In late December, when the University of Copenhagen’s committee examined Cook's polar “proofs,” it found no trace of the allegedly forged Dunkle-Loose observations among them.  But it also could not find in them “any proof whatsoever of Dr. Cook having reached the Northpole.”   It then withheld placing Cook’s name on the official recipient list of the Gold Medal of the Royal Danish Geographical Society, although it had already presented him the actual medal in September.  
    The negative verdict of the judges Cook had chosen for himself instantaneously branded him in the press as “the American Munchausen,” and “a monster of duplicity.”  This, coupled with the fact that Dr. Cook had apparently fled the country, which was taken as an admission of guilt, convinced many that their recent hero was nothing more than a contemptible cheat.  The editorial cartoonists had a field day at Cook’s expense.    At the same time it allowed Peary to step forward unopposed and claim the prize he had sought for so long: the everlasting fame that belonged to the Discoverer of the North Pole.
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