Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-04-02

| IN THE ANTARCTIC
| Continued from First Page)
edge and at pm. by good fortune dis
| covered the missing party on a pack
which had been drifting slowly northwest
and had temporarily stopped owing to
the swell subsiding.
Missing Party Rescued.
With Alpine ropes the men were rescued
with difficulty. Working on through the
night, we succeeded in salving the sledges
and their loads, but could do nothing for
| the ponies. which were only thirty yards
Away. AT am. the pack began to move
again We left the ponies with full nose
| bags and rested till am, when the
| pack was again stationary. We marched
| north. found the ponies and made desper-
ate efforts to save them. Bowers and
Oates risked a long detour over the pack
and led the animals over many jumps,
while the remainder of IFS dug a trench
to the lower part Of the barrier. The
edges of the foes were high above water
and very uneven. Killer whales hung
about within a few yards. The ponies
| raining at the jump. were irretrievably
lost: One pony only won through. The
pack was moving again as we left it and
drifted clear to the north.
Loss Of Ponies Severe Blow.
March We assembled hills east of Castle
Rock. and on the 9TH the party. with the
two remaining ponies and the dog teams,
was safely housed at Hut point. BY this
incident We lost three of our strongest
ponies. This was a severe blow to the
| expedition, but not enough to wreck it's
plans If the remaining animals could be
preserved.
The heavy swell which caused this dis
aster broke more than ten miles of fast
sea ice. large fragments of the barrier,
and two miles of glacier tongue, feature
which had remained otherwise unchanged
since discovery in 1902. The hut was
found almost completely filled with hard
snow, the windows broken and the door
unhinged. With much labor We cleared
and repaired it. 1t then afforded good
shelter.
Lived on Seal Meat.
While forced to wait for the sea breeze
to blow over We settled down to a very
primitive life.
With old tins and discarded fragments
of metal we constructed an excellent blub-
Der stove ana several bl,rbber lamps. We
fed almost entirely on seal meat. Seals
could only be obtained at distance over
hills, and were sometimes scarce, but the
supply never failed entirely, thanks to the
ingenuity shown by my companions in
improvising arrangements with the slen-
derest resources. With splendid health
We were quite comfortable and enjoyed
the discovery of a box of old magazines.
March 10 the western geological party
returned, bringing our total to sixteen
persons. This party had spent six weeks
making close survey of the Dry Valley,
Lower Ferrar and Koettlitz glacier
gions, thus completing an important part
of our plan for the geological survey of
the coast.
March IL Lieut. Evans led party to
Corner Camp. completing the depot ar
rangements for the coming season. The
temperature at the barrier had already
fallen to minus 40 degrees. Throughout
the month ice continually formed over
the sea, but strong winds quickly drove
it north.
Return to Camp Evans.
After March % the ice remained fast
in the sheltered bays, but continued to
drive out of the sound. Huge land-ice
falls on the southwest slopes of Mount
Erebus prevented any possibility of re-
turning to Cape Evans by land. but with
the freezing of the bays 1 decided to
make an attempt to reach the station,
partly by land and partly by sea ice
With eight companions 1 started April
II and, though caught by a storm on
sea ice, we reached Cape Evans early the
18th. We found the station, which had
been left in Simpsons charge, in excel
lent order and arrangements for comfort
remarkably perfect. Numerous self-re-
cording instruments were in full swing
and all records complete to date. All the
news was good except the loss of one of
the nine remaining ponies and one doy.
During our absence there had been much
w ind ms
being twentyfOur miles per hour. For
10 per cent of the whole time the wind
had been over gale strength. All observa-
tons pointed to an exceptionally severe
season.
April II / returned to Hut point with
a fresh sledge party carrying supply
stores AS it was impossible for animals
to travel on the route taken. left Meares
and five others in charge of those at Hut
point, and again returned to Cape Evans
April 3. Sea ice continued to drive out
of the sound until the first week in May.
1t was not until May Is. three weeks
after the sun had gone. that the men and
animals left Hut point and safely re-
turned to the main station. The sound
froze solid in May, and later in winter
| packed ice extended to an unprecedented
gales.
Lectures and Foot Ball.
After the return of the absentees we
settled down very comfortably in our
winter hut. Its arrangements for light
ing, heating. cooking and ventilation
proved emnently satisfactory. A COM
| Portable stable had been built for the
ponies and some shelter improvised for
| the dogs during the four winter months.
The temperature at the station was rarely
| below minus 40 degrees. at lowest minus
| 20 degrees. The wind averaged fifteen
miles an hour, but sometimes blew hard
| with the temperature minus 80 degrees.
| Every one was very fully occupied with
| station and scientific work, exercising
| animals, ETC. A series of lectures was Or
ganized and foot ball was played to with
| In a month of midwinter.
| Winter Explorations.
| Frequent visits were made to Cape
Royds and Hut point. The animals stead
lily improved in condition. On June 81.
middle winter. Wilson, Bowers, Cherry
and Garrard started on a sledge journey
to Cape Crozier to observe the incubation
of emperor penguins at their rookery.
| Very heavy surface on the barrier forced
the party to relay work during the main
part. and fortnight was taken on the
outward journey. The temperature was
seldom above minus 90 degrees, and often
below minus 20 degrees the lowest OBJ
served with a sling thermometer being