February 1, 1896. 



KNOWLEDGE 



90 



Of the three, perhaps Xansen's and Peary's are of the 

 greatest interest : the one for the boldest, and indeed the 

 most ingenious, dash ever made at the Pole, headed by a 

 man whose Norse blood and sound scientific reasoning gives 

 us the keenest belief that he will accomplish more nearly, if 

 not entirely, the aim of so many of his predecessors ; the 

 other because we know that it is headed by a man who 

 has done one of the most solid pieces of Arctic work yet 

 accomplished. We Britons, too — do we not watch with 

 eager interest the work of our countryman -Jackson, 

 who will, we feel confident, give us results which not 

 only we, but the whole world, will be proud of? Wellman, 

 too, we trust, will have better fortune next season ; and 

 Andree's unique resolve we hope will be profitable to 

 science. 



In looking at the history of Polar exploration, the 

 one thing that strikes us is the immense amount of work 

 done in the north compared with that done in the south ; 

 and the reason is not far to seek. The object of early 

 Arctic navigation was not to reach the Pole, but to 

 discover a shorter route to India by the North-East and 

 North-West Passages ; then there was the additional 

 interest which Russia and Britain had in delineating the 

 northern coasts of Europe, Asia, and America ; and, beyond 

 this, the desire to penetrate the unknown simply for the 

 sake of gaining knowledge of it. "And to what avail ? " it 

 is said. To what avail ! See the fleets of whalers and 

 sealers leaving Norway and Britain year after year, bringing 

 home the richest cargoes in the world. Behold, also, the 

 wealth of Siberia opened up to the great trading nations of 

 the world. But, more than this, consider the rich treasures 

 that science has gained, and the romance — the heroism — 

 these adventures have called forth. 



The history of the North Polar regions fills volumes, 

 but it is easy to give a brief outline of the history of the 

 South Polar regions. To Peru belongs the honour of 

 sending out the first Antarctic expedition, more than 

 three centuries ago. In 1507 the Governor sent out an 

 expedition under the command of his nephew, Alvaro 

 Mendaila, to discover '• Terra Australis Incognita ; " and 

 a second Peruvian expedition was sent out in 1605, and 

 discovered an island of the New Hebrides group in 1606. 



Dirk Gorrits, in the meantime, in 159iS, had set sail 

 from Amsterdam accompanied by a small fleet; and, being 

 separated from his companions by heavy weather, near the 

 Straits of Magellan, discovered some high land now known 

 as the South Shetlands. Gorrits and his crew were 

 eventually captured by the Spaniards. France was next 

 in the field. La Roche discovering the island of South 

 Georgia in 1075 ; and Kerguelen, in 1772, saw what he at 

 first believed to be the Antarctic continent, but returning in 

 the following year he found it to be only a small island. 

 This island now bears his name. Britain, however, was 

 the first nation to do any real work in the Antarctic, and 

 that work is associated with the name of Captain Cook. 

 He was the first to cross the Antarctic Circle in 1773, and, 

 crossing it again in 1774, he attained as high a latitude as 

 71° 15' S. In a second voyage he circumnavigated the 

 globe in high southern latitudes, twice crossing the Circle, 

 and was thus the first to confine the southern continent 

 within the Antarctic Circle. Cook described the terroi's 

 and inhospitality of these regions, and firmly believed that 

 no higher southern latitude would ever be attained. In 

 1.S19, William Smith, of Blyth, re-discovered the South 

 Shetlands, the discovery being confirmed by Bransfield in 

 the following year, who also sighted Bransfield Land. In 

 1820 the Russian Bellinghausen crossed the Antarctic 

 Circle, and attained the latitude of 70 S. in 1° ;!0' W. ; 

 he discovered Peter and Alexander Islands, then the most 



southerly land known. In the following year Powell 

 discovered the South Orkneys. In 1823 our brave and 

 distinguished countryman, Captain .James Weddell, 

 exceeded all former records, sailing as far south as 

 71= 15' S. in 31^ 17' W. Here, on the 20th of February, 

 he found a sea clear of field-ice, with only three icebergs 

 in ^^ew. 



.John Biscoe, in the service of Messrs. Enderby, was the 

 first to put foot on land within the Antarctic Circle ; this 

 was on Adelaide Island in 1831. It was he who discovered 

 the western coast of Cn-aham's Land, the Norwegians and 

 ourselves first seeing the eastern coast in 1893. Several 

 other masters saiHng under Messrs. Enderby made dis- 

 coveries, notably Balleny, who discovered Balleny Islands 

 and Sabrina Land. After these, D'UrviUe the Frenchman, 

 ; Wilkes the American, and Ross our own countryman, 

 dui'ing the years 1839-43, can alone be classed as Antarctic 

 explorers. The ChaUemjer paid a flying visit in 1874, and 

 in 1892-3 Norway and Scotland despatched a whaling fleet 

 to which was attached a scientific staff. And Norway has 

 been again to the fore in the last two seasons. Captain 

 Larsen, of the Jason, having added very considerably to 

 our knowledge of the eastern coast of Graham's Land ; 

 while Captain Svend Foyn's vessel, the Antarctic, has this 

 year reached the latitude of 74= S., the highest attained 

 since the time of Ross. A party from this vessel, led by 

 Mr. Borchgrevink, had the good fortune of being the first 

 ! to land upon the mainland discovered more than half a 

 century ago by our own countryman, Sir .James Ross. 



But of all the expeditions to the Antarctic regions that 

 of the Erebus and Terror, under the command of Sir James 

 Clark Ross, during the years 1839-43, is by far the most 

 important. With the most indomitable courage and per- 

 severance Ross crossed the Antarctic Ckcle in three 

 successive years. On two of these occasions he attained 

 far higher latitudes than any of his predecessors. He 

 discovered Victoria Land, the vast mountainous tract 

 extending away to 78° S., in the longitude of New Zealand, 

 terminating with Mount Erebus, which, from a height of 

 over twelve thousand feet, lights up the winter darkness of 

 the snowy desert. From this point in about 78 -' S. he sailed 

 along an icy barrier running eastward for three hundred 

 miles, the termination of the ice-cap of the great Antarctic 

 contment. In 1842-43 he visited the region of Erebus 

 and Terror Ciulf, lying to the south of Cape Horn, and 

 became entangled in impenetrable pack ; pushing farther 

 eastward, he again crossed the Circle, attaining a latitude 

 of 71 31' S., between Bellinghausen and Weddell's tracks. 

 Ross believed he could have lauded and travelled over the 

 continent, and had he had steam he would undoubtedly 

 have accomplished what with a sailing vessel was quite 

 impossible. 



P'Urville and Wilkes both did good work, and discovered 

 land south of Cape Horn and south of Australia in high 

 southern latitudes. 



And now it is suggested that these wintry realms should 

 again be thrown open to scientific investigation, and the 

 cry " Cui hoiio .' " has once more to be encountered. But 

 let us frankly confess at the outset that we do not intend 

 to lure on half-hearted supporters with the hope that such 

 an expedition may lead to any monetary gain, although 

 new channels for our commercial energy have been opened 

 up in other parts of the world where, not commerce, but 

 religion, science, and adventure have urged men and 

 women to fathom the unknown. We go forward as eager 

 enquirers, seeking to discover new truths and beauties 

 which nature is ready to reveal to us. 



No other part of the world olTers a wider field for original 

 research than the South Polar regi ins, and it is astonishing 



