Evening star., 1925-10-14


the Pole By dirioiblr.
BY COMMANDER FRANZ WOR
SLEY AND GRETTIR ALGARSSON
Leaders of the British Arctic
Expedition
SPITZBERGFN. October 14.-With
in the short space Of three months
the British Arctic expedition has
gone through a complete gamut OF
Arctic perils and dangers.
Soon after pushing into the pack.
Ice we lost our propellerS and mao
to rely thenceforth on our sails.
a little later our rudder was smash
ed and the broken pieces had 10 be
wound together with thousands OF
windingS of wire at an infinite cost
of painful effort.
Then our ship caught fre ana was
only saved after hard fight.
She went aground on an uncharted
reef and was kedged off after forty
eight hours of unceasing labor.
Headed for Iceberg.
Finally came our most dramatic
moment. Our ship was caught In
swift Goa stal current along the shores
of Franzjosef Land. and carried
helplessly straight into an enormous
stranded iceberg many acres in eN-
tent. All hands went overheard in the
boats endeavoring desperately to
turn the ships nose FAR enough
against the current to enable us to
brush along the Jagged edge OF the
berg. The effort was obviously futile,
and we had given ourselves up for
lost as our boat swept directly to-
ward the overhanging face of the
enormous ice mountain. Then, just
as hope seemed gone, the berg sud
denly split in two.-"calved" as they
say in Arctic parlance. There was a
disturbance of the ocean surface like
a tidal wave. which carried our ship
entirely clear Of the broken berg.
Miraculous? Many Of us thought so.
So much for the pure adventure
side of our voyage. On the scienti-
fc side we have accomplished more
than our fondest hopes anticipated.
Bay on July 10. With favoring
breezes we ran into Liefde Bay. north
of Spitzbergen. where we surveyed
the northern island and a harbor un-
marked on any charts.
Running before northerly gale.
we passed through the Hinlopen
Straits in driving blizzard. and sail
ed along the base Of the great cliffs
OF AUX Range. at a distance Of only
the south and east coasts of North
east Land. we steamed directly over
thirty miles Of territory which is
marked as land on the maps.
Corrected Island Location.
Later we corrected the position of
Great Island. surveying the channel
between it and Cape Leigh Smith.
Our studies in this area will mean
-, i,, II ,t,@
Thence we proceeded so miles
northeast, where we entered the pack
ice. Our soundings eastward proved
the existence OF an unbroken sub
marine plateau at a steady depth of
about 12o fathoms Gao feetl. between
Spitzbergen and Franzjosef Land.
We made a costal survey around
Victoria Island and corrected it's
position, making complete soundings
across these previously unsurveyed
waters.
At this point our propeller blades
were broken off in the ice. and for
the rest of our trip we were compelled
TO maneuvre the ship through the ice
under our sails only. We encounter.
ed the old Shackleton polar ship
Quest in the pack, and she promis-
ed to aid us in repairing our propellers
as soon as we arrived at a calm har.
But the Island, beset by heavy
pack-ice, arrived too late at the rem.
devious. The Quest had been COM
PEELED to proceed, and our repairs
could not be made. So we continued
under sailpower. proceeding as far
north as Cape Murray where no sail
ing vessel had ever penetrat ted.
Ice Blocked Course.
Here our course northward was
blocked by solid polar ice. We return
ed to Northbrook Island. where we
anchored and surveyed an uncharted
hay under Cape Barentz, hoisting the
British flag and naming it Cohen
Bay after one of the principal sup
porters Of our expedition.
Our food supply running low. we
paused at Cohen Bay for a bear hunt.
First, an enormous bear which came
prowling around our camp was shot
Then we pursued a pack of 80 and
killed I. providing ample food for
men and dogs. We made friends with
the surviving members of the bear
colony, taking many photographs of
them on the pack-ice and swimming
in the sea. or eating blubber thrown
from the ships rail. In an effort to
obtain live mascot for the ship. we
lassoed a sturdy little cub. which
escaped by biting through the one
inch ropes.
The pounding of the pack-ice now
smashed our rudder. We wedged the
ship into an ice dock and commenced
repairs, weaving wire round and
round the shattered rudder, SO that II
could continue its service yet a little
while longer. until we could work
our way back from Fransjosef Land
At this point the polar fog and mist
closed In around us, and a day or two
later we had our marvellous esca De
from disaster on a stranded iceberg
as big as a mountain.
Forced to Retreat.
In a final attempt to penetrate the
polar ice-pack, we proved the exist
ence of the phantom Gillis Island
which was reported 200 years ago at
latitude s1s0. The ice north of this
point was as solid as a granite pave
ment and we were forced to retreat
without completing our survey of the
phantom island, but on three occasions
we sighted the land in a refraction of
a niraged shadowy shape.
AS we turned homeward we had
many anxious moments. The season
was dangerously advanced and we
were seriously hampered by our dam.
aged rudder we fought to clear the
packice closing in around us. We
had annoying headwinds all the time.
But our homeward journey set another
new record in Arctic exploration, for
we completely circumnavigated North.
east Land under sail alone. this feat