The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-02-02
WHERE DOG meat WAS
SWEETER Than BEEF
AND SEA MONSTERS WEIGH
MORE THAN FOUR TONS AND
IRON FLAGS FLUTTER.
PICTURE OF ANTARCTIC REGION

Sir Douglas MawsOn Tells NatlOhai
Geographic Society Remarkable
Story of Polar Exploration. Ami
mails and Birds Strangers to Fear.
WASHINGTON, D. C.-Telling OF
times when dog meat-and the meat
of starved-to-death dogs at that
tasted better than any porterhouse
steak he had ever eaten; picturing a
region where the average velocity OF
the wind is fifty miles, where a bunt-
ing flag goes to shreds in few min
mates. a flag of stoutest canvas IS
threshed to pieces in an hour and
a flag of tin is battered out OF shape
in the first gale, so that sheet iron is
the material that must be used; de-
scribing sea elephants that weigh
sometimes as much as four tons each
and measure % feet in length; show
ing penguin rookeries so large and
so densely populated that from
vantage point they seemed like vast
pebble-strewn beaches instead of bird
colonies. Sir Douglas Mawson has
presented before the National Geo
graphic Society one of the most re-
markable stories of polar exploration
that has ever come from those re-
gions.
In the Great Antarctic.
In his account of his researches
along the great Antarctic continent
discovered by Rear Admiral Charles
Wilkes-whO was the same Admiral
Wilkes who figured in the. historic
"Thent" affair in which he, during
the war between the states held up
the British packet Trent and re-
moved from her Mason and Slidell-
Sor Douglas paid tribute to the ex-
plorer and his work.
Mawson and his party undertook
the work under the patronage of the
Australian government. The steamer
Aurora, formerly plying in American
waters, was the ship that carried
them to their base and finally
brought them away. A midway base
with a wireless relay station through
which the party could keep in touch
with civilization was established at
Macquarie Island, which was on the
old sailing ship route between Aus
tralia and Cape Horn and whose
beaches are lined with the wrecks of
many a ship. The main base was es-
tablished at Cape Dennison, on the
Antarctic Continent, and a second
base several hundred miles farther
east.
Animals and Birds Strangers to Fear.
Pictures were brought back by Sir
Douglas showing the nesting places
of a number of birds of passage
which go to the Polar Continent to
nest and whose eggs have never been
seen before The birds and sea ele
plants were absolute strangers to
fear, and would inspect the camera
man with as much seeming interest
as the camera man inspected them.
The character of the winds that
blow on the edge Of the Antarctic
Continent was graphically shown by
the fact that the men had to lean out
upon it at ar angle Of perhaps forty
five degrees to walk in the ordinary
wind, while no camera could record
anything but a blank when the biz
yard was at it's hight. The hut which
was the headquarters of the party
had one window, which was in the
roof. The breath of the men and the
steam OF the kitchen caused this to
become frosted over to a thickness of
five inches.
Ice Froze in Their Faces.
Men going out to take the records
OF the climatological instruments had
to break the ice that froze before
their faces, from one side of their
hoods to the other and pictures
showing how their faces were cover
ed with great patches of frost-bite
told an eloquent story of suffering.
But the scene was not all sombre.
The cellar was a natural refrigerator,
and consisted simply of the space I'M
der the floor of the hut. When the
cook wanted a piece of meat he would
send a dog down to get a pebuin or
leg of mutton. and would take it
away from him as he came out. One
day the dog got away with leg Of
mutton which was rescued only after
chase of two hours; and then it was
SO damaged that the party voted TO
give it to the logs after all. Reading
matter was in great demand. One OF
the party read the Encyclopedia Brit
tannica through the O's.
Perfshed i'm a CreVasse.
Upon one occasion Sir Douglas set
out with DR.. Mertz and Lieut. MINIS