Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-01-14
Noth,ns Ovseuvss AAas.

Tho terrible ordeal n ~ three naana-
bern Of tho Naval Aviation Corps IN shsar
flight which ended In CAnada, esvsrsl
days 40, ilkstraAss the amount 81 hard
ships and suffering that man nay endure
and not suooumb To death. These hisrs,
In their voynge Of exploration to nots Ar
currsnts, werc blown far into Canada md
bsoAmo lost in = binding storm, but
svxntsAIly sought landing, in making
which they were almost entirely stripped
Of thSir clothing "A they dcsccndcd
through tho trees, and were consequently
exposed TO cold Of 20 degrees bslow ssro
for considerable time, yst all reached
hxven Of shelter alive, and Arc said to have
suffered little permanent hurt from thsir
terrible experiences.
Ono shuddcrs TO sven rad tho story Of
this fight and landing In the cold that
secms deadly in its intensity. and, In
decd. il is almost like uiracle that one
od them escaped alive, and tho Lesson ~
this fight is perhaps found in tho renewal
Of the illustration that wc can endure and
accomplish much more than We belisvc
We arc capable Of doing until put TO tho
test. Possibly these men wcre little
Drawer than the average OF theis fellows,
and perhaps would not have been able to
endure Half the hardshipe that came to
them, under any other circumstances than
their determination TO fight 10 the last
breath for life.
When we read Of the earlier efforts to
reach uncxplored parts of the Garth, we
see other illustrstione Of similar bravery,
but here men Voluntarily accept the enc
chance of returning elive against the thou
sand on the other side Of the equation,
and seemingly with little other end in
Wow than attaining the unatsa'nabie'
IL I. almost inesplicable why men viii be
lured by the love Of adventure into huch
perilous expeditions, from which thefeseem
almost no chance of their returning. Yet
we recall Admiral Peary's half-dosen vuy-
ages into the frozen North until he
eventually reached the TOP most point OF
the world. an achievement that perhaps
brought him sufficient satisfaction to com
pensate him for the Ices Of toes and fingers
aud possibly shortening his dsys.
It was mans love TO master the ole
ments At their worst that perhaps also
made the South pole the object of many
quests. There nature |. st her very wofs.
and most forbiddina. There even the
amphibious bear often meets death from
the most awful weather. and IN lsrse
areas there is no animal or vegetable life
Whatever. But man has penetrated tn
th. point designated "a the Antarctic
POLE amid hsrdshipe and siTeiinss that
are incomprshersible
In these voyage. or explorations man
ha. completely demonstrated hi. dominion
over all material conditions, until today
he seems to have Waited every corner on
the whole world and there is nothing lett
undiscovered. Probably the vsnturesunas.
or those who are really anxious 60 increase
the worlds sum total Of knowledge, will
now direct their inquiries into the skies OF
the heavens. Possibly they may under
take voyages Of discovery 70 The neigh
boring planets millions or billions of
miles away, in the hope of eventually
becoming as familiar with the geography
Of The universe as we are At this time, with
that Of the earth.