II: The Byrd Expedition


Hazardous science.

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McKinley, Byrd, and Gould.
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"Lost in the mountains"
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Hazardous science.
While making his first aerial explorations in late January, Byrd discovered the Rockefeller mountain range some 140 miles east from Little America, and a few weeks later Gould and two others flew to the area to conduct geological investigations. He collected his samples, but before the group could return to base, they were caught by a fierce blizzard which destroyed their Fokker monoplane. The party had fought to anchor the plane in the face of tremendous winds -- at one point Dr. Gould was observed by one of his companions "hanging onto a rope attached to one of the wing tips [and being] blown straight out, like a flag" -- but to no avail. The party's two radios also ceased to function, and the men were marooned until a search plane from Little America rescued them several days later.


carleton, college, archives, laurence, mckinley, gould