Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1917-10-23
American Explorer in Frozen
North Makes important
Discoveries.
DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE WAR
Party Was Cut of From Civilized
World for Four Years-Rescue
Ship Appeared When Food
Ran Very Low.


New York.-The return to civillza-
ton of Daniel b. Macmillan, American
explorer, brings to a successful close
one of the most remarkable stays in
the Ice of the roof of the globe record
ed In the annals of Arctic exploration.
Unusual good and unusual bad luck
marked the expeditions history. No
less than five ships were used to get
the party into northern Greenland, and
on the two unsuccessful and one sue
cessful attempts to bring Macmillan
back home again, but not single
person involved lost his life, and
there was no more serious casualty
than the loss of frozen toes. This is
a unique record for an Arctic expedi-
ton lasting four years.
Although the enterprise cost about
$25O,0O0 and was one of the most, II
not the most, costly ever known, sci
entists of the American Museum Of
Natural History here are frankly de-
lighted today with the wealth of new
information and the specimens of min
erals and the fauna and flora Of the
frozen North which Macmillan brings
back.
Worked All the Time.
Most uninitiated persons think an
Arctic expedition consists of periods
of intense labor interspersed with long,
aggravating waits in absolute idleness,
he 10 frox NJ
far.
But this Is mistake. Macmillan
was working all the time. Even when
forced to stay near his main base at
Etah, he kept busy, very busy. That is
why, says Macmillan, he found the last
four years the shortest of his life.
Many times he went SO to 40 hours
without sleep, pursuing his scientific
studies. And he had considerable time
to devote to these studies. for actual
exploring can only be done In three
months out of the twelve.
Macmillan Is eager to return to this
bleak but interesting region of the
north pole and will undoubtedly do so
as soon as he can find sufficient finan-
cial backing
Will Fly over Ice.
His next trip will be something en-
tirely novel in Arctic exploration, for
he proposes to use an airalane to widen
his radius of action. 81 expect to do
as much in day with an airplane as
/ can do in 20 days with the dogs" he
explained.
Macmillan was greatly pleased to
learn of the progress in aviation
which has taken place on account of
the great war during his stay away
from the world. He thinks airplane
construction has now been carried to
point of perfection where he can
rely on certain types Of flyers as fully
I as he does on his "huskies" and his
snowshoes.
Macmillan left Sydney. N. s., aboart
the Diana In July, 1913. The ship was
wrecked off Barge Point, Labrador, but
was finally pulled off and taken to st
Johns. where the supplies were trans
ferred to the Erik.
Three Rescue Attempts.
In the second ship the party reached
Etah. on the west Greenland coast
August 20.
1t was more than two years ago tina
the first relief expedition was sent out
Doctor Grenfell's Labrador missionar.
schooner, the George B. Cluett, started
In July, 1915. for Etah, but was unable
!. to 90 thros IN the heavy foes of Ice en-
countered.
DIR. Edmund o. Hovey of the Ameri
can museum then fitted out the Den
mark, but this ship failed also, and 4
believed to be still frozen in the ic
off the Greenland coast. 1t was Capt
Robert Bartlett, companion Of Pear,
on the trip when he reached the mort
pole, who finally succeeded where tn
! others had failed. He used the stauncl
sealing steamer Neptune, and by hi
feat he adds considerably to the repu
tation he made on his several voyage
with Peary. Bartlett says the ice o.
, this trip was the heaviest he had eve
met. Macmillan was also one o
Peary's lieutenants on the polar triI
Many of the things Macmillan ha
accomplished in the far North will b
appreciated only by the scientih
world. But even the layman can ur
derstand his work In mapping a grea
stretch of the coast of Ellesmer
Land, across Smiths sound to tn
west of Greenland; discovering tn
: second biggest glacier in the norther
hemisphere; locating two new island
and disproving the existence of tw
more, showing that Croker Land, see
by Peary from the summit Of an in
4 mense cliff, is only mirage, and pen'
/. trating many miles over the froze
!, ocean beyond the point where Crocke
! Land was supposed to begin.
Reached Just in Time.
8 When rescued by Bartlett at Etal
Macmillan and the members of hi
party were living on dog biscuit an
tn