Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-03-16
AMUNDSEN'S NARRATIVE OF
HIS DISCOVERY OF THE POLE

London, Eng, March 1.-THE lates
and probably the last great adventur
of discovery on the face of this glob
is the subject Of a story just pub
lished regarding the discovery of tn
south pole by Captain Road Amund
sen, whose narrative has been cablet
from Hobart, Tasmania. The stor!
records in detail, full of thrill, the his
toric achievement which will stant
beside that Of Columbus, Peary ant
other great discoverers in history.
Besides the attainment OF the pole
the expedition resulted in the deter
| mination of the extent and character
of the Ross barrier, the discovery o
La connection between South Victoria
! Land and probably King Edward Lane
with continuation in huge mountains
which probably stretch across the en-
| tire Antarctic continent. s,>&
These mountains have been named
,, Queen Maud's ranges. Captain Scots
former discoveries are confirmed ane
a good geological collection has beer
made. .f
Few Instruments at Hand.
Amundsen says as accurate observa
tons as possible, with the instruments
at hand, were taken to verify thei,
position at the pole. These instru
ments included sextant and an arti
Fficial horizon A brilliant sun aided
the observations, which were taken
during every hour of the twenty-four
In his message Amundsen re-
marks:
"The exact result will he matter
for expert examination
He adds that the pole circles within
a radius Of eight kilometers.
Shackleton's furtherest point south
was passed on the afternoon of De-
cember 8. Six days later the party
'reckoned they had reached their des-
tination and halted at p. M, when
the Norwegian flag was hoisted.
Plateau Named for King.
The plateau where the pole lies he
named King Haakon Wis plateau
Amundsen describes 1t as a cast plain,
alike in all directions, mile after mile.
Thirteen hours continuous observa-
lions on December Is showed that the
party we're at 80 degrees SIS minutes,
so they travelled the remaining nine
kilometers as near true south as pos
sible.
The return trip was commenced on
the 18th. after a small tent had been
erected at the pole with the Norwegian
flag and the Fram's pennant. Owing
to the exceptionally favorable weather
on the return journey, the speed Of the
party averaged thirty-six kilometers
per day, against ar average on the
81 If frnnft-.f}va
The distance between Amundsen's
winter quarters and the pole was 400
On the whole. Amundsen
says. hey was favored with fine
weather. y There were no misad-
ventures and but one delay, Of four
lays, owing to bad weather.
The party left the Fran on
October 20 and arrived back at the
ship on January Is. The expedition
consisted Of five men, four sledges
Ind fifty-two dogs.
Depots Marked by Flags.
Amundsen says he strarted from his
,ase February 10, 1911. on the journey
or the pole. between which date and
april II the party stored 5000 kilos of
PROVISIONS at depots located at 80 de-
rees, 81 degrees and 80 degrees. Ow-
ng to the absence Of landmarks. the
lepots we're marked by flags placed
even kilometers to east and west of
ZACH depot. The weight Of the sledges
vas 300 kilos each and there were six
logs to each.
On Feb. IS the party covered 100 !
,ilometers Of ground and the condition
# the barrier afforded excellent tray |
ling surface. It consisted Of long, |
mooth undulations, with only two |
dangerous crevices and no sastrugi |
The weather was calm and the lowest |
empera ture during the laying of the |
lepots was fortyfive Celsius Cent?
trade scale). on March 4. Before the |
lad been stored in the depots, this be-
ne sufficient for the party and for the |
10 dogs, which were housed in eight |
arge kennels.
Sun Disappears April %.
The sun disappeared on April %.
rhe four following winter months were /!
pent in changing the equipment.
which experience during the depot lay
ne had proved was too cumbersome. ,
A 2Oo-candle power light gave excel |
ent illumination in the snow covered |
tut and also kept the temperature at /
Is degrees Fahrenheit. Great care was /
AIKEN to secure proper ventilation, |
which was most satisfactory through |
nut. Connected with the hut were (
provision cellars, observa- |
cries and baths. all dug out of the Ice |
,arrier. so the headquarters were alb
olutely self-contained. In addition to !
he alteration of the equipment a con- {,
idera BILE amount Of scientific work |
vas done and many interesting obser- !
,ations were made.
The temperature during the winter !
.veraged between minus so and minus