Star.
London, England, 1818-10-20 00:00:00

POLAR EXPEDITION.

We have already stated that an Officer of the Do-
rothea, Captain BUCHAN, has arrived at the Admi-
ralty with dispatches, announcing the return of that
ship and her consort, the Trent sloop, front the Green-
land Seas. Every thing • that nautical skill and in-
trepidity could do was effected, but the difficulties
opposed to the passage were insurmountable, and
rendered the further prosecution of the voyage to-
tally impracticable. The ships, had they persevered
in their course, or remained mach longer in the ad-
vanced position in which they had reached, must
have perished. One of them was caught between
two floating ice-bergs (ice islands), the collision of
which was so great, that she was lifted completely
out of the water—her irons were all forced, and her
ribs broken. We understand that, with the advan-
tages of every poiible care and assistance afforded
by her consort, it was with great difficulty she has
been able to make port.
These are the ships which were equipped with a
view to their reaching the Pole, and entering the Pa-
cific Ocean by Behring's Straits. This is, we believe,
the seventeenth or eighteenth failure to accomplish the
daring project of crossing the Polar regions. The
first expedition of this kind which history records,
was made between the years 150 and 1556, by Sir
H. WILLOUGHBY% R. CHANDLER, and S. BURROUGHS%
in quest of a north-east passage to India. They
reached Nova Zembla and the Strait of Waigats,
but could proceed no further on account of immense
shoals of ice. This expedition led to the establish-
ment of the Russian Company, With valuable exclu-
sive privilegr.
In 1576 MARTIN FROBISHER% who was afterwards
knighted for his courageous repulse of the Spanish
Armada, sailed from Blackwall with two barks,
the Gabriel, of 25 tons, and the Michael, of 20, and
a pinnace of 10. On the 1 lth of July he saw Green-
larsii„" rising like pinnacles of steeples, and all co. '
vered with snow." The pinnace was lost in a storm,
the Michael, disheartened by the prospect, sailed
home, and reported that the Gabriel foundered at
sea—but FROEISHER returned home on the 2d of
October, not being able to advance further than
Greenland " for the monstrous ice which lay about
it." The passion for adventure was kept alive by a
foolish story about the existence of a gold mine, and
in 1577 he was again seat out, by a subscription
made among the Gentlemen at Court. He sailed in
the Aid, a sliip of 200 tons, and was again stopped
by the ice at Greenland, where he met with islands
of ice, rising thirty or forty fathoms above the sur-
face of the sca.

In 1585 J. Davis sailed with the Sunshine, of Lon-
dots, a bark of 50 tons, and the Moonshine, of Dart-
mouth, of 35 tons; he discovered the Strait, which
bears his name, but was obliged to return after being
enclosed between fields of ice off Greenland. The
highest latitude he reached was 68. 53. In 1605 the
King of Denmark sent out J. CUNNINGHAM, a Scotch-
man, and J. HALL, an Englishman ; they only reached
the latitude of 63. 33. and encountered many perils
from immense shoals of ice. In the same year, a
Company of London merchants sent out H.lluosott,
who reached the very high latitude of 8l is, where his
progress was completely barred by a frozen sea.
In 1612 Captain T. BATTON reached the latitude
of 135, when he was finally stopped by a barrier of
ice. About the same period the Muscovy Company
sent out JONAS POOLE, who could only reach the la-
titude of 80. In the same year Captain HALL pushed
northwards to the parallel cf BY. Jr. 1614 K Fo-
THEM3YII was elibayel in ice in the latitude of
79.54. In 1615 It. BILLTII and &mutt were stepped
in the latitude of 79. 14. In 1616 BAFFIN penetrated
to the latitude of 81; in 1751 Captain hl,Catiam
sailed without obstruction from Hackluyts Head-
land, as high as the latitude of 83k. It is remarkable
that about this period the sea was very °pelf, for both
Captain M4Cattuza and Captain WILSON, so high
as 83k, found the sea open, and were deterred from
sailing further only by their resporrsihility to their
owners, as their destination was merely to Green-
land. In 1746 other attempts were ineffectually
made, but the navigators wintered in Hudson's Bay.
Dr. MASKELYNE states that a Mr. STEPHENS, in 1754,
reached the latitude of 81i. Several attempts were
made to reach a higher latitude, without effect, be-
tween 1630 and 1720, chiefly by the Hudson's Bay
Company. In 1720 Knialir and Bantow were sent
out, but they were never afterwards heard of. _

In 1776 and 1777 the Admiralty sent out Lieute-
nants PICKERSGILL and LANE, but these naval offi-
cers made very little progress, and effected no dis
covery whatever. Captain COOK explored the expanse
beyond Behring's Strait, between the parallels cf 70
ai,d 74 degrees, where they were stopped by the ice.
In different years the Greenland whalers have ad-
ventured to the latitude of 81. and 82. and so late as
1806 the elder Mr. SCORESBY ascended to the lati-
tude of 81.50. It is now clear, tide think, that-all
hope of sailing to the Pole is at ar. end. The son of
Mr. SCORESBY lately suggested the bold plan of ap-
proaching the'Pole over d:icy Continent from Spits-
bergen. Adopting the mode which the Russian hun-
ters have employed with such advantage in explo-
ring the frozen sea from Nova Zembla to the shores
of Kamschatka, he proposes to pass the winter in the
island of Spitsbergen, and starting in the spring wlth
sledges, drawn by dogs, to pursue a direct journey of
6or 700 miles to the Pole. He might then expect
to find a continuous sheet of ice stretching through
his whole track.

Friday sennight Matthew Bowerbark, slater, of
Penrith, with his wife and four children, returned to
that town from America, of which he gives a me-
lancholy description, and is thankful he has got safe
home to his native town.

Yesterday morning a boy, of the name of Turner,
with a small switch, began to tickle a horse under its
tail whilst another boy was riding it up and down the
yard of a livery stable, near the Blue Lion, in Gray's
Inn-lane, on which the animal kicked him with both
its hind legs broke his jaw bone, and the whole of
the front teeth were driven into his mouth ; the left
arm was also broken in a dreadful manner ; he was
carried to St. Bartholomew's Hospital.
Imitation 'Tobacco !—Saturday se'nnight a parcel,
consisting of dried cabbage leaves, having the appear-
ance of a large roll of tobacco, was seized in Dublin,
on a person, who, on being taken into custody, re-
ferred the Police Officers to a house in Thomas's.
court, where they found a manufactory in full work,
picparing imitatioot tobacco from siliglar materials.