The Opelousas patriot. [volume] (Opelousas, Parish of St. Landry, La.) 1855-1863, 1855-11-10
The Polar Sen.

DR.. Kane's statements respecting the div
covery Of the Polar Sea heighten the public
curiosity to know more. AS we now under
stand it, the open sea was approached bysa
new channel, completely frozen up and almost
imnassable, even on foot, leading from the bay
living at the point where the immense glacier
mites the coast Of Greenland to the new land
Of washington. The glacier itself appearsstto
he in longitude sixty degrees west, a consider
able distance from the old part OF Smiths
Sound, and the channel which led to the sea
was in the western part Of the bay, extending
northward. Our conjecture that the Polar-
'Sea bordered Greenland was, therefore, an
error. But the most interesting item is the
description now given Of this last wonder.
The Polar Soa, discovered by DR.. Kane, was
entirely free of ice in all its visible extent;
about three thousand square miles Of it being
seen, and q north wind Of fifty-two hours in du-
ration failed to bring in any ice from it. More
than this, it abounaed in animal life. By
what phenomenon of nature we are to account
for such "a condition Of things IN the highest
known ATTITUDES, is O mystery. 1t would be
curious to ascertain why the water which
freezes into such immense masses in the chan
mel and bay from which DIR. Kane approached
this sea, does not CONCEAL at all in the latter:
living as it does further north. Is it caused
by the vast depth, or tempestuous character OF
the Polar Sea, or is there some undiscovered
quality in the intensity of cold, as we near the
pole, which prevents congelation ; or has the
water of the sea an ingredient not found else
where? 1t has been presumed by all previous
Arctic explorers, that, beyond q certain lati-
L. l.. .,l 1:g, a,,,lI a,,Nt oxict roor 4bo Tn1a,
Here is q fact which conflicts strangely with
the theory. In the highest known ATTITUDES, a
polar sea has been found where animal life is
abundant, and the water is perfectly free Of ice.
In that remote and inaccessible region, what
q wealth of whale oil must exist if the whalers
could get at it. There, safe from the harpoon
which has mcrcilessly pursued them all round
the globe, the f%ugitives from Spitzbergen and
Greenland Sea- and Batin's Bay and the North
Pacific, have been for years disporting in safety,
bidding defiance to all the efforts Of the adven-
turous whalers. The question, what has be-
come Of all the whales, is at length approach
ing solution. The hiding place has been
found, and though DIR. Kane does not mention
the fact, it is, of course, presumable that the
animal life found in the Polar Sea, must in
clude whales, for they exist every where in the
Arctic Seas. The Importance Of this discovery
is limited only by the extent and accessibility
of the sea itself, and though at present the
prospect is not the most promising for its util-
ity, yet future revelations and discoveries may
resolve the difficulty. There is ample room
about the pole and in the Arctic circle for a
sea of very large area. The extent northward
Of the Arctic ocean, lying above Europe and
Asia and the western part of the northern
face of America, has never yet been defined.
The eastern part of the northern face of this
continent is bordered by a perfect labyrinth Of
islands, great and small, reaching as far north
as discovery had gone, until at last DR.. Kane
has found the limit of the system in the open
Polar Sea. The question now to be solved, is
whether this sea is connected with the Arctic
Ocean, before alluded to, and thus stretches
clear across the pole, or whether new islands
remain to be discovered, which separate it from
that ocean. The probability seems to be thai
the Polar Sea must be of great extent an6
depth, or it could not remain free of ice. Ar
approach northward from the eastern continent
would probably show the reality. Unless i
be more accessible than by the opening at til,
presentdiscovered, it must continue an unknown
realm, where the whales may luxuriate unmo
Tested, and the seals and walrusses multiply q
their leisure. philadelphia American.