CHAPTER III 



EXPLORING THE GREAT CONTINENT 



Period 1897- 1907 



ylFTER the return of Ross from the Antarctic in 

 jCx. 1843. pubHc interest centered in North Polar 

 regions. Sir John FrankHn, who had, as governor of 

 the colony, helped Ross materially in Tasmania, took 

 command in 1845 of a very large and well equipped 

 expedition of 129 men to explore the Northwest 

 Passage. Not a soul ever returned, and no accurate 

 knowledge of their fate was learned until 1859. The 

 Antarctic has luckily shown no tragedies to compare 

 with this. In South Polar seas the Norwegian and 

 Scotch whalers penetrated both the Weddell and Ross 

 seas in search of whales. In 1893, Larsen discovered 

 Foyn's Land on the southeast coast of Graham Land, 

 while Bruce and Murdoch made their first voyages in 

 the adjoining seas. Bull and Borchgrevinck made the 

 first landing on Cape Adare in January, 1895, though 

 their whaling was not successful. 



In 1897 took place the first expedition in which 

 scientific investigation ranked as importantly as the 

 charting of new lands. The Belgian, Gerlache, gath- 

 ered a cosmopolitan crew, many of whom rose to fame 

 in later years. Amundsen, the Norwegian sailor. Cook, 

 the American doctor, and Arctowski, the Polish cli- 



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