Adversities Faced Throughout the Expedition
In past expeditions to the North Pole, Peary had contracted a polar form of scurvy, similar to anemia. Later, Peary died on February 20, 1920, from the lasting effects of this polar scurvy he’d contracted years before.
Even from the first day, the expedition got off to an inauspicious start when Matthew Henson, one of Peary’s closest companions, had to stop because his sled broke. A few days in the expedition, a monstrous lead blocked their progress to the Pole. This lead was a quarter of a mile wide, stretching in every direction, and hindered their progress for as long as seven days. Peary refered to this “intolerable inaction": “Altogether, I think that more of mental wear and tear was crowded into those days than into all the rest of the fifteen months we were absent from civilization.” An extremely thin layer of ice covered the lead and Peary and companions needed to undergo a risky crossing. As the expedition continued, Henson almost drowned in the Polar waters, and Peary himself also fell into these waters, as well as the dogs.
Adversities faced Peary even after his "successful" expedition to the Pole. Just five days before Peary announced he had reached the North Pole for the first time, another American had claimed the same thing. Dr. Frederick Cook, a former friend and employee of Peary, stated he discovered the North Pole earlier on April 21, 1908, but had faced difficulties to return back to land.
Even worse, the public sentiment initially favored Cook over Peary. This was as Cook had prior reputable accomplishments in the field. He had explored the Arctic with Peary and the Antarctic with Roald Amundson. He already had worldwide acknowledgement for being the first to climb Mount McKinley in 1906. However, a committee of the National Geographic Society and U.S. House of Representatives credited Peary with being the first to reach the North Pole.