Evening star., 1938-12-15
Fire al Sea Brings
Ellsworth Expedition
Close 10 Disaster
Wing Of PIone Damaged
As Flames Menace
Gasoline Supplies
BY LINCOLN ELLSWORTH,

BY LINCOLN ELLSWORTH,
Leader, 4th Ellsworth Antarctic Expedition.
By Radio to The Star.
ABOARD MOTORSHIP WYATT
EARP, Dec. Is (N.AN.A0.-Our ship
has broken clear from the tightly
pressed heavy belt of pack ice that
had held us fast for seven days.
After threading our way through
a mass of grotesquely formed, old,
overturned icebergs and loosely
strewn heavy foes, We are now 70
miles south of Tuesdays position
and within $50 miles of the nearest
known edge of the solid Antarctic
barrier. Our position is latitude 66
South, longitude II East.
Before us to the South, the pack
is closing and I doubt that we will
proceed much further without an
other hold-up while the wind and
currents open up the ice.
During the last week, the pack
about us, though heavy and tightly
pressed, has been melting fast. Thick,
hummocky foes, ranging from to
IS feet in thickness, thinned down
noticeably by partly melting under
water and by evaporation and melt
ing on the surface.
We were not the only ones troubled
by the ice, for many whales at inter-
walls came up nose first in the little
pool of water at the stern of the
Wyatt carp and puffed and sucked
in breath noisily several times before
diving down again to seek another
small opening in whatever direction
they cared to take. But mushy ice
filled most of the small spaces be-
tween the heavier foes, and their
crumbling edges permitted the force
of the wind to fit them close to-
gether.
1t was these crumbling edges that,
on several occasions, were our SAL
vation, for, by drifting slightly faster
than the pack, which in turn drifted
faster than the bergs, we were borne
down against the icebergs and had
to fight our way with engines at full
speed, foot by foot, to one side or the
other of the towering masses of ice
1t was during one of these forced
movings that we suffered an acci-
dent that might have led to grave
disaster. A hot spark from the en-
gine room funnel fell upon the fab
ric wing of the little Aeronca sea-
plane, and, in a few seconds. a roar
OF flame spread over the wing top.
Fortunately, the fire was noticed
Immediately by Capt. Johansen and
Second Officer Norseth and Pilot
Lymburner, luckily on the forward
deck at the time, rushed for the fire
extinguishers and soon had the
flames under control.
Speed Repair Work.
Before the fire was extinguished,
a large hole was burned in the wing
covering. However the machine is
not beyond repair and the men ex-
pect to have it in flying condition
within the next few days.
But for the smartness of the men,
the fire would soon have taken full
control and, what with the 5000
gallons of gasoline on the wooden
decks of the Wyatt carp, our con-
dition would have been precarious
indeed.
1t is as yet too early to Judge the
condition of the ice at the edge of
the continent, but, taking into con-
sideration the fact that we met the
pack ice in latitude SIS. some $50
nautical miles north of where we
are today, and not having seen an
extensive area of open water since
first meeting the pack, we can safely
say that it is an extraordinarily bad
season for ice in this section of the
South. This does not necessarily
mean that the mean temperature
this season is much lower than
normal, and, in fact, it seems from
the accumulated evidence of several
years that the Antarctic conditions
are getting warmer.
However, the condition of the ice
we have passed indicates that, some
time early last winter. 1t broke clear
from the edge of the continent,
drifted north and hummocked
badly. The intervening spaces then
filled with new ice and so extended
the belt of pack ice 200 miles or so