TO THE SOUTH POLE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 56, 31 March 1909, Page 4

TO THE SOUTH POLE

ON THE RELIEF SHIP. THE NIMROD'S uXPJSRiIfiNCEij. PICKING UP THE EXPLORING PARTY. STAUNCH LITTLE VESSEL SEVERELY TESTED. INTERVIEW WITH LIEUTENANT EVANS.

Christchurch, Yesterday. Lieut. Evans, of tile -Njhnuu, in the course of an interesting interview gave a full account of the journey of tile little vessel on the relief trip. "Proceeding under canvas after the first two days we reached the pack ice, speaking irom memory, on 22nd December. Alter passing through the first belt of pack ice, which was about sixty miles wide and occupied us for two davs, we proceeded south on ail easterly meridian until brought up by heavy impenetrable pac-k. This compelled us to make a cast back to the nor'-est. Whilst ill 173 west longitude and in latitude 70.42 we took a sounding. No bottom was reached witli 157.) fathoms ot wire, xroni a point somewhat south of that we steered for M'Murdo Sound, and reached the edge of the pack live miles outside Beaufort Island at 4 p.m. on Ist January. Witli the help of the current, which seems to set constantly from east to west between Cape Bird and Beaufort Island, we gradually urifted m two nays to a point at which we were only twenty eight miles from Cape Royds. llie las't mile or so had been done through an opening in the pack under easy steam, and this brought us to the edge of what appeared to be a fixed ice sheet." Lieut. Evans then told of the experiences of Mr Mill tosh and party in their journey to Cape Royds with the mails. Meanwhile the Ninirod was also trying to get to the Cape, and linallv succeeded in reaching there about 4 p.m. on the Bth, having seen no sign of Mr -Mliitosh. lie had left the ship four days before to cross the ice. " iiearing of his non-arri-val," continued Lieut. Evans, "1 leit immediately with tile ship with a viewto searching the coastline, but we became beset in the pack, and drifted hopelessly about 45 miles in a N.N.W. direction.

VESSEL SEVIiKELY TESTED. We remained helplessly in the pack until the Kith, and during this period we experienced at times severe pressure, which proved our vessel to be exceedingly staunch. \Ve were also compelled to subject the Ninirod to severe tests in ramming the ice in the endeavour to free ourselves. We were successful in managing this on the llitli, and picked up oil the Sunday, in the afternoon, the mail pack left by Mr M'lntosh in his tent at the spot at which lie landed on the 4th, and from winch he set wit for Cape lloyds on the 11th. We reached Cape ltoyds with the ship agaiu on the 17th, and learned to our great relict that M'lntosh and M'Gillan had arrived, after having experienced considerable risks, which have been already described. ALL THE LAND I'AIITIES AWAY.

With the exception of two men every member of the land party was at this time away from the winter quarters on expeditious in various directions. Lieut. Shackleton had just awrtea on the return journey from his farthest-south point, the western party was at I'erra Ulacier, and the northern party was at tiie Magnetic Pole. During the fine weather which prevailed tor a time Mr Davis, the chief officer, was engaged in sledging down from the hut and loading from the ice, alongside which the ship was then lying, the accumulated geological and zoological specimens previously collected.

ICE-SHEET BREAKING UP. On 22nd and 23rd January a fresh wind from the south commenced to break up the ice-sheets in the neighbourhood ol Cape Royds, compelling the sliip to lie taken further to the southward. From this point I detached Mr Davis in charge of a sledge party to convey to Hut Point despatches which were to be forwarded with tiie supporting party to Lieut. Siiackleton, considering that after a southerly wind it might be possible for the ship to get sufficiently far across il'llurdo f-otrad to examine the western coast in the neighbourhood in which we expected some parties might be. SEARCHING FOR THE EXPLORER*. On the 27th we got under way, and stood west for that purpose. We succeeded in picking up the western party in the afternoon, one of the party signalling us with a heliograph. .Alter this date line weather was only experienced for short intervals and as a consequence tile fast ice tllat remained i» the sound commenced to break up rapidly, and took the form of pack drifting northwards. During the time inat Hie blizzards we were trying to preserve our position and at the same time conserve our coal. We moored on the lec side of a stranded iceberg in the neighbourhood of Cape Barnc, until the ice was so much broken up as to enable us to get so far south as Glacier Tongue. We made use of that ice formation to establish a shelter, which served us when required during the remainder of our stay in the Antarctic. THE OVERDUE MAGNETIC POLE PARTY.

On Ist February, acting on instructions left by Lieut. Shackleton, we proceeded north along tile western coast and searched for Professor David's party

-now some three weeks overdue. After experiencing some small navigational difficulties in this search, we had the good fortune to discover this party on the 4th February upon the northern ice cliffs of the Drygblski Barrier Tongue, they having just completed the remarkable journey in connection with the attainment of the magnetic pole. It. had been impossible to give them any support from the time they left the winter quarters on ."ith October up to the date when wc found them on the ice cliff. As it turned out they had only just been early enough in the .season to reach the Drygolski Barrier on their way to the magnetic pole before the sea ice over which they had been travelling broke up. They had encountered and overcome extreme difficulties in their ascent to and descent from the plateau, and it need scarcely be said that they welcomed our arrival with enthusiasm.

INTERESTING SOUNDINGS. Some interesting soundings were taken at the point at which we picked up Professor David and nis party on tile 11th February. Having been delayed by southerly blizzards, we reached Cape Royds again on the 2l)lh February. The southern supporting party returned to Ilut Point, whence we conveyed them to Cape Royds to clear up Die winter quarters ready for the departure. After this date the temperature became lunch lower and the blizzards more frequent. RETURN OF TIIE POLE-SEEKERS.

On Ist March, only ten days before it would have become finally necessary to leave with or without the southern party, Lieutenant Shackleton and Mr Wyld reached ilut I'oint, having made a forced march of thirty-three miles to get help from the ship to bring in Dr. Marshall, who had been left in cramp prostrate with dysejitrv on the previous day under the care oi the fourth member of the party. We embarked Lieut. Shackleton at about 1.30 p.m.. and al 3 steamed up the Great Barrier edge to the southward of Cape Armitage, we landed him with a picked relief party to bring in Dr. Marshall.

A RKMARKAHLK PEIiFoKMAXCE. Tiiis forced march in and tlii* relict journey meant that Lieut mailt Shackleton sledged a distance uf about one hundred miles in three day* -a. remarkable performance at the « nd of a journey which had already totalled more thati 1700 .-hituie miles. The "weather was now almost constantly bad. On the night of Ist March and Urn Parly morning of 2nd March wo seized the opportunity that a lull gave us to get aboard at" Cape Royds the remaining specimens and some of the stoves. When this "work had been nearly completed, at 6.30 a.m. on the 2nd, the -wind freshened from the southward in a sijiiall. BOAT'S CREW IX DAXCJKR. Mr David's boat just succeeded in pulling off from the ice face to the ship at

her anchorage before the sea. ma(lo ; the second officer's boat, which was compelled to wait a little longer at the ice face, failed to reach the .ship against n rapidly-rising sea. owing to an oar breaking and tile frost-bitten condition, of the hands of the boat's crew. The men in the boat were, for some time in considerable danger, but they were Anally rescued by being pulled „p the k-e face by members of the land party still remaining on shore. The boat then filled and sank under the ice loot. When Mr Davis's boat had been hoisted in the davits it became necessary for the ship to slip her anchor, a contingency for which arrangements had been made on comin'g to anchor at 0 o'clock the previous night. The ship sought shelter, this time at Glacier Tongue. An attempt was made in the evening of the 2nd to embark the remaining members of the land party, and the boat's crew now at Cape Royds without any blankets, but the weather made this impracticable. FINAL DIFFICULTIES OVERCOME.

A second attempt to embark the men on the morning of the 3rd succeeded. The blizzard was still blowing fresh, and the ship once more sought shelter at Ulacier Tongue, but at 10 o'clock that night we received a signal from Hut Point, and proceeding there we picked up Lieut. Sliackletoii and the complete southern party. We had got them aboard by 1 a.m. on the 4th. We endeavoured to pick 11]) their sledge and geological specimens left at J'ram Point, but were prevented from doing this until II a.m., by the toughness of tile new ice. Al'te:we had succeeded in this we started on the homeward voyage.

AN EXPLANATION. Referring to complaints made that news of the doings of the Antarctic expedition was not immediately available, the Lyttelton Times says It is due to Lieutenant Shackletpn that his position in this matter should be made quite clear, lie did not have the British Uoveriiincnt and the Koyal (icograpliical Society at his back when he undertook his enterprise, as Captain Scott had when he went south in the Discovery, lie depended, for the moat part, upon his own resources and upon private subscriptions. Perhaps lie will pardon us for saving now that he came to New Zealand hardly knowing how lie was going tu earrv tin 1 enterprise through. Before that lie had pledged the story of the expedition to one of the great London newspapers, and however sorely he may have been tempted he was bound to keep to his pledge. It is very unfortunate, of course, that men like Lieutenant Sliacklctonj who could make so much sensational reading for the masses, arc hemmed around by such restrictions. But that is their fate. As a matter of fact, the leader of the Ximrod expedition has acknowledged his obligations to the people of Australia and to' tile people of Xew Zealand in the most grateful terms again and again. He has lost no opportunity to sllow his appreciation of their kindness. New Zealand is in just the same position as Australia is with regard to the copyright reports, but the readers of tile large newspapers in the Dominion will have 110 cause to complain of the budget of news supplied to them. This they owe mainly to the goodw ill of Lieutenant Sliackletoii and the ouicers ot his expedition. But for the exercise of a vast amount of patience, on their part at a time when they all wanted to be greeting their friends and reading their Home letters,, the public would have had a much less interesting account than they have of this great achievement in Antarctic exploration.