Richland beacon., 1873-05-31
The Arctic Despair.

The fate of Captain Hall and his Arctic
expedition will fill the country with deep
sorrow. The Polaris was fitted out for
this expedition with special care. Every
art and resource that could insure co fort.
safety. and success were provided. Cap
tain Hall. man of large experience in
Polar expeditions. and great practical |
ability and force of character. supern- |
tended every detail. and picked his men. !
Among his crew was the celebrated Will !
liam Marion, who accompanied DIR. Kane |
on his famous expedition and discovered
- the open Polar sea-" The expedition
sailed from New York. in August. 1871,
under the best possible auspices. and with
| high hopes Of success. Captain Hall was
the embodiment of energy and endurance.
He seemed to combine the force OF IA steam
engine with the tOughness f Polar
bear. But even his metallic constitution
could not stand the strain of Arctic expo
sure, and. exhausted by an exploring eX-
petition. he returned To his ship TO die IN
October, 1872, another victim To the illu-
sive dream of Arctic discovery which
lured Hudson, Behring. Shalarof. and
: Franklin TO d, Struction. and released the
, heroic Kane only that he might die. The
Polaris pushed forward. but failed To reach
point so high aS that attained by Kane.
:
some fifteen miles in width, but with the
appearance OF open water further up.
I The expedition turned back. On the 10Th
Y of August, 1872 she was leaking badly
e and apparently sinking. Capt. Tyson re-
moved " quantity of stores TO an lce-lloe,
q when the ice cracked, the vessel broke
/ her fastening, and nineteen men dritted
o away. and tlOated some fiji cen hundred
miles during more than half year.
lr through privations and pcrils which
l. language cannot describe, unit! struck by
:. the Tigress. and relieved from what
n seemed their inevitable fate. What has be-
III come of the leaking Polaris it is easy to
III conjecture, though none can tell.
2 SO, another Arctic expedition has
N proven a practical and costly failure
10 and il is only by accident that W,
= have learned its fate, and have any left Il
u tell the story of its endurance and catas
9. trophc. Other expeditions are threading
Il their periOus way through the ice-iloes
n if not already lost. The PrIsSian eXpe
81 dition. organized by DIR. Petermam AM
'd embarked in the Germana. was hear'
rs from not long ago. Then, there are th
se Swedish expedition, commanded by VI
Il. NOrdens- kiuld: the Austrian expedition
~ directed by Payer and Weyprecht: tn
al Norwegian expedition, under Captain
re Mack and the French expedition &
ST Hector Pavy. which started from Sa
~ Francisco last year. What will becom
ey of these? And even if they are tortunat
Ill enough to return. and each of them brin
re- back an iniinitesimal speck Of information
IL wrestled with such incredible risk an
i, effort from the Arctic ice-grip. what wi
nj it all amount to? Will The gain in know
er edge pay for the exposure and eXer 10
NV and sacrifice required To obtain it? Wi
oi commerce be benefited by breaking tn
irt icc-h,rri.rs that protact the Polar Sc:
and dsSipating the Arctic despair: HOY
,e' are mankind TO get any good by any dl
~ covery that can possibly be made in tha
ny realm Of ice and night? Admit the Ease
u! nation that invests these upper region
u and lures adventures to miracles of effol
ne and endurance. But is not the yieldn
to it a waste of force that could be sper
with thousand times larger return {
practical benefit in other fields? If tn
earth has changed its center OF gravity
so as has been ingeniOusly maintained. :
on that what is now one vast ice-tield was
,r. temperate zone, covered with verdure an
al teeming with valuable products, We ca
afford to wait until another change sha
,d. unlock its ice vaults and give its burie
tn treasures back TO mankind. But. unit
,st the vast open regions of the earth are el
Az plored and civilized, and the practic;
FL schemes which invite and will repay hi
as man effort in human benefit have bee
les carried TO successful issue, whoever pre-
poses another expedition 10 explore thes
To barren Arctic ice-iields should be treate
st as visionary. if not as an enemy of maj
en kindly. Y. Graphic.