Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-03-14
Early Report Indicated Captain
Scott Had Discovered the
South Pole
DISPATCHES NOW CONFLICT
No Direct Word Received in Lon.
don Of the British Officers
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Had Advantage.

London, March while intense inter-
st has been aroused in the results at
ained by the South Polar expeditions
nder command of Cant. ROAD Amund-
Ell. the Norwegian explorer and Capt.
ebert r. Scott of the British royal navy.
espec lively. which are returning from
ne Antarctic regions. dispatches which
ave reached here on the subject are
onflicting Captain Anundsen has ar
lived at Hobart. Tasmenia, on Tho steam
Fran, and according 20 the first word
rom that port Amundscn declared that
captain Scott had reached the Pole
Up to "a late hour tonight, however.
o word to that effect mas come to Mrs.
Scott, the wife of the British explorer.
Who still doubted the achievement and
reiterated her hope that the news would
prove true.
Nor did Lieutenant Evans the London
|secretary of the Scott expedition. re-
Ircive any direct word of Captain SCOTS
reported success. and he assumed that
|he would he among the first notified.
probably by a message from Captain
Scott himself through the agency Of
| aptan Amundsen. If 1t had happened
that the two explorers crossed tracks
after their dash to the POLE.
COPENHAGEN HEARS IT FIRST
with reference to the results Of tho
Nmundsen expedition, dispatches
reaching London from various points
gave early reports that the Norwegian
Xplorcr had not been successful IN his
quest. Later. however, a Copenhagen
despatch said that the Social Demok-
ratcn published news from Christiania
taI,
member Of the Fran expedition de-
clared that Amundsen had reached the
South Pole. Other reports seem to con-
firm this.
The reports Of Amundsen's success
appear at the same time to have dis
posed of the rumor that Captain Scott
had cached the Pole. None of the
authorities here were inclined to
credit this latter report until con-
frmed.
In the race for the Pole, Britishers,
while hoping that success would rest
with the British representatives, enter
tanned fears that Captain Amundsen
would win the honors OF disc overer for
Norway His previous experience In
Arctic and Antarctic regions MAKE
Amundsen a formidable competitor. 1t
was he who discovered the northwest
passage in 1905, after other explorers
had vainly made the attempt for years.
HAD HARDY NORWEGIAN BAND.
Amundsen had with him on the pres
cnt expedition a hardy band Of Nor
Wcgians who probably were greatly
aided by skis in traversinY the glacial
ice and he puts his faith in a great
pack of Siberian dogs for the supply
slcdges. He had the advantage over
Captain Scott in the race for the South
1'ole of nearly eight months; his base
of supplies was nearer to the Pole by
nearly one hundred miles. and was not
81 scientific expedition. but one design
ed to take advantage of all tond-
tions and move as swiftly as It might
The steamer Fran is the vessel with
which DIR. Fridtjof hansen made a
journey of thousands of miles in the
Arctic ocean in 1sa3-oG, and It is the
ship in which Amundsen planned to
drift on the Arctic ice to the North
Tole. Amundscn started in April. 1909,
10 carry out this drifting trip In
search of the North Pole, but changed
his plans and in the following year
proceeded by way of South America
for the Antarctic regions. Early in
SCOTS expedition sent word from
Stewart island that he had come on
an Amundsen ship in the Bay of
Whales, Roos sea, where the Norwe-
pian had made his winter quarters.