Evening star., 1898-12-10
One Portion of the Globe That is Still
Unknown.
MAINTAINS IT'S PRIMITIVE SECLUSION
Frozen Fastnesses May Have Much
OF interest to Reveal.
FINE FIELD FOR EXPLORERS

Ei"h thf tonuOn spectator.
Persistently. as becomes men convinced OF
the ultimate success Of their efforts san-
guine band Of savants and explorers have
peset successive governments with appeals
to take up antarctic exploration again
Their perseverance has so far been un-
availing, although II is not easy TO under
stand why, OF to assign any definite reason
Tor such strange unwilIingness Remem-
berirS how rich were the results garnered
from the iabors of Sir James Clarke Ross
and his gallant coadiutors in the stanch.
but undoubtedly clumsy old Erebus and
Terror, and how vast was the field opened
up for subsequent workers the fact that
from then until now no attempt has been
made To follow up this great work becomes
Utterly ineNplicshle. Yet believing doubt
less. that all things come to those who
Will but wait" for half a century all those
interested in this great question have
waited, scarcely ever relaxing their efforts
10 awaken the powers that be TO some rec
ognidon of the pressing claims Of science
10 be heard IN this matter.
An opportune Time.
Beyond all question. the present time is
peculiarly opportune for the prosecution OF
antarctic research. For It must be borne
in mind thai in that vast and almost un-
known area, more than twice the size Of
Europe, one expedition. however Wei
equipped. cannot in the nature OF things
hope to do more than settle a portion Of
the problems that silently await solution.
W hat is undoubt eddy indicated ~ the ideal
treatment Of the antarctic question Is the
establishment of an international polar
commission, such as attacked arctic prob
lens in lSS2 A GORDON OF expeditions sur
rounding the southern polar regions rep
resentadvc of all the great civilized powers.
and working in harmony upon preconcaived
lines toward definite ends. would add more
in 0ne season to the needed data for tho
solution of the world problems involved
than isolated efforts could do in a great
many. But since there are now two sep
arate parties at work in the antarctic. and
a third will. 1t is hoped. shortly be on it's
way thither, there must be much valuable
collaboration, as well as many thousands
OF simultaneous observations taken at far
distant points. This might have been the
case at the time Of capt. Ross voyages.
when the French and American expeditions
were both in high southern iatitudes. but
the opportunity was missed Since then
science has made such gigantic strides IN
the direction of instrumental equipment for
such work, to say nothing of the invaluable
adjunct of steam, that even with only four
parties attacking the problem on differing
meridians, the most momentous results
may be expected.
In Primitive SecIusiOn.
After all, this planet Of ours under the
misunderstanding touch of these latter
days has dwindled into very small place.
And IT seems preposterous that region
like the antarctic should have been allowed
to retain so long the secrets it undoubtedly
holds. The llimitable sea of stormy waters
that rolls its unhindered way right around
our globe. where no busy keel ruf1es the
wave or smoke OF painting steamship min
giles with the pure, keen air-how strange
Ahn fnF long haa l.lsAfa al
ed to maintain It's primitive sec usion!
Those appalling barriers of apparently eter-
nal ice. along which Ross sailed for hum
dreds of miles watching with an iHdescrib-
able fascination the baffied pillows hurl
themselves against the glittering cliffs that
rose sheer from the sea for hundreds of
feet-what lies behind them? Those burn
ing mountains flaming high amid their
frozen Businesses, and lighting up the
gloomy sky for many leagues throughout
the long, long winter night, have they no
story to tell? And, In spite of all belief 10
the contrary, il may be that land fauna
will be found, that some ANIMALS may have
been fitted to live in that wonderful coun-
Try, which. as far as is yet known Is abso-
lutely sterile.
Virgin Field.
Many firmly believe that a warm polar
region exists at the southern end of our
earth's axis, but with recent light upon
the theory OF a warm arctic sea, within the
encircling barrier of ice. there can be little
expectation that any such marvel will be
found in the antarctic. The explorers will
be fired with the thought that whatever
their hardshps, virgin field lies before
them If by any means they can get behind
the icy barrier that seems 10 shut off
Antarcuca from a prylng world. and that
alone. apart from any discoveries they may
make, is sufficient induCement TO adven-
turous men to make them face any hard
ship. To stand where human foot has
never before trodden, To- come with the
torch of cience into the very penetralia Of
nature, for this men i'm all times have
risked that life held dear, and in so do
ing have rendered incaIculabe services TO
their kind. One by one the closed doors
have been flung wide open, the secrets have
been made manifest and now at the close
of the nineteenth century only this one re-
mains.
Favorable Conditions.
What should encourage all those who
hope for great things from antarctic re-
searches is the fact that the earliest ex-
plorers were able to reach such high latI-
tudes in small. weak sailing vessels. Wed
delIs voyage was made in a brig, the Jane.
of lG0 tons. and he was accompanied by
cutter. the Beaufoy, of 65 tons He was
totally unequipped for conflict with the ice,
unproyided with Instruments for taking
observations; he was just a humble sealer
earning a precarious livelihood. Yet he
reached latitude G4' Is So only about
one hundred miles short of that attained by
the well-found and specially sent eKpedi-
ton under Ross and Crozler. For both
Weddell and Ross were dependent upon the
wind entirely for propulsion, and conse-
quently dared not risk what even a low
powered steamship might do with impunity.
Besides this, their inability to get swiftly
from place to place hndered them from
finding any sheltered mock where they
might have laid their vesses UP for the
winter I'm case they had wished to do so
in order to begin their labors as early I'm
the ensuing spring as possible. But II is
hardly necessary to enlarge upon the i'm
mense advantages latter-day explorers pos
sess in steam; they are sufficiently obvi-
Gus. So, too, with all the other accessories
which science has provided for her ser
wants, most OF the suffering and hardship
attendant upon all these conflicts with the
primeVal forces of nature has been greatly
mitigated where not altogether removed.
A New Collecting Fad.
From the Buffalo Express.
The revival of the stamp-coIlecting craze
Is having a hard time. Women are not in