The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-04-05

gets colder as you rise above the surface
OF the earth. AS you get into
the colder regions the difference In
temperature Is great, and IT Is ques-
ton how Andree is going to keep warm
He dare not have FIRE in his balloon,
for a spark might ignite the gas and
blow everything to pieces. He viii have
to keep warm by clothing. He knows
great deal about aerial navigation, how
ever, and has very good idea or WnaI
he can do with a balloon"
The conversation here turned TO Mr.
Borchgrevink's trip TO Antarctica, and
he gave me a very interesting story or
his voyage, the most Of which has never
been published. The expedition was Or
ganized as a whaling enterprise, and, IN
order to go, Borchgrevink joined II as
seal shooter and sailor He slept in the
forecastle OF the little steamer and did
all the work Of an ordinary seaman.
Said he:
1.-The trip was taken with the idea OF
catching whales and seals, though went
along for purely scientific purposes You
know there are different kinds or whales
That which is the most valuable is called
the right whale. 1t is black whale,
and is supposed to exist in large quanti-
ties in the waters about the south pole.
We did not find any, however, though
still believe that they exist in those
waters. We also expected to catch some
seals. went along as seal shooter. and
with the understanding that should aid
in curing the skins. We found quite q
number of fur seal and shot some There
are many fur seal about the south pole,
though it is doubtful whether they exist
in as large numbers there as they do in
Boring sea-"
How long were you gomez" asked.
THE trip took us just five months"
was the reply. I'VE started out from
Australia in September and returned on
the 18th of March,
How far was the point on which you
landed on the Antarctic continent from
Australian"
"It was just about five thousand miles
from New Zealand" replied Mr.. Borch-
THE NEW CONTINENT.
What makes you think the place
where you landed was not an island
rather than a continent?'
MANY things" was the reply. I'm
the first place, the waters. then the
rocks. the mountains and their distance
above the sea- These and numerous
other things led to the almost positive
conclusion that there is a great CONT
nent down there about the south pole.
1t is true that it may be an archipelago
Of islands, united by thick sheets of ice,
but believe that it is a continent. 1
have made careful estimates of the lands
which / visited and of those discovered
by other explorers at different points
is a body Of land there at least twice the
size of Europe
IL suppose the whole country Is COW
cred with ice and SNOWY
That which I saw was OF that
nature" replied Mr.. Borchgrevink eve
fsrox lea6 for n .,
Now and then we passed great icebergs,
and our ship was often struck by heavy
pieces Of ice, which made it tremble and
crack"
as there any difference between the
Ice OF the south polar region and that of
the north?"
Yes; there seems to be a decided diff
ference. A part of the ice which we saw
was in great blocks rather than in noun
tains OF ice, such as you find at the
north. / don't think the icebergs of the
south polar regions last as long as do
those OF the north. Still, they are
immense. Some Of the bergs which
we passed rose to a height of
three hundred feet above the
water, and when you remember that, as
a rule, from eight to ten times as much
Ice OF such a berg is under the water as
above it, you can get some idea of their
size. Travelling among icebergs is not
very slowly"
Suppose you had had a ship like that
OF Nansen's. Could you have made any
better progress?"
YES" was the reply. ''Nansen's ship
would have been great advantage, but
We had to take what we could get"
''The experience of landing on this con-
tinent for the first time must have been
a strange one, was it not?"
You know the land called Victoria
Land had been discovered before went
south, but our party was, 1 think, the
first to ever set foot on what / believe
to be the mainland of the continent AS
We came into the bay we could see on
each side of us the coasts of Victoria
Land extending in both directions as far
as our eyes could reach. Every one of
the crew wanted to be first on shore. and
they crowded me back to the rear of the
boat. AS soon as we got near enough.
however, SO that could see the bottom
through the waves, I jumped out and
waded on shore, and thus got there
first.
II can't describe the feeling that had.
There was<a reverence mixed with it,
and an inNescribable pleasure / real
lied that 1 was on new continent and
upon land on which the feet of man had
never before trod.'
COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES.
The conversation here turned to the
commercial value Of the discovery. and
Mr.. Borchgrevink told me that the
ground where he landed was covered
with guano. There were millions of pen
gums covering the rocks, and these birds
came from about them by thousands,
and they had to take their clubs in order
to beat them away. The penguins look
very much like a small seal standing on
its fiippers. They waddle about the shore,
feeding on fish and nesting in the rocks.
Mr.. Borchgrevink brought some back to
Sweden with him, and one Of these is
now in the museum Of the University Of
Christiana- He told me that he found
evidence Of minerals on the mainland.
and that the fur seal ought to be of
value.
He had no opportunity to make excur-
sions into the interior, and he has re-
served this for his new expedition. when
he expects to find the south pole.
L here asked some questions as to the
expedition Mr.. Borchgrevink replied:
We expect to start next September.
We shall sail from London for Aus
tralia, and thence will go to Cape Adare.
The expedition will be a commercial as
well as a scientific one. / belong to the
scientific part Of it,
How much will it cost?''