June 26, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



1021 



pedition were about to proceed in a northerly 

 direction along the coast with the intention 

 01 reaching Cape York by way of Melville 

 Bay, the shores of which are quite uninhab- 

 ited, and which have never yet been explored. 

 The object of the journey was to study the 

 tribes of Esquimaux. Dr. Bertelsen was 

 starting southwards through the Danish dis- 

 tricts of Umnak, Godthavn and Egedesminde 

 in order to collect material for his book on the 

 diseases of Greenland. He purposed meeting 

 the Cape York expedition on its way home 

 in South Greenland this summer. Several 

 months' provisions for six men and one 

 month's food for six teams of dogs (ten or 

 twelve dogs te a team) were deposited last 

 summer at the most northern point of the 

 Danish coast. All the members of the expe- 

 dition were well when the letters left. 



A CABLEGRAM from Cape Colony to the daily 

 papers says : The German Antarctic steamer 

 Gauss has arrived here and will remain about 

 three weeks to refit and then will proceed 

 homeward. The vessel shows outward signs of 

 her experiences in the ice. The expedition 

 has been a great success and not a single 

 casualty occurred among those on board 

 throughout her stay in the Antarctic regions. 

 After sailing from Cape Town, December 7, 

 1901, the Gauss called at Kerguelen Island, 

 where a party was landed. The vessel reached 

 floating ice on February 14, 1902, and was ice- 

 bound on February 22. The expedition dis- 

 covered a new land, which they named Em- 

 peror William II. Land. It was covered with 

 ice, with the exception of an inactive volcano. 

 The expedition was icebound here for almost 

 a year, the ship being fast in pack ice. The 

 crew went into winter quarters, and many 

 scientific investigations were carried out dur- 

 ing this period. Several expeditions with dogs 

 and sleighs left the winter quarters, but found 

 the season too advanced, and their progress 

 was hampered by fearful snow storms and 

 darkness. The Gauss made her way out of 

 the ice with northward flowing currents, and, 

 leaving the ice April 8 of this year, she pro- 

 ceeded to Durban, passing Kerguelen Island 

 and calling at St. Paul and New Amsterdam 



Islands. The expedition enjoyed good health, 

 and there was no sickness, accident or death 

 among its members. Professor Drygalski 

 speaks in the highest terms of the vessel both 

 at sea and in the ice and as regards its equip- 

 ment. There were enough provisions on board 

 to last the expedition another two years. 

 There was no trouble with the dog teams. The 

 results of the expeditions are briefly: The 

 discovery of a new land in the polar circle and 

 many special investigations. Specimens will 

 be sent on ahead to Berlin. The expedition 

 did not sight the British Antarctic expedition 

 steamer Discovery, now icebound in the Ant- 

 tarctic regions, nor the ship Morning, which 

 was sent to the Discovery's assistance. 



The Philadelphia College of Physicians has 

 passed a resolution requesting its fellows to 

 subscribe for the Index Medicus, published 

 by the Carnegie Institution. The Carnegie 

 Institution has appropriated $10,000 annually 

 for its support, but this sum and the sub- 

 scriptions so far received will not suffice. 



The fourteenth annual meeting of the Mu- 

 seums Association will be held in Aberdeen, 

 Scotland, during the week beginning July 13, 

 under the presidency of Dr. F. A. Bather, of 

 the British Museum, who opens the confer- 

 ence with an address at 10 a.m., on Tuesday, 

 July 14. Meetings for the reading and dis- 

 cussion of papers will occupy the mornings 

 of Tuesday, "Wednesday and Thursday, while 

 there have been arranged excursions to Bal- 

 moral and Dundee, visits to the Art Gallery 

 and Museums of the city, and various social 

 festivities. A special attempt is being made 

 to induce museum oiBcials from the continent 

 of Europe to attend the meeting, and it is 

 particularly hoped that some American visit- 

 ors to Great Britain may find it possible to 

 be present. Some museum curators may be 

 passing through on their way to the Interna- 

 tional Geological Congress at Vienna, and we 

 are requested to state that the presence of 

 those or any others interested ' in museum 

 questions would be warmly welcomed at Aber- 

 deen. Any who propose to avail themselves 

 of the invitation should, if possible, commu- 

 nicate beforehand with the secretary of the 



