Evening star., 1898-05-28
No BEARINGS To GET.
III Any Man Ever Reaches the North
Pole He Will lie Lost for Sure.

From the Nautical Magazine
If any one really got to the pole he would.
In common parlanCe. be utterly at sea-"
simply because at the pole there Is no pos<
sibility of ascertainlng ones whereabouts,
A person arriving there would ind an all
together different world before him. Like
blind man he would grope about and
vainly endeavor TO get back whence he
came. This by no means enviable situa-
tion is calculated to destroy the illusions
which he may have cherished when start
ing on his polar expedition. His complete
ly changed situation would be accounted
for by the fact that when stationed at the
pole the direction of the north would be
found to coi2cide with the line of the
zenitl-that Is to say. the point exactly
above US. The opposite point. viz the
nadir, would coircide with the direction to
the SOUTH The longitudinal circles and
hence also the meridian Of the locality,
would coincide with the circles of latitude:
an equator would coincide with the horizon
Iierce ap astronomical determination of
the locality. according 10 latitude and lon
giluGs, is precluded.
The same may be said regards deter
mining ones bearings i'm any direction.
The compass too. will fail there. because
Its horlzont al intensity is SO slight 10
preclude the possibility of its action. The
only criterion for judging that one has ar
rived at the pole is that the observed lHu-
tuds of the sun, after having been correct
ed to Gltitu6e above the true horizon, is
found to coincide with the value Of he dec
linaUon of the sun for the day in question
Moreover. in those regions there is
scarcely a day on which dense logs do not
prevail. and sixty or more degrees (C.) of
Cold. such mostly exist there will en-
hance the difficulties of observation TO such
an extent that it can only be a question Of
approximate estimates. Such conditions
arc by no means enviahle. and are scarce
ly calculated to induce rs TO long for them
with all cur hearts.
But these are not the only tnirgs which
are likely TO make soiourn the pole
never-end,ng torment. Worse than all the
rest, one canrOt count the passing hours
there; i'll other worCs there is no criterion
for determining the time of day. During
period of six months the sun Will neither
Tis. set but during the whole of the
time will always remain either above or
below the horizon. AS the earth revolves
around its axis in twenty-four hours. the
sun apparently describes. during the same
interval a circuit of 800 degrees around
the sky, being visible at altitude equal
TO the declnation whenever dcclination is
of the same name as the pole at which the
observer is stationed.
The numerous attempts hitherto made to
reach the pole have, as matter of course,
been by watec-that Is to say, by ships
and sledges. The idea that one might get
there by an aerial passage has not gained
ground until recently, but If We consider
that balloons ara not nayigahle, and hence
are liable to be carried away by air cur
rents in any direction that may accidentally
revail and in the most unlikely event only
to the pole, one possessed of but a mod
crate allowance of common seHse will COM
prehend how success could have been eX-
pected rom such an enterprise Moreover,
determinations of locality cannot possibly
be made from a balloon with any approXi-
n ate degree of accuracy.