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BYRD FLIES EASTWARD

NEW MOUNTAIN RANGE DISCOVERED MYSTERY OF ANTARCTICA B y RUSSELL Oll'i.V Copyrighted, 1925. by the "New York Times' company ant] the St. Loul? "Post-Dispatch." All rights for public Wireless to the "New York Times." ation reserved throughout the world. BAY' OF WHALES, Thursday. Commander Byrd started on his first eastern exploration flight of this season at 10.30 a.m. today. The pilot was Captain Parker. They went in the direction of King Edward Land, which holds the key to one of the mysteries of the Antarctic. The question of what holds the ice there has long been a source of speculation, as it curves to the north. Its formation indicates that somewhere in that direction to the north is land. Whether it is a series of small islands or an extension of the coastline has never been learned. There have been many attempts to penetrate the ice that way. The late Captain Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton tried, and were turned back by the ice closing about them. Byrd tried three times last year to get north with the City of New York. He turned back only when to go on might have meant the imprisonment and possible loss of the ship. Twice last year he tried to fly past what is known as King Edward Land, but he was headed off by snow and clouds. It has been one of the impenetrable and interesting lands of the continent. Whoever solves the mystery as to what keeps that mass of ice held to the north will probably be able to delineate a new coastline. PROGRESS REPORTED The following bulletins have come from Byrd:—"Noon: Excellent visibility. We can see Rockefeller Mountains to the south clearly, also a high mountain ahead, just a little to the right of Scott's Nunatak. We are about 20 miles west of Scott’s Nunatak. "The air is rough and the motors doing well. 1 p.m.: Many mountain peaks show past Scott’s Nunatak, over an unexplored area of new mountains, and the mapping Is unknown. “The coastline is now two miles westward of the coastline over the water, so McKinley can make a map. We have made more than 100 miles an hour. All is well. “1.30 p.m.: We have discovered a great mountain range in Marie Byrd Land, running generally in a north and south direction. We hope this is worth while for science, for we are flying in rough weather, and taking chances to map it.”

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SUNAK19291207.2.108

Bibliographic details

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 840, 7 December 1929, Page 11

Word Count
412

BYRD FLIES EASTWARD Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 840, 7 December 1929, Page 11

BYRD FLIES EASTWARD Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 840, 7 December 1929, Page 11