New-York tribune., 1912-03-09
Tells Of Thrilling Exploit.

mained on file in the Seattle oftice OF the
signal corps
Tells Of Thrilling Exploit
In his two volume work THE Northwest
| Passage" Amundsen relates many thrhhhs
experiences. One incident of the TRIP ou'
come near ending the expedition abruptly
He thus describes il:
/ was sitting at night entering the day
events in my journal, when | hSaIo d
shrlek-a terrific shrlek-Which thlilsl ule
/ to the marrow-something extraorulnHIy
had happened. In moment all hands t WeIs
on deck In the ptch-dark night, N Whlch
| luckily was perfectly calm, a mighty h~dnIe, ~
| with thick suffocatng smoke, was leaplns
up from the engine room skyiight "A nIe
| had broken out in the engine room, rlsnss
among the tanks holding 2,2O saiiHns OF
petroleum We all knew what would nap,
| rem If the tanks got heated; the GJoa ana
everything on board would be blown 10
atoms like an exploded bomb. We all new
! I'm frantic haste. One man rushed down
! 10 the engine room 10 assist Wtik, who had
stuck To his post from the outbreak OF tne
| fire Our two fire extinguishing appliances
which were always ready for use, were nIs.
| brought into play. and we pumped water
| on that fire for dear life. In an incredioly
short time we had mastered IT, IL nan
broken out IN the cleaning waste tnat .rhs rdS
saturated with petroleum on the tanks Inc
next morning on cleaning up the engine
room We found that 1t was no chance' pu.
| prompt discharge OF duty. mat han saver ave-,
us all from certain destruction; SnoFty
| before the fire broke out, Ristvedt had re-
ported to me that one OF the full petroleum.
! tanks In the engine room was leaklhs 1
| hade him draw the petroleum from thal
| tank into one of the empty ones lmfne
diately This order was promptly carried
out on clearing up the engine room after
| the fire. we found that the tap OF tne
emitted tank had been wrenched right Off
| during the struggle with the FIRE. Had my
order not been carried out promptly over
! 100 gallons OF petroleum would nave spuIte 1
ont into the burning engine room. neen
not enlarge upon what would nave neen
the inevitable sequel. But hold up the
man who so promptly obeyed orders as
shining example.
Amundsen says nothing of the cool head
that so promptly gave the order.
There was another desperately perilous
moment when an ugly reef threatened 10
reduce the little ship to fragments. And for
weeks at a time they drfted helplessly, sur
rounded by grinding ice packs His most
picturesque pages are those in which he
| exhaustively describes the Esquimaus and
! their habits
Several years had been spent by Amund-
sen In preparation for this last venture.
which had been originally planned as
six year drift amid the Arctic ice in scien-
| tihc research lie hoped TO explore thor
ouehy the Arctic basin and perhaps make
n dash for the pole lie had originally in
tended to 'ake with him some trained
polar bears to draw his sledges. but aban-
| doned that purpose later as mpraGiicable.
! After his change of plans he headed ;or
! the Bay Of Whales IN the Antarctic, where
SCOTS men found him and learned for the
first time of his intention TO compete in the
South Pole race.
In the dash for the South Pole Amdndsen
was several months ahead Of Captain Scott.
Just when Captain Amundsen began his
race for the pole is not known. He had
with him eight men. 11s dogs and COM
pete equipment According to mail ad-
vices from Amundsen. ne hoped 10 reach
! the pole ny way of Beardmore Glacier
| Captain Amundsen was to have been picked
| up by his ship some time in February of
! this year. on his return from the journey
! across tie ice.
Career Of the Hardy Fran.
| Captain Amundsen had with him the
| Fran, the most remarkable polar SHIP ever
| constructed. She is the vessel which Dr.
| FUidtjOf Nansen used in his wonderful
! Journey Of something like seven thousand
miles in the Arctic Ocean. from 1898 tn 1891
| when the vessel itself. after being frozen
| solidly into the ice, drfted approximately
! three thousand miles. with the ice pilng
against her all the while. She came out
unscathed, and two years later was taken
! by captain Otto Sverdrup on a four years
cruise in charting the untravelled and
dangerous waters west and northwest OF
! Elesmere Land and King Oscar Land in
! the Arctic.
The Fran has hull from 90 To N inches
! thick and is as stout as a block Of wood.
! She Is only 125 feet long and II feet from
| deck TO keel. and her heavy beams criss-
! cross until the inside of her hull looks like
! forest she Is so sound that she can be
| driven into an ice foe with such force that
| the impact will send her rebounding 100 feet
| and not so much as make her groan. She
can withstand pressure as can no other
| polar vessel.
Captain Amundsen was one OF those VINO
at first stoutly believed in the success of
DR.. Cook at the North Pole He and Cook
had sailed together on the Belgica. in the
Belgian expedition. and Amundsen greatly
! admired the Doctors ability as displayed at
l that time.