Evening star., 1928-12-14
BYRD PARTY Eager
TO PUSH into ice
Ship, Lying to Outside Pack,
Waits for Break Before
Resuming Trip.
BY RUSSELL OWEN.

BY Wireless to The Star and New York Times
ON BOARD THE BARK CITY OF
NEW YORK, AT SEA, December a.
We are lying to-, outside the ice pack.
waiting for it to open. As far as We
can see to east and west, the pack ex-
tends an unbroken line OF white In
places there are little bays and lagoons
In which the ice Is somewhat open and
probably it would be possible to force 8
way into it for some distance. but
whalers to the south report that the
pack is very thick this year and it
would be useless going in and then
drifting long time to point where
we might be caught and held indefinite-
ly. It has been found through long ex-
perience that the best place to 60
through Is at about the 160th meridian,
and the plan Is to wait until the ice
opens sufficiently so that the trip may
be made along that line Of longitude.
AS it appears, we are much further
down than usual at this time, well in
side the Antartic Circle and 800 miles
further south than Capt. Sir Hubert
Wilkins.
ception Island, OF the coast Of Graham
Land, in longitude 6O:30 west and lati-
tude 62:45 south, This Is on the oppo-
site side of the South Pole from Comdr.
Byrd, whose position Is roughly 1000
miles northwest from Deception Island
and Is 300 miles nearer the Pole. =,
Ship Laden With Coal.
For the last two days the weather
has been calm and clear except for an
occasional snow furry, and we have
been lying in an ice bay where the
ship was as steady as If lying alongside
a dock.
The Eleanor Boiling departed the day
before yesterday after finally unloading
coal she carried for US, The ships were
laid alongside each other, and the crews
worked for IL hours shifting 81 tons
Of coal in bags from the Eleanor Bolling'S
hold to the City Of New York.
Most Of the coal was put into the
bunker. but dozens Of bags had to be
piled on deck, on top Of doghouses,
down between the airplane crates and
everywhere bag could be put. As a
result, the ship would be heavy in
seaway. n ia
We all have our fingers crossed and
are praying for continued calm until
we get into the pack. 49,
Living aboard has now become D.
constant scramble. There Is no place
to sit down except on the edge Of q
bunk and no place to stand except ON.
the poop.
A determined effort is now being
made to clear out the wardroom, which
had been packed to the skylight with
bags and furs, as it was the only cool.
dry place. Some Of these things have
been slowed in q small space AFT the
engine room. Others viii be put insthe
starboard lifeboat forward and covered
with tarpaulins to keep them dry.
We are down to the table tops now,
and for the first time can stand up
without banging out heads on the deck
beams. Comdr. Byrd had been crawl
ing all over the ship looking for more
holes in which to poke things. When
ne finds q few square feet unoccupied
ne yells for something to plug it with.
We have filled everything except the
crows nest.
Impatient to Enter Ice.
With some Of the bags out of the way
Dr. Conan made herculean effort and
tunneled his way to his hospital stores
behind the wafdreom, throwing boxes
over bis shoulder as he went. It IS
amazing how much space can be packed
Wen, however, and rested after the hard
labor OF .coaling, yet impatient to get
into the ice.
We bumped through a little Of It to- :
day and the ship pushed way forward
easily under half speed. But this Is,
merely drift Ice on the edge and the
real struggle comes later: Just how
soon We do not know.
In radiogram from the Byrd Ant
arctic expedition addressed to the New
York Times, Malcolm Hanson, chief
radio engineer Of the expedition, re-
quested that the families and friends of
members Of the expedition be informed
that the Byrd ships are now passing
through the ice and cannot use the
radio to transmit personal messages
back home unless Of an urgent nature.
Mr.. Hanson said that half an hour
Of each Of the "a hours In the day Is
spent In taking bearings by RADIO
compass and obtaining ice information.
The rest Of the time may be broken
into at any moment by emergency COM
munications between the ships and
whalers.
Copyright, 1913. by the New York Times
Co, and the St. Louis Post-pispatch. AL
rtghts ior publication reserved throughout