THE ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9043, 9 March 1908, Page 5

THE ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

INITIAL MOVEMENTS,

FINDING WINTER QUARTERS,

LIEUTENANT SHACKLETON'S NARRATIVE.

(Condensed from Press Association's Copyright Message.)

The Press Association, by arrangement with Lieutenant Shackleton, commander of the Nimrod Antarctic Expedition, has received a report from the former, brought by the Nimrod upon her return from the Antarctic regions to New Zealand. It states, inter alia, that the expedition set forth on fJanuary Ist, at 5 p.m., "to her long battle with storm, tempest, towering ice-walls, and blinding snow. . . setting our faces to the unknown." After the tug left the Nimrod in view of the ice, the exploring vessel proceeded on her journey, taking a different route to that intended to avoid the pack-ice. The 178 th meridian west was chosen, and on the 16th January the expedition "entered a city of white —a marvellous Venice of the South" mile upon mile of icebergs came into view, but never a sign of the pack-ice, but from the Crow's Nest stretched out east and west as far as the eye could see them, wonderful heralds of the frozen southgreat giants weaned from the bosom of Mother Antarctica."

The report proceeds:—"Through broad paths and through narrow alleys, between the towering walls of snow-white ice, the little Nimrod threaded her way surrounded by flocks of the Antarctic petrels and beautiful little snow-white icepetrels, now and then greeted by the astonished squawk of a penguin, which saw for the first time in its life a ship. The thud of our screw and wash from the propeller as we passed stirred some of the giant icewalls, and they fell in our wake with a mighty crash and roar. Sad would have been our lot were we to have been in that spot just then. After passing for hours through these narrow lanes of ice, often thinking we were in a <!ul-d -J n .c, but ever finding a way through on towards the South, we at length emerged into an open sea. To the south-east and west was an ice-free ocean, and behind us lsy our line of bergs. We had eluded for the first time in the history of Polar navigation the pack ice, and to greet our entry to the Ross Sea and remind us that it was not all plain sailing came a gale from the south, which made our rigging shine with frost and the ropes slippery with frozen seawater. The Nimrod began again to pitch, which 1 latter we did rot mind as the swell causing this told us there was a free sea southward when the wind was over. We were soon on our way, and though next day we had to steer westwHrci for a few hours to avoid some heavy land ice, we made a good distance on our way south. Thu« we went along until the morning of the 22nd January, when we saw a low line on the horizon, and knew that we were in sight of th.3 great ice barrier at last." At noon of that day the vessel was close to that wonderful rampart which rose sheer from the water 105 feet, and stretched east and west as far as the eye could reach —"truly one of the wonders of the world." Turning to the eastward the vessel steamed along the icewall, passing a deep inlet, and towards midnight turned a "sharp corner" opening into a wide bay filled with pack ice, on which were numbers of seals and emperor penguins, the whole bay being alive with finned-back whales. About seven miles to the south beyond the packed ice rose a steep cliff of ice, beyond which, to the eastward, rose very steep hills, approximately 1,000 feet in height, but no hare rock being visible. The vessel passed position in the inlet, where the expedition hoped to have wintered finding it broken away. Thus the explorers met their first check. Then they proceeded eastward to try and reach King Edward VII. Land, but were soon barred on this route by the ice which pressed close up against the harrier. To add to the Commander's anxiety the pack was rapidly loosening behind them. With a knowledge of what this would msan to the ship the vessel was turned round and just cleared the corner of the harrier by a bare fifty yards. After many baffling attempts to reach King Edward's Land the idea had to be given up, and the expedition made its way to Macmur's Sound, which lay under the shadow of the mighty active volcano Mount Erebus. Further obstacles impeded the way, and eventually it was decided to make winter quarters on Caise Boyd, and here the work of discharging stores and bui'ding the hut, etc., was begun under great difficulties. The men, ponies and dogs are fit and well. The winter quarters are well sheltered. The Nimrod returns in January, 1910.