Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-03-05
A SEARCH FOR THE POLE.
The Interest Rsvived ~ N Expsdisaon
10 the Antarctic Circle.

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Interest In polar research 10 revived. by the
probably successful efIorts Of Professor Nerr-
mayer, Of the Hamburg Marine observatory. to
organize new expedition Of discovery into the
Antarctic circle. Il win Be remembered that
two years ago the Australia colonies took mp
the same project with enthusiasm, and ssked the
home government to share the expense with
them, though with the refusal Of the request
the scheme seems to have been abandoned.
Hitherto the North Polar circle has been the
favorite Geld Of exploration, and the mystery
which shrouded the great sou thsrn continent Of
the early nsvigators, and the seas which sur.
rounded II, has been well-nigh unbrokea. The
Antarctic regions lie apart from the paths Of men,
and present rs pressing problems OF passage for
solution. while from the North Pole stretch
away the great lands of the world. and habita-
ton approaches comparatively near 70 it. Maps
of the former show great bodies Of water with
here and there Insignificant patches Of land.
while the latter, within the sixtieth parallel a.
shown BY actual exploration, 10 largely made up
OF land. Nevertheless, that vast continent lies
within the Antarctic circle IN generally believed
oy eeographers, enc Of them computing that the
region still unknown to man 10 Of 40 great extent
that the moon could fall upon II without attract
Ing attention. Whether this vaet space Is land
or water can. OF course, only be conjectured,
though the immense ice-blocks noated north
ward by the ocean tides can, II 10 believed. only
De formed on great body Of land. Moreover,
exploration has already reached a coast point
computed to be only 100 miles from the magnetic
pole, fact that points to the conclusion that In
the Antarctic, unlike the Arctic, the pole 10 sur
rounded by a solid continent But discovery
has progressed slowly, and although incessa ut
attention has been paid for 500 wears to explora-
ton In the north, most of the work In the south
polar regions has been accomplished within the
present century.
The first navigator known to have passed the
Antarctic Circle was Captain Cook, in INA though
the result OF his observations does not seem to
have confirmed his belief In the existence of an
Antarctic continent. In 1919 the Russian nayi-
gator Belllngsbausen reached 20 degrees and In
1871. 10 degrees 81 minutes south, discovering q
cape apparently belonging to q continent, and
which he named Alexander Land. Following
MIN came the expeditions of Waddell In 1922 :;
OF Biscoe and Kemp, in lsSl-'32: and Of Bellamy,
Dumont, d'Urvlle and Wilkes the Anerican'
In 1859. All these made valuable discover
les, the latter finding coast gist by wall of
Ice, and, traversine distance Of l. 500 miles es-
taollshed the probability Of almost continuous
land all along the circle. In lS4O British expe-
dition. under Captain James Ross. found the
shores OF an ice-bound continent ana inland saw
the cone OF volcanic mountain, IL 400 feet in
height, with an extinct volcano near 1t rising
even higher. II was this expedition which.
though failing In voyage Of $50 miles along the
coast to ind an inlet. succeeded in reaching
point within 100 miles of the magnetic pole
From that time to the present, with the except
ton OF passing visit from the Challenger in
1874, no further attempt has been made to In
crease our knowledge of the South Polar CONT
nent, and 1t still remains what the ancients
named 1t, terra austras incognita What light
the proposed expedition will throw upon It re-
mains to be seen, though with only few points
touched here and there, it will not be surprising
nwonders are discovered riyaling in interest
anything reported from the other end of the
world. In any event, with: only 100 miles OF
land to traverse, the attempt to reach the pole
should be far easier than In the north, where the
perpetual motion of ice-foes and storm and
hazardous.