Evening star., 1925-05-28
!M,MILLAN HOPES TO FLY Us. FLAG
OVER HUGE, LINBLE ARCTIC LAND
Declares Mirage and Tide Are Indications That Sec
ton Million Square Miles Exists Near Pole,
Which Contains Plant and Animal Lite. s.. 5.zs

Inen the ASel ftelDufS Lana DaSe VIII
be established. by airplane. If the
planes on their first jump.off from
Cape Thomas Hubbard actually land
on solid earth in the unknown area it
is probable that an advance base will
be established on the new continent
itself and still more of the territory
explored. Ii is considered unlikely
that, if it exists. its shores are much
more than 200 miles from AXel Hell
burg Land. Mr. Macmillan hopes to
explore about half the territory.
The recent discovery of the efficacy
of short wave length for daylight
transmission. Mr.. Macmillan believes.
have removed any possibility that the
party will be shut off at any time
from communication with the world.
as happened last year. He also places
great faith in the dry cell sets which
will be carried on the planes them
selves, which. tests have shown With
in the past few days. have a radius
of at least 500 miles. Pigeons will
be carried on all the trips as final
safeguard.
Mr.. Macmillan said last night that
he was utterly at loss to understand
why Amundsen failed 10 equip his
planes with radio on an expedition
which he must have realized, was eX-
tremely hazardous at the best
Under cross questioning last night
Mr. Macmillan amplified greatly his
previous theories on what may have
happened to the Norwegian explorer.
Tells of Amundsen's Chances.
The possibilities, as he outlined
them. We're as follows:
l. Amundsen, as is most probabie.
may have landed within 90 or 90 miles
of the Pole. as near as is at all proba-
ble that he could have come from the
necessarily superficial observations
made from an airplane. In this case
he is probably walking toward the
pole. making about l5 miles day
over the ice. Once there he will likely
spend two or three days on observa
tions and then walk back. If his
planes are uninjured time is with him.
Every day will bring more and more
open water from which the planes can
get a start back.
,. He may have flown back missed
SpitZbergen entirely come down when
his gasoline gave ont, and now be
adrift in the ocean south of Spitz-
bergen, with little possibility that any
one will pick him up.
3. He may have landed safely, but
in rough ice. In this case it will be
necessary to chop clear runway, a
job which will take the crews of the
two planes several days at the least
4. He may have come down over
SpitZbergen itself and still be in the
northern interior of that island far
from help, but with plenty of game
to keep him alive.
May Seek Unknown Land.
5. He may have come down. dis
abled, within 200 miles of the Spitz-
bergen coast. In this case he prob.
ably can walk back safely before the
ice breaks up.
6. He may be down and disabled
near the pole itself In this case,
Mr. Macmillan holds, the discoverer
OF the South Pole has practically no
chance Whatever of escaping alive.
HE has four courses open-To wait
for a rescue expedition, to go on foot
back to Spitzbergen, to walk in the
direction Of Cape Columbia, where
Peary was reported to have estab-
lished a food cache. or to take a very
long chance and walk west from the
pole, hoping to discover the unknown
continent and find either inhabitants
or game there.
His most likely course Mr. Mac
Millsn says. would be. to strike out for
Cape Columbia, only about 450 miles
from the pole. He can make about Is
his goal by June 25. .swhen the ice of
the Polar Sea is broken up, or he is
lost. If he decides TO trek back the
900 miles to Spitzbergen he would
have smoother ice, but the attempt
would be equally hopeless. 1t is
against reason. the explorer holds,
that he would stake everything on the
chance of hitting an unknown CONT
nent.
No Food at Cape Columbia.
Even If Amundsen reached Cape
Columbia there is no food waiting for
him, Macmillan says. The old cache
is now empty. There is cache 20
miles away which he might be able to
f1nd. If he once can hit land. how
ever, the prolific Arctic can keep him
alive indefinitely. There is no life
whatsoever in the Polar Sea
If Amundsen is not heard from by
the time he starts, Macmillan said
he will consider it his duty to give
up plans for reaching the unknown
continent and go to his rescue. with
little chance of success, however He
believes that the best possibility for
rescuing Amundsen would be for the
plane TO start from Kings Bay, Spitz-
bergen, and follow directly on his
tracks. Otherwise it would be like
ioohilS lH d HttulP IN a nayStaCk.
Two other Arctic mysteries NAV
be solved by this Summers expedi.
tion-the fate of the Sir John Franklin
and of the Andre expeditions.
Will Not Seek Pole.
The trip may carry Macmillan
within very few miles of the no,s
Itself, He does not intend to look for
.he pole. ne said because Peary was
tnere, made all the necessary ohserya-
dons and to try to duplicate his work
would be only reflection on his pIory
Macmillan is intensely loyal TO the
memory of his old commander. No
man VINO ever knew Peary. he said
last nlght- ever would question that
the man who went farthest north in
isoo TO within about 100 miles of his
lie goal and came back. his toes
frozen OIL and believeing that he had
heen to the Arctic for the last time
only to confess that he had failed
was telllns the truth when he report.
ed the actual discovery If eyer a
man had an excuse for taking II w,s
in 1906. Macmillan saws.
Seeks to Plant Flag.
Macmillan is an acconn,;sba5
scientist, not an adventrrer Vat
those who heard him last night are
convinced that il is not scientific
fervor that is drawing him back ia
the Northern lights on this greatest
expedition of his life 1t is love of
country-an uncomfortable determi
nation to put the Stars and Strines
on grassy continent on the roof of
the world. There is that and some.
thing else.
All his life the Arctic has haunted
Macmillan. His father used to sail
10 Greenland while the little bow