Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-12-24
EXPLORERS ARE
ON WAY TO THE
WEDDELL REGION
Cope Expedition Sends Final
Message Before Starting
Long Trip.

London. Dec. 24.-Dr. John L
Cope. commander Of the British Inn
perial Antarctic expedition, has sent
the following message from Port
Stanley, capital of the falkland
Islands: 'S ~
Sailing from here December 20.
with full equipment and dogs. Hope
to land at Graham's December '25.
All we'll. Expect to hear from us in
18 months. Good bye"
Commander Cope with four COM
panions proposes to spend Is months
ic surveying and charting the west
ern shores of Weddell Sea and in car
rying out scientific work in the Ant
arctic.
A Wild Adventure. m
Jules Verne, by the widest stretch
of his imagination. v conceived of
an adventure in the realm of fiction
more thrilling than that undertaken
by the British Imperial Anthracite ex-
petition headed by Commander John
Lachlan Cope, who, with five ships
and their crews, started in Septem-
Der. 1920, on a %ive-year quest to
solve the riddle of the great unknown
South Polar sea
Cope's reputation for daring and
VI WN3 .4 SokoOAAoAACO w. WAACHS ~ III
surgeon and biologist of the Sir
Ernest Shackleton expedition he and
eight of his comrades in misfortune,
all hope of rescue abandoned, lived
for two years in a little hut establish
ed by the intrepid Scott, amid the icy
wastes OF Ross Island. They were
marooned when the Aurora the
Mawson expedition ship of 1915, was
driven away from them during a biz
zard. Their final rescu constituted
one Of the most interesting chapters
in polar explorations.
The expedition. backed by $75o.00o
has for its purpose, the circunnavi-
cation of the Antarctic continent. q
dash to the South Pole. the explora-
ton of more than 1000 miles Of ter
ritory never before trod by civilized
man. the discovery Of new whale fish
ing grounds. the study Of weather
conditions. and the extent Of South
Polar mineral deposits, especially Of
manganese. coal, granite. marble and
Irubies. Commander Cope declared
before sailing that for SIX months of
the year the citrate of the northern
area of the Antarctic is no more
rigorous than that Of Alaska o. ST.
Cope's ship, the Thor l.. left Eng
land on September 8, 1890 and from
Norfolk, Va. where the commander
stepped aboard her, on the following
October rs. The Thor I ON the way
to her base; gt0pped at Montevidec
and then went$to Deception Islands IN
the Falkiandsy where motion pictures
Were made Of whales disportiny them
selves AZ sea and being harpooned
for their annbfrsris and boHesand oil
lf ~ .l-~-HA1.LIa
left CardiK, MHales. for the FElkland
}Isiands. Thrive whaiers 81 7.oo1Stonl
each and. neswhalet catcher 81 20l
tons. also accoppanted the sxplorerl
from their base. F8
Some OF stefanssonsMe
The personnelso of the expedition IA.
lcluded also NJ Lester. navigator
ThomaeSFW. Bagsh0We. g~eologist; Cap,
tain George 81. wilkins, 4chtef 10 thi
scientific st4hEs who accompanied TIL
stefansson sxpsdtfaS9n In the Same g,
esiisa sH \ n srsos III ~ s;s1,
arpcte4s ~ lana On
bysmeans Nit stosbe en9tS6Set
I'm the Dash NStAieg 9puth8 Pole an
tgoal was extedtsdstS9pte sr4athedS insi
hightgof frontz0 tpA6 h6urss idsts9s
of aStortuots journey ~ HAny m6nth
on siedEe4. hGssAtght ~ tos be iMl
fdertaken i sutHnserNAndswas not q
THE sKangaxeae,s carried bestds
n fo0d fora o1a sSHaOnth and 4his Weieh
Wks@expAets6 abdt3ap Ia Eftsrs, q
GfosGepg aym1g11Ai AanG0sNlth,SpSek
ladtSo1Gs feeEhlghSkhtc I'll - Hl&uEs
lIohofaSIee It6 8fh4fspctes No. II We
(itH bexsna4leEs fe9sn#th great lee bur