Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1888-05-03

pass IOf SuCtI
Tie S ,uth Shetland islands were
discovered IN 1898 bv Dutch vessel
from Rotterdam. which passing round
Cape Horn. got separated from the
feet with which it was associated. and
WIS driven to the southwark by stress
of weather. K.rguclen island. which
is long distance from the Pole. was
discovered about the same time. and
reckoned in the southern cir
cumpolar region. Captain Cook
started we'll 10 the southwark
in one of his voyages. but com.
ing in contact with numerous ice bergs.
and fearing that lie would find it diff.
cult &c escape. he shaped his course
toward New Zealand. A Russian nav
igator in 1920 discovered two small
islands not far from the Antarctic
circle. which he named after Peter The
Great and Alexander l. /, 1888 \
French commander. DImont d'ITrville.
discovered several small islands in
nearly the same latitude. which he
named after Louis Philippe and Prince
dc Jonville. He made Tasmania the
starting point of his voyage.
The captains of some whalerS in the
employ OF the Enderby Company Of
London made numerous discoveries
during the early part of the century.
giving the name of En- derby to mass
IF land which they did not circumnav-
igate. The most impt RANT voyages
ever made TO til, Antarctic regions
were thos, unler the command of
Captain James Ross. They were mn
der;aken by scientific Eng!ishmen for
the purpose of magnetic OBJ
scrvation. There were placed at
the disposal of Captain Ross
two vessels Of limited tonnage.
the Ercbus and Terror The time oc-
cupicd was from 1889 to 1913. L the
fall of 1889 the expedition started
from the Cape of Good Hope and
spent the brief summer in Kerguelen
island. The following season Tas-
mania was the point of departure. 1t
reached and passed Auckland New
Years Day. 1911. entering the ice pack
Immediately. Soon afterward land of
considerable extent was discovered.
which WAS called Victoria Land. Along
the shore for the distance of four hum
dred and fifty miles. was a smooth
perpendicular wall of ice without
assure. rising from one hundred and
fifty to two hundred feet above the
water and descending eight hundred
feet below. Its surface WAS level and
over it could be seen range of
mountains with two vOlcanoeA one
ten thousand feet high in state Of
violent action. the other twelve thou.
sand five hundred feet high and mp.
parently extinct. New ics beginning
10 form. Captain Ross escaped north
ward with difficulty, aided by strong
breeza. He went South again in No
vember. H, passed through eight hum
bred miles Of floating ice and this time
reached 70 deg. II min. a hi CHER
latitude than any one had then or has
since gone He came north when the
seas were on the point Of being closed
by the ice and passed the winter ut
the Falkland Islands. In December
he left Port Louis TO go south. visiting
this time the islands discovered by
DumOnt dUrville. In the summer Of
1913 he returned home. There have
been few discoveries by other nav;-
gators. but they were unimportant.
The last was the voyage of the Chal-
lenger in 1874. which added nothing
In the way # geographical or stem
tific knowledge to that already in the
worlds possession.
Tho chief difficulties in approach
ing the Antarctic regions have been
specified. Tn, land, whether it ex-
lists in tho form of islands or con-
tinents. is in most cases surrounded
by Il barrier of ice. even in summer.
sometimes extending so far into the
water that it is impossible to detect
the shore line. Few navigators have
been able to do more than
put foot on the land they
ulsCDSCIcu. Nol1c HIVE DccIl
able TO penetrate into the interior A
grea. part of them have been only
able to observe the land from the deck
of their vessels The mass of floating
land is broad and diff cult of passage.
Harbors where q ship could safely
winter seom never to have been Is
covered. Captain Il IS came North
every winter. and it appears from his
narrative that il woul have been diff
ficult to have passed it there. even had
his vessels been built and provi>ioned
like those of the present dav.
These are some of the problems the
new expedition will hare to solve, if
il goes with the serious purposes it is
said TO entertain. and prepared with
every resource and cXredient that The
many experiences in northern seas
have shown to be necessary. 1t can
accomplish II lie more than has al
ready beel done unless it spends ut
least one winter near the localities to
be explored. Whether this can be
is the point to be determined.
Should the ship winter at the highest
latitude reached by Ross. or near it.
it might. in the early part of the fol-
lowing summer. GO even nearer the
South Polo than any American eNpe-
lition has been to the North Pole. and
Escape in time. II is 10 b, remarked
hat the explorations made thus far
have been in regions most convenient
70 such convenient points OF departure
rs the C,pe of Goot II p, and Tama-
ala. Therefore the lands discovered |