The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-04-25
DISCOVERER OF SOUTH POLE
Continued From Page One.

Continued From Page One.
sen spoke feelingIy of his brave rivals
terrible misfortune.
Pictures Aroused Interest.
All of the pictures used by Amund-
sen are good, some of them unusual
in every respect. The entire journey
em~barking in Norway. crossing the
equator, coursing along the ice bar
Tler, building the winter quarters,
animal life in the south seas, the school
of whales, the crossing of the Butchers
Range, the crossing of the
the discovery of the pole-all were
clearly pictured.
When the pictures showing Amund-
sen planting the national colors of
Norway at the south pole appeared on
the screen, the great audience burst
forth into most generous applause
many Of the ladies waving their hands
above their heads. During the short
interval before the series of moving
pictures the o~ctette of the Norrona
Singing society contributed a song
which was very pleasing to the audi
ence II to Amundsen, whose face
was wreathed with an appreciative
smile during its rendition.
In connection with Amundsen's visit
to MooThead the following accoun of
the race between Amundsen and Scott
for the south pole by Sir Ernest
Shackleton. himself an antarctic eX-
plorer of note, is Of special interest,
ShackIeton's Vision of the Race.
Thousands of miles away. amid the
comfort of very different surround
ings, another explorer was eating his
Christmas dinner and thinking of
them. Sir Ernest Shackleton, who
had experienced two antarctic Christ
M unc cnnlyasnf fhopo I'm Chr;gty11o @
eve in London, when all England was
wondering whether Scott had achieved
the fuifllment of his hope-to spend
Christmas day at the most sOutherly
part Of the globe.
Il picture to myself" ~ShaCkleton
said. Scott and Amundsen on the big
plateau. about 10000 feet above the
level of the sea. close to the pole, but
whether fighting their way toward it
or on their way back after discovery,
who can say? ! imagine a strong,
temperature of about 40 degrees below
zero, warm clothes, frozen sleeping
bags, and q thin tent, which just
serves to keep out the wind. but not
the cold. Food will be short, but / am
sure. from my experience, that little
bits of biscuit and bacon have been
boarded up for the great day and a
diminutive plum pudding will be pro-
duced from the place where it, has
lain hidden, though talked and thought
about for at least a couple of months.
Inspired by that s%ucculent delicacy.
SC different from the ordinary sledg-
ing fare, the thoughts of the explorers
will come very close to home.
IF either Of the main expeditions
has already planted it's country's flag
at the pole, the day will be one of
pure joy in that camp, however scanty
may be the fare and however FROST
bitten nay be the limbs and faces
Of the explorers"
The Two Christmas Dinners.
~Shackleton had prophesied Alright.
mas, 1911, as it was cabled from Ho-
bart in the following March:
Il and my four companions on the
pole party kept the Christmas festival
in the high mountains, not a great
distance from the pole. The feast
consisted of an extra allowance of
biscuits cooked in a porridge, a poor
substitute for the abundance of the
Norwegian Christmas, but we enjoyed.
it heartily"
Yet for Amundsen's party the day
was celebrated by no resting, but was
devoted, like the other days OF that
stretch, to a vigorous advance toward
the winter quarters. SCOTS narra-
tive is more terse at this point and
needs filling by the imagination.
There were eight in the party ther
for it vas a week before Evans and
the other two turned toward the
north.
ION Christmas Day." Scott wrote
in that next to the last comm unication
in civilization, 1--WE were close
nm m the QcfI 2. -, 49, III = 49, ~ 49,
prospect of Christmas fare gave us
an excellent march of seventeen miles,
but the effect was not so happy the
following day"
From comparisons of the stories told
by Scott and Amurdsen 1t is possible
to fix where each one was when the
worthy period of his undertaking.
When Scott started from Hut Point,
with high hopes for his ultimate sue
cess, November was already two days
old and Amundsen had moved well on
his way toward the pole. BY that
time Amundsen was advancing from
81 degrees to 80 degrees, a latitude
that Scott did o reach till Thanks
giving day.
Amundsen the Faverite of Fortune.
On the day of Amundsen's triumph,
Dec. IA, 1911, when he and his men
reached the south pole, Scott was still
struggling toward the goal under the
most d~iscouraging conditions overhead
and underfoot. Amundsen's narrative
of those days, when he turned from the
pole and started on the long Journey
to winter quarters, is q story of SER
entity. SCOTS is one of disneartening
circumstance. While Amundsen was
at the goal, where all hands took hold
OF the silken flag OF Norway to place
1T in position, Scott was meeting these
conditions:
Largely as a result OF the snow
storm the lower reaches of the glacier
were filled with terribly soft snow.
step. 1t would have been quite inn
possible to advance had we not pulled
on skis. AT Is was the runner sur
face Of the sledges proved inadequate.
They frequently sank to the crossbars,
requiring TO be extracted with stand