ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION NOTES.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12501, 30 March 1909, Page 3

ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION NOTES.

A NUMBER OF INTERESTING FACTS. (Special to "The Colonist.") Christchurch, March 29. Lieutenant Shackleton is at present one of the busiest nieh in .Christchurch. Ever since the return of the Nimrod he has ;been chained to his office all- day, answering letters, telegrams, and cables, and in . making various business arrangements.' Lieutenant Shackleton states that he highly appreciates the many kindly messages conveyed to the. expedition, and he intends to forward formal acknowledgmentsas.soon as possible. JA. rather curious fact was note^ at" the base hut during the winter night. That while, the ink in the ink pots, froze solidly, the writing fluid in the fountain pens placed on the same, shelves was quite unaffected by the frost. The New Zealand Government has extended the courtesy of free railway passes to all the members. of the.expedition, and as many^of the returned voyagers as possible intend to make the fullest use" of the facilities offered by seeing as much of New Zealand as they can conveniently visit prior to their return to England. Special precautions, were . taken to ensure. the best possible physical condition of the party at the base hut, and to this end strenuous exercise was apportioned to everybody. .Ice. for fresh water had to be brought in from a lake-a mile away, and coal had to bo fetched from a considerable distance. The ponies required to be given regular exercise, and, for this purpose a measured mile was laid off with flags. The ponies were given a definite distance to cover every day when the weather permitted/. Also their loads were gradually increased as thespring advanced. These burdens. were; carefully weighed, so that the, ponies'; draught capacity was ascertained with mathematical exactness; As an example of the laborious nature of the tasks undertaken by members of the shore party, it ' might -be mentioned that Sir Philip Brocklehurst sank a shaft 21 feet deep in the lid ice in order to obtain biological specimens, perfectly pure water being , obtained at the bottom. During the major part of the outward march on the groat southern iourney j' few opportunities for conver- | sation among members ' of the party were afforded, owin gto the frequent blizzards, and, also to the fact, that the men were trudging along in single file. When, however, such opportunities .did occur, the sole topic was food. - One man would outline imaginary bills of fare, and almost invariably the pride of place would be given to boiled pudding with golden sj Trup as trimmings, something heavy — and filling, with suet in it. Weird messes, unknown to any cookerj' book, dripping with fat, wero discussed with - 'an amount of earnestness applied only to international problems in the out^ side world. Plans were laid for the partaking of at least six enormous meals a day whon the ship was reached. Needless to say these resolutions faded into thin air,- when the opportunity for their being put into practice .presented itself, and the recollection of the proposed gastronomic orgies sufficed more to set up all the symp- ; toms. of acute indigestion. The sheep and lambs presented to the expedition by the Canterbury residents and taken down to Antarctica by the Koonya, and subsequently transferred to the - Nimrod, proved a most welcome addition to the dietary of tho shore pai-ty during their long sojourn at the base hut. Mutton was served out twico a week, and tho supply lasted right through the winter, and proved, most delicious. On the other days seal meat was served; Lieuten- -; ant Shackleton states that nothing could be nicer than seal steaks, or ; fried seal liver. [United Press Association. j