The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-01-20

AN ENGLISH OPINION OF THE FAILURE
OF THE LATEST ARCTIC EXPEDITION
-FURTHER ATTEMPTS AT EXPLORING
THE REGION IMPRoBABLE.
In its main point. or at least in that
part of the enterprise which most APP
pealed to the Imagination of the public,
success has boon denied. They went
out to endeavor to reach the pole, and
Capt. Mares reports in two words. the re-
suit of this part of the undertaking.
"Pole impracticable" is his summing up
Of the position. The next sentence in
the telegram, mo land to northward, :"
explains the reason why the pole is held
to be impracticable. It was never
hoped that either of the ships could sail
to the mysterious center where it would
be south all around the horizon. The
plan to be acted upon was that the two
vessels should go together to the highest
latitude which could be attained before
last winter, which it was hoped would
be somewhere ON the north shore of
Lady Franklin strait, in latitude 80 de-
grees north, or thereabout. Here the
Discovery was to remain while the Alert
pushed forward alone. It was hoped
that several degrees further north
would thus be made, and chain of pro-
vision depots was to be established at
every sixty miles of the line between
the two vessels. The Alert would Win
ter in this advanced position, and, if
there was land ahead would dispatch
six sledge parties, of fifty-two men al
together, as early in April as possible.
By these sledges another chain OF COM
munication, if it may be SO termed, was
to be established over the 500 miles be-
tween the Alert and the pole, only one
of the sledges reaching that desired
spot, and the rest forming line of safe
retreat back to the ship. The scheme
was, of course, frustrated by the discov-
cry that there was mo land to the
northward," and when that fact had
been satisfactorily established the ships
had nothing to do but return. Capt.
Mares was known to be of the opinion
that to push away from the land, and
get involved in the pack of ice, was to
risk failure. No land to northward,
therefore, means no pathway this way
to the pole.
The details given in the telegram from
our correspondent at Valentia, ex-
plain the shorter dispatch of Capt.
Mares. It will be remembered that the
last news from the Arctic ships was
brought by Capt. Allen Young last
Autumn. He had found a cairn on one
of the. Cary islands, which contained
letters up to July 26, 1875. These let
tiers described the voyage northward
from Upernavik, while letters of earlier
date, but received later, give an account
of the doings of the ships between thu
time of parting from the Valorous at
Ritenbeck and the arrival at Upernavik.
We had, therefore, full account OF
their doings up to July 26, 1875, when
they were standing northward in an al
most clear sea with the water at tenn
perature of 40 degrees, and nearly six
weeks of open sea before them. From
that time till the receipt of Capt.
Mares telegram nothing has been heard
of them, but now the telegram from oul
Valentia correspondent continues the
story. Very soon after setting out from
the Cary Islands with such bright pros.
poets they met with ice, and the strug.
gle began. After severe and continu.
Gus efforts, the side Of Lady Franklin
bay was reached, and here the Discov-
cry went into winter quarters, while the
Alert pushed ON and reached the limit
of navigation on the shore of the polar
sea. Here they wintered, and were 142
days without sun. In the early spring,
in accordance with the scheme laid
down, sledge travelling was attempted,
not over the land, which apparently
does not exist, but over the ice foes of
the polar sea. This expedition was alb
sent seventy days, and reached the lati-
tude of SO degrees 20 minutes, as stated
in Capt. Mares dispatch. In the course
of this toilsome journey, Cape Column
bia, the northernmost point of the
American continent, was rounded, and q
large portion of the coast of Greenland
explored. It was found that no such
land as that called Presidents land ex-
listed. The polar region seems, in fact,
as approached from the direction of
Smiths sound, to be o vast frozen sea.
After terrible struggle, in which the
sledges could only advance mile day,
they reached the extreme latitude yet
attained on any part of the Arctic re-
gion, and were then within four hum
dred miles of the pole. It is quite OBJ
vious that at such rate of travel there
was no possibility of passing over the
intervening space. The obstacles were,
in fact, insurmountable. Ice some
hundreds of feet in thickness covered
the sea, and it may probably be con-
sidered as finally settled by the expedi-
ton that the pole is guarded at least on
that side by thrilling regions of thick
ribbed ice," a. terrible a. those which