we saw the sun for the first time since April 19." Bursey and several others traveled into the heartland by dog team on two missions. One was to mark a safe trail and leave caches of supplies over the 200 miles of treacherous crevasses and open chasms between the main base and the Queen Maud mountain range where the geological party would make camp and conduct their studies. The other was to provide ground support for Byrd by erecting beacons every 50 miles and depositing emergency supplies at them in case Byrd’s plane crashed when he attempted to fly over the pole. Bursey's lead dog, St. Lunaire, blazed the trail. Byrd sent them off with: "Boys I would rather never fly over the South Pole than to lose one of you. Always take the course of safety; your lives are precious to me." They reached the South Pole on November 29, 1929. Bursey described it: But the danger was not yet over. Early in 1930, the City of New York was to return to the Antarctic to bring home the 42 men who had wintered at Little America. It was the worst spring ice in memory and the whaling vessels that usually went through the pack in December were unable to get through without damage. Into this mass of roaring ice the gallant City of New York hurled herself, forcing a way through. But there came the day when the ship labored, groaning under 200 tons of ice, the deck nearly awash. It was decided that if the Great Ice Barrier were not sighted in a few hours, the ship must turn north or sink. It was not unlike the possibility of trying to reach the moon in later years if the astronauts had had to be rescued. If the ship could not make it, there was no way to rescue these men until the ice thawed. There would be no long range aircraft manufactured for many years. According to Russell Owen, a special correspondent for the New York Times who was on board, "As the men were ready to drop from weariness, the clouds opened and ahead of them was the magnificent peak of Mount Erebus, the living volcano of the Antarctic." When the men returned to New York, they were greeted by Mayor Jimmy Walker, who led them on a ticker tape parade. Bursey and his mates each