Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-08-23

state as to vegetate and grow. It is SAID that
they are carried by the Gulf stream, thrown IN.
- the Polar basin, and from thence orough'
down by the Northerly currents? we answers
that from the Great Bank, the Gulf stream turns
more 10 the East, and loses itself in the great
expanse Of the Atlantic Ocean.
The currents which flow Southeast from
Hudson's Bay and Dayis's Straits, and the e1.
periments of Captain Parry, demonstrate tha'
such is not their origin
Does this timber come from Labrador! we
answer that il comes with the currents and 100 :
ores on that shore Is Canada the nursery OF
This timber? We ask, why is not the Oak, the
Ash. and other timber Of that country, founa
with il? which is not the fact. Let us trace TINS
country still further to the countries oil SIBERIA
and Tartary From the account OF the Russian
vessels sent out, by imperial orders, in the year
,7s5. with the view Of discovering Northeast
massage. we find that the whole Siberian coast
IS lined with drift wood; that the most decayed
Trunks lie the farthest from the shore-evldeht-
" eyiucing that it was brought from some 9TH
err region,
The same drift wood is found on the coasts
ri Kamtchatka, and the inhabitants say that II
comes from countries unknown 10 them. II 10
useless to speculate upon this SUBJECT we leave
it /" in medio;" and in the words OF ocranize, IN
his history OF Greenland, only observe: that
il IS evident this drift wood comes from rich
and cold country, but it is difficult to tell where
that country is,
The variation and dip Of the needle, the eX-
,raordinary powers Of vision; independent OF
refrac,ion, the difference in latitude and lonsi..
tude. found by celestial observations, and that OF
The Log-line-the Sun, in his Northern declina-
lion. not appearing to Parry, at It's gr' attest al
t;tude. until short time after 2 o'clock, are a
few Of the many unexplained phenomena OF high
ATTITUDES. which are difficult to be reconclled
with our common received opinions OF the n
cure of the Earth at the Poles. The account
and tradition of natives in high latltudes, as
we'll from the continent Of America as from a
STA, Joined with the migration OF tsh, animals
and birds, various in their species, and mere
d;hle in their numbers, to and from the Polar
regions, speak language that cannot be mis-
Interpreted. They cannot hibernate, neither is
it reasonable to suppose, that that mysterious,
vet unerling guide, instinct, directs them 10 re-
Epions Of perpetual night, OF ice, and OF snow
70 exnlore their Winter retreat is within the en-
ternrise Of man; it is the object Of our expedl-
ton.
In the case of all the expeditions that have
vet been ndertaken, the causes which LED 10
their return, without the fru!tlon oil their hopes,
were generally unconnected with lnsuperabIe
obstacles or rather, were attributable 10 deleCl
in the instruction Of officers, the lear OF wanting
the necessary provision, the superstition and
m,,tiny of crews, or the choice OF an improper
season TO make the exploration.
Thus, for instance, when Scoresby advanced
to 81 deg North, having penetrated the held
ice. he turned back with an open sea before
him, having nothing in view but the capture OF
whales, and being unwilling to risk vessel
which he had no instruction 10 employ IN max
ing discoveries.
The papers CT the Honorable Darlington and
Col. Beaufoy, members of the Royal Society OF
London, contain many instances wherein navl-
gators have reached high Northern latltudes.
AS far back as the year l75l, Capt. Mccall
lam. an able sea officer, engaged In the Green
land fisheries, after the Spring labors were past,
determined TO extend his researches towards
the Pole, and accordingly pushed his discoVe-
ries to SO deg so min. where the sea was not
ONLY open to the North, But he had not seen
speck of ice for the last dogs.
While thus advancing in those high ATTITUDES,
the mate became alarmed at the unsteadlness OF
the needle, and entered his protest against pro-
teeding any farther: the captain knowing that
if anv acciden. should occur, he would be serl-
ously censured by his employers, consented,
though with reluctance, to return. We have 1t
on the authority of Dr. Campbell, the able con.
,inua,or and reviser Of Harrison's Collections OF
Voyages, that a certain DR. Dalhe, while young,
was on board Dutch vessel employed in the
fisheries, and that between the Spring and Fall
labors they advanced still farther North than
Capt McCallam; where, agreeable to their &C
count, the sea was not only less encountered
with ice, but. rolling like the Bay OF Blscay.
They determined their latitude from time to
time by both Davis and Hadley's quadrants.
DR.. Dale now urged the captain to advance
still farther, who answered that he had already
gone too fai, and that be feared being censur-
ed by his employers in Holland, whose nstruc-
tons the insurance OF the vessel, and custom
house oath, confined him TO the Greenland seas.
Mr.. Stephens, from the northern part of Spitz-
bergen, was driven by soulherly wind to 81
deps. 80 min. north, and found the sea entirely
open and free from ice
Captains Reid, Philips, Hutton, Wheaty, Ro-
h;nson Clark. Gluny, Bold, Ware and five YES.