The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-21
AMUNDSEN SAILED
 OVER POLAR SEAS From the Atlantic to Shore of
 the Pacific THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE Captain Amundsen Is the First Arctic Explorer to Traverse PerIous
 Water Route-Details of
 Wonderful Voyage.
THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE

by fIduh N oiiith
 Special dispatch to the Cincinnati Sunday
 Enquirer.
 Eagle City, Alaska, Via Skagway. Cap tain Roland Amundsen. master of the 1 Norwegian sloop Gjoa, of Christiana, and first explorer to make his way through the northwest passage, has arrived here from Herschel Island, accompanied by Captain William Mogg, of the wrecked whaling schooner Bonanza of San Fran cisco He is the first man to accomplish in all the history of polar research the feat of navigation from the Atlantic ocean | to the waters of the Pacific by way of the usually ice-bound regions of the North American continent.
 The overland trip from Herschel to this city was itself a notable undertaking. They made the TOO miles of overland travel ac- companied by two Eskimo sleds with native guides
 Captain Amundsen, who is exceedingly modest about the remarkable success of his expedition, states that his work has been very successful from scientific standpoint in addition to the eonquering of the northwest passage.
 The observation made by Captain Amundsen, as stated by the explorer, will prove of great scientific value among those mentioned to me being the extreme variation and constant changes of marked character in the magnetic needle at prac- tcally the magnetic north pole.
 Ships Compass Useless.
 From the northern point of Peel sound to the western end of Simpsons trait, the ships compass was found to be use- less
 An observation station was established by Captain Amundsen at King Williams S | Land latitude 6S degrees and 30 minutes north and 90 degrees west. Captain | Amundsen declares his belief, based on the two years of observation by him, that the north magnetic pole is within 90 minutes of that point The observa- tions have been taken day and night for d period of three years, and in the opin- lon of the explorer the actual position of the magnetic pole will be determined as soon as his observations can be figured out. Evidently the change from the posi- tion marked by Ross has been very slight.
 Captain Amundsen. with his crew of seven men, sailed from Christiana on June l, 1903. He has not only brought his ship through the passage that had never been completely traversed but he and his men have arrived in the Arctic without casualty or without any serious illness The route sailed from Christania to Baf- fins bay and then through Lancaster sound Barren straits, Peel sound, James Ross strait Simpsons strait Dease strait Coronation gulf and Dolphin and Union straits to King Point, where the explorers obtained communication with the winter .bound fleet of whalers from San Francisco
 Hundreds of Islands.
 The passage between King Williams Land and Victoria Land says Captain Amundsen Is very shallow and narrow.
 There are more than 100 islands there and at times the sounding was as shallow as three fathoms These islands were seen and mentioned by Rae and Captain Amundsen says 1t is now definitely proved that they are land.
 The Gjoa ifs wintering under the lee of Harschel island, and as soon as the ice breaks away in the spring he will sail through Behring sea to San Francisco. From the latter port she will proceed by way of Cape Horn to her home port in Norway, thus achieving for the first time the complete circumvention of the Ameri- can continent.
 Captain Amundsen Is a Norwegian sea- man. only 8 years of age. He is exceed inly modest in relating his experiences and he accredits his success mainly to the discipline and the harmonious endeavors of his crew, but he cannot conceal the ex- treme satisfaction with which he realizes that he is the first navigator to succeed where many have failed. He was the first officers of the Belgn South Pole expedi- ton. When he arrived here he was ex- ceedngly eager for news from his home land and from the world In general. and he was supplied with all the latest files of the Examiner.
 Heard of Norways Secession.
 He especially thrilled by the story | of NorWay'S secession and seemed preatlv pleased that his native country had con cluded to be independent of Sweden and that no war had resulted. After com municating with his government and after resting here he will return over the route by which he came and wait with his fel- low voyagers for the ice to break up and permit him to sail for San Francisco His route is by way of Fit Yukon and the Porcupine river.
 The Norwegian explorers were without news from the outer world from June 1, 1903, to August of this year. when Ameri- can whalers were met in the Arctic He made inquiries among the Eskimos when ever he went for tidngs of the lost ex- plorer Andre, but was unable to obtain any information about him. Some of the natives had never seen white man be- fore. The Gjoa was fitted out with finan- cial assistance from King Oscar, some in- | fiuential men of Norway and Sweden and the Royal Geographical Society in Lon don. She is 73 feet long with 200 feet beam and draws nine feet of water A much larger ship would never have succeeded in getting through the northwest passage, and the Gjoa probably would not have achieved her feat without the use of aux Hilary oil power. Captain Amundsen states that the coldest weather he experienced was in March, 1904, when the mercury reg istered n degrees below zero