Evening Star Newspaper, March 21, 1929, Page 28

BYRDARDETELS OF POLAR PERLS Letter to Navy Pressroom Describes Sidelights of Expedition. The rescue of a Washingtonian, Henry Harrison, a Weather Bureau meterologist, in & snow and ice slide “somewhere near the South Pole” is described in a letter to the Navy De- partment pressroom by Charles Kessler, former Marine Corps orderly there, who now is with the Byrd Antarctic Expe- dition, aboard the S. S. Eleanor Bolling. Many interesting sidelights on the expe- dition and life in “Little America” are contained in the Kessler letter, written on February 16 of this year from Dune- din, New Zealand, and received late yes- terday. Kessler, who used to live at 40 Foxhall yoad here, is a veteran of the Byrd Arctic Expedition, also. He made such a hit with Comdr. Richard E. Byrd, U. §. N., retired, the skipper of the North and South polar expeditions, on the trip towards the North Pole trat Kessler was engaged to form part o. the Antarctic expedition. The letter from Kessler, giving an in- sight into the details of exploration work and the wild life that roams the icy ‘wastes, follows: “A few sidelights on our recent trip to the “Barrier” might prove interesting. “Our good friends in New Zealand were wagging their heads when we shoved off and many said we were slated for a ‘watery grave.' General Cargo Shipped. “In all fairness to them, we must admit that our ship looked anything but seaworthy. Our cargo was per- haps the most general one ever shipped. It consisted of everything from tooth- picks to sirplanes. In weight we were not greatly overloaded, but greatly 80 in bulk. Tremendous crates con- taining the planes had to be carried on deck, and this called for a super-job i Every passageway was completely filled with gas drums and acetylene tanks. You had to do the juggling act when moving fore and aft. That was not all, our crgo con- sisted of everything imagin p was out. “All this weight proved mighty handy later on. Things Slip in Heavy Sea. “Things went well for the first few and then we ran into heavy lashings and the situa- but pleasant with We did all that t. “Having beaien the City so mercifully in the race to Dunedin, they were anxious to get something !lld't:;md it. i : 7 A BETTER REFRIGERATOR HAS BEEN BUILT JCESNANC Is the result of over five years’ painstaking research and is able to utilize, successfully, the coldest refrigeration agent practical for domestic use. ‘mont - ments arranged to lun';gchmr Heating Systems Installed amd Reconditioned—Estimates Given Convenient Terms DOMESTIC SERVICE GCORPORATION 2706 Connecticut Avenue Potomac 2048 Williem H. Gottlieb, Mewager —————— Jleating Enpincers for more than 36 vears AL NN Easter Sunday is March 3lst. You'll need much. of the family apparel cleaned and made smart for the oo- D casion. i Be early—aveid dissp- pointment. This is our pesk ses- son—we can’t serve everybody in s few brief days. Make up your bundle now. Phone Lincoln 1810 CARMACK CLEANERS and DYERS 18th St. office, Col. 636. “Por that well-dressed fecling® | ice and unloading began necessarily was slow, because the gear had to be pulled or dragged back to safety, for fear the ice might carry away. miles of ice in three days. The jolting and scraping (now full ahead and then astern and so on) was very annoying through was’ any- “We ems from the ice at 74 south and, except for large bergs, we had open water from then on. “We were not many days in sighting barrier. the great ice “Only a couple of hours more and we were entering the Bay of Whales. The bay runs back about seven miles. Seek Place to Put Load. “Our first problem was to find a suit- | able place to discharge our cargo. “A place was found with a natural runway up to the barrier and we were soon pounding our way through the bay ice in order to get close enough. “We were soon moored fast to the in earnest. It “The center section of the Ford plane and other miscellaneous gear was on the ice when the ice started cracking in all directions. These cracks soon idened into crevasses and had one oc- curred directly under the wing section or some of the men working. it would have been costly to the expedition. This the plane especially bullt ‘or long ights. Dock Splits Into Bergs. THE EVENING free and eliminated the danger of in- dividual bergs capsizing. “There was quite an overhang to the barrier at this' point, and it was 15 feet higher than the ship's side. The average height is about 50 or 60 feet at the edge and increased to 90 or 100 feet | f toward the inland. We had just un- Igaded and hauled the fuselage of the ‘Mrd’ plane to comparative safety when the big slide came. All Fished Out Safely. “Two men were caught near the edge and came down with it; one, a Wash- ingtonian, named Henry Harrison, & meteorologist from the Weather Bureau, was lucky and grabbed a rope. Any- thing might have happened to him and he is all smiles today. The other chap. a technical sergeant of the Army by the name of ‘Roth,’ got his money's worth and the coldest bath of his life. He was fortunate in not getting crushed or drowned between the ship and the ice. Comdr. Byrd and two other fellows dived in to his aid and a bo: lowered and all were fished ol the worst for their experience. good rub-down and a change of clothing they were back on the job. “The falling ice nearly capsized our ship and were it not for the lines to the City of New York I believe she might have gone over. “The ice continued to cave in and the ships had to get away. We pulled well into the bay ice and discharged the remaining cargo onto the deck of the | ‘city.’ “The crevasses widened into small| canyons and a once splendid dock be- came a mass of individual bergs. Ta> lines from the ship were made fast i the barrier, and this saved the day. This | prevented the ice from drifting entirely two radio towers (50 and 60 feet) have “We immediately were under way for Dunedin to reload and return. The main base is about three miles inland and six miles from where we unloaded. “Several houses have been built and ® STAR, WASfIII\'GTON. D. C, THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1929. been completed. ‘The flying fleld is not @ problem like up north, and one can be found most any place. The barrier rolls slightly, but is remarkably smooth and resembles a great, white desert. There is a haze here at times, but no og. “The aviator's chief concern in this region is the wind. “Animal and bird life is limited— whale and seal in the mammal line and the ‘skua’ gull in the bird. “Seal is plentiful and we kill only enough for food. The fellows don't howl much for it, but the dogs do. “The ‘killer whale' makes his home Here and they can be seen in every direction, blowing and diving. Dunedin Called “Home.” “I shall never forget our trip coming home, as we call Dunedin. The peo- ple here are much on the American line and have been so hospitable during gl;l' stay_here that it really seems like me. tions we received we would have little time for anything else. “We were a week making the last 1,000 miles and it was the roughest I ever have experienced. Food could not be served on the table and sleeping was postponed. All hands were a little tired when we arrived. They are work- ing overtime in order to get loaded and get away. A ship should never be i{;uthe bay after March 1, and we must rry. “Hoping this finds you all well, T am, sincerely yours, “CHARLES KESSLER, “Byrd Antartic Expedition, “8. S. Eleanor Bolling.” . Lindsay, Calif.. high school pupils are building a monoplane in the school shop. MUNICIPAL PLANTS PAY TOWN'S BILLS Utilities Provide New Buildings for Community Out of Earnings. HOPE, Ark. (#).—Whenever this city | needs a new public building it gets it. No bond issues plague the city fathers, and no special taxes worry the people. If they need a new city hall, hosp! treasury and make the municipal power plant pay for it. Hope, a city of 8,000 population, be- lieves it set a record when it com- issuing bonds or changing its nor- mal tax rate. Part of the construction cost was paid in cash, but a balance of $67,000 was borrowed from local banks, the loan being underwritten by the municipal water and light plant. In 21 months the utility revenues paid off GEO. M. ARKE COMPANY, INC. 649-651 N.Y.Ave. 1523-25 75t N.W. Main 1348 Lumber ... Millwork | ital | f or park they simply go to the city ||l leted an $85,000 city hall in 1927 with- | § If we accepted all the invita- gu v L $51,000. The entire debt is expected to be litted this Summer. Nine Arkansas towns and cities - o ate their own water and light pllpne'r.s“ the two largest being at Jonesboro and | Hfin. maintain an association which furnishes legal and political ad- vice to the member cities. | The municipal power plant also pro- | vides the surrounding farm lands an| important industry. The boilers burn | wood, which is purchased daily from Hempstead Country citizens. About 19 cords are consumed daily. At an average price of $2.60 per cord | the city has returned to the farm $49.40 | every ‘which creats a farm pay roll | BROOKLAND HOMES Three and Four Bedrooms $8.975 Up 4122 Thirteenth Place N.E. Just South of Michigan Avenue Chen M Walkugeiord Builder and Owner 1010 Vermont Ave. N.W. Main 2000 of $18,031 llg:lr. 1t is estimated that since 1922 power $126,217 to local farmers, some of whom make a large part of their living from this one source. 4 Wedding Invitations dnd Y G'MOLIHCCJ'HMIS The same dignity and impress= iveness which surrounds the marriage ceremony should $2.40 to Fredericksburg Account EASTER HOLIDAY Tickets good going Friday, March 29th (beginning 12:01 p.m.), and all day Saturday and Sunday, March 30th and 31st. returning to leave destina- tions until midnight, Monday, April st. Richmond tickets good on Broad important an cvent. Those who are most particular in their demands, appreciate theindividuality and unques= tionable good taste of the WeddingStationery engraved by~ Street, Station trains only, except B Now. 71, 12, 87, 88. Not good_on REWAD trains to or from Main Street Sta. . Children half fare. No baggage ym&uu{_fl’dwm checked. RICHMOND FREDERICKSBURG & POTOMAC R. 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