The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-09-15
Jan NIayon.

The Austrian Polar Expedition has
arrived at Drontheim, Norway. The
expedition spent a year on the island Of
Mayen. Commander Wohlgemuth tele-
graphs that all hands are we'll, and that
he made perfect observations and &C.
cured rich collections Of photographs.
The island Of Jan Mayen, on which
the expedition spent year, was dis
covered in 1911 by Dutch whale fishers,
vino christened it after one Of their
sturdy shippers. Another name for it
was Mauritius Island, while the English
knew it as Trinity Island. 1t lies be-
tween 80 a and 70 So west longi-
tude from Greenwich, its latitude
being between 7Uo 40 and TO s.
north. Bleak and rugged and SOM
bre, with it's lofty rocks and snowy
mantle, it's lonely strand and dark
icy. waters, is Jan NIayen, and IA
grim volcanic mountain, named Beer
enburg, 6,375 feet high, rises in the
centre, while near the southern cape
are three volcanoes. Indeed. the whole
island is of plutonic origin. The place
is Of i'll fame, for on its barren shores
there died in slow succession crew of
seven Dutch explorers. This was in
1888, when lime juice was not appreciat.
ed and scurvy not understood. The
stitfened corpses Of the litt' e band were
found next year, as also the diary kept
by the longest-lived of them-the last
pages family scrawled by the weak hand
OF sickness. The very last word was
die" Since that time the island has
been seldom trodden by human foot,
save now and again when the frigid
nf rnf fin or L.
| ed the struggling Mariner.
The Austrian expedition which has
Just returned sailed from Pela on April
2, 1882, in.a steamer bearing the same
name as the port from which it started.
The party consisted Of Lieutenant
Emil Won WOhlgemuGi, as chief, two
other officers, Il surgeon, and ten sailors
all of the Imperial navy. The whole
cost OF the expedition, amounting to
l5O,OO flOrins, has been defrayed by
Count Wilczek, the munifcent patron
Of all undertakings which have for their
object the solution Of Arctic problems.
The expedition was furnished with two
years. supplies, including every con-
| celyable necessary, and luXuries to boot.
Their complete stock Of scientific in
struments was supplemented by all sorts
OF games, music, pictures, ETC., to en-
| llven the long honrs Of darkness. The
| chase was expected to afford ample
amusement and heavy bag.
After touching ut Gravesend and
Bergen the Pola proceeded Oh May 25
for the island of Jan Mayen to establish
the scientific station. On the 31st,
when 100 miles Off the island, immense
fields of ice stopped the Pola, and after
| Two days Intellectual attempts to pro
ceed the expedition turned back, arriv-
ing at Tr0msoe, Norway, on June 6.
After waiting a fortnight the Pola sail
cd again on the Dist, and this time sue
ceeded in reaching Jan Mayen from
the north side. But not till two weeks
later was it possible to pass through the
| shore of ice and anchor in Mary Muss
Bay. On July ii, Is, and IL the houses
and supplies were landed, by working
day and night, and next day fifty tons
OF coal were taken ashore. The build.
ings were then erected OH the southern
slope of the Vogelberg, in a valley OPEN
ing to the east, which was named Will
| GEEK Valley, after the Hungarian Count
who betrayed the cost. The exact
position is 7Oo So north latitude and
20 26' west longitude, and the observa-
tory has been placed exactly over the
1lSC uegrce or latitude. On August Is
the station was fully established, and
| observations, which had been partly be-
gun Oh July ", were now executed to
their full extent.
A party from the ship undertook the
| ascent Of the volcano Of Beerenberg,
the highest point on the island, already
| referred to. After travelling for nine
hours with great difficulty across gla-
| ciers and fields Of powders they arrived
| at the edge OF the crater, 5000 feet
above the sea, and were then forced to
| turn back on account of the cold and
fogs. Although there were no signs of
| action in the crater subterranean
rumbling was distinctly audible, and on
the slopes a number Of crevices were
seen emitting hot sulphur steam. The
explorers also found the huts in which
tho Dutch expedition of 1888 perisled.
The POla sailed on August 1Gand arriv-
ed at Leith OH the Oath. She returned
recently to bring back the expedition
which had in the meantime been engag-
ed In making complete survey Of the
island, besides attending to the meteor
illogical observations which were the
most important Of the objects it had in
view.