Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-05
BY DANA CONAN. M. d.

BY DANA COMhN, M ID
TIME Byrd expedition arrived at its
home port with its personnel
intact and every man well.
i When one considers the hazards
that had to be surmounted and
the size and widely scattered distribu-
ton of its contingents, one begins to
appreciate that such record is
extraordinary. No former expedition
ever had such good fortune. 1t would
even be difficult to find a similar group
of men who in ordinary life would all
be we'll at the end of two years.
Pure chance cannot account for the
uniformly good fortune that seems to
follow Byrd. Our well-being in the
Antarctic was the natural sequence of
the influence exerted by Admiral Byrd,
Bernt Balchen and Lawrence Gould,
who from the start, having given proper
consideration to the records of former
expeditions, worked necessarily on
safety factors and efficiency.
Citing a single instance, it is perhaps
not often realized that We owe to the
late Fridtjof hansen not only the first
actual use of skis and of dog teams
and light sledges in polar exploration
but also the practical means of pre-
pairing hot food on long Sledge trips,
and even less is it realized that any
one Of these items might be specifically
life-saving.
The medicinal program, while largely
concerned with definite preventive and
precautionary measures, aimed first OF
all toward building up the resistance Of
the individual to the unusual demands
Of the environment On other similar
expeditions the least scratch toward the
end of the season was likely to lead to
liberation and grave illness.
Keeping Men Mentally Fit.
We early realized the necessity of
| fostering a healthy mental equilibrium
among men some of whom were liable
| to have difficulty In adjusting them
I selves to social situation from which
there was no escape. Accordingly, from
the very first q definite yet reasonably
elastic policy was adopted toward each
specific individual type. Our general
| freedom from sickness speaks well
enough for this program. Words of
advice were dispensed more literally
than pills.
Extended advice as to proper foods
once given was thereafter never re-
quired on the ships or at Little Amer
| lea. The proper foods were there and
well prepared and varied daily menus
were provided by Tenant and Reich
| ert, each of whom was good combina-
ton Of steward and chef. The men
found little difficulty in becoming &C
customed to the necessarily coarse diet
and there was never any serious diSsat-
| isfaction with the food. All OF US grew
to think Of caribou hair and occasional
other equipment as really part OF the
soup.
Health Is 30 largely q matter OF
nutrition that once proper food Is
assured with reasonable periods of work
and rest, sickness Is practically confined
| to the accidental. When one appreciates
that careful planning was the largest
factor in the safe return of the ex-
| petition, that due to hard work done
| IN the early days of preparation we
| had none of the common ills of dietary
| or other indiScretions, and that we were
| able to throw on such other ills as
arose from the unusual environment,
no further words Of praise need be
| given to the stewards, Greason, Tenant
and Reichart, on whom this work fell.
Home Life at Little America.
Little America was q health resort.
| Previous expeditions had reported life
in the Antarctic q picnic once one was
| settled there, and true enough, we found
the only hazards or real discomfortS
were on the trail away from the camp.
At Little America were warmth, dry
| beds, food in variety, and congenial
| diversions. We lived, as one would in
| an Alpine chalet on a high mountain
pass, an active and vigorous existence,
| free from temptation or the enervating
demands of feminine society.
Byrd kept himself At by walking out
every day whatever the weather. In
| m
sistent users of the gymnasium. Here
he practiced weight-lifting and went
through q series Of exercises he had
developed for every muscle of the body,
| Here, also, Bernt gave boxing instruc-
ton and spared daily with several of
the boys. Some of the rest Of us went
out occasionally, but found that after
the regular daily duties the nom
productive gymnasium work demanded
| just too much moral tenacity for our
| weak wills.
Occasionally in the afternoon we did
our laundering. This involved carrying
three times as much snow as the water
| needed, robbed the hut Of just the
amount Of heat required to melt the
snow, took several hours, and could
I much easier be put off until some other
time. Hence, when we changed our
| shirts we generally wore the new one
until it was definitely grayer than the
| old one, and then putting on the first
one, which was thus comparatively
clean, we found we could go on almost
indefinitely, always having another"
shirt In reserve for special occasions.
A Place without Germs.
At the outset we realized that we
were going to a practically germ-free
place, where we ourselves would bring
| the only disease. 1t was essential that
men, dogs and ships be kept clean and
as free from disease carriers as possible.
| This was by no means q simple pro-
gram. Although the ships were repeat
eddy fumigated and rid of pests of all
kinds, 1t was found impossible to carry
fresh provisions In the tropics and keep
| free from insect pests, and when in New
Zealand the dogs were taken aboard
we saw the last of the Scrupulously
! clean decks
The condition Of the men could be
controlled to certain extent and i'm
munization programs CARED out. We
had one mild epidemic of "f1u," which
lasted three or four days after we had
touched at one tropic port where the
disease was prevalent at the time, but
| when we left our last contact with civil
lization we were remarkably free from
the common respiratory and other
minor affections.
As there was no significant disease
among US and as long incubation
period had passed without event be-
fore we had settled at our destination,
We felt assured that at Little America
host Of possible ills had been elimi-
mated. We had the dogs, of course, or
we would have reached the Antarctic