DISASTROUS BUSH FIRES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 228, 14 February 1913, Page 8

DISASTROUS BUSH FIRES.

i THE POSITION IMPROVED. SETTLERS NARROW ESCAPE. (Per Press Association). Oisborne, Thursday. ; The wind having dropped, tlie position in tin- country districts where bush fires were raging is better this morning. , No estimate can yet be formed of the losses of stock, settlers having hcen hall'led by smoke and fire from making investigations. The loss will be easilv I he largesl that has yet occurred in the district. Two men -cut b v Mr. Tulloeh to help Mr. Tiinibiill at Mangatu. .succeeded in yelling through with mtich difficulty. They found Tiirnbul! sinking from exhnuslion afler battling with'the [lames which were creeping round. His house and woolshed had been burned. The men and Tmnbuil fought the flames all night, and to-day are suffering severely from the beat and smoke, being completely blind, lint for the men's time.lv arrival yesterday Turnbull must have perished. Tt is feared the loss of stock is considerable. The fires are subsiding to-day. °

(Continued from page 5) | 0 arc well.—Curzon, president of the Geo- ■ ( . graphical Society." 'j, ■Sydney.—'All, here—Taylor, Dav, Joyce' ; nd myself—deeply sympathise with the j •ss of your groat Antarctic leader and j is brave comrades.—Professor David." '. TRIBUTES OF ESTEEM. J London, February 13. | ] The Royal Geographical Society has , received world-wide tributes including j niessiiges from the German Antarctic , Committee and Lieut, tierlache, of the , J'elgica expedition. | _Sven lledin says that immortal glory' rises round the name of the greatest ! Antarctic, explorer of all times. He/ reached the goal in the service of science and sacrificed his life to his honored : country. The British may be proud of such sons and such victories. I Paris, February 13. | President Fallieres condoled with King George. " j A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAD. ! A THOUGHTFUL COMRADE. Received 13, 0.55 p.m. I London. February 13. Capt. Scott, writing to Mrs.'Edgar Evans in 1911, explained' that Evans was staying another season, and hoped that her husband would get a good billet o nhis return, and make it unnecessary to leave her again. "He is such! an old friend of mine," he added. ''Xone so well deserves all I can do for him." A GERMAX APPRECIATION. Berlin, February 13. Lieut. Filchner, in an article *in the l!erlinger Tageblatt, says that Scott died a heroe's death. An explorer's death for him was the finest. Scott achieved his' aim and Britain loses one of her ablest 1 sons in the field of Polar exploration. I Honour to his memory. A CHRISTCHURCH FUXD. Christchurch, Last Night. The Mayor of Christchurch will open a Scott fund. He states that in the event of a Dominion fund being opened the Christchurch subscriptions will be ineluded; otherwise the subscriptions will be forwarded direct to the national fund.

Timaru, Last Night. A start, has been made with the Scott fund, £lO being sent anonymously to the Herald, and other sums have followed. THE TERRA NOVA. Christchurch, Last Night., The Terra Novii will remain a month in Lyttelton. COMMANDER EVANS INTERVIEWED A NARRATIVE OF PERIL. CAUSE OF MEN'S DEATH. EXIIAUSTION-NOT SCURVY. Christchurch. Last Night. Press representatives this afternoon interviewed Commander Evans in regard to a number of matters which have been commented upon in connection with the story of the tragic expedition as it has been given to the public. Referring to the cable in regard to Professor David's theory, and which lie was made acquainted with. Commander Evans said that Professor David's statement that the deaths were caused by scurvy was but a conjecture based on sound and practical knowledge of the difficulties attending such a long journey in the polar region, and with man haulage, but Dr. Atkinson, who was in charge of the relief partv, was AN 'EXPERT IN SCURVY, and he states that there were no signs ot scurvy. This being so, the deaths were certainly due to exposure and weakness, brought on by the long strain and the difficulty in hauling their sledges nver a very soft and bad surface. This, in turn, was due to an unexpected fall in the temperature. "It was well known," continued the commander, "that in the polar region in a very low temperature ice crystals formed a cutting edge, and the friction on the runners of the sledges became very great. The men of the hauling party, pulling a fair load, exerted a strain of 2201b per man on their traces when travelling in a temperature of zero. With the temperature fallen to minus W). this pull would be more than doubled." THE INTENSR COLD. Captain Scott's message to the public states that temperatures of minus 30 degrees below zero were frequently experienced. It must be obvious that after facing the strain of sledge travelling for a. distance of more than 1600 miles, to be faced with the extra pulling sucli as I have described would be enough to break down the party, what-, ever their physique might be. We in this expedition," continued the commander, "knew the endurance of the men constituting the advance party, and we do not believe that any men living could have won through under the circumstances." MEETINC MRS. SCOTT. Commander Evans, referring to Mrs, Scott, said: "f will remain in New Zealand until Mrs. Scott arrives in Wellington, and. with her brother. Lieutenant Bruce, of the expedition, will meet her there." THE BODIES OF THE EXPLORERS. Asked as to whether there was any likelihood of the bodies being brought back. Commander Evans said: "The best people to judge of that question are those who served with Captain Scott and his gallant comrades. They were his constant, companions for over two years. Had we ourselves been in the same place as Captain Scott and those who peris-lied with him Ave could only have wished that our bodies remain at rest where we had given our best elTorls in the cause we so earnestly believed J in." BRAVE MEN. Commander Evans then referred to the bravery shown by Chief-stoker Lashley anil Petty-officer' TCrcan. after leaving on their return to camp. The trying nature of the experiences • which Commander Evans went through.is to be found in the fact that on -lanu-f; ary 7 he was compelled to curtail his h

entries in his diary for four days. On the following lit' could only record his [ experience very briefly. ;,ud after that he had to give up altogether. MOW COMMAXDER KVAXS WAS SAVED. "To two men who were with me." naid Commander Evans, "i owe my life, and J do feel that no tribute of their services can ever be high enough." Early in the journey, Commander Evans "was attacked by scurvy, but he endeavored to withhold this fact from his companions, and bravely pushed on. The plight of Commander Evans then became apparent to them, however, and !he expressed a desire unit the men should push on and leave him in a tent which they had erected. The men refused to do that, and Commander Evans said, that he would command them to do so. They then replied that for the I first time they would disobey the Commander. Eventually the journey was • continued, and Commander Evans sucJceeded in making some distance under very trying conditions. Eventually ! everything they were carrying, except what they stood up in, was thrown oil' the sledge. Commander Evans was then placed tin the sledge and brought into camp. 'Continuing, Commander Evans said : that those two men would do again what 5 they had already done, and with the 1 same cheerful spirit, and with as little - thought for self. "We are not out to - praise one another," added Commander »| Evans, "hut I cannot let the conduct of 2 these, men pass unnoticed." ' COMMANDER EVANS' ACCOUNT. FURTHER PARTICULARS. 5 Christchurch. Thursday. I' "'We had prepared," sitid Commander L 'j Evans, "to give the southern party a * I great ovation. Accommodation was b .made ready for them, and luxuries got •'up from the store-room. We steamed rapidly towards our winter quarters, and anchored less than a quarter of a mile from the hut with our colors flying, when we could see a large party oil the beach waving and gesticulating, ' and as the anchor was dropped they ! gave us three ringing cheers, which' Ave answered. T identified Lieutenant j Campbell, next in command to Cap- , tain Scott, there, but could not see Captain Scott, and so shouted to him, 'Are you all well?' After some hesi- . tation Campbell shouted in reply, 'The ' southern party reached the Pole on January 18 last year, but were all lost- on the way back. We have their records.' "This news, of course, we received in silence. It was a tremendous shock to us. We shall regret the loss of the l southern party all our lives. • Details, of that loss you already have, and I need not further dwell on them. "Our boats were lowered from the ship, and the shore party came on board and told us the history of the past year. It was full of adventure and exciting detail. WHAT WENT BEFORE. "Now." said the Commander, "I may give yon a few details of the preparatory work for the southern dash. I took part in it. as yon know; but have so far t said nothing, as T did not wish to' trench [ on Captain Scott's records. The scheme j of this journey was as follows: , "Sixteen men were employed in the .[advance to the Pole. Of these four went ahead, under myself, to pioneer. . JAYi- took with us two motor sledges and , a large quantity of foodstuffs to relieve ilthe ponies of heavy loads for the first l I fifty miles of their journey. This was . | between our base and Hut. Point, where I i the sea ice was very slippery, and from I lint Point, to Corner Camp, which con,;sisted of thirty-four miles of the Barrier t with soft snow. We did not want the , ponies to suffer in these conditions, of which we knew, and so topk the motor sledges in advance. s MOTORS FAIL. { "Although these sledges did not .come [ up to our expectations, fhej'' did succeed i in advancing some three tons weight for s fifty miles from the b:.\*e. But in doing .so they gave us frequent (rouble, from ['incessant breaking down and overheating. This gave those in charge much . discomfort, to put it mildly. The i motors, being air-cooled, became very i ■ hot. Frequently the temperature was, i roughly. 8 deg. below zero, and when , I the motors became overheated we had to ■ | wait for them to cool, and we cooled, too. When they got cold we had to ; warm up the carburetter with a blow- ; lamp to got going again. The whole business- was most trying, and we were ; really thankful when they did break down altogether, although we mended them a.s much as possible. The last j motor broke down at Corner Camp, and the party were really pleased. "Leaving the motors, we took 880 pounds weight oil' each ton foot sledge, and marching twenty geographical miles i a day reached the meeting place ap- - pointed by Scotl. in latitude 80 deg. ISniiu. Here we built an enormous snow camp, which we called Mount Hpoper, ' after the youngest, member of our party. I MEETING WITH SCOTT. I "We waited here a week for Scott to ■arrive, which he did on November 12, , 1911. He had been delayed by bail weather at the start, and when he reached us he relieved us of most of our weight and sent us a few miles ahead. We erected cairns to mark the veturn, and did all the navigating and surveying required. We were really a pilot party, and kept ahead of the main party. The pony parly behind us established depots which were approximately one week's march apart, and marked each with a big black flag. "The various supporting parties returned, and were taken back to the base at Cape Evan? by Mr. Hay. Mr. M.ais. Dr. Atkinson, and Lieutenant Evans respectively. The total distance to (he Pole and back by Scott's route was 1 542 statute miles. a]l( i gauging the speed of (he southern party' bv that of the parties led by Lieulenant Evans and T)r. Atkinson he should have returned to Hut Point, fifteen miles from the base. lon March 10. Some thought: he would return before this date, but having five men a- against three in the last" supporting parly, a longer time might be required. NO ANXIETY FELT. "No real anxiety was ever felt for the sledging parties emploved on the isouthern journey," said ' Commander Evans, "as (he organisation and equipments and selection were so excellent

thanks to Captain Scott's experience I Jul remarkable nliii'ity. I •' When 1 was returning, ill with \ scurvy, my life \v;ts very gallantly saved liy Lashloy and Keoran. We had then boon employed mi .-lodging for six months. causk </.!■• MisFrirruxH. I "Captain Scott's last misfortune was due to weather conditions, which it impossible to overcome, as was proved only too dourly by the dreadful hardships which brought about the loss of the southern party." Asked for some particulars concerning the accident which befel Peli.v-oflicer Evans. Cominauder-Evans pointed out that the nature of the ice in the vieinty of where the accident occurred was very rough, and it was often necessary for men to have to climb over steep cliffs of ice which was very slippery. Apparently Petty-Officer Evans met a difficult spot to negotiate, and lie probably slipped and fell on his headj sustaining concussion of the brain. HOW THE EXPLORERS DIED. Further particulars of the last hours and the deaths of Captain Scott, Dr. Wilson, Captain Oates and Lieutenant Bowers were sought by the reporters, but Commander Evans said he did not wish to go into those details at all. He said the particulars already published gave a general idea of the fate of the i 11. and kc did not desire to make th.' tragedy more painful than it was bv adding more details. RECORDS RECOVERED. Commander Evans said that in addition to recovering Captain Scott's diary the rescue party had also found diaries which were kept bv other members of the southern party. Xone of the diaries, however, had been opened. Commander Evans said he thought it was right that Captain Scott's diary should be handed to .Mrs. Scott just as it was found by the rescue party, and in the eases of the other diaries he had decided to hand them to the nearest relatives of their late owners. Consequently no information contained in the diaries of the men who had reached the Pole will be available for the public for some time. Every written record of the journey had been recovered.

Questioned regarding publication of the story of the expedition, which in the ordinary course of events would have been compiled by Captain Scott, Commander Evans said that, he would arrange the book, in conjunction with other members of the expedition, who had different portions of the story to record. Captain Scott's last book was publish by Smith, Elder and Company, and Commander Evans said that Captain Scott had again arranged with Mr. Smith, of this firm, to publish the history of the expedition now brought to a close.

"I desire to carry out Captain Scott's plans in their entirety, and whatever he intended to do in this matter," added Commander Evans. Referring to the extensive ground that will be covered in the book-, Commander Evans said that there were sixty men in the expedition, and Captain Scott had a very big scheme in hand. Tn addition to Captain Scott's journey to the Pole other exploration parties were led by Lieutenant Campbell and Mr. Griffith Taylor, geologist; while a great deal of survey and other work was done around New Zealand and in Antarctic regions by the Terra ""Nova while the shore parties were at work. All these, undertakings will be fullv dealt with. THE TERRA NOVA. The Terra Nova will remain at Lyttelton for a month, when she will sail for Cardiff. A number of members of the expedition and officers of the Terra Nova, including Commander Evans, will leave here in about a week's time for England, and the Terra .Nova will sail home under command of Lieutenant Pennell. SCIENTIFIC WORK. On the question of scientific work done on the run south. Commander Evans made the following statement: — Lieutenant 11. H. de Rennick, being the most experienced surveyor, has had charge throughout of the oceanographical work. During the deep sea soundings, varjiug in depth from 15S to 3003 fathoms, spaced fairly evenly along our route, an unexpected shoal was found in the middle of Ross Sea, and advantage of this was immediately taken by Mr. D. G. Lillie, biologist, who let down the Agassiz trawl, and obtained a rich haul of biological specimens. Mr. Lillie has made a further study of the distribution of the small organisms which make up the food supply of tha whales between New Zealand and McMurdo Sound, and while in the Antarctic. Sea he was again very successful in obtaining rich hauls of the Bentinck fauna in depths varying between 40 and 3fo fathoms. Lieutenant Pennell. who is taking charge of the ship on the homeward voyage, acted as ice master, in addition to his other duties, which embraced the important work of all magnetic observations. Mr. Nelson, the other biologist, is going Home as junior executive officer of the ship, quite a sporting thing to do, as all the other officers in the.ship have had master certificates for nearly twenty years."