LIFE AND EXPERIENCES IN ANTARCTICA.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11545, 30 March 1903, Page 5

LIFE AND EXPERIENCES IN ANTARCTICA.

Thoso who had experience of bottt tho Antarctic and Arctic regions, cxprwe the opinion that th« Antarctic cold ia not w> severe as that in the north polar regions. In Antarctica the atmosphere is dryer. An unexplained phenomenon js recorded regarding Antarctic weather—that the cold winds are generally from the north, and that tho southerly winds are usually; comparatively, warm. • A big luvul of Emperor penguins was made shortly after tho Discovery readied winter quarters. Tlireo of the largest ■weighed, respectively, 901b, 871b and 86^1b. The k-tbei-gs m<?!. with in tho Antarctio seas ultimo very fantastic shapes, ami some were f=een which resembled houses, churches, and ocenn liners. So terrible was the silence of the Antarctic winter that the* men felt no inclination for long lonely walks, and CTen the man whose duty it Mas to read tie thermometer, which wan about a mile from tho ship, objected to do co alone. About tho onlj- sound that hroko the oppressive silence, was the cracking of ico, which sounded like an explosion.

"Tap" is tho Antarctic name for €be mekinobolia, which is the only disease, ia addition to scurvy, that ia likely- to attack normally healthy men in southern, polar re-ions. Ttae were no cases of "tap , " amongst the Discovery's crew, although on one occasion it was fearti! that one man waa showing symptoms of it- It was dis« covered, however, that it was iT "tap" of a different character. Ha had tapped bia comrades' rations of rum, which they had planted, and with the liquor (had got so intoxicated tihat -he' even ventured to controvert the scientific opinions expressed by; the experts on board. During the winter tho men were measured and weighed at regular intervale. Iti was found they put on Utah during their, compulsory confiiiement oa boawl, , One of ithe men, whilst on an expedition " on his own," reported when he returned, that he had seen flames emitted by Mount Erebus. This wae not credited at the time, but afterwards, when a sledge party was at iMount Erebus, the lava stream waa observed. ■

Conflicting statements are made regarding the frozen meat taken from Ljltelton By tihe Morning; for the Discovery, coins of whicrt it is stated was condemned on its arrive,! by the Discovery's doctor. Ono of men who returned by tbc Morning poui- • tively alleges that the> "condemned ,, swat •was all consumed oa the return voyage of the Morning by her chips' company, not) ono of whom suffered any il! effect*. Per- - Eonally lie was glad that tho meat had been! condemned, but all the same he considered! it hard on those on Xh'o Discovery -who were left behind to bo deprived of good meat- On the other ihand, another returned Discovery man holds equally strong . opinions that the -wisest tiling vrae done in rejecting some of the meat, which was undoubtedly tainted. Although quite, palatable, it would have been dangerous to supply to men who were remaining in Antarctica who,.unlike the Morning's eliipVi company, were not returning to civilisation end fre.sh meat and • vegetables. Ab Robertson Bay, where the hut erected ' by Borcbgrevinck was found, theetorcseeen b*y the Discovery men who landed are stated to have represented a value of between £300 and £400. The; Union Jacks found in the hut—there were about 160 of them—were small once, measuring about fourteen inches square, and had been in« tended for use in marking routes in the same manner as surveyors flag their lines.

SOME SLEDGING NOTES.

Worthy of more than passing notice and] attention are the following figures relating \ to the sledge work done by the Discovery's men, excluding officers, up to the time of the departure of the Morning ifroin MoMurdo The flgtrree can be relied upon as at least approximately accurate. During the period described ft total ol 1276 days' sledging was done by the thirtyfour men of th* crew, and the warrant officers, or an average 37£ days* sledging per man. Taking tbe naval men and naval warrant officers separately, it is found thai) 26 men'did 920 days" eledging, or fin average of 35£ days' sledging per man. The non-naval men (eight) did a total of 356 days* eledging, or an average of 39| d&ye ,, sledging per man. Hie eledging done by the individual members of the crew, wan as follow*:—•. Quartly and Evans 90 days each, Buekridge 75 days, Walker 74 dayfl.Sootfc 70 days, Weiler, Williamson, Smith and Crean 65 dnys each, Duncan arid Allen 54 days each, Lnlshley «nd Whitfleld 35 days each, Hare, Clark and Hubert 30 days each, Macfarian* 27 days, Handsley 25 days, Kcnnar, Pillbeam," Heald, Dell, Croucher, Bliesitt* Peters and Joyce 21 days each, and PJum-ley-nnd Cross 14 days each. Two of thp men did no sledaiuir.

The above figures, of course, include the journeys undertaken whilst tho dogs were in use. The Discovery expedition's experience, of sledge dogs was not at all like the skdging usually depicted in books on polar* travel. There was no opportunity ior a man to sit on thb sledge and wield a whip urging the dogs on at a furious pace. More often tlvo dogs showed a decided inclination to be passengers. As a matter of fact, the men did as much pulling as the dogs. On sledge journeys three men occupied eacbj tent.

On the western sledge journey, -when in very high altitudes, too men could only proceed a very short distance without resting to recover their normal breathing. The ice elide, which was descended in 1 minute 10 seconds, took three days to ascend on the return journey, and the sledges had to be hauled up it by means of a block an<J pulley.

ANTARCTIC JOURNALISM.

Although a journal that haa had a restricted circulation, the "South Polar Times," issued monthly during the Ante.roiio winter on board the Discovery, pro. bahly contains more interesting material than come journals of wider circulation and larger issue. Tine editor, ,vp n tp>jthe time he left by the Morning, wae Lieutenant Shackleton, and his readers were fully seized of the fact that only one copy per month was produced. Almost every officer an<t man of the crew was a contributor, either of prose, poetrjv or sketches, so that for a newspaper of such limited circulation the management could boast that they possessed the largest literary and reporting et&ff of any similar journal in the whole world. The contributions were all typewritten; from the contributors' "copy," the sketched being ol course drawn direct on to the paper. Dr. Wilson was the ortkt in chief, and in addition to the work for the "Times" he did the "jobbing" designing; the programmes for the different entertainment.* , and sports being his work. Amongst thw other artiste wag Mr Ford, the steward. Work in connection with the publication of the "Times" began when continual dayended towards the end of April, 1902. • It is said that during the winter the doctor coloured some sketches by Jampliriit, but when they v were subsequently examined ia tio ooloars were aU

tntmg, and the tout ensemble wae peculiar. Every man on board had an opportunity to penwe the "Time*," which, when the expedition completes it* labours, will be reproduced for the benefit of a wider circle oj readers.

THE MORNING IN PORT.

A largo number of person* went to Lytterton to vurit the Morning yesterday, and were much disappointed, as orders had been given that no vatitoxe, except friends of the crew, should be admitted. All tbrs officers were absent on leave except ilr Pepper, -who was in charge of the eieamer. The Jitarboard watch are cm leave till Wednesday. One of the Discovery's men. John Walter, who returned by the Morning, his shipped on board the'Paparo.i, which left Lyttelton for England on Saturday afternoon. J. Wafnwrijrht. <me of the nil the Morning, returned to England by the irame steamer. As the Paparoa irae leaving So. 7 wlwrf tbe crew of the Morning #ive hearty cn«rs to their departing comnwlej", and the Morning* en-'ign vra* dipped.