The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1893-10-12
poRTER's TRIP.
How He Reached Within Six Degrees
of the Pole.
In an Adventurous Search of Whale OIL the
Captain Entered an Entirely Unknown
Region-Tbe Attitudes Reached by
Modern Arctic Explorers.


SAN Francisco, Oct. 9.--Great inter-
est has been aroused in scientific cir
cles and among people generally of the
announcement that the steam whaler
Newport commanded by Capt Porter,
Is returning from cruise to the most
northerly point ever reached by man, a
point north of Prince Patrick islands,
and within six degrees of the Pole. De-
tails of Capt Porter's enterprise are
meager, owing to the fact that the
Newport has not yet reached San Fran
cisco, the first news of the adventure
having come by the steamer Jeanie,
which was recently out of Behring sea,
where she met the Newport
Little is known of the Newport ex-
cept that she is stoutly-built whaling
vessel. and especially adapted, as YES
sells of her class always are, for pushing
through heavy ice. Capt Porter is
thorough seaman, used to adventures
in the northern seas in pursuit of
whales, and it was owing to his deter
mination to secure oil rather than to
achieve an explorers fame that he ven
tured through the open Polar sea north
of the American continent to the unpre.
cedented latitude of eighty-four de-
grees.
According to the reports of the
Jeanie, Porter was finally stopped by
ice, but he would probably have been
able, if provided with dogs and sleds,
to have crossed the $50 odd miles of ice
which separated him from the North
DNl ,,,I la frsl 10 Il
before traversing all of this interven-
ing distance.
The arrival of Capt. Porter in San
Francisco is eagerly awaited, in order
that all of the details of hiscremark-
able journey through unknown seas
may be ascertained.
The portions of the Arctic ocean
through which Porter sailed have never
been explored, like some other sections
to the east and west His route lay
from Behring straits up north
of the American continent and
above the course which Col
linson took on his remarkable
voyage of exploration in 1851. 1t is
seldom, indeed, that vessels are able to
coast along the northern shore of
from ice, and the fact is that only two
instances are on record where vessels
have been able, by taking advantage
of open water, to reach the mouth of
the Mackenzie river. The feat of Capt.
Porter in deserving the shore line of
the continent and striking boldly out
for the north, is therefore, the more
remarkable.
1t should be understood that the
farthest point heretofore reached was
that attained by Lockwood, of the
Greedy expedition, in 1882, who reached
an altitude of SO degrees and 20 min
utes. Mares, in 1876, following almost
the same route which Greeley subse.
quently took, achieved record OF SO
degrees. Koldewey, in 1869, in his ex,
plorations north of Iceland, reached an
altitude of rs degrees, while Payer, in
1874, proceeding north of Novaya Zem-
Iva, above Lapland, discovered Franz
Josef Land, 50 degrees north.
Nordenskjold in 1878 and De Long in
1881 reached about the same altitude
rs degress-while Peary, in 1912,
claimed record Of altitude short OF
that attained by Lockwood, of the
Greely party.
The fact that whaler, unprepared
for scientific exploration and equipped
at small fraction of the cost which
usually attends arctic explorations and
reliefs, has been able to outstrip all
competitors in the race for the North
pole, is not due, probably, to. any SUI
perior bravery on the part of Capt. Por.
ter, but rather to fortunate circum.
stances, which made his unparalleled
feat possible. 81.
As the whales become scarcer, year
by year, in the lower stretches of the
Arctic ocean, the incentive to whaling
captains to pursue them into their
more northerly retreats is increased.
and it it is possible that the discoverer
of the north pole will yet be a whaling
captain in seach of oil.