Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-05-28
STORY or THE SOUTH POLE.
Projects for Exploring n countr, ruled with
Mystery.

4
WHERE. IT rs ALLEGED. MAMMALS rrRH,rr
oRioISArED-wAs rHE GARDEN OF rprx
THERE?-To INVESTIGATE rHE ROCKS ron
FossILs-A COMMERCIAL oBJEcT TO ~ SERVED.
THE SOUTH POLE HAS ALWAYS Rrrx
regarded a land Of mystery ana wo,ao,
Up TO the present day what has been Wri,,.n
about the continent OF the antarc,i, ia limitoa
almost wholly 20 the imaginative. scv.-.l
bold explorers. like Ross and wilkes. have cir
cun.navigated il. marking it, outlines cruacly
upon their charts. Bat tho forbiddinr coas,
line. walled at all points with ice cliffs ana
fringed with fields Of ice. has prevented any
attempt 10 pcnctratc into the interior. Thus /,
happens that this strange region. tuice as b,o
as Europe and having an area 81 5000 o0o
square miles. is altogether a terra iucoc,i,a
That 1t will remain such much longer Is M.
likely, because science has lately directed il.
attention to projects'for expeditions in that
direction. Although the one that WINS con.
'emplated fron Australia is not likely to he
carried out, owing to n d OF funds. Others Will
Will doubtless be organized and achieved.
Most people would be inclined 10 co,.,a.-
mat The objects e. be attained by an explorn-
ton OF the antarctic coItinant ,y.rc not ~ spr
ncieni importance TO pay for the trouble o.
penTe. and danger involved What satisfar-
tory purpose can be gained Nv inye..is.,tir,, I.
region which il nothing more tbsp a -, -.
cap. surrounding the neither pole ~ no ca-,h
having no fauna nor fora aud ,,,h,l,,,,nc O.,
graphically nothing more interesting tb.n.
.er-iF OF rugged mountains aud -a,ines.
covered with eternal glacicT-g Never l,elcss .
lttle study OF the subject proves that tli. a. ~.
from being correct ylcw OF the matter IN.
geology alone OF tins mystcrions cort,tr, sho,,Is
afford vast amount OF most eutcrtrini,s, g.,
lnu l.r L..
s,u. l1 IN no oihcr lart 81 the world DO
frost and IRE hold such divided swav. numcr~
Gus lofty volcanoes belching forth Ian ma
ashes over the snow and ice
LAVA AND Snow.
Now, volcanoes are built out Of the rro5nc,s
OF their own eruption. each one CONSISTING %
uepris piled around a vent Lava and ashcs
surround the crater with alternate lave-s RS,
IN TINS polnr region strata of snow f,lli,,,, -,
intervals must lie between the LAYERS 81 ashcs
ana h!a- IL would naturally be imagined that
the volcanic ejecta would quickly mel, tn. 80,
upon which they drop: but this IL No, 40 -
cause the ashes thrown out bv volcanoes fau
quite cold. form n cake and make Qua ~ a..
best non-conductors known. When such !.
layer few inches thick L. spread ,,y,.r -.
even molten lava may Gov over il yitho,,
melting the snow beneath. This has l,.r,' -
quently observed. glaciers being sorostiroos
actually sealed MP under a crust Of Lawn Tt,s
further supposed that great masses Of nnra i-an
oiiN DC Inufiu IN the mountains Of
the antarctic continent. similar to tho.ac which
have been discovered far toward the north ,,,,l,
he Interest taken IN these metallic ,nas.os
arises from the fact that they alone. of nll s.cb
deposits IN the world, resemble in composition
the fragments cast upon the earth frou, ,h.
outer universe and called 'meteoritea-
FORMER CLIMATE.
In all probability investigation OF the roch
formations Of the antarctic continent would
tell a wonderful story of its history in ages
past. IL has been ascertained from abundant
fossil deposits. discovered in north Greenland
and elsewhere in the not distant neighhorhooa
OF the north POLE that the arctic circle formerly
enjoyed climate approaching the tropicni
That region is proved by such evidence 20 have
been at one time covered with fluxuriant veve-
tation. Where at pre- sent all j. ice and ,lesola-
ton varied forms Of animal and vegetabl. life
fiourished. II seems likely the corresponding
conditions at one or more periods existed in the
vicinity OF the south pole. Science now holds
the opinion that millions Of wears ago there uns
an enormous land mass in that part of the
world, which has since sunk 20 the bottom az the
sea. II was clothed with trees aud verdure had
many flowing rivers filled with fishes. and vas
alive with beasts. birds and insects
THE LOST CONTINENT.
This vanished country was. perhaps. not n
continent. II may have been a mighty archi-
pelago. Whichever it was il afforded oppor-
tunities for travel and distribution 10 numerous
species of land animals and fresh-wat.r fshes
which now are common to Australia New
Zealand, South America and the isolated tales
Of the Southern ocean. No other theory will
account satisfactorily for the existence Of these
creatures, belonging 20 the aame families in
localities so widely separated by exphnses Of
sea. Evidence TO the same effect is afforded by
mollusks and by plants. Moreover. n further
and peculiar interest attaches to this lost CONT
nent. There are many reasons for believing
that the higher forms of life represented by
the mammals-apes, cats. dogs, bears, horses,
oxen, &c.-orlginated there. Biologists trace
the history and development Of animal creation
by means of the fossil remains Of creatures
which they find buried in the strata OF the rocks;
but there are gaps in the story which the rocks
tell. and most important Of them j. the one that
comes in at the close of the mesozoic epoch
During that epoch there were no mammals
Reptiles ruled creation. many of them OF gigan-
tic size, attaining a length of eighty feet or
more. Some were herbivorous while others
of carnivorous habits, equipped with natural
weapons astonishingly formidable fed upou
them. While some lived on the land. others
swan in the seas and others vet dew in the
air. They were all wiped off the face OF the
earth quite suddenly il would seem. conditions
climatic and otherwise that were unfayorable 20
them having arrived. In the strata immedi-
ately covering their remains are discovered
those OF numerous families Of a class Of AMI
mails entirely different. which gave suck 10 their
young. Where did the latter come from2
Whereas the evolution of the reptiles from their
early types can be observed step by step in sue
cessiye layers f fosslliferous deposits the mann
mails, some of them Of great dimensions appear
all 1T once. and in vast numbers. fully formed.
Evidently they must have arrived from some
where else. Scientists make no question that
mammals were developed from reptiles by the
processes of evolution. But such processes
necessarily required an enormous length Of
time-millions of years. presumably. Inasmuch
n trace Of them j. 20 be found anywhere in
the rocks of the world. they must have been ac-
complished in some part of the earth that Is now
submerged beneath the ocean. IL - believed
that this Hypothetical region the lost CONT
nent or archipelago of the antarctic.
III the continent now covered by the ice cap
of the south pole Is the unsubmerged remnant
of such land mass or Aggregation of land
masses az the above theory assumed the former
existence of that region il altogether likely to
yield plentiful fossils that will tell the story of
the development OF animal life on the earth