ALIVE AND WELL

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVI, Issue 42, 18 January 1936, Page 7

ALIVE AND WELL

ELLSWORTH AND PARTNER. AT LITTLE AMERICA. RESCUE EFFECTED. (United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) NEW YORK, Jan. 17. A North American Newspaper Alliance copyright message states: — “ ‘Mr Lincoln Ellsworth and Mr T. Hollick-Kenyon are alive and well at Little America,’ was the heart-quicken-ing news hashed from'the wireless of the Discovery II to the Wyatt Earp to-day. , “The commander of the Discovery II is doing all possible to expedite the return of Messrs Ellsworth and HollickKenyon to the ship.” MACHINE SIGHTED. FROM THE AIR. SYDNEY, Jan. 17. The Minister of Defence (Mr A. Parkhill) has received a message from the Discovery II stating that a man was sighted from one of the vessel’s ’planes which made a reconnaissance flight from the Bay of Whales. Attempts are to be made to embark the man sighted. Mr Ellsworth’s machine was also sighted at Little America. The message added that the Discovery II arrived at the Bay of Whales on Wednesday. The Wyatt Earp is now 320 miles away. WYATT EARP’S PROGRESS. NEW YORK, Jan. 17. The Wyatt Earp has wirelessed that the vessel is still within the ice belt, but apparently is nearing the edge and is approximately, 320 miles from Little America. MESSAGE TO PREMIER. - Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Jan. 17. A radio message has been received by the Prune Minister (Hon. M. J. Savage) from the commander of the Discovery II stating that he has arrived at the Bay of Whales. A reconnaissans; by one of the ’planes carried on -the Discovery revealed that Mr Ellsworth’s ’plane was at Little America and one man was sighted. The commander is now exploring the possibility of embarking the airman or airmen. AN EPIC FLIGHT. AFTER EARLY TRIALS. INTO THE UNKNOWN. Alter setting out on November 20 to fly across the Antarctic and being forced to return owing to the breaking of a gauge, Messrs Lincoln Ellsworth and Hollick-Kenyon left Dundee Island again in the aeroplane Polar Star at a. 3 a.m. G.M.T. Immediately before leaving Mr Ellsworth said: “Soon we will be on what has been called tiie last great adventure in the history of Antarctic exploration. With faith in the reward ol preseverance, we are bound on a flight of 2140 miles, 1300 of which will be over territory not yet seen by human eyes. We ifiii pass over unclaimeil areas lor 000 miles, and tiiat segment of the Antarctic which is thought to be fringed by a coast line of about 900 miles. Six hours out, and alter crossing the 80tli meridian, which we expect to cross at latitude 77, we will be in unclaimed territory. With the permission of the State Department of the United States, I will then drop the Stars and Stripes, and, so far as that act will sufiice, claim the area we discover, even up to the 120th meridian, for the United States. 1 will name the area James Ellsworth Land, after my father, who was himself a pioneer.” Mr Ellsworth departed on liis third attempt to fly across the Antarctic at 8.3 a.m. Greenwich time on November 23. A later message from Dundee Island that day stated that Messrs Ellsworth and Kenyon had been away about 14 hours and since 4.5 p.m. no wireless communication had been received from the Polar Star. Whether she made a forced landing or her transmitting set was out of commission there was no way of knowing. At 4.3 p.m. she indicated her position as about 76 degrees longitude and 79 latitude, after which the sending became jumbled and finally, ceased. Until 4.5 p.m. frequent wireless messages were exchanged with the Polar Star, indicating that although some tog was met the flight was progressing favourably. At 11.45 a.m. the airmen reported seeing Lurabee Channel and ytefansson Strait from an altitude of 13,060 feet. The temperature was minus 21 degrees Centigrade. Until that time they had maintained a speed of 125 miles an hour. From then until the final message was sent came rapid-fire reports of seeing new mountains and the spotting of charted geographical positions. They once mentioned seeing many crevasses, but added: “There are a lot of places where one could land.” The Polar Star was equipped with emergency radio and it was pre-ar-ranged that, if needed, the airmen would attempt to communicate with the Wyatt Earp at specified hours. One of these times had passed already, however, without word. A study of messages, received from the craft on the day she departed indicated that she had penetrated farther into the unknown interior of the Antarctic in one journey than any other explorer since Sir Ernest Sliackleton’s dash toward the Pole in 1908-09, probably farther, as the last message reported that all was well and they were flying easily, by which time they had gone more than 400 miles into the absolute unknown and his observations of mountain ranges, plateaux and valleys contributed a vast amount ol : valuable information. Undoubtedly he passed into unclaimed territory beyond the eightieth meridian, but until his complete notes are received it is impossible to say how much more he discovered. The distance to the Bay of Whales along the Great Circle course is 2140 miles, and despite the high altitudes it would he necessary to attain in order to cross the mountains there should have been adequate fuel to reach the destination. Tile speed average up to the time of the last radio contact should bring the Polar Star there within 20 hours if (there were no difficulties.