Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1877-01-04
THE NORTH POLE.
The Question of its Accessibility Discussed.
From the Cornhill Msgazinel

The Question of its Accessibility Discussed.
From the Cornhin Msgazinel
Must we conclude that the North pole
is really inaccessiblel 1t appears to us
that the annals of Arctic research Justify
no such conclusion. The attempt which
has just been made, although supposed
at the outset to have been directed along
the most promising of all the routes
heretofore tried, turned ont to be one
of the most difficult and dangerous.
Had there been land extending north
ward fas Sherard Osborn and others
opined) on the western side of the sea
into which Robson channel opens, q
successful advance might have been
made along its shore by sledging. No
Clintock, in 1853, travelled 1920 miles
in los days; Richards, 1,O12 miles in
102 days Mecham, 1903 miles; Rich
ards and Osborn, 1,093 miles Hamil-
ton, 1,150 miles with dog -sledge and
one man. In 1854 Mecham travelled
1,157 miles in only seventy days Young
travelled 1,150 miles, and McClintock
1880 miles. But these journeys were
made overland or over unmoving ice
close toa shore line. Over an ice bound
sea journeys of the kind are quite i'm
practicable. But the conditions, while not
more favorable in respect to the existence
of land, were in other respects altogether
less favorable along the American route
than along any of the others we have
considered In our brief sketch of the at
tempts hitherto made to reach the pole.
The recent expedition wintered as near
as possible to the region of maximum
winter cold in the western hemisphere,
and pushed their journey northward
athwart the region of maximum sum-
mer cold. Along the course pursued by
Parry's route the cold is far less intense,
in corresponding ATTITUDES, than along
the American route ; and cold is the real
enemy which bars the way toward the
pole. All the difficulties and dangers
of the journey either have their origin
(as directly as the ice itself in the bit
ter Arctic cold, or are rendered effective
and intensified by the cold. The course
to be pursued, therefore, is that indicat-
ed by the temperature. Where the July
isotherms, or lines of equal summer
heat, run northward, a weak place is in
Dictated in the Arctic barrier; where thew
trend southwark, that barrier is the
strongest. Now there are two longitudes
in which the July Arctic isotherms run
far northward of their average latitude.
One passes through the Parry islands.
and indicates the sea northeast of Behr-
lngs straits as suitable region for at
tack; the other passes through Spitz-
bergen, and indicates the course along
which Sir Z. Parry's attack was made.
The latter is slightly the more promising
line of the two. so far as temperature ia
concerned, the isotherm of SO deg. Fab
renheit Tin july running here as far
north as the nth parallel, whereas its
highest northerly range In the longitude
OF the Parry islands is bnt about rs deg.
The difference, however, is neither great
nor altogether certain; aud the fact that
Parry found the ice drifting southwark
suggests the possibility that that NAV
be the usual course of oceanic currents
in that region. North of the Parry isl
ands the drift nay be northwardiy, like
that whic b Payer and Weyprecht expe-
rlenced to the north of Novaia Zemiia.
There is one great attraction for men of
science In the route by the Parry islands.
The magnetic pole has almost certainly
travelled into that region. Sir J. Ross
found it, indeed, to be near Boothia
gulf. far to the east of the Parry islands,
in 1887. But the variations of the needle
all over the world since then indicate
Enthusiastically that the magnetic poles
have been travelling round toward the
west, and at such rate that the north
ern magnetic pole has probably nearly
reached by this time the longitude Of
Behring's straits. The determination
OF the exact present position of the pole
would be much more important
achievement, so far as science is con-
cerned, than voyage to the pole of ro-
Internationally Magazine.