The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-04-06

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The South pole was recently run to
cover by two expeditions and pack OF
Esquimo dogs and brought to bay at a
point where escape was impossible. 1t
put up a game fight for years, but when
, finally surrounded broke down and con-
fessed All honor for this great discov-
cry has been given to Capts. Amund-
sen and Scott, who commanded the ex-
/ petitions, while little is said of the un-
/ titled men who went with them and
made the discovery possible
| This has seemed unjust to many. In
! fact we read that Capt. Tjalmar johann
sen killed himself In Sweden because he
was not In on the discovery. but was de-
tailed by Capt. Amundsen to stay be-
hind and guard the grub while the final
dash was made. This was very foolish
of Hjalmar. Suppose every one who
didn't discover the south pole we're to
| Jake the matter to heart that way:
Wouldn't 1t be a lonesome Old world?
In order to give due credit TO the
humble men who made the discovery a
success, we give space mere to the let
ter of friend who was with the Amund-
sen expedition, and we trust it will give
prospective suiciders a more cheerful
view or life. sitting beside the pole, our
correspondent writes that he never saw
finer South pole in all his life, and
adds:
Pole south of Here.
you will probably be surprised to
know that the pole is due south of your
town. This is quite a distinction, and
you should mention it in your booster lit
erature. 1t ought to be an attraction
to tourists. Lots OF towns would jump
at the chance to claim II Is an asset As
an asset to your town 1t is a trifie too
far south perhaps-about 5000 miles
but you needn't go into details in that
respect. Otner towns onr-especiaIIy IN
the growing West. In the West there are
some towns that haven't anything Dur a
postoffice-yet they claim the Rocky
Mountains and the Pacific Ocean as as
sets of their scenery.
1T Is hardly probably that you have
mary readers down here as this isn't
much of an agricultural country yet.
On the same grounds one might base
the opinion that your readers elsewhere
have few acquaintance in this locality.
Still / feel that letter from here may
be of interest and am fastening to write
one before we leave.
I'VE expect to leave here in a few
days as our dogs are restless to be on
the move. We have 10 of them. Nat
urally their interest in any pole Is
transient and apparently they do not
think much Of this region as an asset
to the dog family. The whole 10 are
with chilIblains.
I'VE have been here a week now
looking around and are inclined to think
this Is the farthest south anyone has
yet. been. I doubt IL anyone could beat
it, who is not familiar with the coun-
try. 1t will doubtless be a source of
wonder to many why the south pole
wasn't discovered before. / have thought
of this myself and have given the mat
ter deep study. i have come to the
conclusion that explorers failed to dis
cover it in the past because they stopped
too far north.
Now there was our old friend
Borchgrevink. He came down this way
several years ago and few months
later he was picked up in New Zealand.
crazy as a woman who has lost her
ticket. He told a weird tale of how
he, and a man by name of Hansen,
reached the spot where the pole ought
to have stuck up. but couldn't see a
thing of it. And then came the queerest
part of his tale.
He said they chopped hole in the
ice and pulled out about thirty miles
Of it and cut 1t of. With untold suf-
fering. while thn thermometer stood at
3S below zero, they dragged ii 1900
miles on snow shoes. Just as they were
about to lead it into their boat Hansen
stopped to wv on his fingers, and fell
into the sea with the whole business
in his arms.
Poor Borchengrevink was never the
same after that. He was honest in his
belief that he and Hansen discovered
he efa hof
they really found was a section of the
old Atlantic cable, which broke many
years ago. and was always supposed
TO have foated south. We found the |
hole they took il out of 400 miles north |
Of here. =, A piece of the cable was still |
sticking out of the hole.
Where Is Arct0wsky.
Then there was Arctowsky. He was !
4 Belgian gentleman. and his first name |
was Hendrix or something like that. !
He came down here first to study the |
fiora and fauna. If ne had been content !
with that he might have had quite a |
by this time. In our minds |
eye We can see him now with his nit |
ems and ear muffs laid aside picking
the flora with an ice pick and romping
with the fauna between times to keep !
warm.
''lSut ne WASH I SdtlSned. He concluded
It was all level ice for 500 miles around i
the pole and he went home and got an
auto. He thought he could dash up to
he pole in it and shake hands and get /,
,ack in couple of days. Where is Hen
lryk Arctowsky now? Ask the polar
bear as you picture him standing on a /
onely mount licking his chops and sniff
ing the air-or the Antartic fox as you
picture him in yonder cave whetting his
teeth on the sole of a hobnailed boot
There are no polar bears or foxes down
iere-but picture them anyhow. II won't
,urt anything.
Picture Hendryk Arctowskys last
provisions gone, sitting beside his auto
'ating the rubber tires in final stew
md thinking of. the meat he used to
ret back home! Picture him beneath
lis machine, on his back, making a last
utile effort to unscrew frozen nut
With a frozen monkey wrench, u
But let us hope such lingering agony
vas not his fate. Let us rather trust
han when his iron auto started on the
inal hundred miles 1t leaped at the mag
ietic pole, like a carpet tack at a toy
magnet, and stopped-and Hendrix Arc
owsky went on and on and burst into
he happy hunting grounds untouched
" the pangs of hunger or cold or the
'rofane tooth of proving beast, and that
We may meet him there in equally good
condition. But I am drifting from my
heme.
I'VE found the pole in fairly good
condition. 1t seems to have wintered
veil and does not show the signs of
citing on that many feared 1t might.