Evening star., 1929-12-04
BYRD DEPLORES CONTROVERSY
OVER, ANTARCTIC DISCOVERIES
Describes Final Dash to Pole and Feelings
of Grew as Tribute to Bennett
Is Dropped.

I glacier running down from the noun
tainS and showing chaotic masses OF
crevasSed ice shining blue against the
white snow. This may have been the
Devils Ball Room" that dangerous
area which Amundsen traversed. We
passed over groups of haycockS, those
small, rounded domes of snow which
cover bottomless pits.
Polar Snow Looks Softer.
There were wind-formed sastrugi, ar
! row shaped, which appeared hard with
| knife edges and gliStening more in the
sun than in other snow surfaces. That
area must have been one of violent
| winds. Landing there would have been
like landing among rocks. 1t was in
great contrast to the surface we reached
later, which was smooth and had the
appearance of soft snow in an area of
light winds.
While the mountains were still loom
ing large on the left, we attempted a
shot of the sun with the sextant to get
its altitude and so give us a sun line
| that would cut our line of flight and at
the point of intersection tell us what
the sun had to Ssg about our progress.
But the air was Dot smooth enough and
the S25-horsepower engine in the nose
OF the plane exerting its great force to
keep two miles high seemed to add to
the weaving motion of the plane.
Distance Too Short to Miss.
It was impossible at this time to
keep the sun and bubble in the Sextant
together long enough to get de-
pendable sight. We hoped that things
would be favorable later on. But this
didn't worry us, for our distance was
so short that we could hardly miss the
objective.
Our altimeter showed us to be keep
ing about the same atmospheric pres
sure and we therefore were not chang
ing our altitude very much. The snow
beneath us seemed to be getting farther
away so we judged that the plateau
was sloping down with a gentle incline
Back in the tail of the plane was q
meteorgraph, recording change in tenn
perature pressure and humidity, which
after the flight would tell the whole
story. We would know the exact mo-
ment OF taking off, the time of every
subsequent change Of altitude and the
moment Of landing at the mountain
base in Little America.
Amundsen Trail Is Beneath.
Beneath us somewhere was the trail
that Roald Amundsen, my friend, had
blaZed to the South Pole, a trail now
buried far beneath the snow. My ad-
niration, for that great explorer in
creased tremendously when saw with
what he had to contend. In his honor
and in honor of Bernt and other Nor
wegians at Little America, and the
whalerS who with such a great gen.
eroSlty have helped us, we carried with
us the Norwegian flag.
We carried with us the French nag.
We have not forgotten the extraor-
dinary hospitality France showed the
transatlantic flyers. nor the friendship
demonstrated for the Americans in the
face OF the loss of their gallant flyers
who had set out on a more difficult
feat. A half hour past midnight we
again tried to get an altitude of the
sun. The sight was better this time
and showed us to be close to our dead
reckoning position. That was good
But there was still enough movement
OF the plane to prevent our being GER
tain Of that sight. There was probably
error in it and just how much we
couldn't tell. We felt confidence in
our sun compass and drift indicator
and luckily our sight did not change
our calculations.
Temperature Falls.
The temperature seemed to be falling
as we neared the pole. The mountains
abaft the beam were fading now and
clouds which may have covered unseen
mountains showed on the horizon off
the port bow. Harold was plotting and
Bernt came aft to tell me that 1t
wasn't quite so clear ahead and that
we might find mist near the Pole Once
or twice we thought we saw snow drift
| ing beneath. An Antarctic storm seemed
to be closing in on us, but we thought
We could get back to the mountains
ahead of it.
1t was great plane with great en-
gines. With reasonable luck we should
beat the storm. My thoughts turned to
Dubier, Roth and Demas back there al
Little America who had conditioned
them; to my friend, Edsel Ford, who
had built the Floyd Bennett and who
was the first man five years ago to en-
courage and support my expeditions
into the Polar regions. But the story
would stop If mentioned all those
thought of at that moment.
ScOtt's Trail in Range.
We had extended the Grosvenol
Trail now so near the Pole that with.
in easy visibility lay SCOTS trail
Scott, who, with his companions, hac
perished on his way back-that great
soul who had shown that there art
things more important than life anc