Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-25
NEW LAND IN SOUTH
Lieut.. Shirase, Japanese Ex-
pIorer, Makes Discovery.
PART OF ANTARCTIC AREA
Sails South and East Into Seas
Heretofore Unknown.
VAST STRETCH OF PACK ICE
Range of Mountains Classed as Con-
tinuation of Andes of
South America.
VAST STRETCH OF PACK ICE

NEW YORK, March 25-Lieut Shirase,
who returned TO Wellington, N. L., Sat
urday. shows in his statement that he has
been engaged in exploring part of the
Antarctic continent. the nature Of which
has thus far been unknown
He says he left one party at the Bay Of
Whales, which Is longitude 1876 west His
account that he saw Amundsen's party
here tal1ies with the report Of Capt Neil
sen Of tho Fran, who told Of finding q
japanese party encamped In q tent on the
great ice barrier.
Shirase then proceeded eastward-that
is, toward the part Of the Antarctic con-
| tinent lying south Of South America He
! landed party on King Edward VII
Land, he says, and then sailed southeast
ward into unknown seas.
Maps Of the Antarctic continent, which
have been drawn from inference and gen.
eral knowledge (for the region is, as
Shirase says, an unknown seal, show to
| the east of the known portion Of King
| Edward VII Land a vast stretch Of pack
ice, extending north almost to the Ant
arctic circle.
Goes South and East.
Shirase seems not to have made a
| northern detour, but to have been able to
push south and east toward Alexander
Land. which was recently visited by DR..
| Charcot, the French explorer. This lies
south Of Cape Horn.
The land between Cape Colbeck, point
on King Edward VII Land at 158 west
longitude, and Alexander Land is mark
ed on the tentative maps as the Antarc-
| tic Andes hacanSa tbav continual
ton Of the Andes Of South America
What Shirase found out about this I'M
known part of the world he does not
tell us.
have been landed year later than
Scott's party. 1t should be noticed that
SCOTS men were not actually landed in
King Edward VII Land, although it was
their intention to explore there, while the
Japanese commander says that he put a
party ashore there, although he does not
state exactly where.
Scott says i'm his statement of his plans
for his expedition that his eastern party
was to be left to face the winter of 1911
and to undertake journeys inland. He
planned to land complete outfit and
travelling equipment for six men.
Il realize" he said in an article in the
Royal Geographical Society Journal for
July, 1910, that this part of my plan is
beset with many difficulties. A suitable
wintering place may not be found, and
even if found the difficulty of landing
stores remains in region where heavy
pack ice is continually on the move, but
the interest in the exploration of King
Edward VII Land jusytifieS a great effort
in the attempt
Capt. SCOTS fear that a party could
not be landed on King Edward VII
Land was justified. as shown by the re-
port quoted above. The landing had to be
made quite a distance to the west. IL
the Japanese succeeded in making the
| landing. as Shirase says they did, they
have i'm this respect bettered the work of
Capt. Scott.
Described by Scott.
OF the land itself Capt Scott said in
1910:
Our present knowledge of King Ed
wards Land is of the toughest descrip-
ton. We have seen rising snow slopes,
and have here and there caught frag-
mentary glimpse of an exposed rock.
Does this mean an archipelago Of small
islands, or some part of the main con-
tinental mass? 1t is not difficult to see
how many interesting problems of land
and ice distribution depend on the answer
to this question.
1.-THE small eastern party, If left, will
be left with full supplies and some trans
port facilities. They will have to face
the unknown severity Of a winter in one
of the most inhospitable parts of the Ant
| arctic ice region.
"They will have to face unknown diff
culties and dangers in the journeys they
| undertake., but a can imagine no direc-
ton in which the hardships and difficult
ties of sledge journeys will be more
amply rewarded. Should this party be
safely landed I should endeavor to give
them some connection with the western
party-4OO miles to the weStWard-by
landing additional stores at one or two
places on the barrier edge-if such places
can be found"
Victoria Land Attractive.
The land to the west o, McAIurdo
sound SCOTS base, has received much
more careful exploration than to the east
The magnetic pole lying in this part of
the continent has made Victoria Land
more attractive to explorers. Scott
| western party spent the winter Of 1911 at
Cape Adaire, on Victoria Land, at TO de-
grees east longitude, and during the Ant
| arctic summer. just past was to work
| through Victoria Land for the purpose of
| taking magnetic observations.
| Dr. Mawson and the Australian party,
now in the Antarctic, were interested in
the coast still farther west and proposed
| to explore the 1900 miles lying to the
| west of Cape Adaire, including Adele
| Land, Claire Land, Sabrina Land, Knox
Land to Gauss Berg and Kaiser Wilhelm
| II Land.