ANTARCTIC TRAGEDIES.

Colonist, Volume LV, Issue 13647, 12 February 1913, Page 6

ANTARCTIC TRAGEDIES.

A SMALL LIST.

MOSTLY PERILS OF THE SEA

{Special to "The Colonist.")

: Wellington, Feb. 11. It is tlie Arctic,.and not the:' South Polar regions, which has hitherto tnken n.-h-npiieitoll of tho adventurous^ KairbreadtJi oscapos in tho Antarctic'"havehad to, be ■rb-roniolod -often'enough, however, for "blizzards cotne on so suddenly and with jsuch terrific force, that xm-. ks« tl)'» ,'esplorers a-i^e snugly in camp' gijofit risks aro run. The oarly records of Antarctic"exploration disclose many exciting incidents afloat, hut no tragedy equalling this, which hasoomo whon the Polar qu&st has been achieved. Cnptain Briscote, tho intrepid whaler omplojHxl by Enderby Bros, in the first few decades of the 19th century, hrd his adventures in'the, stormy seas of the high latitudes and Ross' voyage with the Erebus and . Terror in 384-2 came closi& to ending there in tragedy. Latitude 60 was reached in -March 1842. the ships kocpin/r xn- easterly <x>urso so as to roach tho'Folklands'as soon as t.ossible. For thrpe days tfheTO had been fine weather and ,open seas, then a snowstorm came on; and for one terrible hour the expedition was faced with what appeared to foe ) inevitable disaster.

When it was all over o\ 011 some of those who had born© tliem©e.v©& most calmly' confessed that they could not remember what they had done, or how the fehip had boon saved. The outlook was obwjured by the snowstorm*; suddenly a large berg, was seen to loom up ahead oi tho Jwebus, quite close. The ■ship was. hauled to tho wind on the port tack, with the- expectation of weathering it, but just at tliis moment tho Terror was seen bearing down' under her topsails, and fore-sails. "It was impossible for her to clear both the berg and fcho Erebus —collision was inevitable," says Bobs in iiis account. "We instantly hove all abaok to diminish the violence of the shocks .but the Concussion with whidiislie.struck us wa® such; as to throw almost ©yeryohVofr his .feet. Our bowsprit, foretopioast, and other ©mailer spars were carried away, and the ships heaving together, entangled by their rigigng, and dashing1 against each other with fearful violence, were falling down upon the weather face of the lofty berg Tunder our lee, against whicli tlie, waves were breaking and foaming to near the summit of its perpendicular cliffs. The Terror rose high above tvs, almost exposing her keel to view, and again descended as we in our turn rose-to the top of the wave, threatening to bury her beneath us. The crashing of the breaking. upper works, and boatsj increased the horror of .the scene." Providentially the vessels drifted apart without, completely wrecking leach other in the wild, sea, and when daylight came the Erebus signalled its consort. The Terror replied 'that all was well, and that they could repair all their damages. The crippled ships ran before the wind until their rigging could be repaired. An anchor belonging to the Tew-or, -which'had been driven into the skin of the Erebus, hung there for five days before it worked loose, and sank in deep water. The voyage would have had to come to a premature end after this misfortune but for the forethought which had,provided an abundance of spare equipment. One may leave those early days of perilous voyages in sailing ships, and come to the days of steam without enU>un'tea|Jng particulars of tragody. However the Borchgrevink expedition of 1898 in the Southern Cross had a. wretched experience wintering in the Antarctic. The commander and a party of nine, decided to remain ashore to make scientific observations through the . winter, and their ship returned to New Zealand. The winter proved terribly severe. The storms wiiich. shook the little wooden hut were of unexpected sererity, while fierce blizzards drove the snow in blinding sheets, which , made it impossible to walk-or, even crawl on all fours'^ from the hut to the thermometer screen. A catastrophe was narrowly averted, the hut catching fire through the careless' placing' of a candle. The long miserable winter ended slowly with the death of the zoologist, Mr. Hanson, from scurvy. He was buried in a grave blasted in the frozen coil, and dug deep into the heart of the underlying ice of a buried. glacier. Two Lapps, who were included in the party, chanted a hymn in their own strange language. This is 'happily. a short list, but it makes the tragedy of th© Scott expedition, all the more'lamentable in contrast. ••'...

Flags were, flown half-mast high in Nelson yesterday when the tragic news of the calamity to the expedition became known. ' . :