FIRST CROSSING OF ANTARCTICA— ELLSWORTH 3I5 



return of better conditions. So this time we took no meteorologist on 

 our base staff, feeling that it is impossible to forecast in the Antarctic. 



Next day the machine was refueled and the engine tuned up again 

 by the mechanics. The weather promised to remain clear, and 

 HolUck-Kenyon and I were called at 02.00 on the 23d. (All dates and 

 times are Greenwich Civil Time.) We ate a hearty breakfast and then 

 dressed in heavy clothing, with snowshoes. We purposely made slow 

 time walking the 5 miles to the plane, because we did not wish to get 

 our clothing damp with perspiration before taking off. After 2 hours 

 we reached the place where the Polar Star lay ready for flight. As 

 Kenyon busied himself with last adjustments I had only one thought: 

 "This time we must make it." 



Wlien we took off to the south at 08.04 on November 23, the weather 

 was clear, the temperature —3° C, and the sea a turquoise blue 

 which gave a marvelous reflection on the mountains. By 08.30, as 

 we flew along the coast of Ross Island, we had climed to 6,400 feet 

 and the temperature had dropped to — 10° C. Weddell Sea was quite 

 open for the first 300 miles — unusual in the Antarctic springtime. 

 For 600 miles we flew along the eastern coast of the Antarctic Archi- 

 pelago, until we came to the frozen channel which we identified as 

 Stefansson Strait. It appears to be not more than 3 miles wide, 

 much narrower than is shown on the map of the American Geo- 

 graphical Society, and we coifld not see far enough to determine 

 whether it actually connected the Weddell and Bellingshausen Seas, 

 or was merely a deep fjord, though we had risen to more than 13,000 

 feet. 



So long as we had landmarks for checking the plane's ground speed 

 and position, we made careful notes of dead reckoning, and found 

 that our ground speed was lower than expected, but was 120 miles 

 per hour or more. By 09.30 we noted that there was some wind 

 and later that we were drifted too far to the east, and our course 

 was altered to allow for this. 



The low, black, conical peaks of Cape Eielson rose conspicuously on 

 our left, and with keen curiosity we gazed ahead at the great mountain 

 range to be crossed. Bold and rugged peaks, bare of snow, rose 

 almost sheer to some 12,000 feet above sea level. Impressed with 

 the thought of eternity and our insignificance, I named the new moun- 

 tains the Eternity Range, and the three most prominent peaks on 

 our right Faith, Hope, and Charity, because we had to have faith, 

 and we hoped for charity in the midst of cold hospitality. They were 

 in striking contrast with the flat low peaks of the Antarctic Archi- 

 pelago which we had followed south, peaks which dwindled into low 

 isolated nunataks as we neared Stefansson Strait. The range which 

 we were now crossing was loosely formed, with none of the crowded 

 topography of peaks and glacier-filled valleys with crevassed bottoms. 



