The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-04
ON WHEELS TO THE POLE.
EXPEDITION WILL CROSS THE ICE
IN sAILDOAT ON WHEELS.

Expect to Find a Warm, Open Bloom
ing COuntry-Delgium and Norway
Rapidly Fitting Out Boats to Race
with Uncle sam to +he SpOt-Nan-
sen, Perry ana Andree Eclipsed by
Heilprin and Cope.
New York, April 2.-Julian Hawthorne
and other amateur explorers. who have
been thinking about the South Pole for
years, have met their Fitzsimmons this
spring in the persons Of Profs IIeilprin
and Cope of the American Society Of Nat
uralsts, who are actually going to look
for it, Their boat is waiting for them,
and they are waiting for the start.
The South Pole, as a means of traffic
between the continents, as an unexplored
region, and as a place Of interest calls
on up-to-date explorers to come south and
try to reach it. So marvellous have been
the accounts concerning 1t from those who
have got nearest it that 1t may ultimately
become the point towards which those ir-
repressible explorers, Peary. Nansen and
Andree will try instead Of the impossible
North Pole.
Messrs. Heilprin and Cope do not know
what they will find. There is a wall Of
ice around the South Pole. OF that they
are certain. But whether they will find
supposed-an open polar sea, is something
of which they will tell you better after
they have got back.
If successful in finding the South Polar
spot these gentlemen will have done three
remarkable things. The first and most
useful win be the establishment of a short
cut from one continent to another. Sec
ond they will have settled certain geos
graphical points; and, third, they will have
gratined the curiosity of those who wonder
what the south pole climate is like. Pos
sibly they will establish the south pole as
a winter resort, rival to the beaches and
capes of the North American coast. But
that is a long way ahead
The number of persons who have tried
to reach the south pole is limited. This
the celebrated Belgian, Prof. Eginberg, ac-
counted for in a strange, though rational,
way. He said the mention of the south
pole recalled the heat Of the tropics, and
projectors could not become interested in
it. They thought of 1t as a sweating hot
place peopled by dark skinned nations; and
they reasoned that, II discovered little
good could come from IT, Though this
idea has long been exploded, says Egin-
berg. II has been impossible to arouse the
interest in the south pole that the north
pole at once awakens.
But this spring explorers have been back
ed in their enterprise to a magnificent
extent, and not only are Americans going,
but a Belgian expedition under the aus
M a ms q md
manded by Capt. Geflach will set out also.
And. trying 70 Guido either of these, will
be a Norwegian expedition under Borch-
grevink, one OF the most noted southern
explorers.
Whether they will share the fate of
Capt. Wilkes OF the United States navy in
1910. who dared not step foot upon the
new continent he discovered. or of Ex-
plorer Ross, In 1910, who suffered hard
ships such as no other explorer ever de-
scribed, or Of Brovinsk, previous to either
of these, who escaped with his life, but
without his ship, getting back to Graham
Land in precarious ways, can only be con-
jectured
Within a short time two have gone to
the South pole-Larsen, in 1898 and
Borchgrevink in iS96-and so successful
were they that Borchgrevink is about to
start again. sure that he will reach the
pole and know all about II.
The best that can be said for any of
these explorers is that they have brought
back fascinating tidings, much more in
teresting than any news that has reached
us from the North pole. Those who have
essayed to find the northwest passage
have reported only a sea OF ice, glaciers
and adverse currents. There is an awful
monotony of Ice and snow, Russian. dogs
and darkest skies aboue the accounts OF
the North pole trips. But with the South
pole Il Ia different
Every explorer who has gone south has
reported the same thing. After reaching
about so degrees south latitude II gets very
cold The temperature corresponds 10 the
southern coast OF Greenland and the Ant
arctic ocean begins to.sall with ice. The
sailing Is rendered all the moro perllous
from the fact that. though there are nu-
merous Islands, there are no small way
stations" as exist In the Arctic seas for
the benefit Of explorers. and no repairs can
be made after leaving the well-establish-
ed settlements on the small Islands south
OF Australia. This makes II bad for the
mariner, for he cannotsorier his dogs sent
ahead OF him, nor leave his extra pro-
vision TO be sent for should he decide to
venture another wears trim into the inte-