230 



KNOWLEDGE 



[OCTOHER, 1901. 



not apparent at first siglit, since the story of Perseus 

 and Andromeda, with which the Sea^-Monster is con- 

 nect-cd, gives no record of a stream or river, unless we 

 consider that the const-ellation refers to the flood, to 

 cause the abatement of which Andromeda was sacrificed. 

 If this he so. then no doubt Eridanus stands for the 

 Great Deep of the Primeval Chaos of which the Sea- 

 Monster typified the indwelling principle. Proctor has 

 seen in the constellations surrounding Ara a note of 

 the Hebrew account of the great Deluge, and it is 



? CYCNU5 







^^>^' 





Tho j\Iiain<,'lit 8kv loi- Lc.iiduii, 19()1, OilohcT 4. 



possible that in this flood of Eridanus which the Sear 

 Monster pours forth from his mouth, there may equally 

 be a reminiscence of the same great flood which figures 

 so largely in Babylonian tradition. 



Only two of the stars of the constellation bear special 

 names in common use to-day — Alpha Eridani, a bright 

 star far below our English horizon, is now known as 

 Achernar, meaning " the end of the river." In 

 Ptolemy's Catalogue the star with the corresponding 

 title is our Theta, a star some 170 further north. But 

 apparently it was felt the constellation lost its meaning 

 unless it was prolonged downwards to the horizon, and 

 hence as new stai's came into view with southern ex- 

 ploration, the constellation was prolonged to within 32° 

 of the southern pole. Beta Eridani, the brightest star 

 in the part of the constellation familiar to us, and close 

 to Rigel, the bright star on Orion's knee, is sometimes 

 known as Cursa, the " footstool " or " throne " of Orion. 



PROFESSOR BARON VON NORDENSKJOLD. 



Professor Bai'on Adolf Erik von Nordenskjold, the 

 celebrated Arctic explorer, died very suddenly — he was 

 in fact working in his laboratory on the day of his 

 death — on August 12th last. Nordenskjold was born on 

 November 18th, 1832, a.t Helsingfors, the capital of 

 Finland, where his Swedish ancestors had settled. His 

 father, Nils Gustav Nordenskjold, was a distinguished 

 mineralogist, and it was probably during expeditions 



with his father to the Ural mountains and other regions 

 that young Nordenskjold first acquired his taste for 

 travel, as well as for mineralogy. In 1849 he entered 

 the university of Helsingfors, devoting himself chiefly 

 to the study of mineralogy and geology. His political 

 views being considered as unorthodox by the Russian 

 authorities, he was forced to leave Finland, and in 1867 

 settled at Stockholm, but was permitted to return to 

 Helsingfors in 1862. In 1858 he first visited the Polar 

 regions, accompanying Torrell, as geologist, to Spitz- 

 bergen. In 1861 he again visited Spitzbergen with 

 Torrell, while 1864 found him once more in that arctic 

 island, the southern portion of which he mapped as 

 well as completing the preliminary part of a sui-vey for 

 the measurement of an arc of meridian. His firet 

 expedition on a lai'ge scale was undertaken in the Sofia 

 in 1868, when the high latitude of 81° 42' N. wa,s 

 reached. Mr. Oscar Dickson, whose name has been 

 always associated with that of Nordenskjold as providing 

 the funds for his most important expeditions, determined 

 on a new expedition, which was to winter on the south- 

 cast coast of Spitzbergen, and thence to push nortli in 

 sledges over the ice. With this in view the explorer 

 proceeded to Greenland in 1870 with the object of test- 

 ing and comparing the iitility of dogs and reindeer as 

 beasts of traction. In 1872 the new polar expedition 

 at lengtli started, but the ice conditions were estra- 

 orilinarily unfavourable, the reindeer — chosen in 

 preference to dogs — escaped, and Nordenskjold was 

 further handicapped by having the crews of some 

 frozen-in wahnis sloops depending upon him for sub- 

 sistence. However, some good scientific work was dene, 

 and extensive journej'S made over the inland ice of 

 North-east Land. Nothing daunted by this failure, the 

 explorer, with the help of Mr. Dickson, worked for the 

 next few years on the exploration of tho Siberian Polar 

 seas. This work culminated in his world-renowned 

 voyage in the Vega, when the north-east passage was 

 first accomplished. Starting from Tromso on July 21st, 

 1878, the Ver/a, accompanied by the Lena, passed 

 through the Kara Sea, and on August 19th, rounded 

 Cape Cheliuskin, the northernmost point of Asia. At the 

 Lena delta the Ver/a parted company with her consci-t, 

 which sailed up the mighty river, tho name of which 

 she bore. Proceeding slowly through increasing masses 

 of ice the Vega continued her voyage alone, and was 

 eventually icebound at the end of September off Pitlekai 

 in 67° 07' N., 123° E. During the long winter and 

 spring the explorers carried on scientific observations, 

 and it was not until Jiily 18th, 1879, after 294 days' 

 imprisonment, that they were again able to weigh anchor. 

 Two days later the eastern extremity of Asia was 

 rounded, and, proceeding down the straits, Yokohama 

 was reached on September 2nd. On his return to Europe 

 Nordenskjold was greeted with the utmost enthusiasm. 

 He was created a Baron in the Swedish Peerage, and 

 many other honours, which the successful accomplish- 

 ment of his adventurous voyage deserved, were bestowed 

 upon him. In 1883 he undertook a second expedition 

 to Greenland, after which he devoted himself to the 

 study of Antarctic exploration. Although advancing 

 years precluded him from visiting these regions himself, 

 it must have been highly satisfactory to him to know 

 that his nephew — Dr. Otto Nordenskjijld — was about 

 to lead an expedition to the Antarctic regions. Besides 

 the explorations for which he is chiefly famed. Baron 

 Nordenskjold's researches in mineralogy and geology 

 were important, and he sat as a Liberal 'for many years 

 in the Lower House of the Swedish Diet. 



