In April of 1909, a year after Frederick Cook claimed to have arrived at the North Pole, Robert Peary (1856-1920) announced that Cook had never reached this point and that he, Peary, was the first man to reach the pole. Peary's record of the expedition tells of the arduous conditions he and his men endured, first breaking through the ice in a ship, then travelling via dog sleds. Along the way, Peary made extensive observations on hunting wildlife such as reindeer and musk-oxen, the geographic wonders of the Pole, and the customs of the Eskimos among whom he spent much valuable time. Peary filled The North Pole with extensive data on his position and movements, information that Cook would attack when the Polar Controversy made international headlines.