The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1913. POLAR EXPLORATION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 85, 10 December 1913, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1913. POLAR EXPLORATION.

Polar exploration appears to fully maintain its charm for adventurous spirits despite the ill fate of so many expeditions. A day or so ago a Loudon cable message stated that Captain Pennell, lately master of Scott’s exploring ship Terra Nova, in a letter to the newspapers, states that Commander Evans, Lieutenant Campbell, Dr. Atkinson, and other members of the Scott Expedition of 191 U-13, and also Lady Scott herself, point out that, however attractive the chances of Lieut. Stackhouse’s South Polar

expedition may seem to be, they arc unaware that the late Captain Scfttt proposed any plans, excepting those which ho carried out himself, for the Lieutenant’s expedition. He adds that the officers of the Scott expedition protest against the unauthorised use of their late leader’s name. That the Stackhouse expedition was even projected is news to many people, hut according to late English files it appears that Mr J. Foster Stackhouse, F.H.G.S., F.R.S.G.S., nephew of the late Sir Jonathan Hutchinson, F.R.S., is the latest Englishman to enter the held of Antarctic exploration. The South Pole itself having been discovered, his objective will he Kiuu Edward Vll.’s Laud, which is recognised as belonging to Britain, although no Briton has yet set foot upon it. Mr Stackhouse has travelled in many lands. He is stated to have been an intimate friend of Captain Scott. To a representative of tlio “Manchester Guardian” Mr Stackhouse said; • J'ho great idea of' the expedition we are planning is to explore King Edward \ ll.’s Laud. We shall try to out-

lino the coast, which as yet remain; uncharted. (..'ape Colheek may he tin most northerly point, and the' eoasi may stretch south ps far as AkAlur I. Sound. The fact is (hat the whoh coast is full of mystery. Jt is, wt suppose, about 900 or 1000 miles long, and we will survey as much of it as possible, but the task may involve om

staying three or four years within tin .Antarctic Circle. At the end of tin

coastal survey we expect to .proceed to Me.Murdo Sound, where, naturally, we hope to visit Observation 'Mill, on which stands the cross to the memory oi Captain Scott and his comrades.” Mr Stackhouse was asked to describe the real meaning of some of the terms so glibly used in connection with Polar work, and he admitted that verv inadequate nolions prevailed among laymen of lie 1 meaning of terms that are commonplaces of exploration. For

example, the general idea of n blizzard was a heavy, fall of snow with a wind behind it. “But when you get into Polar regions, - ’ he continued, ‘‘the snowflakes are hard as iron, sharp at both ends, and sharp all round, and they are blown by "ind travelling at a violent rate that blows in every conceivable direction. Go out in that with a temperature at 110 or -10 degrees below zero, and you may not lie able to see your hand belore your lace. Then, too, a crevasse, which to the man in the street is simply a crack in the ice; which may or mav not he deep, been known in Polar regions to be 170 ieet deep at least. It may be two feet wide;

some are even HO feet or more. A thin bridge of snow may conceal the peril. You have to feel each step of the way cautiously. As to an icefield, it is not like a pond frozen smoothly over. The ice forms the pack, and in it are generally found bergs which drife along with the current.” Mr Stackhouse, explained' that many years ago lie first crossed the Arctic Circle on a visit to Toe-| land ; later he went to Spitsbergen and the Kara Sea. “Then 1 went on to South Cape, Wild Bay, Cherry Island. Bear Island, and thus.' parts. In 1911 1 left for Jan Mayen. 1 saw Vogle Hook, where there is no monument to the seven Dutchmen who died there in 162.‘k The place was discovered by Hudson, the British whalerj and explorer, and the Dutch sent over about two dozen men for seals and walruses. Only seven stayed right through the winter, with the result that 0110 after another died, and the last had to write his own death story, and succumbed shortly before ihe relieving boat arrived.” The expedition, according to one Home writer,* is to leave the Thames about the first of

August of next year, and it is expected that several members of the Terra Nova expedition will accompany Mr Stackhous. Sir Clements R. Markham, F.R.S., one of the oldest Arctic explorers, is deeply interested in the enterprise. Another writer says: “He feels that it is in every way essential as completing the work of Captain Scott that King Edward \ ll.’s Land should bo explored, and its coastline added o the geographical knowledge of the world.” Captain Pennell’s little

outburst therefore seems to savor a little of a desire for monopoly in the South Polar exploration business.