Evening star., 1925-06-22
AMUNDSEN PLANE.
ME-. IS SALVAGEO
AND FLIES TO BASE
Data Secured in Flight Will
Change Map for Great
Expanse in Arctic.
LEADERS OVERWHELMED
WITH CONGRATULATIONS
Observations More Valuable Than
If Party Had Made 24-Hour
Trip to Pole.
BY JAMES b. WHARTON.

Special Correspondent of The star and North
American Newspaper Alliance.
KINGS BAY, SpitZbergen, June -
CBy Radio From Steamer HeimdaD.-
The Amundsen Ellsworth airplane
N-25, which carried the explorers back
from the North, arrived again at
Kings Bay last night, after success
ful flight from its anchorage In Lady
Franklin Bay, northern Spitzbergen.
1t was flown Own the coast by
Riiser-Larsen, with Dietrichson, On
dahl and Feucht on board. The group
went North on the steamer Heimdal
early Saturday morning and had no
difficulty in getting the machines in
tured aileron repaired
The plane IS undergoing a thorough
overhauling this morning at the base
workshop, in Kings Bay.
Praised by Whole World.
Amundsen and Ellsworth are being
overwhelmed with congratulatory
kilograms from every corner of the
world. and the subordinate members
of the expedition are also receiving a
great many similar messages. This
flood of congratulations has come as a
great surprise to the explorers, who
do not seem to understand the extent
of their feat or the worlds tremendous
interest in their accomplishment.
When Amundsen looked at the great
pile of kilograms on his table this
morning he said to me: This is even
more applause than the South Pole
discovery elected" Ellsworth, exam
lining similar pile of messages, asked,
anXiouSly: Are YOU sure there isn't
mistake? Isn't it possible that the
world thinks we reached the pole?"
This enormous number of congratu-
latory kilograms has. swollen the single
line of radio communica ton between
Spitzbergen and the outside world un-
til it is jammed beyond precedent,
and even our newspaper dispatches
have to fight for space.
Changes Polar Maps.
The heroic and personal side of the
flight has already reached the worlds
mind and heart. The actual scientific
accomplishments of the trip remain to
be studied and assessed. a map of the
route which the flyers covered will
show great oval, open on it's south
erly end, closed on the north, with
each side about $50 miles long In
side this oval lie 100000 square miles
OF territory, a vast expanse of ice,
most of which has been viewed for
the first time by this party. Because
Amundsen and his companions made
observations Of this great expanse Of
polar waste and lived in it for nearly
month they feel that from the scien-
tific viewpoint their fight is proba bly,
more valuable than if they had
reached the Pole and flown back the
same day by the same course. The
flight will efface from the polar maps
most of the white area between Spitz-
bergen and the Pole, which has here
tofore been designated as 'unex-
plored.' That is great geographical
achievement.
Copyright. 1925. in U. S. Canada. South
America and Japan by North American
Newspaper Alliance: in England by Central
News: in Germany by Ullsen Verlag; in
France by Petit Parisenne; in Italy by Cor
riere della Sera in all Scandinavian coun-
tries by the Norwegian Aero Club. All
rights reserved.)