Variations
For the exact “taking of the sun” the standard compass was equipped with a special finder, in the same way, as there were water-levels on the compasses. The compass was placed in the best position, where it would be as far away as possible from every object likely to influence it. Observations were taken on the 23rd and 29th of May, with the results respectively, 39° 5′ and 30° westerly variation. This is about 5° more variation than the chart allows. These observations proved to be of great use to us when we started the homeward flight. By calculating with these variations in arranging our starting course we found we had achieved an important measure.
I will now briefly give particulars of our further equipment.
Photographic materials and binoculars, etc., were given to us by Goerz, the cinematograph appartus was a gift from the “Hahn Aktiengesellschaft für Optik & Mechanik,” Berlin. The films and plates for the camera, also the cinema films, were given to us in generous numbers by the “Goerz Photochemische Werke,” Berlin. It is quite unnecessary to mention that all the things given to us by these firms were of first class material and everything functioned to our greatest satisfaction, giving excellent results in spite of the difficult conditions. Our snow glasses were a present from the firm, Optikus, Oslo, and were specially made for us. They could not have been better. When I count them as amongst the most important part of our outfit, I have good grounds for doing so. Any one wishing to choose glasses, and looking through the different types, will find that there is a tremendous difference between them both as regards suitability of color and other things.
There is a small detail which I should like to mention in this connection. Many flying-men will have gone through the same experience as I and realized how unpleasant it is to fly towards the sun when it is at a low altitude, for, blinded by the sharp light, it is difficult to see the instruments, and in many ways it causes a continuous strain. As a deterrent we had small aluminium screens, made in the same shape as the wind screen. These could be fixed as desired. At 10 P.M. on the northward journey the sun was so dazzling that I placed the screen in position, leaving it there until at 1 A.M. I began to look out for a landing place, when I pushed the screen back, feeling satisfied with its utility.
From the ski-factory, “Johansen and Nilsen A/S., Fin Schiander,” we received the present of the most beautiful skiing equipment that any one could wish for—skis with staves, and ski-sledges. On the old ice the snow lay so deep that without the skis we should have sunk in well over the knees. Had we to cross the water-lane to fetch provisions and petrol from N 24, we were forced in many places to cross new ice, which was in such bad condition that it would not have borne us unless we had worn skis. For transport we made use of the ski-sledges. The transport of the 200 kg. heavy petrol cans over the ice was, for the sledges, a hard test which they successfully passed. (It was with intention that we did not spare the sledges from the greatest strain during these transportations. We learned, therefore, by experience what we could safely expose them to, in the event of a possible march towards land, during which we would have to avoid all possible loss of time, caused by having suddenly to unstrap the sledges if we had to cross over icebergs.) Had the sledges been affected adversely by these tests, we had the means at hand for repairing them. It would have been much worse if they had failed us during the march. The sledges, moreover, were made with a wide surface so that the canvas boats could stand in an unfolded position, “all clear” to be put into the water-lane in the shortest possible time that necessity might demand. As the boats in this position had to be protected against jagged ice on the icebergs, we would have had to cut aluminium plates away from the flying boats’ bottoms before we left—using them as a protecting screen for the canvas boats.
The reins and harness were made by Rönne, designed in such a way that they could be placed both on the hips and on the shoulders.
We took for our cooking needs two kinds of stoves; namely, the Meta apparatus and the ordinary Primus. When I say ordinary Primus, it is not quite correct. It was really extraordinary so far as quality and utility go. The Meta apparatus, with plates, was a gift from the factory’s Norwegian representatives, the Brothers Klundbye, Oslo, in the same way as the Primus was a gift from the Christiania Glasmagasin, Oslo.
The Meta apparatus was used by us for cooking during the time when we were divided into two camps, but afterwards, when we were re-united (making six in all), we found it more convenient to use the Primus.
In the way of weapons each flying boat had one gun for big game, one shot-gun for fowl, and a Colt pistol. The last named we had taken in case of a chance visitor coming to the tent in the form of a polar bear; the pistol was also a lighter weapon to handle than a gun. We had seen on landing that there was animal life in this district, so the guard always carried a pistol on his nightly round. Polar bears are not quite such friendly creatures as people are inclined to believe, and so far north as we were they would most certainly be of an exceedingly hungry type. However, during the whole expedition we did not see a single one.
It was fortunate that we had taken pistols with us, for we found that all our heaviest things had to be jettisoned to lighten the load, and we came to the conclusion that if the worst came to the worst, after letting the heavy guns go, we at least had the pistols left.
We had two kinds of smoke bombs with us. A smaller kind for throwing out onto the snow immediately before landing to show us the direction of the wind. A larger type had been brought for the following purpose: We thought there might be a possibility of one machine having to make a forced landing and that the other might have to search for it while trying, at the same time, to find a suitable landing place. To aid the crews in finding each other these smoke bombs were really intended. As we had to economize in every gram of weight, we had to keep the weight of these bombs so small that they proved hardly big enough for our needs. We used a bomb the first day on board N 25 when we did not know where N 24 was. The wind, however, was so strong that the smoke lay in a long strip over the snow plains. Had the weather been calm we might have had a more helpful result.
People will no doubt say that we should have tested these bombs before leaving, and had they proved too light, we should have ordered others of the necessary weight. This was, in the first place, our intention, but the order we gave for new bombs was unproductive, and it was only owing to the great kindness of the firm, J. P. Eisfeld Silberhütte (who undertook in the course of a few days to make our bombs and deliver them to us), that we had them at all. I should have felt very uncomfortable if I had started on a flight of this kind without bombs to determine the exact direction of the wind in case we might have to make a forced landing in difficult circumstances.
There has been a lot of talk about the possibility of using aniline for marking the snow, and I should like to express an opinion on the question. We had discussed the possibility of being short of petrol during the return flight to Spitzbergen, and that we might have to land and take all the petrol into one machine and continue the journey with that one only. If the abandoned machine did not lie too far to the north, we would return later to fetch it. In order to make it easier to find it our intention was at certain distances from the machine to make a number of marks by throwing out quantities of aniline at certain spaces apart to mark the course of our continued flight to Spitzbergen. Last winter we made a number of experiments by throwing out large quantities of the powder at intervals from a flying machine, but got no satisfactory results. During our stay in Spitzbergen we experimented with marking the snow by scattering powder out by hand. The result of this test was that if the snow was damp or quite wet the effect was successful. If, on the contrary, there was frost and the snow was dry no sign remained to aid us. The aniline powder requires damp, therefore, before it can fulfill the purpose of marking a track. As we might expect to find these conditions further south in the Arctic Sea, and as we thought of the possibility of making such marks during the return journey, we took with us a small quantity of aniline. In connection with this we are indebted to the Badische Soda & Anilinfabrik for the interest which they and their firm’s representative, Erik Berrum (who gave us the idea), took in the experiment.
Our ice-anchors were made by the factory in Marina di Pisa according to Amundsen’s designs. We had at that time, however, no idea that these would be considered later to be our best tool for hacking the hard ice. As ice-anchors they were also particularly effective. It happened that during the worst of the drifting we had to fasten the flying-boat to hold it safe from the encroaching ice. When the ice edges were almost setting together it was not so difficult to hold the nose direct against the pressure. The trend, however, changed in the shortest space of time so that the one ice-border “set” in an angle directly frozen into the other, both pressing together sideways and overlapping like the teeth of a ruminating cow. This was where we found it difficult to raise the boat.
The footwear presented an important side of our rig-out. It might happen that we should have to make a march of many hundred kilometers back again. We were prepared to find that there would be deep mush on the ice, as it was the warmest time of summer, and we would often have to take off our skis for the purpose of clambering over the icebergs and ice-banks. Skiing boots were therefore needed, knee-high, with watertight legs. The long legs made the boots very heavy for anything but skiing, for which they proved they were admirably suited when we tried them in Spitzbergen. For ordinary wear, when we should be resting, in a district where skis would not be of use, each man had an extra pair of boots. We therefore took with us to Spitzbergen many different kinds of footwear, so that each man could choose those which he considered would suit him best. (If a man has had the opportunity of choosing his footwear, he will find them much easier to wear when on a long march and exposed to hardship.)
In order that we might have the opportunity to form an opinion of our own we obtained samples of every suitable type. In the accompanying photograph there is a complete row of the different kinds. From the left it will be seen that we had long-legged boots—skiing boots (fashioned like the Norwegian “lauparstövler”). These we could either choose or reject. The next in the row are a pair of long-legged kamikker, of which we had a considerable choice as also some with shorter legs. By the side of these, stand boots designed for flying and they are the kind which Roald Amundsen has described. Beside these you will see a pair of Laplander’s boots and a pair of Canadian lumber-man’s boots. In the foreground lie a pair of long rubber boots.
When I asked Ramm to take a photograph of this miscellaneous footgear which—“we required at Spitzbergen”—he, like the humorist he is, could not let such an opportunity pass without a joke, and therefore placed on the extreme right a pair of dancing shoes!
The result of the selection was that Amundsen, Omdal and Feucht chose Laplanders’ boots; the two latter because this type of boot was practical when they had to climb from the motor gondola to the tank compartment. Ellsworth and Dietrichson chose short-legged kamikker, whilst I took the long-legged rubber boots. As every one, during and after the flight, was particularly well pleased, and praised his own selection in loud tones, it goes without saying that the original purpose of individual selection was thus attained.
In accordance with the request of Rolls-Royce, we used Shell Aero-petrol, and Wakefield’s Castrol R. oil. We cannot speak too highly of both. The fact that N 25’s engine always started instantly on the many occasions when we had to free the flying boat from the clutch of the ice, without the use of naphtha, is a credit which Feucht and Rolls-Royce must share with the petrol.
I come now to our provisions. There are many people who do not know what pemmican is, so I shall tell them about it shortly here. Pemmican is not a bird, as several people have asked me, nor has it anything to do with a pelican. The preparation of it is as follows: Beef is dried in the lowest possible temperature in such a manner that it shall not lose its tastiness. It is then ground to powder. This powder is mixed with dried pulverized vegetables. The whole is mixed together in melted fat, filled into molds and allowed to set. That this is nutritious fare is shown by the fact that five kilograms of beef make only one kilogram of beef powder. Our pemmican was a gift from the Danish Wine and Conserves Factory. It was analyzed by Professor Torup and was found to be in excellent condition. By cooking it with water, the pemmican will make either soup or a kind of porridge, or something between the two like gruel. Eighty grams of pemmican per man made a most delicious cup of soup. In the ice regions pemmican tastes equally good in its uncooked state. The little extra ration of forty grams which we got during the last days for the evening meal we ate like bread with our cup of chocolate.
The Freia Chocolate Factory made our chocolate according to a special recipe and presented us with it. We were, however, unable to follow the factory’s directions, which, inscribed upon the packet, informed us that we should use 125 grams (one tablet) to half a liter of water. We used a third part of a tablet to 400 grams of water, and it seemed to us most excellent chocolate. As we later had to reduce our bread ration from five oatcakes, we balanced it by adding Molico dried milk to the chocolate (a gift from the Norwegian Milk Factories). Even now as I write I see again the scene which was enacted each morning. We came creeping out of our sleeping bags, tumbled to our places in the mess, then sat and shuddered in our clothes as though to dispel the cold, while we rubbed our hands together. The Primus stoves’ kindly glow was warm and pleasant; we bent nearer to them, anxiously looking into the chocolate pan to see if it would not soon begin to bubble and steam. Soon it would bubble up in the middle, and a delightful steam rising from the little pan, came streaming out into the tiny room and enveloped us. We closed the trap doors to keep the warmth in the mess. The three small breakfast biscuits were passed round to each man; the cups were filled and sent after them; six pairs of hands clasped themselves involuntarily round the six cups. (I can still feel the warmth circulating from my hands up into my arms.) Faces were bent over the cups to be warmed by the rising steam, while hungry mouths cautiously and gratefully drank in the chocolate, which heated the body as it glided downwards. After this we started to talk.
Many readers will be asking themselves the question, “Didn’t they take any coffee with them?” No, we had no coffee with us, and even if we had had it, it would not have been touched so long as any chocolate remained. We five “new-beginners in the ice,” were almost ready to say when we came back that we should never have anything but chocolate for breakfast. We did say it in fact, but Amundsen only smiled and reminded us that the moment we boarded the “Sjöliv,” on the evening of June 15th, it was difficult for us to wait until the coffee was poured into the cups.
The oatcakes were also specially made and supplied by Sætre Kjæksfabrik, Oslo. In addition to the specified biscuit ration we should have taken with us, Director Knutsen gave us a box of “Fru Clausen’s cakes” for each machine. How grateful we were later for these! Not only were the cakes delicious, but they helped us to continue our long and tedious work, and augmented our rations in such a way that we were provisioned for some time longer, thereby postponing the possible need of our setting off on a march to Greenland, which we should have had to do had we failed to start the machine.
In addition to this, Amundsen’s good friend, Mr. Horlick, had sent us to Spitzbergen a supply of Horlick’s malted milk (malted milk in tablet form). When we felt a little weak we took ten of these tablets per man per day. The intention was that we should take one at a time at equal intervals during the day’s course. I began by taking one as I crept into my sleeping bag in the evening. In a few days I had got so used to these tablets that I had to get out of my sleeping bag to fetch another one. This course became burdensome, so I placed the box beside me. Soon I found that I had to take five or six of them before I could stop. They tasted like good sweetmeats, and the next step was to take the box into my sleeping bag with me because I found it too tiresome to crawl halfway in and out every time I wanted to reach a tablet. The result was that I could sleep peacefully for the rest of the night. At that time if one of us was on guard all night, he got an extra ration of ten malted milk tablets, and could make a warm drink with them which we called “a cup of tea” because it looked like tea with milk in it and because it had a similar taste. We placed an incalculable value on these tablets and felt how greatly they strengthened us.
Our full ration list comprised the following:
| Per Man | |
| Pemmican 400 grams per day. For 30 days | 12.00 kg. |
| Chocolate 2 tablets each 125 grams | 7.50 „ |
| Oatcakes 125 grams per day (12 cakes) | 3.75 „ |
| Molico dried milk 100 grams per day | 3.00 „ |
| Malted milk 125 grams per day | 3.75 „ |
| In all per man for 30 days | 30.00 kg. |
The list of our additional equipment per man:
Rucksack, which held a change of underclothes (comprising woolen vests, drawers, pair of stockings, a pair of goat’s-hair socks). Matches in a waterproof bag. Automatic lighter. Housewife. A cup and a spoon. One can. Tobacco. Pipe. Diary. Telescope and all small personal belongings.
In footwear we had ski boots and a pair of boots of our own selection.
One pair of skis, two staves, one set of reins.
Every man should have a clasp knife.