THE NORTH-EAST PASSAGE.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 121, 24 January 1880, Page 3

THE NORTH-EAST PASSAGE.

Professor Nordonskjold's success in effecting, wo can hardly soy discovering, tho North-Eastern passage must ho regarded as an important aahiovomont in Arctio travelling. Tlio North-East-ern passage from iho Atlantic to tho Pacific lias novor roooived so much attention as tho North Westeru, though in reality deserving fully as much attention in connection with tho original objout of North-Westerly oxjilomtion,

! and far more likely to lead to results useful to mankind. It will be remembered that so soon is the discovery of the American continent had shown that there was no westwardly routo. to Asia across tropical or sub-tropical seas the seamen of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries sought for a route round the northern and as yet unexplored parts of America. Driven gradually farther and farther northward, they eventually gave up the idea of finding a practicable passage in that direction ; but by that time the problem of the North-Western passago had taken strong hold of the imaginations of Arctic seamen, so that again and again the attempt was made to find a route from the North Atlantio to Dehring Straits around the northern shore 3 of the American continent. Th 3 route was found, but it has never been traversed. English seamen found the way from the North Atlantic to Melville Island, American seamen explored a route from the Pacific through B'.dlring Straits to the same point ; but 110 ship has ever passed along the passage, if such it can bo called, thus recognised, either from the Pacific the Atlantic. Nor, if the route had been traversed, would any merchant captain in his senses have ever thought of following a passngs so full of danger and difficulties, though probably 1 measured by the mere number of miles, the North-Western passage is thoshortestsoaroute, counting ioe fields as sea,from Europe toOhina.lt is, moreover, aslnrterroutoso measured that even that which Joluuibus and his companions Int.! hoped to find. They were content to sail coi: stuntly westwards in their search for Ear Cathay ; in reality, even if the American continent did not exist, the shortest route from Europe to China would not pass towards the west from European ports ; but, strange though it may seem, almost due north. If any one will takes terrestrial globe, and passing a cord from the Azures to the Pacific on the eastern side of Japan draw the cord tight athwart the globe's surface, he will find that, it passes nearer the North Pole, and not 011 the American, but on the Asiatic side. So that if the shortest sea-passage from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific were to be sought, the natural course wool! be to s..ii round the shores o:Norway, Lapland, and North-Russia, not 011 a north-westerly route past Greenland. Nevertheless, attempt after attempt was made to effect a North-Westerly passage while searceley any Arctic seamen sailed towards or beyond Spitsbergen except with the object of reaching the North Pols from that side. Indeed, it would smieely be going too far to say that Professor Xordenkjold's voyage in the v ega was absolutely the first the special object of which was to effect a ISorth-Caslerly passage from the Atlantic to the l'acilic. The actual time occupied in reaching the N nth l'acilic atibrds an inadequate idea of the possible advantages of this mule for certain special commercial purposes. The Vega which sailed from Gothenburg on July +, IS7*,passed Lk'hring Straits 011 July 20 last, having thus been more than a year in editing the North-East passage, lint after completing the m Ist difficult part if the passa.ru and ran,ding the treaded "ape Chelynskv, which alone j|' all the Asiatic capes had not been doubled by ilusshn explorers, tie: Vega wasdetained 204 days, on July IS hist, in latitude 07.7 N. and longitii 1 • 173.2+ \V.; and it is known tliat ha i reached this spot two days earlier, winc.i but for accidental delays she certainly would have done, she could have passed Uehring Straits but''■ re the end of September, I.S7D. Toe time during which Professor Xordouskjdld was thus delayed was not wasted, however. 'le there made the acquaintance of the Tschntshers, or Tsehutshes, a race resembling the Esipiimax, and supposed to have come frjm Greenland, though on what ground dies not yet appear. The fsehutshes are described as a simple and kindly people, who dress in rein-deer-skin and supply the inner man with seal-blubber. The women tattoo their faces, but the men, being a stage more advanced from savagery, h.ave their l'ucus untouched by the tatooing instruments. Their language is dillicult, but the visitors managed to master it and even made a TsohutscueSwcdisb lexicon containing more than 300 words. Leaving this interesting settlement on July 18, the voyagers passed Bohring Straits in two days, and, after touching at St, Lawrence Island, visited Behring Island, off the east coast of Kamchatka, whoro _ they received their first news from Ettronu through the resident agent of the Alaska Trading Company, Here, also, they discovered the fossil remains (according to one account, but n_ live specimen according to another) of the gigantic marine mammal the Rhythm Stelleri, which was snpposod to have been extinct for more than a century. In 1741 Dehring found the island named after him inhabited by large numbers of these creatures; and it seems probable enough that, instead of being extinct, they have simply migrated from a spot whero men would not lot them live in peace to some more secluded region in the Arotio sea. Whether tho success of the Vega will prove commercially useful may 1)0 doubtful. Tho first attempts to use the western half tho routo for commercial purposes have failed, as wo have already mentioned elsewhere. Professor NoruVnskjbld himself considers that the Northrliiistern passage can be readily and safely traversed BO soon us a little moro experience, Ims been obtained of these northern seas; and should this

| prove to bo the case the mouth .of |the L-'na—si liver which is described as tapping Central Siberia—may bo occupied one of these days by important commercial stations. It is not likely that merchant vessels will often attempt the NorthEastern passage itself; but they may perhaps visit ports on either side of (Jape (Jhelynsky. In good seasons the cape ■ might bo rounded and the Lena visited 1 from the European side, the North-Last-I ern passage being completed in tho following year. lint such a journey could hardly be profitable in a mercantile sense. Possibly the journey of the Vega will bear more important fruit in a way as yet J little considered. It is well known that [ meteorologists are anxious to have a I series of observatories at several important points around the polar regions. I Count Wiiraok nod Lieutenant Weypiwld have pioposed for this purpose [stations on the north coast of Spitsbergen ami Aovu Zembla, in the neighbourhood of the North Cape, tho mouth of the Lena, New Siberia, Point Barrow, on the north-east of Behring Straits, the west coast of Greenland and the east coast of Greenland in about 7."i of north latitude. It is generally admitted by meteorologists that if the far-seeing scheme of AYilczek and Weyprccht were carried out a great advance would soon be recognised in the accuracy of weather predictions, and probably a considerable increase in the range of time over which the predictions of meteorologist would extend. It kas been remarked by Mr. Scott, the director of the Meteorological t. ilice, that one good station on Spitsbergen or Jan llayen Island would be Worth nil.re thai': ten in Western Europe. Now, Professor Nordenskjbld's successful journey around one-half, at least, of the circuit which meteorologists would like tn see occupied by observatories "has dene much to show how readily the necessary stations could be occupied, : and, in a sense, garrisoned. Telegraphic; j communication could rapidly be ar-1 ranged, not only with the spots which I he visited before rounding ('ape Chelyn- , sky, but with mouth i/f tlie Lena, Point Barrow, and other stations east of that j dreaded promontory. If the Professor is right in supposing that the north-eastern passage can lie safely ejected in ordinary seasons by seamen who have become familiar with the nature of the regions to be traversed, then it will bo easy to provide for the necessary changes of garrison all aijng the line of meteorological environment. The expense of such a system of observation may be considerable in itself; but any system which | doubled tlvj range of time over which our weather predictions new, extend, to say luthing of an increase in tho range cf surface for which predictions were issued, would be of incalculable value, Apart from this, a system of meteorological supervision in Arctic regions might very readily be made the basis of commercial arrangements suitable to those frozen seas.—Times.