The enterprise., 1912-03-14

900 feet high. We only saw the nearest
surroundings. It took us three days
to surmount the DEVILS Glacier, al
ways in misty weather.
On the LIST of December we left this
broken glacier with holes and crevices
without number, with its height of
9,100 feet. Before us, looking, in the
mist and snowdrifts, like frozen sea,
appeared light, sloping ice plateau
filled with small hummocks.
The walk over this frozen sea was
not pleasant. The ground under u
was quite hollow and it sounded as
though we were walking on the bot
toms Of empty barrels. As it was, a
man fell through, then = couple of
dogs. We could not use our skis on
this polished ice. Sledges had the best
Of it.
The place has the name Of the
Devils Dancing Room" This part OF
our march was the most unpleasant.
On December 9Th we got our greatest
height, according to the hypsometer
and aneroid, 10,750 feet, at 50 degrees
minutes south. On December 8th we
came out Of the bad weather. Once
again the sun smiled on US. Once
again we could get an observation.
Dead reckoning and observation were
exactly alike-88 degrees 50 minutes
1876 seconds south.
Before us lay an absolutely plain
plateau, only here and there marked
with tiny sastrugie.
In the afternoon we passed SO de-
grees % minutes (Shackleton's fur
thest south was 88 degrees 25 minutes
We camped and established our last
depot, No. 10. From SO degrees
Is minutes the plateau began to slope
down very gently and smoothly to-.
wards the other side.
On December we reached sc de.
grees 80 minutes; on December 10
SO degrees Sc minutes; December II
SO degrees Is minutes; December II
80 degrees 30 minutes; December 13
80 degrees As minutes.
Up to this time the observations
and dead reckoning agreed remarkably
we'll, and we made out that we ought
to be at the pole on December IA in
the afternoon.
That day was a beautiful one, a
light breeze from southeast, tempera.
ture minus % Celsius (9.4 degrees be.
low zero Fahrenheit), and the ground
and sledging were perfect. The day
went along as usual, and at P. Nj
we made halt.
According to our reckoning We had
n1 of
gathered around the colors-a beau.
tiful silk f1ag-all hands taking hold
of it, planting it. The vast plateau on
which the pole is standing has the
name of king Haakon VII Plateau"
1t is a vast plain, alike in all direc.
tions; mile after mile during the night
We circled around the camp.
In the fine weather we spent the
following day taking a series Of oh.
servations from 6 A. M. to p. NJ.
The result gave us 80 degrees 55
minutes.
In order to observe the pole as
closely as possible we travelled, as near
south as possible, the remaining 8 kilo
meters.
On December 16 we camped. 1t was
an excellent opportunity, as there was
brilliant sun. Four of us took OBJ
servations every hour of the days
twenty-four hours. The exact result
will be the matter of a professional
private report.
This much is certain-that we OBJ
served the pole as closely as it is in
human power to do it with the instru-
ments we had-a sextant and an arti-
fetal horizon.
On December 18th everything was
in order on the spot. We fastened to
the ground little tent we had
brought along, Norwegian flag and
the Fran pendant on the top of it.
The Norwegian home at the South
Pole was called "Polheim." The dis
tance from our winter quarters to the
pole was about 1,400 kilometers The
average march day was 20 kilo-
meters.
We started on the return trip Dec
ember II. Usually favorably weather
made our way home considerably east
er than the journey to the pole. We
arrived at our winter quarters, "Fram-
heim," January 25, 1912, with two
sledges and eleven dogs, all we'll.
The daily average speed on the re-
turn trip was 36 kilometers; the low
est temperature was minus 81 Celsius
(23.S degrees below zero Fahrenheit).
the highest minus degrees Celsius,
(23 degrees above zero Fahrenheit).
h4 nr0 h1 74f4
mination of the extent and character
of the Ross Barrier, and the discovery
! of the connection of South Victoria
Land and probably King Edward VII
Land, with their continuation in the
mighty mountains running toward the
southeast, which were observed as far
as SO degrees south, but which in all
nrOhahilitv continue across The an>