PLANS FOR REACHING THE SOUTH POLE 317 



Geographical Society, and unless the promoters of the German 

 expedition are being misled in their expectations, the Reichstag 

 will soon guarantee substantial aid to the German National ex- 

 pedition. As one of the main subjects to be dealt with at the 

 approaching International Geographical Congress at Berlin will 

 be the mutual cooperation of these two expeditions, it may not 

 be inopportune to review briefly the plan and route of each. 



It was originally intended by the Antarctic Committee, repre- 

 senting the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society, 

 that the English expedition should consist of two ships, and that 

 it should be under naval discipline and led by naval officers. In 

 consequence, however, of the unwillingness of the government to 

 consider such a plan with favor, the committee finally determined 

 to equip but one vessel and to make an appeal for funds to the 

 general public. The appeal has met with so generous a response 

 that, including the splendid gift of $125,000 by Colonel Longstaff, 

 $200,000 has been obtained. The plans of the expedition have 

 not yet been finally determined in all their details, but it has 

 been decided that the ship shall follow what is known as the 

 South American route, sailing from the South Shetland islands 

 southward to Alexandria Land. Here, at about 70° south by 90° 

 west, a landing will be made, if practicable, and the first station 

 established. Continuing onward, their course being dependent, 

 as shown in the map (plate 8), upon the amount of ice encoun- 

 tered, the party expect to establish on Cape Adare, Victoria Land, 

 a second station, from which the great dash for the South Pole 

 will be attempted, and in the vicinity of which the principal 

 scientific work will be accomplished. 



The movement for a distinctly German expedition to the South 

 Pole may be said to date back to the early seventies, when Dr 

 Neumayer, the originator and organizer of the entire undertak- 

 ing, began his agitation to that end. But his untiring advocacy 

 of Antarctic research gained no practical recognition until 1895, 

 when the Bremen meeting of the German Geographentage ac- 

 knowledged its importance. Finally, somewhat over a yearago, 

 plans took such definite shape that Dr Erich von Drygalski, 

 professor nt the Imperial University of Berlin, was chosen as the 

 Kader nt' the expedition. Since then the route to be followed has 

 been carefully determined, and nearly all the details for a two 

 years' exploration have been arranged. 



The principal danger to navigation in the Antarctic region is 

 not ice pressure, for the currents radiate outAvard and not in- 



