Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-02-10


the as yet UNEMPLOYED region facing IN
Pacific ocean, sklrting any land 4contl-
nent or Islands which may be found
thereand finally landing on the ice bar
rier IN one Of the natural harbors y
the ice, where safety can be found, an
wherFno difficulty attaches 10 the dis
embarkment OF stores, such az the low
quay OF ice IN 1914 deg. W" to which
Captain Scott moore1 the Discovery Ia
1902.
1t Is at this point that NJ Arctowskl
proposes that the explorers should csl
motor power to r'ieir aid, Scott and
his companions as Dr. MIL relates IN
his excellent work on THE Siege OF the
South Pole" found on disembarklng
at their lce-quny that there stretchei
before them a 4 I surface OF Ice bar
rier, extending for hundreds Of miles
and free from hummocks or crevasseS
IL was over this tee plain that the Eng
lsh explorers tn cled for $50 miles, q
slow Journey Of flfty-nlne days, crowde0
with hardshlrg N hich nothing but IN
domltabie will" enabled them to sur
mount
At the end OF the fifty-nine days these
determined explorers were forced 10
turn their backs on the uncxplored
land which stretched before them. their
supply OF food being SO reduced that
they could only hope to reach their
ship In safety II no retarding chance
befell them and II they were able TO
exist with never a full meal during
all the long tramp back. NJ, Arctow-
ski hopes to cover the ground these
men trod 80 YEARLY across IN ease
and swiftly by means OF specially con.
structed vehicles, part motor car ana
part sledge, vehicles propelled by mo-
Tor power, but. when the nature OF
the Ice or ground to be Travelled over
permits It, throwing the weight OF the
loads they carry on the sledges when
form their body, and having broad
leather clad iron-spiked wheels Instead
OF the wheels usually associated with
motors In our cl!mes.
PERFECTING FINAL DETAILS.
VI. ArctowsN IL busy at the present
time perfecting the last details OF hls
plans, the question OF the construction
OF motors suitable for the work re-
qulred OF them along the Ice barrier
has been taken up by engineers. and "
Is very probable that even at the time
OF the meeting OF the Polar explorers
In May all the details OF the prelinl-
mary expedition will be worked out.
Besides the interest which attaches
to It from the novelty OF the idea, NJ.
Arctowskfs project for the use OF motor
power on the ice barrier Is most like
~ to prove OF great value. by the
use OF motors instead OF dog or hand.
drawn sedges not only can speedy and
safe transit be attained but also heavy
loads can be carried. stores OF food.
a. 10 L. yr,s ..atllRlng "A
hut, etc, so that az SCOTS point, furthT
est south. or POSSIBLY stil further south,
a permanent station may be built for
the ex-hut, etc, so that at Scott
point, furthest south still; perhaps to
the Utmost recess of the Pole Itself.
A NATIVE OF WARSAW.
NJ. Arctowskl, though now Belgian
citizen, is a native Of Warsaw where
he was born on July IS, 1871, and
studied at the universities OF Iiege,
Paris and Zurich. On finishing his
university career he occupied himself
for three years with chemical research
| In the laboratory of Professor Spring
| at Liege. He was one OF the first peo'
| pie to become interested In the project
| OF NJ de Gerlache for Antarctic ex'
| ploratIon, and before even the project
was published or any OF the funds for
| the expedition collected he volunteered
| to join the expedition. Warmly re-
| commended by leading members OF the
| Belgian Academy OF Science, his prof
| fered assistance was ut once accepted
! by NJ de Gerlache, and during th'
| two years OF organization he labored tc
help M. de Gerlache and to prepare
himself scientifically for the work tt
be done during the voyage. spending
some time IN Switzerland studying tbs
classical glaciers ut the Alps.
\ The Belgica started from Antwerp 4
1897, explored the Antarctic lands stu
ated south of Cape Horn, and effected
| the first wintering ever done IN thu
| Antarctic regions In 1898. returning &c
| Antwerp In 1899 This expedition OF th'
| Belgica was the first expedition II
| which scientific work was systemat
| ically carried out by a staff OF highly
| qualified scientists IN the Antarctic re-
gons. NJ. ArctowsN and his compan
| TONS threw themselves into the work
| with an enthusiasm which nothing
could quell, Never before" says Or
| Mil In his book on THE Siege of th'
South Pole" had n single degree o
| latitude In the immediate nelghborhooc
OF the Antarctic circle received so min
| ute an investigation, but the scientific
men were Unsuitable and remained un
satisfied"
DANGERS AND DIsCoMFORTs.
To value at it's right worth the ardoI
for research with which they wer'
| filled, the dlscomforts as well as tn,
dangers they faced must be borne II
mind. Antarctic summers were al
| ready known. But, as has been re
| marked already, these men and thei
| companions We're the first to expert
| ence the plled-up horrors of an Antarc
tic. night--that night which lasted 70
| ten weeks in which the Belgica la,
"clasped I'm the eyer~writhng but un
| relenting ice," and during which fierc
| storms blew over her. During thes
weeks the brilllance Of the moonllgh
J or the weird glow OF the aurora austri
| IL occasionally liz up the rough surfac
| OF the pack and the sheets OF leve
snow with lights and shadows NOR
cheerless than the darkness itself. Tha
darkness entered into the soui OF III
ships company, expressing them NOR
than the cold and more Than the IN
adequate and unmvltmg8 food. Tn
grooming and crashing ~ the ice in tn
blackuess OF the endless night was
| horror TO listen to, and the SCUM
could not be eVaded nor the darkness
dispelled nor the cold PERSISTED outsid
or the damp within. IL Is little Won
der that one OF the historians Of tn
first Antartlc night described II n
"hellsh" Yet II Is TO this same re
gion I'm which he faced such DANCE