Evening star., 1929-06-30

This was on January 81. the day Cor.adr.
Byrd made his first long flight Of eX-
| ploration. The bay ice had begun 10
! go out and left lead of open water
| outside the ships. Cargo was swung
oversize to the Ice dock and hauled up
to the top of the barrier. So expedi-
| tioIs was the method that great deal
had been accomplished and parts OF the
| Ford plane were unloaded when the
| rock broke, on January 29 BY great
exertion and good fortune none of the
material was lost and nobody went over
board although there were several mar
row escapes.
The unloading problem then became
| more serious, as it was necessary to tie
| the Boiling to the barrier with the New
| York lashed alongside. The bay ice
| had become soft for unloading heavy
material The barrier at this point was
about 80 feet high, level with the Boil
| ing's bridge With the booms, cargo
Yas slung to the top OF the barrier and
auled by the dogs to a safe position
he danger was fully realized and the
| work rushed night and day. Men
worked with ropes about their waists.
Barrier Sheds a Piece.
The big Ford was safely ashore and
4
| loaded when on February ! this part
| of the barrier broke off and swung vio-
| lently, careening as II about to capsize,
and the New York also reeled as the two
| shins were thrust outward with terrif1c
! force. One man went into the sea from
| the barrier. and another fell to the Ice
below. The latter dragged himself part
way up by means of rope, swinging
there for several minutes before nelnS
rescued.
Comdr. Byrd dived overheard into the
lev water after the other man, who.
weighted down by his heavy boots ana
| clothing, was in q desperate situation,
but was cut of by ice and forced to
swim back to the ship after more than
| 10 minutes in the chilly water. A boat
| meanwhile was put over, and the man
in the water and another on cake OF
| ice were rescued. The whole thing was
over in 20 minutes, although 1t seemed
hours AS If by q miracle, nobody was
drowned and nobody injured. Even the
| shock of submerSion soon wore OH, ana
! in a short time every one was again on
| deck.
The two ships drifted out to open
water, where the remainder of the Boil
ings cargo, mostly coal, was transferred
| to the New York, later being taken
ashore over the bay ice. The material
unloaded on the barrier was moved To
a cache about a mile back from the
edge of the ice, from which, as the
weather permitted 1t was later hauled
to caches within a short distance from
! camp. This over, the Boiling returned
to New Zealand. A second trip was
prevented by the freezing OF the Ross
| Sea. the Bay of Whales and thick
pack which came out of the east and
blocked the course about hundred
miles from the bay.
With the final bit Of cargo put ashore
and the personal effects OF the men
who were to stay on the ice unloaded,
the New York put to sea on February
~ and started her return trip to New
Zealand, a trip on which she met with
such storms that she was nearly lost.
First Antarctic Airplane.
The first plane ever flown over the
Antarctic Continent proper was the
Fairchild brought down on the City ol
New York. It was unloaded on the BAY
ice alongside the ship and set up ane
the engine tuned up on January IA
The next day it was taken up Tor Q
test flight and performed perfectly
Seven flights were made that day, the
last being an exploration night by
Comdr. Byrd to the west toward Dis.
covery Inlet on which he saw l,20t
miles of virgin territory and found .
new and deep inlet in the barrier.
This fight, short as 1t was, proved
undeniahly the great value OF the air
plane as a means Of exploration because
of the distance covered in a short time
and the excellent visibility. 1t con-
| firmed Comdr. Byrd in his belief that
under favorable conditions, which could
be expected at certain intervals, the
airplane was the best method OF explor-
ing the Antarctic.
! Such an opportunity came on the
day the Boiling arrived at the barrier,
and the commander took immediate ad-
vantage Of it. The weather cleared in
such a way that he was assured OF clear
weather far to the east and he took Oh
for flight to King Edward Land. His
original objective was the land which
he believed lay to the north and held
fast the great ice sheet which barred
the progress of ships to the eastward
but after passing the Scott nunatak
which he hit squarely on the course, low
clouds cut of his passage to the east
and he returned to the nunatak and
went south in a direction in which he
thought land existed, from an indica-
tion seen on the first part OF the flight.
Discovers a Mountain Range.
His Judgment and eyesight both found
quick support in the discovery OF a
mountain range, which began about sc
miles south of the nunatak. which is a
psak in the Alexandra Mountains This
range, since named after John d. Rock
efeller, jr., extended in the general dt-
rection of south and west, forming q
curve. ByHd passed over the whole ex-
tent of the range, taking some pictures
of it, and then turned west toward Little
America, which he reached on the
: course set when leaving the mountains
The fight had lasted flve hours and
more than 10000 square miles OF new
territory had been seen, due to the
height at which the plane f1ew and thu
excellent visibility.
This fight indicated the important
geographical discoveries which might
be made to the east OF the Bay oi
Whales, and on January 18 Comdr
Byrd started on another flight, on
which he hoped to penetrate further tn
the east, where he thought he had Seci
high mountain capped with clouds
and also go northeast past King Ed
ward Land. BY this time the second
plane, the Fokker, later lost in the
Rockefeller Mountains. had been as
senbled, and the planes few together.
Again he headed for the Scott Nuna- :
flight by low clouds. With one objec-
Rockefeller Mountains in the hope oi
seeing the big peak. He did see it, anc
he also saw another mountain and In
dications of land rising in the east to-
] ward what may be q great plateau
KeeDinp On IN the south far hevnnd the