Evening star., 1925-04-06
PLANES WILL SEEK ARCTIC
LAND, LED BY MACMILLAN

| Continued from First Page.)
| craft bases in flight routes from
| Europe to Asia, providing in effect
what was sought unsuccessfully for
| centuries in the quest for a north
| west passage.
The expedition, however. will not
| be limited to this one object, as other
| scientific work will be undertaken in
pursuing lines previously laid down
| by Macmillan and others in their
polar experiences of many years. and
extensive mapping and photographing
| work Will be carried out.
Efforts will be made to explore the
| ancient Morse ruins in Labrador and
! Greenland and the aviators will try
to visit Cape Columbia, Peary's
| jumping off place in the dash for the
pole, where he left records. Obser-
| vations will be made OF weather
conditions throughout the trip, and
experiments will be conducted with
radio.
| 1t Is planned TO spend only the
| Summer at the work and begin the
| trip southwark to civilization by
August 15 before dangerous ice con-
ditions develop. In that short time
| the necessary observations can be
made, it Is believed, because of the
| advantages obtained through use of
aircraft.
Has Chartered Ships.
! Mr.. Macmillan has chartered a ship
for the trip which will accommodate
| the planes, personnel and supplies.
| He will not use the Bowdoin, with
| which he conducted his recent ex-
plorations. because 1t will not be of
| sufficient size
Outside of the Navy officers and
men he will have a small crew and a
| few assistants. Among the latter
| will be Eugene F. Mcdonald. jr,
president of the National Association
| of Broadcasters, of Chicago; U. j.
| Hermann, also of Chicago, and
Ralph Robinson, who has been an as
sistant to Mr.. Macmillan on FIVE of
his previous expeditions.
| Mr.. Macmillan returned from the
Arctic only last September, after a
| 15-month stay, and at that time said
he would leave again this June to
pursue his scientific Investigations.
He had the use of aircraft in mind
for this trip, and some time ago ap-
preached the Navy Department con-
| cerning the plan.
Had Plans of Own.
Several naval officers, OF whom
Lieut.. Comdr. Byrd was one, at the
same time had in mind the possibility
| of conducting an expedition of their
| own, apart from any Navy auspices,
in view of the collapse of the Shen-
| andoah project, and the arrangement
announced today is the result of dis
| cussions surrounding both proposals.
Discussing the projected expedition,
the Navy Department, in an announce
ment today. said an undiscovered
| continent was believed to exist in
| the region to be visited.
Its existence" the statement added
has been forecast by explorers
through scores Of years. their be-
liefs being predicated on tidal OBJ
! servations, ice phenomena, and even
| sight of land masses rising above
the horizon, which were seen and
reported by Peary, and which Mac
MILAN later investigated but was
unable to confirm. Macmillan pene-
trated the Arctic 100 miles in the d.
rection of the unexplored region,
making 23 miles per day with dog
teams.
VIII Study Ruins.
can interesting and important fea-
ture of the expedition will be the ex-
ploration of ancient Morse ruins in
Labrador and Greenland. The SINH
llarity between these ruins indicates
that they are of identical origin. and
that they are remains of ancient
Morse settlements established by Eric
the Red. 1t Is expected that the ex-
ploration of these ruins will shed
new light on the first chapter OF
| American history.
The expedition will push north
ward through Baffin Sea and across
the dread Melville Bay (where the
worst ice conditions of the voyage
are anticipated) to Etah. If ice con-
ditions permit, Macmillan will pro-
ceed through Smith Sound to Ken
nedy Channel and from this vicinity
will base further operations.
VIII Establish Base.
'Tn this locality the air assault or
the impregnable Arctic wastes will
be launched. The airplanes, under
the direction Of Lieut.. Comdr. Byrd
will attempt to establish an advance
base at the northern point of Axe
Heiburg Land They will make &
series of portage flights from tn,
ship to the advance base carrying
quantities of fuel, food and othel
supplies. This base will be estab-
lished at a distance of approximately
ESQ miles by air line from the proba
BILE location of the ship.
working from the advance bas'
on Axel Heiburg, the. planes will fl!
out over the great unknown regioI
of the Arctic whose secrets have beer
held invfolate since the beginning
of time. The planes will strike frs
in the direction Of problematica
lCrocker Land. This Elusive domain
has been reported several times II
the history Of the Arctic and ha.
been drawn In and erased from map
Of the polar area. Peary estimated
II to be 100 miles from Axei Heiburg
Macmillan explored $50 miles in thi
direction without locating 1t. But a