The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-06-30
ANTARCTIC DISCOVERY.
New Light shed Upon the
South Pole Circle.
ZAP OF SIR JAMES ROSS WRONG.


Explorer said TO Have Mistaken
Land FOR water, According TO Rec
ords of Exploration Of the Diseoy-
cry Partx-LIentenant shackieton
Gives Results For Continental The
ors-some ThriIing Experiences.
Lieutenant e. II. shackleton Of the
lntaretic exploring ship Discovery,
ehen asked recently at San Francisco
khether the expeditions researches I
had furnished any material evidence
10 support the theory that the Antarc-
iie is continent or an archipelago
seemingly eYaded the question, but re.
markea later that the question was
pne that the pablo would be able to
aecide for itself after carefully con-
sidering the results Of the explorations
pf tie Discovery party. It is known,
however. that the records Of expiora
lion viii show many interesting facts,
among them being these, says the New
York Herald:
That Sir James Ross mistoolx water
for land and that material changes
will have to be made In the map pre-
pared BY him.
That the results Of experiments made
81 the Discovery party at the various
stations built for the purposes Of re-
eording magnetism IN the different lat
hudes viii furnish valuable new
knowledge for the people Of England,
Germany, Russia, France and the
United States, who are deeply inter-
ssted IN the subject
That interesting developments have
also been made in the marine biology
Df the antarctic circle and additional
knowledge gained Of the physical and
chemical analysis of different sub
stances found there.
OF botany the party has had little
opportunity to study, for Lieutenant
Ehackleton states that few, il any,
plants exist that far south or at least
The explorers could not find evidence
sf them The geographical discoveries
viii also serve interesting matter in
the reports to the Royal Geographical
association
III our dogs had not died. said
Lieutenant Shackleton, we should
have rot much farther south than we
did | am taking tNck reports of the
expedition with my diary and the five
copies Of the South Polar Times, which
was published farther south than has
been any other magazine. The first
edition was issued and read by the
members Of the party, nearly all Of
whom contributed to it, on March %,
1902 when the sun left us, and was
succeeded by editions on the sd Of
each month until Aug %, when the
sun reappeared The period Of dark
ness lasted III days.
'Lieutenant Armitage, who is d big
man physically, had one Of the most
thrilling experiences Of the expedition.
He fell twenty feet and was caught by
his harness on d rolling piece of ice.
II he had fallen short distance
farther he would have dropped 1900
feet He was fished up an right and
saved
Thomas Vance, the man who went
over Tie ice precipice and was drowned,
had 4 dramatic drop. The glacier
which was being scaled Nv Il party 81
men was of blue ice rs smooth as
glass. One Of the men had started
back to get a pair Of fur boots. Some
men had to go to his assistance, and
in the scramble a number Of them
slipped and started down the smooth,
steep incline toward the brink Of the
preeipice Most Of them and, in fact,
all Of them. before il was too late sue
ceeded In stopping themselves by pull
ing ont their knives and digging them
into the ice.
Vance. however, had too much OF
start to save himself lie had on
fur boots, which made no resistance
to ice, and as 1t was blowing biz
gard. his drop looked to be certain
from the first. He went over the eighty
foot Treclpiee with a scream. We tried
for hours TO get his body from the
ocean. but we never saw 1t again.
sAt one time twelve men were
blown into the ocean by the wind, but
were all saved Clarence Hare, a New
Zealander, was overcome by the cold
on d Tuesday afternoon and went to
sleep In the snow. He was all alone
and we did not know where he was.
The snow drifted over him and he
slept from that afternoon until the
following Tuesday morning, when he
awoke and started out and found us
we had given him up for lost In
some ways that was a record breaking
sleep.
after the dogs died we had to pull
The sledges ourselves. 1t was awfully
hard work and very wearying. The
Tors had to BE- fed canned stuff, which
must iii some way have become moist
q shipping IT. for it became covered
with green mold and sickened them.
Ne We're able to take observations
nllthe time we were Oh the long sledge
trip. which brought us within six de-
drees and forty minutes Of the pole,
and am carrying back valuable data.
/ am not at liberty to talk regarding
The Specimens which the expedition has
secured, but they are most valuable.
Il was taken from the Discovery BY
the Morning. which brought us out