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.