Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-05-05
ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS.

The first fruits of the American Arctic
exploring expedition have arrived in the
shape of bad news. According to the New
York Times correspondence from New
foundland, the Polaris, while vending her
way northward in the merry month of Feb
ruary, came In contact with an iceberg con-
siderably harder than herself, and sprung a
lively leak. By the united efforts of all
hands, scientific corps included, she was
kept above water, and on March was at
Disco, where there is every prospect of her
remaining for some time. 1t is suggested
that about the best thing Capt. Hall can do
is TO return home and stay here. But he
will hardly do this. After repairing his
vessel he win most likely return and try his
fortunes again in the Artic region. The
labors Of later English navigators in Arctic
explorations have been signalized, says the
Boston Globe, by zeal, energy, and profess
sional devotion, which challenge the won
der and admiration of the world. While
toiling to reveal the hidden passage
they have also created the geography
of the Arctic regions, and added largely
to the stores of science. 1t should not
be forgotten that Sir John Ross, the pio-
neer explorer Of the present century,
in the spring of 1882, during his second
Arctic voyage, sought out and located the
north uoarDotio r,,Ia rbora fla Daadla
pointed vertically. This point was fixed
by him in lat. 20 deg, min, II sec. N,
Ion. SO deg, 46 min, as sec. W. Among
the heroes of this Arctic warfare viii ever
be remembered the gallant Franklin, who,
returning safe from first and second ex-
petition, went forth upon third and more
important one, from which alas he has
never returned; and though upwards Of
twenty-five years have elapsed since he and
his gallant comrades sailed from Sheerness
in the ErebUS and Terror, no certain intel
Iigence of his fate has ever yet come to hand.
The uncertainty as to the fate of Sir John
Franklin, so long as there was the shadow Of
ahope that he might yet be rescued, added
powerful stimulus to Arctic exploration,
called forth many new enterprises in Eng
land, and stimulated the zeal of American
seamen. The search for a northern pas
sage, and for traces Of the lost Franklin,
went hand in hand; Americans co-operated
with Englishmen in the perilous work Of
exploration; and when the staunch old
Resolute, of Capt. Belcher's relief squadron
of 1852, abandoned in the ice of Barrow's
Strait in May, 1854, at length drifted with
out the Attic circle, and was picked up in
Davis Straits by an American whaler, she
was reftted and restored TO her original
soundness by our government, and sent to
England by a Captain of the United States
Navy, as present to Queen Victoria; thus
symbolising the fraternal feeling which in
spiTed Americans to cooperate with
Englishmen in the search for the
gallant Franklin. There can be but
little doubt that Franklin succeed
ed in discovering, and made the
northwest passage, before the final loss or
destruction of his party, and probably in
the spring of 1850. The localities in which
fragments of his ships fittings were subse-
quently found seem to prove this to the sat
isfaction of Sir John Richardson and other
able Arctic authorities. In the fall Of the
same year, Capt. Mcclure, of the British
ship Investigator, who had entered the
Arctic regions trCm the Pacific, by way of
Behring's Strait, also discovered a north
west passage, and subsequently returned
home with his officers and crew by way Of
that passage, being the first who are known
to have passed by water from sea to sea,
and who have returned TO tell the tale.
The Investigator having been abandoned in
the ice, Capt. McClure's PARTY were taken
on board the North Star, which had entered
BarroW's Strait from the east, and made
the passage home in her. Still the
passages attributed to Franklin and Nc
Clure are neither of them across the
open Polar Sea, of Arctic writers. On the
contrary both are among the islands of the
wonderful Archipelago; lying to the
north of the American continent, and
through the straits and sounds of that Ar
chipelago; and both have their highest north
ern limit in about lat. Is deg. n. The open
Polar Sea is yet to be traversed by some
hardy mariner, and the record of his exploit
is yet to be published to the world. Wran-
cell has seen it to the north of Siberia, Par
ry at the north of Spitzbergen, and Kane at
the north of Greenland. Probably this is
one and the same Polar Sea, seen from diff
ferent points of approach; the boundless
waste Of waters stretching towards the
pole, without particle of ice encumbering
its surface, dashing It's unfrozen waves and
rolling surfs against the naked rocks, as de-
scribed by Morton, an iceless area of water
of 4,200 miles extent, as SCI forth by Kane.
The problem of a navigable passage
through the Arctic ocean, having for CEN
turtles engaged the attention of the nautical
world, and having been solved by practi-
cal demonstration of the possibility of pass
ing from ocean to ocean through the icy re-
sions of the north, the only remaining ques-
ton of general interest in reference to ultra
Arctic navigation is, whether such passage
is of any practical value to the commerce
of the world. Upon this point there can
be but one opinion, however much we may
sympathize with Capt. Hall and his party
lust heard from; for whoever will examine
the narratives of Arctic explorers, whether
| early or late, whether successful or unsuc-