CHAPTER XXIX
FREED FROM THE ICE-EMBRACES--RETURN TO CIVILISATION
January 5.--We are satisfied with the success of our mission to the present. We should like to terminate our campaign with a striking sweep of discoveries, such as marked our beginning last year, but such a hope is now quite beyond the range of possibility. Our provisions are nearly all used, and to penetrate again into another part of this ice-strewn sea, with our present equipment, would be injudicious. We are inclined to bundle our results, and quit the under-world of ice as soon as the ice breaks enough to give us freedom.
[Illustration: Curious Weather-worn Icebergs, 300 Feet High.]
Indeed, we ought to be contented with the unparalleled series of scientific records which are now written in our journals. Beginning with Tierra del Fuego, we have secured ethnological data of a race of primitive people, scientifically unknown; there we have also read the story of two vanishing American races; while the naturalist and geologist have worked out facts and gathered specimens unique in value and usefulness. We have sounded the unknown seas between the terminating point of South America and the antarctic land. In the new regions south of Cape Horn we have discovered many islands, and several hundred miles of the coast of a great country. Passing into the pack-ice we have drifted thousands of miles over the bed of a virgin sea; have discovered a great submarine bank, and have collected skeletons and skins of a curious life, previously almost unknown. Racovitza has hundreds of bottles of odd-looking specimens of creatures in alcohol, and his notes record, for the first time, the life story of antarctic fauna throughout the year. Arctowski has a record of hourly meteorological observations taken systematically, night and day, during one year. This, too, is a valuable record, for previously we have had only a few short notes on the climate of the summer months of the antarctic. Lecointe has made a painstaking series of magnetic observations, which will be useful in making valuable deductions for the compass, in the southern hemisphere. There are many studies valuable to oceanographic sciences, and our examination of a part of the great restless sea of ice, which encircles the pole, will be the basis of all future work in this region. We shall emerge from an area of perennial winter, never before invaded by man, with the knowledge of having been the first of all human beings to pass through the south polar winter and its long night. We feel, one and all, that our mission has been accomplished, and we are waiting impatiently to be freed from this embrace of the frozen sea.
January 9.--From the first to the ninth there was little of interest aside from the usual run of life. We took a few Ross seals (_Ommatophoca Rossi_), saw two new birds, but did not secure them, and were generally busy preparing the ship for the home voyage. We have had a continuous southerly wind, but its force was so light that we drifted little, though our sounding yesterday was 1490 m., which we take as an encouragement of a northerly movement off of the shallow sea over which we have floated so long. The bergs continue to change positions, but our pan, which is a little over two miles in diameter, is the same as it was two months ago, except that the snow has melted to an average thickness of about a half metre. Because our floe has not changed its form or shown any signs of disruption since November first, and also because we have had no ice-destroying tempest since that time, we have no good reason to suppose that we shall have a storm, or that our floe will fracture in a line to liberate us during the remaining two months of possible navigation.
[Illustration: Star-Fish and Sea-Urchins from the Bottom of the Antarctic Sea.]
[Illustration: A New Shrimp of the Genera of Euphausia, Discovered by Racovitza. It is the Staple Food of the Penguins and Seals.]
There is at present sufficient water in long leads to navigate, and to reach this is the ambition of all on board, from the Commandant to the cabin-boy. But thus far we have done nothing to liberate the ship. It is true, our men have had more than sufficient work to prepare the sleeping _Belgica_ for the sea, but for this they will have sufficient time during the many days when we shall be pressing out of the pack. If we do not help ourselves, as matters go now there is a great possibility of wintering again in the pack. To do something in this direction, I submitted, yesterday, a plan to the Commandant. It is based on the fact that the sun acts much more powerfully upon water, and upon everything else of a dark colour, than upon snow. Keeping this in mind, my suggestion involves the digging of two trenches, one from the bow, the other from the stern to the water, at the edge of the _Belgica_ field. These trenches are to be carried through the snow and the superficial fresh water sheet of ice, leaving a narrow current of water from the ship to the lead, which we hope by the aid of the sun will so weaken the ice in this direction that it may break in this line. Otherwise it might fracture, if it fractured at all, a mile to the other side of us, and then our position would be no better than it is now.
January 12.--We have finished the trenches. For three days we have worked, not like men, but like dogs in chase of game. With picks and axes and shovels, we have excavated the ditches, and have hardly taken time to eat or sleep, because we have been so eager to watch the progress and effect of our work. As the work is completed, we find that our project is a failure. The sun at midnight is now so feeble that it permits the formation of new ice to such a thickness that the heat of the following day is barely sufficient to melt it. Had we done this in December, the result might have been more satisfactory, but now it is too late.
With the cutting of these trenches I proposed, as a last resort, to cut a canal through the ice from the _Belgica_ to the edge of the field. The lines for the trenches were so laid that the saws might be run through the same groove; in this way we hoped to save the labour of twice removing the upper sheets of ice and snow. The work of sawing was begun last night and at first the progress was encouraging. Upon more careful examination, however, by drilling, we found that the lines which we had laid out for the canal, though shorter, ran over several submarine projections of ice from fifteen to twenty-five feet thick. We had learned by this time that with the saws it is nearly impossible to cut ice more than seven feet in depth. We now began renewed experiments with tonite, an explosive said to be more powerful than dynamite and much safer. It certainly is decidedly safer, but we were unable to discover its power.
Two months ago we all had faith in tonite. We had on board a large supply, and believed that with it we could blow the _Belgica’s_ ice-fetters to atoms. Our confidence was much shaken with the early experiments. In the first trial we were afraid of the stuff. We handled it with the greatest care, placed it cautiously on a sledge, and drew it with a long rope. We selected a spot nearly two miles from the _Belgica_ for the first explosion. At the time of this experiment the bark was not yet ready for the sea, and we thought it not wise to break the ice in close proximity. We also feared the “great power” of the tonite, and thought the whole field would be broken and scattered in the air, only to fall down and smash the decks, but all of this faith in, and fear of, tonite changed upon a more intimate acquaintance with the stuff. We are now amused at our extraordinary precautions during the first experiments. We took the tonite far away, put to it long fuses to permit us to run off a great distance out of the reach of the expected shattered fragments. The explosion went off with a hiss and a great fire, but in the air there was only smoke, and under the explosion there was only soot and a concavity in the snow. There was nothing broken, not even a hole through the ice, and we stood a half mile away behind a hummock, shivering for fear the ice would be so broken that we could not return to the _Belgica_. In later experiments we were more bold, and brought the scene of action nearer the ship, but we found that in temperatures lower than -10° C. (14.0° F.) the tonite exploded feebly, so much so, indeed, that the engineer, seeing the beautiful fire it made, vowed he would get better service by using it to get up steam. Most of us have lost faith in the power of tonite to release the _Belgica_, and we have also lost faith in its power to do damage of any kind. Instead of handling it with the extreme care of a few months ago, we now have it in our beds, on the table, and in every corner of the cabin. Lecointe and Racovitza, however, still have some confidence in the destructive powers of the explosive, and before we begin the seemingly impossible task of sawing a canal it is important to determine the limits of tonite in breaking the ice.
A number of experiments were made yesterday and to-day, but the consensus of opinion is that tonite will “cut no ice.” If we are to get freedom, we must seek it by our own muscular efforts with the saw and the axe. We have argued for several days in favour of sawing a canal. To this there has been considerable opposition, based upon the fact that the entire working force could not be spared for such work, and that the suggestion, at best, gave little promise of success. The sawing experiments in the trenches, however, proved that much could be done, and the eagerness of the men assured a concerted effort if the plan could be made the one aim of everybody. The repeated failure of the tonite proved that a continuation of our work in the old trenches was unwise, because ice of more than seven feet was impregnable to us. Gerlache has suggested the sawing of an old lead over the stern which might prove less obstructed by hummocks. A vigilant sounding of this lead proved the general depth of the ice about five feet, but the distance was somewhat greater than the line of our trenches. A careful study of all other possible routes easily proved this the most practical. The plans were then made as cautiously as if we were to dig the Nicaragua Canal, and every contingency was vigorously discussed by the officers. When the project was once thoroughly developed we divided into three or four crews according to the work, and every man, from the highest officer to the cabin-boy, took to the saws and the axes.
The work on this canal was begun on the evening of January eleventh, and was continued night and day until the bark was released. The distance of the canal was about 2200 feet. The sawing of the two sides with the cross sections made the distance to be cut, in a straight line, something over a mile and a half. We were able to remove the upper sheets of ice and snow by shovels and picks and specially constructed implements to the depth of from one to two feet. This left solid ice from three to four feet thick to be cut by the saws. We kept at it day after day, working eight hours daily, as do day labourers. No men ever worked harder or more faithfully. We were sixteen in number, officers and sailors working side by side, with no easy berth for anybody. Our main food supply was only sufficient to last three months longer. We were accordingly put on reduced rations, but we had a plentiful supply of seal and penguin meat and were adding to the larder every day the game coming into our new canal. We ate ravenously, and were contented with the fishy penguin steaks, developing strength and enthusiasm with the increased length of the canal.
January 23.--We are still hard at work at the channel for the release of the _Belgica_. Every man is still putting in eight hours daily on the work except the cook, and he is working twenty hours a day in doing his own work and that of the cabin-boy and steward. The work is proceeding nobly, so quickly and so perfectly as to surpass all expectation. This can only be explained by the cheerful manner and manly vigour with which every man is at work. The men need no urging, no special direction, no superintendence. Given a plan and system of action, they arrange themselves and work with an effort almost superhuman. The Commandant, the captain, the first officer, the meteorologist, zoölogist, and the doctor are all shoulder to shoulder with the sailors, and occupied at the same work. The meteorologist says, “There simply exists no longer a Commandant, no captain, no officers. We are all ordinary workmen.”
I have had little time to write for one week. Eight hours daily with a heavy saw, and the spine twisted semi-circularly, is not conducive to literary ambitions. It is, however, a capital exercise. Everybody is being hardened to the work and developing ponderous muscles. Our skin is burnt until it has the appearance of the inner surface of boot leather. Our hands, we have found by experience, are more comfortable if not washed, especially with soap, because then they crack and become painful. The result is that we all have a more savage physical appearance than most Indians. But this is of little consequence to us. There are no ladies here to arouse the sleeping vanity which we all once possessed, and our one ambition is to free the ship. This now seems quite certain. We eat like bears the meat of seals and penguins twice daily, disposing of three, four, and five steaks each. We find time and gastric capacity for no less than seven meals daily. All work was stopped Sunday morning at 4 A.M., and it began again Monday, at 8 A.M.; during that time we slept no less than thirty-six hours, and twelve hours is about an average of our daily sleep with the channel work. Before the canal was begun we could barely sleep eight hours.
By the first of February we had extended our canal to within one hundred feet of the _Belgica_, but the ice which remained to be cut was from six to seven feet in depth, and of a consistency so hard that the saws barely made an impression upon it. In one spot we sawed eight hours and cut less than five feet. While we were busily occupied in devising new plans to cut this ice, the wind changed and altered the drift of the ice, bringing a strong pressure on a tongue of the floe, which caused a fracture contiguous to our canal, around the bark and through the remaining ice to the edge. This new crevasse opened, and in so doing, the new floe drifted, partly closing our canal. This sudden and unexpected change, before our canal was completed, brought a look of disappointment and despair to every face. Now our prospective way of retreat was not only useless, but our position was such that the _Belgica_ was subjected to dangerous pressure. To relieve this pressure we cut an oblong concavity in the body of the main floe with the idea of taking the vessel to this as a harbour. In this effort we succeeded on the evening of the thirteenth, but our canal was so effectually closed by new ice and the pressure of neighbouring floes, that we could not escape. On the morning of the fourteenth, the wind again changed. There was a general expansion of the pack, leaving wide open leads on all sides, and our canal again widened. We lost no time in steaming out. No body of men were ever happier than the officers and crew of the _Belgica_ as the good old ship thumped the edge of the ice which had held her a prisoner for nearly a year.
Our supply of provisions did not permit a continuation of the campaign, and after all our mission was about fulfilled. Accordingly we headed northward in the most direct manner for the open sea. In two days we pushed, through closely packed ice, twenty miles northward, and then we entered a zone of the pack where the ice was broken into small pieces and closely pressed by an almost continuous line of icebergs. Beyond the bergs there was a dark blue-black sky which, after a time, we recognised as a water sky, indicating that under it there was the open ice-free Pacific. Here, within sight of the open sea, we were again imprisoned by the closely packed ice for thirty days, but at last, when we had almost abandoned all hope of escape and were preparing for work during a second winter night, a gentle southerly wind drove us with the sea ice out beyond the line of icebergs, and then we were free to seek the world of life in our own way. We left the pack-ice in latitude 70° 45′ south, longitude 103° west, and then headed for Cape Horn.
[Illustration: A Group of Penguins,--Visitors to the _Belgica_. (To the Left is a Lead into which They dive for Food.)]
At last we feel again the pleasure of being out of the frigid stillness and on the bound of the broad ice-free waters. We have left the white line of the pack-ice under the black sea behind us, and now the ever-present electric glimmer, the ice-blink, is fading over our stern. As the blink vanishes, and the sky is screened by the normal South Pacific dulness, we descend from our world of lofty thoughts, in which we had been raised and upheld by the long months of isolation, and frost, and storm; and with this descent our minds and our hearts are set on the joys of home-going. The feeling of isolation and desertion now comes over us stronger than ever before. There is still a long spread of tempestuous waters between us and Punta Arenas, the nearest outpost of civilisation, and as we plough this hopeless sea, with souls raised to a fever-heat of anticipation, our old winged companions in the long drift with the frozen sea leave us. While among them, we thought we were wearied of their songless poses on the icy spires, and of their noiseless flights. We believed that we had seen all of their cold white world that we ever desired, but even before we have felt the heat of the sunny inner zones we are half sorry to leave this weird other-world life. A year hence, I am sure we shall all long to return again to this death-like sleep of the snowy southern wilderness; but just at present we long, as no tongue can tell, for the kindly breast of Mother Earth, with her soul-stirring warmth, her running streams, her sweet-smelling flowers, and her air of colour, of perfume, and of pleasant musical sounds.
On the morning of March 28, 1899, we steamed into the port of Punta Arenas. After a fifteen months’ absence from civilisation the new delights which we saw around this end-of-the-world town were surprising. We noticed with considerable interest the worn roads snaking through grassy fields, around groups of trees to the summits of green hills. Behind us were the olive and purple waters of Magellan Strait. The harsh Cape Horn winds, which blew over the forest-covered lands, seemed soft to us; to our frozen perceptions the sweets which these winds brought seemed to combine into one joyous perfume.
Little time was lost in seeking the shore. We were hungry for home news, and anxious to tread on solid ground. The sensation of having real earth under our feet was new to us. For more than a year we had roamed about over the moving frozen waters of the antarctic sea, with no sight of land, and no feeling of stability. When we mount the first hill we shall sit down and watch and wait to see if it, too, does not move like the hills of ice upon which we have rested so long. We landed quietly, and almost unnoticed; there was no crowd, no tooting of whistles, and no display of bunting as we passed over the long iron pier. In Patagonia nothing short of a volcanic eruption creates an uproar, which was to our liking, for we hated excitement and display and much desired to spend our time as it best suited our inclinations. A few of the sailors who came ashore remained on the beach, kicked about in the sand, and tossed pebbles. So much were they interested in this first touch of solid ground that they continued to play in the sand for hours, with the delight of children at the seashore. The officers marched straightway to a hotel, but in getting there they were made to feel their own previously unnoticed awkwardness. It is a sad undertaking for one endowed with a graceful walk to engage in polar exploration. I do not know whether any one on the _Belgica_ ever boasted of such an accomplishment, but I do know that our walking attitudes, as we strolled up these streets, were a study in alcoholism. We had travelled on _skis_ and other snowshoes so long, and had been tossed about on the sea so much, that we had forgotten how to walk normally. We spread our legs, dragged our feet, braced and balanced our bodies with every step, and altogether our gait was ridiculous. It may all be imagination, but we felt unnatural, as, indeed, we must have looked.
[Illustration: The Sailors at the End of the Long Night.
A. Tollefsen. M. Van Rysselberghe. J. Melaerts. J. Van Mirlo. J. Koren. H. Somers. G. Dufour. H. Johansen. E. Knudsen. L. Michotte.]
We had hardly learned to realise this ourselves when we got a glimpse, for the first time in many long months, of a woman. She simply stood and stared at us, and we at her, and then she gathered up a couple of youngsters nearby and rushed away from us into the house, as if we were dangerous characters. Morally hurt by this incident we went along taking some notice of the men who eyed us with considerable interest. Presently we passed a door in which two pretty girls were standing. This sight sent a new sensation through us like that of a Faradic battery. Somehow we all, at the same time, unconsciously brushed aside the year’s growth of hair from our faces, and made an effort to arrange our neckties and change the set of our coats, but we were made to realise, more and more, that we looked hideous. The girls gave a sudden giggle, rushed back into the hall, and we had to content ourselves with the rustle of skirts. This rustle of the skirts of these first girls who warmed our frozen hearts would make spicy poetry if we dared to write it. But we are not poets: we must hasten on to the hotel where we hope quickly to change our freak-like appearances.
At the hotel we soon learned something of the events which had occurred during our absence, but we were able to get very little connected news. The Spanish-American War and the Dreyfus Case, of which we knew nothing, were explained to us. We next tried to get a hasty glimpse of the newspapers, but the fifteen months previous being a blank to us, we were unable to read the papers with any idea of assimilation. It was impossible for us to understand the short daily announcements until we were able to get a general idea of the drift of the previous events, and this we knew would take long. We next returned to our rooms and began to scrutinise ourselves in the mirrors, to learn the reason why mothers guarded their youngsters, and girls ran away as we came along the streets.
We presented curious and funny physiognomies. Our faces were drawn, and but a shade lighter than old copper kettles; our skins were rough, like nutmeg-graters; and our hair was long, stubborn, and liberally lined by bunches of gray, though the eldest among us was less than thirty-five years of age. Our clothing was in a good state of repair, but its appearance was odd. We had been short of patching material, hence pieces of leather, bits of canvas, and strips of carpet were used to cover the tears and to reinforce the weak parts of our coats and trousers. We were ourselves so used to all of this that we did not think it strange; but when we heard the rustle of skirts it brought our sleeping vanity all back. Henceforth we must again wear boiled shirts and bright feathers. We soon brought in the barber, who made for us new faces, and the tailor, who fitted us with presentable up-to-date outfits. While this was being done the mail was brought, and at once each took a bundle and wandered to some corner. These were moments of sentiment. Business letters, cheques, drafts, papers, and, indeed, the bulk of correspondence was put aside, and each had soon in hand a series of sheets with feminine inscriptions, in which all interest for the time was centred. Racovitza said: “What means it all? Surely the indications are that in six months there will be as many new wives as the present number of bachelors on the _Belgica_.”
After a time, however, this sentimental trance gave way to material instincts. We had ordered a dinner to be specially prepared for us. We didn’t care for fancy dishes and desserts; our appetites craved plain substantials. We had fed during a year on “embalmed” foods and meat, tasting like cod-liver oil. We enjoyed this when we could get nothing better, but now we want beefsteak, and a good deal of it. The waiter interrupted our interesting occupation by the announcement that dinner was ready. We all followed without a second bidding, and I should be ashamed to confess to the amount of beefsteak which we devoured.
In a few days we settled down in the normal routine of life. An opportunity was found to send a cable message by steamer to Montevideo announcing our discoveries and the general results of our explorations. Most of us lingered a few weeks in southern South America to prosecute various branches of research, and then the scientific staff sought their respective homes by the easiest and quickest routes, leaving the _Belgica_ to follow in her own slow way.
It seldom falls to the lot of polar explorers to be made to feel, as we have been, the importance of their work and the success of their mission. By the honours bestowed upon us by his Majesty, King Leopold; by medals from the Royal Society of Belgium, the Geographical Society of Brussels, and the Municipality of Brussels, we are assured that our hard efforts have been appreciated. The favourable criticism of the geographers of all lands convince us of what we had hardly dared to hope, that the expedition was an entire success. I am sure that I voice the sentiment of every member of the expedition when I say that in receiving the substantial recognition of King Leopold, of the various scientific societies, and above all of our fellow-countrymen, we feel that we have been rewarded beyond our deserts. Such appreciation by knowing critics is indeed the highest honour which falls to man.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX NO. I
GENERAL RESULTS OF THE BELGIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION
BY
ÉMILE RACOVITZA
TRANSLATED BY PROFESSOR ÉMILE COULON DE JUMONVILLE
A great many parts of our globe are yet unexplored or imperfectly known. Among these regions the antarctic is certainly the largest and the least known, but not the least important.
The solution of the numerous questions connected with atmospheric circulation and oceanic waters, the biology of aquatic animals and the geographical distribution of living species, depends upon the progress of our information in that part of the globe. The aim of antarctic expeditions must, for the present, be scientific. It is of far less importance to reach high latitudes in those quarters than to bring as much scientific information as possible. It was this idea which moved Adrien de Gerlache, the promoter, organiser, and chief of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition. He consecrated to the scientific implements an important portion of the feeble resources he had on hand, and surrounded himself with specialists to whom he intrusted the care of making scientific observations during the voyage.
To Georges Lecointe was intrusted hydrography and cartography; to Émile Danco, the magnetic observations and the pendulum--after the latter’s death, which occurred in June, 1898, his service was continued by Georges Lecointe. The meteorological observations were made by Henryk Arctowski and by Antoine Dobrowolski. Arctowski also had charge of the oceanographical and geological studies. Frederick A. Cook, the surgeon of the expedition, took charge of the photographic service and anthropological observations. I was charged with the zoological and botanical observations.
The materials brought by the expedition are numerous in all their branches, but their study will not be completed before two or three years. It will not be until then that we can ascertain the importance of the results obtained. Thanks to the Belgian Government, a great publication is expected, and a commission has been chosen to organise and direct it.
We can, nevertheless, and immediately, enumerate some of the results. This is what I propose to do in a few words with this reservation: that these indications are, for the most part, provisional and far from representing a complete table of the scientific advantages which will be derived from the expedition.
GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
THE geographical discoveries were made in the south and west of Bransfield Strait in Dirk-Gerritz Archipelago. In this region earlier explorers noticed a large land (Palmerland), separated by a gulf (Hughes Gulf) from another land situated in the east (Trinityland). Larsen, the captain of the _Jason_ (1892), having seen south of Louis Philippeland a vast communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific, Trinityland became an island for geographers. Dallmann, the captain of the _Grönland_ (1872), had discovered on the Pacific side an entrance to a strait (Bismarck Strait). Geographers then made an effort, upon the maps, to communicate Hughes Gulf with Bismarck Strait.
The observations of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition demonstrate that this is all incorrect. Palmerland is a vast archipelago of small islands; Hughes Gulf is the entrance to a large strait which brings Bransfield Strait into communication with the Pacific Ocean. This strait extends from latitude 63° 51′ to 65° south, and its direction is north-east to south-west. The Pacific mouth of Belgica Strait does not coincide with the entrance to Bismarck Strait, which, from the position assigned by Dallmann, is situated much farther south; but it is possible that Dallmann made a mistake in his observation, and that this is the very same strait. Trinityland is but the cape-land of a large tract (Dancoland) which forms the eastern shore of Belgica Strait, and which is only the continuation of Grahamland.
The shores of Belgica Channel are formed by high, mountainous table-lands with steep slopes and narrow valleys. One of the peaks appears to rise above an altitude of two thousand metres. The channels which separate these lands have steep perpendicular shores and possess great depths in their centre. The appearance of these lands and channels indicates that we have to do with a sunken region, in which the valleys were invaded by the sea. These lands are entirely formed by ancient crystalline rocks, granites, greenstones, and syenites. We have seen gneiss only at the mouth of the Pacific Strait. This fact indicates that we were in the central part of the antarctic chain, whose general direction is that of Belgica Strait. At the time of our sojourn in these regions, from the 23d of January to the 12th of February, the strait was free from ice. There were only a few icebergs. If some small islands were only partially covered with ice, all those of a larger extent and Dancoland were completely covered with an immense crust of ice which showed itself under three different forms. The interior was all occupied by a frozen sheet, which may be compared with the Greenland inland ice. Everywhere upon the mountain-sides were suspended glaciers, and in all the valleys were tremendous crystalline currents which ran into the sea. The limit of eternal snow coincides here almost to a certainty with the level of the sea. The study of the moraines allowed us to state that the glaciers had receded, and at the same time gave us a decisive information as to a much more considerable extension at an anterior epoch. The erratic materials furnish us with rocks much more varied than those found on the spot. We have even met with transformed sedimentary rocks.
Another important geographical discovery is that of a continental table-land or plateau situated between longitude 75° and 103° west of Greenwich, and from latitude 70° to 71° 36′ south. Its mean depth is 500 metres; with an abrupt fall to 1500 metres towards the north. The depth of the continental plateau, generally placed at from 200 to 300 metres, shows that this region has also undergone the depressive movement which was remarked in the lands of Belgica Strait. The continental plateau rises gently towards the south, and lowers in its eastern portion towards the north in order to connect itself most assuredly with the continental plateau of Graham and Alexander lands. It must connect in a like manner towards the west, fifty degrees farther, with the continental plateau discovered by Ross east of Victorialand. We would then have a continuous or uninterrupted continental mass from longitude 50° west to 63° east. However, the discovery made by the _Belgica_ gives a serious support to the hypothesis of an antarctic continent--an hypothesis made the more likely from many other considerations, of which I shall cite only one, which is in its place here; that is to say, the terreous nature of the sediments of the continental plateau and neighbouring regions. Indeed, these sediments contain, besides the grayish slime, a very strong proportion of sand, gravel, and a very great number of pebbles of rounded form, which were certainly rolled by the sea, and were a part of a littoral cordon. I need not say that the transport of these substances must have been made by the ice. If this plateau indicates the existence of a continental mass south of the seventy-second parallel, inversely, the driftway of the _Belgica_ demonstrates the non-existence of the ice-wall reported by Bellingshausen, and the same thing may be said of the land signalled by Walker, since we passed with the ice-drift over its supposed position. The easy drifting of the pack towards the west renders impossible the presence of the land reported by Cook towards longitude 105° west.
ASTRONOMY AND MAGNETISM
The magnetic observations were the object of mensuration upon the deflection, inclination, and terrestrial magnetic intensity. They were effected principally with the aid of the Neumayer apparatus; Gambey’s compass and Brunner’s theodolite were utilised on land, either at the stopping-places on Belgica Channel or in the known regions, where they were used for comparing and determining constant quantities. On the ice-pack the perpetual motions of the ice did not allow us to install our apparatus for variations. Absolute and ready measurements were the only ones made. The magnetic stations number sixty.
The astronomical observations had for their principal object chronometric regulations. We utilised the method of lunar distances--that of star occultations by the moon, as well as the eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites.
Pendulum measurements were made in the Strait of Magellan, at Punta Arenas.
The sketch of Belgica Strait was drawn by taking, as principal points, twelve stations whose co-ordinates were astronomically determined. The other stations were obtained either by the method of sufficient segments or by that of magnetic bearings. We employed also Admiral Mouchez’s method.
While drifting, the positions of the ship were observed and calculated either by Marcy Saint-Hilaire’s method or Borda’s, when the latitude had been determined beforehand by a culmination or a circummeridian.
METEOROLOGY
The only notions we had about the climate of the antarctic were based upon the very inadequate observations made during the three summer months. The Belgian Antarctic Expedition is the first which enables us to furnish a series of observations taken hourly during a full year. These observations were made during the year of the imprisonment of the _Belgica_ in the ice-pack between latitudes 70° and 71° 36′ south, and from longitude 85° to 103° west. In order to appreciate thoroughly the conclusions which can be derived from these observations, we must not forget that the _Belgica_, during her wintering in the ice-pack, was in the neighbourhood of free waters; in consequence, the climate studied is a coast climate, influenced partly by the neighbourhood of the sea, partly by that of the continental antarctic land mass covered with eternal snow. The definite corrections of figures obtained have not as yet been made; still, we are able to present the general results with an adequate approximation.
The minimum temperature was observed in September; it was -43°. The maximum is remarkably low: +2° (in February). The month of July is the coldest of the year, with an average of -22.5°. The warmest month is February: average, -1°. The mean temperature of the year is -9.6°, an extraordinarily low figure for that latitude.
North of the Spitsbergen, at latitude 80° north, we have -8.9°. The mean temperature in summer is -1.5°, a figure just as remarkable for its latitude, considering that the expedition of the _Fram_ obtained for a summer average -1.2° by latitude 84° north. This low temperature can only be explained by the absence of land towards the north, and the presence of an antarctic continent entirely covered with ice. This hypothesis is based upon a fact which was observed by the expedition. Every time the wind blew from the north the temperature rose, even in midwinter, to 0°, but did not ascend higher. As soon as the wind shifted and blew from the south the thermometer descended abruptly, even in the middle of summer, to a very low temperature.
In the interior of the antarctic continent there must be a pole whose temperature is much lower than the frigidity of the arctic poles of cold; the frozen surface of the antarctic continent is in effect much larger than that of Greenland, northern Siberia, or North America. The zone explored by the _Belgica_ lies in a cyclonic region; yet the mean barometric pressure of the year, 744 mm. .7, obtained by a direct observation, is superior by 6 mm. to the theoretical figure obtained by Ferrel for that latitude, and demonstrates that the pressure does not decrease progressively towards the pole, where, on the contrary, there must reign an anticyclone. The absolute minimum was 711 mm. .74, one of the lowest pressures observed on the level of the sea. The maximum pressure was 772 mm. .14. The maximum average monthly variations of the barometer height is 34 mm. .30--a very high figure, which indicates that the tempestuous region extends beyond the polar circle. The barometer height is in the average maximum at the solstices, and minimum at the equinoxes, which shows that in the antarctic there is a direct and very simple relation between the barometric pressure and the sun’s altitude. Winds are frequent and generally violent. Only fifty-five days of calm or very feeble wind were reckoned for a whole year. In the summer, breezes blow mostly from eastern regions; in winter from the western. It is probable that our region is already freed from the direct influence of the circular antarctic zone of western winds. The air is almost constantly saturated with watery vapour, and humidity settles down in the form of fog and snow with remarkable facility. Hoarfrost accumulates in enormous quantities upon every object--upon the ice-pack, the new ice, and even upon the falling snowflakes. During the year we counted two hundred and fifty-seven days of snowfall, and fourteen days of drizzling rain. The sky is almost constantly obscured by a cloak of grayish and low mists, which, when they sometimes happen to disappear, allow a pure sky to be seen, upon which only a few high clouds and very elongated cirri may be noticed. It would not do to generalise these observations and come to the conclusion that the whole antarctic is subject to the climatic régime which we have just described. It is very probable, on the contrary, that in the interior of the antarctic continent the sky must be very often pure, humidity lighter, and snowfalls less frequent. The _Belgica_ was, in fact, imprisoned in a littoral zone, that is, in a zone where came, to be condensed itself, all the humidity brought forth by the winds of the vast regions of a free sea situated farther north. The south wind, or land wind, always had the effect of driving the clouds away and bringing on a dry cold. Optical phenomena were very often noticed. Splendid sunrises and sunsets, parhelia, paraselenæ, and mirage phenomena were remarkable and varied. During the whole winter austral auroras were frequent, but not remarkably vivid. One single drape-like aurora was seen; the others looked like luminous clouds traversed by moving rays.
Insolation during the summer months is considerable. On the 30th of December the thermometer with a black ball marked +41°, while the temperature of the air was at -1°. The effect of that insolation is, however, but little felt upon the ice-pack; the upper layer of snow hardly melts in summer.
ICE
The observations made with regard to this subject confirm what was already known from the examination of the arctic ice. The ice directly produced by the freezing of sea-water is never of great thickness, but this thickness increases on one side by the accumulation of snows on its surface, and on the other by the heaping of blocks during the pressure. These mechanical phenomena are able to form slabs eight metres in height. The pressures are produced, in the regions explored by the _Belgica_, by the wind, which is thus foretold: In summer, during calm weather, there is always a change in the ice-pack, which is accompanied by a formation of cracks and leads. The pressure is produced afterwards, but before the wind is felt; it generally ceases some time after the wind prevails and when the ice-pack is drifting. This seems to me to prove that the pressure is the result of difference in the velocity of the drifting parts of the ice-pack, and this difference is due to the fact that a wind which begins to blow drives the portion of the ice-pack on which it blows upon the rest, which has not hitherto felt its influence.
It must be said that the pressure may also be produced when the ice-pack is driven by the wind against land. The icebergs met by the expedition are incontestably formed by an ice which has a different origin from that which forms the ice-pack, properly speaking. An iceberg is indisputably a fragment of a terrestrial glacier. All the
## particulars which we have been able to state, concerning the structure
of the floating iceberg, were equally observed in the structure of the façades of the glaciers of Belgica Strait.
OCEANOGRAPHY
A sounding-line was much used between Staten Island and the South Shetlands. It allowed us to find out that Drake Strait is the prolongation of the oceanic basin of the Pacific. At a short distance from Staten Island the continental plateau falls abruptly from 296 metres to 1574 metres; farther south we find 4040 metres; then the bottom rises gently towards the South Shetlands, which rest themselves upon a continental plateau. These soundings bring forth an important argument for those who, like myself, believe in the independence of the American and antarctic continents. The chain of the Andes, first directed from north to south, bends or inclines towards the east to Tierra del Fuego, and takes a west-easterly direction in Staten Island. Perhaps also this curve is in the direction of the north-east through the Falkland Islands. In the same manner the chains of Grahamland are divided from south-west to north-east, and through the South Shetlands from west to east, a direction which, in the South Orkney Isles, leans slightly towards the south-east. It seems to me that there is here a system of divergent chains. Other people, however, connect these two chains by means of a vast hypothetical curve. It is evident that this question can only be solved by the oceanographical study of the region comprised between New Georgia of the south and Drake Strait.
In Drake Strait the temperature of the superficial sheet of water is above 0°, but below its surface the temperature descends to -1°, to ascend again from 200 metres thereabout, and maintains itself in the depths above 0°, at the bottom (3660 metres), where it is +0.6°; the whole column of water cools progressively towards the south. The sheet of cold water signalled below its surface has the shape of a wedge, whose point is directed north and whose base is south. This sheet of cold water increases in thickness towards the south, and nears the surface at the same time. It is due to the presence and melting of icebergs.
In the region situated between longitudes 75° and 103° west, and from latitude 69° to latitude 71° 30′ south, the temperature of the water is somewhat diverse.
Above the continental plateau the superficial sheet of water has a temperature of -2°, but the temperature ascends gradually as far as the bottom, where it maintains itself between 0° and +1°. The cold water occupies a greater thickness than the warm water, and this thickness increases towards the south. North of the continental plateau the temperatures of the water are nearly the same as in Drake Strait. No constant currents were observed, although the ice-pack in which the _Belgica_ was inclosed was in constant motion; and though the drifting movement exceeded sometimes ten miles a day, it is not possible to establish to a certainty the existence of a current. The drifting was certainly determined by the exclusive influence of the wind, and I do not doubt but that a careful comparison of the successive positions of the ice-pack and mariners’ cards will demonstrate it in a definite manner.
The sediments found upon the continental plateau and north of it are of a terreous origin, as stated before; but what is most remarkable is the great number of globigerinæ which are met there, and an absence of diatomaceæ. Yet the rapid examination of the plant showed a very abundant or rich flora of diatomaceæ, and almost no globigerinæ.
ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY
As I have already remarked, the Belgica Channel lands are entirely covered with a continuous and thick cloak of ice; a few small islands, shores, and perpendicular cliffs alone show the naked rock. Upon this limited portion of antarctic land can vegetation alone develop itself; and, indeed, it does on these spots. The only floriferous plant we found is of the order _Gramineæ_, which probably belongs to the _Aira_ species; but the mosses (known among others, _Barbula_ and _Bryum_) and the lichens (known among others, _Lecanora_, _Verrucaria_, and _Usnea_) are more abundant. On the spots where the water oozes from the melting snows there grow some soft water-wracks--oscillariaceæ and diatomaceæ.
The terrestrial animals, properly so called, are represented by a small species of _Diptera_ with rudimentary wings, podurellæ in large quantities, living with three or four species of small _Acarida_ or mites among mosses and lichens. Upon soft water-wracks there rises a microscopic fauna composed of _Nematoidea_, _Rotifera_, _Tardigrada_, _Infusoria_, and _Rhizopoda_. These animals and plants represent at the present day the terrestrial antarctic fauna and flora, and no other living animal has yet been discovered upon the whole extent of the properly called antarctic region, for we cannot consider as terrestrial animals the birds and seals which inhabit this region. The question is to know what has become of the autochtone fauna and flora, which must have inhabited the great antarctic land and wastes during the geological periods, when the ice had not invaded the polar regions. To this question, it seems to me, there is but one answer to be made. The whole terrestrial antarctic fauna was destroyed during the glacial epochs, which, before the present epoch, covered over with ice more completely than to-day the whole antarctic region. We possess decisive information concerning the existence of a vast crystalline cap which stretched over the whole of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Moreover, we observed in Belgica Channel some glacial phenomena which incontestably indicate a much greater extension of ice than the present existing one. I believe that even the plants and terrestrial animals that were found upon the lands of Belgica Strait are not the remains of the antarctic flora and fauna of the preglacial epoch, but American immigrants brought by the large-winged birds which are common to both regions.
Birds are very numerous in the Belgica Channel, and the greater part of them rest in the holes and cracks of the cliffs. With but one exception, the _Chionis alba_, all are web-footed and are a part of the orders _Gavia_, _Tubinares_, _Steganopoda_, and _Impenes_. The most common are the Dominican sea-gull (_Larus dominicanus_), the brown sea-gull (_Megalestris antarctica_), the sea-swallow (_Sterna hirundinacea_), the large petrel (_Ossifraga gigantea_), the bird of tempests (_Oceanites oceanicus_), the Cape pigeon (_Daption capensis_), the carunculated cormorant (_Phalacrocorax carunculatus_), the Papuan penguin (_Pygoscelis papua_), and the antarctic penguin (_Pygoscelis antarctica_), these latter two living in vast rookeries; in short, the curious beak-sheathed bird (_Chionis alba_) which, like most other birds already mentioned, nests in the holes and crevices of rocks.
Two varieties of seals were seen in Belgica Channel--the Weddell seal (_Leptonychotes weddelli_), frequently met in small bands, and the crab-eater seal (_Lobodon carcinophaga_), which is more scarce. Among the _Cetacea_, the _Megaptera boöps_ (?) is met in large troops, often in the company of a large balænoptera (_Balænoptera Sibbaldii_) (?), but no genuine black or Greenland bone whale was ever seen. The littoral fauna and flora are badly represented on account of the constant motion of the ice along the rocky shores of the sea. Sea-wracks cannot fix themselves upon them, nor can animals. Yet in some well-sheltered crevices I found some rare sea-grasses (_Desmarestia_, etc.), and patellæ with small inferior animals.
The first biological example we could ascertain, during our imprisonment of thirteen months in the ice-pack, was a general presence of diatomaceæ on the superficial sheets of the sea, as well as upon icebergs and in the interior of the holes and cracks of the sea-ice. The most frequently represented species are _Chætoceros_, _Coscinodiscus_, and _Chorethron_. The bed or plant is not very rich and but little varied. It is composed of small-sized animals, of which the most frequently represented are enumerated in the order of their frequency: the _Copepodaes Radiolaria_ (_Protocystis_, _Cannosphæra_), _Pteropoda_ (_Limacina_), _Polychæta_ (_Pelagobia_), _Copelata_ (_Oikopleura_), _Ostracoda_, _Siphonophora_ (_Eudoxia_), etc.
The size of the bed or plant undergoes a season’s change. During the winter, sea-ice, being very thick, intercepts daylight; in consequence the diatomaceæ cannot increase and the bed decreases considerably in size. In the summer, on the contrary, sea-ice thins, cracks, and tracks are numerous; light can thus penetrate, which accounts for an abundant growth of diatomaceæ, and the bed increases considerably in volume.
One of the most important _plancton_ forms or plants, with regard to the part it plays in the economy of antarctic life, is a species of the _Euphausia_ kind. In fact, there exist immense shoals of this animal under the ice-pack, and these shoals serve as an almost exclusive food for seals, penguins, and presumably cetaceans.
Dredgings performed upon the continental plateau spoken of elsewhere brought forth a fauna which, from its general character, shows a remarkable affinity with the abyssal fauna. We fished, in effect, pedunculated _Crinoidea_, _Elasipoda_, benthal _Asterias_, _Aselidæ_, _Pantopoda_, _Gorgonidæ_, _Polychæta_, _Cumacea_, _Mysidæ_, _Ascidiæ_, which have a striking air of relationship with the similar forms fished in the great oceanic depths. This fact ought not to astonish us, for we well know that the great factor in the distribution of marine animals is temperature. Now, the temperature of the water upon this plateau of five hundred metres in depth is much the same as that of the oceanic depths. The groups best represented are the _Echinodermata_, _Crustacea_ (_Edriophthalma_), _Polychæta_, _Gorgonidæ_, and _Bryozoa_. The birds which were constantly present upon the ice-pack are not numerous: the very large petrel (_Ossifraga gigantea_), the snow petrel (_Pagodroma nivea_), the antarctic petrel (_Thalassocca antarctica_), the brown sea-gull (_Megalestris antarctica_), Forster’s penguin (_Aptenodytes forsteri_), and the Adelia land penguin (_Pygosulis adeliæ_).
The whole four seal species inhabiting the antarctic were seen during our stay in the ice-pack; that is, the crab-eater seal (_Lobodon carcinophaga_), Weddell sea-leopard (_Leptonychotes weddelli_), the true sea-leopard (_Ogmorhynus leptonyx_), and Ross’s seal (_Ommatophoca Rossi_). _Balænoptera_ of a small size and _Ziphiidæ_ came very often to breathe in the cracks and leads of the ice-pack. The temperature of the bodies of the seals is about +37°, that of the penguins about +40°. These figures are below the normal. These animals, in order to fight against the exterior cold, do not create more heat than this, only they lose less, and they arrive at this result by means of the thick covering of fat which surrounds them. Direct observations allow us to state this fact. The cold does not appear to have a pernicious influence upon the human organism. In temperatures of from -30° to -40° and calm weather, the feeling one experiences is rather pleasant and invigorating. It is naturally otherwise when the wind blows. I believe that for a traveller the great inconvenience of cold upon the ice-pack is that it creates a condensation of aqueous vapour which is eliminated by the skin’s surface. At the end of a short time the clothes are all wet, and it is hard under such conditions to get warm. But the greatest inconvenience in polar regions lies in the absence of the sun during the winter months. The pernicious influence of the absence of direct sunbeams, upon the human organism, was witnessed to a certainty during the winter of 1898.
The whole crew of the _Belgica_, without exception, presented symptoms which in medical books are grouped under the name of chronic anæmia. With them all we could notice a discoloration of the mucous membranes, dyspnœa, acceleration of the pulse, dizziness, insomnia, a complete incapacity for prolonged intellectual work, and even a swelling of the legs. The report of the surgeon of the expedition promises to be interesting under this head.
I have spoken only to call attention to the studies which were made by the members of the expedition in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. They will bring out some zoological, botanical, geological, and anthropological contributions for the knowledge of these important regions of the globe.
APPENDIX NO. II
THE ANTARCTIC CLIMATE
BY
HENRYK ARCTOWSKI
The following is a preliminary account of some of the additions to our knowledge of the meteorology of higher southern latitudes contributed by the recent Belgian Antarctic Expedition.
These desolate antarctic regions, still so little explored, present many physical problems of the highest interest; the question of their climate, attacked as early as the time of Croll, must prove a subject of exhaustive investigation in the immediate future. The results I have obtained were not originally intended for publication in their present form, because the mean values involved can only be regarded as first approximations; however, it appears that my provisional numbers are sufficiently exact to indicate the general nature of the climatic régime in parts of the globe about which we have been, up to the present, practically without information. The fact that other antarctic expeditions are about to set out has decided me to publish my figures as they stand.
For the purposes of our inquiry, it is a matter of indifference whether an antarctic continent exists or not; we have undoubtedly to deal with a continuous surface of ice, which the meteorologist must regard as a land surface as opposed to an open sea. This ice-cap is entirely isolated by an ocean which surrounds it, and is subjected to the peculiar conditions of polar day and night. Hence the first points to be considered are the average distribution of pressure and the direction of the prevailing winds. The positions (about 81° and 95° west longitude, and 69° 50′ and 71° 30′ south latitude) show a relatively small distance from the open sea and great distance from the pole. In consequence we experienced two distinct types of climate according to the direction of the wind,--a continental and an oceanic,--in effect a coastal climate depending on the passage of cyclones which varied in frequency with the seasons. This seems to be the key of the whole position. As regards details, I take into consideration the mean and minimum temperatures and the barometric pressures, the direction of wind, the amount of cloud, and the amount of precipitation.
Table I. gives the mean values obtained from hourly observations of temperature made on board the _Belgica_ during her drift in the ice.
July was the coldest month; its mean temperature was -23.5° C. (-10.3° F.), and the lowest temperature observed during the month, -37.1° C. (-34.8° F.). The extreme minimum of temperature was observed in September, -43.1° C. (-45.6° F.).
The warmest month was February, with a mean temperature of -1.0° C. (30.2° F.), and minimum for the month, -9.6° C. (14.7° F.).
If we regard June, July, and August as the antarctic winter months, and December, January, and February as summer, we may take it that the mean winter temperature is -16.8° C. (1.8° F.), and the mean for summer, -1.5° C. (29.3° F.).
Table II. shows the minimum temperature for each month. The maximum temperatures are less interesting; the winter average is -1° to 0° C. (30° to 32° F.); the absolute maximum for the equinoctial months is 0° to 1° C. (32° to 34° F.), and for summer, 2° C. (36° F.).
These tables show that between the seventieth and seventy-first parallels of the southern hemisphere, and amid the ice of the Antarctic Ocean, first, the mean temperature is lower than that of the northern coast of Spitsbergen--Mossel Bay, 1872–73, -8.9° C. (16° F.); second, the minimum temperature is quite as low as the minima observed on the east side of Greenland (Sabine Island and Scoresby Sound); and third, that the mean temperature of the three summer months is lower than the corresponding mean in the ice of the Arctic Ocean--the observations of the _Fram_ give a mean for June, July, and August of -1.2° C. (29.8° F.). Note that the calculations of Spitaler and Supan give a mean temperature for the parallel of 70° north latitude of -10.2° C. (13.6° F.). If we consider that a considerable fraction of the seventieth parallel of south latitude is land, we can suppose that it may have a mean temperature as low as the seventieth degree north, and include a pole of cold with lower temperature, as the Asiatic or North American poles of cold.
As in the case of the mean temperatures, the values I am able to give for mean barometric pressure must be regarded only as first approximations. During our drift in the pack-ice hourly observations were made with a marine barometer and with an aneroid. I have not yet been able to apply exact corrections to these observations, but if we bear in mind that while the temperature correction is negative, the correction for latitude is positive, and that for temperatures about 13° to 15° C. (55° to 60° F.) these corrections are numerically nearly equal, we can accept the uncorrected values as near enough for our present purpose. Table III. gives the averages of the aneroid observations, calculated to whole millimetres only. The mean for the year is 744.7 mm. (29.319 inches).
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
Tables IV. and V. give the principal minima and maxima of pressure observed; the values are reduced to the freezing-point and gravity at 45° latitude. The lowest pressure observed during our wintering was 711.74 mm. (28.022 inches), and the highest 772.14 mm. (30.400 inches), a range of 60.40 mm. (2.378 inches). Table VI. gives the monthly variations of the barometer, the mean value of which amounts to 34.30 mm. (1.350 inches), showing even more clearly than Table IV. that the cyclonic belt extends beyond the polar circle. From this table it appears, further, that the three months of almost continuous daylight (November, December, and January) are characterised by a very small variation of pressure--only 23.95 mm. (0.943 inch). The three corresponding months of winter have also a mean less than those for the intermediate or equinoctial months. Compare this with the mean pressures (Table III.). The differences between the annual and monthly means (Table VII.) show that February, March, and April form a negative group, in which the pressure is relatively low; the three months of polar night form another group of maximum barometric pressure; then follow August, September, and October, months of decreasing pressure, a group which, although not actually negative, forms a distinct secondary minimum; and lastly, three months of polar day forming a secondary maximum of pressure. The general result is illustrated in Fig. 1,--high pressure at the solstices, low pressure at the equinoxes,--and the existence of a direct simple relation between the barometric pressure and the progress of the sun is at once obvious.
Table VIII. gives the observed wind directions: the figures indicate the number of hours during which the wind blew from each direction during the twelve months, the sums constituting the “wind-rose” of the point of observation. Fig. 2 shows that winds blow from northerly and southerly points with almost equal frequency, and that easterly winds predominate over westerly. The directions of greatest frequency were west, east, and north-east.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
The monthly wind-roses show some interesting seasonal variations in the prevailing directions of the wind; we note specially the predominance of north-east to south-east over westerly winds from November to February, and the relative frequency of westerly winds during June, July, and August (Fig. 3). The figures show that, on the whole, the station was beyond the westerly wind region, although at certain seasons the westerly system did extend as far south.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
Some further points must be referred to in describing the climatic conditions we experienced. The temperature of the air is doubtless the most important element in the study of climate; but it seems to me that its importance is relatively less in polar regions than in other parts of the globe. In polar latitudes the human organism is chiefly influenced by the absence of the sun during the night of winter. In the summer, on the other hand, the radiant heat of the sun is so strongly concentrated that the temperature of the air scarcely measures the warmth we feel. Further, the action of the solar rays is directly beneficial--the sun strengthens and reanimates. And besides direct insolation, the diffused daylight itself must be considered. One feels quite different under a cloudless vault and under a sky overcast and sombre. The presence or absence of the sun is a much more important matter to us than the state of the thermometer.
The wind is another extremely important factor from the physiological point of view. In calm weather a temperature of -20° C. (-4° F.) is quite tolerable, even agreeable if the sun is shining; but with a light breeze one feels the cold at once, and in strong wind it is impossible to remain long in the open air with so low a temperature. It appears to me that humidity plays a quite secondary part in the physiology of the polar climate--at least, at low temperatures; in any case, the humidity of the atmosphere rarely makes itself felt.
Some actinometric observations will serve to indicate the intensity of radiant heat. At 2 P. M. on December 30, the temperature of the air being -0.2° C. (31.6° F.), the black-bulb thermometer read 45.1° C. (113.2° F.) in the sun, which explains why in reality the weather felt very warm.
The sky was usually overcast, most frequently with a thick layer of stratus, which formed a uniform gray covering, and often persisted for days or even weeks together, with only short breaks. Table IX. shows the state of the sky during each month of the year.
The number of days during which the air was not saturated, i.e., on which the hygrometer indicated humidity less than ninety per cent., was, in October, 12; November, 18; December, 22; January, 15; and February, 11.
If we include ice-deposits from fog and similar precipitation, we find that snowfall is recorded on 257 days of the year, made up as shown on the first column of Table X. The second column of Table X. shows the number of days on which rain (even a few drops) was recorded. Speaking generally, it may be said that the weather was extremely cloudy, that fogs were frequent, that snow fell on many days, and that the air was saturated nearly the whole time.
Table XI. gives particulars with regard to wind force.
TABLE I.--MEAN TEMPERATURE.
-----------------+-----------------+------------ | °C | °F -----------------+-----------------+------------ 1898. March | -9.1} | 15.6} April | -11.8} -9.1 | 10.8} 15.6 May | -6.5} | 20.3} | | June | 15.5} | 4.1} July | 23.5} -16.8 | -10.3} 1.8 August | -11.3} | 11.7} | | September | -18.5} | -1.3} October | -7.9} -11.1 | 17.8} 12.0 November | -6.9} | 19.6} | | December | -2.2} | 28.0} 1899. January | -1.2} -1.5 | 29.8} 29.3 February | -1.0} | 30.2} -----------------+-----------------+------------ Year | -9.6 | 14.7 -----------------+-----------------+------------
TABLE II.--MONTHLY MINIMA OF TEMPERATURE.
-------------------------------+--------+------- | °C | °F -------------------------------+--------+------- 1898. February 23, at 10 p.m. | -7.6 | 18.3 March 15, at 4 a.m. | -20.3 | -4.5 April 3, at 6 p.m. | -26.5 | -15.7 May 29, at 8 p.m. | -25.2 | -13.4 June 3, at 6 p.m. | -30.0 | -22.0 July 17, at 10 p.m. | -37.1 | -34.8 August 28, at 3 a.m. | -29.6 | -21.3 September 8, at 4 a.m. | -43.1 | -45.6 October 25, at 3 a.m. | -26.3 | -15.3 November 2, at 4 a.m. | -21.4 | -6.5 December 2, midnight | -14.5 | 5.9 1899. January 2, at 2 a.m. | -8.1 | 17.4 February 11, at 2 a.m. | -9.6 | 14.7 March 4, midnight | -12.0 | 10.4 -------------------------------+--------+-------
TABLE III.--MONTHLY MEANS (APPROXIMATE) OF BAROMETRIC PRESSURE.
-----------------+---------+-------- | MM. | INCHES. -----------------+---------+-------- 1898. February[1]| 738.5 | 29.075 March | 741.4 | 29.190 April | 735.6 | 28.961 May | 746.3 | 29.382 June | 749.5 | 29.508 July | 747.8 | 29.441 August | 747.2 | 29.418 September | 745.5 | 29.351 October | 744.7 | 29.319 November | 746.0 | 29.371 December | 748.2 | 29.457 1899. January | 747.3 | 29.422 February | 736.5 | 28.997 -----------------+---------+-------- Year | 744.7 | 29.319 -----------------+---------+-------- [1] Latter half of month only.
TABLE IV.--MINIMUM PRESSURES OBSERVED.
-----------------------------+------------------+------------------ | REDUCED TO | REDUCED TO | FREEZING-POINT. | FREEZING-POINT | | AND LAT. 45°. -----------------------------+--------+---------+---------+-------- | MM. | INCHES. | MM. | INCHES. 1898. February 18, at 6 a.m. | 724.53 | 28.526 | 725.93 | 28.581 March 22, at 4 a.m. | 719.96 | 28.345 | 721.48 | 28.405 April 20, at 3 a.m. | 714.66 | 28.136 | 716.15 | 28.195 May 10, at 11 p.m. | 730.26 | 28.751 | 731.78 | 28.811 June 21, at 1 a.m. | 733.58 | 28.881 | 735.11 | 28.941 July 31, at 2 a.m. | 731.77 | 28.811 | 733.28 | 28.870 August 12, at 4 a.m. | 715.81 | 28.182 | 717.31 | 28.241 September 22, at 6 a.m.| 719.29 | 28.319 | 720.77 | 28.377 October 23, at 4 a.m. | 722.06 | 28.428 | 723.53 | 28.486 November 19, at 3 p.m. | 731.33 | 28.793 | 732.82 | 28.852 December 22, at 10 p.m.| 735.52 | 28.958 | 737.01 | 29.016 1899. January 30, at 10 p.m. | 733.92 | 28.895 | 735.43 | 28.955 February 17, at 11 p.m.| 718.59 | 28.292 | 720.08 | 28.350 March 2, at 3 a.m. | 710.26 | 27.963 | 711.74 | 28.022 -----------------------------+--------+---------+---------+-------- Absolute minimum, 711.74 mm. = 28.022 inches.
TABLE V.--MAXIMUM PRESSURES OBSERVED.
-----------------------------+------------------+------------------ | REDUCED TO | REDUCED TO | FREEZING-POINT. | FREEZING-POINT | | AND LAT. 45°. -----------------------------+--------+---------+---------+-------- | MM. | INCHES. | MM. | INCHES. 1898. February 11, at 4 p.m. | 755.82 | 29.757 | 757.11 | 29.808 March 29, at 1 a.m. | 755.35 | 29.739 | 756.95 | 29.802 April 26, at 7 a.m. | 753.80 | 29.678 | 755.37 | 29.739 May 13, at 4 p.m. | 764.28 | 30.090 | 765.90 | 30.154 June 11, at 1 a.m. | 770.48 | 30.334 | 772.14 | 30.400 July 18, at 8 p.m. | 761.53 | 29.983 | 763.10 | 30.044 August 29, at 6 p.m. | 765.43 | 30.135 | 766.99 | 30.197 September 16, at 9 p.m.| 757.77 | 29.834 | 759.31 | 29.894 October 12, at 8 a.m. | 764.80 | 30.111 | 766.35 | 30.172 November 13, at 4 a.m. | 754.05 | 29.688 | 755.58 | 29.748 December 18, at 5 a.m. | 757.65 | 29.829 | 759.20 | 29.890 1899. January 24, at 8 p.m. | 760.76 | 29.951 | 762.33 | 30.013 February 22, at 3 a.m. | 751.63 | 29.593 | 753.17 | 29.653 -----------------------------+--------+---------+---------+-------- Absolute maximum, 772.14 mm. = 30.400 inches.
TABLE VI.--MAXIMUM VARIATIONS OF PRESSURE, AND MEANS OF THOSE VARIATIONS.
----------------+----------------+--------- | MM. | INCHES. ----------------+----------------+--------- 1899. February | 33.09 } | 1.303 1898. March | 35.47 } 35.93 | 1.397 April | 39.22 } | 1.544 | | May | 34.12 } | 1.343 June | 37.03 } 33.66 | 1.458 July | 29.82 } | 1.174 | | August | 49.68 } | 1.955 September | 38.54 } 43.68 | 1.518 October | 42.82 } | 1.686 | | November | 22.76 } | 0.897 December | 22.19 } 23.95 | 0.874 1899. January | 26.90 } | 1.059 ----------------+----------------+--------- Mean | 34.30 | 1.350 ----------------+----------------+--------- Extreme range for the year: 772.14--711.74 = 60.40 mm. 30.400--28.022 = 2.378 inches.
TABLE VII.--DIFFERENCES OF MONTHLY MEANS OF PRESSURE FROM THE MEAN OF THE YEAR.
The + sign indicates pressure greater than the mean, the - sign pressure less than the mean.
-----------------+---------+----------------------- | MM. | INCHES. -----------------+---------+----------------------- 1899. February | -8.2 | -0.323 } 1898. March | -3.3 | -0.130 } minimum. April | -9.1 | -0.358 } -----------------+---------+----------------------- May | +1.6 | +0.063 } June | +4.8 | +0.189 } maximum. July | +3.1 | +0.122 } -----------------+---------+----------------------- August | +2.5 | +0.098 } September | +0.8 | +0.031 } 2nd minimum. October | 0.0 | 0.000 } -----------------+---------+----------------------- November | +1.3 | +0.051 } December | +3.5 | +0.138 } 2nd maximum. 1899. January | +2.6 | +0.102 } -----------------+---------+-----------------------
TABLE VIII.--TABLE OF WIND DIRECTIONS.
The figures show the number of hours during which the wind blew from each direction.
------+---+---+---+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- | N.| N.| N.| E. | E.| E. | S.| S.| S.| S.| S.| W.| W.| W.| N.| N. | | N.| E.| N. | | S. | E.| S.| | S.| W.| S.| | N.| W.| N. | | E.| | E. | | E. | | E.| | W.| | W.| | W.| | W. ------+---+---+---+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--- 1898.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | March | 14| 26| 38| 60 | 68| 50 | 34| 30| 82| 22| 64| 56| 78| 22| 22| 10 April | 30| 22| 13| 27 | 84| 64 | 76| 59| 32| 21| 25| 20| 51| 49| 50| 31 May |100|121| 72| 8 | 17| 33 | 4| 7| 9| 1| 2| 17| 65| 75| 61| 83 June | 14| 22| 26| 33 | 34| 25 | 28| 9| 24| 8| 76| 38|191| 87| 37| 16 July | 22| 10| 1| -- | 24| 72 | 31| 70| 54| 28| 48| 38| 81| 48| 25| 4 August| 32| 14| 38| 29 | 26| 9 | 34| 5| 19| 10| 47| 56|141| 76|104| 38 Sept. | 51| 24| 74| 44 | 46| 22 | 28| 14| 49| 16| 47| 21| 59| 45| 24| 17 Oct. | 47| 31| 46| 8 | 45| 11 | 7| 18| 41| 24| 69| 74| 91| 42| 83| 32 Nov. | 34| 35| 69| 93 | 79| 32 | 21| 14| 21| 31| 37| 28| 38| 28| 18| 21 Dec. | 3| 12| 53| 92 | 67|107 | 55| 16| 21| 24| 63| 58| 44| 5| 11| 7 1899.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jan. | 8| 16|124|156 |104| 84 | 52| 72| 20| 12| 28| 16| 8| --| --| -- Feb. | 32| 42| 70| 49 |111| 99 | 72| 37| 22| 10| 13| 23| 35| 13| 17| 6 ------+---+---+---+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---- |387|375|624|599 |705|608 |442|351|394|207|519|445|882|490|452|265 ------+---+---+---+----+---+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
TABLE IX.
Column 1 shows number of days of continuous fog or overcast sky.
Column 2 shows number of days with sky partially clear for several hours in succession (cloud amount 30 per cent. or more).
Column 3 shows number of days on which fog was observed.
-----------+------+------+---- | 1 | 2 | 3 -----------+------+------+---- March | 6 | 15 | 14 April | 10 | 14 | 26 May | 15 | 8 | 27 June | 5 | 16 | 28 July | 7 | 22 | 17 August | 9 | 15 | 25 September | 9 | 14 | 14 October | 16 | 12 | 23 November | 13 | 10 | 18 December | 9 | 13 | 13 January | 17 | 6 | 17 February | 21 | 1 | 23 -----------+------+------+----
TABLE X.
Column 1 shows the number of days on which snow was recorded.
Column 2 shows the number of days on which rain was recorded.
-----------+-------+----- | 1 | 2 -----------+-------+----- March | 13 | -- April | 22 | -- May | 30 | 4 June | 24 | -- July | 14 | -- August | 26 | 1 September | 19 | -- October | 25 | 2 November | 25 | -- December | 18 | -- January | 19 | 4 February | 22 | 3 -----------+-------+----- Year | 257 | 14 -----------+-------+-----
TABLE XI.
Column 1 shows the number of days of calm, or of wind not exceeding force 1.
Column 2 shows the number of days of wind force less than 4.
-----------+------+----- | 1 | 2 -----------+------+----- March | 0 | 11 April | 2 | 5 May | 3 | 13 June | 3 | 11 July | 15 | 25 August | 3 | 15 September | 7 | 20 October | 4 | 11 November | 8 | 21 December | 4 | 21 January | 5 | 24 February | 1 | 12 -----------+------+-----
APPENDIX NO. III
THE BATHYMETRICAL CONDITIONS OF THE ANTARCTIC REGIONS
BY
HENRYK ARCTOWSKI
The scientific work of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition was commenced in the channels of Tierra del Fuego, and after the vessel left the pack they were concluded at Punta Arenas. It is thus impossible to discuss the physical geography of the antarctic regions in general without including the scientific results of the expedition of the _Belgica_.
The works of Murray, Neumayer, Fricker, and others,[2] give a general account of the previous state of our knowledge of the antarctic regions, and therefore I prefer to give a short summary of the results obtained by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition from the point of view of oceanography.
[Illustration]
The _Belgica_ had the advantage of navigating a region in which no previous bathymetric researches had been made, and her soundings have a special value (although their actual number was not great) because they were not taken at random. On the voyage from Staten Island to the South Shetlands, a line of soundings was run nearly from north to south, giving a transverse section of the “antarctic channel” which separates the Andes from one of the projecting angles of Murray’s hypothetical antarctic continent. In another place also, beyond the antarctic circle, and to the west of Alexander I. Land, we were able to obtain a series of soundings, some before entering the ice, the others on account of the drift of the vessel when imprisoned in the pack. The soundings on our way southward are given in the Table as Nos. 1–9, and those taken between 70° and 107° west as Nos. 10–56, while the results are represented chartographically in the two maps.
[Illustration: SOUNDINGS IN THE PACK
(Soundings in fathoms)]
The first map shows the probable arrangement of the depths to the south of Cape Horn and in the antarctic regions. Soundings Nos. 1, 2, and 3 prove that south of Staten Island the continental shelf is very narrow, and terminates seaward in an abrupt slope, the greatest depth sounded (2209 fathoms) lying, in fact, very near the island. To the east, on the contrary, the continental shelf extends to a great distance as Burdwood Bank.
Between the southern versant of the Andes and the mountain system forming the framework of the antarctic lands visited by the expedition, there lies a deep, flat-bottomed depression, the floor of which rises gently towards the south, and not far from the South Shetlands an abrupt slope leads up to the rocky shallows near Livingstone Island. The last sounding taken gave a depth of 2625 fathoms in 56° 28′ south and 84° 46′ west, proving that the depth increases towards the Pacific Ocean. As, on the contrary, the Sandwich group, South Georgia, and Shag Rocks lie to the east, it seems probable that this great basin (called Barker Basin on the chart in the _Challenger_ Reports) does not extend to the east of these islands. In a note on the interest which attaches to the geological exploration of the lands in the far south, which I published in December, 1895,[3] I suggested that “Grahamland is connected with Patagonia by a submarine ridge, which forms a great arc extending between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands, and that the tertiary chain of the Andes reappears in Grahamland.” I maintain this hypothesis, which demands for its satisfactory demonstration not only the geological study of the land, but also and chiefly a detailed bathymetrical map. The first step to this end has now been made.
The second map, showing soundings in the pack, is on a larger scale than the first, and shows the distribution of the soundings to the west of the land, and within the antarctic circle. It clearly demonstrates the presence of a continental shelf. The section along the line _AB_ is extremely characteristic, showing distinctly that the submarine slope is discontinuous. The submerged bank, which terminates abruptly towards the ocean, has depths of from 200 to 300 fathoms, and farther south the depths are probably still less. I shall not discuss the configuration of this submarine elevation as one might imagine it to be from the soundings taken upon it, for the soundings are not numerous enough for this to be done profitably. But I cannot refrain from calling attention to one point which seems to me of great importance. The edge of the plateau is indicated by the isobath of 300 fathoms, beyond which the depths increase very rapidly. Now, it is the 100-fathom line which is generally accepted as the limit of the continental shelf, and it would appear possible that in the antarctic regions the continental shelf had been submerged. The discussion of this interesting question would, however, lead us too far.
It is noteworthy that the soundings carried out by the _Erebus_ and _Terror_ to the east of Victorialand, and north of the ice-barrier discovered by Ross, also indicate the existence of a continental shelf with much greater depths to the north. Between the two there still remains a space of 60° of longitude to explore before one can say whether they are connected.
[Illustration: METHOD OF SOUNDING]
All the positions were fixed by M. Lecointe, and I am indebted to the kindness of this accomplished astronomer for the exact place of each sounding. The sounding-machine of the _Belgica_ was constructed by Le Blanc at Paris, and is similar to that employed on the _Pola_ by the Austrian expedition. During the wintering in the ice, M. de Gerlache had a simple but effective arrangement constructed on board, which was fitted up on the ice close to the ship, and only required a hole to be cut in order to allow a sounding to be made. It consisted of a wooden drum carrying the sounding-wire, a brake consisting of a cord and a strong piece of wood serving as a lever to regulate the descent of the weight, and two cranks on the axle of the drum to heave in the wire. A wheel of one metre in circumference, with a counter from the Le Blanc machine, allowed the depth to be read off. The line ran through a block attached by a dynamometer to three poles arranged as a tripod. The soundings and temperature observations were laborious, and it is due to the co-operation of MM. Amundsen, Tollefsen, Johansen, Melaerts, Van Rysselberghe, and of M. de Gerlache himself, that it has been made possible for me to write these notes on the bathymetrical conditions of the antarctic regions.
TABLE OF SOUNDINGS.
--------+----------+--------+---------+---------+---- DATE. | DEPTH |FATHOMS.|LATITUDE.|LONGITUDE| NO. |IN METRES.| | | WEST. | --------+----------+--------+---------+---------+---- 1898. | | | ° ′ | ° ′ | Jan. 14| 296 | 162 | 54 51 | 63 37 | 1 „ 14| 1564 | 855 | 55 3 | 63 29 | 2 „ 15| 4040 | 2209 | 55 51 | 63 19 | 3 „ 16| 3850 | 2105 | 56 49 | 64 30 | 4 „ 18| 3800 | 2078 | 59 58 | 63 12 | 5 „ 19| 3690 | 2018 | 61 5 | 63 4 | 6 „ 20| 2900 | 1586 | 62 2 | 61 58 | 7 „ 20| 1880 | 1028 | 62 11 | 61 37 | 8 „ 28| 625 | 342 | 64 23 | 62 2 | 9 Feb. 16| 135 | 74 | 67 59 | 70 40 | 10 „ 19| 480 | 262 | 69 6 | 78 21 | 11 „ 23| 565 | 309 | 69 46 | 81 8 | 12 „ 24| 510 | 279 | 69 31 | 81 31 | 13 „ 25| 2700 | 1476 | 69 17 | 82 25 | 14 „ 27| 2600 | 1422 | 69 24 | 84 39 | 15 „ 27| 1730 | 946 | 69 41 | 84 43 | 16 Mar. 1| 570 | 312 | 71 6 | 85 23 | 17 „ 1| 520 | 284 | 71 17 | 85 43 | 18 „ 2| 460 | 251 | 71 31 | 85 16 | 19 „ 4| 530 | 290 | 71 22 | 84 55 | 20 „ 5| 520 | 284 | 71 19 | 85 29 | 21 „ 9| 554 | 303 | 71 23 | 85 33 | 22 „ 20| 390 | 213 | 71 35 | 88 2 | 23 April 22| 480 | 262 | 71 2 | 92 3 | 24 „ 26| 410 | 224 | 70 50 | 92 22 | 25 May 4| 1150 | 629 | 70 33 | 89 22 | 26 „ 20| 435 | 238 | 71 16 | 87 38 | 27 „ 26| 436 | 238 | 71 13 | 87 44 | 28 Sept. 2| 502 | 274 | 70 0 | 82 45 | 29 „ 9| 510 | 279 | 69 51 | 82 36 | 30 „ 14| 480 | 262 | 69 53 | 83 4 | 31 „ 22| 485 | 265 | 70 23 | 82 31 | 32 „ 26| 485 | 265 | 70 21 | 82 52 | 33 „ 29| 480 | 262 | 70 21 | 82 39 | 34 Oct. 7| 480 | 262 | 70 30 | 82 48 | 35 „ 16| 532 | 291 | 69 59 | 80 54 | 36 „ 19| 580 | 317 | 70 1 | 81 45 | 37 „ 24| 537 | 294 | 69 43 | 80 51 | 38 Nov. 2| 518 | 283 | 69 51 | 81 24 | 39 „ 10| 490 | 268 | 70 9 | 82 35 | 40 „ 28| 459 | 251 | 70 20 | 83 23 | 41 Dec. 20| 569 | 311 | 70 15 | 84 6 | 42 „ 22| 645 | 253 | 70 19 | 84 51 | 43 „ 27| 630 | 344 | 70 20 | 85 52 | 44 „ 29| 660 | 361 | 70 15 | 85 51 | 45 „ 31| 950 | 519 | 70 1 | 85 20 | 46 1899. | | | | | Jan. 2| 1360 | 744 | 69 52 | 85 13 | 47 „ 4| 1470 | 804 | 69 50 | 85 12 | 48 „ 7| 1490 | 815 | 69 52 | 85 32 | 49 Feb. 10| 1166 | 638 | 70 34 | 93 17 | 50 „ 19| 1740 | 951 | 70 30 | 94 12 | 51 Mar. 2| 430 | 235 | 70 53 | 97 17 | 52 „ 5| 425 | 232 | 70 51 | 97 57 | 53 „ 12| 564 | 308 | 70 56 | 100 18 | 54 „ 13| 1195 | 653 | 70 50 | 102 14 | 55 „ 23| 4800 | 2625 | 56 28 | 84 46 | 56 --------+----------+--------+---------+---------+----
APPENDIX NO. IV
NAUTICAL POSITIONS AND MAGNETIC DEDUCTIONS
BY
CAPTAIN GEORGES LECOINTE
--------+--------------+-----------+-----------+--------+-------+------- | | | LONGITUDE |TEMPERA-| | DATES. | LOCAL TIME. | LATITUDE | WEST OF | TURE |DECLI- |INCLI- | | SOUTH. | GREENWICH.| CENTI- |NATION.|NATION. | | | | GRADE. | | --------+--------------+-----------+-----------+--------+-------+------- Jan. 2 | 5.30 p.m. |69° 52′ 00″|85° 13′ 30″| -1.6 | 34.22 | 68.27 Jan. 7 | 9 a.m. |69° 52′ 00″|85° 32′ 15″| -2.8 | 34.21 | 68.27 Jan. 14 | 12 m. |54° 50′ 40″|63° 39′ 00″| | | Jan. 14 | 5 p.m. |55° 02′ 50″|63° 29′ 15″| | | Jan. 15 | 12 m. |55° 50′ 45″|63° 19′ 15″| | | Jan. 16 | 12 m. |56° 47′ 30″|64° 23′ 45″| | | Jan. 16 | 5 p.m. |56° 48′ 45″|64° 30′ 30″| | | Jan. 17 | 5 p.m. |58° 43′ 30″|63° 43′ 15″| | | Jan. 18 | 12 m. |59° 58′ 15″|63° 12′ 15″| | | Jan. 19 | 12 m. |61° 05′ 30″|63° 04′ 15″| | | Jan. 20 | 12 m. |62° 02′ 15″|61° 58′ 15″| | | Jan. 20 | 4 p.m. |62° 11′ 00″|61° 37′ 15″| | | Jan. 23 | 12 m. |63° 28′ 30″|62° 13′ 00″| | | Jan. 24 | 12 m. |64° 09′ 00″|62° 13′ 00″| | | Jan. 25 | 10 a.m. |64° 06′ 24″|61° 59′ 30″| | | Jan. 25 | 3 p m. |63° 57′ 04″|61° 47′ 34″| | | Jan. 27 | 7 a.m. |64° 02′ 26″|61° 35′ 20″| | | Jan. 27 | 12 m. |64° 09′ 00″|61° 35′ 20″| | | Jan. 28 | 8 a.m. |64° 22′ 45″|62° 02′ 15″| | | Jan. 30 | 8 a.m. |64° 31′ 15″|62° 21′ 45″| | | Feb. 5 | 12 m. |64° 27′ 45″|62° 27′ 45″| | | Feb. 8 | 12 m. |64° 38′ 00″|62° 27′ 45″| | | Feb. 9 | 7 a.m. |64° 47′ 15″|63° 29′ 25″| | | Feb. 9 | 12 m. |64° 54′ 23″|63° 39′ 10″| -2.0 | 38.20 | 70.09 Feb. 10 | 8 a.m. |70° 33′ 45″|93° 17′ 00″| -6.8 | 38.20 | 70.30 |7.15 to 8 p.m.| | | -4.5 | | 70.14 |8 to 8.30 p.m.| | | -4.5 | | 70.22 | 8 p.m. | | | -4.5 | | 70.27 Feb. 11 | 9 a.m. |65° 04′ 25″|63° 00′ 15″| | | Feb. 12 | 10 a.m. |65° 01′ 30″|63° 49′ 25″| | | Feb. 16 | 12 m. |67° 58′ 15″|70° 03′ 15″| | | Feb. 18 | 4 p.m. |67° 59′ 30″|70° 39′ 30″| | | Feb. 19 | 12 m. |69° 06′ 15″|78° 21′ 30″| -0.8 | 39.16 | 70.07 Feb. 22 | 9 p.m. |69° 48′ 45″|81° 08′ 30″| | | Feb. 23 | 12 m. |69° 46′ 30″|81° 08′ 30″| | | Feb. 24 | 12 m. |69° 30′ 30″|81° 31′ 30″| | | Feb. 25 | 3 p.m. |69° 17′ 00″|82° 24′ 30″| | | Feb. 26 | 12 m. |69° 13′ 30″|82° 20′ 30″| | | Feb. 27 | 12 m. |69° 24′ 00″|84° 39′ 15″| | | Feb. 27 | 5 p.m. |69° 40′ 45″|84° 42′ 30″| | | Feb. 28 | 12 m. |70° 23′ 00″|85° 56′ 45″| | | Mar. 1 | 8 a.m. |71° 06′ 00″|85° 22′ 45″| | | Mar. 1 | 12 m. |71° 04′ 45″|85° 22′ 45″| | | Mar. 1 | 4 p.m. |71° 17′ 00″|85° 26′ 00″| | | Mar. 2 | 12 m. |71° 31′ 15″|85° 15′ 45″| +0.6 | 40.41 | 71.17 Mar. 2 | 3.30 p.m. | |97° 16′ 15″| +0.2 | 40.32 | 71.15 Mar. 3 | 12 m. |71° 28′ 00″|85° 11′ 15″| | 35.10 | Mar. 4 | 12 m. |71° 22′ 15″|84° 54′ 45″| +10.4 | 41.07 | 71.17 Mar. 5 | 12 m. |71° 19′ 00″|85° 28′ 30″| | | Mar. 6 | 4 p.m. |71° 18′ 30″|85° 34′ 45″| -6.7 | | 71.32 Mar. 7 | 12 m. |71° 26′ 30″|85° 44′ 00″| | | Mar. 7 | 9 p.m. |71° 29′ 15″|85° 55′ 15″| | | Mar. 8 | 4 p.m. |71° 28′ 30″|85° 54′ 30″| | | Mar. 9 | 12 m. |71° 23′ 00″|85° 32′ 00″| | | Mar. 11 | 12 m. |71° 23′ 15″|85° 38′ 30″| | | Mar. 12 | 12 m. |71° 24′ 45″|85° 53′ 15″| -12.5 | 41.47 | 71.56 Mar. 13 | 12 m. |71° 19′ 15″|86° 02′ 15″| | | Mar. 14 | 4 p.m. |71° 16′ 15″|85° 37′ 00″| | | Mar. 15 | 12 m. |70° 52′ 15″|85° 37′ 00″| | | Mar. 20 | 3 p.m. |71° 35′ 00″|88° 02′ 00″| | | Mar. 23 | 12 m. |71° 34′ 45″|88° 50′ 45″| -13.2 | 38.56 | Mar. 24 | 12 m. |71° 35′ 15″|88° 50′ 45″| | | Mar. 25 | 12 m. |71° 24′ 15″|88° 32′ 00″| | | Mar. 26 | 12 m. |71° 19′ 45″|88° 23′ 00″| | | Mar. 27 | 12 m. |71° 16′ 30″|88° 23′ 00″| | | Mar. 28 | 12 m. |71° 13′ 00″|88° 23′ 15″| | | Mar. 30 | 8 a.m. |71° 13′ 00″|88° 06′ 15″| | | Apr. 2 | 12 m. |71° 09′ 30″|88° 06′ 15″| | | Apr. 3 | 12 m. |71° 07′ 03″|88° 06′ 15″| | | Apr. 5 | 12 m. |71° 04′ 15″|88° 06′ 15″| | | Apr. 7 | 7 p.m. |70° 54′ 45″|88° 42′ 00″| | | Apr. 8 | 12 m. |70° 53′ 04″|88° 42′ 00″| | | Apr. 10 | 12 m. |70° 52′ 04″|88° 42′ 00″| | | Apr. 11 | 12 m. |70° 48′ 15″|88° 42′ 00″| | | Apr. 21 | 12 m. |71° 03′ 18″|88° 42′ 00″| | | Apr. 21 | 8 p.m. |71° 02′ 00″|92° 03′ 15″| | | Apr. 22 | 2 p.m. | | | | | Apr. 25 | 10 p.m. |70° 50′ 15″|92° 21′ 30″| -24.5 | 36.51 | Apr. 26 | 8 a.m. | | | | | Apr. 30 | 10 p.m. |70° 43′ 30″|90° 30′ 45″| | | May 4 | 7 a.m. |70° 33′ 30″|89° 22′ 00″| | | May 5 | 11 a.m. | | | | | May 10 | 11 a.m. | | | | | May 16 | 4 p.m. |71° 34′ 30″|89° 10′ 00″| | | May 17 | 7 p.m. |71° 22′ 00″|88° 39′ 49″| | | May 18 | 8 p.m. |71° 17′ 45″|88° 02′ 15″| | | May 20 | 7 p.m. |71° 15′ 45″|87° 38′ 15″| | | May 21 | 8 p.m. |71° 15′ 15″|87° 26′ 30″| | | May 25 | 7 p.m. |71° 13′ 15″|87° 44′ 00″| | | May 26 | 11 a.m. | | | | | May 26 | 7 p.m. |71° 15′ 00″|87° 39′ 15″| | | May 29 | 7 p.m. |71° 23′ 45″|87° 35′ 00″| -25.0 | | 70.07 May 31 | 7 a.m. |71° 36′ 00″|87° 38′ 30″| -9.0 | | 70.14 June 1 | 7 p.m. |71° 25′ 15″|86° 55′ 15″| | | June 2 | 10.30 a.m. |71° 25′ 15″|86° 55′ 15″| -28.1 | | 69.38 June 3 | 7 p.m. |71° 23′ 00″|87° 22′ 15″| -27.4 | | 69.18 June 7 | 7 p.m. |71° 23′ 30″|86° 55′ 15″| | | June 8 | 7 p.m. |71° 21′ 30″|87° 50′ 00″| | | June 10 | 7 p.m. |71° 20′ 00″|87° 16′ 00″| | | June 14 | 5 p.m. |71° 04′ 00″|86° 03′ 00″| -27.1 | 35.34 | 69.02 June 15 | 9 p.m. |71° 04′ 00″|86° 36′ 45″| | | June 22 | 8 a.m. |70° 56′ 15″|83° 30′ 15″| -27.2 | 34.04 | 68.09 June 22 | 8 p.m. |70° 56′ 15″|83° 30′ 00″| | | June 23 | 7 p.m. |70° 47′ 45″|83° 43′ 45″| | | July 7 | 11 p.m. |70° 51′ 00″|86° 47′ 15″| | | July 8 | 9 p.m. |70° 48′ 30″|87° 14′ 00″| | | July 9 | 9 p.m. |70° 54′ 15″|88° 19′ 00″| -32.6 | 37.04 | 69.15 July 21 | 3 p.m. |70° 35′ 15″|86° 34′ 15″| -29.3 | 35.38 | 69.23 Aug. 10 | 7 p.m. |70° 52′ 30″|86° 33′ 30″| | | Aug. 19 | 7 p.m. |70° 26′ 00″|84° 26′ 15″| | | Aug. 20 | 6 p.m. |70° 72′ 15″|84° 03′ 30″| | | Aug. 22 | 6 p.m. |70° 09′ 15″|83° 41′ 15″| | | Aug. 24 | 6 p.m. |70° 15′ 30″|83° 15′ 15″| | | Aug. 26 | 7 p.m. |70° 16′ 00″|83° 15′ 00″| | | Aug. 27 | 12 m. |70° 16′ 00″|83° 15′ 00″| | | Aug. 29 | 7 p.m. |70° 13′ 15″|83° 26′ 45″| | | Aug. 31 | 7 p.m. |70° 04′ 30″|83° 06′ 30″| | | Sept. 2 | 7 p.m. |70° 00′ 15″|82° 45′ 00″| -23.0 | 33.13 | 68.38 Sept. 2 | 8.40 p.m. |70° 00′ 15″| | -23.5 | 33.19 | 67.16 Sept. 3 | 11 a.m. |69° 58′ 45″|82° 38′ 45″| -15.6 | 33.28 | 67.52 Sept. 4 |2 to 3 p.m. | | | -20.5 | | 68.09 | 3 p.m. | | | -20.5 | | 68.07 | 4.30 p.m. | | | -20.3 | | 67.45 Sept. 5 | 7 p.m. |69° 59′ 16″|82° 43′ 45″| | | Sept. 7 | 12 m. |69° 53′ 45″| | | | Sept. 7 | 7 p.m. |69° 54′ 00″|82° 35′ 15″| -33.3 | 33.06 | 67.45 Sept. 8 | 7 p.m. |69° 53′ 45″|82° 38′ 30″| | | Sept. 9 | 7 p.m. |69° 51′ 00″|82° 36′ 15″| -38.5 | 33.11 | 68.23 Sept. 9 | 4.30 p.m. | | | -32.2 | | 68.16 Sept. 10| 7 p.m. |69° 51′ 45″|82° 40′ 45″| | | Sept. 11| 12 m. |69° 51′ 30″|32° 40′ 45″| | | Sept. 13| 7 p.m. |69° 50′ 15″|83° 03′ 00″| -32.7 | 33.17 | 67.58 Sept. 14| 1 p.m. |69° 53′ 00″|83° 03′ 30″| | | Sept. 14| 6 p.m. |69° 55′ 30″|83° 04′ 15″| | | Sept. 16| 7 p.m. |69° 51′ 15″|82° 22′ 45″| | | Sept. 22| 3 p.m. |70° 22′ 45″|82° 31′ 00″| -4.8 | 33.40 | 68.13 Sept. 23| 4 p.m. |70° 24′ 30″|82° 37′ 00″| -13.1 | 33.45 | 67.56 Sept. 26| 12 m. |70° 21′ 15″|82° 52′ 15″| -15.2 | 33.58 | 68.06 Sept. 26| 3.45 p.m.| | | -15.2 | | 68.07 Sept. 29| 12 m. |70° 21′ 00″|82° 39′ 00″| -21.5 | 33.45 | 68.10 | 2.30 to 3.30 | | | | | | p.m. | | | -18.1 | | 68.22 Oct. 6 | 12 m. |70° 38′ 30″|82° 39′ 00″| | | Oct. 7 | 12 m. |70° 30′ 30″|82° 48′ 00″| -14.5 | 33.42 | 68.20 Oct. 8 | 12 m. |70° 23′ 30″|82° 46′ 45″| -15.1 | 33.12 | 68.17 Oct. 10 | 12 m. |70° 09′ 15″|82° 42′ 30″| -6.2 | 33.29 | 68.02 Oct. 16 | 12 m. |69° 59′ 00″|80° 54′ 15″| -6.0 | 33.16 | 67.40 Oct. 19 | 5 p.m. |70° 01′ 30″|80° 44′ 45″| | | Oct. 20 | 12 m. |70° 00′ 30″|80° 44′ 45″| | | Oct. 21 | 12 m. |69° 56′ 15″|80° 44′ 45″| | | Oct. 22 | 8 a.m. |69° 55′ 00″|80° 31′ 00″| -16.0 | 32.11 | 67.22 Oct. 23 | 12 m. |69° 50′ 15″| | | | Oct. 24 | 12 m. |69° 43′ 00″|80° 50′ 30″| -19.3 | 32.00 | 67.32 Oct. 25 | 12 m. |69° 38′ 45″|80° 36′ 30″| -19.8 | 31.55 | 67.13 Oct. 28 | 12 m. |69° 39′ 30″|80° 36′ 30″| | | Oct. 29 | 12 m. |69° 38′ 00″|80° 35′ 30″| -15.7 | 31.50 | 67.37 | 11 a.m. | | | -12.0 | | 67.22 Oct. 30 | 12 m. |69° 44′ 45″|80° 35′ 30″| | | Nov. 2 | 12 m. |69° 51′ 00″|81° 26′ 00″| -13.0 | 32.21 | 68.22 Nov. 2 | 4 p.m. |69° 51′ 15″|81° 23′ 45″| | | Nov. 3 | 12 m. |69° 48′ 15″|81° 19′ 00″| | | Nov. 3 | 5 p.m. |69° 47′ 00″|81° 20′ 00″| | | Nov. 5 | 12 m. |69° 48′ 30″|81° 20′ 00″| | | Nov. 5 | 5 p.m. |69° 44′ 00″|81° 28′ 15″| | | Nov. 10 | 5 p.m. |70° 09′ 00″|82° 35′ 15″| -13.0 | 32.21 | 68.17 Nov. 17 | 12 m. |70° 05′ 30″|82° 35′ 15″| | | Nov. 20 | 4 p.m. |70° 06′ 00″|82° 30′ 30″| -4.2 | 33.03 | 68.07 Nov. 25 | 12 m. |70° 25′ 00″|83° 27′ 00″| -2.7 | 33.39 | 68.40 Nov. 26 | 12 m. |70° 23′ 30″|83° 27′ 00″| | | Nov. 28 | 5 p.m. |70° 19′ 45″|83° 23′ 15″| -2.4 | 33.46 | 68.20 Dec. 2 | 6 p.m. |70° 18′ 00″|83° 33′ 15″| | | Dec. 6 | 12 m. |69° 54′ 00″|83° 33′ 15″| | | Dec. 7 | 6 p.m. |69° 51′ 30″|82° 48′ 45″| | | Dec. 9 | 5.45 p.m |69° 50′ 30″|82° 45′ 00″| -1.9 | 32.51 | 67.40 Dec. 12 | 5.40 p.m. |69° 49′ 15″|82° 46′ 45″| -3.1 | 32.53 | 67.52 Dec. 20 | 4.30 p.m. |70° 15′ 00″|84° 06′ 15″| -1.4 | 34.19 | 68.26 Dec. 22 | 5 p.m. |70° 18′ 30″|84° 51′ 00″| -0.9 | 34.33 | 68.41 Dec. 27 | 4.25 p.m. |70° 20′ 15″|85° 52′ 00″| +2.7 | 34.30 | 68.31 Dec. 29 | 5.30 p.m. |70° 15′ 00″|85° 51′ 15″| +0.3 | 34.43 | 68.35 Dec. 31 | 5.30 p.m. |70° 01′ 30″|85° 20′ 15″| -2.5 | 34.19 | 68.32 --------+--------------+-----------+-----------+--------+-------+------
APPENDIX NO. V
THE NAVIGATION OF THE ANTARCTIC ICE-PACK
BY
ROALD AMUNDSEN
Profiting by the accumulated experience of centuries, the arctic explorers of our day have succeeded in obtaining splendid results. Upon the lessons drawn from the experiences of the ill-fated _Jeannette_ expedition, Nansen, to a great extent, built his plan of drifting across the polar sea. The construction of the _Fram_ also was based upon observations made through ages. Peary is now, with unshaken energy, step by step working his way towards the north pole. Here, what aid and support does he not derive from his predecessors, the English expedition under Nares, of 1875–76, and especially from the expedition of his countryman Greely, of 1881–84, which came to such a tragic end, but which now affords the daring arctic explorer the most valuable assistance by the depot established at Fort Conger and Lady Franklin Bay! And Nature herself lends a helping hand in always leaving the line of retreat open to the arctic explorer.
The antarctic explorer, however, is forced to work under far less favourable conditions. Earlier expeditions have, indeed, tried to penetrate far south, but without leaving any material sources of help for their successors. The honour of the earliest acquaintance with the antarctic region belongs to James Cook, who, in 1774, reached as far as to 70° 10′ south latitude, where a stop was put to his progress by compact ice. In 1823 Weddell reached 74° 15′ south latitude, and in 1842 James Clark Ross made the record of farthest south when he arrived at 78° 9′ 5″ south latitude, which, as far as we know, still remains the southernmost point that has been reached.
The unexplored region around the north pole only constitutes about five million square kilometres; that around the south pole amounts to between twenty-one and twenty-two million square kilometres, or a tract of land corresponding to more than double the size of Europe.
While we have already learned about the arctic winter from the Dutchman William Barents, who passed the winter of 1596 in Nova Zembla, and from many subsequent explorers, the antarctic winter up to our time has remained but a fable. It was the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, led by the Belgian, Lieutenant Adrien de Gerlache, that brought the first information about the south polar night, after spending the winter in the antarctic pack-ice west of Grahamland in 1898–99.
Taking part in this expedition, I had daily opportunities to survey and study the ice which for nearly thirteen months formed our surroundings. It would be premature to pronounce a decided opinion as to the best way of navigating throughout the entire antarctic region according to the observations here made. In order to do that it would be necessary to have a thorough knowledge of the state of the ice in various places. The knowledge which Ross, and subsequently Kristensen, gained of the pack-ice north and east of South Victorialand, was widely different from that acquired by us of the ice west of Grahamland. Therefore, when I state my opinion below as to navigation in the antarctic ice, I do so with specific regard to the ice which stopped our progress and held us prisoners for such a long period of time.
Here it is, from the very start, quite evident to the antarctic explorer that he incurs a great risk by attacking the ice. To the south, as far as the eye can survey, he sees nothing but ice, and by experience he knows that he has to contend with a frozen ocean, agitated by storm. If his vessel should by chance be hemmed in, and possibly crushed by the ice, what ways of escape would there be open to him? The possibility of reaching land in small, open boats he certainly does not consider very great. The chance of finding human beings on new land possibly to be discovered farther south, cut off from the rest of the world by immense masses of ice, appears to be even less probable. This is, I suppose, the reason why earlier explorers have not dared to attack the ice in these regions.
It was a north-easterly gale that, on the 28th of February, 1898, forced us through the ice. Comparing this ice with that which I came across on my sealing expeditions in the arctic seas on the eastern coast of Greenland, the difference was at once apparent. While we find in the arctic ice channels and lakes several miles in length, formed by the rapid currents prevailing there, in the antarctic ice we do not find any signs of similar formations. The spaces which we found here were intermediate spaces between each separate floe of ice, broken up by the storm and carried away from its original position.
What, above all, struck me after being imprisoned in the antarctic ice was the “indolence” of the ice--that is to say, its stagnation or indisposition to move within its own bounds. That the entire main body of the ice was in lively motion soon became evident from the nautical observations, but the movements within its compass were very slight. The cause of this lack of local movement of the ice may, no doubt, be traced to the nature of the current. That currents exist here, as everywhere, is not to be doubted, but they must be very insignificant, and are surely without any importance to navigation.
From the month of December, 1898, up to March, 1899, easterly winds were predominating, and these caused a very considerable drifting of the ice. In the course of these three months we drifted in this way from about 87° longitude west of Greenwich as far as to 103°, or a distance of about 950 kilometres (this distance is calculated in a straight line on the seventy-first parallel circle). That this easterly wind, which prevailed for such a length of time and mostly with great violence, was no local wind, we can safely assume. Its place of origin was no doubt the regions around Grahamland and Alexander Islands. This gives me further cause to believe that the sea along the western coast of these countries was perfectly navigable during the months of February and March, 1899. But there is no reason whatever to suppose that this is the case every year. On the contrary, previous expeditions have always found this part of the antarctic drift-ice completely closed. We, on board of the _Belgica_ in February, 1898, also found within the drift-ice along these countries absolutely no navigable water. If a future expedition were to choose the same region where the _Belgica_ did its work for a field of investigation, my unqualified advice to it would be to linger for some time near the coast of these countries, awaiting a separation of the ice from the land. What a great advantage there would be in navigating alongshore! Possibly harbours might be discovered, stations built, and depots established, and one would then always have something to depend on. During our drift in the ice we never dared venture on foot so far out as to lose sight of our ship. It would be wholly different if there were regular stations from which to start the work. We could then safely proceed southward with a sleigh-boat and possibly accomplish fine results, for the antarctic ice, compared to the arctic ice which I have had a chance to observe, is much more level and even, and consequently easier to traverse.
I see a great advantage in having two vessels, but in that case it is necessary that both of them should be exactly on the same level in regard to power and outfit, as, in my opinion, the idea of taking along a so-called “auxiliary vessel,” which in some respect or other is inferior to the principal ship, is to be entirely rejected. The principal ship, in that case, might sometimes have to perform the duty of a tugboat and take the auxiliary vessel in tow. In order that two vessels of this kind should be able to make any headway in the drift-ice, they would always have to be within sight of each other, and one of them being inferior to the other, it is easy to understand that it would be more of a hindrance than a help. It would be altogether different if we could start our work from regular stations. Then one vessel might be stationed on the coast as a reserve ship while the other pressed onward; but as long as our knowledge of the antarctic regions remains so insignificant as at present, we must, in order to work with expectation of success, employ only first-class equipment, which by experience has been proved effective.
The _Belgica_ entering the antarctic pack-ice was the first ship to make the venture on this side of the globe. Almost nothing was previously known about the character of the ice of this region. Now the situation is entirely changed.
The ice has been tried and examined, and observations have been made which may prove of invaluable service to future expeditions.
APPENDIX NO. VI
THE POSSIBILITIES OF ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION
BY
FREDERICK A. COOK, M. D.
[Illustration: Sledge-sailing.]
The heterogeneous branches of human knowledge are so intimately interwoven that it is hard to conceive an improvement in one which does not conduce to the advantage of others. The modes of association which exist between the numerous objects of mental and physical research are like the membranes which embrace the humours of the eye, so minute and transparent that, while they give union and solidity to the whole, they themselves remain unperceived or wholly invisible. The general advancement in the knowledge of our globe, which follows the work of polar exploration, is not at first perceived. The collective results are rearranged and interwoven with the other threads which go to make up the fabric of the various branches of natural science. Around the two poles of the earth, and particularly around the south pole, there are extensive unknown regions. In these regions are hidden the finishing filaments of much exact knowledge. To seek these is the true object of polar exploration.
Efforts at clearing up the mysteries of the arctic will now for a time give place to projects for antarctic research. The disputed questions, bearing upon the value of such enterprises, have been answered in the affirmative by the Belgian, the British, and the German governments. Each of these governments has contributed large funds, not to find the south pole, but to gather the ends of the threads of science which are there lost in white obscurity.
The possibilities of exploration in the far south are many, and properly to understand them we must first review the regions actually known. Perhaps it is not correct to say that anything antarctic is actually known. Almost the entire space beyond the polar circle, with the exception of a few dotted lines, is a blank upon our charts. Even the sub-antarctic lands, like Tierra del Fuego, Kerguelen, and the Auckland Islands, are for scientific purposes unknown. Of the truly antarctic lands the first in time of discovery and in value is the always accessible land-mass south of the South Shetland Islands, which is erroneously charted Grahamland.
This is a large mass of land which is labelled on the various charts with different names, and is parcelled out to suit the nationality of the chart-makers. No navigator will be able to recognise the landmarks of Grahamland from any modern chart. This was the experience of the _Belgica_. The American sealer, Palmer, first saw the northern outline of this land. The British sealer, Biscoe, saw a part of the western border of the same land. But neither Palmer nor Biscoe has given sufficient information to make a chart. The British explorer, James Ross, and the French explorer, d’Urville, touched along the north-eastern limits, and recently the Norwegian sealer, Larsen, has traced a part of the eastern limits. From the work of later explorers, and the guesses of the early sealers, the present map is constructed. But since the _Belgica_ sailed over two hundred miles of this region where high land was placed, and since she sailed over the regions where the Biscoe Islands are placed, it is evident that even this, which is the best known of the antarctic lands, needs a general re-discovery.
The actual existence of a land, corresponding to what is charted as Grahamland, is a matter of considerable doubt. On the map it extends from the sixty-ninth parallel of latitude northward four hundred miles. Alexander I. Land, which makes the southern termination of this, is a group of islands, and we saw no land eastward. The character of the land which may or may not exist between this and the newly discovered Belgica Strait is questionable. It may be a continuous land, but, from the large indentations which we saw, it is quite as likely to be an archipelago. The possibilities of future exploration in this region are very great. The country is easy of access, and has an abundance of bays and channels, which will afford shelter to exploring vessels. It offers scientific and commercial prospects promised by no other new polar region.
Following the polar circle from Grahamland eastward, the next land is Enderbyland. Ten degrees farther another line is put down and named Kempland. Enderbyland was reported by Captain Biscoe in 1831. The pack-ice was so closely set around the land that Biscoe was not able to debark or approach within twenty-five miles. So far as we know, he saw but one headland to distinguish the land from an iceberg.
Kempland was also inaccessible, and Captain Kemp, the British sealer who discovered it, gave on his return only a verbal report. Captain Morrell, an American sealer, but a few years previous sailed over an ice-strewn sea about fifty miles south of both Enderbyland and Kempland without seeing anything resembling land. This makes it extremely probable that neither Enderbyland nor Kempland is a large mass connected with any other land. The geographical problems which seem to be indicated here are: Is this an archipelago, like the Palmer Archipelago, fronting a higher and more continuous country or continent? Or is it an isolated group of islands? An expedition devoted to this object and this only would add certain and unique records to geographic and all other sciences.
Following the polar circle still farther to 100° of east longitude, and close to the circle, there is another interruption in the unknown. This is the much-disputed Wilkesland. It is by far the largest land-mass in the entire antarctic area. The land, including Victorialand, its better-known eastern border, occupies more than one sixth of the circumference of the globe. It covers more degrees of longitude than the entire spread of the United States. In a territory of this extent, even under the most hopeless spread of snow, would it not be strange if something of value and much of interest were not found? It is not at all probable that the disconnected lines seen by Wilkes are a continuous line of the continent. These are, very likely, off-lying islands which front a great continent. We are led into the conviction that there is a continent here by the very great number and the enormous size of the icebergs which were here encountered. But this conviction without better evidence will not, and ought not to, satisfy explorers. Wilkes made his voyage of exploration in small vessels which were not specially strengthened for ice work. If he was able to approach the coast in ordinary ships, a vessel fitted for ice navigation will certainly be able to get nearer and bring back more definite results.
From Victorialand to Grahamland there is but one spot to interrupt the movement of the great sea of restless ice. This is Peter Island. It was discovered by the Russian explorer, Bellingshausen, in 1821, and it has not been seen since. The _Belgica_, in her year’s drift, came close to the assigned position, but we saw no indications of land. It would be interesting to know if this island really exists, and if it is not a part of another small archipelago.
Before passing from the known to the possibilities of the unknown, I will answer the business man’s question: “To whom do these lands belong?” It seems to me that the nations seeking to divide China and Africa might turn their ambitions briefly towards the antarctic. Here are millions of square miles which belong to nobody; at least, there are no valid claims filed, except those which accrue from the right of discovery. Victorialand would seem to belong to England, but it is possible for the United States to lay a strong claim by right of extension of territory. Wilkes, the American explorer, was the first to see and to chart the great masses of land of which Victorialand is a part. The work of Ross, though better in quality, is supplementary to that of Wilkes, which gives the United States a priority claim. There is also a small French claim. There is indeed room for a future boundary dispute of the limits and claims of the Americans, English, and French in Wilkesland. The British Government seems to have no doubt on this question, for twelve years ago the Queen issued a grant for Possession Island, making Mr. Albert McCormick Davis, of Montreal, colonial governor of its numerous cities of penguins, and giving him for a stipulated period a monopoly of its guano-beds. Mr. Davis never rose to the dignity of being the first south polar king. He was content with the honours of appointment, and returned his credentials three months after their issue.
[Illustration]
Peter and Alexander islands, and one or two islands of the Sandwich group, belong to Russia. The Bellany and Biscoe and Sandwich groups, as well as Enderbyland and Kempland, belong to Great Britain. Grahamland, like Wilkesland, offers many bones of contention. The entire northern coast should belong to the United States. A part of the eastern coast, and a part of the still uncharted western coast, belong to England. Norway has a claim for about two hundred miles on the eastern coast. The recent discoveries of the _Belgica_ give to Belgium the most beautiful and the most useful body of water in the entire antarctic area. In the adjustment of these various claims there is no end of trouble in store.
It is generally held that all these countries belong to nobody--indeed, that they are not worthy of ownership; but this is not true. The issue of a grant for Possession Island is an indication of the sentiment in England; another indication is to be perceived in an incident which happened a few years ago. The Argentine Government, being anxious to secure possession of the South Shetland Islands, aiming probably to control the harbours and the possible fisheries, made some preparation to place there a lighthouse and thus take possession by right of prior occupation. In response to this, according to a rumour said to have been based on official instruction, a British cruiser was ordered to speed, as soon as the Argentine steamer left port, to the South Shetlands and there to receive the Argentinos. The long period which has elapsed since the discovery of everything antarctic weakens the natural claims, and any one who now takes the trouble to occupy any portion of it would undoubtedly become the owner. The man who sits on the southern ice, under the hellish antarctic storms, long enough to make good his deed, deserves all there is under him, even if it proves a Klondike.
I must beg leave to differ with the prevailing opinion, regarding polar exploration, that there is no commercial or material reward commensurate with the expenditure of time and money. In the antarctic there are several prospective industries, and much of the future work has a direct bearing upon commerce. There are seals, penguins, and whales in abundance around the circumpolar area. Every rock which offers an accessible beach is covered with either seals or penguins, and every channel of open water between the pack-ice or around the ice-sheltered lands is alive with whales. Fur-seals were at one time so numerous that a whole fleet of American sealers were engaged in the hunt; but the fur-seals are now nearly extinct. The several varieties of antarctic seals have a coarse coat of single hair which is useless as a fur; but the skin and oil are of considerable value. There is no reason why a profitable fishery could not be prosecuted, like that off the coast of Labrador and Greenland. The penguins are not widely known to commerce, but their countless millions will surely attract enterprise and yield some useful product. Already they are being taken at the Falkland Islands for the oil they possess. We must abandon the hope that right whales, possessing the prized whalebone, exist here in numbers sufficient to warrant a promise of future whaling. Ross reports having seen right whales, but a diligent search since has failed to confirm this report. From the _Belgica_ we saw no whales of this variety, but finback and bottlenose whales were seen in great numbers. These are small whales having no bone of commercial value, and a somewhat inferior quality of oil. But the hunt for a similar variety of whales in Norway has given profitable employment to thousands of men in the past ten years. Whaling and sealing in the antarctic cannot, however, be made to pay the enormous expense of fitting out from Europe and North America for so distant a hunting-ground. To make these industries successful, permanent bases must be established either in the antarctic, on the sub-antarctic islands, or in the southern parts of South America or Australia.
The guano-beds of Possession Island offer an enterprise which seems to promise certain results. The guano is rich in nitrates, and exists in quantities sufficient to keep a fleet of cargo-vessels occupied for years. There are strong possibilities of the existence of hundreds of other islands within the area of the unknown, loaded with a similar or even a greater weight of the fertiliser. Such islands may be found in more accessible places, outside of the pack-ice, off the coast of Grahamland, or among the partly known groups such as the South Shetland, Bouvet, Prince Edward, or Macquarie islands.
The future for fisheries and guano industries has an appearance of reasonable certainty, but this is not true of the possible mineral wealth or of other revenue-bearing material which may be hidden behind the icy gates. Our geological knowledge of this area is still too imperfect to offer even a guess of the probable finds of precious metals or gems. Arguing by analogy, the South Shetlands in general appearance, and what little is known of the geological formation, resemble Tierra del Fuego, and we now know that gold is here found in paying quantities. Since these islands are an extension of the Fuegian lands, is it unreasonable to expect to find gold here? An antarctic Alaska is by no means beyond the future possibilities.
Are there not people or unknown animals in the regions around the south pole? Novelists have pictured this mysterious region since the time of Dalrymple, in 1760, with curious races of people and strange forms of animal life. It is the last unexplored expanse on the globe of sufficient area to offer room for fictitious creations of new worlds, and it will continue to be a special domain for imaginative writers for many years. From the explorations thus far, we have no reason to hope for any startling discoveries of human or other animal life. Borchgrevink, owing to his inexperience and hasty conclusions, mistook ordinary penguin tracks for the footprints of some large and unknown animal. No reliable traces of either large new animals or human beings have been found. The regions are, as homes for adapted people, far superior to the arctic lands, where the Eskimos periodically starve or live in blubbery abundance. If sailors or wild people were cast adrift on the antarctic shores they would not necessarily starve. There is food and fuel, and even clothing, to be had from the seals and penguins everywhere. The life would not be full of comforts, if measured by our standards, but compared to Eskimo existence there is a decided advantage in life-sustaining prospects of the southern pole--not in climate or in the degrees of cold, but in the certainty of food. People then, if they once find a foothold, might easily thrive, but to the present we have found but one doubtful sign. This was reported by Captain Larsen, the Norwegian sealer, in 1893. Larsen found about fifty clay balls, perched on pillars of the same material, on Seymour Island, off the eastern coast of Grahamland. “These,” said Larsen, “had the appearance of having been made by human hand.”
There is one train of industries for which the antarctic and sub-antarctic regions offer the best conditions of the globe. This is the farming of fur-bearing animals. It is an industry which is still in its infancy, but the recent experiments upon the barren Alaskan islands have been eminently successful. There are thousands of isolated islands in the southern oceans which offer just the conditions for the cultivation of such life. These islands, though almost barren of vegetable life, are fertile with birds and seals and smaller forms of marine life, which will offer food to prospective generations of transplanted animals. So far as I know, this is a new suggestion to the future south polar possibilities, but the conditions which I have seen are too favourable to be ignored. The antarctic lands lie isolated in a deserted and frozen sea. The drift-ice and the overland mass of glacial ice bar the passage to adventurous travellers who seek to penetrate the mysteries of the frozen south. But it is just these barriers which fence the “land of promise” for the coming fur-farmer, who is to take the place of the life-destroying hunter. I am sure that in the near future these wild wastes of the antarctic, with their million of bird-inhabited islands, will form an island empire of thrifty fur-farmers. What nation shall guard the interests of this coming race of hardy pioneers?
Independent of material results, a continued exploration of the antarctic will certainly disclose priceless scientific acquisitions. A region of the globe nearly eight million square miles in extent, into which the foot of man has not yet trodden, is not likely to prove barren of scientific data. The polar question is not a problem of adventure, as it is ordinarily thought to be, nor is it a matter of dollars and cents. It is a problem of science, and has for its principal objects an exact knowledge of the limits of land and water; a careful study of the physical condition of the earth and of the life; in short, it aims at perfecting that network of lines with which comparative science seeks to surround our planet even at the poles. The prosecution of this labour will add to our knowledge of the physical laws which regulate climates, which indicate the origin and destiny of atmospheric and sea currents, and which serve as analogies for geology and other natural sciences. The Gulf Stream was discovered by a study of polar phenomena. Our present knowledge of the glacial system, which, at some distant time, covered not only the poles, but the lands we now inhabit, would not have been conceivable without a knowledge of the present polar ice. Who will say that new gems will not be added to the annals of science by antarctic explorers?
Specifically, terrestrial magnetism, geography, meteorology, geology, and oceanography are to be most enriched by the results of far southern exploration. Magnetism has an important bearing upon the navigation of the southern hemisphere, and even upon the land surveys. If the bearings of the compass cannot be accurately deduced, evidently the course of a ship or the base-line or fixed point of a survey must be unreliable. For greater accuracy of the all-important compass, more continued and more prolonged magnetic observations in various parts of the antarctic are indispensable. Even the seemingly simple task of fixing by calculation the location of the south magnetic pole is, with our present knowledge, impossible. The positions assigned by the best authorities differ several hundred miles from each other, and the work of the _Belgica_ placed it approximately two hundred miles east of the spot designated by Ross, whose observations have been generally accepted.
Closely associated with the magnetic pole is the mysterious phenomenon, the aurora australis. It would be interesting to have a prolonged series of auroral observations to add to the first records taken by the _Belgica_. Perhaps this information would help to solve the puzzling questions of the physical character and the origin of the mysterious celestial lights. Some of these questions are: What is the difference between the aurora australis and the aurora borealis? Is there any coincidence in the appearance of the phenomena at both poles? What is the relation of the exhibits with the sun-spots? What relation have auroras with meteorological phenomena--the weather, the clouds, the atmospheric electricity? What are the connections between auroras, earth-magnetism, and telluric currents?
The geographical possibilities have been indicated in our discussion of the known lands. It would be interesting to know if the various traces of land, so close to the polar circle, are or are not connected to form one large continent. What are the physical conditions of this great unknown area of land or sea? Geographically, this is the only remaining unknown expanse of our globe where great discoveries may be expected.
The interior south polar lands are likely to prove the coldest part of the earth. This is contrary to what might be expected, because the great circular sea which surrounds the entire globe should warm the comparatively small expanse of land. In the region of the _Belgica’s_ drift, however, the indications were otherwise. Our position was in a restless sea of ice, far from land, with large open lanes of water constantly about us. It follows, then, that we should have had a mild marine climate. But our temperatures were persistently low, from -5° to -45° C., rarely above the freezing-point. And, following southerly winds, the mercury at once sank into the bulb. The suddenness and intensity of cold which came with interior winds bespeaks a very high and a very cold area. This question and a hundred others will be solved by meteorological studies. Problems of weather are associated with neighbouring phenomena. For the proper understanding of the climate of the southern hemisphere there is necessary a long-continued series of meteorological studies within the limits of perpetual ice.
In geology nearly everything remains to be done. Here are indications of some very interesting problems. Among them are the numerous open questions of the great ice age. In the period immediately preceding the ice age the polar regions were not, as they are now, submerged under a continental sea of ice, but had a somewhat profuse growth of plants, extending even to the base of the mountain glaciers. The fossil remains which have been found in the north and in the south prove that at this time there existed, among these growths, plants which are now found only in subtropical regions. This period was a noteworthy epoch in the history of our planet. It was the time when man first appeared, and it was the time when the earth was dressed in her best mantles. The continents then had a greater extension, the life a curious diversity, and the forests were much more luxuriant than they are to-day. The antarctic is likely to throw new light upon this interesting period. The fossil finds may establish the previous existence of a life of which we now have no indication. In the many departments of geology we may expect startling discoveries.
To zoology the south offers less flowery prospects than to the other sciences. The study of the organic life is important for the understanding of the earlier life of our planet, but some of this has been gathered. The work which remains to be done is the detail of anatomy and physiology and the study of microscopical forms of life. It is not probable that there remain large animals of which we have found no traces.
Probably the most important results of immediate practical use to both science and commerce, will be the gain to the newly born science, oceanography. The ever-increasing usefulness of the ocean for the needs of modern commerce or warfare, of cable service, and as a nursery for food, makes it necessary that we know as much as possible about it. We must know not only the surface, but the bottom and intermediate waters. We must know not only the warm seas, but the cold as well. There is a constant interchange between the water of the tropics and that of the poles, just as there is an interchange of the winds. The cold, ice-laden waters have a tendency to flow into the warmer regions. The overheated torrid waters flow poleward. This is the theory, and in part it is supported by observation; but what is the mechanism?
It is evident that the missing keystones to the rising arches of science are many, and the material for some of these will certainly be found in the neglected blank around the under-surface of our globe. The reasonable certainty of these results is likely to arouse a south polar enthusiasm within a few years, and in anticipation of this I wish to offer a preliminary word of warning. Up to the present, antarctic history has to record no great loss of life, no awful calamities, like the arctic tragedies. If due precaution is taken, none should be reported. The arctic and the antarctic are alike only in degrees of cold and in the quantities of ice. Even in these they differ somewhat, and in every other respect there is little resemblance. From this it follows that an antarctic explorer should be differently equipped from the man who travels in the far north. The hopeless isolation and impossibility of retreat make a fixed outline, a permanent station, and strong vessels imperative.
Should an expedition risk their fortunes, as did the crew of the _Belgica_, in a single vessel, and in the unknown drift lose their ship, which is always possible, the disaster would mean certain death for nearly everybody. It is true that the _Belgica_ experienced no great damage by pressure, but that we escaped with our vessel is a matter due quite as much to accident as to any wisely prompted construction of the ship. If a field of ice two miles in diameter should press upon any vessel in the wrong situation, it would certainly crush her. This is always to be expected in antarctic navigation, and it makes a companion ship desirable. The south, also, is a hard school for explorers. Young men who wish to engage in this work should take their schooling in the more congenial arctic regions.
From what we saw of the antarctic lands south of Cape Horn, it is clear that the previously conceived impossibility of landing on south polar lands is a misconception. The _Belgica_ made twenty debarkments, and it was discovered that it was possible to land on nearly every island and neck of land offering a projecting northerly exposure. From the experiences of the _Belgica_ it would seem that a permanent base of operations might be established far south, either in Weddell or in Ross Sea. These are the only regions offering a promising route to the south pole. The possibilities of reaching it will depend upon the character of the inland ice. If it is a smooth, even surface, without mountain ridges or extensive crevasses, such as the interior of Greenland, and if this land ice extends to the pole, then it is within the power of man, with present means, to tread on the spot; but if it is otherwise, then there is only a small prospect of reaching the southern axis.
In the future exploration of the south polar regions there is the prospect of universal association which has long been the golden dream of science. Indeed, just at present such international alliances are the topics of the hour. The final filaments of the fabric which will bind together the three greatest nations of the earth are being spun. It is not a triple alliance in an ordinary sense; it is one of the products of the evolution of nations. It is a natural selection of the three peoples best fitted for each other. England, Germany, and the United States are, at present, held together by a sort of matrimonial bond, and this bond must be strengthened. Could there be a more fitting seal to this family union than a triple alliance to explore the last great unknown area of the globe? England and Germany are organising expeditions. Will Americans, who have carried the Stars and Stripes to the farthest reaches of the earth, stand aloof and look on? If we are to have a well-equipped expedition, ready to work with England and Germany, some merchant king must come to our rescue. The present government indications are not favourable to such a venture, but with the liberal hand of a Bennett, a Harmsworth, or a Jessup, we could work hand in hand with the subjects of the Queen and the Kaiser. The combined armies of peace could, in this way, march into the white silence, the unbroken, icy slumber of centuries about the south pole, and there collect the needful scientific spoils.
INDEX
A
Adelaide Island, impression as to, 164
Agassiz, Professor, 54
Argentine Republic, offer of, 97
Air charged with drift snow, 258
Alaculoofs, 98, 99
Alarming physical condition, 327, 328
Alexander Islands, 166, 167, 186, 198
Alexanderland, charted Alexander I. Land, 164
Alexanderland, inlet north of, 169
Alcohol, 90
Alcohol, deleterious effect of, 334
Ambition, 392
American discovery, remarkable fact in, 23
American topics, 327
Amusement, uncomfortable, 313, 314
Animal life, 128, 132–134, 140, 141, 183, 186, 198, 201, 210, 236, 239, 242, 243, 248, 255, 256, 258, 260, 269, 270, 273, 274, 277, 287, 293, 294, 313, 327, 334–337, 350, 356, 359, 360, 368, 369, 383, 384, 392
Amundsen, Roald, mate, appearance of, 42, 127, 136, 141, 147, 158, 244; presence of mind of, 246; patching boots, 259; investigates a light, 286, 287, 300, 335, 349, 378; resolve of, 382, 383
Ancient explorers, contrast to, 240
Antarctic, mainlands of the, 128–131
Antarctic midnight past, 323
Antarctic, first camping experience in the, 143
Antarctic pack, striking peculiarity of, 174, 175
Antarctic tent, 349
Antipodes, different surroundings in, 131
Anvers Island, 148
Appearances of land deceptive, 272
April 1st, 244; 2d, 245; 3d, temperature, 245; 4th, latitude, longitude, and temperature, 246; 5th, 246; temperature, 247; 6th, 247; 8th, 248; 9th, 249; 10th, 253; 11th, 255; 12th, temperature, 257, 269; latitude and longitude, 270; 14th, temperature, 258; 15th, 258; 16th, 258; 20th, temperature, 259; 21st, temperature, 260; latitude, 261; 22d, temperature and position, 261; 23d, 25th, 261; temperature, 262, 263; latitude and longitude, 264; 26th, temperature and sounding, 267; 28th, temperature, 268; 30th, 269; latitude and longitude, 270
Arc Aurora, 242, 253, 254
Arc snowshoes, 353
Arctic, redeeming features in the, 295
Artificial light, 316, 318, 367
Arctowski, Henryk, geologist, 42; on Auguste Island, 132, 133, 136, 139, 141, 158, 175, 181; interviewed by sea-leopard, 211; in the crow’s-nest, 216; arranging a new system, 241, 248, 280; working in the laboratory, 299, 300; saying of, 334, 335, 336; on deck, 337, 347; record of, 391
Astrup Eivind, 147
Atmosphere, clearness of, 145
Auguste Island, 138; landing at, 131–133
August second, 358
Aurora, patches of, 236
Auroras, 212, 214, 225, 226, 258, 296, 297, 324, 335, 337, 343
Auroras, antarctic, average strength of, 262
Auroral display, 238
B
“Baking treatment,” 22, 331, 336, 351
Balaenoptera Sibbaldi, 369
Banquet, Rio Belgian, 9, 10
Barrier, 356
Barros, Trudente de Moreas, President, 9, 13; attempt to assassinate, 28
Bay-ice, 186
Bay of Rio, parting view of, 15
Beagle Channel, eastward through, 119
Beauty contest, 250; official record of, 251, 252; disputes arising out of, 254
Bellinghausen, 164, 266
Belgian Consulate, visitor from, 28
Belgian national feasts, 336
Belgians, modesty of, 240
_Belgica_, expedition ship, 4–6; on board the, 13; leaves Rio, 16; sleep on the, 17–19; young bachelors of, 36; purchase of, 41, 42; public exhibition of, 44; flag of, 46, 48; crowded decks of, 46; appearance of, 50, 51; construction, 51–53; equipment, 53, 55; laboratory, 55; library, 56; quarters, 56, 57; life on, 58; leaves Montevideo, 59, 62, 63; through the _pampero_, 64; garb for the south pole, 65; Chaplain’s duties on, 69, 70, 72, 76, 77, 97, 98; strikes a reef, 119–121, 137; anchoring to an iceberg, 140; cruise to the south, 143, 154, 164, 170; ploughs between heavy masses of ice, 178, 179, 183, 187; refuses to mind the helm, 191, 192; runs before the storm, 194–196, 205; fear for, 220, 234, 240, 246, 249; housing of, 256, 257; serious drift of, 264, 274; settling of, 268; in icefloe, 275, 278–280; normal air of, 290, 293, 296, 297; in ice-walls, 298, 304, 306, 312; alive with weird noises, 314, 318, 320, 333, 343; only speck of human life, 352; position of, 359, 361; prepared for sea, 369, 371, 375; injurious effect on, 376; in huge drift, 380, 381, 384, 385; liberatingthe, 393–399, 405
Belgica Strait, 135; position and landmarks of, 146–149; navigation of, 147, 154, 192
Belgium, Royal Society of, 406
Bird, a new, 377
Bird’s-eye view, pictures of, 217
Biscoe, Captain, 129, 147
Birds, resting places for, 141
Bismarck Inlet, 169
Bismarck Strait, 154
Blackness, effect of, 281–283
_Blake_, the, exploring ship, 43
Blessing, Dr., 321
Blow-holes, 328
_Bon voyage_, wishes for, 12, 14, 16
Borgen Bay, debarkments in, 146
Bransfield Strait, 128, 147
Brazilian Coast, 16, 18, 19
Brialmont Bay. See _Weddell Sea_
Bridges, Lucas, Mr., 120
Bridges, Thomas, Mr., 97
British explorers, custom of, 240
Brooklyn Island, 144, 148
Brussels, municipality of, 406
Brussels, Royal Geographical Society of, 40, 406
Buls Bay, 141
Bunks, 65
Butter, substitute for, 61
C
Calculation, careful, 281
Calm, unexpected, 224
Camping equipments, impracticability of, 274
Camp, site for a, 353
Canal, entering a, 144
Canal-making, 396–399
Canned foods, disgust with, 302, 303
Canvas suits ineffective, 325
Cape Anna, debarkment at, 140, 141, 145
Cape Castillo, 22
Cape Eivind Astrup, 146
Cape Errera, 147
Cape Horn, south of, 121–123
Cape Lancaster, 147
Cape Murray, off, 143
Cape Polonio, in harbour of, 21; ashore at, 25–27
Cape Reclus, rounded, 144
Cape Reynard, 147
Cape von Sterneck, altitude of, 135
Castillo Island, off, 20–22
_Castine_, cruiser, 32
Cheerlessness, 319
Chenal de la Plata, 144
Christensen, Mr., 42
Christmas in midsummer, 385, 386
Chronometers regulated, 324
_Cincinnati_, cruiser, 13
Circumpolar ocean, characteristic ice of, 170
_Cleopatra_, the, wreck of, 69
Clouds, luminous, 270; stratus and altro stratus, 193
Coaster, Brazilian, 18, 19
Coast, following the, 138
Coast-pilot, French, budget of, 72
Colchichoali, 107
Cockburn Channel, in, 94
Coldest period of the year, 362, 363
Cold metal, contact with, 262, 263
Cold not a serious cause of suffering, 257
Colony, Belgian, 59
Colours sparingly distributed, 184
Cornet, 382
Coming of the night, preparing for the, 208
Comparisons, 172, 173
Complaints, 206, 207, 231, 330
Conclusion, one, 374, 375
Constellations, new, 17, 18
Contrast, weird, 196
Cook, Captain, 223, 266
Cook, Frederick A., Dr., joins antarctic expedition, 3–5, 7, 19, 21; volunteers services to expedition, 47, 48; on the _Belgica_, 50; visits sheep farm, 72–76; efforts to return to the _Belgica_, 76, 77; aids Wiencke, 127; attempts to land, 132, 133, 158; responds to call, 141, 179; rescues Gerlache, 189; plans of, 192; sleeping on a floe, 212–215; views ice-pack from crow’s-nest, 216–218, 239, 243, 248; gives aid, 249, 272; impressions, 287; literary work, 300; omits breakfast, 304, 305; sees Danco’s illness, 309; birthday of, 313, 314; experience of, 321; method of treatment, 322; diagnosis of Lecointe’s case, 331; treats Lecointe, 333, 378; resolve of, 382; plans ship’s release, 393
Crab-eating seals, 229, 242, 243
Crow’s-nest, 53; view of pack from, 216–218
D
Dallman, German sealer, 129, 155
Danco, Emile, magnetician, 42, 43, 56, 136, 141, 142, 143, 149, 239; unable to journey farther, 240; building a hut, 241, 259, 263; contrivance of, 273; observatory of, 280; illness of, 287, 292; steadily failing, 296; keeping up, 300; sinking rapidly, 303; failing, 309; death of, 310; burial of, 311, 312, 331
Danco land, 137, 143, 144, 149, 174
Darkness, soul-despairing, 295
Darkness, veil of, 276
Darwin, 96
Dawn, a long, 334; shades of, 335
Day of departure, guesses at, 378
Day, the darkest, 323
Days and nights, change in length of, 221
Days of misery, 160; rapidly getting shorter, 184, 248; the darkest, 323; of promise, 342, 343; of feasting, 343
Debarkment, ready for, 29; fourteenth, 145
December second, latitude and longitude, 378; temperature, 379; sixteenth, temperature, 381
Deception Island, 126, 192
Deep-sea creatures, 268, 269
De Gamboa, Pedro Sarmiento, survey’s Magellan Strait, 83
De Gerlache, Adrian, Commandant, 4, 5, 22; projects exploring expedition, 39; secures the _Belgica_, 41, 42; visits Norway, 41, 43; sinks financial support, 44; room of, 56, 57; attempts to land on Auguste Island, 132, 133, 141, 142, 158, 183; inclines to winter in the pack, 191, 239, 244, 248, 287; work on ship’s log, 300; order of, 327, 335; opinion of, 349, 372
Departing day, last signs of, 286
Deplorable condition, 336
Depth, increase in, 276
Despondency, 312
Destination, deceptive nearness of, 352, 353
Destiny, doubtful, 199–201
Destruction, threatened, 280
_Detroit de la Belgica_, 147
Diet, 351
Discoveries, names affixed to, 131; on the threshold of, 154
Diurnal range, greatest, 381
Dobrowolsky, Ass. Meteorologist, 182; assists Lecointe, 263, 336
Doyle, A. Conan, 308
Drake, Francis, Sir, 24; through Magellan Strait, 83
Dredges, trawls and, 54
Drift, 209, 210, 262–266, 269, 271, 276, 297, 315, 337, 338; longitudinal, 367, 378
Drift-snow, 227
_Dulce de leche_, 61
E
Easter Sunday 254, 255
Edges of the fields, difficulty in determining, 363
El Cerro, Mount of, 29
Electric glow, 247
Electricity, 273
Elizabeth, Queen, 24
Elizabeth Island, debarkment at, 77; sheep-farming on, 77, 78; discovery by Drake, 78
Embalmed meats, 208, 232
Energy decreasing, 300
Escapes, narrow, 150
Eskimo model, 336, 337
Evaporation, 351
Exact latitude, uncertainty of, 342
Excursion to iceberg, 286–288
Expedition, entire success of, 406
Extended outing, longing for, 345
Exercise, 334
Expedition, Belgian Antarctic, in Rio, 4, 6, 7; farewell to, 12; project of, 40–45; feast for, 44; leaves Antwerp, 45; at Ostend, 46; accepts Dr. Cook’s services, 47; leaves Ostend, 48, 49; prepared for scientific study, 53; discomforts of, 93, 96
Expedition, Danish East Greenland, 43
Expedition, Vega, 45
F
Favourite temperature, 297
Feast, subscription, 44
February 7th, 8th, 144; 9th, 146; 12th, 150–152; 13th, 152; 14th, 156–159; 15th, 159; 16th, 162; longitude, 164; 17th, rate of speed, 167, 168; 18th, 169; 19th, longitude, 172; sounding, 175; 20th, temperature, 177; 21st, 180; temperature and position, 183, 184; 22d, 184; temperature, 187; 23d, 188–192; latitude and longitude, 189; 24th, 192; 25th, temperature and position, 193; 27th, latitude and longitude, 193, 194; 28th, 194
Fire, excitement of a, 21, 246
First duty, 208
Fishing through a sounding-hole, 284
Fish, pelagic, 193
Fiskabolla, 233; hatred of, 244
Fissures, large, 268
Fletcher, Rev. Mr., notes of, 24, 25
Floes, mysterious turning of, 210; tendency of, 239; disheartening change of, 278–280; grown to encouraging dimensions, 305; protecting, 306; charged with bergs, 375; lessening slowly, 381
Flores Island, heading for, 28
Food, dissatisfaction with, 231–233, 397, 398, 405
Force expended, 297
Fuegian life, studies of, 192
Fuegians, the unknown, 98
Fuel, necessary to economise, 256
Fur sealers, American, 129
G
Game, difficulty of bringing in, 243
Gaston Islands, 138
Geographical problems proven, 265
Giant petrels, 222, 223
Glaciers, 124
Gold-mining, 86, 89, 90
Government, Chilean, 100
Grahamland, 148, 151, 152, 155, 192; questions as to coast of, 163
Grand Island, 148
Gray days, 204
Greenland, regions about, 295
Gregory Bay, landing in, 69–72
H
Hail storm, debarking in, 30
Halos, 363
Harry Island, landing on, 136, 137
Health, 301, 302, 307, 334, 335, 362
Heart action, 291, 292
Heated discussions, 327
Heavens, brightness of the, 247
High temperature, danger of, 296
Highway, 147, 197
Hoarfrost, fur of, 351
Home-going, 400, 401
Hope Harbour, in, 92
Horizon, cheerful glow of, 336
Horses, Patagonian, 72, 73
“Hotel,” captain’s, 280
Hotel Oriental, night’s rest in, 31
Housebuilding, 248, 249
Hovgaard, Captain, 45
Howard, Mr. Thomas W., U. S. Consul to Uruguay, 37
Hughes Inlet, in, 133, 134
Humidity, suffering caused by, 257
Hummocks, 273, 287
I
Ice, wall of, 128, 130, 135–139; varieties of, 153; new world of, 154, 155; start out over the, 179; rambling through, 202; signs of pressure on the, 225; crevassed, 239; commotion in the, 253; spreading of the, 255; new, 328; purple, 335; experience of greenish yellow, 353; now most continuous, 363; studying the changes of, 386–388; thickness of, 388
Icebergs, the first, 122, 129; grazing on, 168, 169; seventy-eight, 175; different forms ascribed to, 180–182, 195–198; disturbing element of, 229, 230; huge tabular, 239; changing positions of, 305; winter effect upon, 330, 384
Ice-blink, 161, 195, 198
Ice crystals, 245, 260, 287
Ice-fields, 287
Ice-flowers, 237, 238
Ice-pack, colours of the, 225
Ice pans, size of, 197
Ice-plain, snowless, 380
Ice-ramming, two days of, 198
Ice-surface, condition of, 350, 351
Ice-haze, opaque circle of, 371
Igloo, 357, 358
Imprisoned in sight of open sea, 400
Incident, startling, 285, 286
Indian huts, sites of, 95
Individual floes, movement among, 274, 275
Insomnia, 374
Islands, 94, 95
J
Jackson apparatus, 354
January 1st, 386; 5th, 390; 9th, 391; sounding, 392; 12th, 393
Johansen, 336
Journey due north, 239, 240
June 1st, 303, 304; 2d, temperature, 304; 3d, 305; temperature, 308; 4th, 309; 5th, 310; 7th, 311; temperature, 312; 10th, 312; temperature, latitude and longitude, 314; 10th, temperature, 329; 12th, temperature, 214; 19th, temperature, 318; 22d, temperature, 323; 24th, temperature, latitude and longitude, 324; 26th, 325; 29th, 326
July 4th, Independence Day, 327; 8th, temperature, 328; 12th, 330; 14th, temperature, 333; 15th, 334; 17th, 334; 21st, temperature, 335; latitude and longitude, 337; 22d, 339; 23d, 342; temperature, 343; 24th, 343; temperature, 344; 25th, 344; 31st, temperature, 350, 354
Jupiter, 324
K
_Kartenaar_, the, cruiser, 46
Keeping watch, 360, 361
Killing a seal, 222
Knudsen, 125, 336
Koren, Y., 182, 242, 243
Kydbolla, 232, 233
L
Labours appreciated, 406
Lamp chimneys, substitutes for, 318
Lamplight necessary, 269
Lamp specialist, 318
Land life, forms of, 18
Larder, addition to, 330
Larsen Islands, debarkment on, 138, 139
Latitude and longitude, 189, 198
Latitude, 194; farthest south, 297
Laurys, Consul, 8
Lawrence, John, Mr., 97
Leads, large, 235; large open, 236; converted into lakes, 237; breadth of, 239; green colours of, 262; general direction of, 353, 368, 379
Lecointe, George, captain, 4; describes final departure, 48, 49, 56, 57; victim of _Mal de Mer_, 66; visits sheep farm, 72–76; efforts to return to the _Belgica_, 76, 77; volunteers to rescue Wiencke, 127, 128, 136; reports discovery of islands, 143; sees first south polar star, 162, 164, 181; obtains an observation, 189, 215, 221; pays a forfeit, 244; puts up box-shaped house, 248; first observation in new house, 249; mending instruments, 259; tries observations, 261; sighting the stars, 262, 263, 276; sees inexplicable light, 285; deduces position, 297; completes details, 300; certificate presented by, 313; experiment of, 314; in the “baking treatment,” 321; good humour of, 330; bad symptoms of, 331; recovery of, 333; elation of, 337; appearance of, 341, 349, 378; observations, 391, 395
Legation, Belgian, 3
Leopold, King, 41; visits the _Belgica_, 47; birthday of, 249, 250, 386, 406
Leptonychotes Weddelli, 383
Le Maire, navigator, 83
Lichens, moss and, 141
Liege Island, 137, 145, 148
Life, only cheerful, 183; on the pack, 202; value of, 372
Livingston Island, 123, 124
Light daily increasing, 330
Loboden Carcinophaga, 368, 383
Londonderry Island, on, 95, 96
Long night, commencement of, 278; fifth day of, 288
Low Island, 128
M
Machine, Monacho, 55
Magalhães, Fernão de, 67–69
Magelestris, 186
Magellan, 82, 98
Magellan Strait, fortification of, 83
Magdalene Sound, through, 93
Mail, reading the, 405
Mainland, continuation of, 162
_Mal de mer_, 65, 66
March 1st, latitude and longitude, 264; 4th, 201; sounding, 202; 13th, 206; 15th, 211; 16th, 214; temperature, 218; 17th, temperature, 221; 18th, 221; 19th, 223; 20th, temperature, latitude and longitude, 227; 21st, 230; 22d, temperature, 234; 23d, temperature, 234; 25th, 236; 26th, temperature, 237; 27th, 238; 28th, 241, 401; 29th, 241; 31st, temperature, 243
Maury, Lieutenant, 54
May 1, 274; 16th, latitude and longitude, 281; 17th, 283; temperature, 284; 18th, 286; health and spirits, 289–292; 22d, temperature, 292; 27th, temperature, 294; 29th, 296; temperature, 297; 31st, latitude, 367; latitude and longitude, 297; temperature, 298
Meal, a needed, 354; time in preparing a, 356
Medicament of little service, 331, 332
Megaptera Boops, 369
Melaerts, J., 336
Men, humorous and sorrowful sight of, 173; kept busy, 305
Menendez, Alexander, Chilean sheep-farmer, 72, 73–75, 107
Mending, 259
Meteorological work, 300
Michotte, the cook, importance of, 182; strength of, 331
Midnight, darkest days of, 318–321
Midnight thaw, 318
Mirage of the moon, 299
Mirages seen for the first time, 184
Mission, success of, 390, 391
Mist, opaque, 361
Monotony, effect of, 301
Mount Allo, 130, 138
Mount Brugman, 137
Mount Buena Vista, form of, 22
Mount Pierre, 130
Mount Sarmiento, glaciers of, 94
Mount William, 147
Montevideo, cable message to, 405; in the harbour of, 28; city of, 29, 31–33; University of, 33; time spent in, 35; promenades of, 36; charming women of, 36, 37; general impressions of, 38
Monte-Video, San Felipe de, 31
Month of August, disappointment in, 362
Months, happiest, 270, 271
Moon, anomalous faces of the, 206; curious attraction of the, 247; first glimpse of, 269, 270
Monotony, 326
Mother Earth, substitute for, 306
Murray, John, “Antarctica” of, 265
Mysterious land signs of, 185, 186
N
Nansen, Fridtjof, Dr., 43; wires Belgian expedition, 45; health of crew of, 321; pattern of, 347; tent plans of, 348
Nansen Island, 144, 148
“Nansen,” the mascot, 325, 326
Narratives, part suppressed of, 290
Nautical observations, conditions permitting, 172
Navigation, extreme difficulty of, 185
Navigation, season for, 188
Neumayer Channel, 148
Neumayer, Dr., 45
News, happiest, 338
Newspapers, 404
Newly discovered land, formal taking possession of, 240
New Year’s Day, 386–389
Nights, character of, 176, 177
Night of special interest, 151, 152
Noises, 132, 187, 197, 198, 297
Noonatak, ascent of a, 141–143
Noonataks, 138
Nordenskiold, Professor, 39
Notable sights, 146
Northerly winds, characteristic of, 261
November 4th, 18; 7th, 19; 8th, 20; 10th, 27; 9th, 373; 16th, storm on, 61–64; 25th, latitude and longitude, 373; 26th, 274, 376; temperature, 375; 27th, temperature, 377
O
Observations, 263
Occupations, 269, 382
Oceanography, 54
October 15th, 367; 29th, 30
Officers and men, work of, 397, 398
Official holidays, 336
Official weather forecasts, 350
Ogmorhynus Leptonyx, 383
Omnatoplesca Rossi, 392
Onas, notes on the, 97; the giant, 99; homes of, 99, 100; trouble with, 100, 101; population, 102, 103; physical development, 103, 104; mental equipment, 104; language, 105; food, 105, 106; delegation to sheep farm, 106–108; weapons, 108, 109; chase, 109, 110; clothing, 110; house, 111; family, 112; Ona girl, 112–114; marriage relations, 114–116; unwritten laws, 116, 117; morals, 117, 118
Open leads, no, 336
Open sea, heading for the, 400
Open spaces of water, special study in finding, 363, 364
Opinion, difference of, 206, 207
Ossifragea gigantea, 383
Ossifrages, 186
Osterrieth, Madame, 44
Osterrieth Mountains, 146
Outhouses, 273, 280
Outlook, melancholy, 294
P
Pack, expansion of, 228, 229; appearance of, in drift snow, 235; danger of venturing over the, 268; movement in the, 374, 375
Pack-ice, southward through the, 163, 164; in the, 183; travelling over, 386; last latitude of, 400
“Pack Loafer’s World,” 232
Pagodroma nivea, 381
Palmer archipelago, 148
Palmer, Nathaniel, Captain, 129, 148
_Pampero_, 61–64
Panorama, view of new, 163
Pans separated, 359, 360; diminution of, 379
Paraselenas, 247, 258, 363
Parhelias, 245, 247, 258, 260, 363, 371
Patagonia, along the coast of, 64–66; sheep farming in, 73–75
Paths, 273
_Patria_, the, 41
Peary, Arctic Expedition, 331
Peary, Lieutenant, 147, 316
Peary, Mrs., 7
Peculiar phenomena, 389
Pedersen, Captain, 41
Penguins, 78, 79; city of, 143, 186, 187; royal, 193, 198, 201, 202, 210; weird response of, 224, 229; meat use of, 234; group of, 235; tracks, direction of, 239; meat, 333, 334; hunting, new system of, 382
Peter Island, 202, 265
Petrels, 193, 198, 201, 218, 229
Phosphorescent snow, 286
Phosphorescence, tests of, 367, 368
Photographic, day, a, 145
Photographs, feeble light for, 262, 293, 373
Photograph, midnight, 144
Physical appearance, 398
Physical loss, 291
Physiognomies, curious, 404
Polar anæmia, 302, 321, 322, 331
Polar farm, 279
Polar night, attractions of, 366
Polar regions, reasons for fascination of, 218–220
Polar river, great, 356
Polar summer, passing into, 370
Polar work, Brazilian versions of, 7
Port Famine, 84
Predecessors, historical record of, 129, 130
Premonitions, 190
Presidents, methods for changing, 28, 29
Pressure, great, 298
Prismatic effects, 260
Programmes, long series of new, 192, 372
Puntas Arenas, growth of, 80; astonishing character, 81, 82; history of, 82–86; street scenes, 86–88; location, 88; result of discoveries, 88–90; architecture, 90; immigrants, 90, 91; leaving, 92; in port at, 401–405
Q
Questions, 315
R
Racovitza, Emile, zoölogist, in advance of expedition, 8, 42; arrangements made by, 81, 132, 133, 136; discovery of, 143; finds sea algae, 175; plans of, 192; studies, 241, 242; kills seals, 243, 244; patches pantaloons, 259; fishes, 267, 268; in the laboratory, 299; plans a book, 300; humor of, 337; plays whist, 344; sees new bird, 377; gets specimens, 391; remark of, 395, 405
Raleigh, Walter, Sir, 83
Recreation, 239
Recuperation, backwardness in, 365, 366
Regions, disheartening series of, 351
Renewed interest, 342
Resting place for the night, 150
Results, 390, 391
_Retribution_, H. M. S., 32
Reynard, H. I., Mr., originator of first Magellanic sheep farming, 77, 78
Rhodes, 91
Ridges, 272, 273
Rio de Janeiro, city of, 10–12
Rio de la Plata, importance of the, 22, 23; in the, 59, 60
Rio, from Madeira to, 17
Rio Grande do Sul, province of, 20
Rising, difficulty of, 303, 304
Ross seals, 392
Routine, regular, 301
Royal Geographical Society opens subscription list, 41
S
Sail Rock, 125, 126
Samples of sea life, 299
Sanarelli, I., Dr., Italian bacteriologist, 33–35
Sandy Point, first sight of, 79
Schollaert, Mr., Minister of the Interior, 44
Schouten, navigator, 83
Scene, a despairing, 196; fairy-like, 352
Scientific staff, short excursions of, 227; return home of, 405
Sea algae, 175, 217, 286
Sea-ice, 229, 230
Sea lanes, 217
Sea-leopard, 210, 211
Seals, 186, 198, 201, 202, 210, 328, 329; examine tent, 360; killed, 277; means of obtaining, 382
Sealers, Norwegian, 40
Sealing, 27
“Seal, new,” 180
Seal shooting, 293
Securing game, efforts in, 364
Sensation, a strange, 199
September 8th, temperature, 363
Settlement, penal, 84, 85
Sheep farming, 73–76, 86, 89, 100, 102
Ship arranged for the winter, 271, 272
Short-lived hilarity, cause of, 372, 373
Sierra Du Fief, 147
Sight, an exciting, 204–206
Signs, constant, 203; deceptive, 186; of nearness to open sea, 275, 276
Silence, 343
Situation, a curious, 199
Ski, on, 235, 239, 248, 274, 306, 319, 320, 329, 353, 384
Ski-travelling, excellent, 239
Skis and sledges, difficulty of using, 242
Skis, Norwegian, 228
Sledge journeys, 349
Sledges, lesson learned regarding, 244
Sledging party, return of, 359, 362
Sledge-shoeing, 351
Sledging-party, 349
Sledge travelling, 350–353, 355, 356, 359–362
Sleep, character of, 201
Sleeping bag, 212, 214
Smith Island, 123
Snowfall, total, 379
Snow, filled with, 371, 372
Snowhouse, building the second, 356, 357; sojourn in, 358
Snow made adhesive, 242
Snow-shoes, 222; travel on, 228
Snow showers, 376
Social enthusiasm worn out, 385, 386
Society, Rio Geographical, 10, 12
Solid ground, longing for, 386
Solvay, Mr., promoter of science, 40
Sophie Rocks, opposite, 144
Sounding, 202; deep-sea, 189
Soundings, 121, 122
South America, milk and butter in, 60, 61; most noted man in, 33
South American cities, growth of, 25
Southern cross, 315
South polar exploration, season for, 43
South polar lands shielded, 203
South Shetland Islands, 121–125, 128, 129
Special feast, 313
Star, first south polar, 162
Steaming slowly westward, 152
Staten Island, final adieu at, 121
Steubenrach, Mr., 100
Storm, a melancholy, 126–128; demons, 62–64; effect of, 220–224; off Patagonia, 61–64; on edge of the pack, 194–197
Storms, temperature after, 227
Stoves, 316–318
Strait of Magellan, in the, 69–71
Suits, different styles of, 347
Summer nightless days, 373, 374
Sun, a peep at the, 224; unreliable as a fixed point, 261; sight of the returning, 339–342; normal face of the, 344, 345; highest altitude of, 387
Sun effect, 283, 284
Sunset phenomena, 187, 188, 190; strikingly beautiful, 19, 20
Sunday jaunt, 293
Sunday, observance of, 296
Sunburst, slight suggestion of, 277, 278
Sunshine, rarity of, 376
Surroundings, new charms of, 201
Surprise, ornithological, 171
Survey, 145
System, American Sigsbee, 54
T
Tabular iceberg, deceptive nearness of, 352; distance and appearance of, 355, 356; reached, 383–385
Task, first large, 121
Temperature, 137, 209, 210, 218, 224, 333; maximum and minimum, 363, 372, 373; normal, 377, 383
Temperatures at various depths, 189
Tent pitched, 353, 354, 360, 361
Tents, 348
Terre de Danco, 149
Thaw coming, 222
Tierra del Fuego, 186, 390
Tollefsen, 179; permanently deranged, 385
Top line, 287
Tonite, 53; explosive power of, 394, 395
_Torro_, the, gunboat, 92
Tracks, 335
Transformation, rapid, 208, 209
Treatment, system of, 332
Trenches, cutting, 393, 394
Triangulation, sights made for, 138
Trophies, 385
Tropical night, approach of, 16
Twilight, bright blue, 344; midday, 288, 299
Two days gale, 370–372
Two Hummock Islands, 136
U
Undercurrent, suggestion of an, 375
Uruguay, sandy beds of, 27, 28; population, 31; imports, 32; fruit and vegetables of, 60
Ushuaia, small town of, 97
V
Van der Steen, Count, Minister of Belgian Legation, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 16
Van Mirlo, desperate effort of, 361
Van Wyck Island, 148
Van Wyck, Mayor, 148
View, general aspect of, 272, 273
Vapour, peculiar, 287
Ventilation, best means of, 256
Vessel, desperate attempt to reach, 361, 362
View, superb, 136, 137
Volunteers called for, 141
Visit of penguins and seals, 210
W
Walk, awkward, 402, 403
Wandel, Commander, of Copenhagen, 43
Warm weather, constant complaints of, 277
Watches, 355
Water-sky, 171, 185, 187, 217, 305
Water supply, 139, 140
Wauwermans Islands, 147
Weather unendurable, 308
Weddell sea-leopards, 356
Weddell Sea, search for opening into, 135
Welcoming the day, 342
Westerly, a chance to push, 193
Whaleboat Sound, in, 94, 95
Whist, game of, 304
White House, 8
White rainbow, or fog-eater, 262
White Squadron, 32
Wiencke, loss of, 126–128
Wiencke Island, 147
Wild life, stirs of, 165
Wilhelmina Bay, 143
Wilhelmina, Queen, 46, 386
Wilke, 266
“Williwaws,” 93
Wind, fury of the, 20, 21; weather depending on the, 258, 310; service of, 388
Winter campaign of work, 241
Wintering in the pack, opposition to, 191, 192
Work, first and most important, 271
Women, first glimpse of, 403
Y
Yacht Club, Antwerp, 46
Yahgans, 99
Yankee Harbour, 192
Yellow fever, germ of, 33–35
FOOTNOTES:
[2] G. Neumayer, “Die Erforschung des Süd-Polar Gebietes.” Berlin, 1872.
G. Neumayer, “Ueber Südpolarforschung” (Report of the Sixth International Geographical Congress, London, 1895).
Sir John Murray, “The Renewal of Antarctic Exploration” (“Geographical Journal,” January, 1894); and the “Narrative” of the _Challenger_ Reports.
K. Fricker, “Entstehung und Verbreitung des Antarktischen Treibeises.” Leipzig, 1893.
K. Fricker, “Antarktis.” Berlin, 1898.
For bibliography, see T. Chavanne, “Die Literatur über die Polar-Regionen der Erde” (Wien, 1878); and the Antarctic Number of the “Scottish Geographical Magazine” (October, 1898).
[3] Bull. Soc. Géol. de France [3], xxiii, p. 589.
Transcriber’s Notes:
1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been corrected silently.
2. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the original.
3. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have been retained as in the original.
4. Italics are shown as _xxx_.