RIVAL PARTIES MEET.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1383, 8 March 1912, Page 5

RIVAL PARTIES MEET.

A HISTORIC ENCOUNTER. QUESTIONS OF POLAR ETIQUETTE. From Lieutenant Pennoll's narrative of (he historic mooting of the British' and Norwegian parties—which lost something in dramatic power through the absence of one of the principals. Captain £cott—we take the' following extract:— "On Fobruarv .'! the ship was in the vicinity of Balloon Bight, which had, however, heroine merged in tho Bay of Whales. As the Terra Nova rounded tho point the ship's company was astonished to see a ship, which proved to he (he I-'riun. She was alongside fast sea ice. The Terra Nova went alongside her, and Lieut. Campbell w;ent on board the Norwegian ship. There was only a lieutenant and a ship-keeper aboard, and Lieutenant Campbell was informed that Captain Amundsen would he at the ship the. next morning. Amundsen asked them to bleakfast at. his hut, which was about Iwo miles from where (he Fram was moored. There were eight men, in addition to Amundsen, at the hut, and this is the parly that will attempt to reach the l'oie. The l hut, though small, is very comfortable. -The members of tho Norwegian expedition speak. English." No Unfriendliness. It is explained (hot .tho withdrawal of the British party from the Hay of U'halcs —which led eventually to the landing at Cape A dare (where the question of Dr. .Muivsoil's rights comes in)—was nol dictated by unfriendliness. To t|tiolc again: "Captain Aniun s den wa> very anxious ihot l.ieul. Campbell should winter with him, and made a great point of (ho fact that his (Captain AmundM'n's) expedition was not a scientific one. but was entirely polar. If l.ieul. Campbell wished lo go to King Edward Land he would have liked him lo slop, l,ul Ihe spot w. aid have boon a ilifticiilt one to convey store* in, being so far inland, am! il would ha\e been very unsafe lo have gone anywhere norlli of Caplain Ammwlcii's po-ilion. The onlv safe p: -ilion was four mibs and a halt away, and thai »a- ab-olulely prohibitive, in view of the dilliuully of transporliiiK the stores. Taking everything

into consideration. Lieut. Campbell did i not consider the locality suitable. But i this decision was not arrived at because i of any unfriendliness towards the .Nor- i wcguui. Two hours after breakfast the I Norwegians visited the Terra Nova, and did violence to their digestions by indulg- i ing in a hearty meal aboard her. ( Norwegians' Dog Team Plans. . l "It appeared from what the members of : Amundsen's party said that Ihey intended to go up the Beard more Glacier, but J it was nc:l intended to lay depots this ' year, as the season was so far advanced. At the time the Terra Nova was in the Hay of Whales the Norwegians had not got all their stores lauded, although the Kill Greenland dug* had bsen landed two or three days before the Britishers ar- ' rived. The dogs are the only means of i trans|iort possessed by the party, and the i Britishers understood that, it was intoiidid • to work them day and day about? Each i sledge will have two teams of dogs, and one team will work one day and the other the next, the idea being that'by this < means rapidity of movement will bo < effected. Lieutenant I'euuell explained ' that dogs, when,on a long journey, are ; apt to tire. In Siberia the dogs get «c- ' customed to the post route. They start out gaily from the post-house, slacken off i the further they go, and brighten up again when they come in view of the next pest-heuse. Tims the journey is accomplished in a series of sprints. "Captain Amundsen made no secret-of what his intentions were—he was there to i go to the Pole, and was not going to do any scientific work. The Fram is to go to Buenos Ayres, and thence encircle the Southern Ocean, doing ocoanographical research, which, so far as the Britishers could ascertain, will consist of taking soundings. Next year the Fratn is to return to the Bay of Whales, nnd pickup the party. The members of the party are a fine-looking lot of men, and were in very gcod health. Captain Amundsen did not look upon the Britishers as 'jumping Ijis claim,' so there was not the' slightest unfriendliness between the two parties. Prospects of the Parties, In reviewing. the new position created by the appearance of Captain Amundsen in the Antarctic, the London "Times" said:—"lt was known that for a considerable time after his return from sailing over the North-West Passage, Captain Amundsen was collecting money for an expedition to the North Polar regiun in the Fram, which was to last for probably five years. He raised subscriptions for a considerable sum in Norway lor this purpose, and also got a certain amount in England, where, in January, 1909, he gave, at a meeting of the Koyal Geographical Society, a statement of hi« plans for the North Polar Kxnedition. For some reason which is not quite clear at present he changed hi* destination. He had started in tile Fram equipped apparently for North Polar work, intending to ninke his way round by Cape Morn to Boliriug Strait. He stopped at Madeira, and suddenly it was announced from there that he had changed his destination and was proceeding to the Antarctic. In order to complete his equipment for thif new sphere of operations. Captain Amundsen must, have taken several months, and apparently he dill this without informing anybody of his intentions, not even his men, although certain of his friends ;, i Norway must surely have known tilt changed intentions. There arc reasons to believe that many of his Norwegian supporters do not approve of what he has done. However, Captain Amundsen made such a highly favourable impression upon all who knew him, both in England and on the Continent, that before passing any verdict upon his conduct it would be only fair to await his own explanation if he cares to give one. No Monopoly of Routes. "It may be admitted that no nation and no'individual has any monopoly of a particular route to the South Pole, yet it is certainly a pity that with sucli nn enormous Continent to exnlore there should be any rivalry of this kind, or any appearance of one explorer encroaching upon what may be regarded as tho field of another. Captain Amundsen, instead of going to the Ross Sea, might well have gone to the Wcddcll Sea and endeavoured to make his way with his hardy companions and his 110 dogs across to the Pole from Coats Land. "From the geographical point of view, the gains will be all the greater from the presence of two expeditions instead of one in the same quadrant. If Captain Amundsen proceeds direct south from Balloon Bight he will, of course, go over absolutely new ground. Whether he will find it an easier route or.a more difficult one than that which Captain Scott has selected of course remains to be seen. We know nothing about the nature of the region which ho proposes to traverse. One idea is that King Edward VII Land is nn island attached to the mainland by a long stretch of ice. and that beyond that, in the direction of Graham Land, there is a great intrusion of the sea similar to what is known as the Tee Barrier in the Boss Sea, but at present.this is all conjecture."