1909.] RE-EXPLORE WILKES LAND. 37 



mer and Alexander S. Palmer explored a large section of the Ant- 

 arctic Ocean, west of the Shetlands. 



In 1839 and 1840, the United States Exploring Expedition, under 

 the command of Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, U. S. N., made two 

 voyages to the Antarctic. The first was in West Antarctica, to the 

 Shetlands and along the coast of Palmer Land. The second was in 

 East Antarctica. Starting from Australia, in January and February, 

 1840, Wilkes discovered the coast of East Antarctica and sailed along 

 it for about 1500 miles. To this coast he gave the name of " The 

 Antarctic Continent," but geographers have gradually and rightfully 

 renamed it " Wilkes Land." While Wilkes did not see the whole 

 coast of Antarctica, yet he saw enough to make it certain that there 

 was a continental land mass at the South Pole. Geographers have 

 hardly even yet, and Americans in general have certainly not, real- 

 ized what a great discovery Wilkes made. There have been only 

 three continents discovered since ancient times, America, Australia 

 and Antarctica, and Americans ought to be proud that the discovery 

 of the third was made by Americans. 



Shortly after Wilkes came the sealer Smiley, of whom there are 

 unfortunately almost no records. There is one, however, hitherto 

 unnoticed, which is interesting. On a globe, manufactured by Gil- 

 man Joslin in Boston and copyrighted by Charles Copley in Wash- 

 ington in 1852, which is now in the Academy of Natural Sciences 

 in Philadelphia, is charted " South Shetland " and south of this in 

 about 69° S. lat. " L of Alexander," and in about 72° S. lat. 

 " Smilies L" Smiley is known to have gone far south, but whether 

 he actually went beyond Alexander Land, or was only the second 

 to resight the Russian discovery, can, however, not be inferred from 

 this. In our generation many voyages have been made by Amer- 

 ican sealers, Captains Osbon, Eldred, Glass, Buddington, Lynch, 

 Fuller and others, principally to various parts of West Antarctica 

 in a search for fur seal skins. 



To-day, however, America is no longer doing her share in the 

 exploration of the continent discovered by Americans. Other 

 nations are doing all the work and reaping all the glory. The 

 " Frozen White Continent " remains the one great unexplored area 

 on the surface of the earth, and towards the end of the nineteenth 



