Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-11-21
THE SOUTH POLE
WHAT Is KNOWN ABoUr THay
END.


KosIy Atvsntnves-Pseess ~ Inference ~
swses ske rive syssss asnes- r,ssslss
,tsevcssso Lscsvs.i
Almost every botly has heard sosrcthtny
een<srNinv She North pcle, however vague
nav lst she impression prvdueed by she
tet5n. 10 man n no believes that the earth
y nat snd there are such men, even IN the
sest qnartcY Of The nineteenth century--ibe
Po,e must appear sxther useless append
&c. ssys t6e BROOKLYN hegle. To men
cPeeraily the North Pole " that point on a
Slohular earth which Is always nearest
10 tho north. which IA cqn'histsnf
s,oo al pats Of the equator or
ssuiucslial iipe, which has IN u no east
and 10 vert. and In which six months day
Neht y followed by six months darkness.
Ne ono has ever ,een the North Pole. 50
hS - human testimony goes; and, there.
fsre. no one can say whether Che spot "
occupied by d-y land. open sen. or per-
petual Ice. Al the reseEt meeting In MOD
veal OF the British Association for the Adj
var cement 81 Ssinee. Lieutenant 6reeiy
confidently expressed his belief IN TIE ex-
htepce Of an open polar sea, while other
explorers ~ confidently mainsa'ued tbat
ne Pole Is situated IN region OF perpetual
ise.
Hut how many among Us know even uis
much concerning the North Poles
There Il certainly South fote' FORMING
ne other extreme end Vi the AXIS OF TIC
earth, q point having tbe maximum OF
south latitude, and snjoyisg continuous
ssy sf the season when the North Pole Is
veiled In continuous night, and rice rersa.
% far as N known, white the northern
Hemisphere has about bali NJ much again
81 OCEAN and sea as Of dry land, IN Tue
southern the proportion Is more than SIX
70 one: IN other words. continents spread
zach hess extensively over the southern
shan the northern baH CT the earth's SUR
bee.
The old geogrspbers had notion thai,
n order to balance the constituents OF the
Nsrtb. the southern, or Antarctic ocean
epsht 10 have some grclt continents Ike
wise. and for two hundred years or so,
occasional voyages were made i'm the hope
Fl discovering some such stretches OF dry
hnd. .Iaan Fernandez. just three centl-
ries ago, reached a pleasant hand which ~
vcw supposed ~ have Teen New Zealand
10 continent, certainly. and three thou
sapd ,nflts distant from the South Pole.
Twenty years later q Dutch whaler I'M
Ger Dirk Gerritz was driven by storm
~ far as the high, snowy Islands
now known a. the South ShetiaDds.
searly due south OF Cape Horn. About
tbs beginning OF the following century
Pedro Fernando de Quiros. searching
about for the supposed southern continent,
Itg bted upon the comparatively small dots
kpowD TO modern gtOgraphers as Pitcarlns
bland and the New Iiebrides. Many other
stands were discovered IN the vast south
srn ocean between the times OF James \.
and George IIl.-sOme Of them by mari
usrs who had been driven out OF their
intended courses, and Others bv men who
boldly steered south In search oil any
tbipg new but the first 10 penetrate with
m or southwark Of the Antarctic circle with
an ayowed purpose Of aseersaining whether
hand or water occupied that dfeary region
WAS the renowned Captain Cook. A little
nore than century ago he discovered
Sandwich land. but effected little toward
the solution Of the great problem. 80 dis
APPOINTED were the geOgraphcrs al These
negative results that they removed rom
tleir maps the term Terra Australia.
which bad long been employed to denote
a supposed southern continent
We come down to the present century.
when one navigator discovered the S0ulh
orkneys. another Palmer's land. third
Alexander's land, fourth Enderby's land
and Graham's iand-all mere little patches
in midst OF a vast ocean. One mariner,
weddell. reached further south than any
predecessor. so far a. is known. hlNing at
Iained the 74ih degree OF s0tiIh latitude,
within about a thousand miles OF the South
Pole.
When the Governments OF Europe ana
America began TO send out expeditions To
those regions there was additional proba-
bilIty that valuable results would be attain
ed, LOUIS Philippe disDaiched Admiral
Dumont d uryille in 1851 with the cor
yettcs hstrolabe and Ielee. and during
series Of three years voyaging many
islands were discovered as we'll as Louis
PhilKppc's Land and Adele Land
the latter named after d Urvillc's wife.
The United States Government about The
same time placed tue ships NincenneS anu
Peacock under Lieutenant Wilkes, win
instructions TO push as far south as posi-
Bile. and look out for new lands. Tue FOR
poise, the sea-Gull. and the Flying-Fisb
afterward Joined In the search. and during
four years much ocean was explored i"r
the first time. but the valuable results were
few in plumber. Wilkes chained to have dts
covered an Antarctic continent, but he NJ
forward found that IL vas Dtlrville's pre-
yiously- discovered Adele land. The poor
Sea.Gull met with disaster somewhere ana
was never more beard OF.
Atleneth we come 10 the memorable en-
pedIiion Of Sir James Ross, more complete
and better conducted than any previous
known. The British Association suggested
II in 1875. not 80 much for discovering new
L. 4. a.. .,l.fuft. inf an vna1 in N
concern the south Magnetic Pole, matter
of much Importance TO science, Inc Gov
eminent. responding to Tue appeal htte''
out the Erebus aud Terror and placed them
under james Ross, with CroZie. bis second
In command. They left England In lsj3
and did not see il again for four years.
One little fact among the important dis
eo,eries OF Ross will tell us what naviSa-
tors have long known. that regions near
The south Pole are much colder than those
at an equal distance from the Moth. gu
the midsummer dav Of that hemisphere The
tempcrsture. even during the hottest hours
was never more than eight degrees above
the freezing point. Ross first sighted large
compac, icehergs IN latitude So; and foul
degrees further south brought him 4
the edge OF The pack. yast field o
humnock ice extending over IN unknown
number Of miles. The men were suppnc'
with extra warm clothing, slthough IL wa
only fortnight alter the longest day, ant
preparations were made for dashni
thr0ugh the foe ice aud hummockS a
points where the more solid packs coui'
be avoided One observation made by RoS
is worth quoting here: Elm the evening
remarkable appearance OF land was report
cd, During several hour number q
pointed hills. apparently covered wit
snow. were seeu, assuming an appearanc
so calculated TO deceive the experience
eve tina, had We beeu prevented from pro
ceeding farther IT would doubtless hay
been asserted oil our return 20 Englan
that we had discovered land at til
point. This Appearance OF land wa
however. nothing more than the uppc
part OF n cloud, marking by a well-defne
hut irregular line the limit to which yapc
can ascend in these ATTITUDES. Below
vapor In every degree OF eondensi
ton; above. the clear. cold space whic
vapor can never st's,s. II Is always nes
the margin Of ice that these appearances ,
land are most remarkable aad most deeeI
tive. II proved useful lesson 10 some
eur new hands, who would not be pe
susded Il WAS mol laud until we had a
tnaiiy passed over the place Of their ba>
less mountains"
steering boldly but cautiously throu.
huge masses VI lee, aud experiencing
iernaie fog and sunshine. tbcy al icug
espied rea land 10 the shape OF two ma
nitcent ice-capped mountains, zach 2
eefdipc .,fpo feel in i,eielt With 9lacle