The Hawaiian gazette., 1869-01-06
The Recent Expeditions to the
North Pole. and Contemplate
ed French Expedition.
From La Revue des Deux MOndcs.l

when 1t suddenly disappeared, their as
tonishment was great at beholding Smith,
Straits entirely free from ice, and throngec
with prodigious number Of birds. The
tide was felt by them in Kenpedy's Chan.
mel, and the thermometer being plunged
into the water, marked two degrees above
the point of eoDgelation Of salt water
Having turned Jackson Caps, in order to
follow the seashore, they rapidly proceeded
on an icefeld, at the rate Of ix miles an
hour, and the farther they advanced north
ward, the higher the temperature became,
and everything seemed to be reviving.
Notwithstanding it was SO early in the
season, they found many plants. I'm the
Bay of Rensselaer," writes Kane, "with
the exception of the walrus, we had no.
thing to shoot at, while where Morton
went, the brant-geese and eider-ducks
were so numerous that he was able to kill
two at a single shot. The brant-goose
had not been seen since we passed the
southern entrance to Smiths Straits. 1t
is well known by all the Polar navigators
as being migratory bird from the Amer
ican Continent, and lives on vegetable
matter, generally marine plants, and the
molluses attached to them. 1t is rarely
to be seen in the interior, and its habits
are indicative of the presence Of water.
"The rocks were covered with sea-
swallows, for miles along the shores of the
channel, from the point where the water
was free, but as they progressed to the
north, swimming birds gradually took their
place. There were four kinds of guIls.
Of the fora there Is little to be said, and
l would not like to infer from it anything
as to the temperature, as the season was
not sufficiently advanced for the develop
ment of Arctic vegetation. Strange to
say, the only specimen that was brought
back was crucifer-HGpeIis p.ygnadn,-
the siliques of which still contained some
seeds that had survived the long winter.
This plant had been found north of the
great glacier, and had never been observed
above the latitude of the southern zone of
Greenland"
AS our travellers went on, the ice which
had served as path for the dogs, became
thinner and thinner, and at last disap-
peared. Morton then climbed the rocks
near the beach, and noticed for the first
time there, the Arctic Petrel-P ProceHdria
glacidlis-wnich had not been seen since
they left the waters frequented by the
whalemen,-200 miles. to the southwark.
On the 2lst of June, the two explorers
found their way stopped by high Cape,
which they were not able to pass, and
having ascended to an altitude of about
1000 yards, Morton planted the American
flag, and called the Cape Independence
Cape. He had then arrived at 81 9 90,
and could see nothing east or north but
an open sea, extending beyond his visual
horizon.
This precious discovery, giving such un-
expected Information respecting the ma
ture Of the Arctic regions mouth of Smiths
Straits, could not be accepted without We
hement discussion but it was triumph
antly confirmed seven years after, by DIR.
Hayes. The latter gentleman, who was
with Kane during that voyage, in the ca
pacity of physician, fitted out, in 1861,
new exploring expedition. He took up
his winter quarters at Fort Foulk, and on
the Sd of April, left bis ship and pro-
ceeded up Smiths Straits in sleighs, but
having traversed about half the channel,
he was obliged to send back to the ship
most of his exhausted crew, keeping with
himself only three hardy companions. They
passed the Straits and proceeded along
the coast, ON the ice. On the 18th of
May, in latitude sse 30', and at dis
tance of S25 kilometres from the Pole,
Hayes saw before him a vast sheet of
water. Everything says he, "was to
me an evident proof that l had reached
the shores of the Polar basin, and that
the large Ocean was rolling at my feet"
AT some distance from where he stood,
the waves, sweeping along the coast, we're
breaking to pieces the ice, which finally
disappeared. There, DR.. Hayes hoisted
the flag of the United States in the north
ern breeze. But it was time to think of
returning, and, after having named that
extreme point of the world, Union Cape,
Hayes went back to Port Foulk.
These are the precise and trustworthy
observations which certainly bring with
them the conviction that there is an open
sea, northwest of Greenland, at least dur
ing certain time of the year.
Previously to the discoveries of Morton
and Hayes, some Russian navigators had
already found an open sea north of ST.
IBERIA. Hedenstrom saw it, for the first
time, in 1908. From 1921 to 1923, Wran-
gel and d'Anjou were able to determine
certain points of the coast of the Polar
Sea. This expedition. which has been