Omaha daily bee., 1900-02-04
WE'LL YET WALK TO The POLE
Some New IDEAS About Exploration in the
Icc-Bound Regions.
THERE IS NO EASY POLAR ROUTE
TutiIitS of Trying TO Attain the De-
sired Result by Drifting with the
Pack Icc-Dr. y. 4. Cooks
Experience.

understood us as referring to the North
pole. But we have discovered that the North
pole has rivals. There are not less than
four beyond the horizon Of ambitious eN-
plorors today; four important poles used
every hour Of the day and every day Of the
year by navigators and land surveyors and
other men. upon whom millions of livee and
heaps of fortune depend.
These are the two geographical poles, the
northern and southern axes around when
our globe spins; and of still greater i'm
portance. the two magnetic poles, the posi-
tive and negative points of the earth at
which the terrestrial and atmospheric cleo
tricity intCrChanges currents. Though these
poles are in monetary use, the regions in
which they are located are the only parts of
the world of which we know nothing. AS
the maps of the earth's surface are being
spread, the blank spaces at the poles are
moro and more encroached upon, but the
poles still remain far beyond the border
lands. So many efforts have been made
within the last few years to reach the one
pole of greatest popular interest-the North
p0le-and so many failures have fallen to
the lot OF these pole seekers that it is time
to ask. as | have been asked daily, rs the
polo attainable?" This question, however,
! wish to change in conformity to modern
needs, and in justice to the less thought of
UlI lHNIt lillpOl OlUt lOltS. III are
the possibilities Of reaching the four poles?"
The northern geographical pole, by its
ncarness to us and by the records % his
tOric effort, deserves first attention. The
popular idea that all Arctic expeditions have
the North pole as their ultimate destina-
tion is erroneous. only the expeditions of
Mares, belong, hansen, Jackson, Andrae,
Wellman, Luigi and the last venture of Lieu
tenant Pcary have aimed to mount the pivot.
An L..-lt I a8tLAAn DAar,r A~I nrtAA
Luigi have returned with plenty of expert
ence and with scientific results Of value.
but without the pole. The public wants
the pole and nothing short of 1t. People
will hail the man whose foot has been on
the exact spot, but they will condemn all
efforts short of that. The hero worshipers
are ready, but how is the hero to be made?
BY what route can he climb the ladder of
polar fame, and what are the obstacles IN
his way?
No Royal Road to the Pole.
The chimeric hopes of an open polar sea,
or any other easy road to the pole, must
now be abandoned. The drift of Nansen's
ship, the Franz" and the destruction OF
the ships of belong and Wellman have re-
moved the possibility of gaining a high lati-
tude with safety or the certainty of results
by the drifting of a ship in the pack ice.
The submarine boats and the ice crushers,
of which so much is said at present, are
entirely impossible, owing to the inability
of carrying sufficient coal. AS to balloons,
they are still too much of an experiment.
When we can so manage balloons or flying
machines that we can sail from New York
TO Chicago and back again on schedule time.
with ut accident, then we may experiment
with them in polar work, but not until then.
Balloons are good enough to 20 to heaven
in, as we have learned by Andrae's expert
ence; they go up well enough, but they
don't come down satisfactorily.
The talk of modern inventions, of i'm
proved and condensed foods, of a thousand
boasts of latterday advantages for this kind
of exploration, are based upon an imperfect
knowledge of tn. SUBJECT. The only new
thing of note in polar work which has Of
fered a promise of success is the construc-
ton of the FRAN with sloping sides to
tilt her out of the line of ice pressure, but
even this is still an experiment. Most ex-
plorers of today prefer the good old reliable
sealing vessels. In foods there have been
many so-called scientific concoctions, Civ
ing the greatest amount of nutrition with
tho least possible weight; some of these
are aids, but / have yet to find the man
who would not prefer fish, seal and bear
meat TO the finest canned stuffs. The stom-
ach does not take kindly for a prolonged
period to laboratory mixtures. AS with the
food and the ship, so with the equipment.
Most OF the new inventions have been mis-
cradle failures. The aluminium and copper
boats and sledges, and the improved cloth
ing, and a hundred boosted novelties, if
the truth be admitted, have been mistakes.
All tho successes which have been obtained
have been with outfits based upon first prin-
CipleS in polar exploration. Only the old
methods and simple foods have been of last
ing value.
There IL Only One Way.
The man who succeeds in reaching the
North pole must be one who, by habit and
occupation, has given the greatest possible
care to the minor details Of daily life and
work. One who is certain to make sure OF
big things, but neglects little ones. will
quickly fail in his effort, One who secures
n big stock of clothing and food, but who
forgets shoestrings and matches, will soon
come to grief. All our experience in the
past proves this. There is but one way to
reach any of the poles, and this way is the
plain old fashioned way of walking to it.
1t is II path full of obstacles, hardships
and difficult, logged work, with no pleasures
except those which are mingled with "A
thousand little incidents as the elements of
nature and the failings of man are over
come.
If we must walk to the pole. and that, as
! believe, is positively the only way. We
must abandon all our costly and cumbersome
machinery; we must leave our high perch
of modern flight, w must come out of bal
looms and go back to mother earth and to the
habits of her aborigines to get our schooling.
If we take our lessons from nature the
necessary equipment for a polar walk must
be simple In conception. In final adaptation
and adjustment TO the changing conditions
Of frigid travelling, however, it will be very
complex with little details. The ship must
he pushed to the limit of navigation, Al
this point permanent headquarters and an
ineXhaustible base of supplies must be es-