AMERICAN DISCOVERERS. ANTARCTIC CONTINENT 
299 
are most admirable and have won uni- 
versal esteem and applause. One reads 
with pleasure the plain, straightforward 
story of his onward march and final suc- 
cess, told with unfeigned modesty, and 
further notes with intense satisfaction 
the absence of any assertive superiority 
over his friendly rivals, whose fortunes 
he views with a manly and generous 
spirit. 
And so the whole world unites in hom- 
age of the highest character to this Nor- 
wegian sailor for his contributions to 
knowledge — contributions gained by 
such personal sacrifices of physical, 
financial, and self-denying character. 
Another page of Antarctic history — 
which, though supplementary to the at- 
tainment of the pole, is of absorbing 
interest, especially to Americans — was 
written a week after Amundsen's return. 
A cablegram from Hobart, Tasmania, 
dated March 12, 1912, ran as follows: 
''The Australian expedition ship Aurora, 
concerning which there had been some 
anxiety, returned to Hobart today, after 
landing Dr. Douglas Mawson, the leader 
of the expedition and of the party, Jan- 
uary 19, on Adelie Land, and another 
party under Dr. White (Wild ?), Feb- 
ruary 19, on Termination Land, discov- 
ered by the American Captain Wilkes, 
in 1840, on the edge of the glacier." 
Among Antarctic explorers, Amund- 
sen and Mawson would be the last to fail 
in homage to and in just appreciation of 
the invaluable w'ork done during the past 
century by their predecessors. That 
work made possible the magnificent suc- 
cesses of Amundsen in reaching the 
physical Pole in 191 1, and of Mawson's 
attainment of the South Magnetic Pole, 
in 1909, in 72° 25' S. latitude, 155° 16' 
E. longitude, and also his later scientific 
expedition to Wilkes' Southern Conti- 
nent. 
ENUGHTTiNMIiNT ESSENTIAL TO 
NATIONAL HONOR 
History reveals many instances in 
which not only individuals but also na- 
tions have failed to receive, or been 
temporarily deprived of. honor due for 
important additions to human knowledge 
01 advances in the march of civilization. 
When recorded history began, there 
were four continents unknown whose 
subsequent discoveries have been of un- 
surpassing geographic importance. As 
regards the two Americas, the rightful 
honor pertains to Spain, as is universally 
knowm. In the case of Australia, pri- 
ority is unknown, claims being made by 
France, Holland, Portugal, and Spain. 
With reference to Antarctica, through 
misinformation and neglect in the past, 
our countrymen have failed to pay "the 
homage due to American talent." The 
object of this brief memoir is to clearly 
and concisely present such facts as may 
conserve to America the rightful honor 
of both the original discovery of Antarc- 
tica as well as of first ascertaining and 
making known its definite existence as a 
continent. 
Australian energy and courage, by the 
recent occupation of Termination Land 
for scientific research, have thus put an 
end to the anti-American campaign of 
many years' duration. During this 
period American honor has sufi^ered 
from national neglect as well as from 
unwarranted assertions and disingenu- 
ous representations from foreign sources, 
thus beclouding the situation to Ameri- 
can discredit. Moreover, claims have 
been made which attribute to European 
activities that priority of Antarctic dis- 
coveries which rightfully pertains to 
American explorers. 
palmer's discovery of the ANTARCTIC 
CONTINENT IN 182I. 
The earliest phase of American Ant- 
arctic exploration was due to the ambi- 
tious energies of Connecticut whalers, 
whose commercial and professional in- 
stincts impelled them to seek an exten- 
sion of profitable sealing grounds. As 
is well known, the daring pioneer voy- 
ages of American fishermen successfully 
exploited in the 19th century even the 
most remote seas, and thus brought into 
our national coffers whaling products to 
the value of 332 millions of dollars from 
1804 to 1876. 
The discovery of the sealing grounds 
of the South Shetlands (see map, page 
308) promptly attracted a fleet of New 
England whalers, which established its 
