Omaha daily bee., 1905-08-23
.FIALA TALKS OF HIS TRIP
Head of the Late Polar Expedition
Tell of His Experience In
the Far North.

| HULL, England, Aug. 22-Anthony Fiala
of Brooklyn, N. Y, leader Of the Ziegler
| Polar expedition, the members of which
were rescued by the relief ship Terra Nova
under the command Of william S. Champ
secretary OF the late william zelgler, ar
rived here today on his way to the United
States He came ahead of the Terra
Nova, which is expected tomorrow. Mr.
Fiala said to the Associated Press
This has been another In the long list
Of failures to reach the pole, unless the
| three determined attempts to reach high
/ havings proved altogether futile, but al
| though the great question of the pole re-
mains unsolved. we have brought back
and have explored and surveyed the archi-
pelago from Crown Prince Rudolph land
to Cape Flora, discovering four new chan
nels and three large islands.
Longitude ss desreet 81 minutes @ s east III iati- L
termined, 70 force. a way through at the
! forty-elghth parallel. Here we were i'm
prisoned for four days, finally getting
At the end of August isO5, we reached
| Teplltz bay, the most northern harbor
Of Franz Josef land, where a base and
The America had narrow escape on
Ssct9per ~ 1909, when II broke adrift
its anchorage where It was crushed just
about month later.
shelter was built on shore and the
members of the expedition were kept busy
during the week preparing for the spring
| sledge journey and in scientific work,
which was retarded by severe storms.
The first sledge party left March Z,
| 1904, but was compelled to return owing
10 injuries received by several of the men
after reaching Cape Fligely. A second
attempt, made on March 25, likewise re-
suited in failure, the sledges being smashed
when but short distance from land.
Leaving a small party at the base 1 re
1 "a ri inc
sixteen days.
Relief falling to arrive in September, 1904
Il accompanied by William j. Peters OF the
| United States geological survey, and a small
! sleage party, started back to the base,
which was reached November %, 1904, after
q most eventful and dangerous trip, rough
| ice having to be crossed In dense darkness
| and the men and dogs falling into holes
| ice: Crossing Hooker island two Of the men
! fell into crevice for a distance of sixty
! nSe Ieet and were wedged between walls
/ OF Ice. Their rescue was attended with the
| greatest difhculty, one being so injured that
he had to be lashed to a sledge.
With the exception of a Norwegian fire.
/ man. who had died, we found all the party
4 at the base in good health and preparations
were again begun for another sledge trip
The weather delayed the party until
March l6 1905. on this day the party left
| the base which we renamed Cape Abruzzl
for the ice pack to the north. Crossing
a glacier east. of Cape Rath, we forced a
way way to the nortward but our progress was
having to first cut away and then to assist
the teams over the rough road, High tenn
| perature and fogs also gheped to delay
our progress. For two days and three nlghta
/ we were In a temperate tureg of "a degrees
above zero when It should have been below
zero and the ice was constantly cracking
under the tents.
Under these conditions and with the press
! ing need Of sending supplies to the party
! at Cape Flora, together with my poverty
in dogs l decided to return. The conditions
| on the southwark trip were worse than on
hTFt n fort TO
! In the temperature allowed us to cross a
network of open lanes aud we reached Cane
Abruzzi April /. Mr.. Porter third in com
mand of the expedition, was sent south to
explore the archipelago, while the rest of
the party worked at moving stores south
OF Camp Ziegler, making provision in case
We should be compelled to spend a third
winter in the Arctic. Meantime the scien-
! tifc work continued without interruption.
On July 80 news came Of the arrival of
! the relief expedition and we made a trip
| Of over twenty miles on rotten ice to join
| the Terra Novo
Mr.. Fiala has not yet decided on the date
of his departure for the United States.