Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-01

meteorologists at the camp, indicated
! that the plane could scoot through
before a change came. But it was evil
dent that the flight was timed just
| right, for they rode back on the wings
of the coming storm.
| Comdr. Byrd had the problem of
drift to contend with then and was
! constantly busy at the indicator, catch
! ing glimpses of Sastrugi as they moved
by underneath, sometimes interrupted
by the drifting snow on the surface.
| When he had an opportunity he took a
-, sight, and as reports of the gas con-
sumption came back to him, he esti-
mated the probable length of time they
could run so. There was some wind
| against the plane and the gasoline
problem loomed more and more criti-
cal as the time went on. If 1t would
only last!
The sky ahead began to clear and the
light, fluffy clouds which began to
form over the Pole drifted away and
would work anyway and sights could
be obtained. That was one comfort.
But that last hour was strain, "
said June. 1T seemed as though we
would never get there. Finally the
commander, after taking observations
with his sextant gave word to turn
and fly his courses to one side and
the other and then to circle, and when
the dead reckoning of all of us agreed
that We had gone past the Pole, we
were satisfied.
IT remember Bernt leaned back and
stuck his hand out and we shook
hands"
Guided Home by Compass.
Then the route home was chosen,
and the precision with which the sun
compass guided them down meridian
so that they struck AXel Heiberg
Glacier in the middle was the subject
of favorable comment. I'VE couldn't
have done that if we had not taken
departure accurately from the Pole"
, said June, and / think it was re-
| markable landfall and showed the &C
| curaUy of the navigation"
1t had been lonely wandering around
over that limitleSs plateau. All the
mountains had sunk below the horizon,
and there was fringe of cloud there.
! hay horizon that did not augur
good weather. On and on they flew
| toward this Shadowy line and slowly
the mountains began to lift out of the
distance, their heads circling the rim
of that white world over which they
| we're flying. At the Pole. June had
estimated that they had $50 gallons of
gas left. That ought to be enough If
I everything went we'll. and they could
see the snow slipping by under the skis
much more rapidly than before. They
think they made 10 miles an hour
| better time coming back over the
! plateau than going out. But they were
| glad to see the mountains again, even
| though at first it was difficult to recog-
nize them.
Get Over Being Lonesome.
! They were just like company arriv-
! ing" laughed June. We got over being
lonesome right away"
| AS they approached the mountains,
they could see clouds forming and the
wind picked up more drift snow and
whirled it thicker below them. 1t Sift-
| ed of the sides of the mountains and
! drifted over the glacier. When they
reached the Axel Heiberg Glacier, they
had risen to about $4,000 feet and en-
| tered the great canyon at that height
and began to slide down it. Even SO
! the mountains lowered above them and
some of them to the east seemed 10000
! feet high.
They were thrown up and down by
F., violent currents as they slid down the
mountain pass over the glacier, some
times the plane being tossed to one side
as If 1t were chip.
"I Skidded around like I was on
skates" laughed Mac. and finally sat
on a blow torch. had to move
around. But shot out of every window
in that plane and some of those pictures
are just going to be blurS of rock walls
shooting past"
Byrd Again Goes Forward.
Byrd again went forward on the down
trip, standing beside Balchen. The
glacier gorge was full of peaks sticking
up through the ice and little clouds were
forming about them and on the sides Of
the mountains which lin6d the way.
Ascending currents flowed from the bare
rock heated by the sun and cold down
drafts dropped them as they passed
over precipiceS of ice and snow. There
was one great hole. the side of 1t nearly
5000 feet. where the plane went down
like a rock for 500 feet. Every one in
side was skidding and hanging on and
Mac was struggling again with his
camera.
There was something which hit me
harder than the bumps at times
though" he said. THAT was when
Harold came charging up and down
over that pile of stuff and ramming
u.s." June weighs 100 pounds. and
he is not tall. When he launches his
weight it arrives in compact form.
The plane slid on fast, however, the
motor throttled down and presently
came out over the barrier to the east
of the depot placed on the former
flight. Byrd turned east for a time
| to see something of the country over
that way, but the vanishing gas caused
! him to turn back after a short time
and head for the depot. And it was
| hard to find at first because the noun
faiT NJ Nt~;e
angle. But they changed to a more
| familiar aspect as they neared the base
and they looked like old friends,
/ said Mac.
when We got down to the base of
! the mountains or even half way down. >
! said June, Il thought, well we can walk
| home from here. That was a relief"