IN ANTARCTICA

Hokitika Guardian, 21 February 1930, Page 5

IN ANTARCTICA

BYRD’S PARTY SAIL FOR

DUNEDIN

(By Russell Owen—Copyrighted 1930 by tbe New York Times Company, and St. Louis Post Dispatch. Ail rights for publication reserved throughout the world. Wireless to New York Times.)

[ United Press Association.—By Electric

Telegraph.—Copyi igln. J

NEW YORK, Feb. 20,

Byrd’s ship ‘‘City of New York,’" left the Bay of Whales at 9.3.) o’clock on Wednesday morning.

“This weather-hen Len, ice-sheathed ship,’’ said a message, “means letters and bonne and the way back to civ.lisatiou 1”

FAREWELL “LITTLE AMERICA.”

BYRI) AND COMPANIONS SAIL

(Received this day at 10 a.m.' BAY OF WHALES, Fell. 19

The “City of New Yon;” was no sooner alongside tbe ice here than the gear piled at the spot was tumbled aboard. It came over the side in a steady stream. Records and scientific gear were first, then personal baggage and finally other' things, which were piled up in • between decks until it was full to the hatch. All night loading went on and by breakfast this morning it was-finished except for a row things, which did not long delay t-iie ship. There was need for haste because tbe season is getting late and the ice pack has not disappeared this year.

Breakfast’was a sadly interrupted meal, however, because arriving mail was distributed then. There were bags and bags of it. It bad been piled in Byrd’s cabin to keep it dry, and it seemed as if there would be no end to the amount of letters and bundles. Men staggered away from the door with bags they could hardly lift. Even then there was not time at first to read the letters. Men grabbed a handful and then scanned the handwriting, and then hurriedly stacked them in their pockets until the ship should be -at sea and there would be time to look them over at leisure, at least- for those who would not be seasick and most of us Barrier lubbers, who have been afloat for a year, but might as well have been on land, expect to be indisposed to- a greater or less degree.

Almost immediately just before camp wa,s finally deserted, Commander Byrd and Ca.pt. McKinley hauled down the hag which had flown over the camp ever since. As the sun came up lie saluted and then Byrd turned towards „;ie hill on which lay his two planes, which carried him and his men to the South Pole and on other flights, and with a. wave of his hand, a, half salute an-d a half farewell, turned away from them.’ He hates to leave them, but .there is no way out of it. They are. perched on the hill top, their wide wings outstretched against the skyline line two giant birds resting.

The ship bears the marks of the battle with the ice all along her sides. The sheathing is marked and scarred where blocks of ice hit her in the gales, and holes are punched right through the bulwarks.

Capt Melville stated: “One more day and we would have had to turn north and run out of it. She could not have stood much more.’’

Both Melville and Johansen, the ice pilot Were enthusiastic about the ship. They doubted if another could have stood the battering she received and come through. Commander Byrd was pleased with tne way the c-rew had handled her and stuck by their guns in difficulties. “We got along well until the 7th.,” said Melville, “when the gale began which lasted all the way to the Barrier. Tt started with a blizzard and when it was not blowing great guns it was snowing. The ice was forming fast also and through the latter part oi it. we ran through a lot of that slush. The swell increased, and T figured we were near open water. Finalh we came out at night with a gale blowing nearly a hurricane. I have been around Cape Horn several times and I never saw such seas as those, To make matters worse big pieces of ice were being thrown about. 1 bey lifted high above uie rail when the seas roared alongside, and I admit I was nervous about them. If the ship had fallen off and some of these chunks had come aboard they might have sunk us. Finally we decided to turn tail to the storm and run for shelter. It took nearly, an hour to get around, but wo made it and then ran three hours to the north-west until we got back into the pack and slush ice. and hove to in a clear place in the lee of the ice.

“The next day, the Bth., the gale began to moderate a little and we made our way out and again started south. We had to run through sixteen miles of pack and slush again before reaching open water, and we came out in longitude 177 and latitude 69 deg. 10 south. From that time we have seen only a few scattered ’bergs, hut we have had no observation from the 11 til. to the 16th.

“The ship began to ice up on the 13th. Of course we had had some ice before, but it was not serious, and from then on it began to gather m earnest. ' The crew worked all the time chopping and smashed it from the sides from every place they could reach. There were 27in. of ice on the poop deck when we reached shelter, so you could imagine how much wo gathered. It was the worst forward, for there we could not get at it. “The seas came over slowly and went „ft and the ice increased until there was a mass around the martingale