EXPLORATION IN ARCTIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19143, 8 October 1925, Page 11

EXPLORATION IN ARCTIC.

MACMILLAN EXPEDITION. TRACES CP NORSE VIKINGS. SETTLEMENTS IN LABRADOR. By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright. (Received 7.5 p.m.! A. and N.Z. , VANCOUVER. Oct. fi. Captain MacMillan, leader of the Arctic expedition, returned in the ship Bowdoin to-day to Sydney, Nova Scotia. He an nounced that he will attempt another fix pedition in 1926 to explore and excavate the Norse rains in Labrador. Captain MacMillan said his recent exploration had convinced him that the Norse V ikings visited the North American continent hefore Columbus discovered America. He discovered the ruins of Viking settlements at Nam, Labrador, similar to those in Greenland. The explorer expressed his conviction that the dirigible, not the aeroplane, would be the best means of future exploration in the Arctic. Aeroplanes were practical to a certain extent, but the roughness of the ice made them very uncertain factors. Not only was it dangerous to take off in an aeroplane from a rough, broken surface, but once the machine had landed it would often be impossible to get a run to permit of it rising again. The chief value of an aeroplane in the Arctic was continuous flights away from the main base to a given point and back again without alighting. The Bowdoin will leave immediately for Wiscasset, Maine. The second ship, Peary, carrying Commander Byrd and the naval airman and aeioplanes are expected to arrive at Boston on Wednesday or Thursday.