The Washington times., 1928-05-09
CONTINUED from First Page.)

.r
was so sudden that some of the crew
were just in time to climb the moor
ing mast and take their places on
board. There was not time to take
sufficient supplies aboard,
The result has shown how timely
was my decision, for even q delay
of 10 minutes might have made 1t
impossible for us to start, from Vad-
soc at all. At S:34 in the evening
the airship having left its mOorings,
floated into the Icy breeze Of Warren
gen Fjord. We were all afire with
the joy OF an impending flight
against the Arctic skies.
We felt that the flight was in
evitable although an unruffIed sea
whilst few rosy wisps of clouds
reminded us that in these ATTITUDES
it is always daytime in May. Soon
we flew on at a speed OF IS kilo-
meters at hour, coasting up to the
extreme north point of the little
peninsula which is embraced nn all
sides by Tana and Varengen fjords.
Soon we were immersed in the i'm.
nelse pail Of grey mist. Both the
sea and sky were plotted out. The
TAna Lighthouse was invisible but
we were heard when passing over 1t.
The sharp long wall Of its siren
warned us to turn northwest, max
ing for Bears Island.
This first part of our journey was
surprisingly smooth after the alarm
felt at our departure fom VadsOe.
Yet amid the melancholy gray:1ess
there was an underlying menace OF
trouble to come. How far Italy
seemed to be from that colorless
solitude.
Fog Increases
The northern landscape filled our
southern souls with sense Of sad
ness. From midnight on the fog
began to thicken. This great enemy
TO navigators aave us no rest. At
rare intervals, however, the noe.
turnal sun of the Arctic peered
| through the mist, shedding its
| orange rays upon q sea suddenly
| turned into liquid cobalt as ii
touched by superhuman brush.
The Arctic sun Ii much more
/ approachaIbIe than the Italian sun.
/ IT will let you look into its face
/ without binding you.
i thought then that perhaps
/ lnenceforth we should not see a
brighter day Tor night than that.
i have discovered my error since
reaching Kings Bay. It was
o'clock in the morning when we
arrived over. Bears Island, know
ing that beyond its limits we
should enter a zone of danger. One
of the crew remarked:
1--WE are never certain to start,
but we are always quite certain
to arrive"
Confidence High
We had great confidence that
we would spend the next night
comfortably in our berths on the
| Cittas di Milano, our good head.
quarters ship, at Kings Bay. We
dOnned our fnrs and we stepped
into our fleecy sheepskin trousers.
We protected our heads with
thick flying helmets.
Fortunately the thermometer only
registered degrees centigrade t43
above zero, Fahrenheit). The fog
suddenly lifted on the gray expanse
OF the sea. Floating blocks of ice
covered with fresh snow and gilded
by the sun formed an immense irri.
descent mosaic.
Icebergs Appear
Here and there small icebergs sail
against the breeze, mirrored in emer-
aid waters. The granite mass Of
Bears Island energies from the sea
like some fantastic castle. We pass
north of the island, flying very low.
On that snowy. rock, seemingly unin-
habitable, a few human beings live
in voluntary exile in the service Of
humanity. Three or four men look
after the radio station and the me-
neurological station. Without them
navigation would be impossible in
the Arctic Ocean. We soc their little
cottages half buried under the snow
on the only accessible point on the
shore.
We came still lower. We saw
three men. Three small black dots.
They saluted, waving their arms in
Joyous greeting. Those unknown
friends have never seen a flying ship
pass over their lonely island before.
We dropped friendly message of
greeting, wrapped in an italian flag.
They perhaps will talk for a long
time about this wonderful visit from
LILO uISu OIL LHS OOuLn WHO nave come
for the conquest of the unknown re.
gions Of the frozen North.
Snow Fields Widen
After we passed the 18th degree
OF latitude the snow fields floating
upon the sea become ever wider
and more frequent. The sea has an
oily look. 1t is dark and slow. The
wind throws pieces of ice against the
windows of our gondola. A few
minutes before 7 o'clock somebody
on board shouts:
There il SpitZbergen."
We felt our hearts pounding in
our breasts. Was it possible that
the end OF our journey was so near.
But soon we found that Kings Bay
was not so easy to reach. The wind,
increasing to half a gale, gave US
merry dance. The Italia sped along
over 100 kilometers pushed by a
boisterous wind. But it was rolling
and pitching madly.
Hoped for Wind
We should have preferred even a
contrary wind 10 that excessive pro-
pulsion. The thermometer falls to
degrees below zero. centigrade us
above, Fahrenheit). At the 18th de-
gree OF latitude we sight our first
big 1cebergs. The sky darkens.
Here id the enemy. They come to.
wards ua With vtnInn+ Y,otAu