The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-06-03 00:00:00

The RETURN of the "CHALLENGER,"
(From The Times.)

Her Misjesty's ship Challenger arrived at Spithead on
'Wednesday night (in I.st weee ), after a long and event-
ful voe aee. It etiev he remembered that this vessel
was fitted out in 1872, at the inetence of the R
13 id
Society, for a voyage round the world of scientific
research and deep sea exploration. Captain G. S.
Nares was selected to command the expedition, and,
besides the usual Staff of Naval officers, Prefessor
Wyville Thomson, F.R.S , of Edinbure le University,
three naturalists, a chynaiat and physioist, and an artist
and secretary were attached to the vessel. The hydro.
graphic and magnetic work was undertalten by the
Neal officers, and the Natural History department
was placed in the hands of the scientific staff. Mr. J.
Buchanan,cllyrnist, and physicist, determined the
specific gravities of the water obtained from different
depths, and Mr. Wild, artist, Lc;is cv ntributed greatly
to the success of the exPeditide by his remarkable
microscopic drawings of deep-sea fauna, corals, and
sponger,.
Toe Challenger left England on the 21st of Decem-
ber, 1872, and the researches during the next year
were cenfieed to the Atlantic, four complete sections
having been taken across it. The result of the deep-
sea dredging was most satisfactory; numerous speci-
mens of fishes, &c., were obtained, some altogether
new, •and others of great rarity. The vexed question
•.vast settled as to whether life ;existed below certain
depths, and much valuable information was obtainedei
by serial temperatures taken from.the surface to the
bottom relative to the great oceanic currents. The;
deepest' water found was off the Virgin Islands, in the
West Indies, were bottom was obtained at 3,875
fathoms. This depth has only been exceeded once
i.e., in the North Pacific Ocean, latitude 1121 N.,
longitude 143-16 E., where a sounding was made in
; 4,500 fathoms. In all probability this depth of water
~will never be much exceeded. Those remarkably deep
soundings taken by former navigators are undoubtedly
entirely erroneous. In many places the Challenger
proved they were so by bringing up a portion
of the bottom from less depths; and in some,
where thntime interval was carefully taken and pub-
lished, with our present knowledge on the subject, the
correct depth can be nearly approximated. When a
certain quantity of sounding line has run out, its mere
weieht, even without the aid of under currents, will
make it continue to run as long as there is any on the
reel; the intervals between which the marks on the
line disappear beneath the surface will become gradually
longer as the weight sinks, but there is a marked
lengthening of the interval immediately it strikes the
bottom, amounting to one minute and a half at 2,500
fathoms for 100 fathoms of fine, and in that way the
depth is determined- 3,000 fathoms depth was never
found south of the Equator: a fact which will be of
special interest to geologists who have raised theories
on the fact of there being most dry land in the Northern
Hemisphere; but, to counterbalance that preponder-
ance, the water is not so deep in the South.
During the year 1873, North and South America,
the West Indies, Western Is'ands, Madeira Canary,
and Cape Verd Islands, and Africa yere visited, and
19,300 miles Bailed over. After a refit at the Cape of
Good Hope, the Challenger sailed for the South Seas
in December, 1873. Marion Island and the Crozets
were eisited, the latter since brought into notoriety by
the loss of the Strathniore, as with that unfortunate
vessel, gales of wind and thick fogs were experienced
by the Challenger. The Island of Kerguelen had been
fixed on as an observatory station for the Transit of
Venus which occurred in 1874, and, as it was desirable
hat it should be explored in order to settle the site of
an observatory, the Challenger was entrusted with that
duty. A mouth was taken in completing it, during
which the eastern side of the island was surveyed and
a site recommended, . which was afterwards adopted.
The western shores were altogether out of the ques-
tion, on account of the mists accumulated by the pre-
vailing westerly winds. Heard Island, to the south of
Kerguelen, was next touched at. It is quite barren,
arid consists of one immense glacier. A party of
American whalers are stationed there, engaged in the
sea elephant fishery, which frequent the beaches in
great numbers. It would be difficult to imagine a
more die sry life than these 'whalers lead • they are
relieved and the produce of the fishery is t:sken away
eQ-ery year. isieratee
• The Challenger 'tht n sailed south .until ehe.4ntarctic
Circle was cro:sed, and she reached. withtnel-,403 miles
of the Seuth Pole. Open .pack ice was entered and
great numbers of icebergs were seen, as many as 80
being counted at one time from the masthead. Some
were 300 ft. high and betvireen two and three miles long.
;They were nearly all flat or table-topped, only the
;calves cr small berg, wesenting the curious appearance
lof Arctic bergs. The antarctic continent of the
tAmerican explorer Wilks (whose name, perhup i, will
'be best remembered in connexion with the Trent
affair) was sought for in vain. It was reported to have
. been seen by him when in command of the discovery
ship Vincennes in le3l. As 1,300 fathoms of water
were found on the supposed site, it was coucludsd that
if it ever existed, it has now Busk. Gales of wind,
accompanied by driving snowstorms, render naviga-
tion in those seas neither safe nor pleasant, and the
seamanship of the officers was severely tried in keeping
clear of the numerous icebergs, to strike one of which
would be destruction. The sea was full of life; innu-
merable whales spouted round the sh:p, and several
kinds of penguins were seen. The water was also rich
in surface crustacea up Jll which great numbers of dio-
media, procellaria, and prions fed.
Melbourne was reached on St. Patrick's Day, 1874,1
and the next three months were most agreeably spent I
in our Australian Colonies. A line of soundings weal
next run to New Zealand, preparatory to a telegraphl
cable being laid; and afterwards, the Friendly Is-
lands, Fiji, New Hebrides, Arrou, and Ki Islands
were touched at, the natives being all found tolerably;
friendly. The Moluccas, or Sslice Islands were nexA
visited, and expeditions made to the nutmeg, china.;
mon, pepper, and cocoa plantations. Nothing can
exceed the beauty of these islands, or the admirable
manner in which the plantations are conducted. At
Manilla, in the Philippine Islands, they had an oppor-
tunity of seeing the enormous cigar factories, in some
of which 10,000 girls are employed; and then the ship
proceeded to Caine. •
At Hong-kong, to the great'regret of all, Captain
Nares was called away, he having been selected to com-
mand the Arctic Expedition; but his successor, Cap-
tain Thomson, in a short time, rendered himself
equally popular.
In the early part of 1875 a good deal of old ground
was again sailed over in the Sulu and Celebes Seas. A
short time was spent at Cebu, one of the Philippine
group, dredging for the beautiful Duplectella sponge,
better known by its popular name of Venus's Flower-
basket, and which is not now uncommon in our mu-
seums; numerous fine specimens were obtained. Qn
the adjoining island of Mactan the great exploer
Magellan was killed in an engagement with the natives
in 1521. A cross, said to have been erected by him ;at
Cebu, is pointed oral with reverence by the pious
Spaniards.
The Challenger next sailed to the north-eastern shores
of New Guinea, and touched at Humboldt Bay,
where the savages were found in all their native and
naked grandeur. They were armed with spears and
bows and arrows, and objected to exploring parties
landing, standing with their arrows drawn to the
head. They appeared to have no idea of the power of
firearms, and there was no inclination to teach them
the lesson. Notwithstanding the hostile attitude
assumed when an attempt was made to lend,
they readily bartered their spears, bows, stone axes,
ornaments, &c., alongside the ship for hoop-iron and
beads. • The natives are a fine race, although many
were covered with some skin disease. The men wear
boars' tusks thrust through their nostrils, which give
them a ferocious appearance. Not one could be pre-
vailed on to come on board, even by liberal offers of
axes and nails, which would lead to the supposition
that they had been visited by kidnappers. At
Admiralty Island the natives were more friendly, and
freely allowed parties to land. They were armed with
obsidian headed spears.
The Challenger then sailed for Japan, and on the
passage obtained the deepest sounding, which has
already been referred to. Two months were spent on
the coasts of Japan and in the inland Bea, and then the
ship sailed for the Sandwich Islands, Society Islands,
Juan Fernandez, and Valparaiso. Juan Fernandez
was found inhabited by some Chiliana engaged in the
seal fishery. A goat, descended frem Selkirk's pets,
has taken passage in the Challenger, and is called
Crusoe. After leaving Valpaelaiso, the passages lead-
ing to the Straits of Magellan were entered at Cape
Tres Montes, and the ship emerged into the Atlantic
at Cape Virgins, the scenery being magnificent, par-
t.cularly the fine glaciers, some of which extended to
the water's edge. The Falkland Islands, Montevideo,
Ascension, St. Vincent, and Vigo were visited on
the passage home, and further researches made in
the Atlantic by continued dredging, trawling, and
sounding.
Photographs have been taken of the natives and of
the principal places visited during the voyage, and
make an interesting collection.
The equator was crossed six times, and the 180th
meridian of longitude five times.
Total distance run, 68,500 miles ; coals expended,
4,700 tons; number of days at sea, 713; number of
days in harbour, 568; number of deep sea soundings
obtained, 374 ; number of serial temperatures, 255 ;
number of successful dredgings, 111; number of unsuc-
cessful dredgings, 19; number of successful trawlings,
129 ; number of unsuccessful trawlings, 16 ; 243 men
left England in the Challenger, of whom 144 returned,
61 deserted, 10 died, and five went in the Arctic Ex-
pedition. __

On Monday morning Vice-Admiral Chads, Com-
mander of the Nore, paid a visit to the Challenger, and
the men were put through the cnstomary drill. He
remained on the ship about two hours, and expressed
his pleasure at again seeing the officers and sailors.
He also complimented the men upon their smart
appearance and the•expertness with which they went
through the various exercises.
The collection of photographs, comprising nearly
500, is highly interesting. Photographs were taken
of every place visited by the vessel. Mr. J. J. Wild,
the artist who accompanied the expedition, has a
great number of beautiful paintings of scenes passed
in the cruise. These it is said, will be engraved and
published shortly. 'At •St. Vincent a photograph
was taken of an Albino negress. The features of
this waman are exactly those of the black
negroes, but her skin and hair are per-
fectly white. Two large living tortoises, one
40 years old and the other 100, have been brought
home. The large tortoise will walk quite as fast with
two men standing on its back as when only carrying
its own weight. Several persi ns visited the Challenger,
and were shown the objects of interest, including the
dredging, trawling, and sounding apparatus, by the
officers, who have exhibited great willingness to
explain all thatis worth seeing.

Prince Leopold has receive i from the University of
Oxford the degree of D C.L by diploma.
An important Meeting has been held of the Medical
Academy of Rome for the purpose of vindicatiuz the health
of the cLty. It was stated in a paper read that Rome during
spring and winter ranks with the healtnieit of Italian cities,
and is positively beneficial to invalids. In summer and
autumn, though the central districts remain healthy, the
outskirts exposed to the Campagna a,r,e decidedly inside-
' brious. The climate meanwhile is steadily Improving,