Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1912-04-05

| fety for our companions MY lGarS
were confirmed when Wilson, who mad
| Travelled out over land, reported hav-
| ing seen with glasses ponies adrlft on
sea ice An h99r ia at the Wes WORK
barrier edge. and at 6 p, M by g coed r4d
on a pack which had been drifting
slowly northwest and had temporarily
stopped, owing to, swell subsldlng.
cued with difficulty.
| Working on through the nigh night we we
fheir oads IN but eoad dc neng
| the ponies, which were only thirty
yards away; At a: M M the pack paft be- be-
ponies with full nose bags and rested
| till 8 a.. M, when the pack was again
stationary. We made desperate efforts
| to save them. Bowers and Oats r1Sked
| a long detour over the pack and led
the animals over many jumps, while
the remainder of IT. Us is dug g uIo trench to
! The edges of. the foes were high
above water and very uneven. Killer
irretrievably lost. One pony only won
through. The pack was moving again
north On March we assembled hills
east of Castle Rock, and on the 9Th
the. party, with the two remaining
housed at Hut Point. BY this incident
| we lost three Of our strongest ponies
| In1S was q severe dow TO the eXpeul-
ton, but not enough to wreck it's plans
if the remaining animals could be pre-
| served.
The heavy swell which caused this
of sea ice, large fragments from the
barrier, and two miles of glacier
otherwise unchanged since discovery
in 1902. The hut was found almost
completely filled with hard snow, the
windows broken and the door unhinged.
| cleared
paired it. It then afforded good shell
ter. While forced to wait for the sea
to very primitive life. With old tins
and discarded fragments of metal we
constructed an excellent blubber stove
and several blubber lamps. We fed
almost entirely on seal meat. Seals
could only be obtained al: a distance
over hills and were sometimes scarce,
thanks to the ingenuity shown by my
companions in improvising arrange
ments with the slenderest resources.
With splendid health we. were quite
comfortable and enjoyed the luxury OF
a box of old magazines.
On March IS, 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
the geological survey for the coast.
Preparing for the Winte a -,
|
a party to Corner Camp, completing
the depot arrangements for the coming
season. The temperature at the barrier
| had already fallen to minus 4O degrees
Throughout the month ice continually
formed over the sea but strong winds
quickly drove it out. after March 70;
bays but continued to drive out of the
sound. Huge land-ice falls on the
southwest slopes. Of Mount Erenus 5 pre- e.
| Cape Evans by land, but with the
freezing of the bay I decided to make
an attempt to reach the station partly
by land and partly by sea ice.
With eight companions I started on
April H. and although ea aagghd ~ Gan a
Tans e ea sea on the 18th We found
the station, which had been lett IN
Simpsons charge in excellent order
and arrangements Tor comd dff remdrh ..
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
dog During our absence there had
been much wind. the mean velocity for
two months being twenty-four miles
the whole time, the wind had been
over gale strength. All observations
pointed to an exceptionally severe sea-
On April II returned to Hut Point
with fresh sledge party carrying sup
plies and stores AS it was impossible
for animals to travel on the route TAX
en-, 1 left Mears and five others in
charge of those at Hut Point and again
returned to Cape Evans on April 80.
Sea ice continued to drive out of the
Sound until the first week in May. 1t
was not until May -, three weeks aft
er 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
g distance nOrthward. After the return
e of absentees we settled down very COM
S fortab bly, in our winter hut, it's arrange
Q ments for lighting. heating, cooking
6 and ventilation proved eminently sat,
S isfactory. comfortable stable had
been built for the ponies and and some s,,n
e ing the four winter months
: The temperature at the station was
i rarely below minus 40 degrees, at low
n est minus so degrees. The wind aver
= aged fifteen miles an hour, but some
d times blew hard with the temperature
minus 30 degrees Everyone w, was Yer very
S tific work, exercising animals, etc. A
: series of lectures was organized and
football was played sad to WITHIN Iat month
: made to Cape Royds and Hut Point.
|, The animals steadily improved in con-
o a wilson B o nne cherry and Gerard
e started on ;sledge journey to Cape
$ Crozier to observe the incubation OF
Q Very heavy surface on the barrier
o forced the party to relay work during
the main part and fortnight was
e taken on the outward journey. The
# temperature was seldom above minus
:. so degrees and often below minus 70
e degrees, the lowest observed with a
a sling thermometer being minus II de-
g grees Behind a land ridge on the
It slopes of Mount Terror the party spent
5. three days in building a stone hut
e which they rooted with canvas from
5, this camp. The men had great diff
y Guilty in crossing the huge barrier pres
sure ridges in the dim noon twilight
= to reach the rookery. They were sue
| cessful at a second attempt. They
found comparatively few birds at the
, rookery, but these had began to lay
q at even this early date. Fortunately
e some eggs at different stages of de-
- ve1opment were secured which should
: | give considerable information concern
u u ing the embryology of this interesting
a bird.
. The same night a violent gale com
. menced and the ridge proved made
y quate shelter from the hurricane gusts
Y. which whirled down the hut. A
% tent and other carefully secured ar
70 ticles were blown away, and after
= straining for fourteen hours the root
~ of the hut flew to ribbons. For thirty
o. hours more the travellers We're confined
e in their frozen sleeping beds. hall
Jol 80