Evening star., 1926-06-05
Photo by p. g. Al

lis centigrade: south-southeast wind:
very few leads. but now snow ridges
show continuous movements.
3:a5-Latitude S2:40; bear tracks.
We got bearing from Stavanger radio.
4:30-F'ew open leads. but very
rough surface.
5:l5--S5 latitude north: no leads.
only "A few open cracks. A dead en-
virOnment, wind, sky.
5;30-First open leads; big enough
land in; 800 feet broad. miles long.
5:45-More leads. but not as broad
as the above ementioned. they are all
running southwest northe
6:l5 pm.-Height. 800 feet; S6
latitude north passed.
Breaks i'm the MOnot0ny.
Such were the things that happened
before we entered in the fog region.
To he in truth, we have to tell two
small things that broke the mOnotony
for some minutes, showing, also. that
we were not completely isolated on
this part of the flight, in spite Of being
over a white desert several hundred
miles from nearest fellow-man.
At about II pm, the chief of our
radio station received a telegram from
Telegraph Service. sent from Oslo
three minutes earlier. telling him that
the King had decorated him with his
golden medal of merit as sign of his
excellence as the navy'S wireless eX-
pert.
Gottwaldt, as a loyal subject. imme-
diately sent a telegram of thanks to
the King from latitude $3.50. We
drank the health of our wireless man
in tea.
Another little detail of non-impor-
tance for our expedition happened also
before our arrival at the Pole. BY
chance it was the birthday of Els
worth.
Late in the evening-eleventh-
(Ellsworth) mentioned this to our
journalist and Ramm sent press tele
gram about it. The result was that |
some hours later received kilograms
giving good wishes. One of these be-
ing from our friends in Kings Bay
with an amusing text, l shall repeat:
Passing into your forty-eighth
birthday and another hemisphere, we
send you our heartiest congratula-
tions"
My comrades on the expedition. as
midnight passed on, drank my health
in tea. | used Amundsen's cup from
the South Pole marked, Fran 1l-12
-1911.'
When later on we passed over the
Pole we discussed if we hadn't cele-
brated my birthday a little too early,
because the time goes hack one day
going from one hemisphere to another.
AS l remarked in my diary. 80 it
looks as though 1 get another birth
day tomorrow"
The Pole Mt 1.3O AM
The observations made during the
flight, the bearings taken to wireless
stations of Kings Bay and Green Har-
bor on Spitzbergen and the sun COM
pass permitted us to state that we, at
80 am. May -, Greenwich middle
the Kings Bay meridian to the Pole
The direction during all the fight had
often been controlled by bearings
The astronomical observations of
longitude corresponded almost exact
ly with the bearings and the meas
ureS taken of the speed were con-
trolled by observations of latitude. In
that way the ship was navigated from
the Kings Bay meridian to the pole
point, so, afterth suns position was
taken in relation to this meridian at
that hour we could be sure that we
were over the attractive goal.
We went down to lower attitudes,
not much lower than 800 feet. and
saw that ice over the Pole had the
same character as before-feW leads,
still smaller than those southwark,
not a sign Of a living being, only an
endless broken-up ice plain glittering
in the midnight sun under the keel of
the Norge, that in a splendid way
had fulfilled the first part of her task.
Ceremony at Worlds Top.
Speed was reduced, one Of the small
windows Of the cabin was opened and
we carried out the little ceremony
that we had hoped to realize since
the plans of the expedition were for
mulated on Spitzbergen almost a
year ago.
First the signer, Amundsen, dropped
q Norwegian flag presented to the ex-
pedition by the Norwegian King and
Queen, and then the signer Ellsworth
dropped the Stars and Stripes, pre-
sented to the expedition by the Pres
ident Of the United States. Then
Norge's pilot, Mobile, dropped the
Italian flag. He dropped also some
pennants given to him for that pur-
pose by different institutions in his
country.
Slowly the multi-colored flags of the
three. nations sank through the air,
being frightened by the sun. The
poles were so constructed that on
reaching the ice they would stand
perpendicularly, and we are sure that
all our readers will understand the
feelings of the crew of the Norge
when we saw the three flags waving
under us with the background of
snow-covered ice.
The Norge, with reduced speed,
made q round over the Pole, the crew