El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-05-23
PRELIMINARY
ARCTIC TRIP
WILDE MADE
shackleton Will Test Equip
ment in Norway Before
Dash For the Pole.
APPLICATIONS TO
JOIN POURING IN

ONDON Eng, May 2&-with the
thoroughness which has always
Il characterized his work, sir Ern-
est Shackleton is about TO make
-,-a1ini7arv trial expedition under
Arctic conditions in the glaciers Of
Norway. This will be for the special
nurpose Of testing the rations for his
trip across the Antarctic continent
which he hopes to make in four and a
half months time. No party ever
started out. without having food de-
nots. TO make such a distance as that
in a straight line. but sir Ernest and
his men have made special prepara-
tiUns for the attempt
They nave. with the aid OF the Royal
ARMY medical corps, evolved the per
feet ration" It Will average 30 ounces
daiIv- as compared with the three
pounds or more consumed by the aver
age man. but 1t IS belleVed u repre-
sents the highest nutritive value for
miniature Arctic Trip.
Sir Ernest will be accompanied by
five members of his staff wien he
goes TO Norway to conduct expert
ments with these rations and also test
his tents and motor Sledges- me
party will don polar kit and travel
among the glaciers While the cold
will not be so intense as in the polar
regions the country will furnish the
same sort Of sudden Billiards as are
experienced in the Antarctic
The party will test the effect and
potency of the ratiOns in most detailed
fashion. such an experiment never
has been made before
Shackleton's new ship, the Eudur-
ance. has been almost completely
fitted in Norway and viii arrive at
the London docks this month She IS
Is feet longer than his last ship. MIN
rod. She is a beautiful specimen Of
wooden ship building and probably
the last Of her class that will be con-
structed. Her whole keel is made Of
solid oak five and a half feet thick,
and her sides are two feet thick. She
belongs to the barkantine class, has
the latest triple expansion engines
and viii steam ten knots an hour. she
is fitted to consume both oil and coal
When IN the ice, OIL VIII be suostltuted
for coal. which will mean economy L
she is delayed in the pack-as the
boilers can be kept warm and fun heat
generated quickly When the oil has
been used the tanks viii be filled with
water ballast The Endurance viii
take on 100 tons of coal briquettes at
the south Shetland islands, 50 she will
enter the Weddeu sea with full
bunkers
VIII Use Two Ships
The second ship, Aurora. intended
for the Ross Sea side Of the eXpedi.
ton. has been purchased and will be
delivered at Hobart, Tasmania at the
end Of August.
The Endurance, which is TO operate
on the opposite side of the Antarctic.
viii leave England early in August
for BuenOs Aires. whence she viii
finally start for the Antarctic base in
october. Most OF the members of the
expedition will leave England in the
Endurance but sir Ernest ShackletOn
viii travel later by mail steamer, and
join his ship at Buenos Aires.
The dogs. which constitute an i'm
portant factor in the expedition. are
a cross between a wolf and a Scotch
stag hound, and have been bred in
northern Canada The liEhJesr Of them
viii turn the scales at so pounds.
whereas the heaviest dog with the last
ShackletOn expedition weighed As
pounds They have been selected by
the experts Of the Hudson's Bay com
pany, and viii be under the charge Of
one Of the most experienced drivers
from Canada, who was chosen by the
Of the North West
police.
The latest appointments to the ex-
peditionary staff are sir Philip Lee
brOcklehurst, who was with Shackle-
ton in 1907 and 1909 and who made
the first ascent Of Mount Erebus. and
MS brother, Lieut. Courtney Brockle-
hurst Of the 11th Hussars. Hundreds ]
Of applications for positions with the Z
expedition have been received