Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-18
F e l DS OF ICE
An Expert Discusses Prospects of Reach.
ing the North Pole.
The Astronomical Benefit From q Visit to
the Pole-Peary Stands tho Best Chance
OF Reaching the Desired Land.

DE. }. Stewart Harrison talked with a re-
porter Of THE STAR at the Normandie last
night on the subject Of polar expeditions. DR..
Harrison was Of the first Greedy relief expedi-
ton under Lieut.. Darlington and is a man of
many arctic experiences. He has had his share
Of peril and blubber. He told the reporter
that Of the three pole hunts now on foot. those
Of Jackson, hansen and Peary, the latter prom
ised most success Mr.. jackson, who is a
Briton, proposes topush northward from Franz
Joseph Land. This is highly speculative en-
terprise. The land was discovered by the ship
Tegetthoff, which drifted against it on north
erly current. The only data concerning this
region IL that furnished by the Payer explora-
ton of 1874.
'Nansen's project ia doing, but" said DR..
Harrison, II think he places too much reliance
on luck. Luck is days work. He has over
the Sea Of Kara to the westward Of the New
Siberian Islands. Thence he proposes to plunge
his good ship Fran into the ice to the north
and let her drift at the mercy of the currents
on the theory that one will bear him across the
pole.
1.-THE scheme of Lieut.. Peary seems to me. y
said the doctor, "to rest on practical basis.
It is, however. not original with him. The con-
ception probably belongs either to Manson of
Christiania or to Nordenskiold. The theory OF
polar ascent BY interior travel seems first to
have been applied by Nordenskiold. In 1883 he
crossed from the hftieth to the fortieth merid-
ian from point on the west coast OF Green
land about one degree south of Disco bay.
While Nordenskiold operated from west to east,
NanSen crossed from east to west. After many
hairbreadth escapes he and small party broke
through the ice barriers that lock the east
coast and effected landing at Anarelock.
Thence they broke through the shore waters
northward to Univie and struck westward over
land. They followed pretty closely the line of
the sixty fifth parallel and finally reached Godt-
hoob on the west coast Three years later that is,
in 1886. Lieut. Peary passed over from the fftieth
to the fortieth meridian, starting from Disco
bay. The fact that on his later trips he was
able to push northward from Mccormick bay
over Humboldt glacier, Washington Land aud
to Cape Union, away up in the eighties, demon
strates to my mind the feasibility Of the plan
Of ascending to the pole by this route. 1t
seems especially practicable il Greenland ex-
tends northward to the ninetieth degree. II a
frozen sea intervenes this obstacle may be
overcome"
Mysterious Greenland.
''what sort of country is Greenland
queried the reporter.
"Almost as mysterious as Ophir and Cim-
meria. From the time when the rowing
Gunbion sighted the headland of Hvidsaerk
the progress Of knowledge concerning this
Land Of Dissolution, as Davis dubbed it, has
been tediously slow. The name Greenland is q
misnomer. That name was misapplied by the
lcelandic murderer. Erik the Red, who was
pleased with the verdure which springs up
around the fjords during the brief summer.
By the way, it was this Eriks son Lief who
scooped Columbus on the discovery OF this
continent He landed on the New England
coast instead Of on the Bahamas. The natives
OF Greenland are hospitable. but they all live
along the coasts. where living is cheaper than
inland. Their docility 10 mainly due to mission
airy influence set in motion by Hans Egede. who
was sent out by the Danish government in the
early part Of the last century to look for traces
Of the lost colony Of the Osterbygd. This
colony most probably Jared the fate of the
colony Of the Vesterbygd, which was massa-
cred by the skrallings. The fauna and fora
are rather OF European character"
Prot. Frisbie's Opinion.
"What Is all this north pole fuss?" said re-
porter for The STAR last night to Prof. Frisbie.
the eminent astronomer.
81 don't know" said the professor. "Some
Of the geographers may be able to tell about it,
So FAR as astronomical science is concerned |
can see no reason for this expedition OF energy
and risk and waste of life. Perhaps some un-
foreseen discovery may flow from a visit to the
north pole, after the fashion OF the frog. kite
and apple incidents. l cannot see the utility of
polar expedition, but, for that matter. what
utility. measured on q cash basis. is there in
any science, except that in some cases they lead
to the discovery Of things valuable to humanity
1t would perhaps please our patriotic pride to
have the north pole first reached by an Ameri-
can and to have United Statee signal station
up there with star spangled banner on top Of
II, but what practical benefit science is TO de-
rive from the fact Of . visit to the north pole /
cannot clearly see."
DR.. Morrison Of the American Ephemeris and
Nautical Almanac was standing by and ex-
pressed a doubt as to whether the pole could be
exactly located, even though an explorer should
get that far north.