IN ANTARCTICA

Hokitika Guardian, 23 October 1929, Page 6

IN ANTARCTICA

(By Russell Owen—Copyrighted 192£ by the New York Times Company, and -St. Louis Post Dispatch. All rights for publication reserved throughout the world Wireless to New Yoik Times.)

PROGRESS OF SLEDGING PARTIES. (United Press Association—By Electric ’ Telegraph.—Copyright.) 'l-Jpoeived tin's day at 9.25 a.m.) BAY OF WHALES, October 21. The supporting party camped sixtyone miles south of Little America last night. Arthur Walden, ther'leader, reported discouragingly sloav ■ pro. gress, because of the miserable surface during the first two days- of che trail, but since then the conditions have improved and the teams are making better speed. During the last twp days they have made seventeen and eighteen miles, which is good -for this time of the year, with heavy loads. Part of Thursday they made only seven miles. The runners were breaking through the crust and there was a continuous overhang of hard snow which must be crushed, and under that was hard, granular sand like snow of the barrier. That snow even sticks to the skis like glue. At the thirty-four mile depot, put out last year, they took some six hundred pounds of dog food for distribution further south. With this weight they tried hard not to run astray in the trap, as Amundsen called the valley full of haycocks and crevasses, west of the trail. The trap into which, the experienced Polar traveller that lie was, wandered into one grey day and nearly came to grief. They could see the crevasses dimly near at hand, south-west of their camp. i

The next morning a blizzard had passed and by making a turn to the east, they got around the worst part of the trap, although they crossed small crevasses and passed a number of haycocks, those steep hollow mounds of snow which always indicate the. presence of deep chasms under the surface.

They matje good progress however, covering seventeen miles and last night camped sixty-one miles from Little America, with one bad ovabehind them. Their heaviest loads are for the two -hundred mile depot, and if the surface should again become crusty and bad they might have to relay over that part of the route. After the hundred mile'depot, the sledges will be much lighter. •