Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-08-01
AROUND TIE SOUTHERN POLE.
What We Know of ia wall of Ice $50
Feet High.

Feet High
The golden age of Antarctic dis
covery arrived when Captain, after
ward Sir James, Ross was dispatched
from England in 1910 to fix the position
of the South magnetic pole and any
other position he could discover on the
way there Before Ross could reach
the scene of his labors other explorers.
English, French and American, were
busy forestalling him. Of these the
first was the Englishman. Balleny.
who, sailing in Enderby's ship. the
Eliza Scott, discovered in 1889 the
islands which bear his name, which
are almost under the Antarctic Circle.
and almost due south from New Zea-
land. Balleny could not land on the
islands, but he made sure of their exist
ence, and afterwards, 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 expe-
dition under Dumont d. Urville actually
did see IN the following year, several
long lines of coast, which might be
Joined to one another, and might even
run on to join Enderby Land in the
west, and if 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 exploring expedition,
who, only a month afterward the
Frenchman, arrived within degree or
two of the Antarctic Circle, to the
south Of New Zealand, and, after see
ing land where Balleny had certainly
seen it before, began to fancy that he
saw it also where none had seen it be-
fore, and, unfortunately, where no one
has seen it since. For some DAYS, in
deed, Wilkes doubted whether what he
beheld where mountains or clouds,
objects which his crew watched
eagerly, to see if with the setting of
the sun they would change their color
But after running westward along the
edge of the pack for a few days he
made sure that he now saw land, and
somewhat inconsequently assumed it
for certain that what he had seen be.
fore was land also.
The discovery of an Antarctic Conti-
nent was announced as a certainty; a
it and range of mountains upon it,
was laid down on the map; and a copy
of the map was handed by the rash but
generous explorer to Ross, who left
Tasmania in the autumn of the same
year to look for the magnetic pole,
with the two ships Erebus and Terror,
which afterward bore Sir John Frank
lin to his fate at the other end of the
the Antarctic continent was discovered
already that he seems TO have been al
most disappointed when his way to
the magnetic pole was barred by an I'M
known land.
Yet this land, which Law south of the
SEVENTEEN parallel and eastward of
Balleny's Islands, was the most south
erly heretofore seen in the world, and
on it arose mountains thousands of feet
high, plain and mountain alike rObed
in stainless snow, except on the cliffs
by the shore, where the black rock
came out. The coast ran almost due
north aud south, and along its eastern
face Ross advanced steadily till he had
beaten Cooks record and also Wedell's
and gone further south than any be-
fore him. But he could find no land
inc place on the main land, so chobed
was every inlet with snow and ice;
only on small island were the adj
venturers able to touch Antarctic
earth, few men among thousands OF
screaming and biting penguins. Fresh
mountains came constantly into view
rs they moved southwark; at last one
in latitude Il degrees, over which what
seemed Il cloud of snow was blowing;
but when they came near they saw
that the cloud was smoke, and gave the
name of Mount Erebus to a giant
volcano higher than Etna, which
beiches forth smoke and fire in land
where all things are frozen.
Before Mount Erebus lies Cape
Cozier, and around Cape Cozier Ross
hoped to find a way to the westward.
so as to reach the magnetic pole by
the back of the new land he had
found. But as they approached they
saw stretching from Cape Cozier ''as
far as the eve could discern to the east
ward" Low white line the nature
of which they did not understand till
they came close enough to see the
truth with their eyes. 1t was wall
of ice loo feet high, without a break
or slope, but one glittering, perpen-
dicular steep, through which, as Ross
said, one might as easily pass as
through the cliffs of Dover. Along
this cleaning rampant Ross ran east
ward for $50 miles. and in the succeed
ing year. 1912, for 200 more without
coming to Its end, on both of which oc-
casions he reached the high latitude of
rs degrees south. which has never since
been approached by any man.
CaSSclPS Family Magazine.