The Lake Charles echo., 1893-09-01
&c epIrls 81 ExrIernrlon.


Times. Democrat
fihsre seems to be 8 marked revival
inst now 10 the spirit Of exploration.
Ehich, for some reason or other, bad
cooled off recently. Movements Of this
sind seem 10 go by cycles, IS it were.
One expedition to GentFa Africa brings
forth dozen others. LTYiug tone sets
ont to cross the continent; STANLEY fol-
lows to discover" him, aud somebody
marches in sianley's footsteps TO look
him mp. The interest grOus with each
nee party, aud as the result Of one ex-
pedition Africa is soon BaarmiDg with
professional and amateur explorers; so
mary, 10 fact, that they get in the way
and trip over each other.
It l. the same with the North Pole.
which, even above Africa, has had q
charm for explorers. When SIR John
Barrow declared that ''the Forth Pole
is the OnlF thing on earth of which we
know nothing whatever, he Iard down
the principle which has stimulated hun
dTtds of explorers tO seek to solve this
myttery, and 10 lose their lives perhaps
among the bergs and fees of the desc
late north.
There has been o wonderful impetus
given to polar expeditions the present
year and scarcely week passes without
q new one being announced. Peary is
already well in Greenland by this time,
aud has begun his march, which is be-
ing carried on in q most sensible and
systematic manner. His eXpedi ion will
be entirely by land. By which means he
will try to reach the p le. Even If he
does not succeed in getting there the
geological, meteorological and other in
vestigstlons he is conducting will make
the trip valuable one 10 science.
DR.. NsnEsn, who has already made
several expeditions to the AretIc Circle,
and who accomplished the dIficult feat
/ Of crossing Greenland from its east TO
its west coast. over very high attitudes
aud across iBnumerable g aciers, will
his time try to reach the pole by water,
and in a very peculisr way. Has vessel,
which hs has had specially eOustrncted
for the occasion, is very queefly shaped,
mainly with q view to strength, aud he
| believes that it is 90 built that il cannot
| be crushed IN the ice He Eill sail as
far north IS be can when the seas are
open 10 the fail, ALLOW his vessel to be
caught and frozen IN the ice and 10 this
aay b pes TO drift 10 the pole with the
Fl ,atIDg b .rgs pass it and be released a
couple Of years afterWard by the melting
of TIE iceberg into which hts ship has
fruzen Itis the mRddest of all schemes
rv-r proposed to sail to the North Pole
I .,n an Iceberg, but such mad schemes
bHve occasionally been favored with sue
orss. aud Its verv originality recon-
meuds it a. worth trying
Frederick 6. jackson, member of the
Royal Geographic Il Society of Lond Du .,
viii make Frank J .nef's Iaud his base #
/ Op-rRIlOns Lieut. Melville. of the Uul-
ted States paw, hts ptauned simllar
expedition, aud Lieut. RYDER of the
DANISH Dayg. WIN is a. present making
a t,,ur of eastern Greenland. has organ
i2pd another expedition, which Will aim
not TO reach tue North Pole Itself. but
to fud the magnetic pole, survey the
neighbOrhoud and mark it, changes U1
locaIty. FInaIly, there is r bbsrt Stein
who will devote himself to exploring the
unknown portion Of GTInBeIlB Land
north of Boffin'R Bay
Here BFe FIX Arctic expeditions, all o.
which have staTtrd or will sOOn start
The spirit OF exploration has never beeI
as active as it is Just nov. Each q
these parties will explore a different 10
caiity and goes eqnIpped to make thor
Ough scientific observations and inSest
Cations, 20 that even the mystery of tn
pole is not solved, it will bring bRcl
valuable information. It will bs notice.
that the expeditions are much smaller i
point Of numbers and much less expen
sIVe than those of old. They are, there
fore, more easily managed. and there
iess danger of accident than when the
. consisted Of several ships aud 400 OF So
men, and when it took year Or mol
n to lit them up. We know the ArctI
- region better, and We know what
needed there, and the consequence
that complete failures are NOW raro
Q There is scarcely All expedition tn,
u does not return iu good condition al
z with information Of value to us. Til
e new activity in Arctic exploration mul
= sooner Or laler solve the mystery of I'll
r Pole.
as yet the South Pole has not prove
!, 10 attractive as its nOEthernlbEOther. Th
is probably because the task Uf reachII
it is far more dangerous and Difficult
u bnt the field is most Iuteresting on
aud the discoveries that promise to Z
Ir ward the exIlOrer are far greater. Ye
because of the difficulty and dang
there is but single expedition to Il
AutsrtIc Circle this year against six
C the Arctic regions. II any of the latt
IS reach the pole and solve the mystery :
y may expect to sse the spirit Of adVe
e ture turned to where Monnts Brebl
r aud Terr,F send down their cOntinuol
:. rain of fire on the frozen plains of Il
| aoUtharn onutinanL