IN THE ANTARCTIC

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10782, 31 December 1928, Page 5

IN THE ANTARCTIC

ARRIVAL IN* BAY OF WHALES. ; SHIP TIES~UP TO ‘ICE. PARTY TO PROCEED INLAND. MYSTERIOUS LAND HIDDEN BY ' :UNUSUAL HAZE. ■ (By Russell Owen.) (Copyright 1928 by the New York Times Co. and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. All (rights, for publication ( reserved throughout the world.) (By wireless to the'New York Times,) • ROSS SEA, Doe. 28. Our future home for. a year lies just ahead shrouded in the haze that conceals the end of the bay. W© have just tied up to the . bay ice, which is heavy and extends out inany miles from Eramheim, Amundsen’s old station place, near which thiei expedition expects to have its winter quarters. Commander Byrd, ■ 'V-th Messrs. Balchen,. .Petersen and Bramte and two dog . toams driven by Walden atnd Vaughan, are going: inland in two or three hours to try to find a site for the base, and, if possible, try rto locate Framheim. “We reached here early this ‘ morning, and found it was impossiWe to got more than a short distance into the bay, which is usually not clear of ice until about- a fortnight- from now, but. the weather is good, and there is a strong bate or current breaking off parts ol ice continually, and it may be possible to take considerable material ashore even before tlie, ice goes altogether. “The dogs- and sleds with large amounts of stores may be moved some time before we! are able to get up the Barrier, which is very low at this point. The dog drivers are busily packing sleds with iood for a week, as well as touts, sleeping bags, and a radio outfit, so that if the ship is forced to put up by a storm they will be able to get along comfortably until wo return. The sleds are on the iee alongside- the slv.p, with the. men busily engaged getting their gear together on them, so that work ashore ’may lie said to have actually started. “Everyone is elated at being hero, and also at the calm weather which had been predicted for the -Bay of Whales, but- of which- we had tfcpn sceptical. Thero is an unusual over the ice, and it is impossible to see more than a- few miles. Beyond that mysterious curtain of blue and white lies the- tremendous territory which is to be explored, and it is about as forbidding to-day in this grey light as could to imagined, ttis a cheerless place, grim enough to discourage-" the most ardent real estate auctioneer. ; “Commander Byrd expects to star away for a day or two,, and. out activities for the next, two . weeks will depend largely upon what lie learfis of the ice conditions on lus long trip inland. ... “Commander Byrd appointed Mr. Larry Gould, geologist, second m command down her-e, as Mr. Brophy the regular second in command is m New Zealand. Air. Gould is popular on the ship,' and for the last week lias been ready to supervise the unloading, which will h‘e a difficult anr possibly a dangerous task if done, on the bay ice.