SOUTH POLE RACE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 787, 9 April 1910, Page 14

SOUTH POLE RACE.

/CO-OPERATION OF SCOTT AND ;- : '.V/v./ PEARY. - ■;■■:■:•! ME. WELLMAN'S VIEWS." ■. ;-In the.fact, that both British and; American expeditions are to leave their.respective, countries this year in endeavours to socuro the coveted honour of being first to . reach the unbeaten South Pole, the following letters,, which have passed between Commander Peary, the victor ; of: ; the North Pole, and Captain Scott, the leader of the forthcoming British Antarctic Expedition,' will be of especial interest:—

~;-,-,'■ .. Commander.'Peary, writing, on Janu- ;■:;.' ary 21,' says:—"l have, received: your .letter of January 5, which arrived'dur-' -;'- ing my absence from Washington, and ' I hasten to express my appreciation of your big, manly, characteristic attitude as shown in-the letter. I did not for .. a :moment think that you would feel ..:. any. objection to an American Antarctic "Expedition on some other route than the one which" Great Britain has already ;. made classic, even as you did not-for "■ -a,moment imagine that any expedition '■.:'.■ with which; i might be associated .".' would enter the region which you have /:. made your own. Accept my .best thanks' for your congratulations and kindly .wishes." To this letter Captain Scott replied on ( February 9:—"I write ix> thank you ■ for your letter of January 21, and to '.'..tell-..you how much I am .looking for- : .ward to your. Visit"to England in May. ,Ypu will bo very much occupied in Lon- ': don, but I shall hope, nevertheless, to ,■> get. some. useful. advice.' direct from, the ■■■'.. most .'experienced Polar traveller that \v/has: ever been..: Will .you ;.'be good enough 'to put! me 'in •'• communication. -.. with soifieoneof the expedition you are . organising, as. soon as-, it is convenient ; to yourself: I-feel: sure that your own time will be too occupied to deal with matters of detail, but I think it would .be'advisable'that ..there should be some' co-opefatibn between the expeditions in -..- V'mstters of meteorology and magnetism..v A.:,programme :might be drawn : up,; ■ wilcli would enable simultaneous, obser-■--■',",vatibns to be taken.by two expeditions: '•■:.This.''lwass'dpne;- in 1901, -iwith.'-'a con- .. ; 'Biderable.'measure of success:'-': '

; ; Tleuter's fView-'withCaptam.Scott, 1 who expressed jthe ": following views "oh the" subject of •tiie Peary expedition, to' the' Antarctic : .'The .'American project came as no i surprise; to", me, as I have! been.,iri'.cor'Cominahder Peary'for fsome.time.'past.. No step was taken,;by; [him.; until. he' hid consulted with me, *uid received the assurance that I hear- ■ taly welcomed, American; co-operationin' ./the- 6dentific problems to, be solved. jAs; regards the effort to reach the Pole, rth©; rivalry will be of ■ an entirely (friendly character, but naturally-'each -will: be keen •that his' own. nationality' • ehall. be: first. The Americans will I leave the longer.route to travel, but it ■ j-w.' possible it will be a far easier ! .|one,_ as ..our .present : knowledge l 'seems ;to .indicate that -there is a [slope from the Pole to Weddell'Sea. t Their..main difficulty-will W, to finda- . snrj&ble i.a.nd.tb land the "animals 'and imped!-' .menta of -the expedition". No-'place''is-known at present;;wherethis can- -beeffected,'but,, of course, a lucky chance may reveal a:'spot in, which the;'ship ■can winter or land her stores." ' •The London "Evening Standard" publishes -an;,interview' with Mr. Wal- . Iter .Wellman, the well-known American explorer, who declares that in his opin,w n :Qaptem. Scott..Jias a much betterchance of reaching the; South Pol§| "The *te _ said, "is very interesting. I, think ■it is a two to one chance'on Scott winning, for two reasons. The first is, he .will start from a base, 100 to 200 miles : nearer.'.-the Pole than anKbase'Bartlett can find on what I might .term the •American side of the Antarctic circle. ■ lhe second reason is that Scott is goJng by. a route which is known. The ,feV, n f dred , or- so by which jbhackleton failed presents no difficult ■ .ties _other than those; met'on that'part rorthe route which he .travelled. Bart[Jett, on the other hand, is going by a i way which been trodden belore. .- '■; ~~

.POLAR MOTOR-SLEDCES. DOGS TO BE EMPLOYED. Oaptaui Scott; R.N., has described to a -Uauy, . i\ews '. representative his plans ±pr' reaching Me ,South' -Pole aDout tie end of December.' iail .'ihe ~fffJova,wiii leave London .in; June, 4* Lyttelton,.New. Zealand, the whole tKT 1^7 mba * » November dash for the Pole .will beam :£t^fe 1911 ; '■<&•** Scott"2& to,return until he has;got

—Twenty.ponies and 25 dogs from Sibera .wall be .taken.: 'IVo years' preens vwill be carried, arid these will be_ supplemented by seal, penguin, and ten. On reaching' the ice 'the main shore party, of <y will e w Viofc Land and carry, out the southern-jour-ney,' and .300< 400 'miles distant a party oi srx^will vbe.landed to work out geography 0 f Bang Edward Land tfcT S only , been , Beaa ,«>m ~,r« 8 S l6 m ain: southern journey'", continued Captain Scott, j"1 hope to be able to;, start in October, 1 im?h6m , base B po miles from l^i"^- of is over a ice 150 ft. thick, but the chiet obstacle is the mountain regSn beyond. It is here that the icf £ M d-tariwL.'llhe valleys between the mountain peaks of which are 15,000 ft. highfS dangerous crevasses ,and^rr|m-: to part * hop 6 to ™s part of the,journey with 16 men toelve or more oS •and three motor-sledges ■ '' «li?' th! S ght oat id ea of themotorreturning from the last exipediuon; and, though I am ™+ .1 Safcwftr^^t^f^ ipwhe^^o^J 1^ , pieoes of wood ° n ae^ti &^i rolers on ■ a » inside. The sledge wneek run on the inside rollers ] oad of Wfl .££• S %*> pa ?^ ly a-Hledge cS t£» miles an hou r. £ that tune the engine consumes one gaUon r ° L £ inal teßt « ™ U be made in Norway next month By November^ W ! ■ sh , aD be "TOrcoming the difficulties of the mountain retake%(;« w y ,1 Prore P° ssible to' take the motor-sledges over the glawers If not, we must drop thorn '. At. stages on the dash across the uT7tl eglonS W !, sha!l behind IZi ih^ en ' then aDot • l '«■• four, thrf/tw rd -i, fOUr -' At the nttest will go on. The four wbn ?nrPol nally n the fittMt Will fwill fc« °X T Pr ° spccts of su «*ss will bo greatly improved if, as I strongly hope, the dogs are able to climb, trie glaciers. If not, the men fh»T ITC , nb ? «"»I»ned to ban" the dog sledges. I believe that we are making the best preparation's it is humanly possible to make." n 3« fei ™g t° the- U.S.A. expedition £5? c^T ander , V ™*- Captain Scott said bis- relations with U were excellent. "It may bo called a race he remarked, "but it is a very friendly race. Both expeditions-will be starting for the Pole about tho same time. .