THE FROZEN SOUTH.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1675, 15 February 1913, Page 5

THE FROZEN SOUTH.

CAMPBELL'S PARTY, WINTER IN THE IGLOO. ON SHORT COMMONS. THE JOURNEY TO CAPE EVANS. EXTRACTS FROM A DIARY. (Press Association—Copyright.) Further particulars regarding Lieutenant Campbell's party bliow that while awaiting tho ship in February, cold blizzards from tho plateau wcro experienced, which caused tho seals to tako to tho 6ea earlier than'usutil, seals objecting to the cold autumn gale 3. Thus on March 1, ■when Lieutenant Campbell decided that tho winter would have to bo faced, and that it would bo necessary to prepare for winter, very low seals were to bo seen. By March 20 Iho igloo, although unfinished, afforded sholtcr. Tho igloo was constructed by digging o deep trench, and -With icc-nxes cutting'out a chamber at tho end of this measuring thirteen feet by nino. Tho trench was afterwards roofed in with sealskins and enow, forming a long 'passage. Doors wero formed by sacks, and by having three of these they were able to keep the temperature in the living room above zero!

A Terrific Gale. ; The igloo afforded shelter just in time, for Lovick's tent, in a terrific gale, had collated on March ID, three of the polc9 breaking, and tho tent blowing to ribbons. ; After lying under .the ruins oil day,-tho party inndo; their .■: way to Lieutenant Campbell's Cnmp, about a mile away, arriving there in a frost-bitten and exhausted condition. They wero revived with hoosb, and slept that'night two in a ■ sleeping-bag, a most uncomfortable experience'. ' By the time winter had set In, in Spit© »£ killing everything seen, only sixteen peals and eighty Adelie penguins had been seoured. The,rations, which had previously consisted of two pannikins of seal hoosh and ' one biscuit per man per day, hod to bo out down to half that amount, and not having any salt, tho food had always to be cooked in salt-water. Seaweed was sometimes used 03 a ration, but certain members of tho party could never get ■used to'thi3. '

A Lucky Find, ' ■ , Oris lucky find was thirty-six fish in the stomach of a seal, which, fried in blubber, :';' -proved 'exo'e'llenfc' l .-,'' '■•';■''!•';': ■ '■•■■■:. .''■ Until the .iniddlo of .'July, when three , .more seals were captured,, tho party, were ', always' light-' ; ing purposes a blubber-stove ' and'lamp .;•;'■ wore constructed, fuel ■f<3r,,th^.stoyi.being' '■'■ old sea'bones, ; ahd tho blubber-iamp - s''wero ■ . simply' old ; tins filled with melted blubber, . with; rope-yarn'for wick's. •.'': ■"■■■/■•.■:'■;'.■■<' "■■,' ..!.' On.two /occasions, in blizzards the'von- ' tllatipn,; got;: blocked ■•withvinow', r and ■> the • ';.'• party tf as. almost asphyxiated, the lamps and■ sto.vo refusing to- burn' until; a pas- ';''. sage was / dug';Out v '; : : -'•',"■: •':'•; i.: •:■''. '■ :•' Of luxuries; there was enough'. ; sugar',to ;•:'. give.\each',inan, : twclve Sunday, and one stiok of chocolate every. Sat ',-.;;.urdAy; ! :ais6:'half : 'aipahiilkih of. ;tea on; .Sunday, the leaves being rebelled ;forMon- '.; ; day, and .'then being f kepi; ffor.smpkihg, the.tobacco haying run but. They had half a pahnikiiiiof. cocoa five nighta ! a '■ •-jrtek.''"\;-;.-v. : : :: '':!;.''' : ■'■■■■ ■•'■'"''.';/:' : .'■'.' ; '•' ."•: : -'."■'■■•;■.:( ' ',;';.,; Recreation.; ;■ .. W Their recreations consisted of leotures and the reading akiud of our two books, "David Copperfield" ; and the; ."Life of; .Stevenson,' and .concerts every Saturday, might. Swedish exercises .were, compulsory. ; during the latter part''.of the'winter. . • ; 'On Sunday evenings, divine service was ; held;; :; :■ ;; ;?, ■■.■-. ■ • ■ ";.::- .!'■' The party suffered much from enteritis! Browning was very bad the whole winter, but this never affected his spirits, and to his great credit he was cheery and billing/through it Tall. \ '. .'Tho. cpndition'. of the party's .clothes• /and footgear caused a lot of frostbites,' "but luckily'none, were serious.'

" '' The Return of the Sun.' .''.'.'■- ■ •'■'. .With the'return of. tho sun enough seals were procured to'return : to full rations, of meat 'and; blubber,; saving - enough - for eledging purposes. Sufficient oil had been eavedto 'cook breakfast, and supper, but lunch: had to consist of raw .seal and pengditu ' ''.-'" A start, was made • for Cape Evans on September 30. .Progress was slow/ the party boing weak, andßrowning too weak' to pull. Terra Nova Bay.remained open, ond thoy were forced to cross'the rough ice on tho'Drygalski Barrier Tongue, so ably described by Professor : David ; in ShackletonV "Heart 6* the' Antarctic." .-.' Blizzards. . '.'■':.'.• ; Durinjf this part of tho journey they experienced cold blizzards with.drift, ami on.two occasions nearly, caino to grief over ice-cliffs. They,' successfully negotiated'■ the Drygalskl by .'the evening of October 10, thus taking ten day 3 to. make this pussago. : During that time an enormous crevasse had to bB crossed by ii snow bridge, which measured 175 paces. . -/'.- Lieutenant Campbell found tboDrygalski out by barrancas, but most of'the CTovasse3 were well bridged. '■";•' * . Descending on to the sea ice, tho- party encountered a had screw pack, the pressure ridges at times being so-bad that a road had to te cut .with the ice axes'. '.The next barrier across their track was tho Nordenskiold Glacier Tonguo. No crevasses were found on this, and the passage proved quite easy, I>ut returning to.the sea.ibo tho scrow pack was-again'' found, -i Lieutenant Campbell examined the const very closely for signs of Professor David's geological depot, first examining Tripp Island, where a geological collection was obtained, and thon proceeding to .Depot Island (which is not shown on the Admiralty Chart). Here Professor David's depot, of geological specimens and letters was .found and they wero taken along. Generally, better surfaces were met with :after leaving Depot Island, and Brown-! . ing had to bo earned on the sledge when the Too was smooth, his condition being i critical. ' . v l A Record Found. Tho following extract is inserted from Lieutenant Campbell's diary, beginning October -20:—' "Turned out at 4.30 : a.m. A fine day, .' but a bank of clouds, to the southward, .and a cold westerly wind. A two-hours' I march brought us to Cnpc Roberts, where I saw through my glasses a bamboo stuck < on tho fop of the Cape. '■ | • "Leaving the'sledges,-Priestley and i climbed the Cape, where we found a record left by the Western Party tho pre- ]

viou9 year, before they wore picked up, giving their movements. 'Also near by a depot of provisions they had left behind.

Almost Too Good to bs True. "Wo gave such a yell that tho othors came up the slopo. It seemed almost too good to bo true—ono and three-quarter tins of biscuits, a small bag of raisins, ditto of sugar, tea, cocoa, butter, and lard, some clothes, diaries, and specimen? from Granite Harbour. "I decided to camp and have a day off, dividing tho provisions between the two tents. Wo soon had hoosh going, and such a feed of biscuit, "butter, and lard we had not had for nine months, followed up with thick sweet cocoa. , "After this we killed and cut up a seal, as we are. getting short of meat, and there is every prospect of a blizzard coming on. " ; ' . "Another hoosh and more biscuits, and lard in tho evening; then we turned into oiir bags, and, quite torpid with food, discussed our plans on arriving at Capo Evans, as we had quite decided wp should find no ono there." ' . , > [Note.—Lieutenant Campbell and- his companions always imagined, that tho ship had. picked up Captain Scott and the main party, and been' blown north, adverso circumstances or shortage of coal preventing her from relieving them.] The Happiest Day. The diary continues:— . "Still discussing plans wo fell asleep. W|hat with news from the-main party and food, although both were a year old, it was the happiest day since wo last saw tho ship. ... ■',"■■ ■"I awoko in tho night,' finished my 6hare of butter and most of my lard, then dozed off again.THE BURIAL OF THE BODIES. SUGGESTED MEMORIAL AT CHRlST- '■<■''■■' CHURCH. \ . (By Telesraon.—Press Association.) Cliristchurch, February 14. ; It is understood in'regard to PettyOfficer Evans that that Unfortunate seaman's mind went after leaving the Pole, and; that his comrades had to drag him «jmd hundreds of miles, in a sledge. This prActitally sealed tho fato of tho expedition.;', ■ •'• "■■ ■;'■; Tho bodies of Captain Scott aid his two companions were.found in their sleepingbags in the tent. • w .'■ The suggestion mado by Mr. .Ernest Davis, of Auckland,' that the bodies 'should bo recovered- and buried at St. .Paul's does not find support among the members' of-the Terra Nova expedition. It is pointed out;that if it was.thought right to bring the bodies back, Commander Evans would have done so when 'the Terra Nova .'returned. .'.-' ..■■'.'•• .' A number of leading citizens waited oh. \tlie Mayor td-day,'and suggested that somo memorial-to Captain Scott and the other dead explorers'should, be established in 'Cliristchurch. 'The Mayor has consequently decided to call o -meeting of. citizens to consider the proposal. The meeting will be hold oh Wednesday next, ■•■■■'!

;"'■.;'..;,;; some; rumours. . ; .: STATEMENT BY COMMANDER '.' ; EVANS.. " : ..,''.' (By Telegraph —Press Association.) "'::[ ./.; .; Chrfstchlirch,' February li: '■ 'Many rumours ■ aro in , : . circulation regarding various phases of Captain Scott's :expeditidni /..'. '.■ ' ,'."■' , ; f A "Press", reporter to-night drew the at'teh'tion of, Commander,Evans to several 'statements'.that ' aro being, made, ..end sought .to receive' an official, reply from the Commander. ..... '• "One cannot give a defence whore no defence is'needed,'' 6aid Commander Evans, "and I. am not going to"bo.brought into ■a .. controversy. oh n. series of rumours .which have'originated; from Irresponsible 'parties. ■■ One. rumour was that Petty Officer Edgar Evaris had not met his death as described in the official message', but had suffered from brain trouble : which became so serious that ho had to be hauled a considerable' distance on a 6ledge, an undertaking, which greatly delayed the party." Commander Evans; characterised this statement as "cruel, scandalous, and foundafionless."' He went on to say that Petty Officer Evans behaved exceptionally well under very, tryingcircumstances. "I know : hei did ■ his best, and ho was certainly heVer insane," declared Commander Evans; ; "Illness he could not 'prevent, and it was brought about' by privations and hardships of which ho man could be ashamed." ;•.•■"."'

Rumour also hinted that.there was dissension in the ranks'of the members of the-. Expedition,- but Commander Evans said that this rumour was absolutely without foundation..

~"I give permission to any pressmen to go and converse with any of tho men on this Jerrn Nova and see if they can hear a hisper of dissension," ho continued. "It is a sillyunfounded rumour which is nit worth contradicting." v

• Thoreporter drew, Qommahder Evans'a attention to the cable message in which Professor David bad strongly, denied tho statement of tho London "Times" that there whs dissension in the party. Commander Evans laughed and,then said: "The.professor seems"-to have, hit the right, hail drt-.tho head when dealing with tho London Times.' I will not be drawn into a discussion' on .this ■ matter," concluded the commander. •'

Later in tho interview Commander Evans said that against the advice' of his doctor he had gono back to tho Antarctic to seo his leader through, and ho did not: think this looked like dissension.

Commander Evans stated emphatically that the depots wore,hot touched by the supporting parties. ' There was, he admitted,, evaporation of the oil, but this was due to the leather washers in.the

AMONG THE ICEBERGS. • '.. 'AN ANXIOUS TIME. (By roicjraph.-Eiieclal Oorrcnponaent.l : Christchurch, February 14. On her way, north from tho Antarctic to New Zealnnd, tho Terra Nova did some great runs for a vessel of her class. On several, occasions sho 'averaged well over nine knots, and at times close on ten, under steam und soil. ''■■[.

Shortly after passing tho Belleny. Islands sho. passed an enormous iceberg, that, to use tho words of one man, "looked like the Ross Barrier." It was, roughly, 100 ft. in height, with tho usual perpendicular sides, and it appeared to etrotoh away into infinity, both ns to length and. breadth. The length of this berg was found to be no less than 21 miles, but no idea could bo formed as to its breadth. It had a perfectly level top for the entire length, and was plainlv in huge breakaway from the Great Ice Barrier,

Tho next day -the Terra Nova ran into a dense fo<?, throngh which there loomed up some huge .bersjs. A . few minutes after they were sighted, the ship was steaming throu;rh u narrow channel bc"tween great tabular bergs, laiU or more In height, with po•pellicular sides and faces.. The first ono seen cm-fho slar--I>oard bow' was only .about 100 yards in length, but was followed closely Ijy many others. Tho shin n'as nn hour and a half passing the berg on tho port side, which proved to be six miles in length, It was a perilous passage, for at any

time the bergs might have come together, and thus millions of tons would have crushed tho fillip as if she had been an eggshell. It was impossible to back out of the channel. There was nothing to do but steaui through and trust to Providence. The channel was covered with big lumps of ice, through which tho ship pounded hor way. One man said it was just as if tho ship were in a huge white dry dock, with perpendicular walls of ico towering. above her. It required skilful seamanship and great nerve to take the vessel between tho long walls of ico which appeared almost closo enough to be touched from tho ship's side. Tho Terra Nova got clear, and soon passed northwards out of tho iceberg zono.

NEW ZEALAND SYMPATHY. MOTION BY CONGREGATIONAL UNION. . (By Telegraph—Press Association.) :;Timaru, February 14. Tho Congregational Union passed a resolution sharing in tho general sorrow over tho mournful fato of Captain, Scott and his party, adding, "We are profoundly moved by the story of their sufferings so heroically endured, and of the loyalty that died for its friends. Wo recognise that the spirit in which tho explorers faced death, that made their sacrifice complete, recalls the greatest and holiest things in tho history of our race, and belongs to tho redeeming features in our humanity."

Nelson, February 14. Tho City Council to-night adopted a resolution expressing regret at the loss sustained by the Empire in tho Polar disaster, and sympathy with tho relations; of tho party. The council then adjourned for a week as a mark of respect to their memory. ...'..'.' A united memorial service was held to-night, wheu the School of. Music was unable to accommodate all who desired to be present. Tho speakers were Bishop Sadlier and the Rev. J. H. Mackenzie (Presbyterian). ' .

. Duncdln/ February 14. The Mayor has opened a fund for the support of the' dependents of thoss who lost their lives in, the Antarctic. Ho has already received a donation of £105 from the Union Steam Ship Company.

'.''■• ' MEMORIAL SERVICES, A memorial service' in connection. with the late Captain Scott and his com panions will be held - in the Town Holl on Sunday evening, at 8.30. The president of the Methodist .Conference will preside. The speaker will be the Rev. P. W, Fairdough.

Tho services "in several of the churches to-morrow will be 1 of a memorial character. Particulars will be found oh page i of this issue.

PROFESSOR DAVID'S THEORIES. SCURVY AND. FUEL SHORTAGE.: By Telegraph-Press Assoclatlon-Oopyriglit ... .(Rec. February U, 7.20 p.ni.) ''' . ' '■■ , Sydney,, February 14. Professor David, in comiientiug on the statement; regarding the shortage of fuel, said if the statement had been correctly | 'deciphered, it was.hard to understand in Sview of the-fact that after February 17 the party was reduced to four. Many causes .would contribute to/make the otherwise full ration ' of'., oil. insufficient: 'first,!. the. extremely. slow marches; secondly, the difficulty ■ of .avoiding 'spilling' f when.tho hand§ wero numbed, by tho.low' temperatures; thirdly,, the fact that on the .last march the party was compelled ■to use powdery enow.for melting instead of the denser, snow available in summer, which would: necessitate the' constant lifting of tho lid of the cooker to replenish the supply; and', fourthly, that much more oil was needed to thaw snow when at OOdeg. below; freezing point than when only.a few degrees below. Nevertheless, all these reasons must have been' perfectly well known to Captain Scott,;aud hence it was inexplicable why he used'the word "unaccountable." •, No' doubt, a simple and satisfactory explanation would be forthcoming.' .

■ Professor David" attributes,the failuro of Captain Oates during''the final march to scurvy. The failure of the other three, he thinks, was due to' the extreme fatigUo of sledging over the terribly difficult surface of sandy-snow orystalsj combined with/the severity of marching in blizzards, drifting snows,- and often against the wind. .

■ Professor David entirely discredits the ■rumour ,from Christchurch that. the. relations between tho heads of the expedition were mora than a little strained.

Plofessot- -David eays it seems more than a coincidence that Seaman Evans's first symptoms of failure dated to/almost exactly the same time as when Commander : Evans, about, a fortnight ..after leaving . Scott, oommenced. to develop symptoms of scurvy. It i s hard to imagine the causo of the rapid weakening of a man like Seaman Evans, unless from somo actual sickness of the nature of scurvy. Tho speed of the march from the Polo to where Evans died on the Bcardrhoro Glacier ' never exceeded eighteen miles daily; and does not explain in any way the complete exhaustion of such a man. In spite of Surgeon Atkinson's statement that thero Were no signs of scurvy about the- last threo of the ill-fated' party, Professor David is still of opinion .that Evans failed through disease, allied to scurvy. He considers the suggestion of tho London "Times" that the shortage of fuel was due to evaporation as absurd in view of tho great enre with which the oil tins' had been made. Ho declares that .the other suggestion of "The Times," that the supplies liad been tapped by tho supporting parties, was mean and cruel, and as unworthy ns un-

WORK TO BE STOPPED; CAPTAIN OATES'S SACRIFICE. ■■_ ; r London, February 13, Work is to be suspended in many placet for five minutes at noon to-morrow. Mr. 11. G. Pointing, who was- photographer to the western party of the Scott expedition, but''returned in 1912, narrates that Captain Oates told him that if he (Oates) broke doivn on such a journey as a Polar expedition the proper thing to do would bo deliberately to sacrifice his life, so us not to bo a burden on others. f Queen Alexandra has condoled with i Lord Curzon, president of tho Royal Geographical Society, on tho disaster.

At tho luncheon given by tho Royal Colonial Institute to the Hon. James Allen. New Zealand's Minister for Finance and J)cfcnc«, tho chairmau, Karl Grey, referred to tho Scottf. disaster, and at his instance tho guests*' before the commencement of' the speech-making, stood silent a moment in memory of Scott and his ill-fated companions. A memorial service will bo held at Portsmouth Dockyard Church to-morrow.

RECOVERY OF THE BODIES. DISPATCH OF HINEJIOA PROPOSED. 'Itec. February 14, 9.35 p.m.) London, February U. Tho Hon, T. Mackenzie, High Commissioner for New-Zealand, propoMa that tho New Zealand Government shall allow tho

Hinemoa to proceed to tho Antarctic if a decision is reached to recover the bodies. THE RELIEF FUNDS. GENEROUS RESPONSE IN SYDNEY. (Reo. February 15, 1.15 a.m.) Sydney, February Id. Tho Scott fund appeals aro meeting with a generous and widespread response. Capo Town, February 14. Funds have been opened on behalf of tho dependents of those lost in the Antarctic Expedition. London, February 13. The Antarctic Expedition Committee has handed to Petty Officer Evans's widow money to provide herself and children with mourning clothes and immediate necessities.

Australian tributes. (Rec. February 14, 11.55 p.m.) Sydney, February 14. An impressive service was held in the Anglican Cathedral tp~day, in memory of the Polar heroes. The service was attended by tho Premier, the Lord Mayor, the Japanese Admiral, and staff, and many leading-citizens. Tho Archbishop, Dr. Wright, paid a glowing tribute to tho indomitable courago and heroism of the dead, who had died only to live as deathless heroes. "Wo will do our best," added Dr. Wright, "for thoso left, and not allow them to suffer privation." " .-.-

At noon on Monday a special lesson referring to,the.tragedy at the Polo will be given in the New South Wales State schools.. "'-■•• (Roc. February 14,-9.35 p.m.) Melbourne, February 14. Tho "Age," in referring to tho absorbing interest in the Scott story, says that never before in history has the last message of a leader who saw certain death in front of him created such a thrill in the ■■ minds of his countrymen.