Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-03
Also Near the South Pole.

It is one Of the wonders Of a history
Of strange experiences, that Of polar
research, that the North Pole saw a
human being before the South Pole,
practically reached by Lieutenant
shsckleton in 1908, came under OBJ
servation. The thrilling story Of Dr..
Cook, the details Of which are yet to
come, puts new life into Shackleton's
account, just begun in McClure's and
foreign magazines.
Shackleton's vessel was a sealer,
forty years old, small, but originally
built to endure the shocks and strains
of Antarctic weather. The party was
small, but carefully selected TO stand
the hardships and carry out the scien-
tific work before them. The food sup
ply had the most minute care. for upon
IL the life Of the party depended. That
part Of the expedition was entirely
successful, for there was not a case Of
illness due to the stores. The same
care was taken with clothing.
One OF the most interesting pas
sages in shackleton's concise story ex-
plains the methods with which he Sc
cured warmth without Unnecessary
weight. Manchurian ponies, called the
hardest animals in the world, were
added. A special motor car was of
some use on the ice, but OF one in
the soft snow of the barrier. The
winter quarters were a specially built
hut, with a coal stove and a gas plant.
In order to save coal the little sealer
was towed by . steamer from New
Zealand to the pack-ice. Ice barred the
way to King Edward VII Land and
winter quarters were set up near where
the Discovery had wintered in 1901.
From that time 1t was a period of
constant exertion in landing stores and
setting up their little habitation. The
stove burned for a period of nine
months, with only a rare stop for
cleaning. Mount Erebus was assembled,
and in the attempt the party caught a
blizzard which nearly froze ONE of
them to deRSh. They finally reached
the crater, the first men to achieve the
feat. The maximum width of the
crater is half a mile and the depth
500 to 900 feet, The steam rising
from the crater was sulphurous. At in
tervals there would be a dull boom
and an apparent internal explosion in
4ho laDNh1 - Nhn oroNAr AfNar N TpY,uh
descent they returned to their hut
nearly worn out from the exposure. 1t
is a story quietly told, but suggesting
rough and trying experiences at every
step.
Shackleton closes this installment
of his account with a few paragraphs
relating their winter experiences after
they settled down in their quarters.
They had found the mountain to be
over 10000 feet high and the ice
sheet $500 feet thick, The members
of the party kept themselves busy and
all escaped the lethargic polar ennui,
They played bridge. dominoes and
poker, wrote and illustrated a book
and attended daily to their appointed
housekeeping and their scientific data.
Shackleton promises next to describe
the sledge journey to within III miles
of the South Pole. The present INSTALL
ment gives us a picture Of what DR..
Cook must have been encountering on
the other side of the world at about
the same time. 1t is the modern ro-
nance Of intellectual preparation and
steady, self-controlled endurance of ma
lures most deadening hardships. If
there is a higher form of heroism thar
that Of these polar explorers It is not
known. DR.. Cook will soon be back to
civilization with his story. Shsckle-
ton almost tells 1t in his simple mar
~rative, simply substituting South Pole
for North Pole