The Dominion. FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1909. THE ATTACK ON THE POLE.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 466, 26 March 1909, Page 4

The Dominion. FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 1909. THE ATTACK ON THE POLE.

■ We are able to give in this issue some, fuller particulars of the adventures and achievements of the Antarctic Expedition in supplement of the absorbingly interesting cable messages printed yesterday and to-day. It is matter enough for congratulation that the explorers havo returned safe and sound; that is ,an achievement in itself, when account is had of the severe hardships that are tho price of Polar wanderings and the perils of the stormy land within the Polar circle. But the commanding reason for congratulation is in the fact that tho expedition arrived almost at the Pole itself. No expedition, Arctic or Antarctic,' has ever pushed on so near to its goal. When tho explorers took their last look south before leaving the Union Jack on guard, the- Pole was only about a hundred miles away. It was not without suffering that this wonderful record was established. The last three days of the journey south along the frozen plateau were made distressing by one of tho prolonged and violent blizzards which appear to be the chief feature of the Polar climate. The rarefied air on . tho icy mountains combined with an actual shortage of food —rations were reduced to twenty ounces a day just a week before Christmas—to intensify tho difficulties of travelling and the agony of the bitter frosts. To us, whoso thermometers rarely sink to freezing point, "40 degrees below zero"—the lowest temperature recorded—will convey only a faint idea of the intensity of tho cold that was the normal condition of the atmosphere. One of the disappointments of the expedition was the comparative uselessncss of the motor sledge of which so much had been hoped, although tho Arrol Johnston motor was found useful on seaice. The ponies justified themselves very nobly; it is quite clear that without them the explorers could not have had any large measure of success. They served both as baggage animals and as food.

That the adventurers should have had to turn back after crossing the 88th degree of latitude, with the Pole a hundred odd miles away across the plain, is a disappointment of tho keenest sort. But the party wero then suffering severely from their long trials. They had been hauling heavy loads, and their food supply was running low. It would have taken at least five' more days to rcach the Pole; and it was obviously impossible to risk lengthening by ten days their absence from the nearest of their chain of depots. Although the expedition did not achieve the ultimate measure of success, its actual performance was magnificent, and the explorers deserve all the applause that will be given to them for their endurance and pluck. The scientific results of the expedition will be extremely valuable, even if many of the facts observed are not of a kind to interest the average unlearned man. The most interesting of these facts is that the theory that the Polar area is wrapped in frozen calm is quite baseless; the most important are that coal measures, which presuppose forests, were discovered in very high latitudes, and that evidences were found of greater glaciation than at present. Even from the very sketchy story sent to us by cable, it is clear that the scientific side of the expedition was attended to very carefully indeed. A rare patience and persistence must have been necessary to keep alive under conditions of extreme hardship the scientific zeal for inquiry. Wc are not told whether the Nimrod will be sent south again with a new expedition led by Lieutenant Sjtackleton, but it will be surprising-if the success of the present expedition does not stimulate the friends of Polar exploration into rendering further assistance of a generous kind.

It was never in doubt that, unless overtaken by disaster, Lieutenant Shaukleton would penetrate the unknown far beyond the point reached by Captain Scott. He had been over much of the ground, and he had Captain Scott's charts and information to guide him. We do not say this in depreciation of hiß achievement; on the contrary, he is to be congratulated on the very good use which he made of his initial acquaintance with the kind of thing that was ahead of him. The complete success of the next expedition may be hopefully looked forward to. Not only is the routo to the Pole charted now; the things to do, and the things to avoid, the best methods of transport and the best disposition of food supplies—all these have been learned for future guidance. No great benefits are likely to follow upon the attainment of the Pole itself; no observations of a new or useful kind could be made there which could not be made at the last point reached by the exploit ers. Much is hoped, in a vague way, from a better knowledge of the climatic conditions of the Polar regions; but the meteorologists do not seem' to be at all clear in their minds upon how a knowledge of Polar weather will assist them in making their forecasts. But everything that makes for a completion of the records of Science has its value, since Science requires fulness, no less than accuracy, of information, in order to do good service for man. The London Times suggested the other day-that "the next great triumph of exploration may well be the attainment of the North, or possibly oven the South, Pole by an airship steering from a base provided in the ice." No doubt an airship, or at any rate a* flying machine, could be made a wording part of the next Antarctic expedition, but the . wonderful success of Lieutenant Shackleton's party makes it very probable that the Pole will bn reached in the ordinary way before a practical method has been devised of utilising the progress which has been made in aeronautics.