218 The National Geographic Magazine 



phasize the work done by American 

 sailors in the Antarctics. It is not gen- 

 erally remembered that it was an Ameri- 

 can, Lieut. Charles Wilkes, of the U. S. 

 Navy, who first discovered the Antarc- 

 tic continent, whose area is twice that 

 of Europe. Lieutenant Wilkes, com- 

 manding the ' ' United States Exploring 

 Expedition " on a voyage around the 

 world, under orders from the Secretary 

 of the Navy, Hon. J. K. Paulding, 

 ' ' to penetrate within the Antarctic 

 region," sailed from Sydney, Australia, 

 December 26, 1839. His squadron 

 consisted of four small sailing vessels ; 

 the sloop of war Vincennes, 780 tons, 

 under his own command ; the sloop of 

 war Peacock, 650 tons ; the gun brig 

 Porpoise, 230 tons, and the pilot boat 

 Flying Fish, 96 tons. None of these 

 ships were suitable for ice work, for 

 not one of the vessels had planking, 

 extra fastening, or other preparations 

 for these icy regions. The pilot boat 

 put back soon after starting, and several 

 weeks later the Peacock also was forced 

 to return when it was found that ' ' the 

 ice had chafed the stem to within one 

 inch and a half of the wood-ends of the 

 planking." The other two vessels 

 kept on and sailed along the Antarctic 

 coast for some 1,500 miles, when they 

 returned to Sydney. Lieutenant Wilkes 

 reported to the Secretary of the Navy 

 by letter on March 11: "It affords 

 me much gratification to report that 

 we have discovered a large body of 

 land within the Antarctic Circle, which 

 I have named the Antarctic Conti- 

 nent, and refer you to the report of 

 our cruise and accompanying charts, 

 inclosed herewith, for full information 

 relative thereto." 



As Mr. Balch well says : 



' ' The cruise of Wilkes will remain 

 among the remarkable voyages of all 

 time. No finer achievement has been 

 accomplished in the annals of the Arctic 

 or of the Antarctic. With unsuitable, 

 improperly equipped ships, amid ice- 



bergs, gales, snow-storms, and fogs, 

 Wilkes followed an unknown coast line 

 for over fifteen hundred miles, a distance 

 exceeding in length the Ural Mountain 

 range. It is the long distance which 

 Wilkes traversed which makes the re- 

 sults of his cruise so important, for he 

 did not merely sight the coast in one or 

 two places, but he hugged it for such a 

 distance as to make sure that the land 

 was continental in dimensions. The 

 expedition noticed appearances of land 

 on January 13; it sighted land almost 

 surely on January 16, from 157 46' east 

 longitude, and again more positively on 

 January 19, from 154 30' east longi- 

 tude, 66° 20' south latitude. On Jan- 

 uary 30 the size of the land was suffi- 

 ciently ascertained to receive the name 

 'Antarctic Continent,' and this discov- 

 er}' of Wilkes is the most important dis- 

 covery yet made in the Antarctic. ' ' 



Impartial geographers in due time 

 recognized the importance of Wilkes' 

 discovery, and in recognition of his 

 work affixed the name of Wilkes Land 

 to the portion of the Antartic Continent 

 along which he coasted. 



In view of the great achievements of 

 Lieutenant Wilkes, Mr Balch justly 

 argues against the appropriateness of 

 the suggestion of Sir Clements R. Mark- 

 ham, President of the Royal Geograph- 

 ical Society, that the Antarctic regions 

 be divided into four quadrants, each 

 covering ninety degrees of longitude 

 and each named after an Englishman. 



The New York State Museum has pub- 

 lished a geologic map of New York State 

 exhibiting the structure of the state so 

 far as known. The map has been pre- 

 pared under the direction of Frederick 

 J. H. Merrill, State Geologist; the geo- 

 graphic compilation is by C. C. Ver- 

 meule, and the geologic drafting by 

 A. M. Evans. The map may be pur- 

 chased from the State Museum at Al- 

 bany for $5, mounted on rollers, or for 

 $3 in atlas form. 



