The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-16
THE SOUTH POLE.
What We Know of It-A Wall of Ice
$50 Feet High.
Ftom Casselps FamtEu Monn.fne.

From CGsselps Family Magazine
The golden age of antartic discovery ar
rived when Captain, afterward Sir James
Ross was dispatched from England in 1910
to fix the position Of the south magnetic
pole aud any other position he could dis
cover on the way there Before Ross could
reach the scene of his labors other explore
ers, English, French and American, were
busy forestalling him, OF these the first
was the Englishman, Baiieny, who, sailing
IN Enderby's snip. the Eliza Scott, discov-
cred in 1889 the islands which bear his
name, and which lie almost under the ant
arctic circle and almost due south from
New Zealand. Balleny could not land on
the islands, but he made sure OF their exis-
tence, and afterward. sailing far to the
westward, he saw many more signs of land
and suspected the existence of much which
he could not certainly vouch for. What
Balleny thought he saw was probably much
what the French expedition under Dumcnt
dUrVllle actually did see III the following
year, several long lines of coast, when
might be Joined to one another and might
even run on to join Enderby land in the
west. and il so might certainly be parts OF
the antarctic continent that D'Urville was
anxious to find. Not less anxious was
Wilkes, the leader of the United States ex-
ploring expedition, who, only a month
after the Frenchman arrived within de-
gree or two of the antarctic circle, to the
south OF New Zealand, and after seeing land
where Baileny had certainly seen it before,
began to fancy that he saw it also where
none had seen it before, and, unfortunately
where no one has seen it since. For some
days, indeed, Wilkes doubted whether what
he beheld were mountains OF clouds, objects
which his crew watched eagerly to see if
with tba Cattincr Tbnzy ubo
their color. But afGer running westward
along the pack for a few days no made sure
that he now saw land, and somewhat in
consequently assumed it for certain that
what ne mad seen before was land also. The
discovery OF an antarctic continent was
announced as q certainty: q very large
land, with range of mountains upon 1t
was laid down on the map, an i a copy of
the map was handed by the rash bat gener-
GUS explorer to Ross, who left Tasmania III
the autumn OF the same year to look for the
magnetic pole, with the two ships Erebus
ana Terror, which afterward bore Sir John
Franklin to his fate at the other end of the
world. Ross had SO little doubt that the
antarctic continent was discovered already
that he seems to have been almost dsap.
pointed when his way to the magnetic pols
was barred by an unknown land. Yet this
land, which lay south of the SEVENTEEN
was the most southerly hitherto seen in the
world, and on it rose mountains thousands
of feet high, plain and mountain alike
rObed In stainless snow, except on the CT ifs
by the shore, where the black rock came
out Tbs coast ran almost due north and
south, and along its eastern face Ross ad-
vanced steadily until he had beaten Cooks
record and also Weddells, ard gone farther
south than any before him. But he could
Il Iar Af,,r- oil, 81
choked was every inlet with snow and ice
only on a small island were the adventurers
able to touch antarctic earth, few men
among thousands Of screaming and biting
penguins. Fresh mountains came con-
stantly into view as they moved southwark
at last one in latitude IT, over which what
seemed a cloud OF snow was blowing
but when they came nearer they
saw that the cloud was smoke, and
gave the name of Mount Erebus to a giant
volcano higher than Etna, which belcheS
forth smoke and fire in a land whore ali
things are frozen. Before Mount Erebls
lies Cape Crozier, and round Cape Crozier
Ross hoped to Ind a way westward, SO as
to reach the magnetic pole by the back of
the new lGnd he had found. But as thew
approached they saw stretching from Cane
Crozier, "as fer as the eve could discern to
the eastward a low white line" the ma
ture of which they did not understand till
they came close enough to see the truth
with their ewes. 1t was a wall of ice $50
feet high, without break or slope through
which, as Ross said, one might as easily
pass as through the cliffs of Dover Along
this cleaning rampant Ross ran eastward
for $50 miles, and in the succeeding year,
1912. for 200 more without coming TO its
end, on both OF which occasions he reached
the high latitude of 7S' south, which has
never since been approached by any man.