Thomas County cat., 1889-09-12
THE SOUTHERN POLE.
What We Know Of Its Environments-A
Gigantic Wall of Ice.

What We Know of Its Environments-A
Gigantic Wall Of Ice.
The golden age of Antartic discov-
cry arrived when Captain, afterward
Sir James, Ross was dispatched from
England in 1910 to fix the position of
the South magnetic pole and ary 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, and
which lie almost under the Antartlc
Circle, and aim ost due south from New
Zealand. Balleny could not land on
the islands, but he made sure OF their
existence. and afterward, sailing far
to the westward, he saw many more
signs of land, and suspected the exist
ence of much which he could not GER
tainly vouch for. What Balleny thought
he saw was probably much what the
trench expedition under Dumont d Ur-
vile 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 Ger.
tainly be parts of the Antarctic Conti-
nent that DUrville was anxious to
find. Not less anxious was Wilkes,
the leader of the United States ex-
ploring expedition, who, only month
after the Frenchman, arrived within a
degree or two of the Antarctic Circle,
to the south of New Zealand, and, after
seeing land where Balleny had GER
tainly seen it before, began to fancy
that he saw it also where none had
seen it before, and unfortunately,
some days, indeed, Wilkes doubted
whether what he beheld were mount
aims 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 west
ward along the edge of the pack for a
few days he made sure that he now
saw land, and somewhat incOnse-
quently assumed it for certain that
what he had seen before was land
also. The discovery Of an Antarctic
continent was announced as a cer-
tainty; large land. with barrier of
upon it was laid down on the
map; and a copy of the map
was handed by the rash but gen.
erous 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 afterwards bore Sir John Frank.
lin to his fate at the other end of the
world Ross had so little doubt that
the Antarctic continent was discov.
cred already that he seems to have
been almost disappointed when hi;
way to the magnetic pole was barred
by an unknown land. Yet this land
which lay south of the SEVENTEEN par
allel and eastward of Balleny'.
Islands, was the most southerly here
tofore seen in the world, and on i
rose mountains thousands of feet high
plane and mountain alike robed il
stainless snow, except on the cliffs by
the shore, where the black rocl
came out The coast ran almost due
north and south, and along its east
ern face Ross advanced steadily till h,
had beaten Cooks record and alst
Wedell's, and gone further south thar
any before him. But he could find NJ
landing place on the main land, 81
choked was every inlet with snow ant
ice; only on a small island were tn,
adventures able to touch Antarctic
earth, few men among thousands o
screaming and biting penguins. Fresl
mountains came constantly into view
as they moved southwark; at last on,
in latitude II degrees. over whicl
what seemed a cloud of snoy
was blowing; but when they cam,
nearer they saw that the cloud wa
smoke, and gave the name of Noun
Erebus to giant volcano higher thar
Etna, which belches forth smoke an,
fire in a land where all things ar
frozen. Before Mount Erebus lie
Cape Crozier. and round Cape Crozie
Ross hoped to find way to the west
ward, 50 as to reach the magneti
pole by the back of the new land h
had found. But as they approache
they saw stretching from Cape Crozie
''as far as the eye could discern t
the eastward" slow, white line,
the nature of which they did nc
understand till they came clos
enough to see the truth with thei
eyes. It was a wall of ice $50 fet
high, without break or slope, but on
glittering. perpendicular steel
through which, as Ross said, or
might as easily pass as through tt
cliffs of Dover. Along this gleamin