River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1912-04-11

ing around the bay we approached the
barrier edge. and at 8 p. m; by good
on a pack which had been drifting
slowly northwest and had temporarily
stopped, owing to swell subsiding.
with Alpine ropes the men were res
cued with difficulty.
Working on through. the night we
succeeded in saving the sledges and
the ponies, which were only thirty
yards away. At a. m. the pack be-
ga gan to , move f,,, again gain We left the
till a. m, when the pack was again
stationary. We made desperate efforts
to save them. Bowers and Oats risked
the animals over many jumps, while
the remainder of us dug trench to
the lower part OF the barrier.
above water and very uneven. Killer
whales hung about within few yards.
The. ponies falling at the jump were
through. The pack was moving again
as we left it and drifted clear to the
north. On March 4 we assembled hills
the party with the two remaining
ponies and the dog teams was safely
housed at Hut Point. BY this incident
This was a severe blow to the expedi-
ton, but not enough to wreck it's plans
il the, remaining animals could be pre-
The heavy swell which caused this
disaster, broke more than ten miles
of sea ice, large fragments from the
tongue, a 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 re-
paired it.. It then afforded good shell
ter. 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 bIubber stove
and several blubber 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 arrange
ments with the slenderest resources.
With splendid health we were quite
comfortable and enjoyed the luxury of
box of old magazines.
On March Is, the Western Geological
party returned, bringing our total to
six weeks, making a close survey OF
the dry valley, lower ferrar. and
Koettlitz glacier regions, thus complet-
ing an important part of our plan for
the geological survey for the coast.
Preparing for the Winter.
On party to- Corner camp
the depot arrangements 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 out. After March 20,
the ice remained fast in the sheltered
sound. Huge land-ice falls on the
southwest slopes of Mount Erebus pre-
vented any possibility of returning to
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.
April II, and, although caught by a
storm on sea ice, we reached Cape
Evans early on the 18th: We, found
the station. which had been left in
and arrangements for comfort remark
ably perfect. Numerous self-recording
instruments were in full SWING, and
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
per hour. For nineteen per cent OF
the whole time, the wind had been
over gale strength. All observations
pointed to an exceptionally severe sea-
son. A |f
On April IT I 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-, I left Mears and five others in
charge of those at Hut Point and again
returned to Cape Evans on April 30.
Sea ice continued to drive out of the
Sound until the first week in May. It
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
pack ice extended to an unapprehended
distance northward After the return
of absentees we settled down very COM
fortably in our winter hut its arrange
ments for lighting, heating, cooking
and ventilation proved eminently sat-
isfactory. A comfortable stable had
been built for the ponies and some
shelter improvised for the dogs dur
ing the four winter months.
The temperature at the station was
rarely. below minus 40 degrees, at low
aged fifteen miles an hour, but some
times blew hard with the temperature
minus 80 degrees. Everyone was very
fully occupied with station and Scien-
'tific work, exercising animals, etc. A
series of lectures was organized and
football was played to within INA, a month
made to Cape Royds and Hut Point.
The animals steadily improved in con-
ldition. On June q. middle winter;
started on sledge Journey to Cape
Emperor Penguins at their rookery.
forced the party to relay work durins
the main part and fortnight was
taken on the outward journey. The
so degrees and often below minus 70
degrees, the lowest observed with a
sling thermometer being minus II de-
slopes of Mount Terror the party spent
three days in building a stone hut
which they rooted with canvas from
Guilty in crossing the huge barrier pres
sure ridges in the dim noon twilight
to reach the rookery; They were sue
eeessful at a second ATTEMPT They afy
rookery, but these had began to lay
at even this eaxly date Fortunately
some eggs at different, stages of de-
ve1opment were secured which should
give considerable information concern
ing the embryology of this interesting
bird.
menced and the ridge proved made
quate shelter from the hurricane gusts
which whirled down on the hut A
tent and other carefully secured ar
tic1es were blown away, and after
straining for fourteen hours the roof
of the hut flew TO ribbons. For thirty
in their frozen sleeping beds half
buried beneath snow and rock debris
Forty-eight hours elapsed before the
wind decreased, and they were able to
set a meal Searching for lost articles
they were fortunate in finding the
missing tent between some morainic
boulders. practically uninjured. The
state of their equipment now forced
them to turn homeward. On the return
journey they were held for two days
by another storm after which the tenn
perature fell and remained below minus
so degrees. The party returned after
five absences incasted in ice and suf-
fering from want of sleep, but other
wise we'll
Having regard to the darkness and
extreme temperatures this first winter
journey in the antarctic regions was a
remarkable feat of endurance. 1t also
shows the extraordinarily severe con-
dltlonS that obtain on the great snow
plain barrier during the sunless sea-