New-York tribune., 1900-11-10
THE SOUTH POLE.
FACTS RELATING TO ITS SURROUND
INGS.

The fact that much less is known about the
antarctic than the arctic regions is probably
not due to the distance Of the former from the
more civilized and adventurous nations or the
earth nor to any lack of human curiosity on
the subject difference in the physiography
of the two quarters offers more acceptance
explanation Around the North Pole there lies
an immense ocean. accessible from the tenn
perate zone at many points Moreover, the I'M
mediate outposts-Greenland, Spitzbergen ana
Franz Josef Land-are Inhabited. AT the an
tipodes there a wide expanse or land' ap'
lutely devoid of permanent human colohleS' anu
with a girdle OF almost impenetrable Ice IN
spite of these disadvantages, however, goou
deal has been learned regarding the antarctic
and in the near future two admirably equipped
expeditions will proceed thither for further eX-
pIoration. Germany will send one of them' anu
DR. Frtcker's book has doubt been evoked
by the enthusiasm of his compatrots over the
enterprise. His story is not an exciting one II
is told in a matter of fact fashion But II sums
I'D satisfactorily all that has been accomplished
hitherto It comes down only to 1884, ana
therefore ignores the ventures OF De Gerlache
and Borchgrevinck.
Early in the sixteenth century. soon after the
discovery Of America. navigators of the south
eeas entertained the notion that the South Pole
was surrounded by land which extended up into
the Indian Ocean as far north as Madagascar
Ito latitude % or 3W. and into the PACING 10
about the same distance A considerable gap
was admitted to exist between the Cape OF GOOD
Hope and this tract OF land, but on the globes
of that period the antarctic continent was dlVld-
ed from Patagonia only by the Strait Of Magel-
Ian. When Sir Francis Drake. in 1913 reached
Cape Horn and thus revealed the fact that
Terra del Fuego is an island he partially upset
the erroneous theory just mentioned. Eleven
wears later Dutchman Dirk GerritZ, was
driven from Cape Horn to latitude 64 south by
a severe storm and he there discovered land
on which there were snow covered mountains
like those of Norway. Thus the interval was
appreciably widened. But map makers did not
recognize the divorce until after another Dutch-
man. Schouten, explored the neighborhood IN
1916 Tasmar, who discovered the south shores
of Australia and New-Zealand in l642. wrought
another revolution in geographical knowledge
But the truth was still distinctly revealed
by Cook in 1913 and 1714 He completely cir
cumnavigated the globe. crossed the siXueth
parallel at three widely separated points and
reached A latitude of 11:10 south. Thus II be-
came evident that if there antarctic con-
tinent at all. its dimensions were not nearly so
considerable as had been imagined two hundred
and fifty years before.
There are three regions in the southern
hemisphere in which land has been discovered
under circumstances that suggest that they may
be parts Of one great whole. One of these lies
almost south Of Cape Horn. Beginning near the
South Shetlands the coast stretches away at
first to the southwest and then to the west.
The first part Of this district is known as
Graham Land, and the other Alexander Land.
The latter found by Bellinghausen. who
went out under Russian auspices in 1921 His
greatest distance south was 69:53. year later.
weddell an English sealer, who explored to
he ShPtlan0S
remarkable luck. After little trouble with ice
he able to push down to latitude 74:15, in
longitude 34:17 west from Greenwich At that
time and place he found neither ice nor land
but the shortage of his provisions forced him
. to come northward without following up what
4 was clearly exceptional opportunity. The
region which he visited. to the southeastward
of Patagonia, is appropriately called weddel
Sea.
A second point Of much interest is situated
south of the western part Of the Indian Ocean.
in about the longitude of Persia Htther in 1893
came an English sealer, Kemp. sent out by a
well known London firm. the Enderbys A tract
which bears Kemp's name found in latitude
66 south and longitude $3.50 east Another small
bit Of land since observed to the westward, has
been named after Kemps patrons AS yet it is
uncertain whether Kemp and Enderby Lands
are islands or part of continent, but this mat
I
two or three years. A third region in which ex-
ploration has been attended with success extends
from about the meridian Of the Malay Peninsula
to that Of Hawaii. A portion of it lies between
longitude 105 and $50 east. Here indications
OF continuous coast, running along almost due
east and west. partly inside and partly outside
the Antarctic Circle. This tract was sighted
by Wilkes American, in 1910 At that time
he thought that he perceived land as far west
fhn O6fI
Termination Island. But subsequent investiga-
tion fails to verify his belief Corroborative evi-
dence exists only from longitude 1O5 At one
time Wilkes penetrated bay without seeing
land, in latitude 81 The point furthest north
on this coast is known as Cape Carr, which is
situated approximately in latitude Co. longitude
132 east A Frenchman, D'Urville skirted this
region in 1S40 and Wilkes must share with him
the honor Of finding it.
Between the 1G0th and 165th meridians a
break occurs. and then the coast turns abruptly
to the southwark. Except for a bold bulge to
the eastward. it follows the same general course
until south latitude rs is reached This section
Of what seems be the Antarctic continent
has been named Victoria Land and a promon-
tory the bulge just mentioned is called Cape
Adare. Ross visited this region in 1S41 and
succeeded in locating the south magnetic pole
with comparative accuracy. He followed for
hundred miles the southern limit of the deep
indentation of the coast in which he found him
self, and the shore of which he discovered
two volcanoes. Erebus and Terror so named
after the two ships OF his command. Ross was
not able to effect a landing on the continent
But a Swedish naturalist Borchgrevinck who
went out In 1894 on a steam whaler to this quar-
ter Of the globe, not only reached Victoria Land
but went ashore. Thus inspired. he organized
an expedition in England four years later which
proceeded to Cape Adare. He spent a year
there and came back early in 1000 Tho Epe