The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-11-01

sidering that IL was delusion which had
taken some hold OF the popular mind
that IL should now be dispelled Is In
itself result of no small value, and may
possibly in some degree account for the
tone of DR.. HAYES letter
DR. HAYES tells US that he stood upon the
shores of an open Polar sea in latitude 81
| ts1' IS would have been more accurate);
that he believes that sea navigable and
that he is utterly at u loss 10 understand
why the Alert and Discovery did not sail
upon its waters, unless we assume that the
spirit which animated BAFFIN, Ross. and
PARRY, and the long list OF Arctic heroes,
has died out with the advance of steam, the
telegraph, and home comforts Tho sim
pie answer TO this is that the Alert did sail
across It, The Discovery went into winter
! quar- tiers in 81 a. as depot ship, while in
the words of the telegram:
| 1.-THE Alert pushed forward and rounded the
| northeast point of Grants land, but instead Of
| finding continuous coast - expected one hum
| bred miles toward the norh, she found herself
| on the border of an EXTENSIVE sea, with impenc-
| trable ice an no haroOr."
She was therefore compelled to 20 into
winter quarters about fifty miles north
of the point from which DIR. HAYES
says no saw the open sea, and which,
tafter crossugl the Alert found TO DO
closed by an impeneuable ice barrier,
which was evidently permanent. for the
ice varied from eighty to one hundred
and nifty feet in thickness. This is n din
GUILTY which DR.. HAYES has no trouble In
meeting. at lie said,n he remarks, {" that
the ice was eighty feet thick. In plain
English. don't believe IT," After this, 1t
seems superiluoue for him TO tell us that
we are all apt to be prejudiced in favor of
our own views"
The fact seems to be that the points
reached by KANE, HAYES, and HALL
were reached and passed by both the
Alert and the Discovery with COM
paratively little difficulty, and 10 was
only after passing the limit OF former
exploration that obstacles OF kind
never before encountered by Arctic ex-
plorers were met with. Hitherto sledge
Journeys have almost invariably been un-
dertaken on seas more or less surrounded
by land, and the most successful jour
neys have been those which skirted the
coast. Thus we find that the Alert's
sledge parties explored 30 miles OF coast
westward from Greenland, and also ex-
plored far to the east ward, all in higher
ATTITUDES than had ever been reached be-
fore. Had there been coast line as was
hoped, to the north. there can be no
doubt that the limit of exploration
would have been far nearer the pole
t than that reached; but, instead OF
this, there was boundless ocean OF
l permanent ice. with "blocks frequeu tly
= a mile ia diameter, and varying In height
from ten to Nifty feet. The sedge part
was obliged TO make IL road AZ half the
$ distance travelled. As the sledge loads
D had to be brought forward by install
I ments, the party really trnversei 210 miles
although it only progressed 80
e Some idea of the difficulty of this attemp,
s may be gathered from the fact that tue
time required to accomplish this stance
. was seventy days, or ten days NOR
than DR.. HAYES own sledge jour
ney: and that "out OF seventeen per
sons who composed the party, nine be
cam, utterly helnless and had =" =" 80"
- on sedges, and three could barely
walk. and were unable TO pull THAT.
says DIR. HAYES, twas their own fault,
= and he assures us that his party never ever
h suffered from frost bite; land yet thi
. was in the exact region where the Enghsl
r expedition has been finding, as they say
h eighty feet OF ice"
q But this Is not the fact. DIR. HAYES wa
q never within 100 miles OF the region finall,
d reached by the English expedition, an,
: his indignation at learning that the SCI
y there was solidly frozen and could neve
y be navigated, and that the ice was eight,
n feet thick, as reported officially by Capt
n
accusing that officer. whose high charac
= ter and scientific attachments are beyon
: dispute, of wilful and deliberate false
q hood. The region being, in fact, totall
n different and the registered cold create
than he ever suffered, DR.. HAYES has IL
i means of knowing what the obstacles wer
!. which this expedition had TO overcom
e or of comparing them with those whc
he encountered. There were men in til,
late expedition who had proved on former
occasions that their experience and eudur
u ance in sledge travelling was equal to tina
= OF DIR. HAYES himself. And, indeed, dr.
b. coastng JOURNEYS OF the other sl3y that.
ties will probably be found. titudes, they
l. though in more northens other explor-
t, travelled rs many Iho Same time and
l. ers have donetll severer climatic con
D., travelled -
n ditionall await with interest the detailed
t., accounts of this expedition; and while we
confess ourselves disappointed with the
results, we shall certainly require stronger
evidence than that brought forward by
Dr. HAYES himself before assuming that
those engaged in IT lacked the qualities for
Arctic exploration b. which he is so con-
spicuously distinguished. -
Two Cases-One Argument.
Mrs. IRENE HOUSE,, who was recently
| g., Ill