The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-12-29


Let him talk it over with Marcy, or Gadsden
will be spelling the game. Thus endeth our
fortieth lesson.
The Arxuc Regions--A New Expedition to
the Polar Sea.
In spite Of the sad lessons of experience in
John Franklin's miserable fate, the lecture de-
livered by DR.. Kane on Thursday before the
Geographical Society, has set the public
thinking about new Polar expedition. tbs not
in the nature Of mankind-es especially, we may
venture to say, it is not in the nature of Anne
ricans--tO fold their arms, and deny themselves
any knowledge which it Is in the power of en-
ergy and boldness to grasp. If there be any
thing at the Pole which we do not know, and
can only vaguely conceive--it hardly matters
whether it be worth knowing or not-the SEN
timent Of the American nation calls for such
inquiry and investigation as shall dispel our
ignorance. 1t must cost money; it may cost
men; but the United States can perhaps afford
both, for the sake of extending the area Of
human knowledge, and the range of American
discovery. If it can be shown that there ia
fair prospect of accomplishing either OF these
objects, the nation, as it seems, will not grudge
the outlay of a new expedition; and-indepen-
IDENTIFY Of the men who are prominently before
the public, and whose names will naturally
suggest themselves to every mind in connec-
ton with such scheme-sailors will hardly
be wanting to incur the risk of suffering, ex-
posure and death for the sake OF Polar add
venture.
1t cannot be denied that DR.. Kane's disoove-
ries and surmises with regard to an open Polar
seq are in the highest degree interesting and
provocative of curiosity. He is not the first,
as most people are aware, who has suggested
that there existed tract of open water in the
neighborhood of the Pole. The Russians, who
for century or more have had system of Po-
lar explorations on foot, have named the sea-
Polynia--which means q lane" or interval
of water between tracts of ice. Sir Edward
Parry, in 1927, stood on the borders of the sea,
and noticed with surprise that strong wind
blew no ice towards the shore. Similar obser-
vations were made by Phipps aud Wrangel,
There can, therefore, be no possibility that DR..
Kane has been misled. He has merely seen
and noted what had fallen previously on the
retina of others eyes without producing any
impression.
What is the nature Of this sea? What its
extent. Its temperature? It's Office in the
economy of the world? To these questions Dr.
Kane when catechised, could give no satisfac-
tory answer. All that he knows is that the
temperature Of the dir rose as he approached
it, that the water of the sea appeared warmer
than that Of the arms of the ocean further
to the south and that ducks and seals
and herbivorous animals appeared plen-
tiiul on It's surface, and apparently mi
grated towards it from the neighborhooa
These discoveries, slender as they are, tend to
overthrow the old theory that the Pole is the
centre Of atmospherical frigidity: and throw
open the door to conjecture as to the nature OF
the globes surface around the Pole, aud the
principle on which cold is distributed through
out the arctic regions Scientific men have
already taken sides, and started theories to
account for the phenomena. The geographer
Peteiman half believes half denies the exis
tence OF the open iccless sea; rather thinks
that cold and ice ia the arctic regions 'do not
uniformly or regularly decrease toward the
Pole, but that these features depend much less
on latitude than on the conf guration, extent
and arrangement of land aud water and the
oceanic currents." In other words, Mr.. Peter
man argues that the portion of the arctic re
gions hitherto explored happens to be an "ice
bound, choked up labyrinth" while the space
to the north may be open and free from land
On the other hand, other inquirers have not
Al l. ~
win result in the discovery of a sea north OF
the nortbernmost known lands under genial
climate and possibly studded with islands peo-
pied with human creatures. Certainly to the
contemporaries Of Amerigo Vespucei and
Columbus the existence of America would
have seemed as incredible as that of an inha-
bited icelcss Polar Sea can to us to-day. A
correspondent of ours has discovered in Kos
mos passage where Humboldt throws out q
speculation to the effect that the internal heat
of the earth is discharged through the Poles.
| or course oil such statements are pure hy-
| pothesis; but, really, in the world of SCIENCE
we know so little that we cannot afford to
despise plausible conjectures.
| Now, the question is whether these conflicts
| of opinion shall be set at rest, and the exist
cnce Of the Polar Sea demonstrated or dis
proved by new expedition to the Pole. In
| favor Of the scheme we have to consider the
enhanced fame it will confer on American ge-
| ographical science; it would form for in
| stance fair pendant to our discovery of the
Southern continent and might possibly lead
to results that would call to mind the old ex-
ploring expeditions Of the Spaniards, English.
Portuguese and Dutch couple of centuries
ago. Again, however the expedition resulted,
1t could not but confer large and LISTING
benefit on geographical science and add
sensible item to the fund of human
knowledge. These are the reasons for