The morning call., 1893-02-04

only Ohe-SeVenln OF q HOatlng iceberg APP
pears above the sea level the thickness of
the greatest of these ice masses was over
1000 feet One vessel, early in October,
passed 400 of them in few days. and al
times twenty or thirty could be counted
from the deck. Most of them were pure
white, but others are described as OF dark
brown color, which can be explained only
by the superstition that they were the bear
ers of debris and detritus from the southern
land masses whence they came. Very little
h0tsam and jetSam from the Antarctic land
has ever been collected, and it would have
been interesting had an opportunity Oc-
Cured to examine these dark-colored Ice
bergS.
The meteorological conditions last season,
both in the Arctic and Antarctic regions,
seem 10 have been exceptional. The extra
ordinary prevalence of immense fields of
foe ice and icebergs far north of the An
tarctic circle can be explained only by the
prevalence OF southern gales driving the
fleet Of wanderers north into the track of
vessels. An unusually large amount of
DRIFT ice and icebergs was also seen las i
summer In the North Atlantic Some theor-
ISIS might suppose that this uncommon
prevalence OF northern ice south of its usual
limit Of drift indicted that the Arctic seas
were more than usually crowded with ice
last summer. This WAS not the case. The
French vessel Manche, on her visit TO Jan
Mayen, north of Iceland, found hardly a
cake OF ice during the whole trip The ice
had 10 fact been driven far south, leaving
more northern waters comparatively clear.
1t is probable that last season offered an un-
usually good opportunity TO prosecute polar
researches in steam vessels, both in the Arc
tic and Antarctic regions So favorable an
UceasOn may not soon occur again.
These facts increase the interest In the
of no Fub hal lin Ia oh
during the first week in Septic mber sent the
steamers Balaena, Active. Diana and Polar
Star from England for the purpose of whal-
ing in high southern ATTITUDES, and perhaps
attaining regions that have not been visited
since the memorable voyage Of SIR james
Ross, fifty years ago. The fleet was scien-
tifeally equipped to add to our knowledge of
those regions. Two learned societies of
England furnished the instruments and
other equipments needed and gave TO the
scientific staff OF the fleet instructions for
their guidance. A competent naturalist. an
experienced physical observer and a pho
tograr her were IN the party, and on the
Balaena was Mr.. Burn Murdoch, painter,
who hoped 10 obtain some characteristic
paintings OF Antarctic icebergS. The fleet
Will not return home until next March. and
II fortune fav0rs the explorers they Will
have some interesting facts to tell.
bile the scientific staff Of the expedition
are improving their opportunities. th g
whalers Will endeavOr to take in full cargo es
of sperm whales. When Sir James Ross
was in the neighborhood of the Antarctic
continent and could see the smoke aud
flame of Mount Erebus. many whales
passed close to bis ships. 1t was his opinion
that very successful whale-hunting might
be carried on there. The whales. he said
were of the largest size, especially the
spermaceti, the most valuable of all. Tne
difficulty, he thought, would be in pushing
ships through the heavy, intervening pack
ice. He was speaking Of sailing vessels
such as those Ia which his party had reached
the great Antarctic land. The steam whalers
OF to-day would OF course have less difi-
Guilty In reaching high southern latitude
Some very interesting differences between
Antarctic and Arctic ice have been OBJ
served. Greenland is practically the source
of all the ieebergs that drift into the North
Atlantic; but the Inland ice of Greenland
finds access 10 the sea only through deep
fioTdS, down which move the glacial
streams that thrust their foot into the
sea and break off as icebergs. No
such hOrds are found along the known
coasts OF the southern continent. Profess
Ser Shaler estimates the extent of the
glacial front of Greenland al go miles. If
this Is an adequate estimate the linear ex-
tent of the glacial front along the known
coast Of Victoria Land in the Antartic is as
great as that of the whole Of Greenland.
Sir James Ross. for $50 miles, skirted the
edge of the great inland iceeaD If that land
IL comes down TO the sea and the expedition
called il the great ice barrier. Pushing its
front into the sea- 1t rises above the water
as continuous perpendicular wall of Ice.
varying from 100 to 300 feet in height. It
was practically unbrOken as far as Ross
followed the coast line, though in two places
he succeeded in setting foot on the edge Of
the unknown land.
The inland ice, therefore, unlike that of
Greenland, is coeXtensiye with the coast
itself ana stretches along the shore line as
an enormous Hat-topp0d preciDice as far as
ships have traced it,
One OF the most interesting questions to
be settled Is whether the scattered coasts
that have been seen there are parts of one
great continent or whether they are merely
portions OF an archipelago. Ross inclined
10 the latter view. believing that a wide
channel might somewhere be found leading
far toward the South Pole. 1t is believed,
however, that the immense thickness Of the
ice barrier which he traced shows that Vie
t0ria Land must be OF great extent. THIS
ice sheet gradually slides down the slope to
the sea, and section Of it, at least quar-
ter OF a mile in width, annually breaks off
at the sea edge and floats away as icebergs.
The Challenger brought ND from the beds
of the icy sea that washes Victoria Land
fragments Of sandstone, states and granite,
as well as the typical blue mud which in
variably fringes continental land, and these
discoveries arc strong evidence that land of
continental proportions is not far away.
Here is the greatest iceberg factory in the
world. Antarctic waters receive n far
greater supply of land ice than northern
lands furnish to the Arctic seas. In the
nelghborho0d or the south polar circle and
far north Of il vessels always report much
greater number of icebergs than are seen
anywhere in corresponding northern lati-
a.. --E.
further away from their source is because
the sea is OF lower temperature than that of
Arctic waters In corresponding ATTITUDES,
and the icebergs therefore melt less rapidly.
When they reach the track of commerce
they are still massive-often flat-topped
mountains of ice. Antarctic tenn peratures
are much lower than those in the Arctic
regions on account OF the greater quantity
OF Ice and the fact that the warm currents
flowing into the south polar seas are smaller
and less potent than those flowing into tho
Arctic basin.
Even on the finest days of the Antarctic
summer the temperature rarely rises above
the freezing point. and so no yeIdure
brigntens south polar lands. while a con-
siderable variety of plants are found even
in the highest Arctic attitudes. 1t is fortu-
nate that no such powerful currents flow
from the Antarctic Ocean north as The
Labrador and the East Greenland polar
cuITtntS WulCH eHIeT our warmer waters,
for II such n0rth-hOwiDg currents did
emerge from the south polar basin they
would blockade the track of shipping with
impenetrable masses of Antarctic ice.
Many explorers have been stopped by the
southern icepack and leebergs in the neigh
bOrhOod Of the south polar circle. or between
it and 20 deg. south latitude, while in the
northern hemisphere the Arctic circle
passes for the most part over land masses,
aud along the greater part OF the continental
shore lines there Is often lane of navigable
water, while in parts of the north polar
area broad stretches OF open sea are found.
Some day we shall probably learn more of
the great land mass whose ice barrier has
been followed for $50 miles. When Ross dis
covered 1t. Mount Erebus. rising to an alti-
tude OF II. 400 feet above the level of the sea.
was belching from its lofty crater dense
volumes Of smoke intermingled with flames.
The volcano had the appearance of col0s-
n mid of