The New York herald., 1871-11-15
THE NORTH POLE.

Tho Discovery Of tho Open Polar se.-
Report OF Lieutenant Payer, of tho Germnu
ExpeditiOn-lhe Best Route to the Norsr,
Pole.
The Geographical and Statistical Society OF Frank.
fort-on-the- Main has received report from Lieu
tenant julius Payer one or the two leaders OF the
,,rman expedition to the North Pole. 1t Is dated
"octor,r o. from the Norwegian coast, on board the
shin Haralo Haarfage," and presents some new
facts OF very grert interest. After some lntroJuc
tory remarks the repor. goes on to say
The preliminary expedition, for the exploration OF
the sea between Spitzbergeu and Nova Zembla.
which Is to be followed next yeas Dy an expedition
pected result-one which is opposed to ad previous
cssicnatlons. Tue reason why the principal object
karls LAnd-has not and could not be consistently
c@arilea @ out win DC explained to you by Naval Lieu
S sSnant w eyprecht personally. AS an 0f1set against
lns Ialure There appears. however, the discovery
u un extensive open polar sea In place OF the un-
naWgaDie Inc lsussians, the owedes, and even the
German expedition OF 1888, vanly attempted to
polar sea. But the result now on AIMED il calCu-
lated 10 give a different turn TO the whole polar
question: and to create new basis for the explora-
ton OF the North Pole.
WHY Tng FoRMEK GERMAN RxPEDlTIoN FAILED.
Ii Is very much 10 be regretted tnat the great
man North Polar expedir0n Of 1S6v-70 did not take
tnis route through this Sea or Nova ZemDa, as 1t
declared II 90 be tho route for into
the heart OL the Polar basin.
have hitherto decidedly opposed every route east OF
Spitzbergen, and that the numerous Russian expedi
ons during inc present century have Hot even been
ana although the voyage OF the Norwegian,
Johannesen, last year, close to the coast OF the
double Island to the sea OF Kara to tue Sea OF
Barentz, was considered an extraordinary and
doubtiul event. III spite oil these facts t0thc con.
trary, our experience mas proved the existence OF
on extensive open sea north or Nova Zembla Th8
Sea Of Kara has been explored by the navigat0rs,
sim0nscn ana Nattlscn ana others, and reported 10
be alnosE completely Tree from Ice. Stmonsen mas
not found any Ice even around the White
the connection OF the open sea oil Nova ZemDla
with The waters Of The north OF Siberia may be con-
sidered an established fact. With TINS discovery
vanlshes an immense territory or leo from our
maps. The year 1871 VIII undoubtedly be repre-
sentcd ~ very favorable ice navigation, al
though ''unlavorabie years have often been spoken
or without cause or proof But the walrus hunters
OF Noringia are UNANIMOUS In regarding last sum-
mer as Ine worst season ever Experienced. Even
the steamer Geriania, oI the German expedition,
has not succeeded In penetrating into the sea OF
Kara. In Norway the fact that sailing vessels
have achieved higher results than steamohps Is At
trlbuted 10 the faulty CONSTRUCTION OF the Germana
as sailing vessel as well steamer, and 1t Ia
therefore u matter vi great Importance to subject
this vessel TO impartial examination
THE RGS uLT OF TILE POLAR EXPEDITION
The question now arises. now came the result OF
the prescn polar voyage TO be SO essentiaily dii.
we are as lar irom The presumption 10 believe that
we have acted with more energy and resolution
enterprise Oh q degree with the large expeditions
tnat went before u.s. The Key to the riddle Is slinpy
lett these waters too early the season. The best
and only period Tor navigation Is the autumn.
Another for the ill-5ucce5s or all these ex-
pcuitlOn5 tnat they kept too near the coast or
Nova ZemDa or SpltlDcrgen, as 1t now appears
that TO penetrate nortn forty to fortytwo degrees
longitude ls the most suitable part OF the
sea OF Nova Zemba. We reached seventy
nine northern latitude almost without any
diniculty ana 1t was only the want Of pro-
VISIONS that prevented us from going urthcr north.
The probable cause Of TINS favorable state OF The
Ice In the Oh Nova Zenbla IN the autumn appears
TO be the Cult Stream. From the collection ana
comparison oil all previous observations this can-
not however, be said as certain, but only as proba
BILE. In favor OF our opinion we may mention the
fact that In this hyn latitude the temperature Of
the water IN September Is three to nve degrees
higher than that or the air; also the frequency Of
fog, the stream to the northeast on the coast Of
Nova Zomba, the characteristic blue color Of the
Gulf Stream, anl the extraordinary number
Of small animals. In the beginning or September
the Gulf Stream seems to leave the coast or Nova
Zembla aud 10 appear further west or perhaps To
extend Itself much larger space. This stream
OF warm water Is not equally deep and loses power
AZ It extends further north One OF the most note
worthy facts Is the large number OF whales In tha
Sea Of Nova Zemua. Tho scientific experiments
made during our voyage consisted In observations
the temperature oI the surface VI tho water 10
| regular meteorological researches at different
1 depths, in geological examinations Of collections "
| stones and plants. &c.