Antarctic Expedition

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10598, 2 April 1912, Page 5

Antarctic Expedition

RETURN OF THE TERRA NOVA

DETAILS OF THE VOYAGE

CAPTAIN SCQTT S GALLANT ATTEMPT

EXCITING EXPERIENCES

Captain Scott's Antarctic ship 'lerra Nova, in command of C'apt. Penncll, arrived here unheralded at 7.30 o'clock, this morning. As the story shows, Captain Scott, when last heard of, was making a gallant effort, despite adversities, to achieve his objective, and Captain Pennell expressed the utmost - confidence in his success. The scientific work of the expedition will be of a. most valuable character. , . ■ '■ '' ' ' BAD ICE CONDITIONS. In addition to the Southern party, the ship was compelled to leave behind Lieut. Campbell's party, who wre landed at Drygalski Barrier. Thence they sledged into the interior. lhe parties, however, were fully prepared for this emergency, and no alarm need be felt concerning;them. GEOLOGICAL EXPEDITIONS, v' Two geological expeditions to . .the West Coast produced good results. Coal fossils which, had not before .been, discovered were found. THE PARTY'S HEALTH. The health of .the expedition is excellent, except that Lieutenant Evans is now recovering from an attack of scurvy. TERRA NOVA TO RETURN.

The Terra: Nova 'returns to the South in November. CAPTAIN SCOTT'S STORY. Captain Scott's story starts from October 3(>fch, 1911, at MoMurdo Sound. Shortly after the departure of the depot-laying party. from Cape Evans on. January 25th, the sga of. ice broke, ai South Cape, and severed communication with the station depot partly consisting of 12 men, 8 ponies and 2 dog teams. The party was occupied till the 30th in establishing a. base at CSape Barrier, seven, miles east-south-ea&fe of Hut Point. Owing to the heavy weights to be transported, the main supplies were left at this camp. The party proceeded east-south-east 27 miles before turning south, to avoid tho crevasses of White Island. The snow surface was very soft, making it hard work for the .ppnies.

HEAVY BLIZZARDS. A heavy blizzard proved trying to the ponies, which were not in good con-. dition. They proceeded south, mirching by night and resting during the day. The weather was exceptionally bad, but 'thp'sitrface improved. Three of.;the weakest of the ponies \v<?xe seat back. .Theso caught another blizz«vrd r and two succumbed. Latitude 79$ was reached on the 16th, with the remaining ponies and dogs. , RETURN TO THE BASE. Owiug to the condition of the weather and the animals, it was decided to make a depot there, and return to the base. On the way hack a whole dog team fell into a crevasc, and was rescued with difficulty. At the base camp they found the single pony well. AN EVENTFUL JOURNEY. Tliey received news of the Terra Nova and Fram, and started again on February 24th, with ski and a single pony- , i xu Storms and blizzards raged on the journey to the base camp, which was readied on the 28th. There it was found that storms had caused - enormous accumulations of snow, and the shifts of wind had baffled a ]l efforts to shelter the pomes, which suffered badly. . . Ho decided to retire to Hut Point without delay. -n Messrs Wilson and Hears, with a dog team, reached Hut Point safely. Messrs"Bowc-rs, Cherry, Garrard and Crean, with four of tho best pomes, set out to follow the dogs. When nearing Hut Point they round, that they were working on cracked ice. They hastily turned and marched south again. n , Tired ponies compelled the pai t\ to camp. AN ENCTTING INCIDENT. • During the night Mr Bowers awoke ■and'found the ice broken all round, and the camp moving with the heavy* swell. One ponv had disappeared, and was not seen again. The party got out with infinite difficulty, tho ponies

(Special Press Association Summary By Telegraph Cop> right.)

AKAROA, April 1. jumping from .floe to floe. When his party readied the Barrier, his worst fears were confirmed when Mr Wilson, with his glasses, discovered the ponies adrift on a sea of ice. Captain Scott, with Messrs Oates and Crean, set off to the west, working round the bay approaching the Barrier edge.

They discovered the missing- party on a pack which had been drifting slowly to the north-west.. With an alpine men were ■rescued: r '• The sledges and wades were also salvaged, but nothing could be done for the ponies, which were only thirty vards away. The pack later began to drift away, and the ponies were left with fui. nose-bags. - They moved north, found the ponJes, and made desperate efforts to save them. They succeeded only with, one. Killer whales bling about within, a few yards. Three of the; stronger pomp, were lost by that • incident, . which ; a, severe blow -to-the expedition:. The heavy swell, which caused the disaster, broke for more than ten miles a vast sea of ice and two miles of a glacier tongue —a feature v which was otherwise unchanged since 1902.

THE "DISCOVERY" HUT. The "Discovery'* hut was found, almost filled with hard snow. The windows were broken and the doors unhinged. .. t The hutt was repaired, and afforded shelter whilst the party was forced to wait the freezing of the sea. The supply of seals never, failed, but they were sometimes scarce.

>/ GEOLOGICA L PARTY. On March 15tli tlie western geological party returned, bringing a total of sixteen persons. The party had spent six weeks m making a close survey of Dry Valley. Lower Frrar, and Koettlitz Glacier regions. ' . AX ANXIOUS TIME. The temperature at East Barrier had already fallen to minus forty degrees. Throughout the month the ice continually formed over *..tlie, .sea,, ~biit strong winds qiiickly drove it north. . After March 25% the ico remained fast'in sheltered bays, but continued to drive out of the Sound; Huge land and ice falls on the south west slopes of Erebus prevented any oossibilitvof returning to Cape Evans by land.' - Captain Scott, with eight conipan- ! ions, started for the station on April ]lth. Though the&wero caught .in. a storm on the sea of ice. they reached Capo Evans oil the 13tk,

AT THE STATION. | The station, which was left iu Simp-' son's charge, was found in excellent older. The recording instruments »verc 'u full swing, and all the records were complete. There had been much wind, the mean velocity for two months having been 2-i miles per hour. During the whole time the wind had been at over gale strength. AH the observations pointed to an exceptionally severe season. _ < . The sea of ice continued to drive out • of the Sound-'until "the first week in May. It was not till three weeks after the sun had gone that the men and animals left that point and safely returned to tho main station. The Sound was frozen solid iu Ma?/, and later in the winter the fast ice extended for an-■unprecedented distance to the north.

THE SOUTH ERN DASH All .pkn« and preparations for the southern journey were ccmiptteted, despite the accident- last, season. Captain Scott concludes, "We have great hopes c-f isucce&s. Tine necessity forgetting the utmost out of the ramaining pontes has- doweled me not to expo yj them to- great. cold. I shall therefore- start 'latecr than wa,> originally intended-,