MR G. A. M. BUCKLEY INTERVIEWED.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 29 January 1908, Page 29

MR G. A. M. BUCKLEY INTERVIEWED.

(Fitoit Oca Special Reported.) CHRISTCHURCH, - January 22. Mr Buckley, sheep farmer, of Aehburton, who was a passenger in the Nimrod, has been interested in the expedition since its inception, and went down to th« Antarctic also as a personal friend of Lieutenant Shackleton, joining the Nimrod at the last' moment. . Mr Buckley "said : There was a general impression in 'nautical circles in Lytteltoo that the -Koonya would be unable to fulfil her task on account- of the probability o! encountering heavy gales and the difficulty of threading her -way • through th« ice. The Nimrod was a very solid tow. She is a very heavily-constructed vessel, and is very deeply laden, so that the oon« ditions were therefore most unfavourable. We were, however, fortunate in one things For the first 24 hours the weather wa# fairly favourable, and gave us a chevnee of getting her shipshape. - "

CYCLONIC GALES. After that extremely heavy weather cams up, lasting for 10 days. There wa» * succession of cyclonic gales, which blow with hurricane force. A mountainous sea was running, which at times complet^ijt hid the Koonya from those on board th> Nimrod, even to her mastheads. OA several occasions during the gales the Nimrod made' very heavy weather of it, and signalled the Koonya to slow down during the height of the gales. ' Being unable to bring her head . to th<i sea ' and heave-to in the ordinary way, she was compelled to drift before the gale, steering so as to bring the sea on her quarter. It wae while drifting in this way that the danger lay. The Nimrod being only a small vessel of 200 tons, it took her all her time to get through her difficulties.

APPRECIATION.

It is impossible to speak too highly of the splendid seamanship displayed by Oaptain Evans, of the .Koonya. The Nimrod was nursed ,by the Koonya in a most admirable manner. It should be remembered that the tow rope and chain weighed about nine tons. The Koonya, was kept in a position about 100 yards on the lee bow of the Nimrod, with a ton of rope -hanging slack in the water, thus enabling the Nimrod to maintain practically an independent position and ridd •out the storm "on her own. It murf be evident to everyone who realises the position that, if the liberty of the Nimrod had been interfered with, and a strain put ion the tow-line at any critical moment, it might have gone very hard with her. The whole position necessitated unceasing care and watchfulness, and the greatest skill and resourcefulness were displayed by j Captain Evans. During the gale thoß© oil board the Nimrod quite expected- that th» Koonya would find it necessary to cast oft and abandon the tow. It is impossible to speak in too generous terms of recognition of the ability displayed by Captain Evroe during the whole of that anxious ano critical time. The two vessels were in th« thick of one of the most terrific gales ever experienced at sea. From start to finish he kept the vessel© in their relative positions, which alone ensured their safety.

CONDITIONS OF LIFE. As to the conditions of life on board th* Koonya and Nimrod during the tow, it may readily be conceived that in a, terribly overcrowded ship these could nofc be pleasant in the weather conditions that prevailed, but it is not too much to say

that everyone made the best of it, and that all were- bright," cheerful,^ and were an exceedingly happy family. Each one on the Nimrod nad his separate duties allotted, myself included, my particular 'duty beirijfto keep a watch on the stables, the Manohurian ponies having to be tended night and day in their quarters, which were on deck forward. No other horses in the world could have stood the knocking about that the ponies received. For hours at a time the sea broke right over ■their backs, filling their feed boxes and washing the feed away. Tho ponies were on these occasions pitiable sights, and it •took constant attention to keep them on their legs. Once down it would be impos- , sible to get them, on their feet again, and on the tenth day one had to be shot. The carcase was cut up, and proved acceptable feed for the Esquimaux dogs, whose number, by the- way, increased by the arrival of six fat, pups on the day we entered the ice. As for the fodder for the journey, stacked on the boat-deck above the stables, it -was oontinually saturated with salt water from the heavy seas which the vessel shipped, and remained in this 6tate throughout the voyage. _ The l>ran turned sour,, and was practically .wasted. Notwithstanding that the hay was eoddeoed vrifh salt water* Che pomes ate it with evident relish, bearing- out the reputation these ponies, have for practi- j eally thriving oh sticks and _ 6tones. To show the overcrowded condition of the Nimrod, I may mention that seven or eight members of the expedition had no berths, but slept on the floor of the w.ardroom, err anywhere else where they could find a rest-ing-place, whiles/some considered themselves in the lap^of luxury on the top of the cylinders of the engines.

AMONG THE ICEBERGS. We were for two days among icebeTgs

before actually reaching the ice-pack. Bergs are called "ice islands" when measured by several miles in lengthy Those of more moderate size are designated " bergs," and portions broken off are called "calves." Portions smaller than calves are called "floe*," which are anything from a few pounds- weight to hundreds of tons, " and it is- from these small portions that the greatest danger to- navigation exists on account of its being so difficult to see them. i*his may be realised when it is ,-remetnbered that the portion in sight is only one-eighth while that under water is seveneighths of the bulk r and what might appear insignificant on the surface may be in reality sufficient to sink the largest vessel - afloat.

DANGER TO THE SHIPS. Here- may be mentioned that while in the open eea those on the Koonya were anxious about the N-imrod, the positions •were quite reversed when the vessels entered the ice. The Nimrod being 18in in thickness, and having her bows shot with iron, was practioallv immune from any damage resultant from contact with ice, •whereas the Koonya's iron plates could be easily pierced or bulged in by even moderate shocks.

ENTERING THE ICE. We reach pack-ice very suddenly with the weabher thick and dirty, and the Koonya had to promptly swing round preparatory to casting off.. It had been intended to make 6everal boat trips from the Koonya to the Nimrod in order to transfer 20 sheen, several tone of coal, and some •Iresb water. I left the Nimrod in what proved to be the only possible boat trip owing to the rapidly-risinsr sea. The sheep were killed, and their carcases froze almost immediately. It was impossible to put them in a boat, and they were cast into the, eea. and probably half the number ■was nicked up .by the Nimrod. The remainder, notwithstanding their frozen $tate,- were quickly toijn to pieecs by the albatroaaes. These, birds were- absolutely fearless.^ never having seen human life before. My transfer Nto the Koonya was >uooessfully accomplished, and the boat then returned to the Nimrod. ' -

PARTING CHEERS.

As toon as- Captain Evans disconnected the cow>line was hauled in and the- Koonya jteamed near the Nimrod, and hearty cheera were sriven from each vessel* On reaching tbe deck Ctf the Koonra I was interested fcj the appearance of my late companions fen the jfiinrod, who, in their unshaven, Sre*ther- l >eai«w appearance as they leaned

frozen in.

over her rail to bid us good-bye, gave their craft quite a piratical look. A SPLENDID LOT OF FELLOWS. Here let me say that my lot was never cast among a finer lot of fellows than my I late companions. Cheerfulness and good ' nature and' buoyancy of spirit characterised them throughout the long and dangerous tow. They- were soakinsr" wet during tfce whole trip, but they treated their disj comforts as a matter of course, and lay down in wet clothes as contentedly N a« if their surroundings had been of a most comfortable character. A DANGEROUS POSITION. Before/ they parted company both vessels were rapidly drifting before the wind, and with the sea breaking dangerously on the edge of the ice the Koonya was freed ' none too sqpn. We left the Nimrod with the utmost confidence that she will stive a good account of herself. She. was certainly deeply laden, but' at the same time proved herself a most excellent se»boat, ' land in Captain England she has a firstclass^ seaman — a man of nerve and resource, who has played his- part well. The publio may have eveiy confidence- that in his hands the Nimrod wilt be splendidly handled; and -that in &a& time she will fee safely brought bacfc to the shores of New a . aU ' TIME. OF RETURN. I have seen it stated in print that she will in all probability be back) before the ! end of March, but- taking into account her small size and <jhe tempestuous 1 seas she ! will harve to encounter, I think it much, more likely that her return will be delayed till the end of April or the beginning of May. If she has, not returned by the Ist of June it may be taken for granted that she is i frozen in. 1 RETURN TRIP OF THE KOONYA. As to the return trip of the Koonya, the weather, athough not quite so bad as that formerly encountered, was of the kind usually to be expected in what is known _to sailors as the "roaring forties and shrieking fifties," v but being free -and no longer hampered by a heavy tow she made quite a good passage of seven days. CAMPBELL ISLAND. On the morning of the fifth day we entered Perseverance harbour, Campbell Island. When in sight of the provision depot the ■whistle was sounded to ascertain if there "were any castaways. Five men put off in a -boat, but they proved to be shearers, ( and we see many hundreds of new-ly shorn cheep on the hillsides. The country appeared much less inhospitable than I had supposed it to- be. The men asked us to report the little community as all well, and informed us that shearing would finish in another month. APPRECIATION OF UNION S.S. CO. I cannot close what I have had to tell you without expressing the feeling that I know existed among the members of the expedition, from Lieutenant Shackleton downwards, of the deep obligation to the Union S.S. Company. .We were all fully oonscious that but for the help of the Koonya the Nimrod would have been blown many hundreds of miles to tbe eastwards, and it is doubtful whether, under her own sail, she could_ have reached their objective before the freezing-in of the pack ice. This would indeed have been a great misfortune, as it would ii^ve necessitated' the return of the expedition to New Zealand without (realising its objeot. PROFESSOR DAVID. It will be of considerable interest! to your readers to know that Professor David has decided to remain with the expedition till after thff Nimrod_leaves King Edward VII j Land:, a few weeks hence. He was led to ' this decision on realising how little time I it would leave in which, to pursue his 1 scientific- reseaiioh.es were he to return with the Nimrod. In his resolve to remain with the party he has, in his mafcurer years, set a fine example to younger men, in showing splendid, spirit of devotion to the pursuits of his- life. WJiether the pole will bs reached by the expedition or toot, "the work of Professor David will assuredly not be the least valuable in its scientific results of the sum total that the expedition will' accomplish. His resolve to cast in his lot with the young- men who form the party was received with the greatest enthusiasm!, HJ3 unexpected companionship and assistance is regarded with tha liveliest satisfaction by !

Lieutenant Shackleton, who is essentially a leader of men, and under whose discipline and magnetic influence every member of the expedition^ will put forth his heartiest efforts to attain for it the most complete success.