The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-10-22
is from the pole the thinner the Ice b.
comes

Is IroIn the po4o tno l1As"AiSs ZIG ~ ~
comes
Enorosching Toward the North.
In regard 10 the point it may b men,
toned Inat in lSSS Larsen found In era
ham land q barrier which. being in . COM
parttvoly low latitude. WAS only from
twenty to sixty feat high. while that dis
covered by Ross IA latitude Is degrees
south was very much higher. DCrsiiie.
the gallant French explorer, met with oergs
in latitude - degrees south. II would Ap-
pear from this thar their place Of origin
v as an ice barrier even TURNER south than
that found by Sir James Ross. The Dundee
whalers ia $3.50 also saw oerxS over aS
feet nigh, these, TOO, In AL PROBABILITY,
came from q barrier which Dr, Murray Is
OF opinion faces An open Sea Tor some as
tance south OF Ross Ultima Thule And,
IL there oe an Ice coast Stiii further south,
II is vaguely limited at BY Mr. Bulls meas
urements In 1850 of a oefs co .eet nigh.
which a. nrss lie mistook TOR an island
A ,haw among Antarctic bergs is not
often met with even Ia the height OF sum
mer, bur TO show that such thing does
occur occasionally the experience OF Ross
may be mentioned. On one occasion when
ne was considerably within the Antarctic
circle the thermometer stood At twelve de-
XEecs, but in .hs oergs all around there
were evidences that they had suffered u
partial thaw some time previously. for
great icicles hung from their sides- On an
other occasion outside tho circle ne saw
complete thaw, attended by sounds like
the discharge Of heavy artillery, a. tho
huge masses split and felt apart But, AL
though The oergs are seldom melted in high
latitudes, they have another way Of DIS
posing OF themselves: they run into one an
otner and break up into small junks.
which strew the sea for miles around The
dense ice pack thus formed is ono OF the
greatest dangers to navigation in those re-
gions, indeed, the struggles Of men with
the everlasting ice packs form the main
part OF the history Of south polar explora-
ton.
Ice FlOes Widening.
In his first voyage Ross forced his way
through a pack 3D0 miles In breadth. and
in the following year he found this same
pack increased 10 500 miles. On this ac-
count 1t cost him just eight weeks OF the
short southern summer TO force hts way
through. Part OF the way he proceeded
in q novel fashion, with the Erehus dashed
to one side Of a small berg and the Terror
to the other This method succeeded well.
for the berg caught both the wind and the
deeper currents. and forced a way among
the lesser junks OF ice, but when a storm
arose some time later this method Of pro-
cedure had to be abandoned. Then the
fragments OF Ice in ceaselese commotion
carried away the rudders Of both ships.
but, after innumerable dangers and hard
ships. including being constantly butted
about by the floating ice like football In
a scrimmage he eventually gained the 9TH
err side. where he found a clear sea- II was
in this same voyage that the Erebus and
the Terror collided in the night while try
Ing to avoid berg Immediately ahead. The
Erebus, being disabled, was for some time
in great danger Of being altogether
wrecked upon tho cliffs Of the berg, but
at last succeeded in drawing of.
D'Crville's gallant battles with the ice
pack were worthy Of that heroic French
man. On his first voyage he entered a
dense pack in latitude s. degrees south. tho
whole field giistening like a,abaster In tho
bright sunlight. He tried to force his ship
through. but got hemmed In during the
night. when. 70 make matters worse, a
gale arose and he described his ships as
being like two stays In a high-walled park,
pursued by relentless dogs in the shape Of
fragments Of ice.
Dash for the Open Sea.
The snow came on and the ships were
butted and shaken by the battery OF float
ing iceblocks TIL he had to choose between
being damned and showed up In the thick
Of II or making dash for the open sea.
Choosing the latter course. he cut his way
out with levers and saws ut the rate OF
a mile in ten hours. The American Wilkes
also suffered severely In the ice packs. one
OF his ships. the Peacock. being completely
iceoound In latitude Sc degrees south It
was at this time that he found some bowl
ders on the top OF a berg and guessed they
had come direct from the great Antarctic
continent. In the same latitude Svend
Foyn's expedition In 1895 was completely
icebound for a fortnight in a pack 500 miles
In breadth.
The dangers OF these belts OF Ice. cou-
pied with tbs terrible risk OF running into
herss In the heavy fogs which frequently
obscure the southern seas. make the con-
ditions OF south polar exploration almost
overwhelming, even for a modern ship
equipped with steam and other recent ad-
vantagss What the difficulties must have
been to Ross. who had to explore without
steam. can be imagined. And when ono
thinks OF Capt. Cook. who had not even
an ice-fort'ied ship like those Of Ross, ore
leeis bound TO accord TO him the title OF
the greatest navigator the world has seen.
-I.ondan Globe