SECRET POLAR VOYAGE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 938, 4 October 1910, Page 5

SECRET POLAR VOYAGE.

CAPTAIN AMUNSDEN TO VISIT . • ; . ■■-,': ANTAECTICA. /';■■ .'.,.: By Tetegtaph—Press Assooia-tion—Oopyrieht^. London, 'October. 2.Captain ■ Amundsen writes from Maderia stating that, the exploring ship,Fram 'is bound on a seoret Antarctic expedition. She will' reach Buenos Ayree in February, and no news will be received from; her after .then until March, -1912,. when' the Pram will return' to' San and prepare for a drift over the North Pole; 1 :■■:'-■ ':■■■ •■.'■■;:•::.'::•■ '■-' ; Captain Roald Amunsden is prepared for a-five years' drift in the Arctic He has had experience'of. this work before.. On:■ Jiine'l6, 1903,-he. left Christiania ina email-vessel .with. :an:ausiliary engine, the Gjoa,' and, entering :the. Arctio, along the west coast of: Greenland, he, in three years, drifted along the north coast of ■ America. :■ Eventually . he \ reported himself.from Cape Nome, Alaska, on Aug- r ust. 31, 1906. .'..'Although the -primary, object of.his, wanderings was:the location of. the North. Magnetio Pole—and:in this he succeeded—he also accomplished the North-west Passage,, being the- first': to perform that journey in a vessel..: .. ■:■:' Captain ; Amunsden. recently explained the scheme of his expedition as follows:— ; "Aboard the 'Fram,. 'with■.a .'selected equipment, and fitted out for seven year's,. I shall leave, Norway in' August of .1910. We start for San Francisco, going round Cape Horn. In San Francisco coal and provisions will be taken on. board. From there we set out for Point Barrow, from, which the last: news will go home. .From, Point Barrow-I start'with the smallest possible crew.-: The course for .the drift ice is north-north-west.' ::We shall ■: try to enter the compact ice: at the most-fav-ourable point to beginour drift, calculated to. last four '.or five ; 'years,. over the , polar-basin.'; During, all this, time we shall, make oceanographic and- other obser- r vations, through. which ■I- 'hopcto;' sqlv.e. 'some, of the yet. unexplained problems ofthe .."polar- • regions'. , ', ."• Captain: Amiinsdei hopes .to reach open water:between'Greenland arid Spitzerbergen in 1915 or 1918. - The cost of the; Framveauipment waS;iCIS,O.OO, which, was collected 'privately in-■■"" Norway... ■;. " .•■...'•■''■• ': ,: : . '■ '~-' .'•■•' •