The Ekalaka eagle., 1915-11-26
Explorer Who Reports Discovery
Of New Land In the North Is
Going Farther Into the Icy
Regions Found Animals In
Abundance In New Territory.
2 PTILHJALMUR STEFANSSON,
~ the explorer who was thought
" lost in the arctic and who has

now reported having found u
new land In the north, will continue
his explorations. He still hopes to find
that an arctic continent exists near
the north pole
10 nearly every one the message
from StefanssOn came rs voice from
the dead, for only very few held to
the slender thread of hope that he
would ever be heard from again. 1t
was t'er a year and half since the
explorer and two OF hic companions
left the ice Of the north shore of Alas
Ia and started into an unexplored re-
gion.
The Canadian expedition which Ste
fansSon headed sailed into the far north
to explore an unknown territory ten
times the size of New York state.
They headed north to face one Of the
worst winters foc ice ever known In
the arctic. Notwithstanding, Stcfans-
son would not hear of turning back.
After the Karluk was caught in the
Ice he left the whaler with his party
and sleds, and it was not until he met
the captain Of the Polar Bear that he
knew the Karluk was wrecked, and
only twelve Of the twenty-five men he
left on board ever got b. ok to civiliza-
ton.
Under his own signature the explorer
described the chief aim of the expedi-
tion TO be the exploration of as large a
portion as possible Of over million
miles Of unknown area lying north Of
western Canada, north Of Alaska and
north Of eastern Siberia. Speaking Of
the backing of the Canadian govern
ment he said that It's intention to
back the expedition showed 1t realized
Its possible Importance.
Test Of a Theory.
ut may never bring result trans
latable into dollars and cents, but will
surely, II it has any success, add ma
terially to our knowledge Of the earth.
even though 1t should not happen to
discover any land" Stefansson wrote.
'And If new lands be discovered they
(the Canadian government do not take
It for granted that it Will be forever
valueless.
I'm one sense the exploration is
unique. 1t may be considered as an
undertaking to test the validity OF a
theory. DR.. Nansen has argued yehe-
mently, and to some mems minds con-
clusively, that the unexplored portion
the Arctic ocean is deep basin
practically, or more probably entirely,
devoid of land. Other students Of the
north, such as General A. w. Greedy
and DR.. r. II. Harris. feel equally con
vinced that there is land of consider
able area lying undiscovered in the Po-
lar sea, and Admiral Peary, from an
elevation of 1900 feet near Cape
Thomas Hubbard, has even seen land
to the west. With the conservatism
Of a man Of great experience, he says
that he Is not sure Of the existence OF
any land upon which he has not actual
~ put his foot and is not therefore
sure II what he saw was land and not
q cloud bank"
These were the problems Stefansson
intended to settle when on June %
4oAo, ue dAu AAs purity sa1ieu 1ioAu Lei
Ter, Alaska. The Karluk, a stout whal
er, was commanded by Captain Robert
A. Bartlett, and, besides Stefansson
these made up the scientific party
James Murray, DR.. A. +. Mackay
Bjarne Mamen, Diamond Jenness
George A. Malloch, w. L. MacKinlay
Henri Beuchat, George Wilkins. pho.
otnNW GA
fansson's secretary. Eskimos and crew