BYRD’S EXPEDITION

Hokitika Guardian, 18 December 1928, Page 5

BYRD’S EXPEDITION

IN THE K'K

VIEWS OK PENG KINS

(Copyright.)

Wellington. Dee. in

‘.ice everywhere. As far as tlie eye can see in any direction, there is nothing hut a shining while expanse, now covered with pack ice with hardly a break in it, bin we are nearly a hundred miles into i( now and should he through in a few days. The sun is so garni il can lie felt through our coals. There is imrdlv a cloud in the sky only a lain! breeze If ii were not for 'ho. ifhundermis jolts with, which we hi| i lie pack sometimes. Ibis would lie the most placid existence in the would, hut occasionally we get a shock that shaker- the ship from stem in stern and we are thankful for I hii'ly-one inches of limber along our sides and massive how. I n in Ihe Inna asl le. there is a ru '111111!' like thunder as we hit I hose heavy ll"es and as they grind alongside the vibration is terrific, hill on deck Ibis is not so noticeable and we arc enjoying iiiis warm am! peaceful interval between the rearing forties and the. hard work that awaits us at the harrier.

“To-day we saw several penguins and at first sight these amusing birds convulsed everyone aboard. A pair behind up on an ieotloe alongside, and cocked their heads al us. shook them, and waved their flappers as il trying; In assure themselves they were awake. They put their heads together and talked it over and finaly decided that 11u*y both saw the same thing. lor | hev waddled down io the edge to loot, us over more careluilv. As they

walked willi a wobbling mol ion hum sidy to side, thev waggled their flal)-p-'rs as if to balance (heniselves and presented so ludicrous an appearance as to cause everyone to howl with I: i■ i g 1 1 1 e i'. Einallv I hey went away s.iiling on (heir bellies across the ice pronelliug themselves hv Ilieir flappers and feet. They move with remarkable sliced in ibis way hilly as last as a brisk walk. Three of them billowed us half a mile pronelliug I heniselves -ih„ig mid oeeasionallv standing lin to loot, around and make sure I hat we were slid in sight. • •!ii the open leads this morning we saw ice forming behind us almost as j'asi a.s we went through. The water was foil o| ' ice crystals and as they (mu-, (u the surface they lormed a sort of scum ol ice. which quickly soli-Miied into a thin sheet. If remind- <„» <: ijo <>f (Ik* stm*v \ gtik*. di wliivli ii pi<.M*o of ico iluown int n tlm sea when il was al the point ol frer zing, and the ice was jus) snlhcienl to start a crust, ilia' rapidly spread over the entire siirlaeo. Il is perceptibly colder at night when the sun drops into about fifteen degrees above the horizon, and last night the temperature went down to twenty-one above zero, hut it can he seen that we iire not suffering from cold yet. al-ih'-ugli a few hundred miles Irein tlm Harrier. ‘•("onlinee-1 light al night has made sh-rn difficult fur some of os. but we • ire rapidly gelling use-1 to it although one is apt to forget wlml lime of ihe day or night il is when the sun sli i lies all Ihe Lime.

A PROGRESS RKPOR’I

NEARING RAY OK WHALES

Owen, says: “We. are far into the joe pack to-day. having started through <t*i the anniversary of Amundsens arrival at the South Pole in Hi!-. Me started llie year before and laid bases towards the Pole during his first season. but it appears now that vc should arrive at the Bay ol Whales sooner than he did. because we are only aliout seven hundred miles away, and he did not arrive there until January Nth. With good luck we should he unloading in ten days, although it is rash to maite pi ed id ions down hero. Byrd, like Amundsen, intends to lay his bases as far inland as possible this

season. I hat is before March, when winter sets in. and do most ol Ins important work next year, when he will he able to start living long before it would be possible to get a ship through the

Amundsen began his polar journey on October ]ofh. when despite the cold, the weather was fair for travelling, and it should he equally good for living. Whereas Amundsen 'Spent two months toiling over snow and crevasses am! uii dangerous glaciers to Lhe I’olc from the Bay of Whales. Byrd will make the flight in less than a day. and will he able to map it and examine a. route for some distance on each side.

ADVANTAGE OF AEROPLANE.

.MAKING FAIR SPEED

EFFECT ON COMPASSES.

AY FI. 1.1 XGTOX, Dec. 18

Such is the advantage of the aeroplane :u exploration. It will he a great relief in going forward again alter lying to off the icepack for several days.

The weather is perfect, calm and warm. It is a day on which it is nut uncomfortable to stand on deck in an ordinarv woollen shirt, without a cap. •f| K . sk\ is a pale Arctic blue with a , j M ge of taint grey along the horizon, which, as far as one can see. is snow covered and ice hummacked. broken into large cakes with frequent lends of open water between. I here are many grotesque shtipes formed by the ice that Ims been heaved up. and then eroded. The reflected glare is so brilliant as to tire the eye. and snow classes might he necessary il it were m,V for the streaks of dark open water.

A few seals have been seen basking in the sun. fat, sleepy fellows which raised their heads and look with wild eiii'iousifv al the drifting menagerie of harking dogs, and then roll over and go to sloop again. We are making fair speed and hope Ihe ice will remain open for the whole distance through the pack. Such luck would he almost unprecedented, hul as Ibis is the earliest any explorer has been able to get through, and as reports from the whalers below indicale the ice is opening more all the time, we are sanguine as to the re suit. An occasional hard hump against a llovv which grips its way alongside, reminds us. however, that we are dealmo; with a dangerous force, when set in ni'il mu by an unlavoiirahle wind |he peace and serenity ol this dav brings about a -false sense ol security. Taking pictures Imre is rather dilheiill due lo the intense light and Ihe danger of over exposure, and a filter Inis I o he used pi'uel ically alii he l i mo. (-veil when the sky is overcast. A conslanl experinienl is going on to determine the proper filtering. Another phenomenon, which causes diliicnltv, is the erraciie hehaviniis of the compasses, which get wilder and wilder as we gel I'll I'l liOl' KOllfll. The sticking of llie compasses is due lo Ihe lad I lull Ihe dip of the needle is so great when the compass is near Lo the magnetic Role, that the horizontal magnetic forces are too weak to overcome the downward pillL It is a plienonenom with which all explorers are familiar, hut is disconcerting al sea. Nevertheless with the sun compasses, however, an absolute check can be obtained.

ELEANOR BOLLING I! KTUR NI.NG

NKAY YORK'. Dee. 17

The New Ymk ' Times’’ radio from file Klei-linr Rolling states the vesel is I‘<7)11 miles soul li-easl ol laiaroa | lends. New Zealand, hound be' Dunedin. id gel a second load ol supplies for tiie Byrd expedition