Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1891-03-01
licence ~ least

First then. - 10 the COMMANDER, Il
most important consideration In any eX-
oedition, but pre-ominently prominent
in polar party. l believe it can be
truly said that thiS part. however i'm
uortant. can be fortunately disposed of
in the brief but strong statement that
no better commander could probably be
found Baron Won Nordeus kidd past
polar successes are such as ought 10
create complete confidence that all that
human Intelligence. tempered by wide
experience, can DO will certainly be
done 10 make the enterprise a. success.
As To the geographical results l think
it can be said that probably nothing OF
any great practical value which is
polite way Of SAYING there is no direct
money in It'd win De accomplished be-
yond outlining some unknown coasts
and rectifying a few immaterial mis-
takes ofcbyevious explorers made IN bad
weather or under other disadvantageous
circumstances. In the Arctic Parry, OF
the Royal navy. sailed over the Croker
mountains as mapped by Ross a few
years before, but Ross nephew turned
around and sums his lead in 500 i2thoms
OF Antarctic water, where the American
Admiral Wilkes had jotted down noun
tain few seasons before. Still later
Mare, again sailed over some mythical
Antarctic coast lines, and probably Nor
dcnskiold may 20 near the same places
only 10 find mountain ranges where
Others had found ocean basins. and
climb high hills where others had har-
pooned huge whales The dense fog
banks or water sky of the open lanes
OF water in the ice packs look singu-
| larly ike mountain ranges at distance,
while astronomical observations TO de-
| termine position are often taken under
such unfavorable circumstances OF
weather that a mountain. bay or other
geographical feature may slip a cog or
two of latitude and longitude when
mapped accordingly.
The so-called Antarctic Continent"
which we see 50 often on maps and
globes. has for a real outline only dis
/ jointcG or discOutinuOus coast line that
may be the ocean facing sides OF an
archipelago connected with each other
by a cement, so TO speak, of ice, or IL
NAV belong % a true continent buried
beneath a huge ice-cap that overSpreads
it to a depth unequaled in any other
part of the world.
There is the coast called Victoria
Land, of Sir James Clark Ross, British
navy. stretching roughly between the
Tooth meridians east and west. There
is no doubt as 10 this coast, for he land
/ cd upon 10 couple of times, but made
no extended land survey from it. Ad-
miral Wilkes traced 20 degrees Of
/ longitude from about Tooth meridian
| east TO the 10th east, but this coast
/ line seems 10 have had bad luck, for
subsequent explorers could not find IT,.
Then the bold Freedman, D'Uyille.
| followed a shore line from 136 degrees
to AZ degrees east longitude. Ender-
by's and Kemp's Land are about the
seventy-SiXth parallel and between the
forty-ffth aid sixtieth meridians east.
while south Of Cape Horn is some in
distinctly mapped land. So there is no
lack of material for Nordenskiold to
investigate if the expedition is even
fairly successful.
have already limited at the enor-
NOUS ice-cap which covorS the Antarc-
tic continent, and alongside of which
even the mCrde-glGce OF Greenland
which the popular mind usually con
ceiveS to be the largest known glacial
maSs-is but mere boreal bagatelle.
Calculations, based on known glacial
phenomena, vary between three and
twelve miles for the depth of the center
of this great south polar ice cap; while
the terminal fronts Of the maps de-
bouching on the coasts OF the
great southern sea by ice cliffs
hundreds of feet in depth as
seen BY Antartic navigatOrs are thrust
forward ut rate of speed somewhere
between one thousand and fifteen nun
dred feet yearly. The study Of the
glacial physics can nowhere be studied
with so much material at hand for the
purpose and TO such an advantage as in
/ the known and unknown ice fields and
| ice mountains Of the Antartic regions.
NordenSkiold is a technical scientist
and original investigator in just such
spheres Of research, and his forthcom-
ing expedition ought TO be prolific Of
valuable results therein.
The geology OF the region will no
doubt be pivotal upon glacial functions.
Even the volcanoes OF the region, those
mountains "beiching forth lava, smoke
and fire" according to our old-time
school Biographies, are, Singularly
enough, supposed to be built up as
much by snow and ice in this region as
they are by scorie, lava and volcanic
ashes; although at first glance one