5i6 



N'ATURE 



[January g, 19 13 



ing to find a way from the surface of the Barrier 

 to^ the summit of the plateau on the meridian 

 along which the route was directed, lightening 

 loads by depositing sufficient supplies for the 

 return journey to the next depot to the north at 

 intervals of a degree of latitude. 



Thanks to the careful choice of his companions, 

 his dogs and his stores, Amundsen succeeded 

 without a hitch. He took great risks, but the 

 skill and preparedness of himself and his com- 

 panions reduced these risks to a minimum. On 

 the whole, the weather favoured him ; but that 

 was largely because he was able to distinguish 

 the nearly invisible line between perseverance and 

 stubbornness and to return to winter quarters 

 after his first start on the great journey to the 



mountain range about i6o miles south-east of the 

 Beardmore Glacier, which served as Sir Ernest 

 Shackleton's stairway, and the long journey 

 across the lofty snow surface of the plateau until 

 the immediate neighbourhood of the pole was 

 reached. The telling of them reveals the point 

 of view of the explorers, which differs somewhat 

 from that often taken by persons of other natfon- 

 alities, displaying an indifference to physical 

 comfort and a resistance to fatigue that appear 

 remarkable, while at the same time there is a 

 general levity of spirits which, unless one reads 

 between the lines, might mask the unshakable 

 determination which drove the united party of 

 five straight to their goal. Unfortunately, no 

 precise data as to the health conditions are avail- 



south when the severity of the weather Ijegan to 

 tell on the dogs. 



What distinguishes this expedition from all 

 other polar sledging journeys is the fact that there 

 was never a lack of provisions, not even of fresh 

 meat, for no less than sixty tons of seal carcases 

 had been prepared, and three tons of provisions 

 carried to the depots at 80°, 81°, and 82°, the 

 last being one-third of the way to the pole. 



The incidents were only those familiar in 

 Antarctic travel, the avoidance of crevasses on the 

 Barrier, not only near the land, but in one or 

 two places where the vast block of ice seems to 

 iiave yielded locally to stresses of unknown origin, 

 the negotiation of the Devil's Glacier, by which 

 the ascent of the plateau was made through the 

 NO. 2254, VOL. 90] 



able, as the expedition did not include a medical 

 man. As regards clothing, the system of woollen 

 underclothing and wind-proof outer garments 

 introduced by Captain Scott vfas used only for 

 moderate temperatures. In extreme cold Captain 

 Amundsen's party fell back on fur clothing. They 

 introduced a new form of tent more quickly erected 

 and more proof against the weather than that 

 hitherto used, and of a particularly dark colour 

 to reduce the glare of light which interferes with 

 sleep in the unending sunshine of the polar day. 



The scientific results, with the exception of those 

 on oceanography, are of trivial importance, but 

 they yield some scraps of new information an3 

 help to confirm the important facts discovered by 

 Captain Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton and others. 



