TO THE SOUTH POLE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 37, 7 November 1907, Page 4

TO THE SOUTH POLE.

THE BRITISH EXPEDITION PLANS FOR'THE JOURNEY. A COST OF £30,000 TO DATE. On tho Maheno, whicsh arrived here from Svdney yesterday afternoon, was Mr. Alfred lteid, of 9 Regent Street, London. He comcs to New Zealand aa manager of the British Antarctic Expedition (1907), and Lieutenant Shackolton could scarcely have secured a hotter man, for the name of .Reid is a household word in connection with; the fitting out of Polar expeditions. Mr. Reid lias been at tho work for the past fourteen years, so that what he does not know about it is not worth knowing. Mr. Reid was. early ashoro,.and four visits to the Mahenq-failcd to locate him. Our representative, however, made the acquaintance of the Siboriau ponies, and a note which ho left in a bundle of old English meadow hay in front of. the fifteen sturdy little animals down in tho fore-bold of tho Maheno was responsible later in tho day for a message from tho manager of the new ox- ■ pedition. During a half-hour's chat in the I smoking-room of the turbine steamer, Mr. Reid save some interesting details of the pro-no,sn-l expedition. V•s. Ai K ' ■ '.\ i'sation began about tho ponies. "If •WuKiiton gets to the Pole—and I think ho Viill," said Mr. Reid, "I believe he iVill have ' > to thank the ponies for it. Tho idea .is ne\r in connection with Polar expeditions,;. Fine, sturdy, strong-necked fellows are these • ponies, fourteen hands high, arid witli.roughish coats. They arc accustomed to very,rough fare—stubble, for instance—and on the Manchurian steppes they bury themselves in the snow up to the nose, and stand a degree of cold registering down to eighty below', zero. They are no use till they aro five years old. The age of the fifteen on the Maheiio is from seven to eight years, and one pony equals eighteen dogs. Shackleton's string of Manchurians will, therefore, be equal to no fewer than 270 dogs for draught purposes. 'They were obtained through the medium of ; the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, and selected by two of the best, veterinary surgeons in the East. Tlioy loft Hongkong on October 10; 'so by the time they .got to Lyttejton they will have been a month at sea. They have stood tho journey and' the heat remarkably woll, and, considering the change,'they are in wonderfully good condition, tip to tho present moment they, have cost the expedition just'about a'thousand pounds! What . will bo their ultimate fate ?> No man can tell, but from Peking, and even farther north, to the region of the South Pole is a far cry. Their principal fodder is 4CO. bales of. old ' English meadow bay, and, in addition, a largo quantity, of compressed fodder, made .from oats, bran, and chaff, will be taken, mainly for the farthest-south journey. Tho'expedition will start from Lyttelton on New Year's Day, 1908, and in October next Shackloj ton and his one or, two brave comrades hope to start on their great sledge journey towards tho Polo.

Three Strings to his Bow. In connection with this journey Shackle.ton has three strings to his bow—(1) The 'Manchurian ponies, (2) the new motor car, and (3) the dog teams. The motor car Mr. lleid admits is an experiment.' It has been building for some months past by ArroL, Johnston and Co., of Paisley, Scotland, ana will be brought out with eight members of the shore party in the Runic. A great deal of thought has been expended upon it, and it has been put /through severe cold tests which prove 1 that the. petrol and • a special' lubricating oil .that is to be used will not) freeze at the lowest temperature likely to be met with. A, special mechanic and a special chaifour are. coming out with it. It is to be used 1 simply for the purpose of hauling the - sledges, provisions, etc., and the only man to ride in it will bo the chaffeun .If it does what is expected of it—and* Lieut. Shackleton and the makers are confident that, it will—it will be a wonderful adjunct to the expedition, because it will drag from six to nine sledges 'over the ice and snow. But even if it breaks down after going a ■few hundred miles it will have accomplished a great deal, and then there will be those sturdy Manchurian ponies, and finally tho dogs from Stewart Island to fall back upon in the final dash for the Pole. , "What do you think of the chances, Mr. Reid?" • Mr. Reid, who is a cool, level-headed Briton, took a puff at his afternoon cigar and asked' if I knew Shackleton. I replied that 1 had that honour. "Well then, he replied, "You know wliat a very determined fellow he is, and," lie added, "he has with him a splendid lot of men who will follow him anywhere. When ho went with Scott to 82 degrees 17 minutes the dogs • broke down in the first fortnight through bad food. Now he will not be'so dependent upon the dogs, for ho has these ponies which, simply revel in the cold, and' the motor cas and the dogs as well." The Food Supply. ' -Very special attention has been devoted to the food supply for the present expedition. In connection with tho ' Discovery Expedition said Mr. Reid, there was a committee of some sixty men to arrange about tho supplies. This time everything has been arranged by two men—Lieut. Shackleton and Mr. Reid. Mr. Reid carried out the details while Lieut. Shackleton was busy with tho scientific part of the work. Tov/ed to tha Polar leo. ; The Nimrod will be towed down to the polar ice by the Union Company's Koouya, which will also probably carry the Manchurian ponies, the fodder, and a good deal of tho provisions. Tho Nimrod 1 will-not. be frozen in 1 , but after landing the party will carry out some magnetic survey work, and then return to Lyttelton. Professor David, of Sydney, will go down with' her, and do some geological and other scientific work, returning after a stay, of probably six weeks on the ice. As" tho Nimrod will not remain bn tho polar station, a shoro house is being taken to house the party on land. This house is 33ft. by 19ft. by Bft., and was specially built for the. expedition by Humphreys, Ltfl., of London; , It is made from yellow piuo, ( double all round with double doors and; windows. It has two felt linings, and between tho doublo walls will be four inches thickness of packed granulated cork. Mr. Reid thinks ' such a house will bo more comfortable than the ship. This house will bo lit with acetylene gas, for which purpose 30cwt. of carbide of calcium is being taken. Oil will also bo taken for hurrican and other lamps. The Long Winter Nights. It is important to havo plenty of light for tho long winter nights. It is a necessity for keeping up tho spirits of tho men. The plant for making the gas is a specially good one, and will be inside the house to provide against freezing. • The sledges aro of the best manufacture. Lieutonant Shackleton and Mr. Reid both wont to Norway in order to specially study sledges. Altogether thirty are being taken, eighteen ton-footers, ten twelve-footers, and two sovon-footcrs. They havo boon, mado by the best manufacturers in Christiania, and Captain Isaackscn, who did the principalsledge work in connection with Nansoirs famous Fram expedition, superintended tho manufacture. i Financo. The oxpedition, which up to the present has cost tho promoters £30,000, is being financed principally by Mr. William Beardmore and by Lieutenaut Shackleton and his friends. Mr. Beardmore is the head of the famous Parkhead Forge (Glasgow) firm of shipbuilders and armour-plate manufacturers. They built tho first-class battleship Agamemnon at a cost of about one-and-a-half millions sterling. Lieutenant Shackleton will arrive at Adelaide on December I. He will leconre at Melbourne on Decombcr 3. Sydney on December G, and then come to New Zenlaud-