The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-10-28
IGNORING A GEoGRAPHER.
Payers Rad ! ,ck IN Naming Biographies
objects After Dr. Petermann.

Lieut.. Julius Payer Of the Austrian-Hun-
garlan Army, who with Lieut. Carl Weyptecht
Of that countrv's navy made Franz josef LAND
known 10 the world, was n great admirer 81
the famous German Reographer, Or. A. Peter
mann. Pcteunann was an enthusiastic sup
porte or ~ Arctic exploration and II was through
reading his writings on this subject that PAYER
first became Interested In polar researches and
determined 20 engaGe In the work that made
his name we'll known. II was therefore natural
that Payer should attach the name Of the Ger
man g~eographer n two ~ the discoveries he
reported which were regarded as among the
most important features 81 his work.
When Payer went 10 the coast of East Green
land in 1870 with Holloway on the steamer
Gornania the most important discovery they
made was Franz JosAf Fiord and the mountain
that stands near rs head. Payer described
the ma gnif cance Of the ford which he said
wa, a combination Of hugh walls. deep erosion
assures. wild peaks, mighty crevassed glaciers
reing torrents and waterfalls. II happened
10 be tho warmest Of Arctic summer weather
and PAYER related that the sailors. overcome
by the heat. fell into n lethargic sleep IRON
which il was difficult TO arouse them. Payer
named the pyramidal mountain rising neal
It's western end Mount Petermann, and it has
long beel supposed 70 20 ~ AIN N''''"
in Greenland. His first determination Of IL
height was Il, 900 feet. but his later survey gave
70, aoG feet. AZ II rises from sea Level its who.'
height comes into view and IL IL, oil course I
very impressive object from the water.
But Payer made a fatal blunder in his oaIcu'
lations. A he stood on Payer Point, far e
the GA st, he took tho angle to the top OF M
mountain and estimated the distance 70 th'
mountain tor. This estimate was. very CHROME
Gus and the result was that his determinattol
Of the height was greatly exaggerated. ines
and according TO this high authority. tho telgh,
Of the summit is between $500 and 1000 iec'
above sea level. Thus the mountain can No
longer be called the highest mountain 10 Green
land, though It's height IL not yet exactly deter.
mined and this natural monument 10 the stea'
explorer Is not quite 80 conspicuous a. II was
thouSlr TO be.
Put the other case Is worse yet, for the sup
posed bit II earth, that was also named by
Payer after the geographer. cannot be founC
and in fact does not exist The official report
OF the Duke OF the Abruzzi on his explorations
In Franz Josef Land confirms the tuct, hitherto
suspected. that King oscar Land arc Peter
mann Land do not exist In the spring or 1874
Payer stood on Cape Fligely. which long re-
m1ined the highest land ever attained IN tue
Old World. To lie far west and north h" saw
what he thought were blue mountain ranges
indicating masses of land lie named those &c
the west King Oscar Land and those 70 tmt
north Petermann Land. There IL nothing tc
do now bur 10 expunea them from the maps
Similar blunders have more than once beer
made in polar lands. Probably the deceptive
appearances that Payer saw were nothing
more than lines of 'CeberRS.