Evening Star Newspaper, June 21, 1925, Page 67

ILLUSTRATED FEATURES MAGAZINE SECTION Part 5—8 Pages WASHINGTON, D. C, The Sunthy Stad FICTION AND HUMOR SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 21, 1925. uge “Blind Spot” of North to Be Explored by MacMillan OT since the days when lure of Cathay and India explorers to search for Northwest Passage has L been keen in rth as this Summer expeditions already are in and the MacMillan Arctic under the au of e ieographic Society, with the Tn! States Navy welghed anchor at W et, vesterday, beginning one of the ambitious’ and unusual voyages attempted When MacMilla and Byrd fly under the midnight sun to regions which the eye of man never yet be held; when the radio flashes back al- most immediately tthe news of their discove nd when camera men ap pictures natural color of the gorgeous flowers, fish and birds of the frozen North, a new era in Arctic explorat will have begun Th prospect of discovering land Alaska and the North Pole may be continental in size ruins of ¢ d the we National Me. ni between which L ds and fishes may sibility vet of the 7 cMillan seeks > e used L which news Bnd the effort al Society made to transmit so that “listeners \ porches may hear 1 tell of the expedi and an Eskimo vil ing his curious, plain will_ be voice indings entertain tive chant, stran The paper which news- | a day-to-day co-operation’ of boy om coast-to-coast a thou arded as that of the e foot ball t in on the short 40 meters, A hook- John Reinartz, erst- | of a silk mill in Con rs on : ry to t and up devised by while employe cut co-operating, | One of the Expedition. hree U.S.Navy loening amphibiaw planes that wail be taken ot the MacMillan-National Geographic Society himself, whose name is will be the sendir engaged by E. 1d, president | of the National A n of Broad caste and of the Zenith Radio Cor: poration of Chicago, who has ge: ch the radio arrang a code ¢ gid as the Hippocr of physicians, these amateurs are bound to relay messages and deliver them to the address given When the amateurs first lotted the low wuave le were discon ted, but =o includi; irtz, believe overcome tha handicap. Reinartz, working by day, experimented by night, and got down to 40, then to 20, | the two bands he will in his send ing But in his experimenting he has reached much lower than that—as low as one meter—and now he has been | granted a license by the Department of (‘ommerce to iment with waves from three-quarters of a meter downward. At first a handicap, the short wave len h turned out a boon for Aretic exploration, because it requires com- paratively light appa and every pound counts in the F T More. over, it will t el tremendous di: tances (Washington ama E getting New Zealand) and it cuts through vlight. The MacMillan ex pedition will work in 24 hours of da) light Vocal sending w same wave length: —and broadcasting stations in the TUnited tes will tep up” thi: transmi on to the wave lengths as signed to their stations The two ships that put out from the rock-bound harbor of Wisc: Me., yesterday are the Bowdoin the Pear The Bowdoin already had her baptism of fire, or rather ice, for | MacMiHan twice has taken her north. She will be the radio station V > (Wireless North Pole) when she gets to Etal The Peary is a converted | mine sweeper, built by the French | government in war time, and she was christened recently in New York in honor of the discoverer of the North Pole, under whom MacMillan served in the expedition which reached the pole in 1909. The chr place in ceremony Stafford, set bu or. He was | ity has tu were al- hs, th of them, 1 they could use expe: ¢ill be done on the 20 20 and 40 meters tening of the Peary New York with a memorabie when Mrs. Marie Peary daughter of Admir: broke a tle of Ea from her father's Ma Peary's bow, and venor, president of graphic Society, presented Comm MacMillan with a National Geogr Society flag, similar to the one Peary carried along with the & and Stripes to the Pole, to be flown on the Peary. In tribute to the Navy's part in the expedition, naval planes flew over the ship during the exer: cises Every since Peary's time MacMillan has been engaged in Arctic work. He is an authority on Eskimo customs and he will make such further study of their life and language this Sum- mer as his brief stay permits. One of five orphans, MacMillan's boyhood was spent in the vicinity of Bowdoin College, later his own alma mater, where Peary had been a stu- dent. 'There he acquired the lure for the frozen North—a dream he nu: tured for nearly 20 vears until he v summoned one day while teac! school to go with Pe: * I his vears of waiting MacMillan | had steeped himself in the lore of | the North, and when his chance came | he developed the stamina men m have who would endure the which have defied human conguest centuries. In appearance and ma he is le, not gru kindly rather than abrupt. and has a gift of expre sion that led one reporter to commen “Why. he talks in headline One day he was asked what pre sion he intended to take on over marches from Etah or Cape Hubk which will be the airplane base of the expeditio A reply. | Living on land, however, he added, is feasible enough while there is land. took for ige a ' was his terse But when one gets out over the ice of | the Polar Sea, he explained, there is little animal life. The flyers will take for emergency rations compact por- tions of food that are condensed to a point where a tablespoonful is a meal. Like Peary, his former commander, MacMillan believes that an expedi- tion’s real work is largely due in prep- arations for every emergency. He and Commander Byrd have worked out an | arrangement by which two planes al- ways will fly together and two men will fly in each plane. In case of acci- dent to one plane the second plane will take one of the flyers back home from the disabled companion plane; the third plane, waiting at the airplane | of | communic oonaLp 8 MACMILLAN . Litlle flagship of the MacMitlaw - National Geoqraphicd Socie of Refiuge Hatbor April 6 1924-. As further protection, a rubber boat will be taken along in one of the fly- ing planes, so that a water carrier may be available in case of forced landin; Portable wireless sets, with a send- ing range of 00 miles or more, will be a part of the standard equipment ach plane, and as an additional scaution carrier pigeons will be ken along. As a triple assurance of tion from planes to the flving base, the wireless sending equipment will bhe of two kinds—a spark set. which operates from a dy- namo during flight, and a battery set, which will operate. if necessa the ground or ice after a forced land- ing. “Beaches will serve as flying fiel said Commander MacMillan. though the planes are amphibians, w cannot always expect to take off from the water because of the hazard of striking ice. Often cakes as large a room will be practically the color of the water. A plane going at 70 miles an hour, crashing into an ice cake, would smash itself badly. Smooth beaches are available at Etah. “All the gasoline for the thirsty planes will have to be ‘tumped’ to them on strong backs, and it is out of the question to drag it up the cliffs, although interior Greenland and Ellesmere Island offer admirable land- ing facilities in their ice caps. Axel Heiberg Island, however, is sprinkled with jagged peaks and small glaciers which do not invite a landing. In the ‘leads’ or open stretches of wa- ter between the ice, the wheels can be drawn up and the boat body em- base, will iy out and rescue the other man. ploved in landing.” of the BOWDOIN, o and the Nav«g\ a g POWDOIN,, stuyrdy-- Arelic Expediliow, frozen fast in {he ice) chartw? {he course 1irplape AH-MOW-NODDY, Type of Eskimo found by MacMillaw. Avctic Arctic Explorer’s Party Under Auspices of Geographic Society Will Use Airplanes in Its Work and Will Talk With People | | of This Country by Radio as the Expedition Makes Progress—Pictures to Be Made in Natural Colors of Gorgeous Flowers, Fish and Birds—Norse Ruins to Be Visited and New Peoples May Be Discovered—"Arctic Money ™ to Be Employed as Ordi- nary Currency Is of Very Little Use in That Region. | s ! PEARY \“POLE # \,é. 1909 ~BEAFORT " SEA £, o ) HUDSON BAY Eegwn to be ex- plored by the/ MacMillan -Naiionsl Geographic Socieuj Arctic expedition this summer. Dotted line end i1g at the Pole 1n- cdisates Peary's course in 1909 Other clotted line from Siberia to Finland shows the course of the Fram. Hude polar.bear, the Tiger of the, norlly, eld at bay by Eskima Aogs until hunders.caw overiake and shootr 1. @ Macsriiaw. mander MacMillan is the universal transportation system of the wilder ness. It is the way of Africa as well as the way of the Arctic, and is the easiest way for man to carry a heavy load. A “tumpline” is a broad, stanch band that can be fastened to two sides of the pack. Fitting the “tumpline” over the front of the head, the bur- den bearer walks along with the weight riding on his shoulders and his neck. It does not encourage the enjoyment of the scenery on new ho- rizons, because a man’s head must be bent forward, but it is efficient. * ok ok * TRANGEST of all sights, perhaps, will be a gasoline service station within 12 degrees of the Pole. -Gaso- line for the motors can be brought ashore by boat, but it will have to be “tumped” to the site selected for the depot or service station. Special sack:J with a “tumpline” attached are now The-“fumping’~-mentionedshy-Coms being. designed. A _standard gasoling can will slide into them. At Axel Heiberg Island gasoline supplies will be obtained by a new method. The planes themselves will carry the pre- cious fluid 350 miles from Etah and cache it at the new base or service depot—a sight indeed for the north- ern lights! A continual fight against time will be waged by all members of the ex- pedition, from the leader to the new- est recruit of the crew. Every moment must be made to count in Arctic work, for the period of mild temperature is limited. By the last of September the sudden Arctic Win- ter will be almost ready to break, and the ships will have to scurry back or be caught in the ice. While the exploration of the North's huge “blind spot” is the major geo- graphical purpose of the expedition, other scientific information of high potential value will be sought. . Most of the world's great food. ¥ fisheries, an increasing source of humanity's food supply, are found where the cold Arctic waters merge with the warmer currents flowing north from the Troples. F experts have a theory that the basis of the food of fishes, plankton, originates in Arctic waters. Moreover there are many kinds of fish, especially salmon and trout, that explorers have known fied or studied. Therefore an ich- thyologist will be taken along. Dr. Walter N. Koelz, recently of the University of Michigan, widely known as a fish expert, particularly for his studies of the whitefish and related forms in the Great Lakes region, will be in charge of the fish investigations. Lieut. Benjamin H. Riggs of the United States Coast and Geodetic Sur- vey, has been assigned by the chief L(:: that bureau, Col. E. Lester Jones, .do«he-geological and topographical about, but which have not been classi- | DO Left to right = John Oliver LaGoree, vice-presiclent, National Geographic Socikt Donald B MacMillan, Dr. Gilbe ) President ofihe National GeoqrapkiuSoCie{a‘ LS RS HA LSRR HE HE NOY | | | | | v Grosvenoy; g s Lieut.Commander R.E Byrd, in-ch the Nav National yg}eogfap dontingent of the MacMillon. ic¢ Arctic Expedition, “shooting the suw!with the Bysd.s extandb. arde of - work for the expedition. He will also take meteorological observations which will be of value in indicating future stations for weather forecast- ing wo nd also In mapping air- plane ¢ cross the top of the earth for quicker communication be- | |tween the Old World and the New. | Lieut. Riggs has done important topo- | graphical work in Alaska and also in | the Philippin > Valleys in the frozen north in Sum mer time are veritable flower gar- | dens; and the only way to portray the | natural colors of Arctic fish to the | civilized world is by natural color | photography The tional Geo- graphic Society will send two pho- tographers, Maynard Owen Williams and Jacob J. Gayer. the latter an ex- pert color photographer, to bring back photographs in natural color of the fishes and flowers and animals of the Far North. They also will take color pictures of physical features, notably of the aurora borealis and the famed “red snow” which explorers tell about, a phenomenon due to the profuse {growth of a tiny plant. Another photographic opportunity is among the Eskimo belles, whose costumes, in some tribes, are as colorful as those of the Cambodian dancing girls. Mapping cameras and motion pic- ture cameras which will be operated from the airplanes will add to the most complete photographic record yet made by an Arctic expedition . The photographic activities account for soms ” necessary supplies that seem unusual for a Far Northern | trip—electric fans, used in drying | plates: necklaces and ribbons, artfully designed to make Bskimo maidens more willing to pose. .k % ok ONF. important equipment item con- | sists of 20 metal tubes of a spe. cial alloy, to contain records. strong | enough to withstand the crunching| jaws of ice and buoyant enough to float an almost indefinite time. An | interesting problem of oceanography is the flow of the current out of the | unknown area over which the Navy planes will fly, and the fiyers will drop these tubes from planes into | water at different points on their | flight, to be picked up a vear, perhaps | two, three, or more vears hence, with | the record of their original position. | Each tube has cut deep upon it, “The | MacMillan Arctic Expedition, 1925, Under the Auspices of the ional Geographic Society,” and inside are instructions for forwarding it to the society’s headquarters in Washington. The use of these especially made tubes will eliminate the makeshift record containers—shaving tubes and bottles and tin cans—used in former times. One pair of trousers, those from the wreckage of the Jeannette, was found after drifting practically | across the Pole! Very little actual money will be| taken by members of the party, for money is of no value in the Arctic They will provide themselves liberally with “Arctic money,”- however—cer- Ito | wore undershirt. |in | win | MacMillan | weathex conditions in the Arc | in | their | This | grade) M tain sure-fire tradi has been found nev the Eskimo and to comm ices. Tobacco will head of t , for a y mo will w: miles worl hours for a good smoke knives, knitted caps and needles are other the people of the F the valt Zoods of all are woolen Before the coj northern most underc ing of the t skins patched next to the weare ments are "he next step after Wiscasset will Sydney, Nova Scotia, where t Peary The Bowdo does poon fuel for is to do it prepared the will Mely Ba The is baneful e of arrival mak ships and Cape Island for tk airer center of roughly ed to Axel Heiberg the 3 It is hoped fuel tar one found the the planes This will be the f an airplane base fiden JHAT may and may not the the ¢ expedition. To lem, the leaders equation that ru ke this: One lons of gaso equals 100 be carried on flights will be rething m to 30 5 150 mil on constituting the of the load. If not of equipment were taken could carry 1,880 pounds lons of gasoline, a supply to keep the unequipped their otherwise empty ne air for a little over hours. In still air this would permit a_continu- ous flight of about 1,250 miles, or a trip 625 miles straight away from the base and return There are several vital tions that scale down 625 miles. The planes the radio equipmen food rations, sleepi and a collapsible rubber boa there must be a stove and fuel The aggregate weight of this neces- sary equipment may be plac pounds. and its inclusion in the load will reduce the gasoline that can be carried to 271 ns, and the over- all cruising radius to 1,075 miles in still air. But this is not yet the minimum figure. It would fool- hardy to drive ahead for 537 miles until half the fuel was consuined, and then to count on getting back to Axel Heiberg Island. A margin of safety must be allowed: 450 miles from base, or approximately 41z hours’ fiving will probably be the limit set on a conservative basis The explorers hope that even the 450-mile flight will be unnecessary. If land is encountered at a distance of 300 miles or less from the Axel Hei berg base, the procedure will be greatly simplified. A new base will be established at the edge of such land and the planes will make several round trips, depositing each time all the gasoline thev can spare at the new advanced base. No difficulty is expected in obtain ing safe and comfortable fiving tem peratures, according to Commander In a four-vear study of c, Sum mer temperatures as high as plus 40 and 60 and one of plus 62 have been recorded within the Arctic Circle. The expedition’s leader states that he does not expect to find the mercury as low as plus 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and never at zero. Variations in the daily temperatures of more than a few de- grees are not likely during times when average weather conditions prevail The constant daylight also keeps the mercury constant S men considera- this ideal of m rry concentrated bags, a tent, And TWO thinge an experienced Arctic explorer is unwilling to be with- out—a rifle and the essential of all Arctic_cooking, a Primus stove. In case of accident. and even on premedi dated sledge trips, it is necessary to live on the land.” All sorts of Arctic animals are utilized for food—caribou, musk oxen, wolves, polar bears, foxes, ha etc. Civilized cooking—in fact, most any kind of cooking—would be impossibia the Arctic without the Primus stove. a Swedish invention upon which Arctic explorers have placed dependence for many years little device is not unlike a plumber’s blow torch. Tt burns kero. sene, which is spraved by air pressura maintained by a small hand pump at ached to the fuel reservoir. In Arc- tic winter, in a temperature 60 de grees below zero and with ice in his kettle instead of water, Commander MacMillan has made a gallon of hot tea on a_ Primus stove in 20 minutes. Qut of Etah direct will be made flights over Ellesmere Island and its giant peninsula, Grant Land MacMillan himself will command the Bowdoin, which will have aboard | the scientific men and also the prin cipal wireless apparatus for communi- cating with this country. Ralph Rob- inson of Merrimac, Mass., will be his chief assistant. In command of the Peary, which will carry the planes and the Navy personnel, will be Capt. George F. Steele of Roxbury, Mass. The Navy personnel, under the com mand of Lieut. Commander Byrd, has been selected as follows: Lieut. (junior A. Schur, pilot: Chief Boats wain Earl E. Reber, pilot; Aviation Pi lot Andrew C. Nold: Aviation Chief Machinist’s Mate Nels P. Sorensen: Aviation Pilot Floyd Bennett: Machin ist's Mate, first class, Charles F Rocheville, and Chief Aerographer Al- bert Francis. ?