The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-03-02
INTO UNKNOWN LANDS.
Lieut.. Schwatka Writes About the
Proposed Expedition TO the
Antarctic Region.
: It Is Expected That Valuable
Whale Fisheries Will Be
Discovered.
Scientific Results That May He Looked
For-volcanoes That Have Risen
From the Sea.

Scientific Results That May Hs Locked
For-yelcan0cs That Have Risen
From the Sea.
At . meeting Of the Royal Geographical
society OF Australia that took place Mt Mel
bourne last summer, n report on the ques.
ton Of Antarctic exploration WIS submitted,
although no practical action was Their
taken; but such action seems to have more
recently resulted from II, and, as usual, the
aims, possibilities, details and generalitiea
OF the proposed expedition are being widely
discussed in the press.
The public interest thus aroused has been
revived OH it's becoming known that the eel
ebrated Arctic explorer, Won Nordenskiold,
IL to take tho command of this Antarctic
expedition. His old friend and patron of
previous polar enterprises, Baron Oscar
Dickson, has promised to supply all the
funds needed for the undertaking over and
above g5,OOO, which the Australian colonies
contribute as AN equivalent to the
possible benefits likely to accrue from tho
exploration, and which I believe they have
agreed to do.
This expedition being, therefore, sufi-
GENTLY assured to have created widespread
comment On its probabilities and pOssibili-
ties it might be well to look at these from
the light Of an Arctic experience OF q few
years. and which 10 sufficient to discuss it
with a fair intelligence at least.
First. then. as to the commander: q most
important consideration in any expedition,
but pre-eminently prominent in q polar
party. I believe it can be truly said that
this part. however prominent, can be for
tunately disposed OF in the brief but strong
statement that no better commander could
probably be found. Baron Won NOrdsn-
skiold's past polar successes are such a.
ought to create complete confidence that all
that human intelligence, tempered by a
wide experience, can do will certainly be
done TO make the enterprise n success.
As to the geographical results / think it
can be said that probably nothing Of any
great practical value (which is a polite way
of saying there il no direct money in il
will be accomplished beyond outlining
some unknown coasts and rectifying q few
made In bad weather or under other dIsad-
vantaReous 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 sunk his lead in 600 fathoms of
miral Wilkes had jotted Town q mountain
a few seasons before. Still later Mares
again sailed over some mythical Antarctic
coast lines. and probably Nordenskiold may
60 near the same places only to find noun
tain ranges where others had found ocean
basins, and climb high hills where others
had harpooned huge whales. The dense
fog banks or water sky" Of the open lanes
of water in the ice packs, look sinGularly like
mountain ranges at a distance. while astron-
omical observations to determine position
are often taken under such unfavorable
circumstances of weather that q mountain,
bay or other geographical feature may slip
a cog or two of latitude and longitude when
mapped accordingly.
The go-called Antarctic Continent
which we see so often upon maps n globes,
has for n real outline only a disjointed or
discontinuous coast line that may be the
ocean facing sides of an archipelago, con-
nected with each other by a cement. so to
speak, of ice. or it may belong to true con-
tinent buried beneath q 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 Clarke Ross, British navy,
stretching roughly between the 160th meri-
dams east and west. There is no doubt as
to this coast. for he landed upon it a couple
survey from 1t. Admiral Wilkes traced 10
degrees of longitude from about the 1O0tn
meridian east of the 10th east, but this
coast line seems to have had bad luck. for
subsequent explorers could not find it. hen
the bold Frenchman,. D'Uryille, followed
a shore line from 136 degrees to 142 degrees
east longitude. E~nderby's and Kemp's
land are about the 9th parallel and be-
tween the 45th and Goth meridIans east,
while south of Cape Horn is some indis-
dinctly mapped land. SO there is no lack
of material for Nordenskiold to investigate
If the expedition is even fairly successful.
l have already limited at the OF ice
cap which covers the Antarctic continent,
n alongside of which even the great mer-
de-glace of Greenland-which the popular
mind usually conceives to be the largest
known glacial mass-is but a mere boreal
baRatelle. 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 debouching on
the coasts Of the great southern sea by ice
cliffs many hundreds of feet in depth az
seen BY Antarctic navigators are thrustifor-
ward at a rate of speed somewhere between
1000 and 1.5OO feet yearly. The study of
glacial physics can nowhere be studied with
80 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 Antarctic regions. Nordenskiold is a
technical scientist and original Investigator
IN Just such spheres OF research, and his
forthcoming 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 noun
tains "belching forth lava, smoke INT fire..
according to our old time school geog a
phies. are singuiarly enough supposed to b,
built up as much by snow and ice in this
region rs they are by scoria, lava and vol
canic ashes: although at first glance one
could hardly see how the two homogeneous
elements could possibly mix to form any
thing. Sir James Clark Ross. sailing by
Victoria Land, in his ships the Erebus and
Terror saw two volcanoes far inland. which
he named after his vessels, and which he
places among the highest mountains of the
world. Mount Erebus was in a state of
eruption, although its sides were covered
will ice and snow. Mr.. G.. :. GrIffiths.
commenting on these very peculiar feat
ures says: Volcanoes are built up
as contradistinguished from other
mountains. which result from
elevation or erosion. They consist of debris
piled around a vent. Lava and ashes sur
round the crater i'll alternate layers. But
in this south polar region the snowfall must
be taken into account as well rs the ash de-
post and this lava low. 1t may be thought
that any volcanic ejecta would speedily melt
the snow upon which they fell, but this
does not by any means necessarily follow.