The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-09-14
PEARY,s DISCOVERIES.

II the alleged dispatch from Lieutenant
Peary to the Secretary Of the Navy has not
been mutIlated in transit, it calls for eX-
PLANTATION. The lieutenant is made to say
that "the highest discoveries on the Green
land east coast, Independence Bay. in 81
deg. north and "a deg. west, were made on
July 4, 1892" But Markham in 1876 reached
a point several minutes north Of IS deg. {:
Lockwood in 1887 saw Cape Lincoln, which
is In SO deg. 50 min, and number of capes
and fiOrds are marked on the recent maps
which are located above the eighty-third
meridian. The explanation possibly Is that
the lieutenant drew a distinction between
the north and east coasts of Greenland. Be-
tween Cape Lincoln in IS deg. 81 min. on the
north shore of Greenland and Cape Bis
maTck, which is in II deg. on the east coast,
there is long sea line which has never been
surveyed, and is marked on the maps by a
row Of dots. 1t is possible that 'Inde-
pendence Bay" may lie east of Cape Lin
coin.
Lieutenant Peary's plan was to push as
far up Bailin Bay as he could with his YES
sci; then to land and camp. and, his camp
made, 10 explore Northern Greenland on
foot with sledges. He passed Westenholme
Island and established his camp in or near
Werak Bay in Smith Sound. leaving his
wife there. Thence he pursued the journey
he had planned He has not returned. and
what be has discovered will only be known
when he tells his own story. 1t is safe to
expect that he will trace the north coast of
Greenland for some distance beyond Cape
Lincoln. Though the perils of travel in
that Arctic region are severe in cOnse-
81 F,a sd fba
falls, the distances are short, and we'll
equipped party of experienced men ought
to be able to cover good deal of ground in
a season.
Persons who are unfamiliar with geOgTa-
phieal science ask what is the good OF such
expeditions as Peary's? 1t may be worth
while TO inform them that Greenland is a
most interesting portion of the world. be-
cause ii is the last remaining relic of the ice
age. That peculiar island is in the condition
which prevailed over most of the world
during the last glacial period. The surface
Of the earth is covered with a mass OF ice
which is supposed TO range from 1000 TO 5000
feet In thickness, and which only meltS
when it comes into contact with salt water
In the interior of Greenland, there is not a
tree, nor a plant, nor q bird, nor an animal
Of any kind. The ice king has no inhabi-
tants in his empire. But this frowning
abode OF polar ice is changing from year TO
year. Icebergs break away from the central
mass, and move Down into the ocean. where
they gradually float. pass into the high sea,
and drift southwardly till they strike the
warm waters OF the equator, and disappear.
The coast Of Greenland is constantly rising
and falling. The work OF creation is ever
busy there.
An accurate survey of the coast Of Green
land will assist science in solving the re-
manning unsolved problems OF the glacial
era. 1t Is rs likely as not to shed light on
the controversy over preglacial man. What
we fad in. Greenland once existed in New
England, New York, the grain States of the
Northwest, and the Pacific States as far
south as Oregon. What those States are
now, it is fair to expect that Greenland will
some day become. And observation Of the
action Of nature there will enable Us, per-
haps, TO reckon the rate at which the ice re-
ce1ed frem the land We inhabit, and the
phenomena which marked the tremendous
march Of the ice masses.