Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1906-04-05

ably crushed by the icehergS and com
pletely demolished during Gals secona
campaign
Lieutenant Antrup Of the Danish
Navy made a photographic study OF
this part of the Greenland coast in
1900, and named II the Housewife
coast, Taking possession OF il in the
name OF the sovereign and hoisung
the Danish flag, he also had the cour-
tesy to run up the French col2rs along
side the Danish oneS.
so it was not for the first time
that our flag Heated over the north.
east coast Of Greenland ON the 2Sth
of July last, but it was the first time
that ii had been planted upon that
coast AT so high 4 latitude and by
Frcnchmen.
Such in brief is the story Of our eN-
peditt2n, We emerged from the ice
ON the 18th Of August, after des-
perate fight; and, once finding oue.
selves in open water. we were assailed
by furious storm which drove US TO
ward Iceland, from which We returned
to Belgium
To sum this up the prince and his
companions nave discovered a French
country and have had the good fay~
tune to accomplish by ship what the
Germans had psinfully acc 1mphshei
on sledges, The expedition went be,
yond Cape Bismarck. whicl lad been
discovered by the Gcrmanta and the
Hansa in 1870, and succeeded in dis
covering new region, to which they
gave the name of Cape Philippe, and
over which the tricolor now floats.
From the cynegetic point of view
the expedition was equally interesting
The Duke OF Orleans killed twelve
bears Che brought back two white
cubs, six months old, and found the
skeletons of various animals AS for
seals, he killed a perfect hecatomb
of them Repeatedly he managed to
bring down two victims with a single
shot from his Mauser. The members
of the expedition also made careful
study of the waters as they passed
through and carried out a series OF
most interesting observations regard
ing fishes at different depths. AS TO-
the temperature, il never went below
three or -four degrees centrigrade.
The reader may perhaps value an
account of the results of the expedi-
ton. On this point we can hardly do
better than TO borrow from the verv
interesting article written by Nj. Bar
agnon. Two specialists, the modest
and courageous De Gerlache and D.
Charcot, well seasoned in Polar eX-
ploration have already told what Is
the impression made in the world of
science by the cruise of the Belgica.
The former declares 1t to be decidedly
mere satisfactory than his own explor.
alton in Antarctic waters. "The Duke
and his friends" he said TO me, have
accomplished more than we did and in
shorter time
NJ Baragnon declares that the re
suits obtained are altogether eXtraor
binary for summer campaign I"
Every seaman knows that the Arctic
Ocean, with its rotten" ice, is more
difficult to navigate in summer than at
any other time. The good fortune OF
the BelgiCa Is due as much to sheer
chance as to the daring of her com
mander.
From the geographical point Of view,
these are the principal results gained
Cape Bismark, which the Ger
mans reached only by means or
sledges, has got its first glimpse of a
ship Everything points 10 the con
clusion that this cape belongs not to
the Polar continent but to an islann
whose outlines are not yet determined
,. The "Terre de France" was dis,
covered and named for the first time
in latitude Of 20 degrees. 1t doul.y
merits its name if, as it Is likely, its
existence was suspected in 1883 b.
Lieutenant de Blosseyille; but Meth
es that officer nor his brig the Iii.
loise, ever returned from their daring
raid
3. Nearly hundred and fifty
HlIiSS nave zen gone over III the nDTlN
of Greenland, and the space which
separates Greenland from Jan Mayen
has been crossed by an entirely new
route.
However important these data may
be, since all maps will henceforward
take account Of them, they are as moth.
ing when compared with the oceano.
graphic data brought back by the tx
petition. Under the direction of the
Duke Of Orleans an eminent Danish
naturalist by the name OF Kaefael was
given charge OF Chese researches. Who
would have supposed that biology
could furnish valuable evidences re.
garding Polar currents? Yet the study
Of submarine and subglacial fauna
give us clearer knowledge of the TEN
perature OF marine currents than the
thermometer does, and when one finds
the same animals all along the sinuou8
but narrow course Of a current they
give solid proof Of that currents exist.