The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-17

far as it may be pOSsible) equipment
of such an expedition. 1t is thought
that $4,000 will adequately cover an
important reconnaissance, if not hees
penetration, with the use of one OG
more steam Whalers from the New
foundland or Norwegian fleet.
1t seems likely that the points of at
tack for all expeditions Will be the re-
SiOn of Graham's Land, south of Pat
agonla, which lies nearer to the base of
operations than the Victoria Land OF
Ross and offers additional advantages
to exploration which are not found in
the tract lying south of Australia 1t
holds out, moreover. hopes of impor-
tant scientific results even with the
failure of the objective aim of any eX-
petition e., high penetration SOUTH
ward. 1t was in this tract that Larsen
obtained his fossil plant remains, and
also number of marine fossils identi-
cal with those found by Darwin 80
years earlier in Patagonia, and which
so strongly point to a former cOnnec-
ton with the South American cOnti-
nent- somewhat eastward of this re-
giOn Weddrell, in 1923, penetrated to
latitude "A degrees 10 minutes south,
and the same year Captain Benjamin
Morrell, sailing from New York. and
reached 20 degrees IA minutes, report
ing moderate high temperature and a
sea practically devoid of ice. How far
beyond these points the assumed i'm
penetra ble' barriers would be met. il
at all, only an effort at penetration can
determine. as the Inconsistency of the
ice in this region is such as to throw
its front edge to positions. depending
upon the year. fully 1000 miles apart
from each other. At all events a
chance is here presented
OF the substance of our knowledge Of
Antarctica it must be said that most
of it is bound uD with the researches
of Ross about Victoria Land and with
the less important ones that have been
made in the region of Graham Land
Concerning the other land, island or les
masses that have been designated
Claire Land Sabrina Land, Enderby
Land, Alexander Land. etc.-in fact Of
the Whole Wilkes Land-Our informal
ton Is cOnfeSSedly Scant. and surely
not sufficient to build up the great
Antarctic continent which has been
made restoration by many geogra-
piers. OF the meteOrOlOgy of the re-
gion, and of tides, currents. etc, we
know equally little, and manifeStly still
much less of the geology. zoology and
botany The commonly accepted notion
Of the extreme severity of the south
polar climate is not founded on fact.
any more than was the superstition OF
the shalloWneSS Of the Arctic basin,
which, among his many other discOv-
cries, NanSen has. now so completely
ilsslpated. In fact, it is all but GER
tain that the winter rigOrs are far less
pronounced in the region about the
south pole than they are in the region
Of the far north, and that there is moth
ing there which approaches the %
degrees f. which is found at two or
more tracts along the Lena river in ST.
11erla, or even the almost annual rs
degrees of Yakutsk. Again. the sum-
ner temperature, while there is seem
nSly much less of it. partakes in a.
measure of the balm of Greenland,
he thermometer frequently marking as
nigh as 40 and 45 degrees F. above in
he shade. The great ice masses are
he disturbantS of travel in the far
south, but up to the present time they
nave not been brought face to face with
vessels carrying steam or those that
ire fitted for the exploration. The
coming year will throw new and i'm
1Ortant light upon this as yet dark
EST tract of the earth's surface.