Evening star., 1926-05-17

ly a mile high. There was the Chan
tier, looking like long, dark rock II
the water, with the ice floating herr
and there about her. Good old Chan
tier! She was built for service, no.
looks. but she looked beautiful to me
on that occasion.
] knew there were SO men aboart
that ship who had their hearts
wrapped up in the success. of ou
flight and our safe return. They hat
given every ounce of all the strength
and energy they possessed TOWARD
victory, and great wave of affection
and gratitude for them swept ovel
me at that moment. The knowledge
that they were now stirred with JOY
as they saw us coming in safe anC
going strong gave me one Of the big
moments of my life. The next thing
that took my eye was Amundsen's
and Ellsworth's great hangar glisten
ing green in the sunlight
They were about to leave in the
Norge on their great adventure.
hoped they would have as gooC
weather as we had. We circled over
we could see the people rushing from
the village and boats hurrying to the
shore from the Chantier.
Maue fefIect Landing.
The landing field had people run
ming all over it, SO we had to wave
| them away and ascend for another
try. This time space was cleared for
us. Bennett made the landing, and
it was a perfect one. He TAXED the
Josephine Ford to the tip of the in
| cline at the place we had started
| from.
I opened the door. thinking how
| good it would be to put foot to the
solid snow again. but it was some
time before l succeeded in doing that
l stepped from the door into the
arms Of a crowd of deliriously haDpy
people. cheering and throwing their
| hats in the air.
They hoisted Bennett and myself
to their shoulders and bore us swiftly
down the runway. There were many
| townspeople among those greeting US
! They had gone through great anxiety
| over AmundSen u year ago and they
! were glad to see us safely back.
especially recall the happiness and
enthusiasm of Mr.. kise, engineer of
the Kings Bay Coal Co. He had done
everything in the world he could to
| help us before our departure
! AS we were carried down the hill
we met Amundsen and Ellsworth run.
! ming to meet us. We were dropped
| on the ground and l found myself in
! AmundSenS arms with Ellsworth
holding on to me. There were tears
| on Amundsen's checks, and | saw
thon the great man beneath the cloak
that all great men wear And there
was Ellsworth, trying in a choked
voice to tell me how happy he was
to have us back.
Personal Ambition Submerged.
These two heroes had been down
on that polar ice and had gone
through great suffering. They knew
what lay beneath us during that
flight. They knew and forgot self
and all personal ambitions and We're
moved as 1 have seldom seen men
moved. Then l could see the real
STUFF they were made OF. If / had
robbed them of realization of one of
their long-cherished ambitions. they.
| believe, did not give 1t thought.
Here was another great moment in
my life.
AS we walked down the runway.
the men running from the Chantier
Joined the procession and several of
them We're so utterly exhausted from
their hurry that they could say moth
ing when they finally reached us.
Such was the case with good old Gels
Ter. my exercise mate in Washington,
who had volunteered for the trip.
There were not many connected eX-
pressions, but I heard little, anyhow,
for l had worn no earstoppers in my
ears during the flight had com
pletely forgotten to use them-and
the hours Of the roar of the motors
had left me with a great ringing in
the ears and was quite deaf.
The enthusiasm of our shfpmates
was shown by the care we got when
we reached the ship. DR.. O'Brien and
Capt. Brennan rubbed Bennett and
me down with some strong linament
until we fell asleep. Then we woke
up and were propped up in bed and
fed huge dinner, Bennett in the can
tain's bunk and in my own. l guess
we were nearly tired enough to sleep
the clock around.
Heavy Oil Saved Engines.
Before closing I want to tell about
the oil tank that leaked That motor
was still running perfectly when we
got back. 1t seemed that Lieut.. No
Vile and T. II. Kincaid had used an
exceptionally heavy Oil, which no one
thought could be used in the Arctic,
because of it's viscosity. Had we used
a lighter oil the tank would have been
dry long before our return. The fine
quality and thickness Of the reserve
supply in the tank and the very low
consumption of the motor were what
saved the day.
In closing my thoughts go back to
the beginning of the expedition. It's
inception was marked when Edsel
Ford in his quiet voice said:
Yes, Byrd I will be glad to help
bof La1v
the aviation game"
John D. Rockefeller, jr., whose life
is dedicated to progress, followed Mr..
Ford's lead and Vincent Astor, him
self a flyer and a lover of aviation,
was the third to help us Many
others followed suit. So If there is
any applause for our fight, give the
proper share to these men, who start
ed 1t, and the rest to the men who
executed 1t, to Lieut.. Neville of the
Naval Reserves and our splendid
loyal men aboard this ship, who did
superhuman things to get us to the
Pole, and to Floyd Bennett, my fly
ing mate of many flights. fearless,
able and mechanical genius.
Praises Men Who Aided Him.
He is of the Regular Navy, and so
is Mechanic Peterson and so am I.
SO 1 don't see how the Navy can
avoid some responsibility for our
flight. I feel SO small a part Of the
whole thing that 1 should have re-
named the expedition "Our Expedi-
ton"
The last thing it had occurred to
me to say is that II anne convinced be-
yond all doubt that American busi-
ness need hesitate no longer to launch
commercial aviation on it's great car
eer. Progress needs it, the world
wants it,
l was anxious to do all I could to
help Capt. Amundsen and Mr.. Ellis
worth. / went over the compass