THE MICHI1GAN DAILY TUESDAY,
Belknap Describes Experiences
At Greenland Weather Station
"My usual discomforts were in-
creased by severe snow blindness and
the necessity of eating cold food be-
cause the heat of the primus stove
would have caused dampness in my
tent," Prof. Ralph L. Belknap, direc-
tor of the University Greenland Ex-
pedition, said, describing his lonely
vigil at Camp Watkins, inland ice
weather station of the expedition, in
a copyrighted article which appeared
recently in the New York Times.
From July 3 to Aug. 22, Professor
Belknap lived alone in a small tent
pitched on the ice far in the interior
of Greenland taking Meteorological
observations in an attempt to deter-
mine the feasibility of a trans-Atlan-
tic air route over northern Greenland.
"At first I made frequent trips on
skis," he said, "but soon learned the
wisdom of keeping in sight of my
tent, for once, when I wandered out
of sight of camp, I was caught by the
low clouds and fog which diffused
the light so much that I was unable
to see my tracks in the snow, even
when I was standing directly over
them. I was lost. My one chance to
find the comp was by wind direction
so I started with the wind at an angle
of 45 degrees. Fortunately the wind
had not changed and I was finally
able to locate Camp Watkins."
Sun Invisible For Days
Describing one of several storms
he experienced during this period,
Professor Belknap said, "The sun was
invisible for days and the horizon
was frequently imperceptible in the
diffused light which gave a shadow-
less scene of universal whiteness
where the sky and snow merged.
During the worst part of the storm,
my tent was surrounded by a three-
foot drift and was plastered with
thick wet snow which froze there,
threatening to break the wind-shak-
en fabric.
"If one may have summer without
the temperature rising above freez-
ing and storm and relatively warm,
weather, then July 26 was summer -
at least all the summer I was to have.,
However, there was no question about
summer being over when, on Aug. 3,
the temperature dropped with the
wind to a minium of minus 20 de-
grees. Never after this storm was the
temperature inside the tent above
or even near freezing."
Evans S. Schmeing and Max Dem-
orest, both of the department ofj
geology, had left Professor Belknap
alone at Camp Watkins expecting to
return and help him get back to
Perry Lodge, the main camp, about
Aug. 10. However they failed to ap-
pear as expected and Professor Bel-
knap finally decided on Aug. 19 to
attempt the hazardous journey across
the treacherous snow bridges and
crevasses alone.
"My clothing was insufficient pro-
tection against the increasing cold
and my food was running low. How-
ever, I felt positive that Schmeling
and Demorest had found it impos-
sible to cross the flooded area - or,
worse yet, they had been lost in one
of the innumerable crevasses, so that
my only choice was to try for the west
coast. I built a small sledge from
extra skis and a wooden box and,
having no compass, made a rough
sun dial to navigate by, and there-
fore could travel only in fair weather.
Being about 200 miles from the coast,
I expected to make the journey in
about 20 days in fair weather.
Made Six Miles In Day
"On the morning of Aug. 19 I
started, confidently expecting to be
miles to the westward before evening.
However, the first hundred yards of
travel showed that I had over-esti-
mated the distance of a day's march.
The little sled was harder to pull
than I expected and I had to take
off my skis which gave too little trac-
tion. I floundered ahead breaking
into snow knee deep. This difficulty
combined with the high altitude and
the drag of the sled made 100 yards
of travel without a rest impossible.
At five o'clock I made camp and esti-
and estimated my distance from
Camp Watkins to be six miles.
"Next day the going was somewhat
better, but shortly after noon the
clouds began to thicken and soon the
sun was hid'ien completely. I con-
tinued steering by the wind for two
hours, but then, fearing that a shift
in the wind would put me off my
course, I made camp. When the
weather cleared I found that my
course had been off 32 degrees to the
south.
Searched For Flags
"On the first day I had intention-
ally kept north of the course so that
running south brought me back near
the incoming trail. However, I had
not yet seen a single flag. (The flags
Professor Belknap was looking for
had been placed about mile apart all
along the route back to the main
camp at Peary Lodge so that as soon
as he found one of them his trail
was much more clearly marked.)
"As I sat on my sled eating a lunch
of malted milk tables on the third
day, I wondered if the flags could
have been blown down or if my navi-
gation was too inaccurate. Then,
just happening to glance around, 1
saw, not 50 yards off, one of the flags.
Hurrying to it, I discovered that it was
the 106th station, 12 miles from Camp
Watkins."
With the discovery of the flag trail,
Professor Belknap's c o n c e r n now
turned to his missing companions.
His story of finally finding Schmeling
and Demorest is told with dramatic
simplicity.
"Starting earlythe next morning,
I felt that, if they were to be met,
that would be the day. The surface
conditions had improved, making skis
possible. Less rest was necessary, so
my speed improved to two miles an
hour, giving me hopes of reaching
station 100 before night. Looking
ahead, soon after noon, I was ap-
parently seeing double, for two dark
flags came into sight, Then the flags
seemed to move. Could they be men?
No, I had been fooled too many times.
Coming nearer, the spots became too
Davis Speaks
On Junior Hioh
School System
Bennett, Bates, And Rice
Are Included On Radio
Programs For Week
Speaking in defense of the junior
high school, Prof. C. A. Davis, sec-
retary of the education school, told
a radio audience Sunday that it was
an indispensible articulating agency
or transitional span between elemen-
tary and higher educations.
"It is the especial task and privi-
lege of the junior high school to
deal in a peculiarly significant and
unique way with the two sets of in-
terests of the individual and of the
state," he said.
"To the end that it is designed to
serve as a great educational labora-
tory and proving ground, it stresses a
socializing and guidance program for
all," he stated. "The aim is every-
where the development of a co-op-
ative spirit. '
Lists Aims Of Junior High
"In its instructional procedures it
endeavors to develop in its pupils
self-confidence, self-initiative, and
self-appraisal, while at the same
time implanting in them a spirit of
scientific inquiry, open mindedness,
and tolerance for the opinions of
others."
There is no contradiction between
the interests of an individual and
the interests of the group of which
he is a member, but rather an es-
sential harmony, Professor Davis
said. "Our public schools do, and
must, simultaneously serve both mas-
ters."
He declared that the true junior
high school is both an elementary
and secondary school at one and the
same time, an institution brought in-
to existence by practical circum-
stances and soon supported by sci-
entific theory.
The University of Michigan Night
on the Air, heard each Wednesday
during the past few weeks, will be
broadcast at 10 p. m. Thursday be-
ginning this week, it was announced
yesterday by Prof. Waldo M. Abbot,
director of broadcasting.
Prof. Wells I. Bennett of the archi-
tecture college will speak on the pro-
gram this week on the subject, "Mod-
ern Trends in Housing," in connec-
tion with the government's building
Exhibit In Library
Traces History Of
Modern Textbook
Textbooks, the most thoroughly ab-
horred, yet most intimate companions
of the student, are on exhibit on the
main floor of fhe general library,
showing their development from the
seventeenth to the nineteenth cen-
tury. The purpose of the exhibition,
according to the librarian in charge,
is not to enrage the textbook-satiated
undergraduate, but to point out the
historical evolution of school books
from their early primitive stage to
comparatively recent times.
Hornbooks, made up of a piece of
parchment on a wooden frame, pro-
tected from handling by a section of
transparent horn, were perhaps the
first sort of text extensively used as
a primer. The hornbook contained
the alphabet, and invariably, part of
the scripture or the Lord's prayer was
added for the divine effect on the
budding student.
Displaced soon in America by the
New England Primer, the hornbook
faded into obscurity. This primer,
extant in the eighteenth century, was
a more substantial volume than the
small hornbook, containing about 75
pages of material, and used widely
as a primer and a reader for the
great mass of semi-illiterate people of
the time. Besides teaching the rudi-
ments of reading and writing, this
textbook digressed into the subjects
of religion and manners and morals.
The last major development previ-
out to modern texts was the pub-
lication of Noah Webster's "Ameri-
can Spelling Book," which was tre-
mendously popular until the begin-
ning of the 20th century. Published
in 1827 more than a million copies
were sold annually for twenty years.
An interesting sidelight of the ex-
hibit is a first edition of Gray's "Bot-
any," written in 1836 by Dr. Gray,
who was later a professor in the
University of Michigan,
HILLEL PLAYERS TO MEET
The Hillel Players will meet at 8
p. m. today at the Hillel Founda-
tion, according to an announcement
by Lawrence Levy, '34, president.
Levy requests that all members be
present at this session.
program. Professor
spent the past year
ing conditions in the
of Europe.
A second talk on
night period will be1
Fred J. Hodges, head<
nology department,
Bennett has
studying hdus-
principal cities
the Thursday
given by Prof.
of the roentge-
on "Stomach
ciplined by the faculty committee on
two occasions during one semester be
placed on social probation. This rule
is not to be retro-active. It is based
on the theory that the fraternity can
do more to regulate the conduct of its
individual members than the univer-
sity can. In like manner sending dis-
ciplined students home for two weeks
is done on the theory that the family
can do more for the student than the
University.
The Engineering Council elected as
their president Clarence Blanding,
who will serve on the Council. As
Blanding is a fraternity man and
since the constitution provides that
there shall be two independents on
the Council and since there is only
one on it now, it will be necessary
to elect another independent at the
next meeting of the Council.
It was decided that a meeting will
be called during the next few days
of the class presidents of the engi-
neering and literary schools and of
the dance committee chairmen. At
that meeting dates and budgets for
the dances will be discussed. Also
class committees, class dues, and
other matters of class importance will
be investigated. Some provision will
have to be made whereby a cheer-
leader is sent to out-of-town foot-
ball games. According to a regula-
tion at the present this should come
out of the class treasuries.
A motion was passed in favor of a
campus straw vote to be held next
week on a series of questions includ-
ing the right to have beer on State
Street, a modified auto-ban, disar-
mament proposals, etc. Anyone or
any group having some question in
which they are particularly inter-
ested are invited to submit it to the
president of the Council who will
work out a series of questions in con-
junction with the editor of The Daily.
The meeting was adjourned.
Disorders as Seen by the X-Ray."
Bates To Speak
"Law as a Profession" will be the
topic of Dean Henry M. Bates of the
Law School, speaking at 2 p. m. Fri-
day on the fourth of a series of vo-
cational talks arranged for high
school assemblies.
Other school talks to be given dur-
ing the week are the following: "Mil-
ton" by Prof. Warner G. Rice of the
English department at 2 p. m. to-
day; "Local Rural Government" by
Prof. Arthur W. Bromage of the po-
litical science department at 2 p. m.
Wednesday; and "Fishes" by Prof.
Carl L. Hubbs, director of the insti-
tute for Fisheries Research at 2 p. m.
Thursday.
large for flags, yet I would not let
myself believe them to be sleds. At
this time, however, I clearly heard,
for the first time in seven weeks, a
human voice."
NOW IS THE TIME
FOR YOUR ENSIAN
SITTING...
Dial 5031
For
Appointment
THE LITERARY EVENT OF THE SEASON
.i
HILL
AUDITORIUM
TOMORROW
NIGHT
8 P.M.
SINGLE
ADMISSIONS
75c and 50c
TICKETS AT
WAH1R"S
0 . .,
--I
I__ EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY
II
IF
THE WORKS OF
EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY
FATAL INTERVIEW SECOND APRIL
THE BUCK IN THE SNOW ARIA DA CAPO
A FEW FIGS FROM THISTLES THE KING'S HENCHMA
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