HOW THE SOUTH POLE WAS FOUND.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1611, 30 November 1912, Page 5

HOW THE SOUTH POLE WAS FOUND.

AMUNDSEN'S EXPEDITION. London, November 21. Captain Amundsen's book on his journey to the South Pole, just published by Hurray, is the most popular Polar story yet written. It is gossipy and graphic, simple and unconventional, and delightfully enthralling. # The pages are full of details of thrilling adventure, hairbreadth escapes, extraordinary incidents, and remarkable experiences. The explorer states that he intended to go north until he heard that Peary wua suocessful in that direction, and then, ibejieving that the possibilities of the Arctio trip were exhausted, he deoided to try for the South Pole. His funds were raised for the purposes of Arctic exploration. Ho considered that Captain Scotfs expedition was purely one; - of scientiflo research. He felt that his own resources were far short of Scott's, particularly in experieuoe and means. Tho party purposely avoided;.Scotfs route, in the be? lief that they would not bo playing tho game if they did not. Had Shackleton, when he passed tha Bay of' Whales in 1908, noticed, the ioe breaking up, and had that explorer waited a few hours, the'problem ot the South. Pole would, most likely, have been 6olved Amundsen describes the final dash for the Pole. "When we started, from the depot on the morning of October 19," ho says, "the weather was reasonable. _ The sentiments of the paity wore elicited. ■ 'Shall we start?';l said. 'Yes/ was tho reply, let's lie jogging on.' Tho animals were harnessed to the pledges in a jiffy, and with' a little nod, as much as to say, Well see you to-morrow,' we were off. Linastrom (lid not even come outsido the depot to see tho party of five start. It was such an everyday affair. What was tho use of making a fuss? At the end of a run of 12 miles or so tho surface beside the sledps dropped perpendicularly, and revealed a yawning, black abyss, large enough, to have swullowed us up and all our paraplioriialia. Another fow inches to one side and we should have taken no further part in the Polar journey. "Passing Shackleton's "farthest south, tears welled up. in our eyes, when we appreciated the failure of his effort and what it meant to him. We could not restrain those tears, antl Shackleton a namo will always bo written in tho annals of the Antarctic in letters of fire. "On the morning of December 14 tho weather ivas perfcct. Tlio necks of tlioso in the advance sledges grew twioe as langy as tliey endeavoured to to the first to see the actual spot of the pole. "At 3 in the afternoon there was a simultaneous halt. We ran out tlio sledge meters. We noted, by reckoning, the destination that wo so eagerly sought and at 5 o'clock our weather-beaten, frost-' bitten fists grasped the pole that wa. had erected with the Horwegian flag flying on the top. There was festivity that night in cur tent. Champagne corks popped aJid cigars were smoked. "In the morning observations were taken from the tent over tho boundless plain, where liere were no marks of any kind. Three of our men wont in different directions ,for distances of 12 miles cach. They had no compasses, and though, they fully realised that they wero risking their lives, they wont off amid a fusillade of laughter, and chaff. "Those left' in tho thin, wind-proof gaberdine tent, wrote a letter to the Xing of Norway, and a shorter ono to Captain Scott, and theso were left there. Then wa laoad the tent-door and eaid 'Good-bye.'" It Js interesting to add that Professor Polhclm, a scientific investigator of Christianio, has, from tho expedition's notes, placed the position of the South Pole at latitude 69dog. 58.5 south, and longitude COdeg. east.—Sydney "Sun."