Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-23
BYRD SLED PARTY
SPEEDS. UP IN TREK
Finds Better Going as Snow
Warns Up After Weary
61-MiIe Pull.
BY RUSSELL OWEN.

~ Radio TO The tar and New York Times
LITTLE AMERICA. Antarctic, octo-
Der 2s.-The supporting party camped
81 miles south of Little America Sunday
night and Monday was presumably
again moving forward. unless the strong
wind here Is blizzard further inland
Messages from Arthur Walden. lead
er Of the party, and Joe De Ganahl
navigator, report that, after diScourag-
1ngly slow progress because OF the
miserable surface the first two days out
the trail has improved during the last
Few warm days and the teams are max
ing better speed. On two days, they
made II and 18 miles. which is not
bad with heavy loads at this time OF
year.
After they left ver-sur-mer Inlet
they had picnic" as De Ganahl puts
It, for five miles. until they reached
the Barrier surface, with the long slope
up to the top.
Heartbreaking Work on Sledges.
Heavy loads. Maintaining, pessi-
nnisn," is the laconic report which, to
those who have seen men Maintaining
with dogs, speaks volumes.
Strap over shoulder, dogs lying al
most fiat. tongues hanging out, strain
ing with their effort. Men and dogs
steaming In the cold wind and stopping
every half mile to rest: then on again
slowly and painfully. Dogged. wearying
effort, mile after mile over the empty
plain OF snow, with no goal in sight, the
most heartbreaking work in the world.
After IS miles of this, every ounce Of
material which could safely be left was
cached in a depot. This was at the
end of Thursday night. the nth.
The first day. the 18th. they made
miles; the second day, 10 miles, and
on the third, Thursday, only 7.
Runners were breaking through the
crust and running against a continuous
overhang of hard snow, which must be
crushed. And under that was the hard,
granular sandlike snow of the barrier,
snow which acted like brake on sledge
runners.
It is incredible, until one has seen it.
the way in which this cold. barrier
snow retards progress. Skis stick to it
so that skilled ski runner going over
0 slight jump will find his skis stuck
fast to the snow after he lands
and plunge forward on his face.
Men Pull with Dogs.
This is what these men were haul
ing over the first three days of their
trip, lending their strength to that of
their Woodworking dogs, throwing all
ItACAs "cASl1 dsd1AlSI Tic ndH-tldullIlS
strap.
The next day was warmer and the
sledges slipped more easily over the
surface. Spirits rose accordingly, and
at the end of the day, last Friday, IL
miles had been checked on by the
sledge meter. That was better.
That night they gathered cheerfully
around the stove in one of the tents
while Chris Brathen made hootch of
pemmican, and while it was cooking
Walden compared sledging on the bar
rier with sled freighting in the timber
lands of Alaska.
How different: Warm bonfire at
night, clothes drying in its CHEEKY light,
roasting fresh meat over the fire and
breaking out a can of beans-his IA
vorite food. Heaven" Is De Ganahls
summary Of that glimpse into sledging
In another land That night the wind
blew and ratified the tent staked out
In the desolation of the gray-lighted