Southold High School - Snuffbox Yearbook (Southold, NY)

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THE SNUFF BOX equipped with radio apparatus and all latest scientific devices. Two airplanes were also included in the equipment. Amundsen established a base on the island of Spitzbergen and attempted to fly over the North Pole. He was absent from his base about a month, during which time nothing was heard from him. He finally returned on June 19 and reported that he had been delayed by a breakdown of the plane when about one hundred and fifty miles from the Pole. Convinced that a dirigible would be more adapted for polar flights than an airplane, he completed negotiations with the Italian government for the use of the Norge,” an Italian built airship. Associated with him in this last venture were Lincoln Ellsworth of New York, Ruser-Larsen, his navigator, and Commander Nobile, a representative of the Italian government, who operated the ship. The flight began at Kings Bay, Spitzbergen, where the Norge” had landed after its trip from Italy. After about seventy-two hours of flying, the party reached Teller, Alaska, after having flown over the Pole. Unfortunately ill-feeling had crept in to disturb the harmony of his party. Amundsen and Nobile accused each other of trying to usurp the honor and glory of the flight. Eventually the Italian government and Mussolini became involved in the dispute and the matter was finally referred to the Norwegian Aero Club for settlement. The Club decided that Nobile should receive the credit. Amundsen retaliated by withdrawing from the Club as well as from other associations to which he had belonged and declared that this had been the last trip he would ever take. About two years later Nobile himself organized another expedition which was to be made on the Italian dirigible Italia.” The Italia” came to grief and was badly wrecked in the polar area. When word of the disaster reached civilization, rescue parties were organized. Amundsen, with his usual sportsman-like attitude, was among the first to volunteer. Mussolini officially refused Amundsen’s offer, but Amundsen, feeling that he was probably as familiar with Arctic conditions as anyone, organized a relief party of his own to set out in a French plane. Nothing has ever been heard of him or his crew since. Most of Nobile’s party were eventually rescued by a Russian ship, but after a diligent and thorough search, no trace of Amundsen was ever found. Amundsen was fifty-six years old when he set out to the rescue of Nobile. His record of exploration is one of the most noteworthy that has ever been achieved. The first to negotiate the Northwest Passage, discoverer of the South Pole, and the only man who has ever seen both Poles, his contribution to the sciences makes his place in history secure. T. L. B. ’29 16

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THE SNUFF BOX this expedition. Early in 1897 the party set sail and reached Graham Land, a point north of the Arctic Circle. Here their ship became frozen in the ice and they were imprisoned for thirteen months, after which they managed to cut a way through the ice and escape to clear water. As soon as he again reached Norway, Amundsen undertook to organize on his own responsibility an expedition to navigate the Northwest Passage, a feat which had baffled all explorers up to 1854. He chartered a ship, the Gjoa,” organized a group of companions, and left Oswald on June 16, 1903. About two years later, the Gjoa” successfully traversed the Northwest Passage. After making many observations and compiling data in the North Polar Region, Amundsen made plans for a voyage to the Pole itself. About this time news reached him that Commander Peary of the United States Navy had reached the Pole. Disappointed that he could not be the first to reach the North Pole, Amundsen resolved to attempt to reach the South Pole. Amundsen s real plans had been kept secret, people generally believing that he was to start on another Arctic expedition. It was not until after he left port that the real goal was disclosed. Three rivals were also in the race for the South Pole, among them being Captain Robert Scott of Nova Scotia, who almost succeeded in reaching the Pole before Amundsen. Amundsen used dogs on his expedition, while Scott relied upon Manchurian ponies, which did not prove to be hardy enough. Reaching the Bay of Whales in 1911, Amundsen spent about a year before he was ready to make the final dash for the South Pole. Taking four companions with him, he left his base in October 1911 and reached his goal about December of the same year. To make sure that he had reached the true pole, he drew around his camp a circle with a radius of twenty kilometers. Scott reached there only thirty days later. Already nearly exhausted from the trip, his disappointment was so great that he apparently lost heart on his return trip and finally perished before again reaching his base. After his return to Norway, Amundsen spent several years of comparatively quiet life, during which time he lectured and wrote books about his expeditions. Among these was a book entitled The South Pole. Not contented however to lead an inactive life, he planned another trip to the Arctic regions under the auspices of the Norwegian Government when the World War broke out necessitating a postponement of the trip until 1918. Convinced that the most expeditious way of overcoming the rigors of Arctic travel was by the use of airplanes, he took two planes with him on board the ship Maude,” which had been chartered for the trip. For two whole years no word was received from the expedition when a wireless message was received in 1920 with the information that Amundsen had been picked up at Cordova. Alaska. After this adventure Amundsen spent about two years making preparations for another trip in the Maude.” The ship had been 15

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THE SNUFF BOX BOULDER DAM Captain Hernando de Alarcon set forth upon the waters of the Gulf of California in 1540 in search of the Seven Cities of Cibola. He never found the Seven Cities, but in his course, he discovered a great river known today as the Colorado. This untamed river has been the natural enemy of man. The Colorado is an ever increasing flood menace and a notorious waster of its precious cargo of water, so desperately needed in the region through which it passes. In recent years the Federal Government has turned its attention to the Colorado. A careful and thorough survey of this has been completed by the Department of the Interior, and from this survey there has been evolved a definite and complete plan known as the Boulder Dam Project, whereby this growing flood menace may be transformed into a great natural resource. The Colorado River rises in the high mountains of Colorado and Wyoming. It flows through these states and the states of Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California, forming part of the boundary between Arizona and Nevada, and between Arizona and California. Flowing some fifty miles through Mexico, it discharges into the Gulf of California. The rim of the upper drainage basin of the river is composed of high mountain ranges, the lower portion of the basin being composed of hot arid plains, while the central portion consists of a high plateau, through which the river runs for hundreds of miles in a deep and narrow canyon. The topography of the country is such that one section through which the Colorado River flows is threatened in times of high water by serious floods, while another section is subject to long periods of droughts. The engineers who have investigated these sections have agreed that a dam across the Colorado will correct both of these conditions as well as provide a much needed domestic water supply for cities on the Pacific Coast. It will also improve navigation, safeguard interstate commerce and protect Government property. One of the sections of the Colorado basin in which drought conditions prevail throughout most of the year is known as Imperial Valley. This valley lies in the southeasterly portion of California. On the south it is bounded by the Mexican line; its easterly edge being about forty miles west of the Colorado River. Centuries ago Imperial Valley was the northerly end of the Gulf of California, but the tremendous quantities of silt carried by the river gradually built a great delta across the gulf. Thus Imperial Valley lies like a great saucer with the Colorado running along its rim. The valley secures its sole water supply from the Colorado River by means of a canal which starts from the river just above the boundary and runs thence for many miles through Mexico before re-entering the United States. Imperial Valley has a population of 65,000 people, six well-built, incorporated cities, over 400,000 acres of cultivated farms, and property values of over 17