Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-04-23
ATTEMPTS TO REACH THE
NORTH POLE.

The Great Zee Barriers Which Block the
Way-A Man WHO Wants to Go There in
Balloon.
IF an astronomer upon some distant
planet has ever thought the tiny orb we
inbabit worthy of telescope study, there
Gamble little doubt that the snowy re-
gions which surround the Arctic and Ant
arctic poles must have attracted large
share of his attention. Waxing and
waning with the passing seasons, those
two white patches afford significant In
telligence respecting the circumstances
of our planets constitution. They mark
the direction of the imaginary axial line
upon which the planet rotates SO that
we can imagine how an astronomer on
Mars OR Venus could judge from their po-
sition how it fares with terrestrical Great
ures. There may, indeed, be astrono-
mers who laugh to scorn the notion that
a globe so inconveniently circumstanced
as ours can be inhabited, and are ready
to show that if there were living beings
here they must be quickly destroyed by
excessive heat. On the other hand,
there are doubtless skeptics on Venus
also who smile at the vanity Of those
who can conceive frozen world such as
this, our outer planet, to be inhabited by
any sort OF living creature. But we
| doubt not that the more-advanced think
ers both in Mars and Venus are ready to
| admit that the earth is inhabited.
Such questions as these might possibly
be resolved ct once, could our astrono-
mers take their stand on some neighbor-
ing planet, and direct the searching
power of their telescopes upon this ter
restrial orb. For this is one of those
cases referred to by Humboldt, when he
said that there are circumstances under
which man is able to learn more respect
ing objects millions of miles away from
him than respecting the very globe
which he inhabits.
If we take terrestrial globe and ex-
anime the actual region near the North
pole which has as yet remained unvisit-
ed by man, it will be found to be far
smaller than most people are in the
habit Of imagining. In nearly all maps
the requirements of charting result in o
considerable exaggeration Of the polar
regions. This is the case in the ordi-
nary ''maps of the two hemispheres :"
which are to be found in all aliases.
And it is, of course, the case to much
more remarkable extent in what is
termed Mercator's projection. In a
Mercator's chart we see Greenland, for
example, exaggerated into continent
fully as large as South America, or to
seven or eight times its real dimensions.
There are three principal directions in
which explorers have attempted to APP
proach the North pole. The first is
that by the way of the sea which lies
between Greenland and Spitzbergen.
We include under this head Sir Edward
Parry's attempt to reach the pole by
crossing the ice fields which lie to the
north of Spitzbergen. The second is
that by way of the straits which lie to
the west of Greenland. The third is
that pursued by Russian explorers who
have attempted to cross the frozen seas
which surround the northern shores of
Siberia.
In considering the limits of the IN
known North-polar regions, we shall also
have to take into account the voyages
which have been made around the north
ern shores of the American continent in
search for a Northwestern passage. }"
The explorers who set out upon this
search found themselves gradually forced
to seek higher and higher latitudes if
they would find away round the COM
plicated barriers presented by the ice
bound straits and islands which lie to the
north of the American continent. And
it may be noticed in passing, as re-
markable and unforeseen circumstance,
that the farther north the voyagers went
the less severe was the cold they had to
encounter.
IF we examine map of North Amer
lea constructed in recent times, we shall
find that between Greenland and Canada
an immense extent of coast line has
been charted. A vast archipelago COW
ers this part of the northern world. Or,
if the strangely-complicated coast lines
which have been laid down really be-
long to but small number of islands,
the figures of these must be of the most
fantastic kind. Toward the north west,
however, we find several islands whose
outlines have been entirely ascertained.
Thus we have in succession North Devon
island, CORVALLIS island, Melville is
land and Port Patrick island, all lying
north of the seventy fifth parallel of lat
itude. But we are not to suppose that
these islands limit the extent of our sea-
mems researches In this direction. Far