PATER’S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3085, 30 April 1913, Page 71

PATER’S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

.hast week I promised you another Chat upon ‘‘Germany .and the Next War,’ by General Bernhardi, a recognised author upon German policy and military science. But I think I c-hall have to give you two or three more, for there is no doubt that Germany is keeping an object steadily , in view, and to attain her end Britain must first be silenced. In this connection let me advise my readers to get “The AngloGerman Problem,'’ by C. Sarolea, the editor of Everyman, and of the French classics published by the Nelsons. But I’ll i>ostpone my International Chats on nations, rivals in war and commerce, and give what I promised about a month age— Capt. Amundsen’s account of his reaching the South Pole. And even that I cannot give in full, so shall confine my notes to work at the Pole itself, though I may return to the subject again. For one reason, J should like to refer once more to his dogs. POLHELM!

On December 11, 1911, dead reckoning showed that the Pole had been reached. That the object of his life had been attained, says Amundsen, would be romancing. “I had better be honest, and admit straight out that 1 have never known any man to be placed in such a diametrically opposite position to the goal of his desire as I was at that moment. The regions around the North Pole—well, yes, the North Pole itself—had attracted me from childhood, and here I was at the South Pole. Can anything more topsyturvy be imagined?” Little or no time was wasted in planting the flag. The honour of planting it, says Amundsen, should be equally divided among the whole. “It was not for one man to do this; it was for all who had staked their lives in the struggle, and held together through thick and thin. This was the only way in which I could show my gratitude to my comrades in this desolate spot. I could see that thev understood and accepted it in the spirit in which it was offered. Five weather-beaten, frostbitten fists they were that grasped the pole, raised the waving flag in the air and planted it as the first at the geographical South Pole. ‘Tims we plant thee, beloved flag, at the South Pole, and give to the plain on which it lies the name of King Haakon VIPs Plateau.’ That moment will certainly be remembered by all of ns who stood there.”

There was no popping of champagne corks, nor any special menu, excepting a little piece of seal meat each, which, Vo are told, tested well, and did them for food. But there were other luxuries to surprise the leader. Wisting had carried several plugs of tobacco in his kit-bag, and these ho gave to Amundsen. “Can anyone grasp what such an offer meant at such a opot, made to a man who, to tell the truth, is very fond of a smoke after meals? There are not many who can understand it fully. I accepted the offer, jumping with joy. and on the way home I had a pipe of fresh, fine-cut plug every

evening. Ah! that Wisting, he spoiled me entirely.” hi or did this exhaust the luxuries. After dinner, on December 17, Bjaaland astonished all by making a speech, and, wonder of wonders, produced a cigar case full of cigars, and offered it round. “A cigar at the Pole! What do you say to that? But it did not end there. W hen the cigars had gone round, there were still four left. I was quite touched when he handed the cigars and case to me, with the words: ‘Keep this to remind you of the Pole.’ ” Amundsen treasures that case, and the remaining cigars were shared out on Christinas Eve, “a visible mark of that occasion.” As soon .as they were able to take the sun—and the weather favoured them — they took observations, and calculated that they were in 89deg 56min south, or within four miles of the mathematical Pole. To make sure of covering the ground actually at the Pole, Amundsen arranged to encircle the camp, or, rather, semicircle it, by sending out three men—one east, one west, and one south, or north, if south had been reached —a distance of 12£ miles. This was done almost immediately after the final march to the Pole, and as the journey out and back was 25 miles, and as they had just covered miles, the men must have been in capital fettle to cover 37£ miles in the time they did.

Amundsen calls this encircling, hut, as a matter of fact, the three men traversed the base of .an isoceles triangle, the base of which was 25 miles, and the perpendicular 12J) mike.

THE UNINHABITED POLAR CAPITAL.

Before departing, the party erected a tent. It was made of ‘‘very thin windproof gabardine. Its drab colour made it easily visible against tlie white surface. Another pole was lashed to the tentpole, making its total height about lift. On the top of tin’s a little Norwegian flag was lashed, and underneath it a pennant, on which ‘Fi'.am’ was painted. The tent was well secured by guy ropes on all sides. Inside the tent, in a little bag, I left a letter, addressed to H.M. the King, giving information of what we had accomplished. The way home was a long one, and so many things might happen to make it impossible for us to give an account of our expedition. Besides this letter I wrote a short epistle to Captain Scott, who, I assumed, would be the first to find the tent. Other things we left there were a sextant with a glass horizon, a hypsometsr case, three reindeerskin fcot-bags, some kamiks, and mits. “When everything had been laid aside we went into the tent, one by one, to write our names on a tablet we had fastened to the tent-pole. On this occasion we received the congratulations of our companions on the successful result, for the following messages were written on a couple of strips of leather, sew’ed to the tent; ‘Good luck!’ and ‘Welcome to 90 degrees.’ These good wishes which we suddenly discovered put us in very good spirits. They were signed by Beck and Roune. They had good fa-ith in us.”

Then came the farewell. “It was a solemn moment when we bared our heads and bade farewell to our home and our flag. . . . We drove at once into our old tracks and followed them. Many were the times we turned to send a last look to Polheim. The vaporous, white air set in again, and it was not long before the last of Polheim, our little flag, disappeared from view.”

None of this reads as if there were any great hardships endured, does it? Indeed, the general impression got after reading the narrative is that the men knew so well what Polar work was that all necessary arrangements were made in a matter-of-fact, businesslike way as if journeying to the Pole was just what any polar explorers would regard as in the day’s work. Everything was simple and effective. No privations were experienced. Men and dogs were so well fed that they were able at times to gorge themselves—at any rate, the dog—on the return trip, and depots were left on the South Pole road for the next expedition taking the same route. Perhaps, however. Sir E. Shackleton will cross Antarctia, approaching the Pole from the other side, and using Amundsen’s beacons—if they have not melted away —and depots to accelerate progress on his return. On January 25, 1912, they arrived at their base, the City of Framh'eim, after being about 99 days a.nd traversing 1800 miles. It was not long before the whole of the party—dogs and all—was again on the Pram and making for Hobart, where the dogs were landed for Dr Mawson, and from where Amundsen cabled Home the newspaper account of the expedition. You may remember that in my first Chat upon Amundsen’s expedition I said I thought lie was not “playing the game” in suddenly and secretly changing his plan and making a dash for the South Pole instead of giving Captain Scott first chance. For that I have been called narrow minded. I still think that Amundsen did what no Britisher would have done under the circumstances, particularly as Captain Scott’s work precluded him from making the dash for the Pole. But having said that docs not prevent me from giving Captain Amundsen full credit for the way in which ho tackled the problem and overcome the difficulties attendant upon it. His knowledge of polar conditions was far ahead of Captain Scott’s, and he was able to accomplish his work at far less cost, and keep his men in good heart and health right through.