Evening star., 1922-09-10
Macmillan Tells of Start
Into Frozen Arctic Wastes

and take refuge in smaller harbors. she
IL more economical With her Knock
about type, jibs on deck easy entrance.
wide quarters. to shunt ice from the
propeller and easy bilges to elude the
grip of tho ice, the ship should be con-
structed OF wood, the very best OF oak
frame. oak planks. and outside SHEATH
ing Of ironwood. for wood is more re-
silent than iron and better non-con-
ductor Of heat and cold
Navigating in such dangerous wa
tiers, she should have the double mar
gin of safety by being well equipped
with both sails and power. for pro-
stripped and shafts broken.
Our own propeller blades were badly
bent by the ice crushes last fall. but
when we were released from the Ice
this spring the Bowdoin was rolled
on her side on the beach and it was
an easy matter to effect repairs of
my contention in the construction of
the ship.
Oil Il Best Fuel.
Her fuel should be of oil for econ
omy of bunker space. and crude or
kerosene oil in preference to gasoline.
thus decreasing to a minimum the
fumes from a leaky pipe or tank.
caused by a squeeze or nip" when
held fast in the grip of the ice pack.
The little auxiliary knockabout
schooner Bowdoin of fifteen tons net,
embodying the essential details as
signed by William H. Hand, 5r., naval
architect of New Bedford. Mass, and
built by a firm at East Boothbay. Me.
(Hodgdon Bros). She was able under
sail, strong under power. lay like a
duck in rough weather. and quickly
hall in, Iii
through leads and strong to resist
shoals or heavy pans. She was 81
feet / inch over all. 81 feet wide. and,
loaded, her draft was only 10 feet s
inches.
Men Who Stayed Behind.
Tho building Of the Bowdoin was
osity Of the Macmillan Arctic Asso-
citation. friends of which have fol-
lowed my work for the last fourteen
years. who were interested in the
arctic. and who are willing to con.
tribute toward the removal of con-
jectural lines and "unexplored' and
the substitution of fact.
We are in luck; here is a little bit
of a thing going to the north pole I
heard a woman explain as she stepped
from an automobile at the head of
the one dock in the beautiful town Of
w .
the old customhouse and pier were
crowded. and Gov. Percival Baxter of
Maine was there to bid farewell-per-
haps greater attraction than the
stanch little craft lying at the end
of the pier, with colors flying. loaded
to the limit for her arctic voyage.
And when we started on the last leg
of our journey those supplies were
not exhausted.
"Let Go For'ard..
can anticipate your question. why
did you sail from Wiscasset? Because
the people of Wiscasset evidenced
such a decided interest in the pro-
posed work of the expedition, and
through the enthusiasm of my class
Proof of this interest was manifested
in the presentation of valuable ma
rine and scientific instruments and
friendly treatment by the townspeo-
pie.
Finally. after much last-minute
confusion we were wished godspeed
by Gov. Baxter. That was on the aft
ernoon of July Is, 1921. With a final
Let go aft! Let go forard" We let
go out into the stream. The interEa-
tional code strung from stem to mast
heads and a huge state-of Maine flag
stretched between the fore and main
rigging and we were or on our ad-
venturous voyage.
The Take-O6.
The second day of our departure
from Wiscasset, was characterized by
a day OF almost constant visitation
from friends. and among them sterl-
Ing friends, as was indicated by the
visit of Horace Henderson, Bowdoin,
'76, of the Pawling School, the boys
Of which had presented me with
binoculars, which L carried through
my trip.
We stopped at Townsend gut, with
whitehouse, my engineer from Booth
bay, who knew every rut and shoal
for miles around, at the wheel. We