CAPTAIN SCOTTS ATTACK.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 59, 8 March 1912, Page 5

CAPTAIN SCOTTS ATTACK.

POSIES, DOGS, AWD MOTORS. | A DASH AT MXDSI7MMEB. s The main object of Capt. Scott's expedition was to reach the Pole, and in discussing the matter in the early stages of the expedition the leader said:— 'The practical point is, do the English people want or do they not want as English subject to be the first to get to the South Pole? I do not want to exalt Polar exploration as the aim of a , <rreat nation, but I do say that a great nation must strive to excel in every form of enterprise. A few words regarding my position in the matter. I am a naval officer, and since the Discovery expedition I have commanded a first-class cruiser and three battleships. I am at the present time employed at the Admiralty. Therefore, I take a very great interest in the naval service, asd am absolutely satisfied with my posaton as a naval officer. I aay this aJsapry be- - '—■ T wsgrjsa. on jm .thai %.

do believe in taie cause. If I wished for I a. quiet and comfortable life I should ; stay where I am. But I don't want this thing to fail through, and it requires the experience which at present only Mr. i Soackleton and I possess. Mr Shackle- ! ton k, unfortunately unable to go again just now. I may add that if some British subject had not come forward l a few weeks back to carry oat this work, he would have found himself a few weeks later in an awkward position of possible 'rivalry." In a later interview Captain Scott detailed the plans for the main -'""tack. "After Laying the depots, the L .rties going south will -winter in their quaiters. and about October, 1911, they will start off on the main southern journey. The party will number 16. and the idea wiij be to divide them into parties of four, and at certain stated intervals four people win turn hac. On each occasion the fittest will be picked out to go on; so that, by this process of elimination, we ought, at ihe end, to get four people wffl turn beak. On each oeeawhole distance. All that one eairdo- is Ju> provide the heat po—fhie. ixausyuit.

then* stil] remains the element of Inek. We mi^i, kave in extremely bad season. or heavy winds, thai would delay us: or w» have some accident by ivhich some of the sledges might be lost: there even be the loss of "lives. These things cannot be foreseen, and. therefore, there must always be ;.'t element of lack. There i* no such thing- in -polar work as certainty: but of one thing I am certain, and that is that everr man is poin? to work with the rieat spirit, and with the firmest intention of doing hk utmost to achieve success. What improvements we have made in the equipping of this expedition." gaid Captain Scott in conclusion. '' are mostly in matters of detail. ?ttaok!eton had only four ponies, and did not have i supporting party. He started off with onlv four men. and we shall start for th" Pole with 16. The distance of the journey there an 3 hack will be over 1300 miles. I am tajrinjr Xoranesnan ski with me. in the 'ho.pe that it will be of value to us. It recnires practice, but anvone who is at all active can learn how to use it with ease. One of oar staple articles of food will be pemmican. from CoT*»-ahA£en. Then we shall hare dried milk, and a special brand of biscuits T have had made, with a larg* amount of prot-eid in them. I have amused for th* Marconi -wireless anpararaw to be installed in the Terra Nova in >"ew Zealand, if it is found that it mav be of use to ns."

ROUTE OF THE TERRA NOVA. The opening stages of the attack upon the South Pole are shown in the map. Captain's Scott's expedition left New Zealand by the Terra Nova towards the end of last November, and proceeded south on meridian 179 west. - Phenomenally heavy pack ice was encountered on December 9 in latitude 65, and for 21 days the Terra Nova battled her way through the 330 miles of pack which blocked the way into the open waters of Ross Sea. From here the Admiralty Mountains, on Victoria Land, were sighted, and on January 3 Cape Crosier was reached. A heavy swell prevented a landing at the Cape, but McMurdo Sound was found to be exceptionally opes, and it was decided to establish winter quarters at Cape Evans, a point 14 miles north of Captain Scott's former winter quarters, and eight miles south of Cape Royds. Having landed men and f*ores, the Terra Nova proceeded eastward along the face of the ice barrier to meridian 170 degrees west. A south-easterly gale forced her to Cape Colbeck fFebruary 2), but a landing could not be made, and the v«sse.l returned along the "face of the Barrier searching for a landing place, but not finding one until reaching the Bay of Whales, on meridian 164 degrees west. Here the explorers trere amazed to find Captain Amundsen established in winter quarters with all necessary equipment for an attack upon the Pole. The Terra Nora returned to the base at Cape Evans to pick up messages left there by Captain Scott, and then beaded northward for Cape Adare, where a base was established by the eastern party of the expedition. Leaving Cape Adare behind, the Terra Nova explored the coast line to the east of Cape North, skirted Baileny Islands, and then, fighting her way through the pack ice, she got clear on March 8. and headed away for Lytteltoc After carrying out survey work on the coast she returned to the Antarctic in December to pick up the expedition. From the Bay of Wales, where Captain Amundsen made his base, to the South Pole is about 790 miles. From Captain Scott's base, a t Cape Evans, to the Pole is 860 miles, a difference in favour of Captain Aiundsen-