New Britain herald., 1924-02-15
LONELIEST ISLAND
 IN ENTIRE WORLD
This Is Reputation of BouVet, in
 the Antarctic

Washington. D. C., Feb. l5.-"Tho loneiest bit of land in all the lone Hest seas Of the earth perhaps is Eouvet Island, the object of an eN- petition which recently let this country for the Antarctic" says a bulletin from the Washington. D. C.. headquarters of the National Geo graphic society.
 Two Of its nearest inhabited neighbors to the nor,h are Tristan da cunha. another lonely bit of land rising out of the sea on the longitu- dinal ridge of the Atlantic Ocean, which supports only about 75 people. and Cape Town on the southern tip Of Africa. both ot which are about 1,200 miles away.
 seldom sighted
 So far as now is known. no one lives on BouNet Island, in fact few noted explorers ever visited il, few whalcrs or seaiers ever sighted its snowy outlines against the cold SQuth Polar skies. and for a long time its very existence was doubted.
 The French explorer, N. des Lozi- CTS Bouvet in TBS. whiic following the southern icc-pach for a consider able distance and maryeling at the, great flat-topped Antarctic ic"bcrgs which swung into his line of vision. first sighted q nigh land covered with snow which looked to him like q great headland. He Was unable however, to determine whether this new land he mad discovered was an island or part Of a continent. Hut tYj af irrlf .r1t, ,l his pilot with handsome sum of money for directing the vessel toward 8 hitherto uncharted piece of land and he called the headland which first caught his eye Cap de Ia Circonci- sIon,' in honor of the day Of the dis coyery-a name which it still bears. Discovered Doubted for Over Century
 'The desire to solve the problem presented in this mysterious bit ot land in the ocean tempted the cA- explorer 10 put his ships at if for twelve days, but the great sheets of ice which bore down upon him. to- gether with the heavy fog, proved as effective as a hostile fleet in making him keep his distance from the shore.
 For many years his discovery of the island was doubted, other mari ners arguing that he had sighted only icebcrcs, but he had found land in latitude 5i degrees .G minutes south and longitude degrees 2i minatcs east, fact which was verified 1G1 years later. within our own memory, when Professor Chun of Leipzig in the Valdivit' confirmed the French mans claims.
 Though il has been said that Bouvct Island has not the rcmotcst connection with any of he other islands O. lands of the Antarctic it is generally believed that its fauna, climate and physical characteristics will prove 10 be Antarctic in charac- ter but there are as yet no reports on which 10 base such statements
 Covered hy Vast Glacier.
 "1f,e 'Naldisia' expedition satisfied tho world that Thompson Island did not exist and that the previously ro- port ed Lindsay and Liverpool Islands were identical with Bouvet Island which is described as being volcanic and covered with one vast gacirr
 "A landing was not made on the island, however. and no trees could he seen through the telescope. though 1 i'ouvct and Lindsay. whafcr. had . thought they noticed trees or shrubs Captain Benjamin Morrcl reported that during his Antarctic voyage Of 1922-2S he visited l}ouyet lslanI and caught many sruls there.
 "Soundings in inc immediate N- cinity Of the island have proved that il is located iB q fairly regular and deep depression on tine ocean bottom measuring more than in.00n feet in depth"