EXPLORER'S DEATH.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 767, 16 March 1910, Page 7

EXPLORER'S DEATH.

TEIHDTES TO ME. BERTRAM ARMYTAGE. Tolostftph Press Association— OoDvrltrht. London, March 14. . Beferring. to . the I. tragic ; death, of Mr. 'jßertram- Armytage,,a member of -Shackle-' •ton's Antarctio expedition, "who' comrnit"ted suicide in his bedroom at tho Melbourne Club, Sir Ernest Shackleton, terviewed, .said Mr. Armytage. had been loyal and zealous, and a good companion in any emergency, .a -man always' Toady to work. WHAT PROFESSOR DAVID SATS. . Sydney, March 15. Professor David pays a tribute to Mr. Bertram Armytage, who, ho says, !. was one of the. most fearless, conscientious, ■and' unselfish members .of the Antarctic jxpedition. ;•■■■: LOVE OF ADVENTURE.

_ Mr - Bertram Armytage joined .the /bhackleton Antarctic expedition for geii- . eral work. He was bovii in Australia in : _He served- several years with , the' ; victoria Militia and one year with'the /Victoria Permanent Artillery,'after which' :he wjw appointed to'tho Carabineers when •.inactive• service'in.South'Africa.- , During the ; winter sojourn of'the Ant-'jwctic.;-expedition;,• at ;.the; base 'hut,' Mr.. Armytage took- over ' the- entire respon- : ability of the stables and tho ponies. 'Early- in the spring, he started .with Sir •Ernest. Shackleton and, Professor David ; *>n a. preliminary journey ,on the Barrier surface, .in-order, to.gain; an. idea of tho conditions likely to be encountered by the ■ parly uiakiugs.. tho , southern L dash • towards the Pole. In -December Mr. Armytage set out in a westerly direction with Mr., Priestly" and Sir Philip Br ocklehurst '.<to lay. a depot at B utter' Point for Pro- • lessor;. David's party,- which was expected to reach that point on its return from.the Magnetic Pole.- ! Then the three men'were to secure, what stores they required for their ovsii purpose >and proceed up- the Ferrar glacier as far as' Nunatah depot; in order that Mr/ Priestly might seajch for; fossils in the sandstones of the western mountains. They were to get • back to Butter Point early- in January, rn order to meet Professor David, Messrs. -Mawson and Mackay.- ■ This programme (Sir. -Ernest Shackleton relates in his book "Tho Heart of the Antarctic ) was duly put into operation, and ; the . party arrived back at Butter Point on January 14. On January 24 and m they had a very narrow escape from . disaster. They had camped ,on the sea loe at the foot of Butter Point, and intended to move-off on their return jour--5S °5' ® -26th*; On the morning of the 24th was discovered that the ice upon which they were camped had broken - away, and was .drifting northwards to; the • open sea. There were then two miles of opeir water between them and the shore, -binding no means of escape, the men returned to their camp and had breakfast. A council of war -\vas held, and it was agreed : that the only thing- to do was 10 remain where.they were for the time beiDg,. in tlie hope of. the..\Nimrod picking them up, or of the floe toiiching the shore by a change of current. Most -of their food was- on the mainland -at Butter Point, and .the outlook assumed a very gloomj' „D ur ' n S the ; night the movement °f tne noe appeared to decrease, and finally the ice was found to " be -moving toward the land." A little after mid- . night, the , floe struck the fast ice with about six feet of its edge. The - men rushed ashore, and had onlv just got across into safety when the "floe moved away again, , and this time .it went north - to the open sea. The only point .that touched was that at whicli Mr. Armytage chancwl to go when he was on the look°X;' t 6 had happened to go to.-any other spot the party would not have escaped. They: were picked, up by. the ■Nimrod on the following day. Sir Ernest Shacklcton on- his return from the Antarctic spoke in the highest terms of. Mr... Armytage's pluck and energy. He joined , tho expedition -from a sheer love of adventure, this being the crowning point of his' life as a sportsman jnd explorer. He endeared himself to all the other members of the expedition by his, genial good nature, his willingness to ■ . tackle the hardest as well as the most .menial tasks, and . his - - tireless energy throughout the arduous sojourn in tue wnthern.wilds.