Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1868-08-07
The North Pole.

The age Of great geographical discoveries
seems 10 have gone by. The only chances re
naming for distinction in this line are To be
found in Central Africa, and in the heart of the
Arctic Ocean. And these h.j fair ta hold "a
part, at least, of their mysteries for "a long time
yet, though Ethiopia has been Ii'ulsing hers
| one by one, for some years uaR.
The North Pole however, has hitherto latHei
all efforts {, reach it. Tie British have always
been foremost in the work of northern e2piora-
ton but since the unfortunate attempt of
SIR John Franklin, and the various expeditions
sent out In search Of him. they seem to have re-
tired from the field. The gains have been most
ly of scientific kind ; the boundary of the un-
known has been pushed hack "a little by these
strenuous and repeated attempts but it has
been at fearful cost in human life ami suffer
ing. The heroic Kane made valuable contri-
button To our knowledge of these ends of the
earth and did what he could to lay bare the
secre Of the frozen north. Hayc> ha- SAGE male
som noteworthy additions toourp previous knowl-
elg g Of these regions But Of late, curiosity,
vi le by no means satisfied In regard to the cir
CT m-poar regions. seems to nave laid these prob
lens by for time. and turned TO more access
he objects.
1t seems, however, that the project Of reach
ing the north pole is by no means abandoned.
Of course, there Is no longer hope Of finding a
northwest passage in order To shorten, for
commerce. the distance between London ard Can
ton; that problem took quite another shape
many years since. and Is. doubtless, before the
xpir.tion Of 1863 to find ono Of its practical -o-
ldtions in the establishment of railroad commit
nication between Omaha and san Francisco.
The interest which prompts to new voyages of
discovery in these seas Is one Of pure science
and We cannot doubt that the enterprise viii be
repeated again and again until some one sue
ceeds
There has been more real interest, however, in
the matter Of Arctic exploration than has been
known to the public The experiences Of pre-
vious navigators have been carefully studied
their opinions sifted and compared their plan'
criticized theoretical geography has been made
to throw what light it can upon the undertak-
ing and the result has been, not substantial
agreement as to the most feasible route to the
Pole, but a wide diversity Of opni N as to th'
best way and means Of attair-lpq the desired end
Some believe in Polynia or Polar sea SOM
deny it, existence. Some deeH, il possible t.
sail with screw steamer to the extrcl gity Of th
L. L..
and fifty miles must be made over and witt
sledSes. If we may credit the log-beal IS Of oil,
Dutch and English shippers, some Of III en- mad
their way to the eighty-eighth deg 81 far be
yon5t the highest known ATTITUDES ms RE I on GU
maPs-and almost within sight # the long
sought spot and one Cd sailor Tppo rted t
have ayerred that he had sailed t. so degrees be
yvnd the Pole
At present mere are three eNpe dtions on foo
for opening up these icy regions. They are pro
leo'ed b. English, French, and German navgl
eo'F' r geographers, and each has chosen dii
ierf at route. The Frcnchman, Capt. Gustav
anbert, proposes to double Cape Horn, and e
feet an entrance to the Arctic Sc Is by way
Behrinc's Straigs. Reaching the Stats
July, he proposes to hear away to the west
far as North Cape, and here expects to me-
c vast fields Of floating ice. Having forced h
way through this by help OF saws and gun pow
f der. if necessary, he hopes to find himself in
= free and open sea e; the same nav gable watt
e seen 10y yoyagers in 1910, and again from IS
to 1925. From this point he expects to sail d
rectlv to the Pole, through unobStuct
sea.
F. The Englishman, Capt. Sherard Osborn, pr
f poses to try once more the old route throui
O Baffin's Bay. He does not believe in an op
O sea about the Pole, though he does admit t
existence of Kane's Polynia, with its abundan
f Of vegetable life.
The German, DIR. Petermann, would try t
Spitzbergen seas They are more free from ID
he says. than any other part ofthe Arctic or \
arctic seas in the same latitude, there being
difficulty any year in reaching the parallel
eighty degrees, even with small craft ; while wi
vessels and sledges both, the most northern la
tude attained in Smiths Sound has only be
49, only about eighty-one degrees. Very little pro
r., res. Petermann argues, has been made in t
n direction since the days Of Baffin, who in l6l
no reached the seventy-eighth degree, about N
I'd a. Kane and Hayes got, though they went
he purpose to push their way to the North Pc
n He believes that from the farthest point attain
en- by Parry, eighty-two degrees forty-fve minut
r. a navigable stretches away to the north, e'
=, beyond the Pole And the testimony of
% whitworth, surgeon Of ship which in Is
=, reached the latitude of eighty-two degrees thi
" minutes, in twelve to fifteen degrees east Ion
%, tude, seems to confirm his view. He says tn
he was ms apparent obstruction to the north-ea
lot and thinks they might have reached the 7
zee with tbs same ease and safety as the latitl
they did attain.
IA But we may not take space to give all the ?
er, and cons in regard to the last mentioned 7
De. ject. Suffice it to say that it seems to h
red many things in its favor and one Of these is
(as comparatively short time required for testing
ne. Prncticabihsy of the scheme voyage Of Il