SOUTH POLE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 12 March 1912, Page 5

SOUTH POLE.

NANSEN'S VIEWS. THE SCOTT EXPEDITION. UNLIKELY TO BE AHEAD OF AMUNDSEN. (Press Association. —Copyright.) (Received 8.5 a.m.) CHRISTIAN lA, March 11. Nansen states that Capt. Amundsen's discovery that the amount of precipitation in "tile small country lie traversed may explain why the land was not buried bv an ice cap similar to Greenland. " It- was unlikely that- Capt. Scott was ahead of Capt. Amundsen in reaching the Pole, which was only one of many tasks Capt-. Scott st.t- himself. It- was impossible for Scott's ponies to travel so early in the spring as Amundsen's dogs. COMMONWEALTH CONGRATULATIONS. SYDNEY, March 11. Mr. Fisher caibled to Capt. Amundsen: "I congratulate you heartily on the success of your expedition and safe return. Hope to see you on your visit to Melbourne."

CAPTAIN AMUNDSEN TALKS. WEATHER CONDITIONS AT THE POLE. (Received 10.15 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. Captain Amundsen thinks that the tent- and flags left at the Pole should remain in position a long time. Unless the weather became worse than he experienced, there was no danger of the tent being blown away, and probably it would be a couple of years before it was covered with snow. KING EDWARD OR KING HAAKON? Referring to Sir E. Sliackleton's statement that King Haakon Plateau was the same as he had christened King Edward Plateau, Captain Amundsen thinks there must be some mistake. He does.not think Sir E. Shackleton said that. He may have meant that it was all part of the same elevated area. Sir E. Shackleton, when ha reached further south, was still going up, while we reached our greatest height about the same latitude as that which he had reached when he turned back, and then began to descend again. The slightly sloping plateau on which the Pole stands, and which we called King Haakon Plateau, was Aot named by Shackleton. Captain Amundsen pointed out that the place ascended in the mountains was about 150 miles eastward to the Beardmore Glacier (up which Shackleton made his way). It would have been a roundabout route to have gone up the Beardmore Glacier, and the place he had chosen was easily ascended for over 10,000 feet.

FOUR DAYS AT THE POIE. The party -was four days at the Pole itself, and all exercised the greatest care in making observations. They stopped when they got as nearly as they could ascertain to 89 deg. 55 min., or five miles from the Pole, and took reckonings from there. They then went on to the Pole itself, where he individually took the most careful observations he could, "in order to make quite certain. The four of them went out to four points at about five miles from the Pole as a centre, and took observations there in addition to observations at the Pole itself. He could not, of course, determine it as exactly as a man in an observatory, with all his instruments at hand, could. At the same time he used all possible care, and did not think there could be any material error. Captain Amundsen says that the spot located as the Pole is perfectly flat as far as the eye can reach. Had Shackleton crossed the plateau he named King Edward Land he would have been within seeing distance of the Pole, so flat and even was the ice. DANGERS OF THE ICE. Besides the Amundsen party, another party under Captain Johansen, with a base at Framheim, devoted itself to the exploration of the neighbouring portion of King Edward Land. They went eastward, and met with many escapes losing several dogs. It- would happen that the skis would pass over the ice all right, but suddenly, without warning, the dogs would skim right through into bottiomless .crevasses, and would not be seen again. The men, by following the dogs, escaped what otherwise would have been instant death.

MEETING WITH JAPANESE EXPEDITION. Captain Millson, of the Fram, stated that during their stay in the Bay of Whales they met the Japanese expedition. Ten Japanese landed and climbed the Great Barrier, and stayed till the following morning. They afterwards erected a tent on the Barrier, and left two men there for five days. Afterwards a strong breeze sprang up, and the Japanese vessel left. That was the last he saw of her. The two Japs left behind said that the ship had gone to .txing Edward's Land, and was going to call back for them. They were well provisioned and found, .and were still there when the Fram left with the Amundsen party on the 30th January.

EMBARGO REMOVED PRESSMEN" VISIT THE FRAM. CHAT WITH AMUNDSEN'S COMPANIONS. CONDITIONS AT THE POLE. (Received 9 a.m.) HOBART. This Day. The embargo placed on the Fram since her arrival, lias been removed. Capt. Amundsen invited pressmen to visit, the vessel. and everything was found spick and span. The four men who accompanied Amtmdsen to the Pole- were the central object of attention. Thtv are named Bjaaland, Hansen. Haasel and Wilting. They are all accomplished snowshoers. and better comrades, Capt. Amundsen declared, one would not wish. To them and to the dogs and skis his succesg. was due. Haasef said that the cold experienced on the journey was really not very formidable. I ear th» Pole itself the weather -was fine most of the time. He had known it colder in Christiania. He wore fnrs to start "with, but found tlicm too -warm for mardhfrtg in, and he then went in ordinary "clotMng. They would never have got through as far &s food supplies' went, without the dogs. Dog flesh was not of the worst, w'hile the dogs themselves seemed fond of each other as food. Some of thc-m were fonder of therr companions dead than alive. Capt. Amundsen was a man. and to him the getting through without accident or mishap was due.