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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