TO THE SOUTH POLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 116, 24 August 1910, Page 3

TO THE SOUTH POLE.

CAPTAIN SCOTT'S EXPEDITION. THOROUGH IN ALL DEPARTMENTS The Terra Nova, which arrived recently in Capetown en route to the Antarctic, carries the majority of those who j are to accompany Captain Scott in his I endeavor to reach the South Pole. Captain 'Scott rightly counts himself leader of the most thoroughly organised expedition in the history of Polar exploration. Captain 'Robert Falcon Scott is ia ms|,n of keen sentiment and enormous enthusiasm, but they are hidden 'below a 'surface of a very placid and unconcerned demeanor. The traditions of the naval service on the one hand and of the great explorers on the other inspire him. Clean-shaven, with a strong and determined face, tight firm lips, and keen but kindly light-blue eves, he is nearly forty-two years of age, and it is his birthday on June 0, though he may forget the circumstance. He has more to think of now than the slow or quick passing of his owit years. He was thirtythree when lie first set out towards the South Pole in the wonderful but too expensive and not over-satisfactory Discovery, in which he made the great ex- , pedition which penetrated farthest south

for the time being. As a good captain he liked the Discovery, despite her fauits, and if sentiment had been giyen full opportunity he might have taken her with him this tinie. By a curious coincidence she has lain in the docks within hailing distance of the Terra-Nova, being in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, to whom she was .sold when she had done lier work in the An tar tic. RELIEF TO THE DISCOVERY.

Q The first time he ever saw her tie re- [- sented her appearance. He was out in r the lonely Antarctic then, cut off from e the world. It was on a sunny morning e j in January six years ago, the Discovery i I was fast in the ice, situation, ■ I and indeed t'hat of the wnoie expedition, ? I was >a little serious. The Government • had guessed this, and lmd sent this old I but carefully chosen whaling vessel raci j ing through the Mediterranean and ! Suez Canal, tugged along at top speed j 'by cruisers and more cruisers until, with ■' the other relief ship, the Morning, slit I • : came up to the edge of the Antarctic , pack. Captain Scott and some of his ! companions were uiscussing alter breaki fast their plans for the day, when suddenly they saw a ship. Then Wilson exclaimed, "Why, there's another I" and there was the Terra Nova. The sight meant safety and home again, but there were considerations which made the reflection not completely delightful. The Antarctic has its claims and its hold, and the explorer - has a very sensitive pride; and so, before lie turned in that night., Captain Scott wrote in hi? diary: "In spite of the good home news, and in spite of the pleasure of seeing old friends again, I was happier last night than I am to-night." FITTING OUT THE TERRA NOVA. 'However, he marked the Terra Nova for her sterling worth, and he paid £ 12,000 for her when lie determined on this new expedition. In the meantime she had gone back to her whaling, and he had returned to the Xavy to command .battleships and cruisers. A fair amount of money has now been spent oh her—most carefully spent—and she has become a ship of gootl looks and some excellent conveniences. She has to accommo ate nearly sixty officers," scienj lists and crew, and with* the three years' ! provisions that she takes with her—all i selected this time wih the most exceptional thoroughness and packed in spe- ! cial casts, so that rid case is too heavy j for one man to carry—there is no room to spare for anyone ,or anything. And .yet the scientists' laboratories and special which have been con--1 structed in her are big enough arid well fitted l and complete. There is nothing wanting. The ship was a schobner before, but she is rigged now as a barque. To a most unusual extent the Discovery, while not a ship of the Royal Navy, enjoyed rank as such. ■ She flew the naval ensign. The Terra Nova does not fly that, but by a special grant of privilege; Which is very useful as well na ornamental, she become a member of the . Royal Yacht Squadron and flies its white 'ensign. I(; is a point also that she lias officers aboard her who are of the Navy, being lent by the Admiralty and remainj ing on full pay, so that they may wear j their uniforms aboard. ;

, U WELL-ORGANiISED EX'EDITION, >'? The worthiness of the Terra Nova for ■jthe work that ia before her has been proved. 'And the men are splendid—in all departments. Captain Scott does not betray his own beliefs and' enthusiasms, but a writer has heard him say with high fervor in his words, "I am immensely pleased with the organisation, the whole thing. It is most excellent." Second in command to him he has a bright and eager young officer in Lieutenant Evans* who went out to the Antarctic before in the Morning relief ship. Mr. Skelton, who was chief engineer in the Discovery, is with;him also, and a few others of old Antarctic associations. The rest have been chosen from among hundreds Who volunteered. Little facts like these show the extraordinary thoroughness and determination, that characterise this new enterprise. Captain Oates, of the Dragoon Guards, is to be in charge of the ponies that are taken out. There is a man for everything, but not a particle of waste in man or material. And the whole thing will cost less than £50,000, which is not half of the expense of the Discovery expedition.