The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1913-01-22
Discoverer of the South
Pole Talks
INTERESTINGLY OF HIS TRIP
Says Dog Meat Is Fairly Good
Only a Little Tough
Dog Ate Dog.
NO ANIMAL LIFE NEAR POLE


Capt. ROAD Amundsen, the Nor
wegian explorer who discovered the
South Pole in December, 1911, re-
turned last night from Washing
ton, where he delivered a lecture
and received a gold medal.
Speaking of his proposed trip to
the Arctic he said he hoped to leave
San Francisco in August, 1914, and
get back to civilization in 1920. He
plans to drift with the ice north of
this continent and be the first man
to go from the Pacific to the Allan
tic by the northern channel.
He intends to equip his ship, the
Fran, with wireless apparatus in
order to keep in communication
with the rest of the world and to
use it in his scientific work. 1t may
come in handy should the party get
in trouble.
1.-THE Franz" said Capt. Amund-
sen, twill remain in Buenos Ayres
about a year. 1t will DE put in dry
dock shortly. If the Panama Canal
is working by the time she comes
out she will be taken through 1t
and up to San Francisco. If the
canal is not working she will be
carried around through the Straits
of Magellan.
sss'We will go directly up the coast
to Alaska, where we will take on
board some dogs and maybe an Es-
quimau or two. We will just drift
around and may reach the North
Pole, although we won't try espec-
tally hard to. That has been dis
covered once and that is plenty. We
will study the currents of the ocean
and the air, which will be of great
help to weather forecasters. The
Fran will be equipped practically
as she was for the trip to the South
Pole.
ION that trip we carried 100
dogs at the start, but we ate some
and fed some of the others to the
remaining dogs. We got them in
Greenland and carried them to the
South Pole. We took them back
to Australia and now thirty of them
have gone back into the Antarctic
Circle again with the Australian ex-
petition. Dog meat is fairly good.
1t is little tough. but at that 1t is
better than lots of steaks you get
right here in New York.
There was one peculiar thing
about the trip to the South Pole.
After we crossed the great ice bar
rier there was no sign of animal
life. Just before reaching the bar
rier we saw great schools of whales
thousands of them In single
school-but at the other side of the
barrier absolutely nothing, not even
a gull. We built little piles Of
snow every three miles and in them
put a piece of paper telling the ex-
act longitude and latitude of the
pile. There are at this time lead
ing from the barrier direct to the
Pole these piles of snow. We cut
out about 1900 pieces of snow
crust to build them with.
There were but five men with me
from the time we left the station
until We reached the Pole. At the
Pole and on the return trip we
gathered much material. such as
minerals. corals and the like.
None of the minerals. SO far as
know. bore precious metals. and
the whole time was within the cir
Gle | did not see any coal. II has
been reported there are vast coal
fields on the hidden continent. II
they are there | didn't see them.
Only once did we run into the
Shackleton party. and then I did
not see them myself. Some OF
Shackleton's men called on the men
in my camp. more out % curiosity
than anything else. imagine.
AS food the men and myself
had hot chocolate and biscuits for
breakfast and pemmican. granu-
lated milk and chocolate for dinner.
We had but two meals day. The
men ate two pounds Of pemmican q
day and each Of the dogs was given