The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-07-05
AMUNDSEN'S RESCUE
STORY OF HEROISM
PARTY FACES STARVATION
TWO MONTHS. MAKE WAY
ACROSS FLOES IN FOOT.

SAN NCISCO, Cal.-The
story OF the rescue of Capt. Roale
Amundsen and his band of Arctic ex-
plorers from the frozen north is a story
Of hardships, perils and heroism, OF a
two months battle with the elements
following the disabling of their polar
ship Maud. Amundsen and his men
were landed safely at Nome, Alaska.
The explorer and his party were
picked up at East Cape, Siberia, by
the fur steamer Herman after they had
crossed the Boring Straits on foot, fac
ed by starvation. They also fought
death amid the treacherous ice foes
on their perilous journey
The spot of Amundsen'S rescue was
almost at the same point where the
Holman rescued Captain Bartlett, i'll
fated commander of the Stefansson
Arctic expedition, several years ago.
First news of the explorers rescue was
received in a cable from Capt. {. I.
Peterson, commander of the Herman,
to H. Liebes & Co., owners OF the
vessel, here.
Cables told of the rescue being eft
fected at the fartherest northern point
touched by the steamer. The Herman
stopped at East Cape to trade tur with
the natives.
Ship Locked in Ice Floe.
The trip OF Amundsen and his little
band from the point northwest OF
Alaska, where they deserted their ship,
to East Cape, was one of continuous
Ihardships. The vessel had been caught
in an ice foe which carried them north
and west. The ship finally lost its rud-
der in an ice jam. The party then de-
serted it and began the long overland
nearest point of civilization.
Although Amundsen had QUILTED
his steamer with provisions for five
years the intrepid party faced starva-
ton through inability to transport the
stores. Frequently they dared death
in the freezing waters OF the strait III
their attempt to cross moving t1oes.
When the party reached East Cape
they were almost exhausted. Several
members of the party had to be car
ried. The natives cared for them until
the Herman touched there, effecting a
rescue.
According to cables Amundsen ask
ed that the fur trader carry them di-
rect to Nome. The Herman's northern
trip ordinarily would not have brought
the vessel to Nome for several more
months.
Amundsen, according to Captain
Peterson, was not disheartened by his
misfortune. He plans to lead a relief
expedition back to his ship as soon as
the waters open. He will tow the Maud
into Nome for repairs.
Left Four Men on Ship.
Cable dispatches said Amundsen had
left four men on the vessel to guard
the stores. The ships rudder had been
swept away and the sides strained by
contact with the ice.
Amundsen left Seattle last summer
in an attempt to reach the Pole. He
provisioned his vessel for five years at
| Nome and then sailed north into the
| ice fields He intended that his ship
should be caught in a current thai
flows from Siberia across the Pole &c
Greenland.
1t was the second attempt to reach
! the Pole in this manner. A cross cur
rent carried the ship westward, how
ever, and became frozen in" north OF
Siberia. On his previous attempt he
was frozen in" not far from the same
point.
Amundsen's plan to reach the Pole
is the result of experiments conduct
ed by the little fur trader Herman. The
Herman threw dozens of casks over
board in the north Pacific within the
Arctic circle These casks were picked
up on the. other side of the Pole ap-
proximately five years later.
Amundsen's fame came when he dis
covered the Northwest passage" by
circumnavigating the globe through
the narrow waters between the Arctic
ice packs and the coasts OF America
Asia and Europe.