The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-24
FROZEN IN THICK ICE.
The Discovery May Have to Blast . Road
to the Sea Fight Miles Away.

! 4 cable despatch to The Sun says that
| the British Antarctic exploring ship Dis
covery was, when the relief ship Morning
left her. still frozen up in McMurdo Bay
where her winter quarters were estab-
lished, near Mounts Erebus and Terror
Victoria Land In other words, she spent
the last Antarctic summer tour last winter
months) frozen tight in the ice with the
| open sea eight miles distant.
The party is now spending its second
winter in the south polar regions. 1t ex-
! poets to come home next summer, and I'M
less the ice breaks up SO that the Discovery
can make her way to the open sea 1t will
be necessary to blast through eight miles
Of ice, more or less before she is free to
! sail home
The despatch speaks Of the blasting
that may be necessary, as 2 very formidable
hard work. But it may not be necessary
TO blast at all As far as the limited ex-
perence OF explorers goes. II has not usually
been found difficult to enter McMurdo Bay
and get out again
Perhaps next summer the ice will break
up and leave a clear passage for the vessel
out Of the bay. II not. there is little doubt
that with a good blasting eg uipment the
, Discovery can be set free In time to return
north by the close of the next Antarctic
summer.
I When the Belgica went to the Antarctic
in 1893 she took a large supply of tonite,
which was said to have prcdigious power
and was thought TO be the best material
that could be used for brea king up the ice
The explosive was a complete failure. L,
made great noise, much smoke, con.
cavity in the snow and nothing else. It did
not even break hole through the Ice;
The result was that to get the Belgca
to open water, when it was time to return
home, II was necessary to saw canal
through the thick ice, distance Of about
1900 feet. The forcs was divided into
three or four crews, worked night and day
for three weeks, and the canal was then
nearly completed.
Then the explorers were dismayed by
the shifting Of the wind. which partly
closed their canal. There was disappoint-
meni and despair on every face, for provi-
sions were running low and the prospects
were very gloomy unless they got out Of
the ice. Fortunately the wind soon changed
again, the canal was fully opened and no
time was lost in steaming out to the open
water,
During her long drift through the Arctic
to the northwest of Spitzbergen. The free
sea. however. was still miles away. and
every now and then the wind blew the ice
to the north. so thGt there was no telling
when the Franz would be able to emerge
unless a channel were made for her to the
open wnter
So the men began blasting operations.
which were kept up day after day. the
Fran slowly pushing her way through the
breek ks in the ice made just in front Of her
until, foot by, foot, she finally reached the
open seq, This WIS one OF several occa-
sions when blasting proved entirely sue
cessful in releasing an exploring vessel
! frcr, the grip OF the ice
! When the Duke of the Abruzzi was ready
! to stnrt for home from his Arctic work in
t Franz Josef Lend his steemer, the Polar
Star. was frozen tight in the ice which
clcgped Teplitz Bay. 1t Was hard work
breaking road for her, but the vessel
was finely set free by blasting. There is
no particular reason to fear that Cept.
Scott nd his men will not be equally sue
ccssful in freeing the Discovery from the
Antarctic ice If it is necessary to make a
road for her