The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-09-20
Arctic Exploration.

Capt. William Kennedy, who command
ed one of the British expeditions sent out
In search of the remains of Sir John
Franklin, writes from Manitoba to New
Lofidon in commentator of the Howgafe
Arctic expedition. He says: believe,
in the first place, that from the highest
northern points attained by Hall and Mares
the North Pole may be easily reached and
by sledges. To accomplish this it is only
necessary to have proper men and other
appropriate equipment. The men should
be those accustomed to the use of snow
shoe and sled. Their food should consist
mai0ly of pemmican and dried meat pre-
pared ,.fter the manner of the Red River
buffalo hunters. Such food is compact
nutritious, and not likely to give scurvy.
Their clothing should be strong woOlen
under-clothing, with dressed moose skin,
or its nearest equivalent, as outer gar
ments. As foot gear nothing can equal
tRee eRyeerIp rIpaataBa tmaGepAe Ie he pSsqaEsa ier
with two kinds Of sledges-the Esquimaux
sled, which has runners, and the Indian
flat sled. The first is best fitted for run
ming over crusted snow, the other over soft
snow, such as Mares found. The fuel for
Journeys should be spirits of wine, and
snow houses for shelter instead Of tents;
the beverage only tea and cofee.no
spirits whatsoever. Being thus provided
and setting out due north, say on the first
of April-March, In SO high latitude,
would be too co1d-say from latitude 50
degrees north, they would have four
months before them for accomplishing
the distance of twelve hundred miles-a
| feat that has already been accomplished.
Instead of an open Polar. Sea- it is most
| likely the party would find glacier-coy-
cred land to travel over. The unusually
heavy ice that Sir g. Mares met with is to
me indicative of land formed ice, precise
" similar to that found in the Antarctic
region. The 'open Polar Sea- will, be.
lieve, be in the end found to be the tail
end of the gulf stream. This current
entering the Arctic regions between Ice land
and Nova Zembla, l believe, sweeps west
ward after meeting with northern unknown
lands, and ultimately finding its way TO
Robeson's (of Nares) Channel, enters that,
and so passes southwark through Baffin's
Bay into the Atlantic. A stream like this
can alone account for Arctic sun mer birds
going north in autumn and south in
spring, in going to and returning from
their winter haunts. They may fairly be
supposed to round the northern coast line
of Greenland, being thus guided by the
higher temperature both OF the water and
the atmosphere in this the supposed terml-
ration of the gulf stream. Cold, dismal,
and uninviting as the Smiths Sound
Region is, it nevertheless has its unde-
veloped resources no less than other coun-
tries. The walrus seem to be abundant in
that region, also the polar bear. the musk
OK, the reindeer and other animals. With
the aid of the Esquimaux, provided with
the proper Requisites for it, they might
procure large numbers of these animals.
The seam of coal disco vered by Mares
would supply the first requisite fora COM
Portable fireside. The expedition should
carry with it presert ts for the Esquimaux,
such as saws, axes, knives, fsh-hooks,
avis, gimlets, drills. files. needles and
other utensils. The Esquimaux discover
ed by the late lamented DR.. Kane are
United States citizens, and must be living
in that State that geologists describe as the
stone and iron age Any tool, there
fore, with an edge to it must be of incal-
culable value to such people. With a
moderate supply of these, but, more than
all, with guns and ammunition. such as
we may suppose to he stored in United
States stores, as now useless relics OF the
late war, how much might be done to in
corporate the less advanced with the
more progressive man. and so turn to &C.
count that which is at present as If it were
not in existence"