A SOUTH POLAR STORY.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 September 1927, Page 1

A SOUTH POLAR STORY.

LONDON, Aug. 10. The vacation course in education which is now being held in London has its lighter moments, and yesterday at a luncheon given in connection with the course Captain Hussey, meteorologist, who was a member of the Shackleton expedition, gave some interesting reminiscences of that heroic trek to the South Pole. He paid a warm tribute to Sir Ernest Shackleton. “He really was one of the greatest men the world has ever produced,” he said. “But for him none of us would have got through the expedition alive. When we lost our boat—when ho had his back to the wall—and we had only a small piece of ice between us and thousands of miles of sea, ho never lost his great optimism.” He went on to say that Sir Ernest “placed optimism before anything else. On one occasion wo were floating round a piece of ice. which was very insecure, and nil wo could got to eat were the eels and penguins that ha|>pened to come onto our piece of ice. At- night the ice broke loose, and Sir Ernest jumped forward and looked in a crack which had been opened up. There he saw a dark object and horded it out. It turned out to be one.of our sailors in a sleeping hag. If Sir Ernest had not pulled him out the poor fellow would have been crushed to death. As the man crawled out of his Sleeping bag, he looked up at Sir Ernest and said without a trace of emotion. 'Now I have lost my tin of tobacco.”