NORTH WITH ALGARRSON

Evening Star, Issue 19318, 3 August 1926, Page 4

NORTH WITH ALGARRSON

EXPERIENCES 11! THE ARCTIC Recounting his experiences with AL garrson’s British Arctic Scientific Expedition of 1925, Mr Gordon Burt, who was chief engineer on the Island, held the attention of a big, audience in tb« Burns Hall last night. Cr J. S. Douglas presided. In the course of his address Mr Burt described the indications of the vicinity of large quantities of ice. The first * sign, he said, was the presence of small icebergs, called “ growlers,” because of the hissing sounds which came from them. The huge floating masses of ice which wore encountered subsequently were vividly described with the aid of lantern slides, and an account of the experiences of the ico ship jn its efforts to break through those vast fields was similarly illustrated. The lecturer explained' that the mode of progress was to charge the ice pack at full speed, and the momentum of tho boat would lift it up on the surface, which would subside and break asunder under the weight of the vessel. Another vivid picture shown was that of the ice cliffs, which extended for miles in a solid wall. These constituted a terrible menace to the ship, for occasionally tho water would undermine the wall, and thousands of tons of ice would break away witli an ear-splitting roar and drift out to sea in the form of icebergs. Mr Burt also made referene to tho animal life of the Polar regions, dealing in particular with the Polar tear, which stood 12ft or more in height and was possessed of remarkable intelligence, and the seal (the Polar bear’s natural food), which always lay on tho ico in close proximity to the waten, so that it could slip out of danger with a minimum of effort. For some time tho expedition had to live on seal, tho flesh of which was black and which did not make good eating. The Polar bear, however, was quite palatable, its flesh being of a light red color. Fresh moat had to bo eaten to keep scurvy away.