NEWS FROM THE ANTARCTIC.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 67, 9 March 1908, Page 2

NEWS FROM THE ANTARCTIC.

RETURN OF THE NIMRGD

disappointments, storms and stress.

TWENTY MILES NORTH OF DISCOVERY'S QUARTERS. CAMP NOW PITCHED UNDER MIGHTY EREBUS. DIFFICULTIES IN SECURING WINTER QUARTERS. ALL WJvLL. (By Telegraph.-Per Press Association-Copyright).

Wellington, .Saturday, | The I'resb Association, liy arrange 1 IIK'IH Willi Lieutenant SlllK'Ulutull, lllla ! received a copyright progress report | from liini oi the Antarctic expedition, Til 12 SOUTHWAItD VOVAIiK. No fur us received it mostly dulls with Uic trip down in low of the Koony«, a description of which has already been published, fie says the greatest anxiety wits the care of the ponies. Hardy as they wore, the rolling of tin ship gave them so much trouble that lie was compelled to detail the scientific stall' to wateh them. Lieutenant Shaokloton was also greatly helped by Mr. Buckley, who had gone down with the expedition. He saved one animal when •it fell. Another fell and had t;j be shot, reducing the number to nine. The same day one of the sledge dogs strangled itself. NIMROD BAUIA STRAIXEI).

After twelve days' buttling the expedition fold one line day, and then it blew again, and the Kimrod was badly strained and began to leak. The scientiiic staff was put on the pumps till the weather improved. The bulwarks were partly washed away. On January 13th the Koonya left them and Lieut. Shack-

leton pays a high tribute to the everready help, courtesy, and splendid seamanship of Captain Evans as well as Captain England for the way he handled the Nimrod.

Despite the miseries of the stall', many of whom had never been at sea before, they were not daunted. Professor D-t----vid' joined the expedition, the permanent staff being increased to Hi by Messrs. Marson, chemist, of Adelnuk Armytage, hunter and traveller, of Melbourne, and Mackintosh, the navigating officer of the Ximroil. The party now numbers 38.

After a tow of 151)0 miles the expedition saw ice ahead. Ten sheep were towed through the water to add to the stores, and the Koouya left. J.CK BAIUU.ER ELUDED.

11he coinmaiuer and laptaiu liiigland, in view ol the small amount oi coai 101 l ami Hie strained condition ot me Miurod, decided to iry a new way aoutn to avoid the pack oi' ice wlncu every vessel has to lorce its way through, m tlic hope ihai iliey migut ue more lortunate than the Discovery in IUOI. -Ue ridiau i/S was selected, and on JauuarJ 10 Hie vessel emei'ed unit- upon mile ot icebergs and passed through a wondcrlul panorama of glistening crags lot hours, and at length emerged into the open sea. To the south-east and west was ice and free sea, and behind lay a line of bergs the .\iiurod was the lirst to elude.

A gale sprang up from the south, coaling the rigging with frost, and the ship began to pitch, but this the crewdid not mind, as it told them there was tree sea to soutn. When the wind was over they wore soon oil their way, and thus they went along until the morning of January tl when the,, saw a long line on the horizon and knew they were in sight of the great ice barrier ait lust. SULT'HERX LSAIUUEK REACHED. At noon, continues Lieut. Shackletoii, we were close to the wonderful rampart that has so far guarded the secrets of the south irom the attack of ships. Kising sheer from the water to a height of 150 feet, and stretching east and west as far as the eye could see, it was truly one of the wonders of the world. LOOK.LNU FOR WIXTEB QUARTERS. At once we turned to the eastward, and steamed along the ice wall. Passing a deep inlet towards midnight, we turned a sharp corner opening into a wido bay lilled with fast ice, on which were numbers of seals and Enipero; - penguins, while the whole bay was alive with huge liniied-backed whales.

To the south, about seven miles across, the packed ice rose to a steep clilf of ice, beyond which, to the eastward, were high undulations terminating In very steep lulls, rising to heights of 1000 feet approximately, no bare rock being visible. Pack ice lay think to the eastward and northward, interspersed with huge bergs of laud ice, but an open lead gave us a passage north. Passing this section of the pack, we steamed down close to the barrier again, and at S p.m. turned another sharp corner, round which we went. The barrier trended north-east-ward.

FIRST DISAPPOINTMENT. We now passed the position of the inlet, where we hoped to have wintered, and found it broken away. We thus met our first serious check. Everything was ready for discharging, but our prospect of a port disappeared. KING EDWARD LAND UNAPiPEOAOHABLE. We steamed on eastward to try to reach the actual land of King Edward Vll. Land, but were soon barred on this route by ice which pressed up close against the barrier. A NARROW SHAVE.

To add lo my anxiety, the pack was rapidly loosening behind us. With a knowledge of what this might mean to our little ship, 1 turned round, just clearing the corner of the barrier by a bare 50 yards. What we escaped, can be realised if one imagines one is in a, little boat close under the White Cliffs of Dover, and one sees great solid masses, some as large and as high as the Royal Exchange, Bank of England, and new War Office, and some as long as Fleet street and Northumberland Avenue, all moving down to crush the little vessel. Then one can gather some idea of the seriousness of oar position. y On clearing the point, we steamed back along the barrier, in the afternoon entering thc bay again, and finding that the barrier liad broken away, taking some fifteen miles of ice, aud leaving a sheer ice face 150 feet in height. FOILED AGALY

It was not until 8 p.m. that we l'vuml an opening to the north, through heavy ice, and again to the east, to try and reach eastern land. All night we pursued a zig-zag course, sometimes steaming into an apparently open sea, only to be brought up by dose-screwed hum-inocked-up packs of huge bergs. At 0 p.m. nest day we were further west limn we had been before, and well to the north. In the evening, wind sprang up from the north-west, with squalls anil driving hail and snow, so thick that we had to go slow, our horizon being limited

to a few yards. Once whim it cleared up, 1 saw the ice rapidly closing round us, so reluctantly t gave orders to turn back. It Was not until one a.m. next day that we cleared the ice to the north. THE LAST RESOURCE.

The only thing I could now do was to | seek wlntor quarters in Macmurs Sound, as our very limited and rapidly-decreas-ing coal would not allow further time to°ga anywhere else, and the strained condition of the ship was causing me grave anxiety. There seemed absolutely no prosed of reaching King Edward Land, the passage to which was barred by jnpenctrable ice. The only expedition which was fortunate enough to find clean water was the Discovery in 1902,

Thus foiled in obtaining either oS these places, we, slowly battling against u strong west wind, made our way to Uiicmurs Sound, which lay under the shadow of the mighty active volcano, Mount Erebus. BLOCKED AUAIX.

Hope ran high as we steamed down the Sound on the morning of January 2!) th that we might reach the winter quarters of the Discovery, but at 10 a.m. we found ourselves 20 miles from our goal. When the Discovery wa.s there in 1001 she had an absolutely icefree sea to her winter quarters. We tried

IUMMINC! THE ICE, but in a few minutes realised we might as well have tried to ram through the great Pyramid, so T tied the ship up to the ice face, and prayed for a northerly bwoll to break up the ice.

LIEUTENANT SHACKLETON'S GRAPHIC NARRATIVE

A SEAMAN S DIARY.

We lay at the edge u [ lu(! j ( . c till H-lmiary 3rd, making ojily a trip west to see if possibly there were a place to "'inter iu <.n iho western share, but found _ ice extending all round. During lli!» time, about unc mile of ice broke away. On (lie rulurn of a party wliic-li 1 had soul to our old quarters, and who reported that the ice was solid all the way, 1 felt I must not delay any longer, and must/ seek neiv quarters' on the eastern shore north of the ice.

AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT. Whilst getting some stores on deck, an uufortunat/; accident occurred to one of the landing party, Mr. Mackintosh, who was struck in the right eye by a hook, necessitating the removal of the eye. lie is now doing well, and has returned in (lie Aimrod. lam deeply grieved about Mm, ilni | appreciate fully the great loss he is to us as a valuable member of our stall'.

WINTER QUARTERS SELECTED. I eventually decided to make winter quarters on Cape Boyd*, and the work of discharging the stores and building the huts, etc., began. The work was curried out under great difficulties, for the great proportion had.to be done in boats under exceptionally trying conditions. The weather was vorv unsettled and boisterous, and the temperature low, falling daily. On February 19th, the Nimrod was blown away by A TERRIFIC BUZZARD.

I'or three days tlic blizzard continued, with thick driving snow, and the temperature IGdcg. below zero. A very high short sea was continually breaknig over her, freezing on all the ropes and sides, and accumulating in great masses of ice fore and aft on the ship. We had to cut away part of the bulwarks to allow the ship to free herself of water, which was frequently up to the men's waists. All (lie ports were frozen solid, the rudder also frozen fast in the trunk, and men were continually working to keep it, clear with axes and crowbars. All hands were busy, wearin* the ship about every four to six hours, avoiding great bergs and heavy floes of land ice, with much difficulty. The ship was blown over -10 miles north-north-west.

PERILOUS LANDING. In spite of the trying work, the men, ponies and dogs were all fit and well. Two ponies were nearly lost, one falling between two huge floes of land ice when the ice broke up in the bay, and it was saved with difficulty. It had to be literally lifted out with ropes. A SHELTERED SPOT. The hut was built in a sheltered valley at the foot of Mount Erebus, on Cape Royds, about 20 miles north of th e Discovery's winter quarters. The spot is well sheltered from the southerly winds. TWO YEARS HENCE. The Nimrod will be returning in January, 1910. (Signed) SHAGKLKTON. , THE DOCTOR INTERVIEWED. Christchureh, Last Night.

Dr. W. A. Mitchell) in an interview, stated: "Of course, you don't get time to get cold when you are working hard. The temperature on the average would be about freezing, with occasional drops to 10 or 17 degrees below, but unless a severe wind was blowing the cold was quite bearable. The prevailing wind was from the south-cast, and can be very disagreeable indeed. To kesp warm, the main thing was" to 4yiyo everything big and loose. The hands can be kept very warm by wearing the ordinary wool mits. You have to look out particularly for your extremities, but during a great deal, of the time, you could work in your shirt-sleeves. Personally, I did not find the Antarctic summer anywhere in the same street as the Canadian winter for severity.. It was just like the end of tho Canadian, winter, with more sunshine, but of, course you have to face the cold under less comfortable conditions down In the Antarctic. Everybody suffered more or loss from frostbite, but that was only to bo expeoted. The frostbite affected the finger-tips mainly, as they lost sensation, and the painful time came with returning sensitiveness.

"The Antai"Ctiee is THE REALM OF SILENCE. "The silence is most remarkable, almost painful," said Dr. Mitchell, "especially if you observe it in the middle of the night. Looking over the vast illimitable expanse of ice, your eyes encountar fiutliing save, perhaps, a lonesome penguin, and there is not the slightest breath or sound or motion to strike on your ear. The CONTINUAL DAiLIGHT also gets on your nerves, as well as the. silence, and the only antidote is plenty, of work. After experiencing the Antarctic, it is easy to understand how melancholia gets hold of a man. K th» daylight has this effect, how much more so would the darkness?" There was not much time to do scientific work, every man being required for pressing duties. Dr. Michel! said that there wan

NO PLANT LIFE visible, and Hie little life was cliiclly, seals and penguins. As much meteorological work as possible was done, and a number of soundings were taken, with what result he did not know. Professor David was the most enthusiastic man at his work the doctor hits ever seen.

INTERVIEW WITH THE ENGINEER,

.t. X- ■ u,llllo l>. duel' engineer of the Nimrod, spoke highly of the manner in which his staff and the machinery had behaved. "He arrive," he said, -in just the same condition as we left,'and nothing will be necessary except the customary overhaul. We'have not had a hitch with the machinery between the time we left Lyttelton and our return," New Zealand coal was used, and gave every satisfaction. The Welsh ooal with which the' Nimrod was loaded before she left England, though not the best sample, burned more slowly, and was landed for the use of the expedition. The Niinrod nad 30 tons of coal in her bunkers when she entered Lyttelton. There was only one occasion when she)' depended on nor sails alone, and that was only for about six hours, in order to allow Mr. Dunlop to make sonic ad-

justmciits. On the passage to Antarctica, after the Koonya east oil', the Nimrod averaged fa' l /, knots per hour. Her liest run in one day under sail and steam was 198 miles. Mr. Dunlop reckoned that the vessel put up three records. Firstly, she was the first ship to enter those seas with one boiler and a three-bladed propeller; secondly, she •was the firat ship to reach the most southerly point, )6.42; and thirdly, she made the fastjst return passage from Antarctica, having been 12% days from Cape Royds to Otago Heads.

ME AROXIC MORE INTERESTING.,

Sir. (... trait, the second engineer, who lias now had experience of both tlu>_ Arctic and Antarctic regions, has arrived at the conclusion tluit the \rctic is the more interesting of the two lhe Antarctic regions were far colder and there was a comparative absence of lite there.

A diary kept by one of the seamen showed that on Kith January, the day after the Koonya left the Nimrod, the latter started moving through drifting ice, and the weather became extremely cold. A snowstorm was encountered on the following day, while a stiff wind was experienced. The topmast backstay was carried away, and all hands were on deck till 12.;i(l a.m. replacing it. On the 23rd the voyagers had their I 'first experience of the midnight sun. Pack ice was encountered on 29th Jann- | M.V, and the Nimrod attempted to ram j her way through, but. without success. On llth February the Nimrod anchored I off Cape Royds/and a start was made

"Hi landing the stores, and was con•mued for several days. The weather from this on till they left on their return journey was very boisterous. XI.MROD KKleiffiTlA-'iTELTON. ut !il " J Wii"h A,u Hie grizzled longshoremen, J> laneous qmU-nuncs pronounced mously against th 0 jKto«bilit y 0 f c vesse.s imikmg port that night, „,a some mure boldly prophetic than their fellows declared that Monday would have dawned ere the famous craft and her gallant company fetched the BUUB haven where they would lie. Speculations were stifled and doubts set at rest, however, yesterday (Sunday) morning, when at 8.30 the Ximrod was sightei'f from the Heads. The tug Canterbury was made ready, and steamed away down the harbor to meet and greet tl«' hardy voyagers. The Nimrod was lo be perceived, dimly at first/ plodding bravely along from the east-; want, her smoke a trailing smudge against the leaden sky, just as on New Year's Day she was last to be seen setting out on her hazardous vuiilu.ru, and lading gradually away into that mysterious meeting-place of sea and sky; but this time she was coming home. As the moments passed, so the Aimrod took delinite shape, rolling pro., digiously in a confused tumble of murky water, but coming home, nearer and nearer, as the seconds raced along into the storehouse of time. Presently the little vessel came within hailing distance, and the tug and the timeball tower fluttered "Welcome" with billows of Hags, and those on board the Canterbury rent the morning air with cheers of hearty greeting. Tlic Xinirod then was seen to be bearing many scars of battle, telling of tierce contentions with blizzards and drifting ice. Here and there portions of her bulwarks had been torn out bodily, while the rigging and other oiilstantling furnishings also bore mute testimony to the ferocity of the onslaughts. Officers and eruw. scrambled into paints of vantage, all of them weatherbbaten, but hale and hearty, and shouted the inconsequential enquiries characteristic of men who have wandered far and now have come within sight of friends, of rest, and of home. Approaching the Moles, the tug .ranged affectionately alongside as a mother sheltering her offspring, and at 10.30 the Nimrod was comfortably, berthed. For a time, delectable confusion reigned supreme. The wanderers demanded an epitome of the world's news from the stay-at-homes, and the stay-at-homes bombarded the wanderers with questions as touching the true inwardness of Antarctic exploration, and thus the book was closed upon the second chapter. Preparations to the intent of inscribing the third upon the pages of history will commence forthwith. A space, however, may be permitted, as stories must be told, and the audience has assembled.