IN ANTARCTICA

Hokitika Guardian, 28 January 1930, Page 5

IN ANTARCTICA

BYRD HAS MANY VISITORS (By Russell Owen—Copyrighted 1929 >/"C by the New York Times Company, and x St. Louis Post Dispatch. All rights for publication reserved throughout the world. Wireless to New York Times.) /BAY OF WHALES, Jan. 25. Our front yard was full of whales this morning. The day was beautifully _ .clear with a cold south east wind blowing, that drove the temperature to zero. A great ,number of wiia'cs suddenly appeared in black pools broken j.i the ice centre of our bay. They were so near as we gathered at the edge of the ice, that Byrd tapped one on tiie snout with his ski stick. They blow alniost in our face, and men on the 'leeward side were, almost knocked down by the aroma. Sometimes whales merely lifted themselves to the surface so their long printed heads stuck but a few feet from the water, or they floated lazily up in a partially upright position, then sank back again but occasionally one, coming from l farther below would shoot straight up in the air teri feet with Ins big bulk 1 above the water, and seemed •to hang that way for a moment before sinking down as straight as he rose. When two or three did this at once so that we had to look up at them the effect was startling. Imagf.fe a pool thirty feet wide with men on both sides of it and three whales sticking 10 feet oilt of : the water between them, we" wondered if anyone has over been so fortunate.