UNKNOWN ARCTIC LAND

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1740, 3 May 1913, Page 16

UNKNOWN ARCTIC LAND

MR. STEFANSSON ON HIS EXPEDITION. TWO INTERESTING PROBLEMS. Mr. Yilhjalmur Stefansson, tho Canadian cxploror, who ill the course of fivo years' travel in the Arctic discovered a race of blondo Eskimos, arrived at Southampton oil Monday from Now York, and Sroceeded to Ixnidoii to lecture before tho oyal Geographical Society, and to make arrangements in England in connection with his projected expedition at tho cost of tho Canadian Government to verify tho existenco of a supposed Arctic land half a million fiqunro mileo in extent. To Router's representative tho explorer said:— "The chief object of the now expedition is to explore this area by tdiip as fur as possiblo in summer and l>y filedgo in winter. If now land is discovered,. 1 hope to ostablish a ba.so upon it, but if no new land is found wo shall have our l>as« at Land's End, on Prince Patrick Island. Tho oxtent, of the pr#a to lw explored is •over a million square miles, and it is situated roughly north of Western Canada and north ol Alaska. Plan of Operations. "Tho Canadian Primo Minister has pointed out that as tho expedition m«y largely extoud the borders of the lii'ltish Empire, it should go under the linlish flag. Accordingly, I am going out in Juno as tho head of a British expedition. My scientific staff consists of ten and we leave Victoria, British Columbia, in Juno next in the whaler Karluk, whose captain is tho well-known navigator Pedersen. Tho vessel will proceed eaftt along tho north coast of Alaska. It easterly winds prevail we shall find open water in tho Beaufort Sea, and fcho'ild reaeh Hcrschell Island, at the mouth of tlie Mackenzie Kiver, at the beginning; ol August. Thenc© we shall eail north as far as the ice permits. There is no means of telling now far this is possible, although wo know that whaling vessels havo been 200 miles without seeing ice. If, however, wo havo westerly lntteaa of easterly winds, we inayjiave difhcul'ty ill reaching the Mackenzie Jiiver, thus necessitating keeping close to the coast and having to forego exploration lor a year. In this case, we should .fstablisn a base as far north-east as possible. My intention is to send the vessel home e&cli summer with news of our progress. "We expect to bo away on this expedition for four and a half years. It :s no part of my programme to go to ae. Polo. Some scientists hold that there js a vast area of undiscovered land in the unmapped portion of the ea .- it is impossible to explain the tidal P]i«w>mcDQ on any other assumption, and 'the smallest area this region is put .at 18 500,000 square miles, lhat may be one land or a dense archipelago.' "If this bo so, what may be its yaluef "It is impossible to Eay. During the last expedition I first published the fact that copper existed in large quantity m the Parry Islands. At present there are, of course, transportation and other aimcultics in the way of development, iou must remember, however, that w the American Secretary of Stato.was publicly denounced for spending six and a half million dollars of public money for tho purchase of Alaska, which was regarded as a block of ice. .To-dav Alaska is a commercial empire of fabulous wealth. It would be rash to say this was not possiblo in tho Canadian Arctic.

The Problem of the Blondo Eskimos. "As regards equipment," the explorer said. "I believe in extreme simplicity. X hope to havo wireless telegraphy, but apart from this no special equipment except for dredging and for studying terrestrial magnetism. We cxpeot to maintain two bases of operation. Ono I have already referred to. The second one will bo on South-West Victoria Land in the district inhabited by the European-like Eskimos I discovered in my last expedition. From this second base, which my last investigations proved to be possibly one of tho richest copper districts in the world, X shall endeavour to study tho romance of the most interesting problem of tho Arctic. It was here 'I found sorao two thousand Eskimos, some with striking European characteristics, the presence ot which was difficult to explain. "Tho Eskimos I speak of are the least civilised of all Eskimos 1 met. lliey can only count up to six, while.ordinary Lskirnos can count up to 400. Yct dospite of, or perhaps by reason of, their extreme isolation, X found these peoplo morally, eccLomically, and physically far superior to any civilised or Chnstianised Eskimos. Out of less than a thousand actually seen about a dozen had blue eyes, while a. few had curly hair. Many of the men pull tho hairs of their beards out by the roots, and so are smooth-faced, but those who do not havo light brown beards, and perhaps half have eyebrows lighter than the typical Eskimos. In fact, all their characteristics are non-Eskimo. What dore it mean? It is a thrilling Problem which at present I. cannot solve. That it has anv connection, with Arctic explorers or with tho survivors of the Franklin expedition may, I think, bo j"j'ed out. It may bo merely a question of tho survival of accidental varhnts, but un adequate and historical explanation may bo found. "Is it not possible that this racc lj tho descendants of the flourishing Scandinavian colony which inhabited Greenland from 990 to 14i2 A.D., and whicli, owing partly to the ravages of tho Black Death, tho Hanseatic wars, and other reasona which prevented communication, disappeared from the knowledge of Europe during tho fifteenth century? There is wellauthenticated evidenco of this colony, and it would be fascinating to study whether theso peoplo are tho descendants of this long-lost flourishing race."

Financed by Canada. In the course of an interview with <i Central News representative, Mr. StefansW "My third expedition is being financed wholly by the Canadian Government. The i<L)a of this expedition originated with three Amorioan institutions—the National Geographical Society of Washington, tho Natural History Museum of New York (each of which offered to provido 22,500 dollars), and tho Harvard Travellers Club, which proposed to make a special vote out of its treasury and to raise a privPiio subscription. However, the aggregate amount available wfl-s insufficient, and I went to Ottawa to enlist the assistance of tho Canadian Government's Geological Survey Department, winch cooperated in my lost expedition. Mr. Borden, the Premier, told mo it was a work which Canada wished to support, and the Government would prefer to make a largo grant and havo the expedition under the British flag. Tho outcome has beon that the American organisations have gracefully released me from my obligations to them, and havo consented to my accept-on-.o of tho very generous offer of tho Canadian Government. We shall probably carry a wiroless apparatus » keep in touch with, tho stations which the Canadian Government contemplates placing notir tlio mouth of tho Mflckoiizio River and on other accessible points in North Central Canada."

Rheumatism and kindred complaintsLumbago,. Sciatica, and Gout—should be treated as soon as tho first symptoms aro manifested. For instance. Headaches, Constipation, Flatulence, Heartburn aro frequently symptoms of excess_ uric acid in tho blood, and tho sooner this acid is eradicated tho l>ettcr. Tho safest and most reliable remedy for these complaints is RIIEUMO. It has been proved l>y the test of public experience and is acclaimed by thousands as tho ouo genuine remedy. RHEUJIO goes to the seat of the trouble, and by driving tho uric acid from tho blood, quickly gives relief and effects a cure. Of all chemists and stores, 2s. Gd. and Is. (id.—Advt. 51

Lord Esher, speaking to tho British Museum li.ille Association, said that it was very difficult to form an idea- of what would iiappen if this country were invaded, but military history taught that in invasions it was not so much tho regular forces but tho efforts of tho population itself that were most successful in defence.

Madamo Sarah Bernhardt was injured in a motor-ear collision at Los Angeles, but not seriously.

We h.'ivo great confidcnce iu recommending Warner's Rust-proof Corsets. Tho style is ,ko good, tho comfort so perfect, nwi tho wear &o lasting, with tho prico 60 lonson&bla. Wellington Diaiers,—Advt.