The Greeley tribune., 1909-06-02
an ANTARCTIC STORM
e'aV'n9 the peri|s of a sou.h
polar Winters Night.
PIERCE FURY OF THE GALE,

@"'ufes OF Party of Explorers In
''urhey Over the Broken Pack
-'ne Solid Wall of Wind That
thanked Friendly Iceberq.
"e "rc'le explorer has ALWAYS had |
nsrdship and danger enough but tho
''''" dlscoyerer has far more ter
''o' conditions to meet. Luckily he
meets Them with all the equipment
anu method that arctic exploration has
ssusn' mankind. Yet they are most
dangerous, MS the story OF those who
"A'e hVed through the south polar
winter night can testify. One of the
experiences of Bernucchi on the cruise
VI the Southern Cross some wears
ago SHOWS what an antarctic gale
means.
ne ana comrade. Ellifsen. started
out on short sledge tourney to carry
pso'ls'ohs from one camp to another.
IL was in September, and the broken
ice pack over which they must travel
was put foot and a half thick and
nkely to break In pieces afresh or pile
up In deadly masses at the mercy of
the sea and wind. The two men had
three sledges and eighteen dogs. They
mo hardly started before the wind
rose and gale threatened. Halfway
70 their destination there WAS an Ice
oerg imbedded in the pack ice. and
tney hastcned TO reach this before the
storm should break.
For five hours they toiled over the
ice, the wind gradually rising The
gale broke in fury just as they reach
ed the iceberg, under whose lee they
pitched tiny silk tent, into which
they crawled after having fed their
dogs ms best they could Hour after
hour the wind ragged. and the ther-
nometer went to 9 degrees below zero.
The snow drifted over and into the
tent. Sleep was impossible.
The explorers. who had met typhoons
In the China seas and cyclones in the
tropics. found by the aneroid as well
a. by their own sensations that this
gale surpassed them all. Worst Of all,
1t seemed as if the ice was beginning
to crack. They knew well that the
Iceberg which protected them from the
full force OF the storm was the most
dangerous place possible in other
ways, as the ice was sure to separate
| first Immediately round the berg
throwing tent. men and dogs into the
icy seas. The cracking of ice was now
to be heard above the roar Of the
wind They dared not stay in their
shelter
A little to the east. Bernacchi re
Neunlered. was n cave in the body o
| the iceberg. Once In that. they wouls
not mt least be precipitated into thu
sea. even II they were carried away
iceberg and all 1t was so dark tina
the wall Of the berg could not be seer
even when the hands touched it, The
two explorers groped as best the!
could along the slippery walls. bott
hands on the ice and their bodies
dressed against 1t. Halfway around
they left the lee side and met thu
gale. 1t came like solid thing, bear
ing them back and down. Not one
inch could they move against 1t. anG
further exposure meant death. They
cropped back. blinded. deafened and
almost paralyzed with cold. to shelter
Then they commenced toilsome hunt
for a fOOthold on the lee side some
where. Toward morning they found
low spur or projection, upon which
they scrn mbled and lay down perfect
ly exhausted in the snowdrifts. which
rev each moment. To this they owed
heir lives. for the snow soon covered
hem and kept in the warmth OF their
bodies.
They dared not sleep for fear OF
never waking. 40 they reused en'n
ether alternately. At last day broke
and the gale abated. Crawling over
lie snow. their garments frozen sun
VS. boards. their boards solid humps OF
lee. they managed to reach their tent
The ice had not broken. though 1t was
cracked here and there. They TOOK
'ood, slept. fed their dogs, who were
deep In the drifts. but alive, and theh
,ourageously went ahead, mot caring
10 be beaten" as Rernacchi expressed
Il Il II was g o'clock at night belore
they reached camp. but the next IA!
hey were exploring and taking photo
rlphs and observations just ns usual
Nan may seem puny against nature
hut he conquers her from the arctic !'
the antarctic by his unconquerab'e
soul. - William Rittenhouse IN '"r-
ward.
A Clever Barber.