THE SOUTH POLE QUEST.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 132, 27 July 1911, Page 8

THE SOUTH POLE QUEST.

FACING THE ICE BARRIEII. Captain Amundson, the Norwegian explorer who is searching tor tl'o South Pole, is making his attempt from a great hay in the Antarctic Jce Barrier, of which he sends a line account to “The Times.” A First Sight. “We sighted the mighty Barrier at 2.30 p.m. on January Li,” lie says. •‘One would he less than human if cue could behold such a sight unmoved. As, iar as the eye can see, from western to eastern horizon; this wail of ice rises perpendicularly to a height of lUUtt. And yet it is oiily a very small part of it mat one sees. What must the man have ■ thought who first came upon this wall, and for whom all further advance seemedi an impossibility? "ic was one of the world’s boldest and cleverest sailors (not to say the cleverest of them all), James Clark floss, who, after making Ids way through the ice-pack with his two sailing vessels, the ‘Erebus’ and the •Terror,’ came in February, 1812, upon t.ds remarkable ice-wall. Even at that time he observed the great bay, but, of course, did not venture into it with sailing vessels. For years alter the Barrier was regarded as a bar to all further advance southwards, lb fell to the lot of a Norwegian, Carsten Borchgrevink, in the “Southern Cross" in 1900, to prove that this was not the case; he isucceeded in entering a small bay (which lias since disappeared and oeen merged with the adjoining great bay), and thence getting on to the Barrier. Here ife made a short expedition, and found that tljc Banner extended southwards in the form of a wide, level plain, reaching as far as the oyo could see. This'demolished the tjicory of its unassailable character, and opened the way towards the south. Subsequently, an Englishman, Captain Scott, succeeded in landing in MacMurdo Strait, and thence made an expedition southwards Sir Ernest Shackletpn’s brilliant expedition in 1908, in which he leached a latitude of SSdeg. 23min., will bo known to everybody.

“The great bay running south-west into the Barrier, which 1 have chosen as the base of an expedition towards the South Polo, has been observed not only by Ross and Borchgrevink, but also by Scott and Shackleton, and thus appears to bo a constant formation, something that can be counted upon. Shackleton also thought he saw a ridge of bills at the head of this bay, which would indicate land. After reading these various accounts and thinking the matter over, I came to the conclusion that this bay, trineh has been proved to have had the same situation for a period of sixty years, could not be a chance formation in the Barrier caused by the breakingoff of icebergs’, but must have been produced by underlying land or rising ground. If not, the" Barrier would have continued its course unchecked, and no bay would have been formed.’ Car his Tor th? Dog?. Here is a charming glimpse of these bravo sailors and their dogs:— “I must say that a great deal was done for our clogs, and the best proof of the attention they received is that we took 115 wcll-conditiofied dogs ashore at the Barrier. An awning was stretched over the entire vessel, and boards were nailed together and laid all over the deck, so that the dogs were out of the way of' any water that 'might he lying upon it._ I have seen men set a part of their dinner rations aside for their dogs. As puppies made their appearance more care was required; and I have seen my comrades sit in wind and cold, snov. and sleet, feeding little orphan puppies—not once only, but for days ami weeks on our southward voyage. If an animal showed the slightest sign of illness it was immeditely placed u% dcr treatment, and a certificated veterinary surgeon could not have done better than our men did.”