Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-02-13
South Polar Expedition.


up between the North Pole and tho South,
as to which can offer the greatest attrac.
tions to explorers. Hitherto the North
has been the most popular, partly because
1t is uearost to those nations from which
the explorers come, and there are at
present no fewer than seven expeditions
in the Artic regions endeavoring to solve
tho mystery Of the great Polar Sea. OF
these, one is French, one American, one
Austrian, ono Prussian, two Norwegian,
and one Russian. 1t will be noticed that
England has Withdrawn from this field of
exploration, wherein her navigators have
distinguished themselves from the days of
Cabot, Bafin, Davis and Scoresby down to
those Of Franklin, Mcclure and Nc Clin-
took. She has now turned her attention
to tho Antarctic regions, which are ac-
cessible in direct lines from four of her
colonies, viz. tho Cape OF Good Hope,
Australia, New Zealand and the Falkland
Islands. She has chartered the Challeng-
era vessel Of 1400 tons, and fitted her out for
q three years. voyage Of exploration and
deep sea soundings, under the direction of
competent sci:'nti6c men; and attention
will first be given to the Southern Pacific
Ocean. This vast portion of the earth's
surface has not been investig gated 40 it
ought to have been. The Spanish and
Portuguese explorers sailed through tho
Straits of Magellan in the fifteenth CEN
tury, but they seem to have considered
that far eaoug h south, or else to have
thought tn It the best thing they could do
would be to 60 to India - soon ~ posi-.
bic. and 20 they stored in that direction
northwest, accidentally discovering island
after island On the way. Thus it happen
ed that until the year 1916, when the
Dutch navigator Van Schouten discovered
Cape Horn, and gave it ito present name,
no one had" ventnred' further south but,
when he led the way others followed, and
it WAS soon found that tho then prevalent
idea of geographsrs that the Antarctic
regions were occupied by vast ice. bound
continent, was not wholly without tounda.
ton. Tasman, Dampler, ssCook. and other
navigatore, visited these regions, but,
though they discovered Australia, New
Zealand, Van Dieman's Land, and other
islands, they did not contribute much to
the worlds knowledge of the South Polar
Circle. 1t was not until the present con.
tury that any material progress as made.
1n 1919 British brig discovered tho
islands now known 20 Palmer's Land and
the South Orkneys. After that they were
frequently visited by whalers. In tho
Same year (l8l9 the Russian Government
sent out an expedition under Captains
Lazaren and Belling ghaussn, aud those in
trepid explorers almoet circumnavigated
tho South Pole at an average distance of
thirty degrees, and examined = part Of
the Polar Circle. They also discovered
the first continental land there, and named
it Alexander Land. This appeared to be
= cape belonging to large continent; it
was completely locked in ice. From that
time up to l84O, several American, French
and English expeditions were sent out to
these regions, which ascertained that there
existed within the South Polar Circle
vast continent. Lieut.. Wilkes, Of tho q. s.
Navy, sailed more than 1900 miles along.
eide Of wall of ice from $50 t. 200 feet
high, beyond which, at MANY points, rose
high mountainous land. In 1912 Sir
James Ross discovered South Viotoris
Land, whereon was lofty volcano, l2,-
600 feet in height, now known as Mount
Erebus; but bis further progress was
checked by IN immense continuous wall OF
ice, above which could be seen, in the far
distance, mountain peaks of great height
covered with ice.
1tis one Of the singalarities Of this por-
ton Of the earth's surface, containing an
area double that Of Europe, that it exhibits
no sign Of ANIMAL, marine, or vegetable
lie. In the sea itself Lie seems extinct.
unless tho deep soundings shall reveal
some at the bottom of the ocaan. But it
appears from the soundings taken by Sir
James Ross, that the Antarctic seas ore
generally shallow, comparatively speak
ing. The depth rarely exceeded 400
fathoms, or 240o feet. (not half mile),
and it was ordinarily only from 200 to 500
fathoms, while in some spots in the At
lantio ocean theldepth is Is, 900 feet. At
one point of the coast of Brazil, Sir James
Ross failed to touch the ground at
depth Of q, 900 feet, or ST miles, and at
one spot in tho Antarctic ocean he failed
at $4,000.