The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-14
HOME OF BILLIARDS.
FOUND BY EXPLORER
Sir Douglas Maws0n, Here From
Antarctic. Tells Of 80 Day
Life Struggle.
STRANGE BIRDS NEAR POLE

tralia into the Antarctic, arrived here
yesterday on board the orduna from Liv-
erpooi with a story or polar experiences
and dangers which rivals the diary OF
Capt. Scott.
He is the only survivor OF a group OF
three who undertook a trip away from
the explorations base In Adele Land.
lie fought death alone for thirty -one
days in the frozen wilderness.
Sir Douglas says he discovered the
birthplace OF the billiards which sweep
the south polar region and sometimes
break out into the Temperate Zone with
a speed OF from 100 TO 200 miles an hour.
The billiards starN. he says, In the centre
OF Adele Land. He found several kinds
OF birds before unknown to science.
TT was in the fall OF 1911" he said
yesterday. that an expedition OF sixty
men started out with the object OF map
ping the boundaries and other parts OF
the Antarctic and TO observe the atmos-
pherc conditions bearing on tho rainfall
OF the continent OF Australia. Our ship
was the Aurora, the same Aurora which
went to the aid OF Greedy.
AZ Macausrie Island.
After penetrating far into the Ant
arctic continent, which took US until
late In 1912. our party divided up into
groups OF three to explore MacquaiHe
Island. about 1,0O0 miles from Australia.
Here tine party | was travelling with INST
its first disaster-a disaster which left
me alone, without food or shelter or
companions except my dog. II was al
most a miracle that I ever got out aliVe.
my COMPANIONS were DIR. y. Mertz
and Lieut.. b. T. \. MINIS. We were
returning 10 our main base In Adele
Land when MINIS, who was walking Do
hind, plunged through tho snow INTO a
crevasse. DR.. Mertz and myself, nno-
ing ourselves alone, walked back In
search Of the Lieutenant. All we saw
was a vast opening. He had gone to nus
death.
"Dr. Mertz and we're far from the
base and our food began TO run short.
We killed several of our dogs, nut they
were tough eating and hardly digestlole'
Then we met with series OF bliZzards,
the wind at times reaching velocity OF
more than 100 miles an hour. For weeks
we fought against the wind and then Dr.
Nertz began 10 falter. He was weakened
from lack of nourishing food and begged
me to 10 on without him.
"He was brave to the last and Tor
long time | dragged him with me over tine
ice and snow in the face of the driving
wind. But | couldn't save him and nc
died on January $, 1913. After remaining
with the body for two days, thinking what
to do, I finally buried DR.. Mertz under an
ice hummock.
before DIR. Mertz died we had got down
to our last dog. Ginger the pet OF the
team. We finally killed Ginger. Then Dr.
Mertz was stricken and | travelled on
alone for thirty-one days, with nothing
hut my remaining share of the dog TO
sustain me. Time and time again ] would
almost slip into crevasses SUCH AS the one
in which Lieut. MINIS lost his lie, ana
time and time again was saved from IN
slant death by the sledge which / was
dragging The sledgs would lodge across
the aperture. only to leave mo dan
Cling i'm midair at the end OF the hauling
rope. There were even times when. eN-
hausted from these experiences and weak
ened from lack of food and disheartened by
the hopelessness OF IL, thought OF plung-
ing down and ending II all
Last of His strength.
81 hit upon the idea OF fashioning a
rope ladder. and after that was able to
Chamber out OF the crevasses with much
less difficulty With the last OF my
strength arrived at the base station and
found six OF the crew OF the Aurora, who
had been left behind as a search party
The ship itself had left and was even
then visible In the distance. We waited a
year for her return
Sir Douglas said that the binding bliz-
yards and the winds, which at times
reached 200 miles an hour. were the worst
features OF the trip. The average tenn
perature in summer, he said, was slightly
under 80 degrees Fahrenheit. and In win:
ter II went down to 10 or 10 degrees below
zero.
at was OF course much colder than
that at special times" he said. but II was
the high winds which made the suffering
so acute"
An important adjunct 10 the Aurora
expedition was the use OF wireless tele-
graph statons--three In number and
about 1000 miles apart The stations
were used to keep in touch with the vari-
Gus bases of supplies as they were estab-
lished.
The first of these was in Australia, the
second on Macquarie Island and the third
| 500 miles inland at the winter base In
Adele Land, from which the small de-
| tachments branched out.
| DR.. Mawson will lecture on Friday be.
! fore the National Geographic Society in
Washington and will call on President
| Wilson He will return to New York 70
lecture at Aeolian Hall January II under
tho auspices OF the American Geographical
Society and later under the auspices OF
the American Museum of Natural History