THE SOUTH POLE.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 82, 3 April 1912, Page 5

THE SOUTH POLE.

RECORD OF OPERATIONS BY THJ SCOTT JO "EDIT JON.

THE TERRA NOVA’S PASSAGE

(Antarctic Special.) Wellington, April 2

Leaving for the north the ship with difficulty steamed through new ice ai the entrance of the sound, having ai times to back and charge full spend to make any impression at all. This early closing of the season was pro bably caused by the extremely lute date whereon the ice broke away The pack thus formed late in the season by heavy bay ice some feet thick, not only kept the temperature of tlu ice low, but prevented the newly-made ice from being broken up and dispersed by the wind and sea. It was nov. seen that it would be impossible tr again return to McMurdo Sound tlih season. The ship was thus prevent ed from obtaining the latest news of Captain Scott. On March 6 and 7. the ship again attempted to pick u; the northern party, but found (ha 1 the ice had thickened to such an ex tent in their vicinity during the lasi few days that she was unable to ap proach the position. It was deal that winter conditions had already se: in, and further waiting was useless, and the ship would be in danger of being frozen in for the winter. As a result she was finally unable to relieve the northern party, and a courfv was shaped for New Zealand.

The northern party, consisting o Campbell, Levick, Priestly, Abbott. Browning and Dickason, will proceed south along the coast to the wmt<n quarters at Cape Evans, via Butte) Poini, the Discovery’s quarters at Hul Point being distant about 200 miles. They are provisioned and equipped with a view to this possible emergency arising. There are several depots on the coast south of Granite Harbour, whilst seals and penguins will provide ample fresh food. The ship made a good passage under saf to New Zealand waters, encountering a heavy storm on March 23, wider lasted three days, but caused no damage beyond washing away The starhoard lifeboat.

As the Campbell party was not picked up, only a complete report of their previous movements can ho given, They landed at Cape Adare on Feb ruary 18, 1911, the' ship sailing tin following night. Their hut was com pleted on March 3, with.only one interruption from a gale. Its site war in the middle of the Adelie penguir. rookery, which occupies a • very dry spot oh a moraine, which extends fai up the mountain side.' ‘ The : hut it thus surrounded by countless numbers of penguins during the whole slimmer. The first blizzard of hurricam force was experienced on March 19 when the anemometer broke, after recording a wind velocity of 84 miles ar hour. During the winter these se vero- gales wefo not uncommon. The;, shook the hut violently, and on om occasion the porch was blown away Otherwise, jexcept for minor mishaps the hut stood well,' 1 being stayed by' wife ropes passed over it and secure; by two buried anchors. ■ The Sea finally froze over the bay. During tin last week many short sledging trips were made to the bay. It was intended to start the main journey ai the end of August over the sea ic; towards Cape North, hut a heavy blizzard on August 8 took all the sea ice out to the northward of the moraine and the west side of Robertson Bay The sea having re-frozen, Campbell and party left on September, 8, sledging their way over the sea ice. A very bad surface was experienced necessitating relay work and slow pro gross was made. West of Cape Bar low the thin sea ice was found already coasting. As the coast hero affords no spot suitable for landing or for retreating from beyond Cape Scot! to Cape Adare, except over the smite, the ice being obviously about tr go out again, they were compelled ti retire to Robertson Bay. The re mainder of the time until the whole of the ice went from the hay, beginning in November, was occupied i) making, sledging trips about the bn; for collecting geological specimens photographing, surveying, etc. Dining the last two months they were confined to the moraine and the mountains immediately behind, until re lieved on January 4, 1912. Tin northern party were able to make good geological collections during the whoh period while they were occupying tin hut. Continuous meteorological, magnetic, and other observations wen taken, which are of particular value, as they were simultaneous. Simile 1 ones were taken at Cape Evans. The; enjoyed excellent health throughout. Part of the western geological par ty, consisting of Debenham, Wright, and petty officer Evans, in charge of Griffith and Taylor, landed at ButtePoint, below the Ferrar Glacier, or January 27, 1911. A depot was rmub at Cathedral Rocks on January 31 They then sledged west fifteen mile; and down the glacier, entering a dry valley. A snug camp was made in ar alcove thirty feet deep, excavated lithe sun into the glacier. This alcove shows tlie tremendous melting power of the sun in these regions 2100 feet above the glacier Debenham discovered an extinct crater of late glacier ago, also late basalt flows SO foot thick. On February 4th tb? sledge cooker was deported, and the party portaged five days’ food and gear down the snow of a free dry valley to the sea. They lived on cold fond without great- discomfort. A lake four miles long, with only tin' surface frozen, was discovered. Jbo gravels below a promising region of limestone, rich in garnets, were washed for gold, but only magnetite wa. found. They returned down the Ferrar glacier on February 13. While dance of mineral-bearing quartz veins, crossing the now harbour, the *e«.

whereon they were sledging, suddenly commenced to float out. A quick rush across a mile of cracking floe, just brought flic sledges to the foot in time. They then steered smith for the Koetlitz glacier. The route up the middle glacier lay over a most difficult surface, the party constantly falling through thin ice into pools of water two feet below. On February

24 they reached the west coast of the Koetlitz glacier, near Healcl Island througli a field of ice monoliths. A week was spent in this vicinity. A large subterranean stream originator’ glacier for 2d miles to the sea. h formed a well-used route for numcr ous seals, and their hlowliolcs occurred at intervals along its course. Thor*, were several caves encrusted witii beautiful ice crystals, which wore investigated by Wright. They returned from Koetlitz glacier along the edge of an almost impenetrable pinnacle of ice north-east of the Dailey Isles. On March IS they suddenly emerged on the open water of a bay newly former! through the ice, which forced them to enter the pinnacles. It took two days to negotiate six miles of this surface, whereafter they were enabled to sledge on the sea ice again. A violent blizzard, lasting 48 hours,

kept them camped on the edge of the

barrier, just where the ice had hrok eu out the week before. At the fin lull they made for Castle Rock, and, crossing a promontory, descended to Discovery Hut on March 14, having been out six weeks. A remarkable feature was that this party encountered very little strong wind and no blizzards while on the western shores, though, at Cape Evans very bad weather was experienced during the same period.

The western geological party, in charge of Griffith and Taylor, with Debenham, Gran and Fordo, again left headquarters on November 7, 1911, for Granite Harbour. The sledging loads were exceptionally heavy, totalling 14001 b, and necessitated relaying. IA speed of five miles a day brought them to their destination on December 1 at the cape, nine miles from Granite Harbour. A stone hut was built and a blubber stove installed. For over two months seal meat was the staple food, blubber being almost the only fuel used while on the coast. The first week was devoted to exploring the northern shores. A furious blizzard, resulting in two feet of snow, prevented them from sledging farther north. During the next fortnight they sledged around the west harbour, finding neat masses of marble, remarkably large, in interesting contact with topaz. At their headquarters thousands of wingless insects, of two different species, were ‘found clustering half frozen, under almost every pebble. On December 27 they, started exploring the western high lands. They passed tremendous ice falls on the Mackay glacier. By portaging they got the sledge and gear up 1000 feet of granite cliffs and steep boulder-covered slopes. They found preserved fossils, probably of crustacean origin. Debenham discovered specimens of bituminous coal, and these' were almost certainly derived from a well-marked out crop in a sandstone formation. Beautiful polished pavements characterised the vicinity, forming the most remarkable examples of glacial action hitherto seen in Victoria Land. The work done last summer by the geological party in connection with this season’s work has resulted in a survey of some detail, both geological and topographical, of the whole coast north of Mount Morning to Granite Harbour, including what appears to be a good new route to the inland pateau behind Granite Harbour. On January 8 they returned to the stone hut to await the ship’s arrival, but over 3Q miles of fast sea ice remained between the edge of the open water. After waiting for weeks, until only ten days’ available 1 sledging food remained, they decided to retreat over the Piedmont Glacier to Discovery Hut or Butter Point. No specimens or personal gear could be carried. Some twenty foot crevasses were crossed on the first day, but then a route was found at 1000 feet level winch avoided the larger crevasses. They found that all the Sea ice had broken out south of Dunlop Island. Aftoi coasting around the open water for the next ten days, the party were crossing Blue Glacier when they were picked up by the ship on February 15. It is highly probable that the Terra Nova will he able to obtain the specimens from Granite Harbour in 1913.

The general plan arranged for the scientific work, of the expedition has been carried out so far almost entirely by self-registering meteorological instruments, which have given a con tiuuous record of the pressure, temperature, wind velocity and direction. These have been checked every four hours by eye observations. The upper atmosphere has been investigated by means of small balloons, winch have shown the direction of the upper currents to a height of six miles. The temperature up to five miles war almost unbroken. A record of tli ? magnetic elements has been obtained and absolute magnetic observations have been made every week. Selgiregistering magnetic instruments wore installed in a room excavated on the side of the small glacier. This eliminated changes of temperature, which are serious considerations in this class of work. All through the winter the aurora was observed every lour, hut very few brilliant displays occurred. Atmospheric electricity has also been studied. The vexed problems icgnrding the origin of Alpine topography when Europe and other temperate regions were undergoing an age of ice, arp being studied in the examples offered by the retreating glaciers in Victoria Land, where the ice nge still obtains. The mainland offer: a rich field of petrology, with abun-

but of uo economic value. Specimens of coal of economic value, and wellpreserved fossils, have been found near Granite Harbour. At the winter quarters an excellent field exists for ice work in the miles of glacier in front of the hut. Pendulum observations for the value of gravity have been carried out. A tide gauge has given a continuous record, and marine

and biological work have been carried out throughout the winter at a hole I kept open in the sea ice for nets. Water samples, sea temperatures, and quantitative and qualitative observations of minute organisms at various seasons are giving interesting results. The parasitology of all seals, penguins and other birds and fish availaide, have already given good results. Some new protozoa have been found. Tiie above has fully occupied the time of the scientific staff, and indicates an ample field for further research. The biological work has been carried out on the ship, including the use of seven trawls, wherefrom a largo collection of the deep sea fauna of Antarctica have been obtained. A number of catches with a tow net have been obtained, which show the vertical distribution of transparent flowing organisms of the sea. Continuous meteorological observations have been taken on the ship, linking up Australasia and Antarctica. Thu 1 natural history research has been greatly assisted by the use of the cinematograph. Many thousands of foot of film have been used in sccui'ipg permanent animated records of . intersting birds and animal life .din .tliiso regions, every phase of seal, penguin, * and skua gull life being illustrated, Some remarkable cinematograph fiinn have been secured, showing for the first time the killer whale, the wolf of the seas, in its natural element.

TERRA NOVA BERTHED AT LYTTELTON.

WITHOUT ANY CEREMONY,

Christchurch, April 3.

The Terra Nova arrived at Lyttelton at daylight. She was brought in by the tug and berthed without ceremony. She suffered no serious damage the only visible mark being the stripping of one plate on the stern. Members of the expedition came ashore immediately and went to Christchurch. \ ’ 1 ' : ’■ ,

RETURNED MEMBERS INDISPOSED TO TALK.

SANGUINE OF SUCCESS

Lyttelton, April 3

The returned members of the Antarctic expedition showed a marked ;inv disposition to talk on the ship in the morning, hut Mr Kinsey, the Christchurch agent for the expedition, promised an official message to he elaborated later in the day. The party were disappointed to learn tbatuSirolittwas forestalled ibyj AunmtL i sen, but express the conviction that Scott reached the Pole, probably by January 11th or 12th. He would return to the base a month later. He had an ample stock of provisions at the last depot, 150 miles from the Pole, and there was no cause for J ' .... ‘ anxiety on that account. General exploring and scientific work will be carried on during the remainder of this season and next until the return of the Terra Nova to the south, and the parties have plenty to occupy the time. Campbell’s party should be able to return to the base in the winter when the sea is frozen.

Lieut. Evans, who contracted scurvy while returning from the southern journey, is still very weak and wil' he confined to his house for sonu time. Otherwise the party returnei in the best of health and the menr hers certainly look as if the Ant arctic air conduced to physical wellbeing. POLE REACHED ON JANUARY EIGHTEENTH. SHAOKLETON’S SUGGESTION, (Received 3, 8.5 a.ra.) London, April 2. Sir E. Shackloton, interview, calculates that Scott must have reached the Polo about January IStli, AMUNDSEN ENTERTAINED IN SYDNEY. , PROFESSOR DAVID’S PRAISE. (Received 3, 10.50 a.m.) , Sydney, April 3. Speaking at a civic reception to Amundsen in the Town Hall, Professor David paid a high tribute to the Norwegian. His dash, to the Pole was a magnificent feat. Amundsen, in reply, said he thought they were paying too much attention to his South Pole business in Australia. There were men in the audience who, with snow shoes and dogs, could make much better time going south than he did. Amundsen subsequently told the story of the expedition to a large audience with the assistance of many spl end id photographs.

Professor David states that from Scott’s own story it is absolutely certain that the prize of the Pole belongs to Amundsen. There is also little doubt that when Scott wrote «*n January 3rd all serious difficulties had been overcome. He bad sufficient provisions, and barring accidents, bo should have reached the Pole within a fortnight of the date «f the letter.