The Bismarck tribune., 1925-06-18

secret treasure LfOFe CnaC may mean
the difference between life and death
to Raold Amundsen, gallant polar
explorer.
This treasure trove, which throws
the lone CLEAN of light into the cloud
of darkness hat overshadows
Amundsen's fate, consists Of ten
tons of gasoline.
1t is stored in cache between
wainwright and Point Barrow, Alaska,
and was deposited there by Amund-
sen couple of years ago.
When Amundsen sailed north from
Spitzbergen month ago did he have
a secret goal?
Flying to Alaska
Did a mere flight to the pole seem
insufficient to him? Was his real
purpose to fly all the way from
Spitzbergen, over the north pole, to
Alaska, exploring the million square
miles of unknown territory that that
The thing is far from unlikely.
If true, it is all the more amazing
in that practically every time
Amundsen tried to fly a plane he
met with disaster and narrowly es-
Cdpeu QedIH. a.
Amundsen has always had an un-
controllable impulse for surprises.
In his official announcement of
this years expedition ne emphasized
that he was only planning flight to
the pole, but what he expected to
gain by flight from ~Spitzbergen to
the north pole and back was difficult
to conceive.
What He Said
The distance from Spitzbergen ia
the pole is cons iderably shorter than
from New York to Chicago. The
! round trip of about l4O0 miles would
mean nothing extraordinary in pres
ent day aviation.
And then again, the north pole has
already been discovered. Many years
have passed since Admiral Peary
planted the Stars and Stripes on the
utmost top of the world.
Not even the achievement of dis.
covery would be Amundsen's.
What, then, could be his real OBJ
ject?
In searching for an answer it i!
interesting to review statement
given out by Amundsen in May, 1924
Amundsen said:
81 am not the least interested il
the north pole, but aim to solve tn
worlds last geographical problem
and discover just what is to be fount
within the unexplored regions be
tween the north pole and Alaska"
In view of it all one cannot but
help making certain deductions.
Was it likely that he had entirely
changed his mind within the space
of IL short months, or can it be pos
sible that when he took off from
Spitzbergen his real goal was still
Alaska and exploration of parts un
known?
The Irony of Fate
He carried sufficient gasoline il
the two planes combined to enable
him to follow his old plan of aban
doning one "ship" in the vicinity o
the pole, transferring fuel and mel
to the second "ship" and endeavor
ing to reach the Alaskan coast ant
the hidden deposits of. gasoline.
The possibility exists and afford
ray of hope.
1t would be irony of fate of tn
most cruel variety should Amundse
have been caught by the arctic ic
packs, never to be heard from agair
In 1922 and 1923 Amundsen wa
in Alaska all ready to attempt
flight from Alaska over the mort
pole to Spitzbergen, and his tota
equipment was one small all meta
monoplane equipped with one lS5
horsepower motor. But fate inter
vened and minor accidents prevente
his hop off.
This year he had the most care
fully selected and prepared equip
ment which money could buy. To ad
to the safety of the expedition twin
motored planes had been selected
each equipped with two 3GO-horse
power motors.
The attempt of flight frol
Spitzbergen to the pole had bee
made as safe as man could make it
Should Amundsen really be lost h
has died martyr to his tremendou
sense Of public duty and, judgin
from our standpoint, this would b
but a poor reward for his amazin
determination and perseverance.
While Amundsen was tremendous
ly interested in aviation he person
ally disliked to fly. His aviation e,
periences in the past have been mos
unfortunate.
y With few exceptions, every all
I plane flight on which he had en-
barked had ended disastrously.
Even in 1914, at the occasion. {
) his examination flight in Oslo, Mo-
way, where he earned his pilot cert
7 ficate, that very flight almost prove
fatal and the school machine
which he flew was wrecked.
In 1922 Amundsen started out
fly his airplane from New York
t Seattle, but crashed in Pennsylvani
J.. and since then until now in Spit;
, bergen he absolutely declined to 81
foot aboard an airplane.
J But in spite of his personal disil
clination for flying and in spite
3 his full consciousness of his link
D he did not hesitate toN attempt h
l north pole flight. He had ample e.
cuses to withdraw, his previous fai
!, ures. his bankruptcy. but in spite {
e it all he carried on.
A Man of Honor
Why? Because he stood commi
ted to the world and because he
t a man of undaunted courage and d.
e termination.
Amundsen never allowed himse
to forget that he was world figur
4 To him the old saying that "a ma
0 is q man and word word" wa
k more than q mere phrase.
: In 1922 he announced to the w0rl
5 that he would attempt polar flig
: and that meant that only dea'
: would prevent him from keeping h
$ promise.
8 Whether Amundsen returns or no
}. Amundsen will never die. His spir
will hover over coming ages as a
n everlasting inspiration toward tru
; manhood.