Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-03-23
WORK OF THE
EXPLORERS
EFFORTS TO FIND THE NORTH.
WEST PASSAGE DURING FOUR
CENTURIES.

Fraught with the romance and trag-
edy of the ice-bound desolation of the
north, associated for nearly four CEN
turtles with the most persistent en-
beavers of voyagers of nearly all ma
tons, and remaining unpenetrated and
chimerical almost to the dawn of the
present day, the quest of the north
west passage rivals the quest of the
Forth pole in the annals of arctic eX-
ploration. The earlier attempts to To-
cate this waterway to the tabled rich
es and splendor of the orient were
prompted solely by reasons of COM
mercial expediency, for the purpose of
finding the shortest route between
Europe and Cathay; but the utter i'm
practicability of this became evident
10 European minds when it was un-
derstood that America was not mere
ly Tartary or some other geographic
cal dependency of Asia. Curiously
enough this belief obtained in the old
world for nearly century and half
and during this period those memoir
able expeditions to locate a northwest
passage were undertaken and executed
with consummate daring and skill by
English seamen. Upon the realization
Of the commercial futility of these
desperate voyages the attempt to cir
cumnavigate the northern littoral of
the American continent ceased for a
period, and until the beginning of
those explorations led by the worth
Ter motive of adding to the store OF
human knowledge the scientific attain
ment, the conquest of the bleak pol
ar regions halted. With the eXcep-
ton of the attempts to reach the pole
itself. no arctic goal has been SO Gag
erly sought as the northwest PASSAGE
and while, it is true, many Of the lat
er voyagers attempted this feat mere.
ly as an incidental part Of the general
plan of geographical research, we I'M
doubtedly can say the same of the
many dashes for the pole which have
been made.
Efforts of the Norsemen.
There is today no question that the
earliest discovery. exploration and ev'
en- settlement of America were due to
the Norsemen. those unequaled seamen
and rovers of the ninth and tenth cen
turtles. Their flourishing maritime set
Elements on the coasts of Greenland
existed over 500 years before the first
voyage Of Columbus, and as they pur
sued their fishing expeditions as fal
as Lancaster sound and even Barrow
strait, we can fairly conclude that
the initial step toward the location Of
the northwest passage was due tC
these voyagers, though it is inconceiv
able that the purpose was other thar
the pursuit of their fisheries. The &C
tual beginning of the series of search
es with the northwest passage as OBJ
jective, which began almost coinci
dentally with the expeditions of Co
lumbus must be ascribed to the frs
voyage in 1897 of the Cabots, who
penetrated nearly half way up Davis
strait in an attempt to sail around the
continent, and thus attain the land Of
Cathay. Little further progress wa.
made until the expedition under thu
leadership Of Martin Frobisher, wht
il. 1876 to 1878 discovered the entran
ces to Frobisher and Hudson straits
and made few scientific investiga
tions, the first by the way, which W.
hear of in any of these voyages. 4
later voyage, by Sir Humphrey Gilbert
was without important results.
The first great advance, not onl,
i'll the search for a northern water
way to India, but in general polar ex
ploration as well, was made in thu
three voyages of John Davis, who il
1855 first fairly discovered the strai
that today bears his name, reachin,
what is now Godthaab, Greenland. AT
ter an unsuccessful voyage in the fol
lowing years, Davis in 1887 with reck
ASoo u1A AAS puoiIcu Ou " ldllLuue ~ uG
gIees II minutes in the neighborhoo,
of SandersOn's Hope, on the west coas
oil Greenland. His remarkable jour
Eeys covered the west coast of Green
!. land from Cape Farewell to Sander
r sons Hope, and the American coas
from Labrador to Cumberland's island
William Baffin, another of that death
less race of medieval navigators, il
the Discovery, a tiny vessel of only 5
!. ons burden, reached the islands know
!. under his name today, crossed Baffi
bay via the Middle Passage" an
!. in 1916 was in Smiths sound in sigh
+ OF Cape Alexander Baffin's farthes
+ north Of n degrees As minutes remair
!. ed unequaled in this region for %
, years, and his voyage aided mate
tally to the geographical knowledge {
Elismere and Prudhoe lands, an
/ Smith, Jones and Lancaster sounds
/ The two latter ne cautiously entered
!. and found them completely obstructe
i by ice, so that on his return to En-:
!, land he declared his belief in the n,:l
}. existence of northwest passage Th
explorers of this time, English, Dal
ish. French and Dutch. We're stimula
+ ed in their efforts to discover II,