St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-03-17
POLAR EXPEDITIONS.
Their True Purpose Explained to Ever.
Rody's Satisfaction.


Rody's Satisfaction.
It is an unscientific and puerile
idea to think of visiting the polar
regions merely to reach the terminl OF
the earth's axis. That is not the pur-
pose which in recent years stimulated
polar travel. Arctic and Antarctic
explorations will go on because we
see more clearly every year that the
world is an organic whole. every part
of which is of equal interest and lm-
portance in the study of nature laws
The ice bound regions still hold In
their grasp important truths OF which
our men of science will some day pos
sess themselves, and which will throw
light, elsewhere unattainable, upon
the circulation of oceanic waters. Ice
formations, climatology, terrestrial
magnetism and other phenomena. The
results of the labors at the fourteen
cireum-polar stations now beng
worked out compared and published.
bid fair TO be worth far more
than they cost, to science.
The An tarctic regions will prob
ably he the next field OF
polar inquiry, and some steps
to this end have been taken both in
Great Britain and Australia. AS the
south polar region is not, like the
Arctic zone, crowded with islands and
archipelagoes, it is of much more inn
portance in the study of ocean cur
rents. 1t has received far less than
its share of attention, chiefly because
the search for the northwest passage
gave a great impetus to Arctic travel,
and also because many of the most I'M
por'ant discoveries in the north polar
regions were made by ship parties
whose primary purpose was to succor
the Franklin or other distressed expe-
ditions.
Strange as it may SEEM, the Pacific
ocean is still far from well known.
When Wilfred Powell expressed the
belief that many Pacific islands had
never yet been seen by white men,
some incredulity was manifested.
Since that time Captain Bruce has dis
covered little group of islands off
the northeast coast of New Guinea,
Mr. Romilly found a new island in
1881, and the Germans have re-
Gently added two islands to the
Bismarck Archipelago. Many large
islands, also, like the largest
members of the Solomon group and
New Britain and New Ireland are fa-
miliar in their outlines, though we
know little OF nothing of their lnte-
riors. Some of these islands, which
contain thousands of square miles, are
still sealed books to u.s. The largest
island Of the world, New Guinea has
nowhere been penetrated far except
along The Fly and Arid rivers, and a
great part of the interior of Australia
is still wholly unknown.
Our geological survey is pushing
forward rs rapidly as possible the
great work of supplying us with a
geek topographic nap Of our three
million square miles. The Canadian
survey has also extended far within
the great Northwestern region, until
recently but little known. and has
shown that vast areas along the Rocky
mountains, formerly supposed to be
bleak and inhospitable. are well
adapted for settlement There is little
danger of any future misconception of
any part of this continent such as that
of Sir George Simpson when he tes-
titled in n British court not many years
ago that the Rcd river country in Man
itoba, now thought to be the finest
wheat region in the world, was wholly
unfit for human habitasion. % 9.
Adams, IN N Z MaH and Express.