Evening star., 1925-06-20
Return From PeriIous Trip in
Arctic Arouses Whole of
Native Land.
MUCH OF HEROIC FLIGHT
REMAINING TO BE TOLD
Ellsworth Sharing Popularity With
Leader for Bravery in Saw
ing Comrades.
By the Associated Pres.


OSLO. Norway, June 2O.-Capt
Roald Amundsen and his five fellow
explorers will have an enthusiastic
welcome when they arrive here, with
in the next few days. on their return
from their perlous airplane expedi-
ton into the Actric
Though they failed in their main
| object, that of being the first to reach
the North Pole by air, their exploit in
f1yinS to a point within $50 miles of
| their goal, their survival amid untold
hardshipS and their return to Spitz-
bergen In their remaining plane are
regarded as forming a wonderful feat
shedding glory upon Norway as we'll
as the individual participants.
Enthusiasm Growing.
With each succeeding report of the
experiences of the flyers the popular
enthusiasm grows. and il has already
been expressed to some extent in the
| numerous wireless messages sent to
the explorers from the King, the gov
ernment and their friends.
There is praise also for the heroism
of Lincoln Ellsworth, American MEM
Der of the expedition, who saved Left
Dietrichsen and Oskar Omdahl when
they fell through the ice.
Published non-copyright accounts
OF the flyers experiences say they en-
countered a fog soon after starting
from Kings Bay, Spitzbergen, on
May y. Kissing above the mist, they
held to their course for some hours
until compelled to alight because half
,'their gasoline was exhausted. Then,
when it seemed they had found saiety
in a piece OF open water where the
planes alighted. they We're suddenly
confronting with catastrophe.
The ice closed in irpnpva hI,- 10 m.
ming both machines. Without imme-
date means of transportation,
stranded amid limitless waste of
water and ice, the circumstances were
such as to cause dismay, but Amund-
sen and his companions proved equal
to the emergency.
Dislodged Plane.
With the greatest of exertion, call.
ing for every ounce of courage,
muscle and determination, they sue
ceeded in dislodgins one of the planes,
although the effort cost "A days or
exhausting work, during which their
rations were rapidly disappearing and
the prospects of a safe return seem
ingly dwindling. Courage and perse-
verance won through and at length,
discardinS all the equipment they
could spare and with only enough
provided there was no further trouble
they intrusted themselves again to
the air, heading for SpitZbergen.
Once more the saying that fortune
favorS the brave received justification.
Over the miles of dreary ice fields,
without a trace of land, the plane
flew southwark, sometimes encoun-
tering the dreaded fog, but always
keeping on until the explorers were
IL fal, pl,@ Of
Northeast Land, part of the Spitz-
bergen Archipelago.
Scarcely had the machine alighted
when, almost as if by arrangement,
the Norwegian sailing boat, Sjoeliv,
hove into sight. The captain and
crew of nine of the little 12-ton cut
ter had heard the droning of the sea
planes engine miles away, but sup
posed it belonged to the patrol expe-
dition out to scan the wild coast for
the missing explorers.
The surprise and qualification of the
hardy seamen when they discovered
their mistake must have eQualed that
of the caStawayS who thus saw sal
vation at hand. Capt. Wollan speedily
recognized Amundsen, notwithstand
ing the months growth of hair cover
ing his usually clean -shaven face, and
they exchanged cordial greetings.
Little Food on Boat.
The explorers were soon aboard and
welcomed with the utmost hospitality,
although the sudden addition of six
hungry men made big demands on the
Sjoeliv's small harder, and there was
not much to eat and drink but seal
beef, eggs and cider.
A haWSer was passed to the plane
and the voyage to Kings Bay was be-
gun as speedily as possible, Amundsen
being anxious to get there in time to
forestall departure of the patrol ex-
pedition which, he was told, was about
to start out to seek him.
There was a small mishap, the haw-
ser breaking. This repaired, the voy
age began again.
The weather became rough, and to
prevent damaging or losing the plane
the Sjoeliv took shelter in Lady
Franklin Bay, where the night was
passed. The weather still being bad
the following morning, Amundsen de-
cided to lay the plane ashore for flu
ture salvaging. This was done and
the voyage was continued without in
cident until Kings Bay was reached,
about an hour before the patrol ex-
peditfon was due to start on it's search.
The onlookers assembled to watch
the Sjoeliv approaching, but little
suspected who was aboard, believing
the vessel to be that chartered by
the correspondent of the Associated
Press.
Their astonishment and excitement
was great when it was discovered that
! the cutter really bore Amundsen and
| his companions and the watchers fell
over one another in their rush to
shake the hands of the returned voy-
ayers, whose safety had been discus
sed with misgivings.
Story Yet to Be Told.
The full story of the expeditions
adventures is still to be told, but
the incident which reused the greatest
| interest was the narrow escape from
drowning of Dietrichsen and Omdahl
who, while the members of the party
were separated, fell into an ice
fissure.
Amundsen and Riiser.Larsen heard
their shouts for help and fastened to
| launch their canvas boat, but this
proved impossible because of the
| coating of sharp ice on the water,
which would have cut the canvas.
Meanwhile Ellsworth came to the
rescue of the imperiled men and
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