ANTARCTIC LURE

Northern Advocate, 18 December 1928, Page 6

ANTARCTIC LURE

BYRD EXPEDITION INTO THE ICE-PAOK. AMUNDSEN CONTRASTS. ■ (Per Press Association. —Copyright.) WELLINGTON, This Day. A copyright message from the Byrd expedition, dated December 16, states:. ■ “We are far into the ice-pack today, having started through on the anniversary of Captain Amundsen’s arrival at the 'South, Pole in 1912. He started the year before and laid bases towards the Pole during his first season, but it appears now that we should arrive at the Bay of Whales sooner than he did, because we are only about 700 miles away. He did not arrive there until January 14. With good luck we should be unloading in 10 days, although it is rash to make predictions down here. Commander Byrd, like Captain Amundsen, intends to lay his bases ,as; far inland as possible this season; that is, before march, when the winter sets in, and do most of his important work next year, when he will be. able to start flying long before it vyould be possible for a ship to get through the ice.

Captain. Amundsen began his polar journey on .'October 19, when, despite the cold, ithe weather was fair for travelling, and it should be equally good for flying. Captain Amundsen spent t,wp months toiling over snow and crevasses and up 'dangerous glaciers to. the Pole from the Bay of Whales, Commander Byrd will make the flight in less than a day, and will be able to map it and examine the route for some distance on each side. : “iSuch is the advantage of the aeroplane in exploration. It is a great relief to know that we will be going forward again, after lyjng to off the iee-paek for several days. PERFECT WEATHER, “The weather is perfect-—calm and warm. It is a day on which it is not uncomfortable to stand on deck in an ordinary wool shirt without a cap. The sky is pale Arctic blue, with a tinge of faint grey along the horizon, which, as far as one can see, is snow-covered, 1 cc-h um mo ck e d and broken into large cakes, with frequent -leads of open water between. ■ “There are many grotesque shapes formed by ice that has been heaved up and then eroded. The reflected glare is so brilliant as to tire the eyesy and snow glasses might be necessary if it were not for the streaks of dark open water.

"A few seals haye been seen basking in the sun—fat, sleepy fellows which raise their heads and look with mild curiosity at the drifting menagerie of barking dogs, and then roll over and go to sleep again. ."We are making fair speed, and hope the ice will remain open for the whole distance through the pack. Such luck wttuld be almost unprecedented, but as this is the earliest that any explorer has been able to get through, and as reports from whalers below indicate that the ice is opening more all .the time, we arc sanguine as to the result. DANGEROUS FORGE, An occasional hard bump against (the floe, which grinds its way alongside, reminds us, however, , that we are dealing with a dangerous force, when set in motion by an unfavourable wind. The peace and serenity of this day bring about a false sense of security. , "Taking pictures here is rather difficult, due to the intense light and the danger of over-exposure, and the filter has to be used practically all the time, even when the sky is overeast. 'Constant experiment is going on to determine the proper filtering. "Another phenomenon which causeis difficulty is the erratic behaviour of the compasses, which get wilder and wilder as we get farther south. The sticking of the compasses is due to the fact that the dip of (the needle is so great when dose to the Magnetic Pole that the horizontal magnetic forces are too weak to overcome the downward pull. It is a phenomenon with which all explorers are familiar, but disconcerting at sea. With a sun compass, however, an absolute check can be obtained.

THUNDEROUS JOLTS. “Ice everywhere. As far as the eye can see in any direction there is nothing but a shining white expanse of snow-covered pack, with hardly a break in it, but we are nearly 100 miles into it now, . and should be through in few days. The sun is so •warm that it can be felt through our coats. There is hardly a cloud in the sky and only a faint breeze. “If it were not for Miunderous jolts with which we hit the pack sometimes (this Avould he the most placid existence in the world, but occasionally we got a shock that shakes the ship from stem to stern, and we arc thankful for the 89 inches of timber along our sides and the massive bow. Up in the forecastle there is a rumble like thunder as we hit those heavy floes and they grind alongside. The vibration is terrific, but on deck this is not so noticeable, and we are enjoying this warm and peaceful interval between the ‘Roaring Forties* and the hard work that awaits us at the barrier. QUAINT CREATURES. “Today we saw several penguins, ■and the first sight of these amusing birds convulsed everyone aboard.

One pair bobbed up on an ice-floe alongside, cocked (their heads at us, shook them, and waved their flappers as if trying to assure themselves that they were awake. They put their beads together and talked it over, and finally decided that they both saw the same thing, for they waddled down to the edge to look at us over more carefully. As (they walked with a wobbling motion from side to side, they waggled their flippers as if to balance themselves, and presented so ludicrous an appearance as to cause everyone to bowl with laughter. .Finally they went away, sliding on their bellies across the ice, propelling themselves by their flippers and feet. They move with remarkable spee.d in this way, fully as fast as a brisk walk. Three of them followed us for half a mile, propelling themselves along and occasionally standing up to look around and make sure that we were still in sight. RAPID SOLIDIFYING. "In open leads this morning we saw ice forming behind ns almost as fast as wo went through. The water was full of ice crystals, and as they came to the surface they formed a sort of scum of ice, which quickly solidified 1 into a thin sheet. ‘‘lt reminded one of the story of Jules Verne in which a piece of ice was thrown into the sea when it was at the point of freezing and the ice

was just sufficient to start a crust

that rapidly spread over the entire surface.

“It is perceptibly colder at night when ithe sun drops to about 15 degrees above the horizon, and last night the temperature went down to 21 above zero, but it can be seen that we are not suffering from cold yet, although only a few hundred miles from Ithe barrier.

‘‘The continued light of night has made sleep difficult for some of us, but we are rapidly getting used to it, although one is apt to forget what time of the day or night it is when the sun shines all the time.** SUPPLY SHIP RETURNING. SECOND LOAD OBJECTIVE. (Australian Press Association.) (Received 11.20 a.m.) NEW YORK, December 17. A “Now York Times" radio from the Eleanor Boiling states that the vessel is 850 miles south-east of Taiaroa Heads, New 'Zealand, bound for Dunedin to get a second load of .supplies for the Byrd expedition.