DAYS OF DANGER

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 108, 2 November 1929, Page 9

DAYS OF DANGER

BYRD'S ADVANCE PARTY

A TREACHEROUS TRAIL

TUMBLED MASSES OF ICE

United I'rcss Association—liy Electric Telegraph— Copyright. (By Kussell Owen.—.Special to the "New York .Times.")' (Keccived 2nd November, 10 a.m.) BAY OF AVI-lALiiS, 31st October. Messages from tho supporting party including Joe do Ganahl's description, of their two days in the crevassed area show that they have taken their loads over the most dangerous part of tho trail. "When they return it will Ije with- lighter sledges, for they took through that dangerous region supplies for Depot Four at 81 degrees 45 minutes South. There they turn back. Apparently the party found much worse travelling than did Amundsen on his journey seventeen years ago, for Amundsen went through tho crevassed area three timess when the vision was poor and without much trouble. The trip back to the northern edge to leave a warning for tho "snowmobile" was made at Byrd's. order, for although he had' given instructions that the machine was not to go so far, he was afraid that they might be carried away by zeal "and attempt too nmc.li. It is evident that no machine could pass such a trcai-herous ami broken area. NAVIGATOR'S STORY. Joe do Ganahl, navigator of the supporting sledge party, sent the following radio from ,iust south of SO degrees latitude: "Tho peaceful barrier showed its sternest, when the monotony of one"- hundred and sixty miles'_ unexciting sledging was broken by efforts to penetrate a maze of crevasses, covered chasms, and hollow haycocks, eleven, miles south of the depot. Three tents were pitched tonight between two pitfalls threa miles east of tho scene of our escapes from whatever is below the countless hollow crusts over which we passed. The barrier trembles and roars occasionally as new traps open in this area, where the pressure of ice is equalised. From 81 degrees south this morning a long line of knolls, jagged peaks, and rolling domea glistened- majestically on the crest of a hilltop stretching cast and west. EDGE OF ABYSS. "We had gono five miles, when Burscy, w,ho was leading the roped caravan, swung his sled to halt his dog's. They were on the roof of a round hollow pit fifty feet in diameter. There were many such invisible' caverns on the ascent of the hill, some filled, and some bridged with snow, evidently craters of haycocks, opened by released pressure. Soon crevasses, a few open, some filled, and most roofed, crossed over the path. Five miles of dodging and rushing about brought us to a stop. To the south and west were graceful domes, fantastic peaks, and black shadows, ugly and forbidding lines of upheaved ice to the cast. A deep valley was crossed and reerossed by scores of _ the great depressions we had learned to respect. RECONNAISSANCE ON FOOT. "Well roped wo planned a short reconnaissance on foot. Walden steppod away from his sled into a crevasse, and sank down to the waist. He was pulled out again, and went down into a second. We reached, a hilltop ridge running south-west between villages of haycocks. We proceeded with the: teams, and in five minutes we were shut in by' hollow domes, with every step on a thin trembling roof. We crossed a safelooking ridge and slid down ten feet from an open hole with1 blackness for a bottom, and turned tho teams to the west. _ Bursey slipped over the brink of a pit as we crossed a narrow bridge between it and tho haycoks, but the rope dragged him back. There was a hundred-foot hole to tho 'left and countless haycocks to tho right. We followed a narrow highway west till a wade thinly covered crevasse blocked our path to' a hopeless area ahead. NO ROOM TO TURN. "There was no room to turn the team between the haycocks. Braathen roped, and on skis, tested tho largest and wo rushed the dogs around and over the dome to retrace our steps a few hundred yards. Bursey stopped to fix the harness, and the surface sank under Braathen's sled. The teams wore hurried forward, and pulled him to a thicker roof. The route flanslipped through into space. Below everything was hollow. Wo tried vainly with many crevasses, but Braathen 's experienced short dodges brought us safe around. A day of perilous reconnoitring over a valley checkered with crevasses and a mounttain of broken ice, pitted and honeycombed by pressure, brought us to the firm barrier at midnight to-day just as the fog closed m on what we believe to be the most treacherous area ever crossed in the Antarctic." CHANGES SINCE AMUNDSEN. Great upheavals have taken place here since Amundsen's time. Nothing he describes can compare with the last ten miles of our joureny. It was a restless sleep for all, for every few hours we were awakened by thunder announcing tho birth of a new crevasse aud the shaking of the hollow snow beneath us. After an early breakfast Bursey and Braatheir retraced their steps to the northern limit of the crevassed region to place a warning on the Barrier for "Snowmobile.'.' Then Walden, Braathen, and I roped, and on skiis worked out way over and around crevasses to the south-east, hoping to find an opening in a hopeless-looking range to the south. From a high ridge we had glimpses of the firm Barrier, but three miles of pitted mountain lay before us. After lunch Braathen, Bursoy and I proceeded on skiis in an effort to thread our way through between open back holes connected by covered crevasses everywhere. NARROW RIDGE TRACK. "On approaching the range wo finally found a narrow'ridge between open chasms leading to a network of canyons on the summit of a large hollow area and camouflaged by a thin roof of ice. In three hours we marked a zigzag trail a mile aud a half : through the heart of the ridge and 'returned with doubts about our sledges getting over dubious bridges, sharp shoulders, and steep inclines. But there was no other ,way through, the hills being impassible to the east and west. The teams and men, roped separately, followed our ragged line of flags. It was a time for expert driving and obedient dogs. The veteran Walden said that he had never seen anything like it, and bridges were taxed to the limit. The dogs sensed the danger, and time and again disappeared in crevasses and were hauled out by their team mates. Bursey and his loader, St. Lunaire, worked in perfect 'accord, when a few feet to the right or tho loft would mean a dangling sled and driver. Walden's foresight, Braathen 'a care, and Bursey's driving and luck brought us to the end of the range, and a wide-open road boa.Tded by crevasses, leading down to safe ground and a clean trail towards tho midnight sun, We stopped and turned to view .the nrra. wo had crossed before the fog

set in. It seemed as if tho gods had been playing, with chalkcliffs and left them scattered and broken on tho Barrier floor.