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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1952-12-18, Page 6Tried To Conquer Mount Everest ._ Alone Once again the ice and snotiv- aevered summit of Everest, the world's highest mountain, is fac- ing the challenge ,of puny man. All the world has been watch - ;tug the endeavours of two new expeditions—one Swiss, the other :British ---against the impregnable Iaeak which for thirty years mountaineers have sought to con- quer in vain. Each successive expedition has sheen better - equipped, tougher - 'trained and armed with more 'high-altitude information than smy before. Through the years, :repeated assaults on the moun- ,iai.n have written fresh chapters of highest adventure. And yet erhaps the strangest story has en almost forgotten -- the dy- namic saga of the thirty-five- ;geer-old Yorkshireman who set snit to conquer Everest single - '.banded, In Bradford, his home town, Maurice Wilson often startled people by telling then that if only they ate less they could live longer and accomplish almost :superhuman tasks. And he deter- mined to climb Everest to prove It. Knowing nothing of mountain- eering, at first he planned to arashland a small aeroplane on 'the upper slopes and start with st quick advantage, When he 3beuncl this would be impossible —that the only way up Everest was the hard way --he rigorously 'Trained and fasted and even made a parachute jump to test his nerve. Disguised as Priest Learning to fly, lee bought a second-hand 'plane. After only forty hours' flying, the Air Min - :Wry got wind of his attempt and warned him off. Wilson's answer was to take off from the airfield and head south. Watchers on the ground were horrified to see him eatagger off the ground with the wind -- instead of into it. With no practical experience of navigation, he was missing for several days. "Funny," he wrote Irani Rome, "I am now able to keep the machine on a straight Bourse without looking at the s:ompass." Determined to stop dais crazy attempt, the govern- ment wired ahead for him to 'le refused fuel wherever he Landed. But Wilson borrowed gas- saline from the British Consul at 18ahrein so that he could return. to Basra—and still he flew on, In India his 'plane was con- fiscated. Wison arranged its re - tease by agreeing to sell it— end then came another blow, The :Nepal government refused him permission to travel through. Their territory to Tibet. But Wil- son had met a Tibetan who prom - :?sed to "try to smuggle him through disguised as a priest. In dark glasses, wearing a bra -rade waistcoat, swathed in red :elk and carrying an umbrella, Maurice Wilson would have been xl figure of fun in Bradford. But eurlice on the Tibetan road scarce - MERRY MENAGERIE 4Z .,.. ,Pisa little late etartipg south this yearl" ly glanced at him. When he passed patrols, Wilson raised his umbrella and walked with bent knees to camouflage his height. One in Tibet, Wilson abandon- ed his disguise and went for- ward in European clothes. Bread and Porridge Then, on April 27th, 1934, he camped with his two Sherpa porters on the Rongbuk glacier, that windswept waste 20,400 feet up.. The following day he was at Camp II, the second base established by the 1922 and 1924 expeditions, "the locality litter- ed with jam labels," as he re- ported, But above him now there towered the last vengeful 8,000 feet—and Wilson meant to con- quer it alone on brown bread, tea and porridge. Marked out by previous expe- ditions, Camp III was only 600 feet above the second, but so devious was the climbing route that it entailed another venture- some six miles. Wilson noted with pride in his dairy that he was exceptionally fit, no fat, all muscle." Yet every breath was now a labour, continuous thirst macle him eat snow' and ice, Porters Exhausted After six days he still had not Peached the blizzard-swept'Camp III and he decided to turn back. "If I stumbed, I just had to let myself go, roil over, and scram- ble up again," he wrote. Back at base, however, the circulation returned to his frozen feet—al- though the fierce impact of the ultra -violet rays at that high altitude gave him a swollen face and nearly closed his eyes. But by May 12th he had re- covered. The two porters agreed to accompany him to Camp III, so that he could again make a higher climb solo. The three-day struggle exhausted the porters, but Wilson was still fit, Camp III was safely reached. Then for a week wild blizzards swept the Iittle tent. On May 21st he started again, with one porter to accompany him halfway to Camp IV. At the avalanche - haunted, crevasse - pocked North Col, the porter turned back. Wilson was now on his own, but he recorded in his diary the ghostly impressions shared by other Everest climbers. "Strange," he wrote, "but I feel there is somebody with me in the tent." Then came the final effort. Strapped un his pack was a con- cave mirror, reflecting his pro- gress to watchers in a monastery far below. Somewhere, within half -a -mile radius, was Camp 1V and food. But Wilson could not find it. For six days he struggled up- ward, inch by inch. When he slept, his light tent parked at an angle of 35 degrees, he huddled snow round him for warm h. His diary grew monosyllabic. "No food, no water. Get back. May 26, 27. Stayed in bed." But with the last flicker of hope—"Wind nearly through my vitals"—the food was found. "Off again," he recorded on May 31st. "Gorgeous day." These were Maurice Wilson's last words. Sixteen months Iater the Eric Shipton expedition found his frozen corpse at 22,000 feet. He had evidently died in his tent from exhaustion and then the wind had blown the tent clear. The party buried Wilson in a neighbouring snow crevasse. "His body passed through the snow," wrote Eric Shipton. "It completely disappeared. There was no hole where it fell, just plain white snow .. ," &aod Heads for Music—For over 500 years, these representations of angels and demons, saints and sinners, have played their part in "producing musk from the groat Arp $chnitger argon, In the Medieval. St, Jacobi Church In Hamburg, Germany. The heads form pulls for the organ stops of the historic musical instrument, sand help to make it one of the most precious examples of the ancient organmaker's art stilt in existence, ak,es a Tinkly C laY EDNA MILES ,'til: holidays always mean more parties, More dinners, more hos- pitable gatherings for everyone, And this, in turn, means more work for the housewife, It's the season of the year in which she gets out her best glassware, her fine linens and polishes up her good silver. 11 you're doing a great deal of entertaining this year, yeti might prefer to, leave your crystal packed away and depend Upon modern, Moderately priced glassware. The latter will need only reasonable care to keep it intact and sparkling . This means less work for you: It also means that you can relax and enjoy your own parties. To keep your inexpensive glassware shiny and bright during the holidays, try these• tips for its care: Wash it in hot, not boiling, water, And never put glasses that have just contained ice straight Into hot water. Warm them gradually, then give them a quick rinse under the cold water faucet. They'll sparkle anew, Try adding a small amount of ammonia or detergent to the water for a high shine,' Then rinse the glasses be water of equal tempera- ture and air-dry with the rims down. If you do use soap, you should towel the glasses dry. It's best to place a rubber mat or towel in the bottom of the .sink, particularly if you're washing stemware. Never crowd either the sink or the drying rack. The rack should be rubber -covered, If you haven't a rack, place the glasses rim -down on a towel to dry. 'You can clean sticky milk glasses by rinsing them in lukewarm water before you wash them. Then use more lukewarm water softened with soda to remove stubborn stains. Often, glass dishes are stacked out in the kitchen during the rush of the holidays. If this happens and if the dishes stick together, don't try to pry them apart. Instead put cold water in.the inner glass and hold the outer one in warm water. They'll separate easily. a> 'ss.��. ;s! Informal table setting is eery modern, is achieved with dime -store• glassware, inexpensive plane suets and napkins. PIower container is A budget-psteed basket that eau have many uses. When you put glassware away, place the different sized pieces in rows from front to back of the shelf. This Way you need not bother to reach over a low piece :for a tall one. And never crowd glassware when putting it away. Crowding can cause shipping or breakage. Dry Run for Ike—Korean police, plainclothesmen and security men line the streets along the road to Seoul's airfield. Citizens thought the President-elect had already arrived, But this was only a rehearsal. LET Jam A .dews. Here are some of the questions most frequently asked by inex- perienced or disappointed cooks, together with al ewers which should be of value not only „to them, but to many other house- wives, I hope. A A B.—My mother was a wonder- ful cools. I have her recipes but my biscuits are never flaky and light and my pastry is barely edible. What causes my poor products? A.—Two people using the same recipe seldom produce the same results. Your mother probably handled her biscuit and pastry dough: with a very light hand. You may be the athletic type with a strong right arm and, although you are kneading the biscuits thirty seconds as her recipe directs, your strength is so great that half that time would be right for you. When you use her pastry recipe, foss the dry in- gredients up from the bottom of the bowl with a fork as the water is added. Then press the bits of dough intc a ball. Don't knead. Pat the dough out on a floured board and then roll it lightly in all directions. Don't roll hack and forth. % Q.—What causes a layer or loaf cake to hump in the middle and sometimes to crack? A, --Too much flour is usually the cause of humps and cracks in cake. Sift the flour once be- fore measuring, spoon it into a measuring cup and level it off with a straight -edged knife or spatula. Be sure to use the type flour indicated in the recipe. Too hot an oven during the first part of the baking perioei also may cause humps and cracks. A trust must not form till. the leavening has had time to raise the batter or it will rise more in the centre where the crust is tender.. Q.—What makes cake close - grained and heavy? A.—Heaviness is usually the re - suit of overstirring or beating the batter. It is more ape to occur when an electric beater is used. Unless the cake is. a very rich one the batter should be stirred after each addition of dry and liquid ingredients only until well blended and smooth, Using a moderately slow speed in a mixer prevents over -beating. Heaviness also may be caused by too much sugar, shortening or liquid or too little leavening. Q, --Recipes for sponge and angel cake always call for un- greased pans. Wouldn't 11 be bet- ter to grease pans so the cake would fall out en cooling? A.—Sponge and angel rakes should not be baked in greased pans. The batter, which is large- ly beaten egg whites, is too de- licate to ,,old up and 'give 'a cake, of full volume. without the support of the ungreased pan to which it clings during baking and cooling. A tube pan with a removable bottom facilitates re- moval of the cake. Q.—What causes a sponge or angel cake to have a coarse grain and occasional large holes? A. --Usually a coarse grain is caused by underbeating the egg whites or not thoroughly folding them into the batter. The large holes come from folding air into the batter as it is poured into the pan. After the pan has been filled, cutting through the batter with a spatula will break the air bubbles and eliminate the holes. M1 5 Q. -Can batters tot waffles and griddle cakes be made ahead of time? A.—If a double -action baking powder is used in a batter it may be stored in the refrigera- tor for several hours or perhaps longer. This is possible because a double -action powder release., only about one-third of its 'leav- ening when cold; the remaining two-thirds on baking. 5 5 e Q.—My daughter will be mar- ried soon and I want to equip her kitchen with the best kind of pans for cakes; pies and cookies. What would you recom- mend for each? A.—Pens are made of various materials which affect their bak- ing use to some extent A heavy metal absorbs and retains heat. Thus, enamel or glass pie pans help to brown the under crust of a pie. This brow ting would be undesirable in a cake or cookie. Shiny aluminum and heavy tin reflect the heat and foods baked in pans of these metals brown delicately all over. They ere good fir all baking and most recipes are written for their use, If glass. cast trot or enamel is employed, the temperature must be lowered, usually about 25e, er the time of baking de- creased. Says Germ Warfare Would Not Work Mention germ warfare in mix- ed„coinpany and you can almost see your listeners' scalps tingle. They conjure up visions of sin- ister missiles, more deadly even than a hydrogen bomb, raining down silently and turning cities into ghost towns, with them- selves and their families, friends, and neighbours, all lying dead in the streets. Yet, the frightening idea that vast areas could be depopulated by germs dropped from the air is really ridiculous. It's perfect- ly true that as little as a tea- spoonful of a particular bacteria could fatally infect every member of the British Isles. But the germs in question would have to be properly portioned out. And—fortunately for all con- cerned — the very germs which might wreak most havoc would not themselves be tough enough to stand warfare conditions. Contrary to general belief, germ warfare is nothing new. It was first tried in the fourteenth century, when the Tartars swept across Europe from Russia and, in an attempt to overcome resis- tance at Caere, hurled corpses and dying victims of the bubonic plague over the city's wails. In World War 1 the Germans tried to introduce cholera into Italy, Later, they inoculated horses with glanders and set them free to mingle with horse-drawn units of the Allies. As recently as 1942, after 165 Chinese deaths, China accused Japan of dropping infected rice and clothing from a 'plane. But it's extremely improbable that epidemics on a large scale could be started by germ war- fare, As the US. journal "To - fare. As an American jour- nal "To - day's Health" points out, there are no known germs which could be lib- erated as free agents and be ex- pected to create a widespread, pestilence. When subjected to the rigours of warfare they would expire long before they could do their dirty work. There's one other comforting factor. Simply this. It would hardly profit any nation to con- quer another with, say, typhus , or even foot-and-mouth. For the victorious race would soon find the disease knocking at its own doctor. Pestilence is no respecter of boundaries. Belle Rings Bell—Getting ready to ring out a very merry Christ- mas for everybody, this pretty Christmas fairy smiles through the ribbons she will yank to send us the season's greetings bright and early Christmas morning. Speedy Service—The Coriadian Pacific Railway's fast freight service between Montreal and Toronto was speeded up and improved December 1 by the utilization of truck trailers and railway fiat cars as shown above. Under the new system shipments will be picked up in ane city by trucks. The trailers will then be loaded an the flat cars from ramps and . the tractors detached, After being sped to its destination by an overnight fast merchandize freight train, ether tractors will be attached to the trailers and the goods delivered to the door of the con- signee. Service is speeded by elimination of handling In freight sheds, damage is expected to be minimized and the convenience of pick-up and overnight delivery will be increased. If the ►Montreal -Toronto operations prove successful, I is expected that wider application of the service will be mode, fi