Evening star., 1934-10-28

REAR ADMIRAL r. E. BYRD.
my physical condition at the peak. I
went through a set of exercises every
morning.
II managed, except when was too
busy with other things, to take walk.
Such walks, especially after the dark
ness set in, were real adventures.
Where was, the barrier is almost fiat
and completely lacking in landmarks.
1t would have been quite easy. espe-
cially if the air misted up suddenly as
it often does down here, to become
lost only short distance from the
shack However, 1 had small flags
sewn to bamboo poles sunk in the
snow, as protection.
Il thought I was being pretty much
Of a fool in taking so many pre-
cautions against accident or Illness"
Admiral Byrd said, but the time came
in June when could thank my lucky
stars for having taken them.
Digs Third Escape.
For example, there was the posi-
bility that drift and snow accumulat-
ing above the trapdoor of my shack
might close my only exit. After every
blow or SNOWFALL, ! Shoveled the area
clear.
Il read the books I've always wanted
to read and heard music I had never
had time to enjoy. You may think
of it as the most restricted existence
in the world Yet the months Of April
and May will always remain in my
mind as the freest have ever known
Out there at the advance base i
was utterly beyond the urgencies and
transient crises of everyday life. There
were no telephones, no traf1c noises,
no creditors, no importuning friends,
no formal dinners, no stock market
reports, no economic crisis, no de-
featiSts, no bores, no stiff collars. 1t
was great
The only urgency, the only con-
tact with anything approaching civili-
Zation was the radio. Three times
week was in touch by radio with
Little America and received reports
of expedition affairs and, occasionally,
news of the outside world. You would
be surprised how swiftly even the most
dramatic piece Of world news lost its
significance and became stale and
meaningless"
But even during this period, when
conditions seemed ideal. the circum-
stances that brought about the crisis
in June were mobiliztng. Admiral
Byrd'S only stove was an ordinary
wood and coal stove which had been
remodeled so as to burn kerosene.
Here at Little America the stove orig
inally intended for Admiral Byrd's
shack had been discarded as the fumes
thrown off by it had made several men
quite Ill.
We supposed that this fault had
been remedied in Admiral Byrd's stove,
but apparently it was not. Without
noticing it at first, Admiral Byrd was
gradually being poisoned by the fumes
from the stove. His eyes commenced
to smart and puzzling aches and pains
developed in his body. He had split
ing headaches, seemingly without rea-
son. And suddenly he became aware
that. in spite of all his hard physical
exercise, his strength was diminishing.
Poisoned by Fumes.
About this time he was seriously
poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes
from the small gas generator powering
his radio set.
THAT affair nearly fioored me-" he
said, on his return. THE poison set
tied into my body and I was all but
helpless. The first two weeks in June
were really hell. I didn't think had
chance"
The poison caused him intense pain.
The fumes from the stove increased
his suffering, but heat was necessary
to keep him alive. When he cut down
on the stove, the cold sapped his
strength.
His stomach, he said, was horribly
upset and the thought of food was
abhorrent to him Still, he drove
himself to eat, mouthful at a time.
Sometimes the food was half frozen.
so Below Zero.
All this went on in the middle Of
the Antarctic's Winter night. When
the cold most bitter, he registered a
minimum temperature of 80 degrees
below zero, the lowest on record in the
Antarctic. In his shack the tempera-
ture was as low as 80 below zero dur
ing the night.
BY conserving his strength, Ad-
miral Byrd managed to hold radio
contacts with Little America. This
was a frightful drain. In order to
start the engine he had to thaw it
out near the stove and then, because
of the dangerous fumes, drag it into
the tunnel.
When pin in the magnetic drive
shaft was sheared off in the engine,
Admiral Byrd had to fall back upon
the hand-cranked emergency trail set,
cranking with one hand and keying
his transmitter with the other. He
came to dread the radio schedules.
Condition Improves.
Then, to his great surprise, instead
Of sinking lower, he noticed a slow
improvement in his condition toward
the end of June. Little by little his
strength flowed back and he stub-
bornly defended and maintained every
bit that he recovered. When he had
more strength he was able to take
more care with his food and broad
ened his diet. During this period,
without giving our camp the slightest
Indication of his distress, he managed
to clear several messages to dietetic
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