Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1872-11-18
POLAR EXPLORATIONS.

The different exploring expeditions
which have been formed and sent out by
Europe and America during the past
two years, have been watched with a
great deal of interest, with the expecta-
ton, or at least the hope, of important
results. 1t was believed that, with the
light already shed on polar topography
and the benefit of the published expert
ence of past arctic navigators, one at
least of the expeditions would be able
to add to the information we at present
possess concerning the great northern
hemisphere, upon whose icy shores the
bones of many a gallant explorer and
the timbers of many a gallant ship lie
bleaching.
If the tidings just given the world by
DR.. Petermann of Gotha are to be relied
upon, our expectations are shown to be
not in vain. We are informed that an
expedition consisting of only ten men.
commanded by Capt. Nils Johnson, which
sailed from Fromsoe, in Norway, on the
8th of May last, had on the 18th of Au-
gust reached the land lying to the east
of Spitzbergen, which, although known
by geographers to exist more than two
and half centuries ago, was never Wis
tied until the present year. The whole
sea to the south and east of this land,
says DIR. Petermann, Capt. Johnson found
entirely free from ice. Landing to ex-
plore the territory, which he was the
first to set foot upon, he ascended a
mountain near the coast, from which he
obtained a view over wide circuit He
thus discovered that the land masses,
which had been supposed to be separa-
ted by channels into three large islands,
formed continuous deeply indented is
land. There were also number of
small islands in the vicinity, forming a
group of considerable size. On the 18th
of August, Captain Johnson again set
) sail, and the two following days ex-
plored the entire southern and eastern
coast of the island, which he reported
, everywhere, as we'll as the open sea to
be wholly destitute of ice. The ocean
. lying towards the east-northeast was also
perfectly free of ice, so far as 1t was
distinguishable from the summit of the
. hills.
This group of islands lies at the very
edge of the great polar ice current, and
S the observations made by Capt. Johnson
e lead to the inference that in the deer
: channels lying to the eastward the ex
. peditions now in that region will find
an extension of the Gulf stream main
tanning an open water passage to the ex
i treme latitudes of the globe. The fac
/ that along the eastern coasts of thesf
1t islands, immense piles of driftwood anC
s fragments of wrecks were found. in somt
). places twenty feet above the highest tt
e dal mark, is evidence that the current.
d of the Arctic ocean are in that Longitude
l. unimpeded, either by land or ice.
; Nearly all the expeditions set on foo
v for arctic explorations have heretofor
re laid their course to the west of Green
land, and northward through Bafins'
Bay Barrow, Ross, Parry, Kane, Nj
is Clintock, Sir John Franklin and others
{ all chose this route, which we may fair
. ly accept as impracticable after thci
es individual failures. From the report
i'd of johnson, and also from that of Capt
&c Altman of the Austrian expedition
- now in the same latitude, it is reasona
h. BILE to believe that the long sought clear
OF water passage to the pole has at las
y. been discovered, and that before th
Is close of another year the mystery of S
. . many thousand years will have been III
le raveled.
',