Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-20

was no way out OF IL. Tney perched
on the hill top, wide wings outspresd
resting for a time.
Ship Bears Marks Of Ice Battle.
With every rare moment of leisure in
loading, the men of the two groupS
those who came down on the ship and
those who had been ashore this last
year, chatted of things in which they
thought the others would be interested,
tales Of amusing things that have hap
pened, of the trip down from the pack,
Of the trail and flights
AS the Byrd expedition had reached
the Bay of Whales on December IS,
1928, it was actually there IS months
and IS days. and there were many
things to be talked about
But perhaps the most interesting to
us was the story Of the ship. She bore
marks of her battle with the ice all
along her sides.
Holes Punched at Deck Line.
Her sheathing was cut and SCARED
where blocks of ice had hit her in the
gales, and holes were punched right
through the bulwarks at the deck line
There was no doubt that she had been
on a rough passage, and as Capt. Mel
vile said, One more day and we would
have had to turn north and run out of
1t. She couldn't have stood much more"
But both Capt. Melville and Johans-
sen were enthusiastic about the ship
They doubted if another vessel could
have stood the battering she received
and come through it.
And Admiral Byrd was as pleased with
the way the crew had handled her and
stuck by their guns in difficulties. He
spoke Of 1t again and again as he looked
over the bark. She has a brand-neW
bridge this year.
Melville Tells Of Trip.
I'VE got along well until we got al
most through the pack" said Capt.
Melville. THE first IS miles Of the
pack were rather bad heavy old ice
but We struck lead that was on our
course and we followed it. It kept on
opening up, and we got through all
right until the It'll, when the gale began
which lasted all the way to the Bar
rier. 1t started with a blizzard, and,
when it wasn't blowing great guns it
was showing.
New ice was forming fast also, and
through the latter part of it we ran
through lot of that and Slush. The
swell increased and I figured we were
near open water. Finally we came out
at night with the gale blowing nearly
hurricane. I have been around the
Horn several times and I never saw
such seas Is those.
Chunks Big Enough 10 Sink Her.
TO make matters worse, big pieces
q ice were being thrown about. They
lifted high above the rail Of the ship
when the seas roared alongside, and
admit I was . little nervous about them.
If the ship had fallen OF and some Of
those chunks had come aboard they
TnfHhE nave GfITK
Finally we decided to turn tail to the
storm and run for shelter. It took
nearly an hour to get around. but We
made it and then ran three hours to
the northwest until we got back into
the pack and slush ice and hove to in
q clear space in the lee of the ice.
Run Through is Miles Of Pack.
1.-THE next day, the 9Th, the gale
began TO moderate little and we made
our way out and again started south.
We had to run through Is miles of
pack and sl1sh again before reaching
open water and came out about longi-
tude 1T east and latitude SO degrees
Is minutes south. From that time We
have seen only q few scattered bergS,
but we have had no observations from
the 18th until the 18th.
The ship began to ice up on the 18th.
OF course, We had some ice before that,
but it was not serious. From then on
1t began to gather in earnest. The crew
worked all the time, chopping and
smashing it from the sides, from every
place they could reach. There were q
inches of ice on the poop deck when
We reached shelter, so YOU can imagine
how much we gathered.
1T was worst forward, for there we
could not get at it. The seas came over
solidly and went aft, and the ice in
creased until there was mass around
the martingale which a man could not
bean 20 tons on the headgear Of the
ship alone, and that weight made her
stick her nose into every sea.
Afraid Headgear Would co.
II was afraid we might lose the head
gear, and II that went, it would pull our
masts over. It was tough time.
In these days all we could do was
keep her head into the wind even with
the engine full ahead and with no solar
observations and the compass acting
crazy, as it always does in those lati-
tudes. 1t was hard to tell where we
were. But it was blow on the 18th,
when We sighted land. to realize how
far We had been blown of our course.
I know it has happened before under
such conditions, but just the same was
disappointed. The weather cleared
soon and then we saw the high peaks
Of what turned out to be Ross Island.
My only consolation for being so far
away from Little America was that I
was able to see Mount Erebus, for I
have always wanted to see it. It Is q
magnificent mountain.
"Once in under the lee of the land
we got to work chopping away the ice
and must have cleared 200 tons on her
Even now, as you see, there Is ice all
along her sides and the ropes are like
iron bars and the blocks frozen solid.
Running along under the Barrier, we
got rid of the worst and then made
good time. But it was q rough ride
while 1t lasted"
Soundings also were made along the
whole face Of the Barrier by Ralph
Shropshire and many samples taken
from the water and bottom. The series
of soundings runs all the way from
Dunedin.
CCopyriEht. 1890. by the New York Times
Co. and the st. Louis Post-Dispatch. All
tights for publication reserved throughout
the world.l
BOILING HEAVEs TO IN GALE.