The Trinity journal., 1856-12-13
An Open Sea at the Extreme North.

it appears, looked upon the discovery of an
open sea at the extreme North, as the great
est achievement of his voyage. Speaking of
the discovery made by William Morton and
the party he commanded, DR.. Kane says:
There, from o height of four hundred and
eighty feet, which commanded horizon of
almost forty miles his ears were gladdened
with the novel music of dashing waves and
surf, breaking in among the rocks at his
feet, stayed his further progress.
Beyond this cape all is surmise. The high
ridges to the northwest dwinded off into
low blue knobs, which blended finally with
the air, Morton called the cape which baf.
fled bis labors after his commander but !
have given it the more enduring name oi
Cape Constitution
The homeward Journey, as it was devoted
to the completion of his survey and deyel
oped no new facts, need not give. But
am reluctant to close my notice of this dis
coVery of an open sea without adding that
the details of Mr. Morton's narrative har-
monizcd with the observations of all our par
ty. | do not propose to discuss here the
causes or conditions Of this phenomenon
How far it may extend, whether it exists
simply as feature of the immediate region
or as Il part Of d great and unexplored area
communicating with polar basin, and THAT
may be the argument in favor Of one or the
other hypothesis, or the explanation which
reconciies it with established laws may be
questions for men skilled in scientific deduc-
az Al. l.. l.
ty of recording what we saw Coming, as
it did, a mysterious fuidity in the midst Of
vast plains Of solid ice, it was well calcula-
ted to arouse emotions Of the highest order !;
and do not believe there was man among
us who did not long for the means of en-
barking upon its bright and lonely waters.
But he who may be content to follow our
story for the next few months will feel, as
We did, that controlling necessity made the
desire fruitless one.
An open sea near the pole, or even an open
polar basin, has been a topic of theory for
a long time, and has been shadowed forth
TO some extent by actual or supposed dis
coyeries As far back as the days of Bar
entz, in 1896, without referring to the ear
lier and more uncertain chronicles, water was
seen to the eastward of the northermost
cape of Novaia Iema and, until its limit
ed extent was defined by direct observation,
it was assumed to be the sea itself The
Dutch fishermen, above and around Sptz-
bergen, pushed their adventurous cruises
through the ice into open spaces varying in
size and form with the season and the winds !;
and DR.. ScOreSby, a yenerated authority, al
ludes to such vacancies in the foe as point
ing i'll argument to freedom of movement
from the north, inducing open waterin the
neighborhood of the pole Baron Wran-
gell, when forty miles from the coast of Arc
tic Asia, saw, as he thought, vast, illim-
liable ocean, forgetting for the moment how
narrow are the limits Of human vision on a
sphere. So, still more recently Capt Pen
ny proclaimed sea in Wellington Sound
OH the very spot where Sir Edward Belcher
has since left his frozen ships and my pred
ecessor, Capt. Ingefeld, from the masthead
OF his little vessel, announced an open polar
basin but fifteen miles off from the ice which
arrested our progress the next year.
All these iluSory discoveries were, no
doubt, chronicled with perfect integrity /;
and 1t may seem to others, as since | have
left the field it sometimes does to myself,
that my own, though on a larger scale, may
one day pass within the same category -
Unlike the others, however that which
have yentured to call an opee sea has been
traVelet, for many miles along its coast, and
was viewed from an elevation of five hun
dred and eighty feet, still without a limit,
moved by heavy swell, tree of ice, and
dashing in serf against rock-bound shore
1T is impossible, in reviewing the facts
which connect themselves with this discoy
cry-the melted snow upon the rocks, the
crowds of marine birds, the limited but still
advancing vegetable life, the rise of the ther
mometer in the water-not to be struck
with their bearing OH the question Of mild
er climate near the pole. To refer them al
TO the modification Of temperature induced
ny the proximity Of open water is only tC
change the form Of the question for it leaves
the inquiry unsatisied, What is the cause o
the open water
This, however, is not the place to enter
upon such discussion. There is no doubt
OH my mind that, at time when historical
aud even recent limits the climate of th
'NS'Oh "do hIiltCt tlldI ~ - HOW. i lHlBU
base this opinion on the fact, abunduntly de
ycloped by our expedition of a secular ele
walton OF the cOast-ine but, independent
ly Of the ancient beaches and terraces, anC
other geographical marks, which show tha
the shore has risen, the stone hutS of the na
ilyes are found scattered along the line 0
the bay in spots now so fenced in by ice, a.
to preclude all possibility of the hunt, and
OF course, of habitation by men who rely
ON it for subsistence.
Tradition points to these as once favoritt
hunting-grounds near open water. At Rem
selaer harbor, called by the natives Aunatok
or the Thawing place, we met with Auts in
quite toierabIe preservation, with the stone
pedlGtals still standing which used to sus
lam the carcasSes Of the captured seal and
warns. Sunny Gorge, and large indenta
ton in Dallas Bay, which bears the Esoui
maIX Hame of Inhabited nlace sbou,od -,