THE NIMROD.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2460, 26 March 1909, Page 5

THE NIMROD.

ARRIVAL AT LYTTELTQH / A HEARTY RECEPTION. ALL THE EXPLORERS WJSLL; (Press Association.) CHRISCHURCH, March' 25. The Nimrod vta-s delayed ov contrary and was not sign-ailed till 3.45 jp.uu A considerable nturiber of people -went to Lyttelton by arain, and the •Harbor Board’s tug uanterbury took v>ut members of the Beard and' officials with the intention of giving a formal welcome to the gallant explorers. On the tug were M.P.’s, civic authorities, Bishop at feast 20 members-of the press, many friends, of both sexes, of the "Nimrod’s people, and Dr. !Upharn, Port Health, Officer, who was to formally give ,the vessel a clean hill of health. One other small steanver also went out full «f people. The Nimrod -was met at the Heads and greeted with cheers. Lieutenant Sliackleton, radiant with the success of his- dash for the Pole, which only failed by 97 miles, was heartily greeted, and with his men cheered in return. There were 'loud calls for Professor David, who was described as “below- at his toilette,” hut presently lie appeared anti received a warm greeting. The Nimrod looked in excellent order, and showed mo sign of hard usage. The' tug drew nearer, and everyone who could scrambled on board, hot waiting for what it was understood, would merely be a perfunctory passing by the Health Officer, who was overboard in the rush. The ship was soon swampeu with cheery talkative visitors, who were shaking everybody, and especially ‘ Lieutenant Sliackleton, by the hand. All attempts at the formal ceremony ori"inally designed went by the board. Just about dusk the Antarctic ship iwas quickly berthed at a wharf crowded by people. On the way the s.s. Malieno pased her and fired 'a bomb, which was the signal for more cheering. The return of the explorers was a •scene of quiet .and pleasurable heartiness without hysteria. Everyone on board seemed in splendid condition and the ’best ©f spirits, all pleased and proud. There had not been a single casualty -except that Sir Philip Bricklehuiot is .minus a big toe fr<y& frostbite. „ Professor David lelt for Sydney by -the Maheno. SHiACKLETON’S DASH FOR THE POLE. THE LIEUTENANT’S NARRATIVE. (Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, March 25. The following supplementary narrative was specially supplied to the Press Association by Lieutenant Shaekleton: AYe started from Cape Royds, and on tlio 3rd November from Hut Point. We had previously laid out at Hut Point by man-sledging and the motor car the main bulk of our -equipment, consisting of provisions for 91 days. Those provisions were pemnnean, biscuits, cheese, chocolate, plasm on, and small bottles of emergency oxo*. We had also four- sledges, four ponies, two tents, and four one-man sleeping bags. The. tents were made of light AVillesden duck, and the whole, including poles, etc., weighed only 301bs. The seldges were lift sledges, each sledge weighing COlbs equipped .with straps and boxes for carrying oil and instruments.. The instruments were theodolite, prismatic compasses, cameras, thermometers, and boiling point thermometers. The food of the four ponies was maize and a ration called Alauje’s ration, a dried ration consisting of carrots, currants, sugar, plasmon, and meat. We would have started before the 3rd November from Hut Point but that one of the ponies went lame when crossing the sea ice towards the Point. • We started then from Hut Point on the 3rd November, with a supporting party provisioned for 14 days. They were to go nine days with us, and return in five days, but, owing to the soft snow and a clays’ blizzard, I sent them back on the 7th November. We were then in a maze of crevasses, about thirty miles south of Hut Point. Mr. Joyce, who had been on the Discovery, was in charge of the supporting party. A NARROW ESCAPE. When the supporting party left, the weather cleared for half-an-hour, and we were under way when one of the ponies (which was being led by Mr. Adams) suddenly got on to a hidden crack and went down to its middle with him in the soft enow. Hearing Mr. Adams’ wild “whoas,” those going astern with the other sledge saw the danger and pulled the sledge along, enabling Adams to haul his pony out just where the crack opened into an apparently bottomless cavern. Another, three or four feet and we should have lost Adams, the pony, and half of our provisions. We were going then on an apparentlylevel plain, full of crevasses radiating in all directions. When the weather cleared we were able to sec where these wore. We camped there for a day. . In pitching camp the ponies have first to be tethered out, and for that purpose there is a wire made fast on to one sledge, then another sledge is brought up about 25ft away, and the wire stretched between these two, sledges. The ponies are tethered by the heels to the wire. The reason for this if. that if we had an ordinary tether they would bite through it and cat the ropes. These Manchurians prefer buckles and leather and'each other’s tails in preference to good ordinary food. Qtian, my pony, was particularly keen on these dainties. Having got the ponies tethered, they are brushed down and the horse cloths put on, and then they are fed. They get ten pounds of food per day, and' if they finish mat and seem to want more we always gave them a bit more. We then pitch our own tents. Each tent has five bamboo poles, three poles put to windward and two for the door, and all made fast at the top. Then the tent is hauled the top like a bell tent, only with five poles. With a shovel we dig snow and put it on the snow cloth around the bottom of the tent, this keeping the t«nt from blowing away m a blizzard, The harder it blows the more drift gets round, and the more secure the tent. THE ADVENTURERS’ (FARE. Then come the meals. The cook ioi the week would spread .the c.oth inside the tent, light a “Primus,” and the cooker (made of aluminium) was passer in to him. -Then the food bag,.and gen .orally in half-an-hour the meql va readv. We made what, we willec “hoosh,” that was made with pemmi can emergency ration, and- poudried biscuits; and.each man got a pannik'r full. A pannikin would ho,cl about pint. Then tea was made. V c put tea with tho snow m a strainer, and ) h«) Tt boiled we, served with sugar. . -ug a is one of the fitanle things, i to befit irudn o ’,-.and all rfur food is cal SI ~("*! tv "Sk MsrsMh according to m-,;.- / ' Y • ' .. • - ,.L.i —:

’its foocl value, find lieat-giving properifties. Tho’: ration when-we started waa 320 z of food a day. We all got‘into one tent for the meal—the cooking tent; and it was the best tent to be in in cold weather. The meal over,the men belonging to the other tent filled tlio cooker again with snow and, if there was any water, over that helped to melt the snow and save a certain amount oi oil by the time the next cooking was required. The sleeping hags were spread, and tho men got inside them, clothes and all. I never toek off my clothes for 126 days. While we had the ponies we inarched nine hours a day, from about S a.in. to 6 pan., allowing one hour for luncli. It was. always 8 or 8.30 p.ni. before we got into bed, and we got up at twenty minutes to 5 in the morning- It' was daylight, of course, all the while. The weatner being so cold, it- took us all this time to get dressed, the meal cooked, and ponies ready tor -another day’s start. We had breakfast a-t 6 a.nr., consisting of ‘hoosh,” biscuit, and tea.; luncli at 1 p.m. consisting Of chocolate or cheese biscuit, and tea; dinner at 7, consisting of “hoosli,” biscuit, and cocoa. "over the SNOWFIELDS—a WEARY WAY. i During tins period we were going over snow, with mud furrows, tor -about - 15 davs. 1 'We started in the morning, each man leading a pony, taking turns everv hour to break tiie trail, that is, the ‘horse in front had the roughest time and -the following horses stepped in the tracks of the front horse. Every hour we had a five minutes’ spell. JLne work was hard, both on man and horse, especially after the first fifteen days, because the Horses -were sinking right up to their middles in tlie soft enoivWe were not working iu our snowshoes, but we wore finneskoes, that is, fur boats made of the skin of-the reindeer with the fur outside. AYe sank, into tlm snow some times well above our ankles, and the. horses, of course, . sank in much deeper, they were drag-o-innr so much weight. It was monotonous work trayelißng. Ihe m cn would travel about 12 or lo feet apait for fear of accidents with the sledges or ponies. discovering the mountains. Iu answer to further questions Lieutenant Shaekleton explained that, the •journey did not become particularly interesting, until they began to sight new land. That was done about t-lic 22nd November. Then he saw new . mountains stretching away to the. south bevond Mount Longstaft. We were separated from these, ho said, by - a broad expanse of plain. AVe had different depots. One depot ‘ A had been laid out previously, and we reached that on the 15th November, some days before we sighted tlie mountains. The depot was ia mere spot oil the great white plain. Tlie next- depot was made in latitude Sldeg. 4min. south. That was to pick up on the way back. It was S 8 miles from depot “A.” Then we shot the first pony, cut him up, and made a depot of oil, biscuit, and pony meat. We took on about oOlbs of pony meat to eke out our provisions, he saw at depot “A” that to do any big journey, owing to the surface of the snow being so bad. we must reduce our daily ration of regular food, and we supplemented half, a ration of ordinary food with the horse meat'. We started using the- horse meat -about Novembei 23rcL We were using up for the ponies 401bs of food -per day, and when one was shot the man who had been leading put on his harness and helped to pull the extra load given to another pony. The sledge that had been emptied was made into a depot, marked, and placed end up in the snow with a bamboo rod and black flag •attacnod. Oil November 21st we had sighted the new mountains, and were still moving due south. On November 28th we shot another pony. . “Did vou shoot them simply for food?” asked the reporter. No, not altogether. We were getting short of food for .the ponies, and it was, therefore, necessary to decrease the number of ponies in order that the others might be kept on full rations. We always made a point of keeping the ponies on full rations, so that they never needed the whip. The ironies wore doing splendid work. We treated them as well as possible. The third pony was shot on November 23icl. Jiy this" time the mountains had turned to the south-east, and as our course was due south we decided to take advantage of any gap to ascend inland. From November ‘22nd to November 30th nothing particular occurred, excepting that' we had very thick weather and the snow was getting softer all the time. We made a reconnoitre up the mountain, about 3000 ft high, leaving the tent and the last pony _ in camp. From the top of the mountain we. saw an apparently smooth glacier using with a gentle grade to what was. apparently inland ice or a plateau. We at once decided to go. up the glacier. We called, the mountain Mount Hope, and the entrance between twm mountains the Southern Gateway. Ihe lastpony we took with ns. OVER THE GREAT GLACIER. We started on the sth December to go up the glacier. Our general direction now was between south-west and sou-souwest ; and at once we saw we were not going to have such an easy time of it. because, the /apparently smooth glacier was simply honey-comb-ed with crevasses. We, managed to .cet footing on the rocks on the otli and 6th. Of course we could not draw the sledges over the rocks, as that would tear the wooden runners. On the 6th we had to unload the sledges and relay them with a little equipment, I one'at a time, and on that day we, wore all'day doing 600 yards. That was the «lr>Wt travelling. Up to then, we had boon doing 12 to 15 statute, miles per dav. ' On the.. 7th, .one. section of the party, three men, went ahead with a Sledge whilst Mr. Wild/ leading the pony, followed .in our wake with, the other* sledge, we looking out for cre- ‘ vasses arid altering our course to avoid | them. . The object was to get a perfectly safe course. A STARTLING EXPERIENCE. Suddenly we heard' -a shout, during the afternoon,, from Wild, and on stop- • pin and looking found we saw the sledge tilted and Wild with his arms and .shoulders on-the edge of a crevasse. He was. sunk to. the shoulder rbdit on the edge of the crevasse and keeping’ no by the arms, and no pbny was to be' seen. We at once went to hi« assistance; and found that.the.pony had stepped on-the snow lid-of a hidden crevasse and gone straight down an enormous chasm, snapping tho swingle-tree and thus saving both Will and tho sledge. There was no sound to bo heard down below. .Wild said-all he lelt was a sudden rush o, wind and then it was- all over.. ACROSS THE GREAT. PLATEAU, i Prom this time onwards/ continued Lieutenant Sliackleton in . answer to further questions, wo were crossing crevasses the whole time. The under-run-; hers of the sledges suffered severely by. the "sharp, ice tearina; the wood'. Now, n sledge to ti avol well "on a TSfimv siu’- < ” J| '' L'-"' f ' J- -v * ■ •*, - - j •' . . ; • a-.' ;/' ' : /•

face such as we had eventually on the plateau, ought to Ije absolutely smooth: because the friction is so great. Jitimately we had only one whole runnel, land that was worn on our fest sledge, the runner on the other side haying worn away almost from the middle. The pulling then became very arduous. We reached 6000 feet tip (altitude) on the glaciers about the 19th December, and there we thought we could sec the plateau level ahead of us, so we deputed” everything except the food to carry us on, the necessary instruments for finding our position, and the clothes avo stood up in. We left our warm clothes behind, which, as it turned out, Avas unfortunate, for the plateau level Avas not reached until avc had ascended to a freight of 10,500 feet above .sea level. From 9000 feet upwards we had a- constant blizzard wind from the sea dead in 'Our faces. Avitli 56 degrees of temper-attire beloAV zero. Sometimes we had '6O degrees of frost. The clothes we were wearing consisted of two .pans • of socks of jaeger pyjama trousers (avc avo re these because they clicl not eJiaie go much),' a singlet, a shirt, and a guernsey, and our oA'eralls. The Avhoe outfit Aveighed 91bs to lOlbs. By the time we had reduced our daily rations of food to 20 ounces per man per day, and in this climate, Avith the temperature and winds prevailing, combined with the high altitudes, it Avas not sufficient to keep the necessary heat m our bodies. All this time we were sightincr mountains. Mr. Adams was taking,'many times daily, meteorological 'observations. ' AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY—COAL. It Avas in latitude 85.5 - south that Afr Wild discovered, on going up a mountain to look at a plateau, distinct seams of coal. This was a most in tty.-est-ing. discovery, as showing tout Hie Antarctic regions once had a very different climate. ~ . Dr. Marshall; avlio had charge of the surveying, had a very cold job at every camp. He was taking the tlieodilite. and putting, in a great deal ol time on this ivork. He also took all the photographs on this journey. On January 4th. aa : c decided to risk leaving a depot on the plateau. We had no land then to take bearings by. and had to trust to Providence to • find our depot, with the help of guiding poles.' These AA'e made by all liands -using one tent and dividing the tent poles of the second tent for posts. On these poles avc put flags made from the provision bags. Thus lightened avc pushed rapidly south till on January 7th avc had reached latitude 88.5 south. The constant blizzard from the soutli-GOifth-east developed into one of: extreme violence. The Avind traA r elled at 70 miles.-per hour. The temperature AA'as down to 72 degrees of frost. This continued 60 hours, and many times we had to take our feet out of the sleeping bags to have them restored to feeling, after being frost-bitten. We Avere very cramped in the little tent, the four of us being in a tent made for the accommodation of three. AT FARTHEST SOUTH—HOISTING THE UNION JACK. By this time our food was getting A-ery low. and when the blizzard was over we realised that- it would be impossible for us to continue sledging further south, both from lack of food and our diminished strength. Our body temperature shoAved only 93 degrees. Therefore Ave decided to leave th ecamp and make a forced march to the south, taking food with, us, and in 88.23 we hoisted the' Union Jack Avhielr Her Majesty the Queen had given us in England before leaving.