IN THE ANTARCTIC.

Waikato Times, Volume 106, Issue 17268, 14 November 1929, Page 9

IN THE ANTARCTIC.

THE GEOGRAPHICAL PARTY NARROW EBCAPE FROM DEATH. THE GOING TERRUBLY HARD[Dy Mr. Bussell Owen. Copyrighted 1928 by the New York Times Company and the St. Louis Post Dispatch. All rights for publication reserved throughout tne world. Wireless to the h'ew iorx Times.] United Press Assn. —Elec. Tel. —Copyright BAY OF WHALES, Nov- li. Gould's geogrhphloal party, headed for Queen Maud Range, arrived on Saturday at depot No. 2, which is 80 degrees 10 minutes south. Soft snow and poor visibility made the going terribly hard for two days. Four grimy-faced, bewhiskered men came up the slope to the camp yesterday, having travelled more than 400 miles on the barrier, crossing twice that are'a of crevasses, holes and haycocks, so dangerous that it echoed beneath their feet, and roared and growled round them while they sleptThey were members of the southern supporting party, a little thinner than when they left, but in perfect condition,. Walden’s grizzled grey whiskers made him appear even more of a trail veteran than he is- Bra'athen’s hair curled in every direction, and the faces of Bursey and de Ganahal were burned by the sun, while on one side of Joe’s cheeks was a round blistered spot where he has been frozen.

A Narrow Escape. They gave a graphic description of one narrow escape from death. A valley stretched ahead of them smooth and inviting, but suddenly it rang hollow. They halted and tapped it, and everywhere it seemed a wide, level roof of snow over some cavern, the extent of which taxed their imagination. They felt their way round the edge of it, hardly believing that it could he so large. It was as big as a city block. This whole covering sheet was apparently held up by the snow pillars somewhere, or perhaps walls between the tremendously wide crevasses-

They worked their way round the western edge of it, dodging between the haycocks, and taking their sledges over the narrow ledges running between the deep chasms and the holes frequently on the slope, from which they might have slipped into the depth below them.

At one point two open crevasses came together before them in the shape of an arrow, and on the point where it. was bridged by the snow they went across gingerly, with holes on either side. Many of these crevasses, pd even some holes 50 and 100 feet wide, were covered with a thin film of snow, with a crack in it through which they could look from the side at the black caves underneath. Relief at Getting Through. Fortunately they had sunlight and could avoid these traps, which were large enough to have swallowed the whole caravan. They had used 70 flags in two miles going through this region, so winding was the trail, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief when they finally emerged.' -They turned hack to look at it and even as they did a fog began to form, and in 10 minutes the whole area was blotted out. If they had waited a day longer they could not have gone through. “ It was one of the most spectacular sights of the whole trip,” said Walden, “ to see that veil of fog settle down and shut out the awful mess of broken The rest of their trip was fairly easy- They reached 81-45 degrees south, and laid down their last depot and started back with light sledges.