Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-24
TRAVELLING OVER THE ICE PACK.

en- route, and yet with burdens light
| enough. or energy great enough to permit
substantially of the whole load being car
ried forward all the time without the ne
! ceSsity of constant retraVerSeS Solve this
| question, and the problem of approach TO
| the pole from such a base of operations as
! that which Spitzbergen affords is a problem
no longer. 1t only remains to be demon
Strated.
We believe we have found the theoretical
| solution, and we are now about to attempt
| the demonstrat ton. Our plan is based upon
the belief that with an early start and fair
| ly rapid travel we can pass beyond the
region of drift before the drift sets in. and
then whilst on our return to the south in
the latter part of the summer have the
drift in our favor Our method of opera
| tions is purely and distinctively that of a
sledging party We believe that we are
about to reduce the art of sledging to a
greater state Of perfection than was ever
before known. Our practice is founded upon
the theory that with the use of aluminium
for lightness of equipment, of the scien-
tifically concentrated foods of this day for
smallest possible weight Of provisions, with
the use of the most available and adapt
able animal power as q supplement to the
strength of the men, and all these in COM
bination with special devices designed to
apply this energy to advantage or to con-
serve it. we shall be able approximately
to attain the end in view.
Aluminium in the Arctics.
We cannot pause here to describe these
features of our equipment fully but will
do so in future articles in The Star, and
very interesting articles l believe the reader
will find them. 1t is enough for the present
to point out that our outfit contains no
startling innovations, nothing that is not
both simple and practical, every detail of
which has been suggested by the arctic
experience of others. All arctic effort has
been studied with a view to avoiding the
mistakes of past expeditions, as we'll as to
profit by those features of their equipment
which proved advantageous. We believe
and in this view are supported by men
whose experience makes their judgment
worth more than ours, that we shall enter
upon our task with the best equipment for
sledging expedition that was ever en-
ployed in the arctics
If our outfit has any DISTINGUISHING feat
ure, u is the free use of aluminium in the
construction of boats, sledges and other
devices. Aluminium is wonderful metal,
as YET little understood. 1t has its great
advantages and also its limitations. 1t has
proved itself especially adaptable to our
uses, as is shown by the fact that we have
pulit the frst aluminium boats in America
ana that they are the strongest most st r
Nlceabie and lightest boats of their size ever
made in the world.
warmth of the Polar Summer
a tremendous advantage which we shall
ENJOY IN our summer dash for the pole is
'hat we 90 not have to go prepared for ex-
IRENE cold weather. We shall encounter a
temperature that is rather too warm than
too cold. We shall suffer more from heat
and from the brightness of the sun than
from frost. The arctic summer is like the
winter of the latitude of Washington Gin
cinnat and st. Louis, with this striking
difference that the arctic summer has no
night and surprisingly equable temper
AZURE. In all the time that we are away
on this journey we do not expect to see
the mercury as low zero. Fahren heit
If ii apprOa Ches zero at all it will be during
the first half of May, just as we are enter
ing upon our work After the first of June