The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-18
DIR. MANSON TELLS
OF ANTARCTIC PERIL
Explorer, in Lecture, Relates
Story of Slcdge Trip
Tragedy.
TWO WITH HIM Persisted

Sir Douglas Mawson famous Antarctic
explorer and leader OF the Australasian
Antarctic expedition OF l9i1-l4, gave
vivid description OF his thrilling expert
ences last night at Aeolian Hall. The
lecture was under the auspices OF the
American Museum OF Natural History
and the National Geographic Society and
in the large audience were a number OF
prominent men. The talk was illustrated
with motion pictures OF the life and ad-
ventures Of the explorers during the
Antarctic expedition. They are considered
to be the most accurate ever taken In the
polar regions.
Or Mawson told OF sledge journey
In the course OF which both OF his com
panions, Lieut. Il. F. =. MINIS, Royel
Fusileers. and Or. y. Mertz, lost their
lives Or. Mawson was able TO reach
safety after perhaps the greatest perils
from which any adventurer ever e.
capped alive
I'VE started the journey at the dawn
OF beautiful day, November ?, 1912"
said DR.. Mawson
I'VE were going across King George V.
Land. I was with the hrst sledge, DR.
| Mertz with the second, while minis
| pulled up In the rear. on December II,
In the morning, I noticed the opening OF
| a new covered crevasse and shouted back
to warn my companions Thinking that
they had both heard me I continued for
some time until l looked around and
| missed Ninnis
Merit and hurried back to the
| crevasse and peered down into IT, II
/ was OF unfathomable depth and all that
| could be seen was a dead dog, an injured
/ dog and few fragments OF the sledge
| load caught on a shelf $50 feet below,
/ The means OF the dog ceased within few
/ minutes for nothing could have lived
! there, II was so intensely cold, and no
! sound was heard in answer to our fran
! tic calls our poor comrade without doubt
had been killed instantly. After calling
down into the pit for nine hours con-
I tnuously Mertz and set our faces to-
ward the hut
unfortunately the largest part OF our
supplies were on Ninnlss sledge and were
! lost with the best team OF dogs TOO.
| Added 70 that owing to bad weather,
| our rat!ons were reduced further than
we anticipated. We were then 81 miles
from the camp The dogs began TO wane
ana several died daily so that soon
there were none left. Day after day
there was nothing but dense. falling and
| drifting snow. our marches grew shorter
I and, starving as we WERE the cold was
! felt intensely. We had stripped the dogs
bodies for food and even smashed the
bones for nutrition. But the poor old
! fellows themselves had been starved and
/ there was no nourishment In their bones.
Il could see that Mertz was gradually
becoming depressed and on January ;,
1918, my comrades condition was so bad
! that he could no longer proceed on foot.
-Four days later. at midnight, he passed
away. after having been in a delirium
! and unconscious for some hours I was
alone about 90 miles from the camp. My
own condition was such as to hold out
little hope My first impulse was to wrap
in my sleeping bag, go TO sleep and try
and forget II all. finally determined to
try 20 get through with the diaries and
records to Aurora Peak a place likely to
he visited by search parties. cut the
sedge in half, breaking my only saw
In the process and. after cooking all CT
the remaining dog meat 10 save carrying
the Kerosene, l started out using DIR.
Mertz's clothing as a san Tor my siedge.
suddenly Drops Into Crevasse.
For the next FIVE days it showed all
the time and | able to see only
a few feet ahead OF me, Suddenly I
found myself dangling at the end Of my
s.edge rope in an apparently bottomless
. creVasse. This is the end ! decided, as
o hung there, and though you may not
believe it the next thought that flashed
into my mind was that still had several
pounds OF meat left and regretted that
] hadn't eaten II all. so strong was /
ohsessed with the idea OF food. I hung
there probably ten minutes wondering
whether to unloosen the rope and drop
, down or climb out II ! could. I finally
managed to climb hand over hand to the
ledge.
- then took the rope or the sledge
! aud made a rope ladder of IL To get
! ~"ross the crevasse. abandoning most
Of my provisions. I crept forward through
the snow for the next three weeks barely
? alive, with the skin worn on the soles
: OF my feet The thing which probably
saved my life was r. cache OF provisions
: which had been left by a search party
Q stimulated by this food. ! erected my
$ tent, stayed quietly short time and
! finally reached the camp in time to see
Y the Aurora disappearing over the horizon
t Fortunately they had left a party OF six
men To wait for us to return. After
J some days the ship returned to Com
Z monwealth Bay and we expected To be
c taken away that evening, but unfor-
a tunately the hurricanes came down sud.
denly and the ship couldn't get into the
! bay. And so we were left there fol-
= another year.
n Or Mawson said that when the shr
e finally returned il was greeted eagerly
d by the men who were anxious for some
T real fruits and hens eggs, though the
y seven OF us In the time we were In thu
8 camp MANAGED to account for some 1000
p penguin eggs
o The explorers statements as to tn,
tameness OF the birds and animals In the
Y South Polar regions was borne out 10y
h the remarkable pictures he displayed
% The moving pictures OF the thousands o.
n penguns waddling along in an uncon
h cerned Gamer greatly amused the audi
= ence. Another picture OF the birds sur
s. bathing in droves was not unlike a seen,
Is on any warm summer afternoon at Cone!
(. Island. Seals, sea lions, sea elephants
% petrols, cormorants and other polar ami
& mails frolicking about in the snow anC
" ice were also caught by the movie camera
Il FUNERAL OF J. Z. PARSONS.