AMUNDSEN'S STORY.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18414, 22 June 1925, Page 9

AMUNDSEN'S STORY.

LAST STAGE OF FLIGHT. , , 'AIRMEN'S SUFFERINGS. ANIMAL LIFE FOUND IN FAR NORTH. /JJ CABLE— peess ASSOCIATION—COPraiOHT.) (AVBTBAtIAN ASP N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION.) , (Received Juno 2lst, 5.5 p.m.) \ LONDON, Juno 20. 'I, A menage from t"Ro Heimdal relates how tho airmen mode a 6tarfc homewards. A course was laid to Verlegenhook, and when the north coast of Spitsbergen came in sight it was evident that Riiser-Larsen's piloting and Deitrichsen's navigating had loth bten perfect. t OffiDg to the strong wind, the course ttas set towards North jCape. As the stabilisation rudders had become immovable, hotrerer, making it impossible to stabilise the plane, Riiser-Larsen determined to descend into tho sea / about 40 kilometres north of North Cape. After skimming tho water for an hour, the piano was moored to an iceberg in Fugle Boy. ■ Captain Amundsen during th 6 flight sat next to Omdal and Feucht oil the petrol tank, with a view to lightening < thd plajie. Scientific instruments, valued at ( " £BQO, had to be left behind. These. ' together with surplus equipment and stores, were placed in piano N2t, 1 though it is most unlikely that the fcvplai}© will over he seen again. A bundle of letters was deposited ift the petroj tank, which is very light, a6d ipay be discovered some years f tafie*. •v ! • Ihe explorers relate that they saw " bearded seals, also auks and two J? geese, which is tnost interesting, as hitherto it has been assumed that no , animal life exists north of latitude 85 ' degrees. t TENSION AT START. ; staked on 'plane. jr EXPLORERS SATISFIED WITH jIfjr.RESULTS. . Iff,-; LONp'Olf, June 19. |f A wlrdeps message from the HeirnIf'vdftX ttJrdp-y sajfi:—'We are slowly jpfc* ctt ting to knpw tho full facts of the re-

, turned airmen's weeks of adventure. When tthe whole. expedition once ( agoip met last night, the Polqr airjnen declared that the roost thttlluijs was when a start Was made on the homeward flight. ' It was a

very anxious timd, for if tho mttfhiri® had been damaged in starting they y would have found themselves in 'a ( most critical situation, and with, a ;• minimum of equipment it would have [iVbeejv practically hopeless to r6B<!ib land lf ; , across the ice. , Rjf The lihjey wero disappointed at not reaching jtW Pple. ''Although wenil hoped to reach the Ppte as the crown to our efforts,'' they said, ''still wo are satisfied with l the result. We observed ISO,OQO square kilometres of a hitherto ttpexplored of th 3 Norwegian |£rt of the Afctit, and we took obserat thfJ landing place." . ytjrfed with this view. iWhiJ# a rrt&al was being prepared the Sjjpgjtt *«d4«njy 1 sealer. fWliv. As a. matter of fact, th 6 Hbhhy had been at the sahio spot only 2S" hours previously.' • v4.1l Tjrcfro prepared to find the plane bod condition, as it, had suffered iyMibUftly while looked in the ioo, but , wat fit for flying. brought with him a Sjceliv p|fewn>it tjn wjfch 60D negatives, which show the superhuman work car!§jiH«d but by the explorers in trying tq a starting place. They used the ipMtilifc primitive* tools, including tiny ice anchors, aiid knives at.thaof staves. Most Affwg«d. IpVQf th 6 six airmen who |"olar flight, Amundsen shows tkojit traces of the hardships which pa]rty underwent, but the others >,tfyis is beoaiise ho worked tho of &H. Ellsworth i» tho least |||/}>fyge3. Riiserjjiijrsen, Dietrichsea, and Feucht have nil lost many feilfiliinds in weight, but are otherwise ||i|W to tho South Polo he met nothing «(Uld be oomparod with the esr |pj|[Wji&nces just undergone. Ho would lp|sji& hw© believed that such experience? fewr tWy hsd undergone in tho lost three |||l»fc£]ss could ever have befallen him, hopes nobody elso will over them. Many times tho situation so ugly that they were tempted up the sponge. was nothing in his South expedition comparable with tho of flying in the Arctic. Tha JlilpHy were caught like rats in a trap, IppPßd'. when they started for home thoi* that it was a case of life or it was mentioned to Amund||pjS®s'' tnat the whole world thought ho |||ig§ bound for Cape Columbia, ho |||f|p4i With conditions as tliey were, b?ve bgejv /certain death. Who accompanied Amiindi,l.A South Pole;, is of opinion ..best means of reaching the Htey.M airship, which' eould'-bo to avoid tho risk of it being

CONGRATULATIONS.

"WELL DONE, OLD NORWAY." (BETTER'S TELEGBAKS.) (Received June 21st. 5.5 p.m.) OSLO, Juno 19. King Haakon sent the following message t>j Captain Amundsen: I welcome you and your comrades, and thank you for what you have achieved, adding further honour to your country's name. The King, in a special address to Cabinet, said ho regarded the'achievement as one of the greatest in history. The British Prime Minister cabled to Amundsen: Well done, old Norway. At the opening of the Storthing (Parliament) the President said ho wished to express the sentiments of ail on the occasion of tho safe return of Captain Amundsen and his brave comrades from the daring journey in which they had stated their lives. A telegram was accordingly sent to Amundsen welcoming him and his courageous comrades home from their daring journey and thanking him for the courage and energy he had shown for tho benefit of research and the honour of his country a 9 a wholes Oslo is boflogged to celebrate the occasion, and numerous authorities, institutions, and associations have sent Amundsen congratulatory telegrams.

WlbL TRY AGAIN. ELLSWORTH PLEDGES FORTUNE. (Received June 21st, 5.5 p.m.)" OSLO, June 19. Captain Amundsen is determined to resume his attempt to reach the Pole, and declares that the experience which he has gained will enable him to attain the goal. Other members of tho expedition are of the opinion that important scientific results have been achieved. Mr Lincoln Ellsworth, the American member Of the expedition, whose father largely helped to finance it, was grievied to hear of his father's death. He that his money and his future would be at Amundsen's disposal.

The sloop Heimdat has left King's Bay for Lady Franklin's Bay, to brin£ Captain Amundsen's abandoned aeroplane. The Premier has received a telegram from Amundsen saying that he surveyed 160,000 square, kilometres, and ftddipg: We did not discover any indication of land. The casting of the lead in our northernmost latitude gave 3750 metres, leading to the supposition that no land exists in the Norwegian sector of the Polar basin. THE POLAR BASIN. KNOWLEDGE EXTENDED. (austjulun Ani> rt.z. cable association.) (Received June 21pt, 11.5 p.m.) OSLO, June 20. Ono of the chief scientifio results of Amttttdsen's observations was the record of extensive masses of mist which existed in the Polar regions. It has hitherto be6n believed that these mists were only local phenomena. A wid6 ocean exists north of Spitsbergen. Amundsen recorded a depth of si7tits metres, which leads to the conclusion that an ocean exists in the ioetwfeen. (the iSorth P01.9 and North Greenland. Otto Bverdrup, the Polar explorer, iu an interview said; 'l'iio chief vatue of the flight is its confirmation that our theories of the l'oJar xJasiii are correct.

There is no land neat the Pol® and tho condition of the ice makes tho landing of awoplanes impossible. Amundsen bad to come down in the water lano, and those who knew tho caprices of this Polar ice realise how dangerous this is. Amundsen's aviators kiiew, and tho landing was therefore tho more iwjpsjirifble. * Certainly there will be deepest, disappointment that they did not, resell the Polo. From tho Sporting viewpoint the flight was glorious, out apart from that further wide experiences! have been gained for airmen in the Polar regions. to further questions, Sverdrup paid M believed that others would }i6w try to reach the Pole by aeroplane, but his pointed out that the North Pole was a more difficult goal than the | South Polo. j Hvenlrup Said: I believe that the j best way to reach the North Pole is to | go by ship as far as possible, then with sledges and dbgs to the Polo, and back to the ship, fc'ar more extensive experience must bo gathered if an at- j tempt is to bo mad© to fly to tho Pole. In regard to landing ori the ice or snow the wav would be to stay for a year of 60 at thfe northernmost point ot s?pitfcbergen, studying tho circumstances. But that would cost lots of money and take a long time, which latter is impoSsiblo in the light of the modern raco for tho Polo.

» GLIMPSE INTO FUTURE. ("AMTI.") (Received June 21st, 5.5 p.m.) ( LONDON, Juno 20. Tho "Daily Telegraph" says Amundsen's adventure suggests that the time ,mv come when men. flying over tlje North Pole, will reach Japan in what would now seem an incredibly siiort time.

WIFE'S REJOICING. (Beceived June 21st, 11.5 p.m.) OSLO, June 21. Tho wives of the aviators Kiiser-Lar-sen ami Dietrichjcn are the heroines of the day. , Tho former said her husband, before his departure, stated thrtt when he returned he would wire one word, "Sun•h!?? nC ver doubted that my husbantf would return," she said, "for ho ?lwivs said he believed tlr t the flight would succeed. When Amundsen's representative telephoned ' Sunshine' I could do nothing but sit down Lh t r y to realise what It meant. Tljen ? rfir.Umbered, and the practical precautfon wi taken of sentencing the rhildren to remain the rest of the day behind locked doors, in order that tlfc news flight not bo B P oilt for th , c nnricrs but I could not possibly kee,! tbc clad tidings from the children that their father was alive and returning bouie.'*