EXPLORER’S STORY.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13166, 27 January 1936, Page 2

EXPLORER’S STORY.

TRUDGE TO ROSS SEA. ELLSWORTH’S EXPERIENCE. NEW YORK. January 21. Incidents of the flight across the Antarctic bv Mr Eincoln Ellsworth and his pilot, Mr Hollick Kenyon, lire 'recounted by Mr Ellsworth in a copyright message dispatched from aboard the base ship Wyatt Earp. ‘/Among those whom I wish _to thank for sticking to the expedition through the last three years ol doubt and trial is Sir Hubert Y\ ilkins, .in efficient adviser, and without whose assistance the flight could never have been made,” said Mr Ellsworth. “Going back over the flight I can say 1 felt supremely happy in my share of the opportunity of unveiling a continent for the first time in human history. At 10.15 p.m. G.M.T on November 23 we landed at 103.10 W., 78,125“ S. and we stood on the only unclaimed land in the Antarctic—in the whole world, in fact. With the permission of the State Department 1 raised the American flag and named this area, between Hearst Land on the one side and Marie Bvrd Land oil the other, or between meridarfs 80 and 120, James Ellsworth Land, after my father, and the plateau on which we were Holick Kenyon Plateau. THREE DAYS OF BLIZZARD. “After 50 minutes’ flight on November 24 we came down again and waited out three days of blizzard, during which we huddled in our sleeping bags, unable to sleep, because of the wind, which seemed momentarily about to pick us up with out tents but did not. “Several days afterwards, with great difficulty we dug the machine out and made another flight of 175 minutes and descended to camp in a brilliant evening, with the snow sparkling like jewels It was good to be alive, especially as we were only 160 miles Iran our destination.

“Next morning we took off again to find Roosevelt Island, 16 miles from the Bay of Whales. It was difficult owing to the two conflicting maps which we had, but soon the Polar Star came down completely out of petrol. We knew we were not far from Little America, and one day Mr Kenyon, standing on the wing of the aeroplane, saw the snowcovered houses and the wind indicator at Little America.

“On December 9 we packed our hand sleighs with three weeks’ rations and started out, but after travelling 15 miles we found it was not. Little America but an ice pinnacle we had seen. We returned for a tent and a sextant. The sun was strangely hot and we sweated for ithe next two days. We travelled at nights at two miles an hour. EXPLOR E R FR OST- BITTEN. “Next, night I discovered I had a frost-bitten toe which bothered me all the rest of the journey. In the fog we passed Little America by 15 miles ,to the north. Finding the Ross Sea we had to trudge hack. We reached Little America 22 .days after leaving Dundee Island. On Decem-

ber 15 we opened the skylight of the radio shack and made ourselves at home. We found fuel, hard tack, bully beef, flour and jams. We had plum pudding for Christmas.

“Since the British, Australian and New Zealand Governments so kindly directed the Discovery 11. to the Bay of Whales in ease I should rood assistance I am accepting the invitation of Mr Hill to accompany him to Melbourne, where I can personally thank the authorities concerned for their friendly action,” said Mr Ellsworth. “I will leave for New Zealand on March 4 and tender the same thanks to the authorities there. The "Wyatt Earp will remain at the Bay of Whales until the Polar Star is brought aboard and will then proceed northward to the edge of the ice, where her destination will be determined.”