The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1912-03-15
HARTFORD, OHIO COUNTY, FRIDAY MARCH No35

the surface Of the barrier was smooth
Few dangerous fissures were found
In the meantime hunters were bus,
catching seals and by the arrival OF
winter the party had plenty of sea
meat for their men and 40 dogs
The sun went down April % and
four months of winter night set in
But the expedition had prepared well
| for 1t. Dog houses had been built and
a veritable ice palace constructed for
the men. There were living quarters,
n bath room, a workshop and an apart
ment for making observations. A go
candle power lamp furnished light
for the winter house. The light heat
ed the quarters and kept them at Gs
degrees fahrenheit. At first the party
suffered from lack of ventilation, but
later this was rcmedied and the win
ter was spent in preparing for the final
dash.
The sledges were torn apart and
lightened, tools were constructed and
calculations worked out. Amundsen
had expected terrific gales. but. aside
from heavy snow, which nearly buried
the Igloo, the weather remained fairly
favorable. Another remarkable cir
cumstance that differed from arctic
conditions was that the water re-
manned open all winter. During the
winter the thermometer ranged from
IS to 20 degrees below zero, but the
men did not suffer, and when the sun
finally rose on August "a and the long
winter night lifted, all were in perfect
physical candition and the dogs were
Fat and anxious for work.
On September S, 1911, a party of
plight men. with sledges, ninety dogs
Ind provisions for four months. left
the camp. The going was perfect and
the weather fair, but a storm blew up
and the thermometer fell
to IS degrees below zero. The men
might have been able to stand this in
tense cold, but the dogs suffered so
keenly that Amundsen's heart was
touched and he gave the order to turn
back. 1t was decided to wait further
into the summer before making an
other start.
Several of the dogs died from cold
on the return voyage, and three of the
men had their heels frost nipped.
After the real start, forty days later.
the party was able to make daily
progress. Part Of the trail followed
was that originally taken by Sir
Ernest Shackelton. Amnudsen de-
scribed the journey onward, which is
a repetition of daily dashes of from
fifteen to twenty miles over plains
and glaciers without incident or ad-
venture. None of the men was in
jured and none suffered from exposure
Or illness. Scaling the barrier. with
Its altitude Of 1900 feet. the expedi-
ton ran into a gale at the very gates
Of the pole. 1t was at this time that
thirty four dogs were killed.
On November 80 the party struck
Devils glacier, a mountainous wall of
Ice, that seemed to loom to the skies.
Travelling was very difficult. but on
December the bad weather ende
and the party entered a plateau. On
the same day they passed the point
farthest south reached by Sir Ernest
and were within 100 miles
Of the goal.
On December H-when latitude 50
degrees and IS minutes had been
reached-Amundsen knew that he had
arrived at the South Pole. For three
lays the party explored the adjacent
territory for an area of five miles, The
,un was bright, the skies clear and the
MINDLESS. After the Nor
weigian flag had been planted, on De-
,ember II. the party left their camp.
which had been named Polheim, and
started north. The journey. like the
lash south. was without adventure.