POLAR GEOGRAPHY BROWN 361 



In the Antarctic, where I have pointed out the pioneer explorer 

 still has ample scope, long-distance flights may be of some value. The 

 ice cap offers the prospect of better landing than the pack ice. Yet 

 in view of its great expanse there is even less chance of retreating on 

 foot^fter a forced descent. The Argentine aviators, A. Pauly and 

 Zanni, propose to fly across Antarctica from Graham Land on the 

 Weddell Sea to Victoria Land or the Barrier edge on the Koss Sea 

 next December. Their success depends largely on the efficiency of 

 their machine. A forced landing will probably mean their total dis- 

 appearance, but a successful flight will certainly give some broad 

 results of value, although tantalizingly vague and inconclusive, as to 

 the structure of Antarctic. An American flying expedition under 

 Commander R. E. Byrd to the Ross Sea has also been announced. 



Probably some reliable form of mechanical traction for sledges 

 would be more serviceable than aviation in serious exploration. Dogs 

 are useful for traction to men who are accustomed to manage them, 

 but their area of action is limited by the amount of food that they 

 require. Man haulage gives longer range, but is terribly destructive 

 of human energy. Machine-drawn sledges would require fuel, but 

 the carriage of light fuel would not seriously impede their radius 

 of use. The whole problem of mechanical transport really turns 

 on its reliability. So far its use has been a failure. But we live in 

 an age of rapidly increasing mechanical skill. Yet is it ever safe 

 to put absolute trust in a machine ? 



There must be risk in all exploration, but can one ever reduce the 

 risk of the motor sledge breaking down to reasonable limits? The 

 wear and tear is tremendous, far greater than in a motor gliding 

 smoothly through the air. On a short journey a breakdown would 

 be merely a nuisance; on a long journey, far from the base, it might 

 well be fatal. In short, while a man knows his own capacity he can 

 never have an equal faith in the capacity of the machine. The use 

 of motor sledges is bound to come, and they will be very useful, but 

 undoubtedly they will introduce an element of uncertainty in the 

 journey. They will increase the chance of success as well as the risk 

 of failure. 



Quite apart from means of transport, polar exploration has under- 

 gone changes in recent years. Equipment is better than it was of old ; 

 food is better preserved, more varied, and more in accordance with 

 human requirements. But the greatest change has come in the pass- 

 ing of the fear of the Arctic. Men who know the polar regions are 

 no longer frightened of the cold and darkness and no longer shun 

 the food resources of polar lands and seas. The terror that the Arctic 

 inspired was a legacy of medieval superstition; the outcome, like 

 all superstitions, of ignorance. Before Europeans had ever experi- 

 enced a polar night, they thought that it must be fatal. The old 



