Cook arrived in New York on September 21, 1909 and was given a hero’s reception.  A hundred-thousand people lined a parade route that culminated with a grand canvas arch.   The next day he was given a monster dinner by the Arctic Club at the Waldorf Astoria   and a few nights later delivered his first public lecture at Carnegie Hall.    Meanwhile, Peary continued to heap doubt about Cook’s truthfulness from Nova Scota.  Initially Cook was the public’s favorite because of his modest and gentlemanly demeanor in the face of these bitter attacks that made Peary seem nothing more than a very poor loser, but before long a skillful press campaign mounted by Peary’s backers began to undermine Cook’s credibility.
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