Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-16
AN ANTARCTIC QUEST.
THE EXPEDITION OF AN AUSTRALIAN
GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.

THE EXPEDITION OF AN AUSTRALIAN
GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.
Only Two Men, Ross and D'Urville, Have
Ever Set Foot on Antarctic SoiI-Seas of
Ice Floes and Dense Fog-A Burning
Mountain Amid Frozen Solitudes.
While the Peary and Nansen expeditions
are seeking the North Pole in 1892 vessel
sent out by the Geographical Society Of
Australia will be plowing the frozen seas Of
the Antarctic Circle with sturdy crew
animated with a hope of obtaining for
science some information about the equally
rison contributes to the London Daily
Graphic the following interesting account of
the expeditions of the past and the quest Of
1892:
This latest expedition. which was first
mooted, believe, at the Aberdeen meeting
of the British Association in 1885, and then
taken up by the Geographical Society of
Australasia, will be the sixth attempt to
penetrate beyond the icy barrier which, like
a huge rampant, guards the mysteries of
these regions, except off the steep escarp-
ments of Victoria Land and other portions
of land with high mountains close to the
seaShore. Captain Cook was the first navi-
gator whose eyes looked forth on an Antarc-
tic icescape. In his expedition of 1772-5 he
forced his vessel through the drift ice, and
reached the parallel of 20 degrees south,
distance of about ], 400 miles from the South
Pole, Since his time these dreary, inhos-
pitable shores have been visited by the ex-
petitions of Bellingshausen in 1S19-21,
D'Urville in 1837-4O Wilkes in 1S3S-42,
Ross in 1S39-43, and the ship challenger"
in 1874.
THE NEAREST APPROACH.
In addition to the information brought
home by these brave navigators, many
whalers and sealers have contributed their
quota to the existing state of our knowledge
concerning the earth's surface within the
Antarctic Circle. The nearest approach to
the South Pole was reached by Sir James
Ross in February, 1S41, when he attained
the latitude of $50 south, distance over
800 miles from the Pole. His farther ad-
vance was checked by the barrier of ice,
which was here found to be from 100 to 200
feet in height, and extending in an east and
west direction for hundreds of miles. AL
though it takes nothing from the credit of
this bold and enterprising man, it may be
stated that Ross was the only Antarctic
navigator who had ships properly fortified
to Withstand the shocks and pressure of ice
incidental to Southern exploration. The
next farthest was reached by a whaler
named Weddell, who in 1928 penetrated to
74o IL south, with open water still ahead
and only four icebergs in sight, but as he
was in these high latitudes simply for busi-
ness purposes and not for scientific investi-
CATION, he failed to take advantage of his
opportunity. The only two men who have
ever set foot on Antarctic soil are Ross and
D'Urville, but their stay on shore was
necessarily brief, owing to the great diff
Guilty Of bringing their ships to anchor
among the numerous icebergs.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SEA.
The Antarctic seas are well known to
whalers for their sharp gales of north and
northwest winds, and the difficulty of navi-
eating these ice-bearing seas is intensified by
dense fogs which so frequently obscure sur
rounding dangers; and the almost constant
precipitation of rain and snow also tends to
increase the miserable surroundings of
those ill-fated mortals whose lot in life
marks them out to battle with the elements
so far from comfort and civilization. To
accentuate by contrast the extreme cold
ness and loneliness of these dreary wastes,
nature has bestowed upon it brilliant
burning mountain over l., 900 feet in height
which has been named Mount Erebus 1t is
situated in 78 degrees south latitude, near
the supposed location Of the southern mag
netic pole. A popularity of the Antarctic
zone is the fact that the vegetable kingdom
has no representative, not even a Hchen or
piece of seaweed growing on the rocks, and
no land animals have been observed. The
Antarctic regions are remarkable for the
uniformity Of their low temperature.
IMAGINATIVE MAPS.
A few of our imaginative geographers
have created vast Antarctic continent, as
extensive as Australia or the United States,
out of the actually discovered bits of land
met here or there on the outer fringe of the
ice barrier, and near the parallel of 60
south; and some of them, carried away, no
doubt, by their patriotic enthusiasm, have
even gone the length of coloring it pink to
denote British territory. But whether it be
land or water which surrounds the South
Pole, there is unanimous belief that it is
covered with an immense sheet of snow and
Ice, hundreds, or perhaps thousands of feet
deep, and occupying an area Of over 3,000,-
600 of square miles. One of the objects of
the present expedition will be to determine,
if possible, the nature and thickness of this
vast ice cap. The rocks, where they have
been examined, are of volcanic origin,
though the Challenger dredged up from the
floor of the Antarctic ocean many oozy
specimens Of other rocks supposed to be
washed down into the comparatively
shallow sea from the alleged continent
The icebergs broken off from the edge of the
great ice cap are immense aat-topped, strait
fed, table-shaped structures of nearly
uniform height of 175 feet; but one has been
extended four or five miles in length
THE ExPEDIT1oNARY PERIOD.
Hitherto the expeditions to these regions
have not usually started till the middle of
December, and have rarely attained their
highest latitudes until the advanced season
and the consequent rapid formation of
young ice warned them to retire. AS most
people know, December, January and Feb
ruary form the Southern summer months.
but the Antarctic has this advantage over
the Arctic regions-that it can be ap-
preached, circumnavigated and surveyed
during the whole year. The Challenger is
the only steam vessel that has yet furrowed
the surface of the ocean beyond the 600 par
allel of south latitude, but she is quite I'M
protected for ice work. It is the intention
Of the organizers of this new expedition to
navigate in vessel with good steam and sail |
power, especially lifted up for the work
peculiar to these regions the hull and pro-
peller being strongly protected; but the |
smallness of the sum raised for the purposes
Of the expedition will preclude any dis |
ooveries Of a sensational character 1t will |
mainly devote itself to the thorough ex-
animation of certain portions of these |
regions already known, and will also inves-
hgate the facilities for turning sperm oil |
into paying business concern. 1t NAV |
help to settle, no doubt, some vexed ques-
ions and enrich geography, oceanography,
and other branches of physical |