Evening star., 1932-01-17
TWO MYSTERY ISLANDS
TO VANISH FROM CHART
Land, Reported Long Ago in South
Atlantic, Is INDICATED by
Exploring Steamer.

/ ing gales and unknown, uncharted
islands And he pulled out yellow
streaked chart and pointed to a dot
marked "P. D." which, as every mar
iner knows, means position doubtful. >
The position of Bouvet Island has,
indeed been doubtful since M. Bouvet,
a French naval officer, sighted the gla-
ciers of the island in 1889 and gave it
his name. Since then many shipmas-
tiers, including Capt. Cook, have search
ed for Bouvet. Many missed 1t and few
sighted it; but no two naVigatorS agree
as to the latitude and longitude. The
sun hardly ever shines in the stormy
wastes of the great Southern ocean, SO
that the position of the island could
never be fixed accurately. Bouvet be-
came known to SeafarerS as a mystery
island, vanishing and reappearing and
jumping about on the chart like
troublesome flea.
Land Small Boat on Bouvet.
But my friend the whalerman had
landed on BouVet Island during a long
whaling cruise when fresh water ran
short Anchoring in the lee of some
grounded icebergs near the wave-sWept
shore, he steered one of the ships boats
boldly toward the white line of the
L.
risked disaster when they heaved the
water casks out of the boat on to
fiat-topped rock.
The WeirdneSS Of Bouvet Island i'm
pressed this tough old sailor, though he
had roved the lonely spaces of the
world for years. There we're no trees,
no vegetation, apart from patches of
tussock grass, and little running water.
Trudging up valley the whalermen
climbed the island heights and stood at
last on the edge of a great dead crater.
When they looked SeaWard for their
ship they saw only white blanket of
fog. They hurried back to the shore,
filled their casks and "Srelled" their
way back to safety, as only Norsemen
in small craft can.
Sealing Party Marooned.
A party from an English sealing ship
were not so fortunate. They had landed
in search of seals when a storm blew
up and marooned them for days. Snow
and raw seal meat kept them alive.
Among the scientists who have visited
Bo,lvet were the staffs of two German
research ships-the ValdiVia in 1898
and the Meteor a few years ago.
At first the Valdivia's navigator despair
ed of finding the island, for the deep
sea sounding machine registered a
depth of 10000 feet Abundant bird
life gave them a little encouragement,
and after long search, the steep island
shores rose from the sea, cleaning in
the rays of a rare burst of sunshine.
The danger of collision with icebergs
was great and the scientists had to be
content with a brief running survey as
the ship circled the island.
A French exploring ship some years
before had been unable to approach
Bouyet as the island was surrounded
by dense ice pack. The Germans did
some dredging and found rich marine
fauna link between Kerguelan and
the Straits of Magellan. The cone
which dominates the island was named
Kaiser wilhelm Peak, and they sailed
away. Their fellow countrymen in the
Meteor. years after, sighted Bouyet.
wrapped in mist. ,--
So 1t was that a few whalermen and
sealers were the only human beings
who have ever walked on the glaciers
and rocks of Bouvet Island. One day
the island may become a revelation, for
certain scientists think that this bliz-
zard-swept rock on the edge OF the
Antarctic now alone may represent the
great lost continent OF Atlantis.