Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1889-07-26
THE SOUTH POLE.
What We Know of It-A Wall of lee $50 Feel
HiUh

What We Know of It-A Wall of lee $50 Feet
High.
The golden age of Antarctic discovery
arrived when Capt. (afterward Sir James,
K 5ss was dispatched from England, il
1910 to fix the position of the south mag
netIc pole and any other position he
could discover on the way there, says
Cas5elPs Family MageZ ne. Before Ross
could reach the scene of his labors other
xElorers-English, French, and Ameri
can-were busy forestalling him. OF
these the first was the Engllshman, Bail
euy, VINO, sailed in Euderby's ship, the
Eliza Scott, discovered in 1889 the islands
which Dear his name, and which lie al
most under the Antarctic circle, and al
most doe south from New Zealand, Bali
epy could not land on the islands, but he
made sure of their existence, and after
ward, sailing far to the ives ward, he saw
many mora signs of land, and suspec.e I'd
the existence of much which he cuuId no
certainly vOuch for. What Balleny
thought he saw WAS probably much what
the French expedition under Dumont-
d'Urville actually DID see in the following
year-several long lines of coast, wnic4
might be joined to one another, and
might even run on 20 JON Enderhy Lard
in the west, and. If SO, might certainly be
parts of the Antarctic continent thai
D'Ufyiile was anxious TO find.
Not less anxious was Wilkes, She leader
Of the United States exploring expedition,
who, only month after the Frenchman,
arrived within a degree or two OF the
Antarctic circle, to the south of New Zea-
land, and, after seeing land where BallenY
had certainly seen it before, began 10
fancy that he say it also where none had
seen it before, and, unfortunately, where
no one has seen it since. For some days,
indeed, Wilkes doub ed whether what he
5eheld were mountains or clouds, oojects
which his crew watched eagerly, to see If
with the setting of the sup they would
change their color. But after running
westward along the edge of the pack for
few days, he made sure that he saw land,
and somewhat lnconsequently assumed it
IOr Ger ain that 8hao he had seen before
was land also. The discovery of an Ant
arctic continent was announced as Ger
tain6y; very large land, with barrier of
ice before il, aud a range of mountains
upon il, was laid down on the map; and a
copy OF the map was handed by TIE rash
but generous explorer Ross, who left
Tasmania III the autumn OF the same ear
to look for the magnetic pole. with the
two ships ErebUs and Terror, which after
ware bore Sir j Ohm Franklin to his fate
at the other end of the world.
Ross had SO lit doubt that The Antarc-
tic continent WAS discovered already that
he seems to have b en- most disappo Mt
ed wa his way 10 the magu etc pole was
barred by an unknown land. Yet this land,
which lay south of the seventeenth par
allel and eastward of Balleny's islaujs,
was the most southerly hitherto seen in the
world, and on it rose mountains thousands
of feet high, plain aud mountain alike
rObed in stainless snow, except on the
ifs 10y the shore. where the black rock
came out. This coast ran almost due
mort ana south, aud along It's eastern
face Ross advanced steadily til! he had
beaten Cooks record and also Weddelrs
and gone further south than any before
him. But he could fad no landing place
, on the main land, so choked was every in
let with snow and ice; only on a small
island whore the adventures able to touch
Antarctic earth, few men among thOus
ands of screaming and biting penguns.
Fresh mountains came constantly into
view as they moved southwark; at last
one i'll the latitude II degrees, over which
what seemed cloud of snow was blowing,
but when they came nearer they saw that
the cloud was smoke, and gave the name
of Mount Erebus 20 4 giant volcano higher
thar Etna, which belche5 forth smoke and
fire III a land where all thugs ara freq II.
Before Mount Erebus lies Cape CIozjer,
and around Cape CrCzier Ross hoped to
fad a way TO the westward, ST. as to reach
the magnetic pole by the back of the new
land he had found. But as they approch-
ed they saw stetching from Cape Crozler.
las far as the eve could discern to the
eastward" Glow white line" the nature
of which they did not understand till they
came close enough to see the truth with
their eyes. II was q wall of ice $50 feet
high, without break or slope, bat one
glittering, perpendicular steep, through
which, as Ross sad, ore might as easily
pass as through the cliffs of Dover.
Along this cleaning rampant Ross ran
eastward tor $50 miles, and in the succet d.
ing year, 1912, 200 more without coming
to it's end, on both of which occasions he
reached the high latitude of rs degrees
south, waich has never since been ap-
preached by any man.