Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-08-09
TO THE SOUTH POLE.
Plans of Lieut.. Shaekleton's Expedi-
ton to the Antarctic.

London just now is a small vessel
which Is destined to make history
lOutwardly she Is an inconspicuous, ode
looking affair, but her story Is full OF
romance already, and before her ulti-
mate journey is ended she may be one
of the worlds most famous ships. Hel
name at present is the Nimrod. but
she will soon be rechristened the En-
ldurance, and then IL her owners
dreams are realized the world will hear
from her.
The Endurance Is at present being
fitted out for the purpose Of making
an Antarctic trip under the command
of Lieut.. E. H. Shackleton, who. 1t will
be recalled, made the farthest point
south-S2 degrees II minutes-as one
of the members of the famous Discov-
cry party.
When you first look at the Nimrod
and still more when you go on board
Of her-you are not very favorably i'm
pressed with her as a seagoing ship
She lies so low in the water and ap-
pears, not to speak profanely, such
regular tub of a boat that one marvels
that any one would dare to go to sea
In her at all.
It Is only when you meet Lieut.
Shackelton and encounter her daring
commander, Captain England, and her
chief engineer. Mr.. Dunlop. that you
realize that they mean business with
the Nimrod.
Indomitable courage Is shown In theiI
faces, particularly that Of Lieutenant
Shackelton. who has just consented to
make an exclusive statement, in which
he fully discusses his novel and daring
lplars.
The chief in command Of the Antarc-
tic expedition demonstrates to you In
a few minutes conversation that he Is
thoroughly in earnest. Contact with
Lieut.. Shackelton for a short while
gives one the impression that reaching
the south pole Is a mere matter OF
course. He Is a broad shouldered, tall
squarely built young man, whose frame
seems to be one Of iron, while his
lcountenance has that British bulldog
Hook that seems to mean success In any
arduous adventure.
The writer met him recently at the
offices Of the Antarctic expedition In
Regent street, London, and he has
made a statement in which he fully ex-
plains why he intends to reach the
south pole. 1t all seems extremely
simple when you know how.
THE south pole, in my opinion, Is
more attainable than the north, for the
reason that in the southerly direction
there are more extensive tracts of un-
broken land" said Lieut. Shackelton
I'm the northerly region you have open
water and ice Of rugged character
whereas around the south pole there
are immense plateaus Of fiat land. 1t Is
for this reason that we are taking q
specially built motor car with us
Some persons seem to imagine that we
have an idea Of simply landing neal
the pole and then driving over in oul
motor. This Is absurd. The motor Il
only an experiment and is not intend
ed for riding in at all. 1t Is merely tc
haul provisions We have especial sets
Of wheels adapted for certain qualities
OF ground; the material Of which the
motor Is constructed has been espe-
cially hardened for low temperature
But we are not depending on our mo-
tor car. 1t will haul more provisions
than will dogs or even ponies. and as
we shall only use 1t over ground thai
we have first travelled and 1t will only
go twenty-five miles a day or there
abouts, stopping when the ponies stop
1t is altogether a practical idea.
Another novelty Of our expedition
is the use Of ponies instead Of dogs
We have been criticised for this. but
our idea Is in my opinion a very good
one. These Manchurian ponies have
been thoroughly seasoned to stand
very low temperatures in their own
homes before we take them out, and
there is no reason to think they will
not prove very efficient
"Of course, one thing may be said
against ponies and in favor Of dogs
dogs will eat dogs. but ponies won't
eat ponies. Perhaps you don't catch
the drift Of my meaning? In an emer-
gency, with provisions giving out and
dogs dying, we can feed the live dogs
on the dead ones. But with ponies we
cannot resort to this measure. From
a practical point of view. however, the
| ponies will carry more weight, do more
work and eat less food than any other
animals for this purpose.
For reasons which 1t Is not permis-
sible at present to divulge, King Ed
ward VII. Land, at the eastern end OF
Ross's great ice barrier, has been Sc
Ilected as the base Of operations In
place Of the headquarters Of the Dis
covery expedition at the other end OF
the barrier. In many respects the
change will be welcomed by geogra-
pliers. McMurdo Strait, where the
Discovery wintered, was the centre OF
extensive explorations lasting for a
couple of years. and we will have
around King Edward VII. Land
which has merely been sighted as
strip Of mountainous coast, practically
virgin field for explorations.
THE experience Of the various voy-
ages that were made through the pack
ice in connection with the Discovery
expedition went to show that the later
the start the more favorable the condi-
tions, as the pack ice is dispersed by
the end OF January. and accordingly
we do not propose to sail from New
Zealand till the end of the first week
in the new year.
"The united expedition at that time
will probably number twenty-eight
members, including a landing party of
twelve. King Edward VII. Land 1t Is
hoped to reach by the first Of Febru-
airy, and after landing our exploring
party the Endurance will return to
New Zealand, and during the next
eight or nine months devote as much
| n, poScih1a RI tho pOnttnnat tiOn OF