The morning call., 1893-07-20
A NEW ANTARCTIC VOYAGE.


interviewing the captains Of the vessels
which have just returned from the Ant
arctic. and obtaining from them an ac-
count of their voyage. They started last
year, n OF with any purpose of geographical
discovery. but simply to catch whales, OF
which they found none. But they reached
the point which had been attained by
their predecessors in Antarctic explora-
tions-about II deg. south latitude; saw
the Antarctic continent and observed
some Islands which have not been set
down on any map.
The south polar regions are the dis
grace of geographical science. 1t was three
years before the declaration of indepen-
dence that Captain Cook sailed from the
Cape Of Good Hope to explore them; he
did not then get beyond 67 deg. Is min. On
a later voyage he reached II deg Is min.
Sixiy-fve years elapsed without further
discoveries: then in 1889 the French
Dumont d'Urvile and one Captain Wilkes
sailed within sight of the southern conti-
nent, but did not approach as near the
pole as Cook had done. In the following
year Captain Ross (afterward Sir James
Ross worked his way in the Ereous ana
Terror to within 500 miles OF the pole;
and in 1S41 he attained latitude OF 7o
deg. IL min. Since then, with the exception
of the Challenger in 1874, n vessel has
tried 10 increase the knowledge which we
owe to Sir James Ross. Three years ago
the Legislatures of Australasia agreed to
fit out an expedition for the exploration of
the unknown continent, provided England
and the United States would bear part of the
a Tod n thprp
no constitutional warrant for such an en-
ployment of the public funds, and the
project fell through. Thus it is fifty-twO
years since we learned anything new OF
the region which surrounds the south
pole.
1t is curious that such enormous sums
should have been expended in endeavors
to reach the north pole, and that no ma
ton and no society should have made an
effort TO explore the far more interesting
surroundings of the other apex OF the
world. That there is land there. covered
with ice, tn at il is of volcanic origin and
full of active volcanoes. we have known
for half a century. and we know no more
now. Yet the Improvement of navigation
and the development of science make the
exploration of the region far more practi-
cable than it was. The whaers which
have lust returned made their base at the
Falkland Islands in 81 deg. The sea which
washes those islands is about the storm-
est part of the South Atlantic, and il there
are reasons for making base on that
meridian of longitude, it would seem that
the Shetland Islands, which lie south Of 60
deg. would be more convenient starting
point The Australians. who doubtless
had good reasons for their action, proposed
to set out from Kerguelen Island, which is
also in 50 deg A vessel sailing from there
would follow the longitude Of 70 deg. 1t is
said that it would encounter minimum
| of ice on that line.
An exploring expedition wherever it
started from would consist Of three yes
sells built 80 nearly solid that they would
| not be liable to be crushed by the ice, and
! one of them filled with coal for the others.
| They would connect on their voyage with
their base by submarine wire, so that in
case of accident a reserve party would
know where to go. According to all the
| accounts the pack ice is struck in about
20 deg. south latitude; thus it should be
| reached in about week from the time of
departure. 1t would be the business of
the expedition to work through this and
to aim at some point on the solid conti-
nent, if Ontinent there be. The rest
would be sledge work.
It will be remembered that when the
exploration Of the north polar region be-
gan the opinion was general that there
was a north polar continent which ex-
| tended from Hudson Straits to the pole.
and probably connected with Greenland.
| We now know that there Is no such con-
tinent. but that off the north coast of
North America there is a ccngeries of
islands, possibly broken off bits of some
dead con ntnent which was partly sub
merged when the land subsided near the
poles. 1t is quite possible that the So
called Antarctic continent is also a group
of islands connected together by ice
masses, and that lucky explorer might
find his way into the sounds which divide
them. How vastly important such dis
covery would be to science it is unneces-
sary to explain.