New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-08-06


I'm 70 that moment exploration had proceeded
almost uninterruptedly since 1919. the sihe"s VI
war being literally supplied by governments ana
nv me commercial world In the hopes OF the vast
pecunlary returns that would result from IN"
discovery OF the Northwest Passage. TO THIS
motive was added the stimulus given by the as
appearance Of the Franklin expedition. Under
the Joint impulse Of these two causes scores Oh
EXPEDITIONS had traverscd the Arctic archipelago
in all directions. charting thousands OF miles OF
ITS coasts and reducing the exploration 20 AN
exact science a few more years Of such eHort
with the trained corps then available would
doubtless have resulted in a tolera'ly complete
map OF the entire archipelago. perhaps Including
the Pole McCllntocks discovery put an end to
that hope by completing the mapping Of the
Northwest Passage and proving its Impractical
buity he destroyed the commercial motive, ana
by setting at rest the specua'ions concerning
the fate OF Sir John Franklin he removed the
humanitarian motive.
RESOURCES OF THE ARCHIPELAGO.
Since then the North American archipelago
has been almost absolutely neglected. The
whalers in their annual visits to Lancaster
Sound Barrows strait and Prince Regent Inlet
never ventured beyond known ground. The eX-
plorers with their single aim to attain high
latitude dsdained TO swerve westward, except
In the hope OF thereby getting further north.
The single exception to this was the crossing OF
Grinnell Land by Lockwood and Brainard, of the
Greedy expedition In lSS3 The few other add
tons made to the coast lines Of the archipelago
were incidental to the search for the Pole.
Yet In all respects. apart from the sole quest
OF popular fame the archipelago Is more de-
serving OF attention than the Pole. The great
Of 1ova Northwest
Passage. L. no longer in sight. though even this
seems not altogether beyond resuscitation, after
Sbiriakofrs and Wigglns's partial success in
establishing communication with the Lena
Delta and the Introduction OF Makaroff's ice
breaker
But the Klondke has dispelled the notion to
which the world at large had settled down
that all land within the Arctic Circle was not
worth Investigating From analogies OF other
portions Of the globe it may be inferred as
almost certain that land area Of 100000 square
miles spread over 20 degrees Of latitude and
60 degrees OF longitude cannot be devoid OF
important mineral resources. But while the
wealth of the land is problematlc. the wealth
OF the sea is certain. For three hundred years
Holland England. Norway and the United States
have drawn millions from the Arctic whale fish
cries. and when wanton destruction gives place
morbund. may once more attain at least
part Of its former proportions This. with the
addition of seals, musk OK reindeer. elder duck
and fish. would abundanty suffice TO maintain
a commerce. small. indeed but regular.
KNOWLEDGE OF THE POLE NEEDED.
The scientific results to be obtained from sys-
tematic exploration have been set forth so often
that the theme is somewhat hackneyed In con
nection with the North American archipelago
it is to be noted first and foremost that within
this archipelago is situated the magnetic pole
the point\to which the needles Of all the COM
masses Of the northern magnetic hemisphere
converge Numerous shipwrecks testify to the
urgent need the mariner has Of an accurate
knowledge OF the forces that influence his
noodle The earth is one great magnet. with
currents flowing all around IT In somewhat
capricious fashion. but evidently forming part
OF one great system. That this system can os
completely known without at least general
knowledge OF the magnetic forces within the
two million three million square miles OF the