Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-22

'SOIltAlluC0 rIOii CHSb EdSC'J
cold to make the engines right for us.
And I couldn't help but send thoughts
of thanks to those chaps.
Unfortunately, the mechanics who
contribute so greatly to successful
flights are generally forgotten. don't
see how it would have been possible to
find three better men than Bubier, Roth
and Demas. The Marine Corps, Army
and the Wright Co. each has every rea-
son to be proud of its representative.
Not long after passing the crevaSsed
area we sighted great mountains on
the starboard bow. Later, on the re-
turn, from 5000 feet, we thought we
could follow them for $50 miles. We
judge that we saw all the way to Beard
more Glacier, where Scott and Shackle-
ton assembled to the plateau on their
polar effort
Mac photographed this range and a
new one running near 1t in the same
direction. We can definitely join up
Azel Heiberg Glacier with Beardmore
Glacier. This is magnificent range.
AS we approached the mountains
peak after peak came into view until
finally the whole horizon, from the
southeast to the southwest, was flied
with mountains. It looked as If Ma
ture had built these impossible ram
parts to keep forever the secret of the
South Pole.
But as we drew nearer we saw huge
glaciers debouching ice into the Bar
rier through great ragged gashes in the
mountains. These are the outlets for
the two-mile-high plateau of ice. in the
center OF which lies the South Pole.
Majestic Succession Of Peaks.
Never have seen such rugged noun
tai1s or such magnificent scenery
great mount lin masses rising from sea
level precipitously to thousands of feet,
peak after peak towering heights of
10000, $4,000 and $4,000 feet.
Capt. Mckinley photographed with
his mapping camera dozens of noun
tain peaks never before seen. He will
develop his films so that the world
can see what We saw and science can
study at its leisure and with micro
scope these extraordinary glacial phe-
nomena. Describe these mountains we
cannot, but the aerial survey camera
will do 1t for us.
Perhaps one OF the biggest moments
OF the whole expedition was the landing
at the foot of the mountains, for land
ing away from base on an unknown
field Is always uncertain, and even more
so IN the polar regions with a heavy
load aboard.
So far as our aviation mission is con-
cerned, and so far as very great many
other vital things were concerned, all
our eggs were in the plane when the
landing was made.
All was staked on that landing. 1t
was an unknown quantity. What a
colossal mess it would have been had
one must sometimes take in the polar
regions to win.
To Dean Smith was given this big
responsibility of landing on unknown
ground, the character of which is not
easy to Judge from the air. But Dean
did 1t. He did his stuff. He carried the
mail to the mountains!
PeriIOus Landing on the Barrier.
Soon after passing the crevasses on
our return. We reached the area be-
tween rs and 100 miles from Little
America which the dog teams had re-
ported as being dangerous for airplane
landing, and some parts of 1t they said
were impossible.
About this time the motors began to
miss. Harold June reported that we
become of the gas We didn't know, but
we had plenty aboard when We left the
mountains.
Suddenly all three engines stopped
Things looked black, for we were in
that dangerous area. Dean Smith had
the wheel. Again it was up to him. The
terrain looked rough from the air, AS
we glided down for a landing there was
plenty of time to wonder just which
saStrugi would smash the landing gear.
When We bumped hard and rocked
along crafty and finally came to rest
without smashing up. We were greatly
surprised. This is the third time that
Dean has landed successfully away from
base.
Fighting Spirit Of the Men.
During the next SO hours out there on
the barrier. 100 miles from camp,
working in the cold. June, Mac and
Dean showed the stuff they are made of
know few things better than fighting
the elements and bucking difficulties
alongside fellows like these.
Harold June was a great help from
the time we left. He is an expert radio
operator, mechanic and pilot. He is re-
sourceful and undaunted. Mac had the
most strenuous task of us all as he
mapped every inch Of the fight with
a 50-pound camera.
After we got on the ground Mac work.
ed like Trojan couldn't make him
rest. Our big plane is handful for
four men to handle. Mac is preparing
to spend tonight developing some OF his
1t was of course. good that We could |
follow the trail. because II We had land
ed IN an unknown region 1T would have