SEEKING THE POLE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 52, 26 March 1909, Page 4

SEEKING THE POLE.

FAST ACHIEVEMENTS. CAPTAIN SCO'iTS RECORDS. , In view of the return of the British Antarctic expedition, a. resume ol past achievements by explorers in the Antarctic circle will be of .interest :

The Southern ocean was lirsl discovered by Fernando de Magalhaeus, or, as he is commonly called, Magellan, u. Spanish navigator, who, with live ships and 220 men, sailed on September 20, 151!), for the East Indies. Thence he coasted down the eastern shores of South America, discovered and passed through the straits which now bear his name, and next year burst into the South Pacific Ocean. Having rounded the southernmost point of South American comment, Magellan bore away north into warine-i seas, and discovered the Philippine Islands. In an encounter with the natives :of the island of MaUin he was killed m 1521, and, like many another intrepid explorer, never returned home to relate the story of his wonderful discoveries in unknown seas. CAPTAIN COOK.

Magellan only went as far south as the 55th parallel of latitude, and to Caplain Cook was left, the honor of being the iirst to cross the Antarctic Circle. After Cook's visit to New South Wales a strong belief was emeriaiiieu uy scientific men that a huge continent, called I'ena Australia incognita, lay to the south of Australia. He started with two vessels, the Resolution and the Adventure, in- search of the unknown world,

ami in 1773 crossed the Antarctic circle. Xext year he penetrated as far south as ildeg. lOinin., iu longitude 100 west. As he found no land after circumnavigating the globe in high latitudes, the unknown southern continent was eliminated from the maps of the day. •It was a little more than half a century later thai euptnru John Briscoe, in the service of Messrs Eudcrliy, of London, first proved the existence of the! long-sought continent. On February 27,1 IS3I, Briscoe found land in latitude liol cleg, aimiu. south, and longitude 47deg. 2Uiiiin. east, and was the first man to set foot on the Antarctic Continent. Skirting the coast he found the land ran cast and west for 200 miles, and named it Enderby Land,-after nis employer. Nearly twelve months later, on February 15, 1332, he sighted more laud in latitude 07deg. lmiii. south, and longitude 71deg. 4Smhi. west, which he named Graham's Land. Just eight years earlier Waddcll had penetrated to latitude 74deg. south, in longitude 35deg. west, but missed by a few degrees the laud which Briscoe discovered.

bill JAMES KOSS.

in 183!) Captain Sir James Clark Boss was sent liy the British Covernment un a. voyage of discovery to the South i'olar regions. On January 8, 1841, Boss discovered land in latitude 70dcg. 41 mill, south, and longitude 172dcg. SUiuiii. east, and followed up the coast line for eight degrees, giving the country the name ul Victoria land. In about 78deg. sotilli he found an active volcano, 12.00l)ft high, which he called Mount Erebus, and an extinct volcano, which received the name of Mount Terror, lioih these mountains were then supposed to be on the mainland, and have since hcen proved to be situated on an island. The year before Boss' expedition il'Urville, iu the French exploring vessel Astrolabe, found land in b'Sdeg. south ami UtMeg. east, which lie called Adelie Land. This is supposed to be part of the great continent to which Victoria Land belongs. A glance at a map showing all these discoveries will prove almost conclusively that an enormous continent, exists, far larger tiiau Australia, and much higher. It possesses several high mountains, besides a vast elevated plateau, UOOUft high. For the next half century scarcely any attempt was made to.soive the mysteries of the great frozeu southern regions, but during the last ten or twelve years many scientilie expeditions added much , to our knowledge of the Antarctic. UTIIEII EXPEDITIONS. On September 28, 18!)4, Leonard Kristea~en, in the Norwegian steam whaler Antarctic, left Melbourne, and touching at ilobart, sailed again on October 3, 181)4, for the south, Beaching (Jape Adare on January l(i, 18' Jo, Kristeiiseu lauded at Kobertson Bay, being the lirst party that ever set foot on Victoria Land, iu latitude 74deg. south and longitude 173deg. east. Another Norwegian was the next to visit the great lone land of the South. An expedition equipped by Sir Ueurgc Xewnes sailed from London in the Southern Cross, Captain B. Jensen, on August 22, 181)8. This expedition, which was led by C. E. Borcligrevinck, tiie well-known explorer, reached Cape Adare on February 17, 1811' J. In the following month Jiorehgievniek ascended the high land at Cape Adare, which he estimated at 3U7oft above sea level. He also visited Duke of York Island and (leike Island, and penetrated as fur south as latitude 78deg. oOmin., the most southerly point ever reached by man up to that time. By his observations JSurchgroviiick fixed the position 01 tile magnetic South l'ole at latitude 73deg. 2Uiiiin. south, longitude 14(ideg. east. One member of the expedition, N. Hansen, died, and was buried in the cold inhospitable regions. The expedition returned to Stewart island in April, 1!)U0. A Belgian expedition, in charge of De (jerlache, left Antwerp ia the Bclgica on August lU, 181)7, and spent a year exploring the Anlartic region, returning m 18!)!). THE DISCOVERY'S VOYAUE. The last and most important Anlartic expedition, and one which will still, no doubt, be fresh iu the minds of most people in the Duminiun, was that undertaken by Captain R. F. Scott, 8.N.8., in .ue British snip Discovery. Lieutenant Sliaeklelon was a member of the intrepid party of explorers who accompanied Captain Scott on that occasion. J he Discovery sailed from Lytlciton on December 21, laul, and from Port Chalmers, her liual port of call, three days later. At that time the nearest point to the South l'ole that had been attained was 770 miles, but Captain Scott got to within 451) miles of it. T Inexact geographic point at which his •'furthest south" was situated was 82 degrees 17 minutes. His journey thus far towards the goal was accomplished for a distance of 381) miles from the Discovery over the ice with dog sledges, tiie undertaking occupying 0!) days. Captain Scott would undoubtedly have achieved more, but for the fact that his dogs collapsed and his food' supplies gave out. He was thus driven back on his provision depots. The story of the Discovery's sojourn iu the Anlartic regions is full of romance. The second winter was more severe than Hie lirst. The temperature went down to minus 07.7 in .luue, ami a heavy southerly blizzard buried Hie ship in Hie drift. Captain Scott, under the circumstances, decided that it was hopeless to reach further south than lie had done the previous year, and so conlined his exploration to the southeast, and to ice-capped Victoria Land, on the west. The party that went southwest, under Lieutenant Bavins, after a coutiauou- struggle iigaiii.-t- distressing weather reached the latitude HO south. Here the straits were found to contain immense glaciers. Tliroiigliout the whole expedition of the Discovery important data was collected as to temperatures, anil magnetic observations made. The value of the various discoveries iiiu.le to science was inestimable. 'The observations taken, foi- instance, showed Unit there were no appreciable dill'eieiiv;'s ill the level of the ice barrier, and us far as could be ascertained tiieie were no elevations of aav kind. There were however,'a number of subsidences of snow-crust. Observations at tin' base of operations were taken continuously. The Discovery expedition discovered probably the 'only fossils yet fouid in Antarctic .proper. These fossils were the remains of plant leaves, and had au important bearing un climatology. They were embedded in sand stone, and were obtained at a remarkably high altitude. Cudoubted glacier marks were found at a good height above the barrier, and niorraines were found on Cape Boyds, loflOft above the sea. Important biological discoveries were also made. The fossils referred to were taken by scientists to prove that they had grown in a much milder climate than is now found in that region. It was thought probable that they belonged to the]

niioceiie age. Another important result of the Discovery's exploration was to determine that the glaciers and ice of the Antartic formerly extended further than now.

Of all expeditions towards the South Pole, that of the Discovery ,s looked upon as having achieved the most interesting results. Land was oliesrved by Captain Scott to the extreme eastward of Rosa Sea, aud this he named after our present King. The winter quarters of the Discovery were near the volcanoes Erebus and Terror, both found to be on an island. Captain Scott beat lloss' "farthest south" by about 200 geographical miles, turning northward from a point in latitude 82.17. One of the novel revelations made by Captain Scott's explorations was a low ice cliff, running east by west, in latitude 78. This does not, apparently, represent lan<l ( but a nearly level and possibly stationary mass, with resemblance to a glacier. Scott made his most notable sledge journey over tile surface of this ice-covered strait, or glacier.

A FKKXCII EXPEDITION'. A French expedition, under the com-' imuiil of Dr. dean Charcot, is at present exploring the Antarctic. It sailed six or seven months ago in the l'oimpioi ['as from St. Malo, France, for (Iraham Land, and will endeavour to reach Alexander Land. Dr. \\". S. Bruce, of the Scottish Occamigraphical Laboratory, is said to be planning a Scottish expedition to the same region, and a great expedition is nlso being organised by 11. Arctowski, of the former llelgiau expedition.