Valdez daily prospector., 1913-02-26

sydney. Australia. Feb. 26.-- Wireless reports from the Nav son exploration party were re- ceivcd here today telling of the death of Dr. Douglas Mawsnn, Lieut.. .NinniS. his aide. and Dr. Merce. another member of the expedition. all of whom met death by falling in a creNasSr of a galcier in Adelic Land, where they had gone to explore.
 The expedition consisted of 90 men. most of them graduates of univrrSit ics of Australia and New Zealand The expedition embark ed on the ship Aurora on Dee. ,, 1911. and was commanded by Capt. J. K. Davis, who had com- manded IlIe Nimrod on Shackle- tons dash to the South Pole.
 Dr. Mawson's party was to make no attempt to reach the pole. only the coast land was to be carefully explored. Careful ,attcntiOn was to be paid to the discovery of coal and precious metals, and an investigation was to bd made as to the prospects of a fishing industry, especially whaling in the antarctic waters. Dr. Mawson planned to proceed south from Australia and land three separate shore parties, one at Adelie Land, one al Knox Land and one at Sabrina Land, approx imately 25O miles apart. A wireless station was to be erect } ed at Macquaire Island and an- other at Adelie Land SO that the expedition could have regular communication with Hobart. Dr. Mawson'S special desire was to accomplish a complete geographical and magnetic survey between Cape Adarc and Gauss berg. distance of over 2,O0O miles, by means of sledsing part , ies proceeding along the coast on either hand from the wintering stations. One inland party was ;o be dispatched to the magnet |i pole from the opposite dircc- ton of approach To that of Shack leton's expedition. Only once be- fore had landing been made on the stretch of coast between Cape Adare and EauSsbrrg. and hen only for few hours by the dCrville expedition in i8iO. Dr. Mawson believed that the mag netic charting would be of great value. especially to Australia.
 Early ill March, 1912, just af- ter Capt. AmundScn announced hat he had discovered the South Pole, the Aurora sailed into the port of Hobart. Tasmania, where .\mundsen's ship then lay. Capt. Davis, of the Aurora, reported that he had landed Dr. Mawson and party on Adelie Land and another party on Termination Land.
 The outside world again heard from the. expedition on Decem- ber iG, last, when Capt. Davis, in cablegram from Hobart, re- ported that the expedition had discovered a rocky ridge on the bed of the ocean 200 miles south of Hobart. Capt. Davis took ten soundings which showed depths varying from 5i3 to 9l8 fathoms. The main direction of the shal- lowest water was northwest and southeast; 56 deep-sea soundings were taken during the cruise.
 Capt. Davis also reported that deep-sea dredging was carried tout, and that the results strong ly confirmed MawSon's belief that Australia was formerly connect ed with the antarctic continent by means of ridge of land now submerged.
 Dr. MaWsOn was only 3i years old, and was born in Yorkshire. His parents took him to Sidney as a child, where, after leaving school, he entered the university from which he graduated with honors before he was 20 years of age. He then went in for scien- tific research, acting as lecturer at various universities until 1907, when he joined the British Ant arctic expedition, which came within Ili miles of the South ] Pole. The Dancers,