Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1879-08-01
THE JEANETTE EXPEDITION.
Reasons Why 1t Must Fail.
New York Times.

Il
Capt. Albert w. Lavender, an expe-
rienced navigator, residing at No. 1o2
East Twenty-sixth street, has seen a
great deal of life in northern ATTITUDES,
and offers some original suggestions as
to the manner in which a polar ex-
oedition should be conducted. Capt.
Lavender has recently inspected the
Jeanette, formerly the Pandora, and,
with thousand good wishes for the
success of Mr.. Benefits expedition,
telieves that he only expresses the
opinion of all experts in navigation
when he predicts that failure is for
gone conclusion. In the first instance,
said Capt. Lavender last evening, the
Jeanette is altogether too small for
such purpose. Experienced navlgat-
ors, who have seen service in the north
ern seas, all agree in the justice of this
criticism. Her side practically units
her from battling with ice-foes and ice
fields, although it gives some advantage
in enabling her to dodge and avoid the
former. Circumpolar ice has certain
crispness and brittleness of structure
which is not shared by our river ice
frozen at higher temperatures. At the
same thickness it is more frangible,
provided the momentum and solidity of
the impingipg body are sufficient for
the purpose of cleavage. He has very
little faith in rams for such work, but
believes, on the other hand, that a ves-
sci should be very heavy and pro-
PEELED with tremendous momentum
to afford any reasonable pros
pect of breaking through an ice
field. Of course some form of ice-cleav-
age must be undertaken in such case,
but ram projecting forward to any
distance would not, he thinks, contrib
ute to efficiency. The Jeanette's en-
gines are also insufficient for the work,
yielding but moderate speed and mo-
mentum per horsepower, and consum-
ing eight tons of coal per day with very
Indifferent results. As she can carry
only one hundred and thirty or one
hundred and thirty-five tons of coal AT
most, she must replenish the stock ey
cry sixteen days i'll order to keep in
good working condition. A steamer OF
less than eight hundred tons, with an
outfit for three years was, he thinks, the
smallest that should have undertaken
the enterprise.
But above all, or rather with all these
points accomplished, few good bal
loons-compact, we'll made, adapted to
endure great strain, and fitted for cable
ascensions of not less than fifteen hun
dred feet-should have been included
in the outfit. There are, says Captain
Lavender, many clear. calm, moderate
ly favorable days for balloon ascensons
in these regions. a first-class aeronaat,
at the elevation of one thousand feet
from the deck of steamer, could, with
a good telescope, survey and map out
the surrounding country for distance
OF five hundred miles. for it must lie
remembered that the curvature of the
earth's surface in the region of the pole
is less than in the region of the equator,
and that ono can see comparatively
great deal further at a moderate eleva-
ton. From the northerly outlook OBJ
tanned by polar expeditions heretofore,
the captain thinks it would be possible
to settle the vexed question whether
there is an open Polar sea by means Of
balloon observations. OF course, it
would require the services of an expe-
rienced telescoplst and surveyor, rs
we'll as of an experienced aeronaut.