The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-10-07

weeks, with no shelter excepting a
tent, no fuel and no other resources
save two guns, some ammunition and
sail needle, may have their curiosity
satisfied in the detailed narrative
which DR.. ]. Gunnar Anderson is writ
ing. He will tell OF the Antarctic win
Ter OF 1903 which he ana two comrades
spent in a misery OF dirt and darkness
on the bleak shore Of Nsrthern Graham
Land, 70 the south 81 South America.
Some details OF he story have al
ready been made public by Or. Nor
denskiold in his recent address before
the Royal Geographic Society in Lon
don.
The three men kept life in their
bodies through the.winter, but lived in
great wretchedEess. and so changed
were they in appearance when day
light came that their best friends
would not have known them. They
were members Of DR.. Otto Norden-
skio!ds party Oh the steamer Antarc-
tic, but he did not Know that any men
from that vessel were on land. and
when he met them in the spring he
did not recognize them as a part Of
his own expedition until they told
their names.
No wonder fer they were as black
A. coal from head to foot, with long
black hair hanging down over their
shoulders and black, Dushy boards
The skis on which they were travel
ing over the snow were the only thing
"A. -,
some acquaintance with civilization.
They seemed to belong to one OF the
lower types OF men who live almost in
natural state. like the brute cres ton
The dogs took fright at tn. forbidding
black figures and bolt.d il every di-
Iection.
Late in 1902 the Antarctic was try
ing to force her way through the heavy
Zee to reach DR.. Nordenskiold's camp
ut Snow Hill, about $50 miles TO the
southwest. When it became evident
that the vessel could not reach his
camp, DR.. Anderson, the leader Of the
ship party. decided to try to reach the
explorers by a sledgc journey over the
sea. ice and land.
~
sailor named Grunden and small
stock Of supplies and set out with high
hopes of soon reaching his friends.
SledGing. however, proved to be cnor-
mOusly difficult and by the time the
little party reached land their strength
and resources were nearly exhausted.
The twilight was lengthening, the
do ri 70 nd
knew very we'll that if they tried to
make the march of 100 miles south
ward and met with any special difficult
ties in the untraversed land they were
certain to perish There was nothing
TO do except to go into camp, and eke
out the winter somehow or other
They had about three weeks supply
OF canned meats, bread and coffee.
three sleeping bags 4 piece OF tar
paulin and a tent, but no implements
excepting a few knives and cooking
utensils and one needle. and nothing to
wear except their summer clothing.
The first thing to DO was to provide
shelter and then 10 secure all the
game possible before darkness put an
end to hunting.
They put up their tent and pilel up
stones so as completely to encircle the
tent with a stone wall. over the whole
they spread the piece Of tarpaulin.
Their abode was thus provided with
double walls; and when the snow came
they covered their hut deep under
snow. excepting at the narrow en-
trance They were thus able through
out the winter to keep IN average tenn
perature of only a little below the
freezing point.
Within a few miles there were plenty
of penguns waiting . be shot, and
by the time the winter night had fairly
fallen they had killed and frozen about
400 Of these birds Penguins are not
good eating, and the art OF cookery, as
rraCtiCed in the Antarctic regions, has
never made their flesh very palatablc.
But they were the atan of life Of the
three men that winter, ckC1 out by
mouthful or two OF bread each day, an
occasional bite OF preserved meat and
the flesh Of seals that were killed now
and then and whose chief utility was to
supply oil for fuel Seal blubber was
piled in a large meat lin and set TO
blazing and smoking, and IL was thus
that the skins, clothing and sealskins
worn by the men were turned denscly
black.
Every ono has heard ~ the revulsion
cf stomach ana nerves from which
men suffer they they try TO eat a quail
a dny for thirty DAYS When men
falter ar such a task. we can imagine
that nothing but the fear OF death
would drive them to eat the coarse and
greasy penguin every day for seven
months The feat was accomplished
and il shows what men can do when
necessity drives.
But the hardest part OF their lot.
after oil. was the prOtracte1 con1nc-
mcrt during the long stormy winter.
SEAL blulber was too scarce 70 be used
excepting when the meals werc cooked.
and so for days az a time the men
curled NJ in their Sleeping ta~s In the
Uitchy darkness. with nothing % read
IL they could have seen & read. and
nothing 20 Go but 20 listen G. the Lowl-
ing Of the polar storm.
II was hard fate. but they came ont
of it in marvellous fashion. even though
the winter left them IS black as Afrl-
Cars
D. ANDERSON believes that q full