Evening Star Newspaper, October 6, 1929, Page 11

BYRD PREPARES FOR TR SOUTH Depots for Food and Supplies Being Placed at Reg- ular Distances. BY RUSSELL OWEN. By Radio to The Star and the New York | Times LITTLE AMERICA.—A line of sledges, | lost in the immensity of the snow plain | which lies about them, moves on slowly | to the south over the Ross Ice Barrier, The sky Is overcast, the light diffused 0 that drivers cannot see the inequali- tles of the surface over which they stumble. It is hard to tell whether, the traveling is up hill or down—the senses | are confused. The men are wrapped in an impenetrable mantle, an opaque at- mosphere, where sky and snow blend | and are one. | On_either side may lie a crevasse | concealed under a thin bridge of snow opening from a steep precipice of blue ice down which men and dogs might slide and be forever lost. The men and even th: sledges are roped together to guard them if one should disappear be- neath the thin surface. Runners creak and crunch, the cries of drivers and the snlr of whips break the silence. ‘Wind stings and burns the faces of the men, wrapped in their windproof clothes | and hoods; a thin drift scurries over the surface. Behind them lie warmth and the companionship of their fellows. They have waved good-by to it for many weary days, Their lives will be days of constant’ and dangerous movement, of crouching together in a tent eating something called hoosh out of tin cups, denying their appetites, drawing tneir belts a little tighter. The weeks ars a long procession of cold and wearines: but every man smiles and every man | looks forward. The mysterious and the what they came to this forsaken land | for. They are finally on the trail they know exist but have never been ! explored. One Group Prepares for the Next. In this way will the dog-team parties | of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition work their way south from Little America to these mountains through which Amund- sen made his way to the Pole, but about which he brought back little detailed information. The supporting party wil! leave the base first about the middle of October and go half way to the mountains, where it will cache a large | sul?ply of food to be picked up by the | following geological party. The second group will start a few days after thc first and follow the trail to the half- way mark at 81 degrees 45 minutes | south latitude, whence it will Jay out a new trail to the mountains and spend some time in surveying and in collect- | ing geological specimens. For this | southern dog-team journey is primarily scientific. It is to bring back geological data from one of the least known and most important geological formations on the continent. The functions of both parties are im- portant. Both face the dangers of crev- asses and of straying from the trail in | storms which quickly hide the Barrier in & smother of drifting snow. With- out the supporting party the depots to | the half-way mark could not be put down. This party relieves the geologi- | cal party of the necessity of carrying loads that would weaken the dogs and probably result in cutting short, their scientific work. Depot laying is abso- lutely necessary in Antarctica. A sledge party must work from depot to depot. | depositing food on the way, picking it/ up on the returp, and making a trail that can be fol ed with ‘Some safety through the dangerous region of crev- | asses and through weather conditions in | | ress WHERE GEOLOGICAL OPERATIONS WILL BE CONDUCTED BY BYRD PARTY /I KINGEDWARD V11 LA Map showing the Ross ice barrier and the southern sledging trail of the earry on geological work in the mountains surrounding the Polar plateau. graphic Society. THE SUNDAY STAR. WASHINGTO 7. APPEARANCE OF: REPORTED By AMU) MARIE BYR Do = LAND MT.TERROR .- ot 7, ) LI A LTI g RERUS e MCMURDO - SOUND s> . Byrd Antarctic expedition, along which food depots will “e laid for the party that will The trail has been named for Gilbert H. Grosvenor, president of the National Geo- D. C, OCTOBER 6, 1929 PART Y. toward the Axel Heiberg Glacier. But with a three-day interval between one depot and the next, there will be at least four snow beacons erected be- miles out is reached, su| be piled neatly on the snt surface and a of snow blocks erected around and over them to protect them not only from dogs that might break loose, #s occasion- ally happens, but also from the heat of the sun. It is sometimes warm work traveling on the Barrier when | there is a zc-iwur sun, no wind, and men strip to their underwear. The next day, however, they may be muf- | fled to the eyes against a biting wind i in a' temperature many degrees below zer0. | fering from heat on the first part of the southward trip. i Peril of Hidden Crevasses. i, . th:\)ul’ deptfllwe will beuelubn:{uduin o 1 way be the supporting party; the VICTO first of them, laid down last year, will AXEL NF!EF,RG GLACIER - DEVILS GLACIER . SOUTH POLE Jam: be made somewhat larger. The last, being on the southern side of a hilly crevassed region, is in the worst part of the entire southern journey. The men will pick their way through 'this, carefully lashed together by ropes. Sledges and men may fo through snow bridges over some of the concealed crevasses, even though open ones may be avoided in clear weather. When a | sledge breaks through a snow bridge the dogs can often cling to the sur- face. Men then run up with Alpine ropes, sling them around the sledge, and pull it out. A gaping hole shows what might have been the fate of whatever fell through there, a hole gleaming blue and white at the top and going down into depths of im- penetrable darkness. On his trip south Amundsen went through this region in bad weather and by good fortune avoided a seri- ous accident. But on his return he saw it with all its treacherous holes e of the mountains—a base suitable not‘ Amundsen found himself in this areator left, steam rising from them as only for their own purposes, adjacent| and only extricated himself with the |strain at their work. Every half mile the navigator of t found that a way around it to the east | party will plant an orange flag faste , and so the trall made | to a lhll} piece of bamhoo to mark the te. It to the most important points of ge logical attack, but also one which may be used as an emergency airplane base for Comdr. Byrd on his surveying flight to the South Pole and over the country to the east of the Barrier, an absolute unknown region. And there is also a | could be reach: to be followed this year, | ro swings eastward as the party leaves the | orange color can be seen a long way | edge of the Barrier, leaving this trap, | under f It | thick weather will stand out where unknown are ahead of them; this is | possibility that an airplane may lay| can easily be seen in good weather, but other objects are completely hidden. The navigator will also check the greatest skill and good luck. But he last year, as Amundsen called it, to the wes down supplies for aerial work from this | when the sky is overcast and it is im- | far inlan continuing exploration work. an airplane flight to the eastward, a| they were flight which might show whether there | standing will help them to avoid it this an automobile. is & connection between the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea, and also penetrate far into the vast tableland believed to exist to the east. could hardly be s°- lected, although it may not be used if the same objectives can be attained by a flight from Little America. Much depends on the weather. It changes 5o frequently over the 800-mile stretch be- veen Little America and the Pole, cause of varying altitudes and the ram part of mountains, that plans cannat be definitely made until the day of taking off. And, even then they may have to be changed while the flight is in prog- But Comdr. Byrd has attempted to arrange a plan which permits him to meet successfully every possible condi- tion, and an airplane base at the moun- tains will probably be an integral part of these plans. Avoiding a Trap. The trail for the first 200 miles will be the same for both sledging parties. The supporting party, consisting of three dog teams, each hauling two dou- e-ended_sleds, will swing down Ver- Sur-Mer Inlet and turn south on the bay ice, picking its way through the heavy pressure ridges and great up- heavals, around Framheim, Amund- sen's old base, which have been forced up this Winter—tricky driving for heav- ily loaded sledges, for there is constant danger that they will turn over on the uneven bay ice. Then they approach the rise to the Barrier, and the trail goes up over several deep crevasses, which were crossed last year. A scr. ple and tugging. at which-the men help the dogs, and ths top of tha Barrier is reached. Ahead of them stretches the | point, supplies which can be | possible to distinguish objects a few | and keep track of the distance which leads them to mountains which |used in case of a forced landing or for feet away, as so frequently happens on by means of a sledge meter—a round ) | the Barrier, a sledge party might wan- | wheel running on the snow behind a A better point from which to start| der into it' before they realized where | sledge which ticks off the distance on a The line of flags already | dial much like the mileage indicator of | route, by the way, will lie a little to | in safety. It is a subject to which he the east of Amundsen’s, although it | has given much attention in order to| time. The Sledging Routine. Let us see what thess sledge parties | look like. A man on ski or on foot, who | in all the new or dangerous pacts of the route may travel on foot with & rope | tied to him and fastened to one of those | following, will go ahead leading the way. | ‘Thc deiails of how the leader is to | travel and where he is to travel with re- | | lation to the rest of the party will be | dictated by conditions and may be | changed. It will be the business of the leader in ordinary going to watch for crevasses and to keep a straight course, guided by the shouts of the navigator | | watching his compass, and to act as a | | leader for the dogs, which travel | | straighter when some one goes ahead | of them. 4 Behind him will come the dog teams, their drivers running beside them on skis, with which they have been prac- | ticing ever since they got here. ~Th sledges are low and curved at each end | and fastened together in pairs to dis- tribute the weight. The loads are packed in rectangular eanvas containers | | called tanks, which are in turn lashed | securely to the sledges. These tanks | make it easier to pack food neatly, and to keep out snow, and things are less | | likely to fall off and be lost. If a rled | _turns over, as it frequently does, it can be righted with its load in place. There may be one or two tanks on a sledge, | depending-on their size and the size and | shape of the sledge. { | Around the base the dogs romp and | and bridges, its yawning chasms large enough to swallow the whole party, and although the sledges were light’ he approached the area with caution. He tells how he his companions went across it as quickly as possible on their knees, sliding softly, treading like cats, lest they dis- lodge a bridge of snow that would precipitate them to the bottom. But it must be crossed by both of our parties. Knowing that it is there is half the battle, and Comdr. Byrd has assured himself that with the equip- ment at their disposal and with care rties can cross any crevassed area | & snow beacon will be erected and a | flag” placed on top of it. It is est mated that it will take about three days to travel between each depot on the outward journey, an interval which allows a wide margin of time, for if good weather prevails the teams will be able to go much faster than this. But certain amount of time must be allowed for resting in tests 3¢ | during blizzards when it is too danger- led | ous or impracticable to keep on the trall, either because of the gmxlmity of crevasses, or the possibility of| straying from the straight route. The | the p they has been found that this vorable conditions and even in is practically the same—a straight line | safeguard the lives of his me: ‘They £ halt at noon and at night Announcing Certainly there will be no suf- | 11 R ., have Alpine ropes of the finest quality. soft as silk and strong enough to hold more than they will be called upon to support. These ropes can be at- tached to strong life belts of canvas and rawhide or of rope fastened about the man, and the men will be fastened together. Poles Carried for Safety. They will have bamb“oo poles thn! in very dangerous situations may be carried under the arm, and eve: went_through while holding such a pole, light s it is, he would be held in safety until pulled out. The loads are divided on tandem sledges £o0 as to spread them over as much surface as possible, and the sleds are long, giving the maximum supporting area obtain- able in an easy-running sledge. So it should be always possible, with care in choosing & path, to get across these dangerous areas in safety, even though one’s herves may be occasionally shaken by a sudden drop into nothing- ness. The supporting party will mark the ebest route through the crevasses, which will be a great help to the geo- logical party following them. Some miles beyond this broken and distorted region the supporting party will bulld its last depot, plant a large flag on it and then turn back reluc- tantly, for every man of them would like to go on. It will be hard to get half way to these majestic mountains without being able to see them. The geological party of five dog teams and 10 sledges will pick up at the half-way mark a large part of the supplies left there by the supporting party, and with these and what they themselves will carry depots will be established on the rest of the way south. Snow beacons also will be erected at night and at the noonday rest periods. The barrier beyond the crevassed region is comparatively safe, although there is alwavs the possibility of the surface giving way. A short dis- tance beyond the half-way depot the first of the great mountains of the Queen Maud range will begin to lift their heads from the southern plain, a | guide and an incentive to travel. The Mountain Excursions. As the party nears the mountains | |the surface again becomes slightly broken and is. forced up in great undulations, some of them so broad and deep that the bottom of the mountains are lost to view. It is like riding over a series of gigantic snow waves or like the rolling prairies of the Middle West. There are crevasses on the sides of these waves, crevasses | which become more frequent as one | nears the land. It is on the edge of this area, where the undulations are suffi- ciently wide and smooth so that an air- Timely Event if alis plane can land safely, that the furt] d’ the base of the polm‘}rlf depot anc party will be placed. From there excursions will be made into the surrounding mountains to Mount Nansen -and the juncture of Carmen Land the Queen Maud Range. Trips will be made to obtain geological specimens such as rocks and fossils. There some evidence may be cbtained of what has taken place in this paft of Antarciica, of which so little known geologically, and there may be found the secret of the formation of the barrier itself—if it should hap- pen that it was caused by a great fault which let the entire barrier “asin fail 80 that the sea came in and was frozen over and the snow built up during thousands of years to form a slowly moving plateua of ice. ‘This region holds all sorts of secrets for the geologist, and is the main rea- son for this southern sledge journey, for such detailed work can only be done on land by means of sledges. It will be difficult and dangerous work also, for the sun warms the snow cling to the rocks of the mountains, ages old, and slips downward in crashing avalanches, Amundsen saw and heard such ava- lanches all about him as he worked his way through the mountains up to the ’Pola.r Plateau. Fortunately, Dr. Lau- |rence E. M. Gould, who will lead the | geological party, has had a good deal of experience in mountain climbing, and it will be invaluable during this work, On' the return sledge trip the geo- logical party, if it has time, will turn off the route at Depot Pive (62 degrees, 35 minutes south) and turn northeast toward Amundsen's ‘“appearance of {land,” making a big circle to that land and out again to the main trail at Depot Three. Dr. Gould wants to reach the ‘appearance of land” noted and the two peaks which Amundsen reports in his story of the South Pole journey, and determine if they are a continuation of Carmen Land. as Amundsen thought Geologically, this point is of great importance, as it will throw much light on the question of whether there is a connection between the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea. Also other interesting geological data may be dis- covered. It will be a difficult part of the fjourney, as Amundsen reported see- ing heavily crevassed areas toward the “appearance of lan and there may Mot be time to cross them. (Copyright. 1920, bv the New York Times Co. and the St Louis Post-Dispatch rights for publication throughout the world.) The Mexican government is support- ing a plan to bring into production the extensive sugar cane fields in the State of Morelos, which were abandoned dur- ing the Zapatista revolution. Teserved. LOW TERMS Arranged Weekly or Monthly CASH ALLOWANCES—for your old worn-out Furniture, Rugs, Day Beds, Bedding, Tables, Chairs, Lamps —in fact, anything that you think is useless or of no value. ANNUAL OCTOBER Which a compass made cccentric by its | undulating surface. sometimes treach- | jump eagerly in their harnesses while proximity to the magnetic pole may play all sorts of tricks. Airplane May Lay Further Depots. There are three depot-laying jobs to be done on the Barrier this Spring. The first will be that of the supporting | party, which will leave depots about 50 | miles apart and mark the trail as far u" they go. The geological party will con- | tinue the trail and lay depots from! there and estab) at the foot HOURS, §:45%10 6 | erously smooth, over which a line of | flags will mark th> way to the base 44 | miles farther south, which was put | down last year and will be the first depot of eight on the way to the moun; tains. It is here that one of the most dan- gerous parts of th» route must be avoid- ed. It is a network of crevass®s running in every direction, indicating a violent breaking up of the Barrier by pressure nrobably by contact with land. Twice DULIN & MARTIN waiting to gst off in the morning, bnt | on the trail they settle down and wait | for the word of command and then plod steadily ahead in a half trot, pulling stonishing loads. It is probable that | »ach team will pull about half a ton on the trail th's year during the first part of the trip. Coming back, of course, | they will be much lighter. The best | trained team goes ahead and the others follow in the path that is made, pad- dng ahead with hardly a look to right PHONE NAT'L 1298 W aterless Cooking Demonstration Skillet with self-basting cover Medium sixe, No. §......$2.60 Size N6 9 ... . 3.00 Size N Size No. 9 cover.. 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