Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-22
POLAR PER|[S TOLD
. OF IN VIVID LETTER
Son, With Byrd; Writes to
Mother in Washington,
Describing Jaunt.

A Washington mother, Mrs. Leroy
r. Kessler of 40 Foxhall road, has re-
ceived her first letter from he son
Charles since he reached Antarctica
with the Byrd polar expedition. From
down under" the world, Charles has
written vivid account of the trials
which have beset the expedition in its
preparations for an air and land eX-
ploration of the icy wastes surrounding
the South Pole.
Since Charles left Washington in
August to Join the Byrd party in the
role Of a seaman on the Eleanor Boil
ing, one of the three Byrd ships. his
only communications with his mother
have been via the radio. The follow
ing letter, mailed in Dunedin. New
Zealand. on January 30, arrived here
wednesday,
His Letter.
January 20, 1929.
Dear Mother:
Here we are In the Bay of Whales
at the famous ice barrier. We had a
great trip coming down. Our ship was
greatly overloaded and looked more
like haywagon than haywagon does
itself. We were carrying chemicals of
all descriptions and other highly in
fiammable cargo. and Comdr. Byrd was
greatly relieved when he saw the stuff
safely unloaded on the ice.
We hit peachy storm few days
out of Dunedin and We had TO work
hard and fast to keep from losing our
deck cargo. She came through the
storm nicely and few days later we
sighted the icepack at SO south.
The pack completely blocked the en-
trance to the Ross Sea and was 300
miles in width We had been a little
doubtful as to whether our ship could
stand the ice and We soon received the
most pleasant surprise so far. She
rammed her way right through the ice
and even astonished our Norwegian ice
pilot.
After three days of smashing and
banging there is quite bit Of noise
when blowing into the ice) we emerged
from the pack at "A 8. ....
Great White Desert.
I'VE were now in the Ross Sea and
we stepped on the gas. few more
days and We sighted the great ice-bar-
rier This was at 1875 S. 1t rose YER
tically out of the water and looked like
great white desert. The average
height around the edge was about 40 or
so feet. Farther in, about go or 100 feet. |
It Is like rolling country in the States
and Is dandy for flying, being remark
ably smooth Bend solid ice and snow. 1t
is naturally very cold and extremely so
in the wind.
I'VE unloaded our gear on the ice
and were lucky In not losing anything.
The first time the ice broke it was COW
cred with men and aeroplanes and fast
work was all that saved both. Every
thing had to be salyaged Immediately
and reloaded back onto the ship, before |
1t drifted out to sea.
THE next time we were even more
lucky. We had just landed the big
plane when In came the ice and two
men with It, One fellow grabbed a
rope as he was falling and this saved
him from q very dangerous situation
The other fellow got his moneys worth
and cold bath besides He was lucky
he was not crushed OF drowned In the
mix-up. Comdr.' Byrd and two others
Owed to his aid. 1t was bad dope, be-
cause the whole works had to be fished
out. This water Is too cold and soon
saps your endurance and you have all
you can do to save yourself. The inn
pact of the Ice was great and our lines
were carried away aft. The remaining
lines saved her from being capsized.
The ice continued to break of and fur
Their discharging of cargo was aban-
doned on the ice. We pulled out from
the ice and transferred the remaining
cargo to the City of New York.
Whales In Abundance.
1.-The bay Is seven miles deep and got
its name through the abundance Of
whales to be found there. They are
everywhere and splash about like kids
in a pool. They are very ferocious and
more dangerous than man eating
sharks. They will overturn small boats
and break through thin ice to get at
you. ttY
Seals are plentiful here and We kill
them for dog food. They weigh as
much as 500 pounds. Hunting them Is
simple. They lie on the ice and you
hit them over the head with q stick
They taste like vinegar and don't make
much of hit with the gang. Whale
meat is much like beef. but has slight
fishy odOr Haven't seen anybody cry
ing for either SO far.
The funniest thing down here Is the
penguins. They stand very erect and
walk with stifT-leg motion like kid
on stills. They get about 80 inches high
and weigh around rs pounds. They
have very short wings, but cannot fly.
They can certainly swim fast. and In
this respect they make up what they
lack as aviators. When they turn, they
make Charlie Chaplin look like an anna
teur. Their heads, necks. shoulders,
backs, legs and feet are jet black, the
rest snow-white. They look like
group of very small men in evening
dress
Writing Mt Sea.
IF you have noticed that letters ap-
pear misplaced and the writing uneven,
you can blame 1t on the sea am An
ishing this letter at sea, and we are
rolling more than at any time during
our 1900 miles of travel so far. Very
little sleeping and practically no eating
is the routine at the present. 1t is not
new to us. but never have We rolled so
heavily CAS- degrees) and continuously
before. The ship is absolutely empty,
and the seas smack us around like
toy balloon. A 60-mile gale has been
blowing since yesterday. and no let-up
is in sight. We are holding onto our
course in spite of the weather. We have
another trip to make, and time is