AT THE SOUTH POLE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 57, 8 March 1913, Page 10

AT THE SOUTH POLE

CAPTAIN AMUNDSEN'S STORY VOYAGE OF THE FRAM SLEDGING OVER THE GREAT ICE BARRIER. The January issue of the Geographical Journal, the organ of the Royal Geographical Society,- contains a report of the lecture delivered before the society on 15th November last, describing his successful expedition to the South Pole. A portrait of the leader of the patty, and some excellent reproductions of photos of polar scenes, including four of the explorers standing outside of their tent at the Pole, illustrate the article, from which we make the following extracts : OUTWARD BOUND. On board of Nansen's old, well-known veeeel, the Fram, we left Norway on 9th August, 1910. We carried on board ninety-seven fine Eskimo dogs from Greenland, and provisions fcr two years. The firet port we touched was Madeira, where we finally made everything ready for the long voyage to the Ross Barrier. It was no ehort distance we had to cover — about 16,000 nautical"miles — from Norway to the Bay of Whales (the place selected as the base of operations). The Fram, which with good reason is eaid to be the most solid polar ship in the world, proved to be exceedingly eeaworthy on this long voyage over pretty nearly all oceans^ Thus we sailed through the north-east and south-east trades, the roaring forties, the foggy fifties, and the icy sixties, without miehap, and arrived at our sphere of work "at the barrier on 14th January, 1911. Everything had gone unusually well. HEADQUARTERS ESTABLISHED. The ice in the Bay of Whales had just broken up, and to such an extent that we succeeded in mailing quite a distance further south /than any of our predecessors, and found a little cosy corfier behind a projecting iciecape, from which we, in comparative safety, could bring our outfit on to the barrier. Another great advantage was that the barrier here sloped very gently down to the sea ice, and this gave . us the best ground for sledging. The first thing we did on our arrival was to climb the barrier to examine the nearest surroundings, and find a convenient place for the honee we had brought from home. In a little valley two nautical miles from the spot, where we had made fast the Ship, well sheltered against all winds, we selected the place — which we named Framheim— for our winter quarters. On the following day w© commenced to discharge- the ship— materials for housebuilding, outfit and provisions for nine men • for several years. As soon as all the materials for 1 the hut had been driven up, our experienced carpenters, Olav Bjaaland and Jorge Stubberud, commenced to erect the house. If was a ready-built house, and now there was nothing to do but to put together .the different parts, all of which were marked. That the house might be able, to withstand all the 6torms we expected, the 'site was excavated to a, depth of 4ft below the barrier surface. DEPOT TRIPS TO THE SOUTH, On 28th January, fourteen days after our arrival, the home was ready and the provisions ashore. But time was precious* and it was our duty to make the best of ( it. One party prepared for a trip southward for the purpose of exploring' our immediate surroundings" and establish a depot. On 10ih February this party was off ' W.e were four men, eighteen, dogs, -find -three s]edges, fully laden wjth provisions*' How well I re« member that morning,.,'When,we, for, the firse timej made our Vay towards the south! It-was calm and slightly overcast. We travelled fast .on^ the smooth flat snow plain. On the 14th we reached 80deg. S., having travelled a distance of '85 ' nautical miles and established ■ a depot, consisting chiefly of provisions to first time, made our way tdwards the south, wien spring came. The weight of the provisions- was 12001bs. The return trip vvs made in two days. " On our arrival at \.he station the Fram had sailed. The bay looked dreary and desolate. Seals and penguins had taken possession of the place. I We did not stay long at home., On the 22nd, we were once more ready to carry our depots towards the south. On the 27th we passed, the depot in 80deg. S., and deposited there 10501bs of provisions. From here .three men, returned, .while five men continued their way southward, and on Bth March reached 82deg. S., .where 12501bs of provisions was left. We then returned, and were at home again on the 22nd. Onca more before the winter set in we were in the field, and carried 22001bs of, fresh sealmeat and 4Oolbs of other provisions to the depot in S. On 11th April the trip , was completed, and all the depot work had come to afo end. Up to this, time we had carried 75001bs o? provisions, distributing them at the three depots. SIDE SIGNALS. The part of the barrier over which we had travelled had aa average height of about 150 feet,' and looked like a smooth plain, rising in great waves 'or undulations without characteristic marks of any kind. It has been the common opinion that depots might not be laid out on such an endless plateau without an imminent probability of losing them. We put down a line of flags at right angles to, our course— that is, in an eastward direction, with the- depot as central point. Each of the^three depots was marked in this manner five nautical miles on each side of tha depot, and half a mile between each flag. . Besides, all of the flags were marked, so that we, wherever we met them, were able to know in which direction lay the depot and how far we were from it. This plan proved to be absolutely reliable, and even in the densest fog we succeeded ifi finding our depots. IN WINTER QUARTERS. Some days more were spent on a seal hunt, before the sun disappeared. The tota 1 wjaght of the seals killed amounted to 120,0001 b ., Thus we had provisions in plenty for ourselves as well as our 115 dogs. The first thing we did was to give our dogs a shelter. We had brought with us ten very big tents. They were pitched on the barrier, after which the snow under each tent was dug out, 6ft down, so the ultimate height of these doghouses became 18ft. Our intention in building these houses so large was to make them as airy as possible, in order to avoid the hoar frost, so annoying to the dogs. We achieved our object. The tents were always cosy and warm. Each tent had room for twelve dogs. Having thus cared for our dogs, the turn came to ourselves. Mother Nature had stretched out a helping hand, and we were not slow in catching it. In April the house was completely covered with snow. In this nowly-drif ted ' snow we made excavations in direct communication with the hut. Thus we got large and spacious rooms without buying or fetching materials. There were "workshops, forge, sewing room, packing room, a space for coal, wood, and oil, ordinary bath and steam bath. However cold and stormy the winter might-be,- it would not annoy us at all. On 21st April the sun disappeared, and then began the longest night over experienced by men in the Antarctic. We had no fear of meeting it. We had pro'Viaiotii enough 'for yeari, » coiy hove« welj ventilated, .well lighted, and .well

heated, with an excellent bath— a complete sanatorium indeed. As soon as all these buildings were finished we began to make preparations for the final journey in the spring. Our business was to improve our equipment and reduce its weight. Thus we condemned all our sledges. They were too .heavy and clumsy for the smooth surface of the barrier. Our ski and sledgemaker, Bjaaland, did all the necessary work concerning them, and when the spring came a complete new sledge outfit was ready from his hand. These sledges weighed only one-thirct of the original ones, fn a like proportion we succeeded in reducing the weight of everything. In this manner the winter passed quickly and comfortably. Everyone had his hands full all the time; our house was warm and dry, light and airy ; consequently the health of everybody was excellent. We had no physician, and we didn't need one. RETURN OFFSPRING. On 24th September the first obvious sign of the spring appeared — the seals began to go up on the ice. This sign was welcomed with rejoicing, and not least the fresh seal meat, which Bjaaland brought in that very day. .The dogs also appreciated the sign of the spring. They were especially fond of fresh blubber. On the 29th appeared another and more obvious sign — a flight of Antarctic petrels ; they were flying round the house, to the delight of the men as well as of the dogs. The dogs were wild with joy and excitement, ran after the birds, and stupidly counted on a delicate bird for dinner; the hunt re^ suited in a wild flght. At last, on 29th October, the weather had settled so much that we were able to start. The original plan, that all of us should march southward, had been changed during the interval. We arrived at the decision that three men should go east to King Edward VII. Land and examine it, while the other five should carry out the main plan— the dash for the Pole. A JOURNEY- DUE SOUTH., October 20 was a fine day. Clear and mild : 1 Fahr. We were five men, fiftytwo dogs, and four sledges.' 1 Our sledges were light and the going was lively. It was not necessary to cheer the dogs, they were willing enough without. With our depots in SOdeg., 81deg., and 82deg., we had provisions enough for 120 days* Two days after our departure a serious accident nearly happened, Bjaaland's sledge falling , down one of the many crevasses we had to pass over that day. He got assistance at the last moment, but it was in the nick of time, or #iis sledge with the thirteen dogs would have disappeared in the bottomless pit. On the fourth day we arrived at our depot in 80deg. south. Here we rested two days, and gave our dogs as much seal meat as they could eat. On the first fifteen miles between 81deg. and 82deg. we were in a perfect labyrinth of crevasses and pressure ridges, rendering the passage extremely dangerous. Big pieces of the surface have been broken off, and grinning abysses are met with everywhere. From these gulfs cracks are to be found in all directions and- the surface is consequently Very unsafe. We passed this bit of road four times. The three first times it was such a dense fog that we could not see many yards ahead of us. Only the fourth time did we get clear weather, and we saw , then what difficulties we had escaped. I On -sth November "We reached the depot in 82deg. S.,' and 1 found everything all right. For the last time our dogs could get a good rest and plenty of food. ' And they got it thoroughly, during a two days' stay. In 80deg. we commenced to build snow mounds, intended to serve as track marks on the homeward trip. t-Wet -We erected l£o mounds 'in all. ■ Sixty snowblocks were needed for a single mound. Thus were SOOO

blocks cut for these marks. T,he mounds proved to answer expectations, as by them we followed precisely the same route we had gone. During November, Captain Amundsen and his four companions worked their way south between the mighty peaks of South Victoria Land, after establishing at the foot of the. plateau a 'depot, where they left provisions for thirty days. Hard climbing work followed, amid glaciere filled in places with hummocky ice, the surface rising -into hillocks and splitting into chasms, and they had to make long de-touts to escape the broad chasms opening into great gullies. Towards the end of the' month they killed twenty-four of the dogs, their supplies haying run short, and they had to remain in one spot four days on account of bad weather. On the 26th they set out again. After a succession of south-east gales the weather improved, and it re« mained fine during the remainder of the journey. NORWEGIAN FLAG AT THE POLE. The last eight days of our outward march we had' sunshine all the time. Every day we stopped at noon to take a meridian latitude, and every evening, we took an azimuth observation. On J3th December the latitude gave 89deg 37thin. In 88deg 26min We got the last good azimuth i observation. Later on they were of no use. As the last observations gave pretty near the same result, the variation being almost constant, we used the observation taken in 88deg 25min. We made out that we should reach the goal 14th December. The 14th arrived. £ have a feeling that we slept less, breakfasted at a greater speed, and started earlier this morning than the previous days. The day was fine as usual—bril- ! liant sunshine with a very gentle breeze. We made good headway W© didn't talk much. • Everybody was occupied with his own thoughts, I think. Or had probably all of us the same thought whicn brought all of us to look and stare toward the south over the endless plateau? Were we the first, or——? Halt ! It sounded like a sound of exulta« tion. The distance was covered. The goal Teached. Calm, so calm stretched the mighty plateau before us, unseen and untrod by the foot of man. No sign or mark in any | direction. . It was undeniably, a moment of solemhity when all of u& with our hand on the flag-staff planted the colours I of our country on the geographical South Pole, on Kipg Haakon the Seventh's Plateau. the night — according to our time— three men encircled our camp, the length of the eemi'diameter being 10 nautical miles putting down marks, whilst the two others remained ajb the tent, taking hourly observations of the sun. These gave 89deg 65min. We might very well have been satisfied with the result, but w© had plenty of time, and the weather was fine, so why not try to observe the very Pole itself? On the 16th w& therefore moved our tent the remaining five nautical miles further south, and camped there. We made everything as comfortable and 6nug as possible in order to take a series of observations throughout the twenty»ft>ur hours of the day. The altitudes were ob* served every hour by four men with &extant and artificial horison. The observations will be worked out at the Norwegian University. From this camp we went out for four miles in different direction's. A little tent we; had carried with us in order to mark tjhe spot was pitched here, and the Norwegian flag with the Fram pendant hoisted on the top of the tent. This Norwegian home got the name of "Pol^ heini." Judging from the weather conditions, this tent may stay here for many years to come. In the tent w© left a letter addressed to H.M. King Haakon the Seventh, with information pf.whjit we had done. The next man will bring it home. Besides, we left some clothing,

a Bextant, an artificial horizon, and a hypsometer. ,! RETURN JOURNEY. On 1 17 th December we were ready to start on our return journey. The outward journey had, according to distancemeters, a distance of 750 nautical miles, the, daily average speed being 13 nautical miles. When we left the j?ole we had two sledges ahd seventeen "Bogs. Now We, enjoyed the great trium&h of being able to increase our daily rationis, unlike earlier expeditions, all of which were obliged to go on shdrt commons already at a much earlier moment of time. The rations were also increased for the dogß, getting from time to time one of their comrades as an extra. The fresh meat had a recreating effect upon the dogs, and contributed, no doubt to the good result. A last look and farewell to Polheim, and then off. .We see the flag yet. It was still waving at 0b. % It is gradually diminishing. Then it disappears: a last gosd-bye from the little Norway on the South Pole. -We left King Haakon's Plateau as we had found, it, bathed in sunlight. The main temperature during our stay here was -13 Fahr. (^2sdeg C). It felt much milder. The beautiful weather we 'got on our ' homeward run exposed to our view the whole of the mighty mountain range— that is, the continuation of the two ranges joined in 86deg. S. The newly-discovered range, trending ih south-easterly direction, was everywhere Btudded with peaks of a height* from 10,000 ft to 15,000 ft.> In 88deg. S. the range disappears on the horizon. The whole of the newly-dis-covered mountain ranges— about 460 nautical miles has got the name of "Queen Maud's Ranges." All the 1 depots-'-ten in all— were found, and the abundant provisions, of which we at last had plenty, were taken along down to*Bodeg., where they were deposited. On 25th January we arrived at our winter quarters after an absence of ninety-nine days. The distance home, 750 nautical miles, . was thus covered in thirty-nine days, without a single day of rest. The daily average speed was 19.2 nautical miles. On our arrival we had twoc sledges and eleven dogs, .Safe and sound., Not even a moment had' we helped "the dogs to pull the Bledges. THE PRAM'S SCIENTIFIC WORK. At the same time our work inshore was going on, Captain Nilsen, with hie companions on the Fram, succeeded in doing work which, 'from a' scientific point of view,,-. probably \$H turn out- to be the most of this expedition. On an* 8000 nautical hnles 1 cruise from Buertos Ajres to* Africa and back, he took a series of oeeanograjphic stationssixty in all. Twice thay circumnavigated the world, voysiges full of dangers and toil. The "voyage out of the ice in the autumn of 1911 was of a very serious character. They were ten men all told. Through darkness and fog, cyclones and hurricanes, pack-ice^ and 'icebergs, it became their lot to beat their way out. Last but not least let me mention that the same ten men, on 15th February, 1911, hoisted the Norwegian flag further south than a ship has ever floated before. A fine record in the century qf records s Farthest North, Farthest South.