Imperial Valley press., 1925-06-20
MAC MILAN MAY
STILL DISCOVER
LAND FOR u. 5.

| NEW YORK, June aO.-Opportun-
! ity for American discovery of new
continent in the Arctic rcgions-if
! such land eXists--is still open to
Donald Macmillan.
Raold Amundscn failed to find
! land in his epOchal flight toward the
| pole. Returning after thrilling ad-
ventures in the northern ice fields,
Amundscn brought reports of sound
ings, confirming previous observa-
tions of the ocean 5 depth in the
Arctic region. lie probably came
closer to the pole than any cXplor-
er save Peary, who reached it, but
first reports from Amundscn s expe-
dition bring no information to de-
tract from the mission upon which
Macmillan ana his associates set
cut today.
The difficulties ahead of Mae.
MILAN and his party after they take
to the air in the naval airplanes
are clearly brought to the fore.
The New York World, in com
menting upon Amundscn s heroic
failure, - points out that "air nav
igation is still a risky method Of
penetrating the frozen north. -
Fog Big Detriment
Fog prevented him from making
indispensable observations; winds
slowed the speed and pushed him
from his course; nowhere among the
.mgged floes of the polar cap could
be found d suitable landing place
and when he alighted his planes were
Immediately locked tight in freez-
ing sea lane. -
Others comment on Amundsen s
traditional good fortune remaining
with him on his latestl adventure.
The New York Times points to the
fact that no sooner was Amund-
sen and his men transferred from
their single overland plane TO a fish
ing ship than a violent gale drove
the ship into Lady Franklin Bay.
"This was Amundsen luck, - says
the Times, "for the groaning plane
could not have lived through it.
Everything for which imagination
could conceive Il necessity is being
taken into the frozen north by
Macmillan - including, strangely
enough, a large refrigerator system
and couple of electric fans.
Inspection by the United Press
correspondent aboard showed every
nook and Granny of both ships
filled with food and fuel and other
supplies. Decks are heaped high
with equipment and high up ON the
top deck of the "Peary', wings
folded and landging gear dismantled,
are the three United States navy
planes in which the explorers hope
to fly over hitherto unexp,ored
land near the pole.
''Peary'' a Classy Yacht
The "Peary' is of the beam
trawler type called Yacht by
courtesy. She is IA feet by % and
was originally built as 4 mine sweep
er for the French government. A
wealthy New Yorker purchased her
and lent her new dignity but finally
no one had use for the vessel until
Mac MILAN found She suited his pur-
pose.
The Bowdoin, - Macmillan s
old ship, is an SS-foot auxiliary
schooner, with two high masts and
60 horsepower Fairbanks Morse
oil burning engine.
Everything that is canned seems
to be among the supplies-espccially
foodstuffs.
Then there are the great drums
of aviation gasoline, a specially fine
grade of fuel. Eight thousand gal,
Ions are aboard the "PearvD and
another one thousand gallons on the
"Bowdoin. The former also car
rics 10 hydrogen cyclinders with
eight thousand cubic feet for in
flating balloons to test the velocity
of winds at the pole such as those
which blew and hampered Amund-
sen on his flight.
Six hundred gallons of oil are
aboard.
The "Peary s" equipment rep
rcsents an expenditure Of 100000
by the navy department. There
are complete Astrological apparatus,
mapping cameras, complete still and
motion picture equipment, cases of
kerosene, guns, ammunition, fishing
tackle, spare parts for planes, two
and one half ton of batteries, COM
plete radio reserves, five pound tins
of concentrated foods such as hard
tack, cheese, chocolate, "bully'
beef, beans, tea and epswurst, to
say nothing of toys, trinkets and
comic magazines and pictures to
amuse the Eskimos.
Refrigeration Plant
Perhaps the strangest feature of
the "Peary 81 equipment, from Il
layman s point of view, is the re
frigeratiOn plant and the electric
fans. Macmillan explains that pre-
vious Arctic expeditions have had
their food stuff spoiled by warm
weather in the north and that the
official photographers need the
fans to assist in drying their
plates.
The stalwart frame of the
''PearyN has been reinforced by a
band of metal an inch thick at the
bow, four feet above the water line
and two feet below and extending
back II feet on either SIDE.
Aft of the companionwav is Mac
MILAN s bunk and directly opposite
that of Ralph Anderson, his first
assistant. Even the commander 5
ODort0rS arn noclSn1 with cunpliCs