Cook.

(D. Cooper 4/2005) The letter is Schley's statement to Cook that "I never varied in the belief that you and Civil Engineer Peary reached the Pole. After reading the published accounts daily and critically, of both claimants, I was forced to the conclusion from their striking similarity that each of you was the eye witness of the other's success." He discounts the possibility that Peary and Cook were in collusion to describe the Pole expeditions. The letter goes on to say "While I have never believed that either of you got within a pin point of the Pole, I have steadfastly held the both of you got as near the goal as was possible to ascertain, considering the imperfections of the instruments used, and the personal errors of individuals under circumstances so adverse to absolute accuracy."

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