The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1909-09-20

bus. Henry Hudson, whose discovery
of the Hudson river is to be celebrated
this month, was one of the earliest
and most persistent seekers for the
northwestern passage. In the year
1907 he pushed his way past so degrees
and set the mark for the farthest north
of that day. A few years later he
penetrated Hudson bay. There he
was set adrift in a small boat by mutt
neers and ended his life in the frozen
regions, the first noted victim of arctic
exploration.
ENGLAND OFFERED REWARDS.
The English government in 1743 pro-
claimed an award of 100000 for the
discovery of the northwest passage.
In 1776 an act of parliament offered
reward of $4,000 to any captain who
should first penetrate to within one
| degree Of the pole. Additional awards
were added later for explorers who
should attain lesser latitudes from SO
fdesrees upward.
| After the outburst of voyages in the
early part of the seventeenth century
there was a lapse of nearly 200 years
before hardy explorers plunged again
into the frozen north 1le English
have the credit for the revival of ex-
ploration. They started out two ex-
petitions in 1918, still searching for
the northern passage across the top
of the world Parry and Ross took
two ships westward under orders to
make the northwest passage along the
upper part of the American continent.
Buchan and Franklin took two other
ships to the northeast to attempt the
polar passage by way of Spitzenberg.
Both expeditions got a short distance
past the S0th parallel on their way
north, but did not succeed in reach
ing the Pacific.
In 1927 this same energetic Capt.
Parry started out on a voyage toward
the pole using for the first time the
plan of the dash across the ice on
sledges. All previous explorers had
stuck to their ships Parry went up
to Spitzenberg is a vessel. There he
mounted two twenty-foot boats on run
ners and loaded a number of dog
sledges with supplies. With these he
set out over the ice and travelled 290
miles, only to be blown back nearly
half the distance gained by the south
erly drift of the ice. His farthest
north pole was 50 degrees, As minutes,
which set a record for the time.
FRANKLIN AND HIS MEN LOST.
Next in order of time comes the
English expedition of Sir John Frank
lin, the greatest tragedy of the Arctic
zone that aroused the interest and sym
pathy of the civilized world. Franklin
sailed in 1916 with two ships, the Ere
bus and the Terror containing 134 Of
ficers and men. They went up the
west coast of Greenland and were last
seen in Baffin's bay latitude IA de-
grees AS minutes.
After three years of complete silence
search was begun. In the ensuing
six years fifteen expeditions of various
kinds set out from England and Anne
RIGA to hunt for Franklin and his men,
but all in vain. In 1859 skeletons and
relics of Disaster were found along the
coast of King Williams Land, far to
the westward. In pile of rocks was
this record of the voyage, the only
word from the dead:
! April 20, 1S4S, H M. ships Terror
and Erebus were deserted on April 20
five leagues N. N, w. of this having
been best since Sept. ~, 1886. The
officers and crew, consisting OF loo
souls, unGer the command of Capt.
f. r. NJ. Crozier, landed here in lati-
tude 60 degrees 81 minutes AZ seconds
N, longitude 9S degrees Al minutes w.
Sir John Franklin died on June IL,
1S47, and the total loss by deaths IN
the expedition has been to this date
nine officers and fifteen men,"
DE LONGS ATTEMPT FATAL.
The next thrilling tragedy was the
loss of the American expedition under
I