The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-09-16
AN HAWAIIAN SCIENTIST.

!
around the South Pole does not seem
! to catch the popular mind or attention,
as does that of the north polar regions.
| When any one goes to the north on an
expedition the whole world is agog.
( When South Polar expeditions are talk
ed of there is no universal interest, and
/ yet the southern polar regions are pos
I sibly a great deal more interesting and
contain more things which are new and
| strange, beside throwing light upon
scientific problems yet unsolved, than
ever the north polar are likely to afford.
There is now being undertaken a very
! thorough examination of the south polar
regions, two countries being engaged in
the work. Germany and England have
both expeditions starting out upon this
/ exploration. The German sphere takes
the portion which is approachable from
Patagonia and Kerguelan Island, the
latter being the German headquarters.
The British sphere can be approached
| from Australia or New Zealand.
1t is matter of interest to us here,
because one of our leading scientific
men, and we have few enough of them,
the southern polar regions would vindi-
cate his theory of earth formation. This
was the late William Lothian Green,
whose theory of the tetrahedral collapse
of the earth was set forth in his "Ves-
tiges of the Molten Globe" When the
work first appeared it was derided, and
of course the heehaws of the Islands
grinned at Green's folly" as they call
ed it. But Mr. Green's theories have OF
late found acceptance in American Uni
versities, and his memory is being VIM
Dictated. These present investigations
in the south polar regions will no doubt
add to reputation not made for life
! time, but for all time.
1t was not only in science that Will
liam Lothian Green was before
his time. He was the pioneer of inter-
island steam navigation, but others
stepped in and made the money. He
was also the pioneer of the Iron Works
of Honolulu. The wealth from those
works goes into other pockets, but the
brain that conceived, ana the energy
that started those works belonged to
none else than w. l.. Green
W. l.. Green's theory required a con-
tinent of something like the size of Eu-
rope at the South Pole. Writing in 1875
he said Although perhaps a similar
cloud to that which wells from us a Gear
view of the Antarctic continent still
hangs over the Arctic Ocean each navi-
gator who penetrates it tells of more
sea, just as each one who succeeds IN
approaching the South Pole reports
land"
The quarter of a century which has
elapsed since those words were written
has given information, meager, it may
be, but information which certainly
strengthens Green's theory. The re-
ports of the Belgica, 1898 and of Borcn-
grevink, 1900 all point to continental
conditions in the south polar regions,
while all Arctic exploration has shown
nothing but isolated and tiny island
groups in the north polar regions.
The names of those who have ven
tured to the south can be counted on
the fingers of ones two hands, while
those who have attacked the northern
problem would require a column or
more to chronicle. Captain Cook made
the first circumnaVigation of the south
ern pole and reached as far south as
lilo. Ross expedition in 1902 really
gave us the fullest information of the
century He got his ships to the rs
parallel and discovered Victoria land,
with the extraordinary volcanic action
rather paleOcrystic ice. boiling water
and lava and flames on glacier clothed
Mount Erebus.
Commodore Wilkes was round the
South Pole about the same time, and
named Wilkes land. The Comm lore
afterwards visited these Islands and
has left an interesting account both Of
these islands and our great volcano
Dumont D'Urville, French navigator,
was also at the south in 1910 and dts
covered Clarieland. He also came here,
and his carpenter and bosul were so
much struck with the islands that they
returned and settled Fhay were named
Raymond and Bernard. They lived at
Ewa and the present Raymond Grove
commentaries the spot where they
spent so many years of their lives. 1t
is a far cry from the South pole to Eva,
After the interest shown in 1910 and a
few years later, nothing was heard
much of the south polar regions i'll the
| Challenger expedition in 1874 The Chal-
! lenger, however, did not attempt 10 go
far south, she practically slicJed the
ice pack and touched the Antarctic
circle. Then again there VAS silence
! till the Belgica broke it in 1898. This
was followed by Borchgrevink who in
1900 got few miles further south IMAM
Sir John Ross had lone sixty years
before. Finally the German AMI Eri-
fish Governments have decided to ina nc