Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-22

nose SOUTHWARK, then along the barrier
wall we followed it for more than
mile, to where ice, which was caked
too thick to buck with our small boat
and not heavy enough to stand on,
stopped our progress.
Motor Stops Running.
Just at this point, the farthest dis
lance we could get away from the ship,
the masts of which could just he dis
t1ngulShed through the murk, the mo-
tor, which was new and stin q bit
stiff coughed and died.
Byrd examined the face of the bar
fier inland with his glasses, examining
a point where the barrier sloped gently
down to the bay ice. but which is now
blocked by high-preSSure ridges, and
then decided to start home.
The motor had other ideas about it,
however and while Siple and Sutton
gweated over it, yanking at the starting
wheel and fuSsing with the carburetor,
Byrd and the other two got out oars
and began to row. We had been jog
ging along at about six knots with the
motor, but with oars the heavy boat
moved slowly, and it looked like long
row home.
We wound in and out of big cakes of
ice while two Askua gulls swept down
over us to look over this strange in.
vasion. they passed several times only
a few feet over our heads before cir
cling of to land. There were many
snow petrelS sitting on these cakes, per-
fectly camoufiaged against the snow,
only their black eyes and bills making
them visible; and once Byrd pointed at
a big cake at which it was necessary
to look for some time before we could
see about 80 of these beautiful birds
sitting in the snow watching us.
Finally the commander himself, who
has handled cupboard motors a great
deal, went back to try his hand at
starting it and managed to get it going,
although it spluttered occasionally.
It was just after this, when we were
approaching the point at which the
boat was to turn westward along the
face of the bay ice toward the ship,
that the low feathery spout Of 9 whale
was seen about half a. mile ahead,
We regarded that spout with an In
terest which might mildly be called in
tense. The drift ice was heavy and
thick here and we wound through it,
all eyes on the point ahead, which was
broken by outstanding cakes of ice that
had evidently come from an old pres
sure ridge.
Another spout was seen, and then, as
the whale rolled forward, the long
standing over a low cake.
Well, there was no doubt about what
they were; the question was: What
would they do and how many Of them
were there? a.
They hunt in packs and as many as
3S have been counted at once while we
have been lying here. This would in
dictate at least twice as many whales
in one group. II is because of their
presence, cruising along the face of
the bay ice, that. we have seen so few
seals and big blue whales
1t is hard to convey to any one who
has not seen one the horrible appear
ance of one of these killers of the sea.
Pointing, who was with SCOTS last
expedition, was on cake Of ice near
the ship one day. when several killers
went below the ice, rammed 1t from
below and smashed 1t and then stuck
their heads UP to get Pointing. He es-
capped by a miracle, jumping from
cake to cake until he reached safety.
Killers have been seen to seize a
seal in their jaws and rush of with 1t,
tearing it to pieces.
Gets View of Whales.
We have seen them here lift their
heads above the ice and stare at us
with their little piggish eyes. holding
themselves on their tails for an appre-
ciable moment with several feet Of their
head and jaws out of the water. Just
below the jaw Is a patch OF dirty yellow
and there is a yellowiSh white stripe
on each side just back of the I'm.
We knew what they would do II they
got a man in the water. but we were
wondering what they would do to
boat and believed that in short time
we would have settled that problem.
Then 1t was that Dick Byrd showed
those qualities of caution and daring
the combination of which has brought
him through SO many difficulties.
He was chewing gum rapidly and haG
pushed his cap back so that he coult
see perfectly. Both he and Strom hat
huge forty-f1ves. for we have learnet
that killer can be killed with bullet
and Comdr. Byrd switched his aroun'
so that he could get at 1t quickly.
1t seemed a small thing with which
to kill a creature more than 20 fee
long.
We could not dodge them by goin
outside. That would not have been safe
So Byrd held his course close to- tn
ice and headed straight for where in
spouts shot upward and sprayed out i
the wind.
The responsibility was his now. IN
we all sat silently and watched, tw
of us smoking and one at least hangin
on to pipe just to show that he didn
care If there were killers around. W
could see by this time that there wer
three Of them.
Comdr. Byrd was maneuvering yer
carefully, trying to time his meetin
with the whales so that he would hay
firm ice inshore,, to which we coul
jump II necessary.
We reached little point with sma
+. inlet Beyond it three black fins role
up in front of us, just little inside {
us, toward the ice. Comdr. Byrd q
once turned the boat so as to cut acros
their tails as they rolled under again.
eCoryTisht, 1929. by the New York Tim,
Co, and the st. Louis Post-Dspatch.
fiEnts toI publication reserved tnSeusho'