The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-09-28

soundings and other oceangraphic
work might add interesting facts to
our knowledge OF the Arctic Ocean,
but the greatest chance an explorer
has had for decade came to him,
and he improved It, says the New
York Times.
It was the splendid luck of this
princely traveller that he happened
to be in the right place with good
ship when the time came to make a
dash for the north. The manage
ment of the Ziegler arctic enterprise
heard that the Duke was going to
cruise in the Greenland Sea and
asked him II he would be kind
enough to call at Shannon Island and
see if Fiala and his party might have
reached that spot, where supplies
had been sent by Mr.. Baldwin, the
leader of the first Ziegler expedition.
The Duke said he would call at
Shannon Island. We know now that
he found the Baldwin caches undis-
turbed, for no explorer had been
near them. But there was open wa
ter to the north! The Duke of Or
leans did what any man of sense
would do with such an opportunity
in his grasp. He got up steam with
out an hours delay and set out for
| the unknown.
He crossed It's threshold and sail
| ed in waters where no ship has ever
been before. We have, as yet, only
few details OF his remarkable
journey, but we may rely upon their
accuracy. They were written by
| Lieut.. Bergendahl, a Swedish off,
| Ger and member Of the Dukes ex-
| pedition. Returning from the north
| he had an opportunity to mail a let
ter in Iceland, and 1t was received
by Prof. Nathorst of Sweden,
| geographer of the first rank and the
brilliant explorer who gave us our
| present exact knowledge of the re-
markable Franz Josef Fiord In East
| Greenland.
| Thirty-five years ago Capt Kol-
dewey, with eight men and a heavily
laden sledge, left his winter quar-
ters on the ship Germania, at Sa-
bine Island. Amid baffling winds and
deep SHOWS the party plowed their
way northward, suffering bitterly
from the cold, though they tugged
very hard at the sledge ropes. When
they discovered and named Cape Bis
marck their supplies were so re-
duced that they we're forced to re-
trace their steps to the ship.
| Between Cape Bismarck and In
! dependence Bay. discovered by
Peary on his journey across the In
land ice, still stretched an unknown
coast about 400 miles in length. It
was the only part of Greenlands 8
| periphery that was entirely I'M
known. 1t will be necessary to deter
mine the trend of all this coast be-
fore we can accurately outline on our
maps the greatest island of the
world.
| The Duke of Orleans has reduced
the length of the unknown coast line
by 110 miles by steaming that dis
tance to the north of Cape Bismarck.
There are now only about 290 miles
OF shoreline to be surveyed to give
us fairly accurate idea OF the shape
Of the island.
The Belgica party made a rough
survey of the unknown coast from
Cape Bismarck to the parallel of rs
degrees 16 minutes north latitude
and gave the name of Terra do
France to the new shores of Green
land they had discovered. They re-
port that Cape Bismarck is not a
cape, as Koldewey believed it to be,
but Is an island.
The east coast of Greenland has
now been explored from Cape Fare
well at the southern end of the island
to the Belgica's farthest, distance
OF over 1,400 miles in a straight
line and far greater following the
shoreline.
The success OF the Duke of Or
leans this year cannot fail to stimu-
late exploration on this side of
Greenland, and 1t viii not be sur
prising If the east coast Is thoroughly
well mapped within ten years.