Evening star., 1925-05-24
AmundSen Planes May Be
Few Miles From 2 Convoy
Ships, Waiting for Storm
Shroud to Clear Away.
HOBBY PATROLS ICE PACK
IN SEARCH FOR FLYERS
Watchers Anxiety Increases as 49,
Hour Period Goes With No News
of Explorers Heard Since De-
parture-U. S. Navy Maintains
Hope of Safety.
BY JAMES B. WHARTON.


Special Correspondent of The Star and the
North American Newspaper Alliance.
KINGS BAY, Spitzbergen, (by
radio from Steamer FARM May q.
A sudden change in the weather i'll
the past few hours has caused in
creased anxiety here for the fate of
the Amundsen-Ellsworth flyers. The
cloud banks that have been threaten
ing in the west shrouded US during
the afternoon and a furry of snow
has begun to fall. The northeast
erly wind continues, however, and
ness may clear away.
At o'clock tomorrow morning
the flyers will have been "a hour S
overdue
1t is believed quite possible that the
two planes may be resting on the ice
within 20 to so kilometers of us.
Should the flyers have arrived out of
the clear polar basin early today and
come upon the edge of our local storm
they may have gone down to await a
clearance.
Hobby Patrols Ice Pack.
In pursuance of this theory the
Hobby has weighed anchor and set off
westward to patrol the edge of the
ice pack They will steam as far as
Verlegen Hook and attempt a return
here by o'clock tonight. There was
increasing anxiety among the watch
ers off Spitbergen this afternoon as
the 4S-hour period passed without
news of the Amundsen-E Ellsworth
flyers.
Throughout the day, the two mother
ships Hobby and Farm swung at
anchor at Danes Cat, the narrow open
passage between Danes Island and
the mainland of SpitZbergen. They
rode easily, on a surface calm as a
mill pond, side by side. But to the
anxious passengers there was some
thing annoyingly idle and futile about
the sedate conduct of the boats.
Nothing to do but wait" muttered
the captain of the Farm angrily, as
he puffed fretfully on his pipe pacing
the narrow bridge of his ship. Our
vision was bounded throughout the
long day by a world of two colors, the
ruthless white of snow-clad mountains
and the delicate, but relentless blue
of the sky. The water was merely a
deeper and more sinister reflection of
the sky.
Open Water Heartening.
We tried to be hopeful and optimis-
tic There were many things to be
tha nkful for. The weather continued
perfect. The sight of so much clear,
open water was heartening after the
long weeks of rigid ice in Kings Bay.
For 4S hours the sun had been shining
bright and friendly.
On or left, a we lie in Danes Cat,
it kisses, the round shoulders of a line
of distant hills, while beyond them it
is equally attentive to a sharper
peaked ridge of loftier SUBMITS. Three
distinct glaciers are visible among the
hills, running down to the water
through hollows between the hills and
distinguishable from the snow by their
bluish-white color. In front of oCr
ships the water stretches off along
Danes Island; in the opposite direction
1t is equally clear and calm to the
shore Of Amsterdam Island.
Only occa sionally does a chunk of
snowy ice show up on the surface of
the sea, floating quietly along. Many
flights of ducks have passed us today,
skimming close to the water across
the path of the Summer sun.
A few miles from our present an
chorage is Virgo Bay, sometimes called
Wellmans Bay, which marks the
tragic commencement Of the Andre
expedition and also the start of Wal
ter Wellman's attempt to reach the
pole in dirigible.
Copyright. 1925 in U. S. Canada. South
America and japan by North American
Newspaper Alliance: in England by Central
News: in Germany by Ullstein Verlag: in
France by Petit Parisienne: in Italy by Cor
riere della sera: in all Scandinavian couD-
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reserved)