Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-23
Four Dog Teams Sent Across
Crevices in Cakes to Get
in Safe Position.
VESSEL GOES WESTWARD
TO OBTAIN SHELTER
Animals of Antarctic, Unaccus.
toned to Humans, Show No Fear
Of Expedition Members.
BY RUSSELL OWENS.

Yesterday was another day of excite
ment, as the edge of the bay ice to
which we have been moored began to
break up under strong swell and huge
cakes OF ice five or six feet thick
cracked away under our ice anchor and
the ship began to move. Where all had
been. security an hour before now was
swaying under dog teams, and men
were working swiftly to get things on
board before they went to sea. There
were four dog teams alongside when the
Ice began to let go and their drivers
urged them back across widening crew.
ices until they were at safe distance.
Then the ice anchors had to be drag
ged aboard which was another difficult
task Parker, Ben Roth, Erickson and
Harrison went over on the ice from the
ship and lugged ice anchors across
swaying boards, which bridged the OPEN
ings between ice cakes so as to make
them fast farther in. Those anchors
weigh about 200 pounds, and are not
the easiest things to handle.
Seeks New Position.
After everything had been secured the
Ice broke again and it was decided to
seek another position. Two of the dog
teams went along the edge of the bay
Ice to pick up some dog crates which
mad been set ashore days ago. and the
others followed the ship as it moved
over to the west side of the bay near
the barrier. where it was hoped that
shelter might be found. The lead there
was not very deep, SO far coming back
10 point where enough coal could be
pat ashore to load two dog teams, one
OF winch was taken out by Parker, who
had turned driver temporarily. the ship
again prepared to move.
1t was surrounded by ice foes by this
time, some Of them enormous ones
which had broken of near our former
position, and men went over the side to
send them off as they smashed up
against the side Of the ship and threat
ened to grind into the rudder. Joe
Rucker ran out on the edge of a big
cake to get some pictures of the ship
nosing into the ice to hold its position
temporarily. and both he and Wander
veer have had busy day
Comdr. Byrd decided to 60 to the
eastward this time into the lead which
we explored last night when we met
the killer whales
New Position Found.
A position was found, thereby forcing
the ship into some broken drift ice, so
tnat Its bow Is now resting against the
eoge or the bay Ice, somewhat thinner
mere than where we were before, but
where We are sheltered from wind and
SWells by the surrounding bay ice and
the barrier now lying about three-ouar-
ters OF a mile to the east. When we
arrived we could see a Speck far out on
the bay coming toward US, and knew it
must be one of the single sled dog
leans. PROBABLY Berlin, who has
nabit OF wandering in at night.
AS the team approached a young seal
sHpped out on the ice and bumped itself
along, stopping now and then to rear I'D
and look at us. The curiosity of animals
down here, seals, gulls and chiefly the
amusing Adele PenguinS, is one of the
most amazing things about this strange
land. They have never seen man and
nave no fear of him Or anything outside
their natural enemies, the killer and the
sea leopards 1t is II years since man
was here and that stay of Amundsen
was the only other time this corner of
this lost continent has ever been in
habited. So even the Seals are tame and
this one was greatly excited Ly our ar
rival.
He slid over cracks and onto moving
cakes between us and the solid ice to
get better look. When Berlin arrived
alongside after making his detour from
the old trail the seal headed for the
dog team, apparently thinking the dogs
were other seals. 1t was not until the
seal was only few yards away from
them that it found they barked some
what differently and it scrambled to
safety on little cake of ice and looked
Serenely around before taking a final
dive out of sight.
Yesterday morning we got a picture
OF seal and lead dog of a team
actually swapping at each other, the
| seal showing no sign of fear Equally
strange it is that the dogs seldom chase
penguins, seals or gulls.
Iceberg Drifting In.
A huge iceberg has been drifting in
| from the northwest toward us for
several days in defiance of all that was
known about the currents here and all
that we have observed of the drift of
the pack ice which is generally toward
the northwest. There must be a deep
counter-current which Is pushing it
toward the east wall of the bay and it
Will be interesting to see how far it
goes. The drift of the pack ice by us
the last 10 days has been an absorb
ing phenomenon. At one timeSWe were
completely cut off from the sea by the
heaviest pack we have seen. 1t must
come out of that vast area to the east
into which no ship has ever been able
to penetrate. These huge cakes and
upllited pieces Of pressure ice march
ing by slowly are often beautiful and
impressive.
The changes in temperature here are
very unusual and have interested lis
greatly. Yesterday the sky was over
cast and it was SO warm that it rained
for few minutes The temperature
today reached 40, 10 degrees above
freezing and it is hot on the bay ice
SO warm that men are working in their
undershirts loading bags of coal on the
sleds. The sea between the pack in
which we are tying and the barrier is
like sheet Of glass broken only by the
rising OF whales and the whole mag
nlflcent landscape Sparkles under a
brilliant sun. And yet only a few
nights ago 1t was three degrees above
zero during the night, every rope or
the ship was covered with glowing
crystals OF frost half an inch long and
these were black under a pail of what
the Norwegians call sea smoke.
Comdr. Byrd has met a problem
IL