Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1921-04-01

many Of the mammals the descendants of which
are scattered the earth. Next year the
museum will send out biologists and motion
picture photographer, and in 1923 Psychologists
and anthropoogists will follow.
The Royal Geographical society is pushing ahead
It's plans for the conquest of Mount Everest the
highest mountain in the world, the summit of
which no white man has ever reached. The main
attempt will be made next year. Sir Francis
Younghusband, the president of the society, has
announced that Col Howard Bury who has trav.
eled much in Asia, has been chosen to lead this
years expedition, with Harold Raeburn in charge
of the actual reconnaissance of the mountain. Mr..
Raeburn has just returned from a reconnaissance
of Kangchanjunga mountain in the Himalayas
with altitude of %, 146 feet. The society is also
hoping to secure the services next year of Briga-
der General Bruce the originator of the idea OF
ascending the mountain.
The ascent of Mount Everest is impracticable
for many years at least in the opinion of Henry
r. Montagnier of Terre Haute, Ind, who has made
many ascents in the Himalayas the Rockies and
the European Alps, and has attained the highest
attitudes. He says:
II have no hesitation in predicting that Everest
will certainly not be conquered by the first party
that makes the attempt In my opinion it will
take years, each party profting by the experience
acquired by it's predecessors and each gaining a
thousand more feet on the previous record One
the highest peak in the world will be far and away
the most terrific test of endurance human beings
have ever undergone The journey to the north
or south POLE as far as physical effort and moral
courage are concerned, would be mere childs play
compared with the ascent of mountain more
than 10000 feet high. The highest altitude yet at
tanned Is about 24600 feet
1--WE know that the number of feet active
climber can ascend per hour diminishes with the
altitude. Thus, up to 10000 feet average climber
can ascend about 1000 feet an hour easy
ground without exhaustng himself Above $4,000
feet the ascensional rate falls below 300 feet an
hour even for exceptionally strong climbers. What
it would be at $1,000 feet no one say without
experience
Judging by what we know of the dimnution
of the ascensional rate of strong climbers above
$4,000 feet it would seem doubtful whether it
would be possible to ascend more than 100 or $50
feet an hour above 27,00O or $4,000 feet. And
moreover, these figures are based on the supposi-
tion that the party meets with great Difficult
ties, such as powdery snow, high wind, steep
rocks, Sickness etc."
The one south pole exploration, now on the
way, seems important. 1t is the British Antarctic
expedition, headed by Commander John Lachan
Cope, fellow of the Royal Geographical society
and formerly of the British navy. 1t has been
financed for $750000 and there will be five ships,
125 men, several airplanes and extensive wireless
apparatus The object is to circumnavigate the
Antarctic sea, make dash to the south pole, To-
cate new whaling grounds and map fields that
supposed to be rich in gold silver, coal and rubies
Plans have been made for an absence of five years.
Dr. Donald B. Macmillan, veteran Of six trips to
the Land of the Midnight Sum- heads the list of
Arctic explorers He is building at East Booth
bay Me-, the schooner Bowdoin for an expedition
scheduled to start in July. Under favorable wealth.
err conditions the Bowdoin should reach Fury and
Hecla strait early in September. There the ship
will be frozen in. Leaving their vessel under
guard the party will push forward on sleds drawn
by dogs Doctor Macmillan expects to establish
a camp 700 miles south of Etah, in northwest
Greenland from which he will try to circumnavi-
gate Bafin Land and to penetrate 1,5OO miles OF
its western coast said to be the longest stretch Of
unknown coastline in the world.
Four expeditions in progress in Africa,
namely, the British Natural History museum ex-
petition to penetrate the secrets of the west coast
duke of the AbruZz to find the source of the Webb
Shebell river which flows from Abyssinia through
Italian Somaliland into the Indian ocean, the
tomological tour of the Belgian portion of Tan,
ganyka and the Eastern Congo, by T. A. Barns.
who explored the Ituri and Semlki forests finding
a strange race of pygmies and making a wonder
full collection of moths and butterflies and the
Macke chronological expedition into Central Africa
to study the Bahma, one of the chief pastoral
tribes of Ankole, district west Of Uganda.