Frederick A Cook

Returning to his medical practice in Brooklyn after concluding his expeditions to Greenland in 1893 and 1894, Dr. Cook continued to read about polar exploration. In late August of 1897, a chance reading of the New York Sun reported that the Belgian Antarctic Expedition was ready to leave Antwerp, but had been delayed due to the resignation of the expedition physician. Cook quickly cabled his willingness to go. Within hours he received the instruction to meet the group at Rio de Janeiro.⁵

“At last I am on the way to the land which has been the dream of my life – the mysterious Antarctic.”^6_The expedition crew was international in scope, including members from Belgium, Norway, Russia, Romania, and America. The commander was Adrien de Gerlache of Belgium. It was during this expedition Cook would meet Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Amundsen remained a stalwart supporter of Cook throughout all of the controversies that overshadowed Cook’s later life.

The ship Belgica did not reach Antarctic waters until January 20, 1898, late in the exploring season. Between January 23 and February 12, the Belgian Antarctic Expedition made 20 separate landings on the islands that filled the strait that de Gerlache named “Belgica Strait.” Later, it was renamed the “Gerlache Strait,” and is considered his greatest geographical discovery.

“Late in February we entered the main body of the sea ice…after penetrating 90 miles we found ourselves firmly beset.”^7_The crew was unable to extricate the ship from the pack ice and spent the next thirteen months drifting with the ice. Although efforts were made to free the ship, they were not sufficient. The multinational party would be the first to undergo the rigors of the long Antarctic night.

On May 17, 1898, the darkness of the winter night closed in. Within a few short days, the crew became irritable; they were perpetually cold, damp and crowded together, struggling to communicate. Cook’s services as a medical doctor were now very much in demand. Recognizing the signs of scurvy in the men, Dr. Cook recommended that they eat fresh seal meat. Wintering below the Antarctic Circle, the crew was forced to endure two months of unbroken darkness, more than a year of snow and hail, deafening winds, illness and insanity.

In June of 1898, Dr. Cook took moral control of the ship. Recognizing the need to take their minds off their plight, he organized card games, including betting (which of course would never be honored). Despite his best efforts, time passed and the crew became more and more desperate. There was talk of abandoning the ship and attempting to escape across the ice. But in which direction?

Finally, on December 31, a stretch of open water appeared 700 yards ahead. It was Dr. Cook who recommended that they saw and blast a channel. The work was difficult. The explorers battled for a month, working day and night. At last, on February 15, 1899, the ice began to move and the channel was opened. The engine was started, and for the first time since March 2, 1898, the Belgica moved under her own propulsion. Finally, on March 14, 1899, the Belgian Antarctic Expedition emerged from the pack ice.

Dr. Cook would return from this expedition as a hero.

 

⁵Hell is a Cold Place: chapter 5, page 7.
⁶Cook, Frederick A. Through the first Antarctic night, 1898-1899; a narrative of the voyage of the “Belgica” among newly discovered lands and over an unknown sea about the South Pole, chapter 1, page 3. This is the first sentence of the book.
⁷Ibid, introduction p. xxi.