HOPE AND DESPAIR

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 52, 10 September 1928, Page 5

HOPE AND DESPAIR

ITALIA CASTAWAYS LIFE ON THE ICE APPALLING CONDITIONS (By Captain Einar Luudborg, on board 1 the s.s. Quest at sea, off Spitzbcrgcn. Copyright.) i ' (No. 5) In the fifth of his articles describing the existence at Bed Tent camp, after crashing on the ice •when making a second attempt to ,' rescue the Italia castaways, thq Swedish airman, Captain Lundborg, tells of tho alternate hopes ■ and fears of the little band. Once a polar bear invaded their camp and they badly wanted fresh meat, but after three shots had . been fired at it, it escaped. At Sea, off Spitsbergen, 21st July. . Now that I have learn that, after fcuch. torriblo sufferings and such a long time of waiting, all my brave comrades lave at last been rescued from the pack ice by tho Bussian ice-breaker Krassin, it is easier for me to describe our joint fight against the ice. Duririg tho interval whi'eh elapsed between my rescue and theirs, tho thought .of their'uncertain fato has haunted me' . Jiko a terrible nightmare, especially as the weather here.in North-east Land has ■ become anything but suitable for fly-: ing. The first night in tho camp was as

light and warm as midsummer day itself. Sleep was quite out of the question* „, My thoughts flew hither and thither. My certain belief that wei should all be rescued by aeroplane soon, if not immediately, disappeared when, at1 about two in. the morning, I felt slight winds blowing from the, north, and noticed that they brought with thenl a dense fog, which enveloped the Polar region like a living whitish-grey blanket. Suddenly it became cold in the tent. Owing to the dampness caused by the fog, even more than the low temperature outside, we nevor felt really warm,, but. were constantly shivering with cold. In the message which wo sent to General Nobile late that night we informed him of the fog, and told him how anxious it made us. But when the General immediately replied that we were not to .be at all worried about the fog, but that we were to keep up our courage, out mood again became a little brighter. The staccato sound of the wireless transmitter was now Kko music to us. We loved it, and longed for it, because it told us that we were not altogether alone. Towards morning we were all lying in the tent in a sort of coma. During the course of the night, however, I went out several times into the open air to tho chaos of pack ice, hoping that a little exercise would make mo sleepy; but it proved to be a bad speculation. ■ About eight o'clock in the morning Trojani, though suffering terribly from i'ever, began to prepare breakfast. He was tho master cook of the camp, and on his shoulders rested such tasks as making chocolate and boiling milk. The cooking took place inside the tent'in a Mcta kitchen, which had been dropped by Captain Maddalcnn. In the water which was picked up by means of tin cans there were not a few reindeer hairs from tho furs, and when Trojani could not get them cut of the water, they all went down together with the milk and chocolate, where they were difficult to discover in our small tin "plates," which, though I they still remained unwashed after.our dinner of bear's meat, were now rilled! with carefully measured out portions of thin, luke-warm milk, which had been boiled from our stock of condensed milk. "With Hicsc .some lumps of moist biscuit were handed out to ..each man. The rationing oC the, milk was done by means of the electric bulb, which, as I mentioned before, was also used as a drinking vessel. As it hud been used in . turn for broth, .bread soup, pen)-' mican soup, milk anil chocolate, it had taken oii a dark- cloudy colour, auct was particularly unpleasant to drink out of. Although we all saw this dirt, however, it occurred to none of us to try and clean it. I had passed less than twenty-' four hours in the camp, and already my stomach and my appetite had got so accustomed to the circumstances that I could tell my comrades, without lying, that I considered this breakfast -just as good as that which people get in the ordinary way. All day we remained quietly in the tent. Tor my part, I occasionally wandered across'to the ice floe and the iVkker, where Behounok. .stood with bare head staring into space.. Cemoiii was ■till fast asleep in liis sleeping bag with my rifle at his side. Neither lie nor Kehounek had had any food since the previous day, but I promised later to bring them some. The removal of the tent and our other equipment was not to begin until late that -night. We had dinner sit about two, in a very depressed frame of mind. This meal consisted of pommi can soup; which would hju-c tasted all right if it had only been properly heated. As it was it went, down move because it contained food values llian because wo enjoyed it. A« mouthful of vitamin chocolate from the small supply whii-h 1 had brought in tin1 pocket of my airmail's suit caused a general sensation. The ciimp's chocolate was mure i|illi<-ult tv fiat, and my portiun wsis tlavollured with lemon ami plover] quite a success. I thought sadly of my bij: knapsack which I had left on Russian Island so that on my second start from the ice

iloo here I should havo boon aljlo more easily to tako nloug two passengors. If only I had had it with mo now we should have had a tent and plenty of chocolate, apples, tea, .sugar, salt, and brandy, a Primus stove and a couple of enormous beef sandwiches. What a heavenly mouthful it would have been here! But a little brandy remained in my medicine- box —enough for a small drink—and this to-day was some consolation for the lack of the knapsack. ... About nine in the evening we continued 'the work of removing our camp to the ice floe, after first having eaten our supper—a tiny bite of corned beef and a few moist biscuits. Considering our frame of mind and the situation in which wo found ourselves, tho work which wo did that night between nine and six must bo considered as representing considerably moro than two normal days' work. We carried tbe heavy accumulators, the radio parts, tins of pemmican, the undressed skin of the Polar bear, and every imaginable kind of instrument a distance of S.jO yards across the pack ice. This represented an enormous effort, and we had to sit down and rest every now and then. AYe sucked a little snow, and this stimulated us for a while; but later on, as was to be expected, it made us feel still more tired and thirsty. Trpjani was far too ill to take any share in this work, but he did his best to help, and he went on repairing the tout which had become rather badly worn during the mouth it had served as a habitation for as many as nine men. Qn. tho whole,, howover, it must be •said that tire tent was an excellent one, and had stood hard wear surprisingly well. . . ' . . ■ ■When the tent had also been removed to the ico floe the question arose of choosiug a good camping ground. One | had- to remember that the ice foundation below had to be safe, and furthermore, it was necessary that neither the

tent nor the wireless mast should be in the way of an airplane lauding or starting. I suggested a spot close to .the wreckage of iriy Fokker, which was ; lying upside down,-.and .this plan was 'adopted.' The show was swept asideand I had, as usual, two shovels in my machine, which came in very useful on tho job. With my hunting knife I cut some pieces of waterproof canvas out of the 'plane in order to provide the best possible underlay for tho tent. To myself I was asking what my brother officers at home in Malmsett would have said if they could have seen how I cut into tlie. soft parts of the machine, but I felt 'that there was nothing elso for me to do if my comrades in miscortuno and myself were to maintain life. It was therefore no use to ponder over what other people would think. When I had cut out a piece- about the size of" the tent bottom, the tent was erected. On top of the piece was laid the tent's own floor mat, and oil top of that two of the Italian silk parachutes by means of which Maddelcna had dropped provisions and other things. Tho Swedish parachutes were much smaller, and as they were red they wcro more suited for liag signals or similar purposes than for carpeting tho tent. On top of the parachutes we spread the Polar bear pelt and some smaller reindeer pelts. All tho pelts had become very sour, but they wore still usablo for "resting on. At last the tent was ready. The wiroless receiver and some other apparatus were placed on tho left inside the entrance, and Ceccioni was placed on this heap. Ho never laid down, but sat day.and night in his corner. Ho occasionally slept a little, but was mostly awake. He used sticks from the airship wreckage as supports for his broken ieg. They were primitive but practical. On the right of the tent at a right angle to the entrance Behounek and I. Trojani, and Vigliere, took our places in the order mentioned, and Biagi took over Ceccioni's sleeping- bag out on the wing of the Ifokkcr. A POLAR BEAR ESCAPES. The fog was still lying thick and close around us. It fo.lt cold and stinging, and it was therefore more than stimulating in the morning, with the work well finished. One. or other of us had made the discovery that our ■ portions of semi-warm chocolate and soft biscuits lasted better when the biscuits were dipped in the chocolate, ' and his example was quickly followed by us all. We all ft 11 heavily asleep, and even Biagi, who had to watch, took a nap in his sleeping bag; but suddenly wo were awakened by his loud yells. "Polar bear, Polar bear! "he cried. I put on my boots, and without stopping to lace them I crawled out of tho tent and snatched up. my rifle, with which Biagi had armed himself; but which, in a situation like this, I preferred to have in my own hands. The Polar bear was slowly trudging across the' ice floe away towards the pack ice and his,own salvation. •T. ran sonic dozen yards after him until lie was just at the edge of the pack ice, and then there were reports from my rifle and also from the other Swedish gun and from the Italian rifle, which were used by Biagi and Viglieri respectively. I saw that my second shot had hit the bear, which gave, a wild roar and then stretched out its head so that the neck could bo seen at its full length. Now, however, it was hiding among tho towering tops of the pack ice, .■Hid it was of no use that I rushed forward over the remaining 00 yards of the ice floe, and from a high mound in the ice 1. sent a few more shots after it. . It. sneaked slowly away in the direction of Koyn Island, and went round the ice Hue. and its enemies hi a bi-; circle. I examined tin; bear's tracks on the ice a little more closely, and discovered, to my great annoyance, that (ho animal had only boon two r>r three yards from our tout. It. had evidently been close up to Ihe radio mast and provision depot placed there, and appeared to have

been rolling in the snow about 15 yards from the tent. Viglieri was sorry that wo had missed the chance'of getting some fresh meat, while Behounek, on tho contrary, thanked me because I had not hit better. Polar bear meat was anything but the favourite dish of the good professor. He'still possessed his ample embonpoint, and with it the remainder of his civilised tastes. After tho visit of this Polar bear we had to organise our guard service a little! belter. All of us, except Gcssioni, took regular turns, varying from two to four hours in length, according to the weather. Trojani at first was exempt from this duty, but ho gradually recovered so much that he was able to replace Biagi, who was the next to fall ill. For the first two days I was wilder no circumstances allowed to go on duty, but then it happened that Viglieri was sleeping very heavily just when it was time for him to bo turned out, and so I took his turn. After that I did not allow them to leave me out of the guard team. During the following days the fog steadily. increased in intensity, and the wind grew stronger. Tho temperature stayed below zero both night and day, and thus the floe became extremely good for landing. Previously part of tho thick covering of snow had melted away.' Our radio connection, as a rule, was good. We received the good news that in a day or two tho Krassin would pick us up in order that she might afterwards search for the airship group. After receiving tliis message we felt that life was stilt* worth living after all, and -we feasted on extra rations of chocolate and the last drops of my stock -of brandy. But our pleasure was not to be of, Jong duration. Already, on the following day, wo received news that the Krassin had met compact masses of ice and was only able to push its way on with the greatest difficulty. It was now thought that it would not reach

us for seven or eight days. What a chango this nows wrought in our newly-raised hopes of a little whilo back. We had considered that we were all-saved, but. now we again I woke up to reality. Wo were just a few poor fellows drifting on an ice floe, very lonely and left to our fate. We later understood that the first report hud been sent to encourage us, but how discouraged wo we.ru when wo hoard the news of the ship's difficulties with the ice. FEAR AND DESPAIR. Promises 'of the help of a Swedish sports machine, a Finnish .Tunker 'plane, and some small English 'planes helped to keep up our courage, but. now and again fear and despair got hold of us. If only we had still been able to see land—but this thick, damp, cold fog made everything seem worse than it really was. Beliounck and I could not sleep at night. We_ lay telling each other of our experiences in life and discussed the prospects of the various relief expeditions. Sometimes we felt certain that help would come quickly, but just as often wo gave up all hope and thought that our end was near. In this dark mood wo invented a kind of Stock Exchange game. I formed a limited company, "The Rescued from tho Ice Sea," and then we made quotations of this stock. Tho rate fluctuated violently according to our chances and tho personal moods of the moment. Tho average iigure, I still remember, was 40 to 60 below par, although the Czeeho Slovakian professor (Behounek) at times found himself able to offer up to 80 per cent, nominal value shares in my life. We spoko a good deal about Professor Malmgreu. Behounok and lie had been good friends. AFalingreii aii'l Zappi had been the lirs*. fo propose walking towards land. Tlie General desired that 'they should wait, but at last they set off one evening. They took with them provisions for fifty days, double sets of reindeer shoes, a compass, sextant, and chronometer and mathematical tables, but as tho camp only possessed one weapon, the Colt pistol with which Muluigrcn had killed

the Polar bc.ir, and which had only sis shots left in it, they Imd to go unarmed. Bolioimek had given them somo let« tcrs to his relatives, and Malmgrcu w:is to semi them on if Behounok wcro not rescued within two months. Jlulmgreu had a serious injury in his left shoulder, presumably a complicated collarbone break. TJio three men took a heartrending leave of those remaining and started off. Two days later they could still 1)0 seen from the camp. Now and again, however, Behounok fell asleep, and then I sat nlono in the tent thinking deeply. All the- others wore lying like heaps of clothes, snoring on the floor of the tent, and I passed the time in studying their various types of snore. The uoiso went on eternally, and the Polar bear meat, which had been served for dinner, joined loudly in the concert. ' The conversations with Behounck bucked mo up considerably. Wo even started talking about warm baths, clean sheets, soap, clean clothes, and music. To my question as to what the professor wanted to eat if he himself was allowed to choose, Beliounek replied at once: ".First of all I should have real, extra iine Swedish snioergas, with snaps and Pilsner (the latter, of course, must be genuine), and before I had finished with this, I should have had time to consider what was to be the next course." We smoked a lot, and as my littlo tin of tobacco had quickly been emptied, I had to go in for thoso cigarettes which formerly I had despised so much. However, I soon learned to. appreciate them so highly that I am afraid my small grumblings at my wife for her cigarette smoking cannot now bo done with tho samo sense- of s/^-ei"----iority as heretofore. Occasionally, however, I was aWo to obtain a fill for my pipe by using the cigarettes which Maddolena had dropped into the water, and which wore now laid out to dry. But as it was not before the matches begun to run short, I soon had to say good-bye to my dear pipe.