Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-29

Signed, Byrd" It was not long after
this that Byrd came in from the east
ward over Framheim and, turning at
some distance from the base went out
over the bay where the two ships were
lying side by side. AS he came above
them, BalChen stuck the planes nose
down in a dive and then Zoomed up
again and went on to the landing field
Those in the base hut had been listen
ing eagerly for five hours to the plane
Berkner the radio operator, reading Off
messages rs he received Inem. We were
| sitting on bags or standing about smok-
ing and discussing the flight and its
great results with happy excitement.
Larry Gould. with the largest pipe On
the continent, was lying in his bunk
contentedly smoking. Suddenly the
Berkner Strengthened up in his chair.
Sudden Silence Prevails.
'The motor speeded up as the plane
went into a dive. I don't know what
happened"
There was sudden silence in the hut.
Gould bounded from his cot and went
over to Berkner. A dive. That could
only mean one thing. And the signals
anything be done? All these thoughts
flashed through the minds of men to
whom this flight meant as much in
dividually as it did to Byrd himself 1t
was heart-rending moment. For
nearly five minutes they sat motionlsss,
not daring to speak the things they
! thought. and then one of them jumped
a foot in the air and yelled. There's
that blankety-blank motor now" There
was rush to the front door, from which
a narrow path is cut upward through
l hos kxryn ~Isx
steps in 1t and as the first man, Joe
! Rucker, hit them he slipped and fell on
his face and the whole crowd fell over
him and piled up.
Men Go Wild With Joy.
! The kicking, scrambling heap was I'M
tangled in few moments and they ran
out to see the plane circling not far
above them, coming in for a landing
Hats were thrown in the air, men
danced and jumped up and down with
giee and waved their arms in frenzy
OF delight. Byrd, Balchen and June
were all right, safely back from a trip
which was test of all that Byrd has
been preparing to do, with a remark
| able exploration record made In the
short space of five hours tucked away.
It was something for which to be thank
| full
When the plane gracefully glided
down and landed easily on the snow
and TAXED to a stop, there was q rush
! for 1t and hands were shaken as the
| three men jumped out of the plane.
Then came an explanation of that dra-
matte ending of the signals. June was
working on his set and when the plane
| went into a dive looked out, saw that
the plane was over the ships and be-
IN in h &c Nh
communication that almost stopped the
hearts Of few of those who did not
know what had happened.
Boiling Slices Away Ice.
In the meantime the work of ice
breaking had been going on faster with
| the aid of the Eleanor Boiling Her
sharp nose was pushed against the ice
short distance from the City of New
York and when her engines were
turned over at full speed ahead she
sliced through the thick. soft ice like
knife through butter. When in as far
as necessary she turned and cut along
the bay ice in front of the low part
OF the bay ice. slicing it of in straight
sharp line for $50 yards until a perfect
dock 40 yards wide had been made. It
has been named pier IL Bow and
stern lines were taken over on the bay
Ice close under the barrier and she was
warped into place and additional lines
taken up to the barrier itself to take
the strain off the snow dock. We need
| that landing place badly and don't want
to haul it out. This was all done in a
| little more than an hour, and then the
City of New York warped into place
outside the Boiling and sent additional
lines ashore. Petersen radioed out to
[ ha H..
Boiling is locked at Pier l." And that
was that! The ships are now lying as
snugly as If in an inclosed basin.
| Water Holds Quiet.
There is not the slightest movement
OF the water, at least no waves. and
the ice is not moving out fast enough
to make the situation untenable if
it crushed in this way. The probabili-
ties are that it would 60 out without
much pressure against this side, for
there seems to be slight current in
| the other direction But If it did begin
to press, there is room for the Boiling
with her powerful engine to push away
quickly to safety. The great advantage
of being alongside the dock here is
that 1t not only gives them a place
where the ships can be unloaded safely
and quickly, but also decreases the dis
lance to the base to five miles, whereas
the old and dangerous route was about
eight miles A straight line to the base
would be only about four miles. but
the trail Is being made we'll inland to
avoid CrevasSes near the coast Strom,
Braathen and Erickson went out to
make the first trail and mark it, Braa-
then driving his dog team. He had
been over this route once before with
Comdr. Byrd when the first trip inland
was made to select a site for the base.
Erickson led on foot and without skis
to see crevaSseS. He had a rope about
him and was followed by Strom, who
was also fastened by the rope to both
Erickson and Braathen. They took
every precaution at the instruction of
the commander, because their mission
was to ind crevaSSe on the route II
they possibly could. so that when the
dog teams began to haul loads they
need not fear falling into one of these
oottomleSs pits OF icy darkness.
Dogs Lug Stuff In.
None were encountered, however, and
today the dogs are Juggling stuff in
again, with the possibility Of making
three or more trips instead of two each
day. The trail is little soft now, but
it should improve steadily.
AS soon as both ships were secured,
the work of unloading the Boiling be-
gan. 1t had been planned to put part
Of her load on the New York is neceS-
sary, but this new position has obviated
what would have meant a double
handling of the cargo. The boxes OF
blasting powder and the caps were
taken ashore first and placed well upon
the barrier, out of the way. Then coal
bags and boxes of food and other stores
were cleaned away from around the
Fokker fuselage crate and wing which
was on the forward hatch. AS fast as
the stores were placed on the ice dock
was sunk in the snow upon the barrier
at the head of the incline and a block
and endless fall was rugged to it and