THE BRITISH PLANS.

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

THE BRITISH PLANS.

DETAILS OF THE EQUIPMENT. ' FINAL DASH FOR THE POLE. Captain Scott's plans for his Polar iash were almost as complete as human foresight could make them. The expedition took enough food to last it three years, and its equipment throughout was of a most thorough character. The main object was to reach the Pole, but it was intended to neglect no opportunity of doing good scientific work. The party making the Polar dash would consist of sixteen specially chosen from among the hardiest men. They would have to travel at given intervals, and four would go back on each occasion. The fittest would be picked to go on until only, four remained. These would make the final dash. By this 'process of elimination, ho hoped to accomplish his object. Good Transport the Main Requirement. "Our main object is to get to the Pole, and for that purpose the equipment is of unprecedented dimensions," said Captain Scott in discussing his plans before his departure for the South. "The main requirement is goud transport arrangements, nnd for the transport on this occasion we have 19 ponies, 3.1 (logs, and three motorsledges. The ponies and dogs have been obtained from North-East Siberia, beyond the Amur River, where the climate is exceedingly severe. These animals are, therefore, used to conditions as had as they will encounter in tho south." The motor sledge is a new departure, nnd is the result of experiments which Captain Scott lias been carrying on for several years. Ho built four sledges, each being an improvement on the last, and the trials wore conducted in the Alps and in Norway .over two successive years. These sledges have a four-cylinder Wolselcv engine, with certain modifications to siiit the climated, driving two wheels restin" on endless bands. Tho bands are broad enough to support the weight of the sledge, and are made of steel chains, with flat pattens. The petrol for the sledges was shipped from Melbourne —1600 gallons of it. "It is a new departure, said the commander of tho expedition, "and may not prove whollv > successful, but I am in hones it will." ''it is interesting, also, in these days of milling motor-cars, when speed is everything, and the weakest goes to the acraphean, to be told that the difficulty in regard to these sledges has been to 'get them slow enough.' Their highest speed is three miles an hour, which is quite fast enough in the ice and snow ol the Antarctic. The advantages of sledges of this character are obvious. I'hey are much more cconoinie.il than dogs, ihey elu more wDrlc. and don't eat anything, (.'(iptain Scott considered the sledges would drag us much as liiOUlb.

The ponies were to be used in the same way as before. Each pony would have' its own sledge, and would drag about 8001b. All told, there were 60 sledges. Thei dogs were to be run in teams of 10, with one or two sledges to each team. The Terra Nova. _ "The Terra Nova," said Captain Scott, 'is one of the old type of whaling ships— the best ship of her class ever built—and has seen a great deal of service, both in the north and the south; in fact, I think she has been further north and further south than any other ship afloat. The Terra Nova was one of the relief ships of the Discovery. Expedition, and was also in the Zeigler Expedition to Franz .Tosef liand, iu 1904. She was built at Dun- . dee,; in 188-1. Personnel. Although the main object of the expedition was to reach, the Pole, no chance of doing good scientific work was to be neglected. Captain Scott had got together a larger staff of scientific men than any previous expedition. The were mostly selected from Cambridge University, but two of them are Sydney University men-Mr. F. Griffith Taylor and Mr. F. Debenham—and one, Mr.. J. Allan Thomson, is a New Zealand Rhodes scholar. . The three colonials, all of whom have been selected by Professor David, were to have charge of the geological work. The other scientific members of the expedition are: Dr. Simpson (Indian Meteorologist Department), physicist and meteorologist; Messrs. Nelson and Lillie (Cambridge University), biologists; Dr. E. A. Wilson (formerly of the Discovery Expedition), zoologist and artist; and Mr. "Wright (Toronto University), chemist. Two doctors accompanied the expedition, Dr. Levick, of the Koyal Navy, who was to be with the detached eastern party, and Dr. Atkinson, who was to be with the western party, and they were also to study parasitology and bacteriology. The naval officers of the expedition have been chosen with great care, and in some cases from the scientific branejies of the Boyal Navy The second in command of the expedition is LieuTounnt E. U. Evans, who was an officer on the Morning, the relief ship of the Discovery Expedition. Apart from the officers and scientific staff, there are 31 other members of the expedition, including the seamen and stokers, making a total of 55. The Two Parties, "Altogether," continued Captain Scott, "thirty persons will be landed: I am hoping that 21 will be placpd ashore at the western station, somewhere iu the region of M'Murdo Sound. This will be tlio main party for reaching the Pole, and for scientific work, • and will proceed to lay out depots as soon as the hut is up. and the stores have been looked after. I hope to get them ashore fairly early in January, and they will start away south about tire third week in that month. They will be at work up to the earlv part of April, sledging and laying out depots. Meanwhile the ship will proceed to tho eastward, and if it is found feasible a small party of six men will be landed at King Edward'* Land, some 100 milps to lilie east of M'Murdo Sound. The object of this nartv will bo to explore King Edward's Land. After landing this party the ship will return to the western party to land Captain Scott, and possibly one or two officers, who will go to the east to sen Hie conditions of the ice. The Terra Nova will then proceed to the ncrHi ns far as Ballenv Land, and then 20 to the west and endeavour to explore the north coast of Victoria Land. Althnuiili tho east is.well iknnwu, the reeinn betwen the northern capo and Allelic Land is entirely unknown. This region is of very great interest from many points nf view, such as Hie possibility of e-tnb-lishinir a meteorological station, which will throw light on the climatic conditions of Australia. After operating pu this '•oast .t; long a* her coal will permit, the Terra Nov,i> will return to New Zealand. I hone to arran?e a winter cruise for her before she nrmin goes south Hie following year to pick up the landing parties. Four Men for the Pole. "After Inying the depots. Hie parlies P r .'i,"4 south will winter in llieir qnai'lei's, imki lib nit October, Mill, I hey will slnrl nil' (ill (he main southern joui'iicv. The parly will number |{i. and ilic !,[,,, uill be lo divide llieie. into parlies »\ I'liur, uiiil at (.'ci'lain staled interval.-, four people, will turn back. Ou each occnsi:"> the

fittest will be picked out to go on; so that, by this process of climinnhon, wo ought, at the end, to get four people who mo. capable of going the whole distance. All that one can do is tu provide the be>t possible transport, and select the best, possible moil, but there still remain* the element of hick. We might have an extremely bad season, or heavy winds, that would delay us; or wo might have some accident by which .some of the sledges might bo lost; there might even be the loss of lives. These things cannot be foreseen, and, therefore,-there must always be the element of luck. There is no such thing in polar work as certainty; but of one thing 1 am certain, and that is that every mau is going to work wifh the right spirit, and with the firmest intention of doing his utmost to achieve success. Several Improvements. "What improvements we have made in the equipping of this expedition," said Captain Scott in conclusion, "are mostly in matters of detail. Shackleton had only four ponies, and did not have a supporting party- He started oft' with only four men, anil we shall start for the Pole with sixteen. The distance of the journey there and back will be over JiiOO miles. I am taking Norwegian ski with me, in the hope that it will be of value to ns. It requires practice, but anyone who is at all active can learn how to use it with ease. One of our staple articles of food will be pemmienn, from Copenhagen. Then we shall have dried milk, and a special brand of biscuits I have had made, with a large amount of proteid in them." Arrival in Antarctica, " Sailing from New Zealand in November, 1910, Captain .Scott arrived without mishap upiu the only p?rt of the coast of Antarctica w hich has been at all accurately mapped, the region upon which the waves ot lioss Bay beat in from the north. On the western head of this great bay is Cape Adare, (he nearest uoint to Australia. Following the coastiine into the south, the Polar explorers reached Koss Island, upon which Mount Erebus flames above the ice, twin to Mount Terror further away along the ice to the east. Here, eight miles south of Cape Eoyds, thev landed and made their depot, the headquarters of the expedition, from which the dash will be made to the Pole. Another depot was made at Cape Adare. This party at Cape Adare was; not a portion of the original scheme. Why was this scheme changed? Probably because, camped on tho ice in the Hay of AVhales, the men of the Terra Nova found the Norwegian, CnDtain Amundsen, "the hardest nut in all" Norway," waiting to race Scott to that wonderful place where one' looks all about one to the north, and the most soiithorly stars stand still above one's head.