38 BALCH— WHY AMERICA SHOULD [April 22, 



century, it began to exercise the irresistible fascination of the 

 unknown on the thoughts of geographers and explorers. And 

 nobly have Europeans answered the call. A Belgian expedition, 

 under de Gerlache, explored the strait which bears his name, and 

 traced by soundings a long piece of the continental shelf of West 

 Antarctica. A mixed expedition, under Dr. Borchgrevink, wintered 

 in Victoria Land. A German expedition, under Dr. von Drygalski, 

 discovered a new portion of the coast of East Antarctica, Kaiser 

 Wilhelm II. Land, and confirmed the existence of Wilkes' Termina- 

 tion Land. A Swedish expedition, under Dr. Nordensk'j'old, ex- 

 plored and charted the eastern coast of the northern mainland of 

 West Antarctica, the unnamed stretch of which, between King Oscar 

 11. Land and Joinville Island, should certainly bear the name of 

 " Nordensjbld Land." A Scotch expedition, under Dr. Bruce, 

 sailed and sounded in the Weddell Sea, and discovered an unknown 

 part of the coast of Antarctica, " Coats Land." An English expedi- 

 tion, under Captain Scott, explored and charted Victoria Land and 

 discovered King Edward VII. Land. A French expedition, under 

 Dr. Charcot, reexplored Gerlach Strait and the outlying archipelago, 

 and sighted, south of Graham Land, a new piece of coast, which 

 Charcot called " Loubet Land," but which might well be renamed 

 " Charcot Land." An English expedition, under Lieutenant Shack- 

 elton, last January reached, it is reported by cable, 88° 23' S. lat., 

 162° E, long., and also the South Magnetic Pole, 72° 25' S. lat., 

 154° E. long. And, at the present moment, a French expedition, 

 under Dr. Charcot, is wintering somewhere in West Antarctica. 



Is it not time for America to once more put her shoulder to the 

 wheel and help science dispel ignorance? And if she does, what 

 ought she to do? She ought to reexplore Wilkes Land, and get 

 a more accurate chart of its shores. Why? First, because Wilkes 

 Land is an American discovery; second, because little is known 

 about it ; and third, because so much doubt has been cast on Wilkes 

 and Americans by some foreign geographers. 



I say but little is known of Wilkes Land. For some reason 

 explorers have fought shy of its icy shores. The French admiral 

 Dumont d'Urville landed in one bay of its coast ; the English sealer 

 Balleny caught a glimpse of it at one spot ; and the German Dr. von 



