© UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOODROALD AMUNDSENRoald AmundsenFIVEToaccomplish that which for three centuries had been unsuccessfully attempted would satisfy most people. But not a man like Roald Amundsen, descendant of Vikings. To discover the Northwest Passage, long sought by Hudson, Cabot, Frobisher, Franklin, and other adventure-loving explorers, and to locate the exact position of the North Magnetic Pole, where the north end of the compass needle points, was not enough for this intrepid Norwegian. And so he set out for the South Pole—and reached it.It was on March 8, 1912, that the entire world was electrified by the cablegram from Hobart, Tasmania, announcing the fact that, sometime between December 14 and 17, 1911, Captain Roald Amundsen had reached the South Pole. With four men and eighteen dogs from his ship, the Fram, Captain Amundsen crossed the great ice barrier and reached the southernmost point of the world in fifty-five days. According to the most accurate indication of his instruments, he was at the South Pole at three o’clock on the afternoon of December 14. On the vast plateau, 10,500 feet above the sea level, which the explorer named King Haakon Land, Amundsen unfurled the Norwegian flag.Amundsen left Buenos Aires in South America late in 1910. It was in October, 1911, that the real “dash†for the South Pole began. Amundsen and four companions, with eighteen dogs, started southward. Shackleton’s “farthest south,†a point 111 miles from the Pole, was passed on December 8, six days before his goal was reached. Compared with the sufferings that other explorers have undergone, Amundsen’s party had a comparatively easy time.Captain Amundsen’s whole career has been characterized by that unconquerable courage, perseverance, and patience which the fierce sea rovers of old had. Born at Borje, Norway, in 1872, he was educated for the naval service of Norway-Sweden, and became a second lieutenant. He was a born sailor. At the age of twenty-five he sailed with the Belgica expedition to the Antarctic. He was first officer of this ship, which in 1897–99 explored the region west of Graham Land. In 1901 he made observations on the East Greenland Current which were considered very valuable.It was after this that he decided to give the rest of his life if necessary to discovering the Northwest Passage. He sailed from Christiania, Norway, on June 17, 1903. After three years’ wanderings through ice, rocks, and unknown lands he finally brought his little vessel, the Gjoa, through Bering Strait, thus being the first one to navigate the Northwest Passage. It was during this voyage that he also located the North Magnetic Pole.Amundsen is considered one of the most daring and skilful of polar explorers; but he is very modest about his own great achievements.
© UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOODROALD AMUNDSEN
© UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOODROALD AMUNDSEN
© UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD
ROALD AMUNDSEN
Toaccomplish that which for three centuries had been unsuccessfully attempted would satisfy most people. But not a man like Roald Amundsen, descendant of Vikings. To discover the Northwest Passage, long sought by Hudson, Cabot, Frobisher, Franklin, and other adventure-loving explorers, and to locate the exact position of the North Magnetic Pole, where the north end of the compass needle points, was not enough for this intrepid Norwegian. And so he set out for the South Pole—and reached it.
It was on March 8, 1912, that the entire world was electrified by the cablegram from Hobart, Tasmania, announcing the fact that, sometime between December 14 and 17, 1911, Captain Roald Amundsen had reached the South Pole. With four men and eighteen dogs from his ship, the Fram, Captain Amundsen crossed the great ice barrier and reached the southernmost point of the world in fifty-five days. According to the most accurate indication of his instruments, he was at the South Pole at three o’clock on the afternoon of December 14. On the vast plateau, 10,500 feet above the sea level, which the explorer named King Haakon Land, Amundsen unfurled the Norwegian flag.
Amundsen left Buenos Aires in South America late in 1910. It was in October, 1911, that the real “dash†for the South Pole began. Amundsen and four companions, with eighteen dogs, started southward. Shackleton’s “farthest south,†a point 111 miles from the Pole, was passed on December 8, six days before his goal was reached. Compared with the sufferings that other explorers have undergone, Amundsen’s party had a comparatively easy time.
Captain Amundsen’s whole career has been characterized by that unconquerable courage, perseverance, and patience which the fierce sea rovers of old had. Born at Borje, Norway, in 1872, he was educated for the naval service of Norway-Sweden, and became a second lieutenant. He was a born sailor. At the age of twenty-five he sailed with the Belgica expedition to the Antarctic. He was first officer of this ship, which in 1897–99 explored the region west of Graham Land. In 1901 he made observations on the East Greenland Current which were considered very valuable.
It was after this that he decided to give the rest of his life if necessary to discovering the Northwest Passage. He sailed from Christiania, Norway, on June 17, 1903. After three years’ wanderings through ice, rocks, and unknown lands he finally brought his little vessel, the Gjoa, through Bering Strait, thus being the first one to navigate the Northwest Passage. It was during this voyage that he also located the North Magnetic Pole.
Amundsen is considered one of the most daring and skilful of polar explorers; but he is very modest about his own great achievements.