Evening star., 1897-05-08

fuliy xoO miles nearer to the equator than
where. as in the Shetland Islands. ladies
disport IN the game Of tennis In lawn
dresses.
Summer Sunshine I'm Antarctics.
Yet even this inhospitable region Of the
south. with its forbidding ice-bound coasts,
its towering bergs scattered through SEEM
ipgly interminable fields Of ice, its barren
and deserted rocks and giant glaciers and
glacier walls. Is not wholly wanting in the
balm OF radiant sun. Capt. Kristensen.
the commander of The Antarctic, and who
with Borchgrevink and some others. made
the hrst landing on Victoria Land (or what
is commonly assumed to be q part Of the
sreat Antarctic continent), reports that on
January 5, 1885, when approximately on the
6Sth parallel Of latitude. 'the sun at noon
gave so much heat that took my coat on.
and the crew were lying basking in the sun
shine on the forecastle;" and thirty-four
years earlier, while sailing between the Goth
and SD parallels of latitude. Biscoe re-
corded that 1.-The temperature Of the water
was 81 degrees, of the air in the shade
40 degrees, in the sun n degrees. with q
corresponding general warmth to the feel
ings of the crew" What then, 1t may be
asked, Is the proximal cause of the vast
difference between the physiographic and
biologic conditions which determine the as
poets of the two regions? Seemingly, 1t Is
e lower summer temperature, which, even
with a comparatively mild winter, has not
essence enough to give vitality Of growth to
either animal or vegetable organisms or to
dissiaate the products of the winter rigors.
The Relative Accessibility of the Two
Poles.
1t is hardly possible in our present lin
tied knowledge of the antarctic regions,
nearly all of which dates from a period
more than half century ago. to give a
just estimate of the possibilities of reach
ing their central point. and therefore of
q frrra 80 H.
accessibflities of the two regions We are
today, thanks to the energies more par
ucuiarly of Peary and Nansen fairly well
acquainted with what the north. holds out
its points OF easy trespass it's dangers,
Its success of chance. To within less than
300 miles Of the pole, or to latitude SO de-
81 ees, 13 minutes, seconds, the footsteps
of the explorer have now carried him; and
to distance but few miles south of this
has the power Of a steam vessel, the Fran,
penetrated. Without doubt the conquest
of the pole will be effected before many
years have passed. Strange though it may
appear, the most successful effort to wrest
the veil of obscurity from Antarctica was
that of 1S41, when the gallant Sir James
Clark Ross, or some of his men, succeeded
IN forcing passage, despite the insuffi-
cheney of their resources, to quite or ap-
proximately the 18th parallel of latitude.
At about that point huge barrier of ice,
rising several hundred feet above the water
surface, interpoSed itself to further pro-
gfess. There were no Eskimos to give as
sistance, no accessible land base from
which to direct operations within the ice
bound realm which appealed SO forcbly to
further exploration. No subsequent effort
has even shadowed the brilIiancy of Ross
work and daring, which, strange to say,
nave stood as the practical limit of mans
aspirations in this direction. And yet 1t is
known that Ross had for his power the
sailing vessel only, and with no steam
to help extricate it from a besetting ocean
or surrounding ice. Ross significantly
states mat with additional resources he
might have effected landing beside the
cone or giant Erebus, and conducted opera
tions far within the dreary SHOWS that pass
beyond-how far, it can naturally not be
told. But the evidence is sufficient to point
out the road for future exploration, and it
may YET be that the coveted prize will be
Wrested from Antarctica some time before
Ii VIII have become commonplace in the
region of the far north. That the explora-
tion Is measurably feasible admits of little
or no doubt: what the ultimate success
may be can only be determined by future
exploration. ANGELO HEILPRIN.