The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-02-19
HUNT FOR THE SOUTH POLE
PROGRESS OF BELGiCA THROUGH
 ANTARCTIC WATERS.

PRO6HESS OF' BELGlCA IHhOUUh
 ANTARCTIC WATERS. How the Belgica Is Fitted for Long Ser vice-Lieutsnant Gerlach's Party and Its Accommodations for the Trip.
 have now been on the Belgica near ly a month, and my admiration for her becomes stronger as we advance to- ward the southern ice. Her history, her fittings, her equipment, and her omen all serve to enhance this affec- tion, and every day find in our good ship new points of interest. She has been dressed and redressed so much on this voyage down the Atlantic that the original owners would now hardly rec ognize her. She has been scraped and polished and painted and rearranged inside and out until she looks quite yacht Belgica, now fits her; her aspect and atmosphere as greasy, sooty sealer have vanished The almost in separahle distinction of sealing craft the persistent fishy odor-is gone, The more we drive her. over this lonely sea, | the more we fix and comb and dress her, the stronger we feel her quivering animation. She already has a place in our affections as definitely as pet horse. AS she takes us farther and | farther away from our homes, we be- come daily more dependent; as she pitches and losses in the unruly seas and rides out the forbidding storms we l feel we shall love her better
 | We may have become sentimental about our little pet, but much depends on her. On the ability of the Belgica to blow through the virgin Antarctic | ice depends our success in exploring new lands. On her hospitality depends our comfort, and on her stability de- | pends not only the success or failure of the entire expedition, but our future existence. Our lives depend on her life; if she is buried in the Antarctic we cannot hope to survive. It has not fal- len to our lot to witness the birth of the Belgica. She was built at Svelvig, Nor way, 1884. Her first name was Patria,
 
 made ten sealing voyages of our months each to the arctic ice north and west of Norway. This then was the nursery of the sterling qualities for which she was selected to carry this expedition. With an Al certificate from ''Det Norske Veritas' she was re- christened Begica, placed under the Belgian flag, and under that of the Antwerp Yacht club.
 To see the Belgica and appreciate her giided value, she should be observed in the polar ice-her natural home. Ill a cosmopolitan harbor like Antwerp nr Rio de Janeiro, among the larger and more fleet ironclads she seems like a small bulldog amid a group of large reyhounds-small, awkward, and un- graceful. Tn color the Be,isico, !s gray, with natural wood trilulniogs. She is bark rigged, and has patent single top sals, with a body 110 feet long, twenty six feet wide, with a draught of fifteen feet. In good wind, without steam, she is able to sail ten knots. An auXili- ary steam power is placed well aft, that the bow may rise to crush the ice. The boiler is new, and the engine has an effective horse power of 150. Burn ing three and one-half tons of coal in Belgian bricks (bricquettes), and With smooth water, the Belgica will make seven knots an hour. But we shall only use her half speed, for with two tu,ls of coal she will make about five knots, q speed quite sufficient amid icebcrgs, drifting foes, pack ice, and unknown rocks.
 There are many points of special 'r- ,terest in the construction of 6 modern steam seaIer like the Belgica. But to describe all these would lead US irt3 too many long nautical details. A aen- eral outline of the construction of the ship, however, should be given. Ill ae- lecting the framework of the Belsicf; timbers were obtained of double ire ordinary size and strength of vessels oi the same measurement. The stern was inclined making the bow of an inclina- tion similar to that of sledge runner which enables the vessel to r.ss onto the surface of the ice and crush it ratfi- l CT by it's own weight than by he r,o- : tive force, as did the older ice ves!'ais Otherwise the shape is similar 70 that of well-built modern sailing vessel The planking inside and outside of .he DOnQGTOuS lTdIlGWOTk IS Ul GALL ; ary strength, and over all is a specla, ice sheeting of very hard wood.
 The bow and stern are protected bJ four-inch blanks of greenheart trop. teal wood possessing the remarkable , quality of being both hard md elastic Experience has taught that this wac{ affords the best protection aga nst lct destruction. Amidship the wear is less ] and here thick oak plank seems to aS-. ford the needed security, while it j: much lighter and cheaper. Tie stcrr is fifteen feet thick and the breast wal about twelve feet thick in antfo pcs
 terior diameter. Outside of thi3 there is a protective sheathing of soft Swed . ish iron to receive the first cuttins
 edges of the ice. The rudder is lars' . enough to stand the ice crushing should the vessel go stern first int :. the pack, and it's helmport is largt
 enough to make it possible to dislodg'
 obstructive ice. The propeller too, ha
 it's special points of interest. It can b. o raised out of the water as occasion ms, < require to free it from destructive ic' @ masses or to replace it with a re,v an :, should it be broken, and also to pernli free sailing.
 . And then there is the crows nest, ; C l