AMUNDSEN’S STORY

Grey River Argus, 24 June 1925, Page 5

AMUNDSEN’S STORY

OUTWARD JOURNEY , 'tn Thrilling Narrative n,;. : j LONDON, June 22. A wireless from King’s Bay gives Amun,dsen’s thrilling personal narrative. It describes how soon after setting out on -May 21st, the party traversed for two hours the sunlit expanse of gleamisg ice, probably over the 83rd degree. A fresh north-easter curtailed speed. “We came down in fine calm weather, and noticed the ice was most uninviting, even for a. forced landing. Hard snow filled the crevices of the ice packs, therefore we recognised the trip was more hazardous than we had thought. Hours passed with no sight of land. It was apparent that we had gone too far to the westward, so we turned eastward. Still there was no sign of a suitable' landing. Feucht at 1 o’clock on the i morning of May 22nd reported that half his petrol had gone, and it was decided to land and verify our position. The ’plane went down to a hundred metres. A level ice How seemed the most attractive finding, but Rui. ' ser Larsen’s engine backfired, and we were compelled to alight on a branch ice lane between lofty walls, the machine pressing do>wn ,the ice blocks with its wings overlapping the wall. It, came to a stoppage at the extreme end of the land, with its nose against the ice flow, but undamaged. The story proceeds: “We landed, and reversed to remove the machine to the main ice lane. It was most fatiguing, and the walls coming together like lobsters’ claws caught us in. 1 Dietrichseii, meanwhile, thought Riiser Larsen had gone mad to attempt a landing iu such a terrible spot. Dietrichsen alighted on the main lane unknown to us. We feared that the pack

plane N 25. Observations taken during the night showed the position 87.43 N, 10.19 W. N. 25 1 IN. SEARCH FOR. OTHER PARTY LONT)i»->. Juno 22. Captain Amundsen continues:— ‘ The piano was frozen in by the morning, and it could not be moved. So we prepared at 2.5 o’clock for a journey afoot to Cape Columbia. So far we had not seen the plane N.2L but we had heard a shot. We tried to cut a path, but it froze against us as fast as it was cut. Thereto]*, we had to hack a path over the ice floe at he bow. Riiser-Larsen was using an axe, and Feucht an ice ; uchor, while 1 used a» knife fastern*u to a ski stave. At night time the themrometere read 10-i degrees fahrenheit. Wo were terribly cold, sloping in our bags. The next afternoon we were delighted when we SAW A FLAG MOUNTED ON '• TALL FLOE, by which wo found the N. 21 party, and we exchanged signals. We leaned that N. 24 was leaking, thus necessitating constant pumping. Meanwhile the ice drift brought the parties closer. N. 24 ABANDONED. T'he next day N. 24 was abandoned as inextricable, and her crew began to cross the new ice. Riiser_Larsen and myself went out in a canvas boat, to help them. Suddenly we heard Dietrichsen and Omdal calling for help. They had gone through the ice carrying a heavy load. Ellsworth helped the former, and the two together saved Omdal just as he was disappearing under the ice. Both owed their lives to the lifebelts and waistcoats purchased as an after_tliought at Trom_ soe. The combined party of six began making a passage for the N. 24, according to the best road-making principles. Firstly, ice blocks were laid down, then fragments, then snow. The track was ready by the evening of May 27th. Though the engines were running, five of us had to help as best we could to move the malchine. Filially we reached the long floe, clear of danger of pinching. With rations cut down, we became enfeebled. The currents drove us southwards; then back. AVc dismissed the possibility of finding a landing place, and also of accurately determining the position of the Pole. 11 would simply have been a continuation of the flight over the ocean near the Pole, which was of doubtful value and not worth the risk. We began on May 30th clearing the ice afresh, but our first attempt to depart on June Ist failed, the ice breaking beneath the plane. The position was now ugly. We awakened early in the morning to find the ice turned the ’plane around. The hull was creaking and groaning. I was sure we would lose her. RiiserLarsen and Omdal hacked the ice and reduced the pressure. LIVES IN THE BALANCE. (Received June 23 at 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, June 23. Amundsen continues: “The next day Riieserlarsen tried to drive the plane along, but she suddenly lifted her tail because the ice could not bear the weight of her nose. We again hack ed at the ice, realising that our lives were in the balance. Riieserlarsen tried full speed, and she cleared. Captain Amundsen describes the galling task of eompleti'ng the track, often

necessitating working almost the whole night long. “The moving floes, kept undoing our work,’ he says. Wc decided to sleep bn shifts, realising that we had only till June 15, to make the vital decision as to whether we would go afoot. Though our rations were again reduced to three biscuits and a few tablets of malted milk, with a little cocoa each, we joked and sang while working. The two pilots on June 2. found a large floe eight hundred metres away, which was suitable for making our departure track. This floe was reached only after many trials and disappointments, as a compensation for which, the whole party indulged in a more generous allow-ance of pemmican. It was necessary on June 7 to cut through a twelve foot the chasm which N 25 just managed ice '■vail, and to build a bridge across to clear. Wc tried to start on June 8, but the snow was cloggy, so we had to clear it away. By June 15, wc had completed five hundred metres of track, half of which was flooded through a crack. Another attempt to start the plane was unsuccessful, so we jettisonwith. The temperature became lower, but a breeze was blowing, so wc again tried to fly. Riiserlarsen skilfully avoided the rough patches aud we made ed everything that could be dispensed a hundred to two hundred metres. Nearing the end of the track, our speed was not yet full, but just sufficient to take our last jump from the floe. We were in the air at last. Our feelings can be imagined. "Te munehed biscuits and chocolate, and began to won der whether we had enough petrol but we soon began to see the heights of Spitzbergen. ’ ’ “About this time stabilisation rudders began to give trouble, and finally the party had to alight in the rough sea. They rode over these, and reach ed land on the west side of North Cape setting foot on the hard mountain side. “I think we all thanked God for the help during our months of constant battle for life. We were preparing to eat when a shout of “Ship Ahoy,” was heard. We saw the sealer “Sjoelio.” All rushed aboard the plane, and we taxied out to the sealer, on which we journeyed to King’s Bay. where we were royally welcomed. “We are now busy filling out the hollow spots between our ribs.”