452 ANNUAL KEPOKT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1908. 



M. de Gerlache himself and by other earlier explorers.*^ Our aim 

 will be to describe the characteristics common to the various expe- 

 ditions toward the South Pole since 1898 and to note the special work 

 of each. 



Several of the cruises here described were munificently equipped, 

 especially that of the Discovery^ an English expedition, and the Ger- 

 man expedition in the Gauss. The latter expedition was carefully 

 prepared in the minutest detail in 1895 under the patronage of the 

 Emperor and the great scientific societies of Germany, and was 

 finally endowed with an appropriation of more than 1,100,000 marks 

 ($275,000). Several of the vessels engaged in south polar explora- 

 tion even when poorly equipped have achieved good results and lead 

 to a hope for great success from others more generously supported. 

 The Belgica^ for instance, was a small vessel of 244 tons, and M. de 

 Gerlache met all the expenses with 345,000 francs ($69,000). Doctor 

 Charcot had at his disposal for the Frangais only 450,000 francs 

 ($90,000), furnished by himself or collected after great efforts and 

 haste through gifts and subscriptions, without assistance from the 

 Government ; and it can be truly said, according to the explorer him- 

 self, that he could have completed the task attempted had he had 

 greater resources, and perhaps have taken better care of his scientific 

 instruments and other equipment. Such an avowal teaches at least 

 a lesson, referring, as it does, to an expedition that toiled so hard for 

 the sake of science and for the fame of France. Nevertheless, all 

 the expeditions have imitated each other in the care taken in re- 

 cruiting the personnel, especially the staffs of specialists, some of 

 them distinguished men. They have been baffled neither by diffi- 

 culties nor dangers in recording observations which were extended as 

 long as practicable with great accuracy. All the expeditions, with- 

 out exception, have wintered once or twice in the ice fields. Finally, 

 thanks to the generous supports of the governments and of the scien- 

 tific societies, the results of their work have been published. 



Regarding the difficulties in making scientific observations, which 

 in some respects are even greater than in the arctic region, we shall 

 call attention to only a few. Danger to navigation is always present 

 in those rough and foggy seas, ever covered with floating ice. The 

 great extent of the compact ice fields and the uneven range of icy 

 coasts prevents near approach to the mainland and causes constant 

 movement of the great fields of ice, often making it impossible to 

 identify localities already known. All this creates a thousand 



"■ See de Gerlache : Note sur les expeditions qui ont jjrecede celle de la Belgica. 

 Bull. Soc. roy. beige de Geogr., 1900, pp. 365-531. De Gerlache, Doctor Charcot : 

 Introductions de leurs recits de voyage, cited below. Pariset (E.) : Vers la terre 

 polaire australe. Mem. Acad. Sci. et B. Lettres de Lyon. 1905, pp. 247-374. 

 And chiefly the classic book by G. Murray : Antarctic Manual, London, 1901. 



