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

tions Have Discovered.
An expedition is preparing in En-.
gland for the exploration of the re.
giOns about the South Pole. These
are comparatively unknown. For the
ignorance that exists in regard to
them there are numerous reasons.
They are far from modern civilization
and off tho commercial routes of the
ocean. The southern portions of the
two continents are rs far from thr
Antarctic circle as some of the
most-thickly settled and highly-civil-
lied parts Of Europe. For instance.
the South Shetland islands. whose dis
covcry was considered as remark able.
and which are spoken Of rs in the
southern polar region. are about as
far south OF the equator rs England is
north of it. Most of the islands which
have been discovered and which on
the maps seem to form n sort OF icy
necklace about it are farther from ii
than many northern regions which
support considerable populations are
from the North Pole.
When Columbus discovered Amer.
lea he had the desire or intention 10
circumnavigatc the globe. He did not
succeed in doing this because the
Western continent barred his way.
Subsequent navigators endeavored 10
pass the barrier both to the north and
south. They easily succeeded bv the
Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn.
but failed ia finding 4 assagc by the
northwest. by way OF Ba fin s bay. to-
warl which the efforts of nayigators
were directed for MANY years. This
attracted attention to the region about
the North Pole, which afterward tx
cited curiosity. and caused he send
ing If expeditions Of discovery.
Mariners came into Northern waters
in search of whales and walrus ivory.
and the demand for iurs led to the
formation Of the Hudson Bay Conn
rany. which. in the prosecution OF its
Legitimate business. added consider
edge. Later came the expeditions Of
Sir John Franklin and others. sent out
from English or American ports with
a feeling of rivalry. or for purposes
purely { scientific. Both continents
pr, ject their northern cxtremities con-
sidcrably within the Arctic circle. and
in this way furnish an important aid
in advancing norihward. Tribes liv-
ing up TO and within the Arctic circle
can furnish some sort of assistance
and give information. and there are
harbors where shi,s that have made
one summers Stage toward the pole
can lie up in the winter and in the
spring pursue their course with 50
much of The distance gained.
In the southern circumpolar regions
thc conditions are entirely different.
Commerce going east or west finds its
way past the Cape of Good Hope and
Cape Horn. the souihcrnmost points
respectively of tho two continents,
without going near them and without
trouble from iccbcrys. There AFRO
not known to b. any human be
ings in any of the groups Of
islands or presumed continents within
the Antarctic circle. or any where near
il. though some of them ara COW
cred with penguins. albatros-.
seals. sca-iions. and during the
breeding season white bears abound.
The climatic conditions are different
from those about the North Pole.
owing. probably. TO the distance of
tie great masses of land. These give
direction to the ocean currents, by
the tropics are sent toward the poles.
raising the Temperatures If the wafer
there and making certain countries
productive and habitable that would
otherwise be little better than barren
wastes. The cold ut tic South Pole
can not be more III cnse than at the
North Pole. but il is less modified hv
the nearncss of the continents and tn"
admix'ure of waters from the oceans
in the temperate or semi-tropical re-
gions. the warm currents which tend
southwark along the shores of the cor
,inen,s being cooled "r losing their
force before they reach the Antarctic
circle.
The voyages toward :hc South Poe,
rs compared with those toward the
North. have been few. and the detail.
they have given have been mea.er.
Their geographical value has been
comparatively unimportant. and
their contributions to science
almost valuclesS The idea that there
was a continent lying to the south
ward of the vast expanses Of water
called the Atlantic. Pacific and Indian
oceans prevailed ut very early epoch
in Spanish-American history This
caused the sending of expeditions
from Peru to finL it; the first in 1867.
the second in 1905 The last discov.
cred an island now identified rs one of
the New H brides. not tar from Aus
tralia. the group which forms one of
the bones of contention between
France and England. They have no
relation whatever to the South Pole.
but tho expedition being sent in that