Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-02-10

the return would be made TO Cape
Evans, from which the party would
be separated for two months, in April
of 1911.
Amundsen Found
On January rs the Terra Nova pro
ceeded east, surveying the ice bar
rier. Heavy pack ice forced her to
seek a better landing place for thu
eastern party than Cape COlbeck.
None was found until the Bay OF
Whales was reached on February 4th
There the Fran, with Captain Am.
undsen's expedition. was found, win
tering and fully equipped. All of Am
undsen's men were in the best of
health.
The Terra Nova left again for
M'Murdo Sound, where at Discovery
hut a message, "All WELL" was found
That was the last heard of what is
known as the eastern >party-which
was to lay the depots and to make the
dash for the pole.
Many months afterwards, on March
3 1912. the world was startled ty
the report from London that Capt.
Sc Oft had rea"hed the South Poe.
Capt. Amundsen had already been re-
ported as the discoverer of the pole
When Capt, Amundsen returned to
civilization, simultaneously with the
hope that Scott had also reached tn
e"al. Since that time nothing has
Eeen heard from the Scott expedition
formation.
Conjectured Dates.
What happened after the party was
cut off from communication is conjec-
tire. But estimates have been made
and these suggest that during March
ind April Of 1911 Captain Scott would
have been engaged in laying down hic
Gcpots on the Ice Barrier. The start
:or the pole itself would not have been
rrade until October last The ice Oar
rier, with its numerous glaciers, woH'
hive first to be traversed. Then the
party would pick up the Beardmort
glacier, which 1t was proposed to as
cend, so as to reach the polar plateau.
The ascent of the glacier, it was ex-
rected, would occupy some portion of
October and November The upper pia-
teau, if all went we'll, should have k2en
reached early in December. and tn
South Pole on December %. That was
roughly the program
In letter written from McMurdo
Sound late in 1911 Capt. Scott told Of
some of the events of the last part Of
the trip The party made its winter
quarters at Cape Evans. Then the
actual party of exploration worked
south until it reached Hunt Point, and
there the real dash to the pole began
on November 2, 1911. When within
$50 miles OF the pole Capt. Scott de-
cided to send three men, going for
ward with five, and by these three
men he sent a letter that brought to
the world the last news from Scott
himself until today's cable tells the
story of death.
OF the last days of the journey Capt.
Scott said:
December q, latitude 81 degrees Il
minutes south longitude 1853 degrees 4
minutes east; height, about $500 feet;
four miles south, thirty west of Mount
Darwin. Largely as result of the
storm reported in my last dispatch the
lower reaches of the glacier were fill
ed with terribly soft snow. Men on
foot sank to the knee at each step.
1t would have been quite impossible to
advance had we not pulled on skees.
AS it was, the runner surface of
sledges proved inadequate. They fire.
Quently sank to the crOss-bars, re-
Quiring to be eXtricated with standing
pulls. For four days we struggled in
this mOrass, scarcely advancing five'l
miles a dav, although working ten to
eleven hours. 1t is difficult to pitch
camp and sledges on such a surface.
On the fifth dav the surface grew al
little harder and we were able to push
on, still pulling on skees. We did not
get abreast of Cloudbreaker mountain
until the 18th, so that the snow cost
us weeks advance.
Since the 18th we have been able to
make very good marches, working up
from thirteen to twenty-three statute
miles per day By program | arrang-
ed TO push on from the 85th parallel
with eight men and ~ units of provi-
sions, but hoped to reserve a margin
over this. AS We stand We are only
half a DAYS food short on program
and should have good chance of get
ting through. The weather continues
We had to march
without sight of land on occasions. We