The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-06-26

stems and make a final effort through Smiths sound
| and Kennedy channel. Much needless anxiety has
been ex ressed regarding the hoe ice In this channel
carrying boat and sedse parties south While they
were travelling over It TO tue norlhward. So far as
the present writer is informed, lhls mlshap never
occurred 10 any extent excepting Ia the case oil Cap
tain Parry, wnen travelling norm nom Spitlbergen
| in 1921 Leaving his SHIPS at that island he sirug-
gled along bravery with his boats and finally reached
latitude % 40 north, although lie was sometimes two
miles south OF MS starting point ait r days jour.
neg OF fifteen miles. It may he remarked That tlls
Is the highest well authenticated latitude ever
reached although some OF TIE old Dntcn fishermen
claim 10 have reached the North Pole and sailed two
| degrees south on this side OF 1t.
rms condiIion II things, however, does not exist
! In Smith's Sound. The passage between Cares Al
exander and Isabella Is less Than tnirty-two ge0-
nortnward OF these capes Is so hemned IN that it
cannot come down with the current except IN small
travelling. Tue "Melvlie Bay Pack SO fatal to
wlalers, does not come down from Smiths sound.
produced from That direction, but rather from the
! bays sounds, nords and glaciers on either side OF
ba,ins Bay. writer In app toms Journal June
| $, 1871 says In regard to this route-
Were no. for the in Kennedy Channel, which
entirely up there would be IN going
entrance ey M ehann r ons sm sosna
saan ma Wide while n sas
baby from eighty hundred mics Cape CONSTITUTION,
solid PACK, so protested py the land that wind
edges ersskns OF large does IN the summer which are re-
a o s Ss Ia & vsS hh
It's sides o contact with the rocks 50 that there always
|
loose ice either mes away ground 70 pieces thus leav
an Be n % he
the coast ne .rendng away 70 the ca ward forms
constant souncrv current This Of course leaves wider
quenty, is there may expect attain Inc lorg
sought-tor passage to the north.
1t Will be remembered that DR.. Kane followed the
eastern snore line, and was completely beset in
latitude IS deg. 81 nn north, longitude 10 deg. 40
vessel there ana proceed to the DANISH Settlements
IN open boats HIS exploring parties, h viewer,
travelled in all directions over The Kennedy Channel
| pacK; one of them, under tine command OIL Dr..
| Hayes, crossing to urnnell Land, and another, In
charge OF Mr.. Morton lwho win accompany Captain
Hall on the present expedtionA reached latitude
'open Polar Sea- subsequently Dr. Hayes, in
$751; travelled on this same PACK to Grnnell Land,
| and thence northward 10 latitude 81 deg. 80 min.
north, where he was also stopped by open water,
known limit Quoting again from Appteton'S Jour
| nat:-
Later In the Or. HavcS from summit
Of Cape isapea stretch OF open water extending about
hy ss omit the coast o. r nne ~, Land Win proea
two mon his; and although his vessel too badly
mated sro voaa hive aund
little difficulty forcing her through to the water.
| From these various examples IL will be that
there Is no danger of parties beng carried To the
northward on does. and also that there Is rea.
sonabe prospect OF northern passage being round
Should the attempt by The way OF jones' Sound
| prove unsuccessful.
me limits OF IN article do not AFFORD space to
canvass The question OF rea hing the Pole b, the So
called tnern0metrlc gateways," or, more simply,
Dy following Tile ocean currents; nor IS IL necessary
so To do, IRON the TACT that this theory obtains but
| little supp TT among The practical seancn ana &C.
compIlsbed scientists wno nave visited the Arctic
regions IN person, In fact these s'gateways" have
been tried several tunes during the iast 25o years,
but, with one exception (iarry, IN l,27L none OF
| these Old World navigators attained SO high lati-
I'll .e as mas Deen reached under our own nag the
| course o The last two decades by working directly
north against the currents. all OF this, too has
been accomplished without the all OF steam power,
and now that q vessel prope. ly hted ana equipped
Is about to the search. there Is no appa. ent
reason why she should not achieve success, reach
the North Pole oil the earth and tile beyond caWl
tue muchalsputed question Us to the existence oil an
"Open POar Sea-"
! In the minds OF some the la,eness of the season
initiates against the prospect Of Captain Hall ac
complaining anything oil importance this year, aud
the opinion has been frequently advanced that he
ought 10 be already a. the head OF BaIlns Bays but
/ II should be borne IN mind that August the most
| favorable month for making assage through
| Melville Bay, where the greatest d'flcultes are
| generally encountered, and II Captain hall was
already on the coast OF Greellan 1t might not be
advisable TO drive his vessel no the Ice until has
/ become weakened by the constant, down-pouring
lays OF the summer SUM- II Is true that whaling
Leave nome N Me ns, ana April hoping to
NAV or iuae. but they are frequently Deset In the
sye q Say s1 or a ,ps aas ICE ,s so ' as the
through even then. Many wEaicrs have been
| crushed here like egg shells, but tue majority OF
these mlsnaps nave occurred In the montn May,
ana many av ssel, after beng severely "nlpped,"
has drllted away on. through DAVIS Straits, her
crew glad to return SAFELY home without having
| securei a single gallon OF Oh.
! Otuer vessels than those OF whaemen have also
/
about Tor months unabie TO eXtrlcate themselves.
the most remarkable Instance VI tais klnd occurred
on the first Urneii expedition In search OF -lr John
Franklin. The ADVANCE ana RESCUE were caught in
the pack al the entrance 10 Wellington Channel,
about the mdi,e oil september, ls5, and AL er driit
ing up ana down the channel were finally carried
| out through Lancaster Sound into Ba MS Bay and
thence outside Of the Arctic Circle before they were
released on the 9Th OF June, 1851. Another similar
| case was that OF the English exploring ship Reso
Lutte, abandoned III 1854 several uliies 70 the west
| ward OF the place where the Advance ana Rescue
were pese. she subsequently drtcd out into Ballns
Bay, where she was found oy Ca tain Buddmgton
! tan uncle Of Captain :. y. Duddington the present
sailiuI master OF the P0arlsl and seat into New
London. she was subsequently, purch lse Dy our
government restored 10 nee original condition and
sent to England as "a present to Queen Victoria.
other instances might oe cited, but enough has
been said u snow that little or no.h.ng Is to be
gained by entering Meville Bay so early In the
season.
On the other hand we know that there Is com.
paratvely free passage IN the month OF August and
that vessel deeply laden may pass through with
out much risk or danger, a. was done by Captain
IN. 'eied, who sailed from England July 4. 1852,
and oelor. the ast or August had reached latitude
Is 80 north out retraced us steps WITHOUT attempt
ing to land. DR.. Kane started on his second expe-
dlion very early IN Tue season, having LEFT New
York May 81 1858, and. alter very dlcult pas sage,
only reached Cape Alexander, at the entrance Of
SMITHS sound on the TN Of August
DR.. Hayes zoos his departure stli later In the sea-
son. having sailed lrou Boston July TO- 1880. Proven,
on the Greenland coast, was reached In twentyfour
days, anu after spending eisnteen days at the Dan
| In fty-lve hours. without inee.ilg the much
dreaded pack until within fifteen miles OF Cane
| lOrk, anu even lnen lie IOTceu HIS way
quite easily, and Us OF Cape Alexander on the lst
| OF September Returning III the early part OF Au-
gust, 1891, lie made the passage In live hours less
time, the Ice being SO detayed that there was no
Difficulty in forcing his vessel through IT, although
she was IN a sadly crippled lonlition.
The passages made ny these vessels give add-
tlonal proof mat captain Ian has su.nclen. time to
reach Inc scene OF his proposed laoors and select
suitable waer harbor long before winter really sets
H. as Dir. Hayes was not lnaliy frozen IN untll te
hrst week OF October after he mad been nearly
month in his winter quarters at Port FoulKe lati.
tube rs Is north.
IL Is SCARCELY 10 be expected that much can be
| done In the way or exploration during the present
| season, although n the winter should be an open
one preliminary surveys can be made and caches OF
| PROVISIONS established for the spring campaign,
whether it be prosecuted with boats dog teams.
There are many other items Of interest regarding
ArciIc explorations IN general, and mis- proposed
voyage IN particular, winch might be touched upon,
but neIiher time nor 8 ace permLs In THIS art Gle