The Romance of Polar Exploration Part 12

There were, at the time, only nine men on board. For the winter, an awning had been spread over the deck, below the shelter of which numerous articles were stored, including the ammunition and powder-boxes, a number of kayaks, spare wood for repairing sledges and making _ski_, the oil barrels, and an iron tank full of spirits. The chimney from the galley rose above this awning, and one day a spark fell upon it. At once the canvas burst into flame.

On the first alarm, the mate, who was in charge, gave his attention to the removal of the oil and explosives; but while these were being dragged out of danger the flames spread rapidly from the awning to the rigging, reaching the mainsail, which also became ignited. Then the fire reached the kayaks, the coverings of which were all saturated with grease. The blaze that followed set all the spare wood alight. The iron tank, full of spirits, was thus surrounded by flames. It was impossible to beat them back, and the men realised that if the tank burst and the spirits caught fire, the s.h.i.+p was doomed. With despairing energy they attacked the fire with buckets of water, and, despite the primitive nature of the weapon, they succeeded in subduing the flames before irreparable damage was done. The tank, fortunately, withstood the heat, though it was badly warped. The kayaks were destroyed, as well as all the spare wood, the rigging and sails on the mainmast, the awning, and some stores on the lower deck, where the flames also penetrated. But the s.h.i.+p was saved.

On October 13, 1900, the news was brought to the s.h.i.+p that the hopes of discovering new land were likely to be realised. A party who had been far out to the west had seen in the distance what appeared to be land at a place where none was shown on the maps. Five days later, with a picked band, Captain Sverdrup was hastening to the place indicated. As the winter was near at hand, they could not do more than verify the news. In the distance they saw what appeared to be new land, while near at hand they found traces of large herds of oxen and reindeer. The larder was in need of being replenished, and as it was impossible to proceed with the survey of the newly discovered territory before the spring, the members of the party secured as much beef and venison as they could for winter supply. By the time they returned to the s.h.i.+p they had enough fresh meat, not only for themselves but also for the dogs, to last until the following spring.

On April 8, 1901, Sverdrup and his picked companions set out again to explore the new territory. After pus.h.i.+ng on as far as the outer limit of the coast, they came upon what appeared to be a large bay. The land they had descried lay on the far side of it, and for the moment they feared that, after all, it was only a portion of the old, though making the area of that much larger than had hitherto been believed. To prove or disprove their fears they commenced to cross the ice in the bay. As they proceeded, the land, at the head of the bay, was seen to suddenly open out and reveal a sound running between two islands. It was new land which lay before them, and with great jubilation they named the channel Eureka Sound and the island after the King of Norway. The position was 78 50' N. lat. and 84 W. long.

Close examination of this island led to the discovery of remains of extensive Eskimo settlements, showing that at one time there had been a considerable population where now not a single Eskimo was to be found.

The presence of whale bones among the ruins of the huts told of a still further change that had occurred, for whales are now quite extinct in that part, and have been so for a long period.

CHAPTER XII

ITALY CLAIMS THE RECORD

Norwegian Aid--A Northerly Station--Premature Enthusiasm--Cold Comfort--An Arctic Greeting--A Hasty Landing--Disorganised Plans--Homeless Dogs--Making Fresh Plans--The Leader Frost-bitten--The Start for the Pole--Driven Back by Cold--A Second Start--First Detachment Lost--Anxiety for the Second--A Struggle for Life--Third Detachment Overdue--Fears of Disaster--Safe at Last--Italy sets the Record.

For the first time in the history of their country, the Italians entered the field of Arctic exploration in the year 1899, when an expedition under the command of the Duke of Abruzzi sailed in the _Stella Polare_, and by means of dogs and sledges carried the Italian flag to higher lat.i.tudes than any other explorers had succeeded in reaching. The record up to the time of this expedition was that set by Nansen, who, with his companion Johansen, attained to 86 14' N. The Italians reached 86 34'

N., or twenty geographical miles further north than the Norwegians.

The scheme of operations under which the Abruzzi expedition set out was to sail as far north as possible along some coast line, establish winter quarters, and, in the spring, to travel by sledges towards the Pole. The expedition was composed of Italians and Norwegians, the men of the latter race being taken to navigate the s.h.i.+p, the leader wisely recognising that inasmuch as Italians were not used to navigation in ice-bound seas, it would be hazardous to risk the safety of the whole expedition in the early stages of the journey by manning the vessel with them. The sledge party who attained the highest lat.i.tude were all Italians, but the Norwegians shared the honours won, for without their a.s.sistance the sledge party would have had little chance of penetrating as far to the north as it did. In fairness, also, to all other men who have striven so hard to unveil the secrets of the Arctic, it must be admitted that the Italian success was based entirely on the knowledge gained by other nations. The scheme of a dash by sledges was the scheme that Peary had conceived and announced; the main depot of the Italians was that which had already been established at Cape Flora by the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition; the route taken by the sledge party was in the vicinity of the route Nansen and Johansen followed; the s.h.i.+p was Norwegian built and Norwegian manned; the men who set out for the dash to the Pole had, therefore, all the hard work done for them. Yet with all these advantages they only reached twenty miles further, an achievement not to be compared with that of Nansen and Johansen.

The expedition practically commenced its journey from Archangel, whence good progress was made to Cape Flora, a food depot being established in the huts of the Jackson-Harmsworth party, which were found still standing intact. After an ineffectual attempt to pa.s.s through Nightingale Sound, the _Stella Polare_ got out of the ice on August 7, and succeeded in reaching 82 4' N. lat.i.tude in open water. This was to the north of Prinz Rudolf Island.

As there were indications that the ice would soon be setting along the coast, it was decided to sail to Teplitz Bay on Prinz Rudolf Island and establish quarters for the winter. This bay is open towards the south and west, while the land on the north is level but rocky. The s.h.i.+p forced her way through the thin coast ice and came to anchor near enough to the sh.o.r.e to permit the landing of stores to be easily carried out. A more experienced leader might have had some doubts as to the security of the situation as a place for a s.h.i.+p to remain during the winter movements of the ice. With the bay open on two sides, it was scarcely possible for it to escape from the pressure of moving floes outside; but the opinion was held that the ice along the sh.o.r.es was strong enough to withstand any pressure from the open sea, and so the _Stella Polare_ was allowed to become fixed in the ice close to the sh.o.r.e.

Brief journeys along the coast and over the highest land which could be reached--Cape Habermann was found to be 2900 feet high--effectually disposed of the claims of Petermann Land and King Oscar Land. There was no sign of either, and there is little doubt but that the explorers who believed they had discovered these lands were deceived by ma.s.sive bodies of ice. The rectification of the maps to this extent was a valuable service.

By September all their arrangements for spending the winter on the s.h.i.+p were completed, and with the material which would be required for the preliminary sledge expeditions to the north, and the establishment of food depots, all on sh.o.r.e, the explorers made merry on the evening of the 7th in discussing the achievements which would result from the working out of their plans. The difficulties which beset other explorers, often from the very commencement of their journeys, had not been experienced by them, and now, with their vessel almost as high to the north as any vessel had yet been, with their complete outfit at one of the most northerly stations yet established, and with everything snug and secure for the winter, it is not surprising that they should have allowed their enthusiasm to run away with them. It was the first time that Italy had entered into the contest of winning fame from the mysteries of the Arctic, and the outlook was so rosy that it almost appeared as if they were going to signalise the fact by carrying the flag to the Pole itself and showing to the world that the all-conquering spirit of ancient Rome still animated the race. Men of colder temperaments, the sons of the cold-blooded North, would probably have postponed their rejoicings until the battle had been won, but the enthusiasm of the South needed more than the gloom of an approaching Arctic winter to subdue it. Wherefore the Arctic moved, and the children of the South learned in a few brief hours something of the power and might and majesty of the realms they had come to conquer.

An ice-floe, drifting in the sea beyond the bay, caught the edge of the sh.o.r.e ice, in which the _Stella Polare_ lay at rest, as it pa.s.sed. The sh.o.r.e ice groaned at the strain, and along its length there ran a ridge of hummock ice as the pressure sought relief. The line of the pressure pa.s.sed through the spot where the _Stella Polare_ was made fast. The hummock rose against her bows and forced her ninety feet away from where she had been, while, at the same moment, an increase in the pressure caught her by the sides, heeled her over, and cracked her timbers till those on board rushed to the deck under the belief that the vessel was about to collapse. The rigging of the foremast was torn away, the planks of the exposed side showed s.p.a.ces of three inches between them, and water poured in so rapidly to the holds that it was feared the s.h.i.+p would go down. The hand-pumps were manned and worked, while the fires were lit so as to get up steam and set the steam-pumps going, every one else, who was not required for these jobs, working with might and main to get all stores and provisions out of the s.h.i.+p and on to the ice, lest she went down and left them stranded and foodless. The glamour of the evening before was as a dream; the gloom of the present was a stern reality to which they had awakened. The Arctic was giving a characteristic and rugged greeting to the visitors from the South.

The stores were landed with the greatest rapidity, the activity with which every one worked being still further stimulated by the news from below that the one hand-pump, which was being worked by four men, could not keep the water back, and that already it was almost touching the bars of the furnaces. At one time it looked as though there would be no chance of saving the fires, and had the water once reached them and so prevented steam being got up, the plight of the explorers would have been critical in the extreme. As it was, the Norwegian engineers worked like heroes, and managed to have enough steam to start the steam-pumps just as the water touched the fires in one of the boiler furnaces. The steam-pump, a.s.sisting the hand-pump, was sufficient to keep the water from rising further, but not enough to keep it back altogether. Neither the steam nor the hand pump, by itself, could prevent the water from rising. Both had to be kept going, therefore, although the number of men thus taken away from unloading stores and provisions made that work very much slower than was desired. But if the water reached to the fires and put them out, there seemed to be little chance of saving enough to keep the party alive during the winter. So they worked on with a brave persistence, Italian and Norwegian alike, until they had all the stores out on the ice, together with spars, ropes, sails, and all other things needed for the construction of a shelter in which to pa.s.s the winter.

This was only completed after twenty-four hours of toil, and when it was finished the worn-out party sought a brief respite in sleep. As soon as the pumps ceased working the waters rose in the holds and over the furnace bars, putting out the fires. Contrary to expectations, the s.h.i.+p did not go down, the ice being sufficiently strong to sustain it from sinking, and the water stopped rising when it had covered the furnaces.

Although the s.h.i.+p was now secure from sinking, it was heeled over to such an extent that it was impossible to remain on board of it, so a hut was erected ash.o.r.e, and the stores stacked round it for the winter. For ten days the entire party laboured at this work, and when it was finished it was realised that all the plans for the preliminary sledge trips must be abandoned. Instead of giving attention to reaching the Pole, it was first of all necessary to see what could be done in the way of repairing the s.h.i.+p so as to be able to get away before a second winter could come upon them. A close examination revealed the fact that the pressure of the ice had considerably affected the form of the s.h.i.+p.

The crank shaft was bent out of the straight, and the heavy iron beams which had been put in to strengthen the vessel amids.h.i.+ps were all bent and twisted. The planks at the sides were started and gaped in many places. The water, which had got in, had frozen, so that the furnaces were covered in by a sheet of solid ice, while the same thing existed in the hold. As the hand-pump could not lower the water alone, it was decided to use a boiler and pump which formed part of the balloon equipment. Although the use of these articles effectually terminated any hopes of balloon experiments, it enabled them to get the water down sufficiently to permit of repairs being effected. From the beginning of October to the middle of November, the repairs fully occupied them; but they succeeded in making the s.h.i.+p water-tight and available for departure when the winter had pa.s.sed. The bay, by this time, was frozen over sufficiently to preclude any fears of further nips occurring.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE _STELLA POLARE_.]

On November 20 the last vestige of daylight went, and thenceforward the explorers were in all the gloom of the Arctic night. A heavy snow-storm entirely covered the dog kennels, so that the animals had to run loose for a time. This was not satisfactory, for those of the creatures which were unable to squeeze into shelter near the hut, were frozen to the ice as they slept. To overcome this, big holes were dug in the ground, and the dogs driven in, and the entrances walled up. But the Arctic dog is a creature of resource, and when the men in charge of them went in due time to feed them, they found that the dogs had made an outlet for themselves by burrowing through the snow, and were again at liberty. A wall of biscuit tins was then built round the inside of the holes, and the entire ma.s.s frozen by pouring water over the tins. But the dogs again burrowed their way out, and they were then left to their own devices, the holes being left open, so that there should be some shelter available for the dogs if they liked to use it. Mostly they did not like, preferring to squeeze in between the sides of the hut and the kitchen, and contribute their share to the entertainment by occasional howling choruses during the long dark hours of winter.

During the long night the plans for the sledge expeditions to the North, which had been so effectively interrupted by the nipping of the s.h.i.+p, were further considered. As the original scheme could no longer be carried out, a modified plan was adopted. Under this, it was determined to send out three parties, which were to start about the middle of February and press forward towards the Pole. Each party was to consist of three Italians. One was to carry provisions for thirty days, the second for sixty days, and the third for ninety days. The second and third parties were to carry kayaks.

At the commencement of the expedition it was intended that the Duke of Abruzzi should lead the detachments as the head of the third party, the one which would have the honour of proceeding the longest way; but early in January he had two fingers of his right hand frost-bitten so severely that the two top joints had to be amputated. This debarred him from taking his place at the head of the enterprise, and he appointed Captain Cagni to the lead in his stead. As at first arranged, the other parties were commanded, the first by Dr. Cavalli, and the second by Lieutenant Querini. A fourth party was to follow the other three for a couple of days, as an auxiliary, so as to allow of a saving in the consumption of provisions carried by the others. It was also arranged that twenty-five days after the start of the expedition, those of the company who remained behind at Teplitz Bay should send a watch party to Cape Fligely, in order to be ready to set out and meet, and, if necessary, render any a.s.sistance which the returning members of the first detachment might require. From the top of Cape Fligely a distance of eight miles could be seen over the ice to the north, and a signal-post, erected on the cape, would be visible as a guide to the returning explorers as they approached over the ice. The watch party was to be on the cape again fifty-five days after the departure of the second detachment, and eighty-five days after the departure of the third detachment.

The date of departure was ultimately fixed for the 19th of February. The detachments, when ready to start, numbered, in all, twelve men, with thirteen sledges, drawn by 104 dogs, each sledge weighing, with its load of provisions, 617 lbs. The weather, at the time of the start, was intensely cold, there having been a gale blowing for some days before.

When all was ready for the march to begin, the detachments set out, after hearty farewells from those who remained behind, and who watched them slowly pa.s.s out of sight over the ice and into the cold mysteries of the white region lying towards the north.

The camp at Teplitz Bay was strangely quiet after their departure, the absence of the dogs, no less than the absence of the men, rendering the place lonely and deserted. It was not expected that the auxiliary detachment would be back again for some days, and it was with very great surprise that the Duke of Abruzzi, while walking near the hut one day, heard the sounds of dogs barking near at hand. He hastened in the direction whence the sounds came, and was astounded to see Lieutenant Querini coming towards him. Immediately he came to the conclusion that disaster had overtaken the expedition soon after starting, and that the lieutenant was the bearer of ill news, if not the only survivor of the detachments. The facts were, however, not quite so bad as this. What had happened was that the cold had become so intense, after leaving Cape Fligely, that not only the men, but the dogs also, suffered severely, and were almost incapacitated. The experience of a few days revealed many points where improvement could be made in the arrangement of the sledges and their loading, and the commander, realising that only valuable time would be lost, and perhaps the entire expedition jeopardised, by pus.h.i.+ng on under the circ.u.mstances, decided to return to the main camp, so as to overhaul the arrangements, and reorganise the detachments in the light of their experiences.

By the time the detachments were again ready to start, February had pa.s.sed and March 10 had arrived. The loss of time, consequent on their return, necessitated an alteration in the programme of all the parties, and when they set out the second time the order of march was for the first detachment to return after twelve days' march, the second in twenty-four, and the third in thirty-six. The detachments were also varied, so that the main detachment should number four instead of three men. A Norwegian, the engineer of the s.h.i.+p, was included in the first detachment at his earnest request.

The second start was made on Sunday, March 11, and this time there was no turning back. On March 28 the Duke of Abruzzi went, with the watch party, to Cape Fligely, and constructed a shelter wherein to remain in readiness to greet the first detachment on their return, the date of which was expected to be April 4. On that date, and for some days before, an anxious watch was kept from the lookout point towards the north, but no signs were seen of the returning explorers. For a day or so this did not cause any grave anxiety, as it was quite possible that there might be a brief delay, but as the days went by without a sign, and the days grew into weeks, there was serious uneasiness at the continued non-appearance of the men. The time arrived when the second detachment was due, and still the watchers saw no signs of the returning men. Uneasiness gave place to grave anxiety, and the few who remained at the camp were beginning to wonder whether they alone would return home, with the summer, with only a tale of loss and disaster to bear to their country, when a man of the second party reached the camp in a state of great exhaustion. His story was that his detachment, the second, had parted with the third on March 31, and had successfully negotiated the return journey up to April 15, when an open channel in the ice near the island had stopped their forward march. For days they had sought a way round it, but, failing, the leader had despatched the man in the kayak to reach the watch party, and summon a.s.sistance of a boat to convey the remainder over the channel. The man had attempted to land at a point where the ice was some fifteen feet high, but while he was testing it to see if he could clamber up, the kayak slipped away from him and left him clinging, with no hope of escape if he slipped into the water below. He was one of the Alpine guides, and, with his ice-axe, he managed to cut a way up the ice to the summit, though the struggle was a terrible strain on his strength and skill. When, at last, he reached the summit, he was met with a new difficulty. He did not know where he was, nor in which direction the camp lay. He was without food, or refreshment, but he made his way to a higher point, from whence he was, fortunately, able to see the top of the s.h.i.+p's masts showing over the ice. This gave him the direction of the camp at Teplitz Bay, and he made his way thither, with as much speed as he could. When he arrived, he had been battling his way for over twenty-four hours, from the time he lost his kayak, a feat of very great endurance.

In answer to anxious questions as to the first detachment, he said he and all the rest believed the first detachment was in the camp, for it had left the main body in time to reach Cape Fligely by April 2. At the time it started back, owing to the drift of the ice, the island could be distinctly seen, so that there could be no difficulty as to the men knowing which way to go. Moreover, a change had been made in the command, and the first detachment had left under the command of Lieutenant Querini, Dr. Cavalli having been placed at the head of the second detachment owing to his showing greater staying powers on the march than the lieutenant.

As soon as the rest of the detachment had been conveyed from the ice pack to the camp, Dr. Cavalli corroborated the story and shared, with the rest of the expedition, the anxiety at the non-arrival of the little band. His detachment, he said, had parted with the main party on 31st March, and had seen Captain Cagni and his companions continue their way to the north, with a train of six sledges and forty-eight dogs. The first detachment might, he suggested, have been carried away to the east, and, as they had no kayak with them, they might have been cut off by an open channel and so prevented from reaching the island. Relief parties were immediately sent out to search the ice in that direction, and also to see whether the men had taken refuge on the islands, further to the north-east, where Nansen and Johansen had pa.s.sed their winter.

The search was continued until May 10, when the parties returned, having searched far and wide but without finding any trace of the missing detachment. It was then hoped that they had made their way to Cape Flora, where there was an abundance of food and other necessaries, but when the _Stella Polare_ touched there, on her way home, no signs were found of the missing men, and it was then realised that they were lost.

How, or when, or where, they had met their end, no one could form any opinion. A break in the ice may have precipitated them into a channel; cold may have overcome them as they slept; moving hummocks may have overwhelmed them, or a sudden snow-storm may have caused them to lose their direction, and have led them into dangers they were not able to escape. When no trace could be found of them, and no vestige of their outfit discovered on the ice, or the islands, there was only one thing the survivors could realise, and that was that their comrades had gone out of the world in silence, in mystery, and in sacrifice to the knowledge of humanity.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SKETCH MAP

Showing Captain Cagni's farthest north 86 34', being 20' beyond the point reached by Nansen.]

As the month of May gradually pa.s.sed, the members of the expedition gathered at Cape Fligely so as to maintain a steady watch for the return of the main detachment. In addition to the watch party there was also a party at Teplitz Bay, and word was sent from one place to the other as the days went by, while short journeys were constantly being taken along the sh.o.r.es on the lookout for the return of Captain Cagni and his companions. The provisions they had with them were only calculated to last until May 26, but the leader had expressed his intention, if he had not succeeded in reaching far enough to the north, of proceeding on reduced rations so as to attain as high a lat.i.tude as possible before returning. On the reduced scale they would be able to subsist until June 10, but when that date arrived and still there was no sign of them, the remainder of the expedition became alarmed. The silent disappearance of Lieutenant Querini and his companions did not tend to alleviate their anxiety. A week pa.s.sed without any sign; June 20th came and went, and the next two days saw the little community depressed and sad at what they regarded as the fatal silence. On the 23rd they barely exchanged words with one another, lest they should add to each other's sorrow by expressing the almost hopeless fear that every one felt. On the evening of that day the watch party at Cape Fligely had retired to their shelter when they heard the barking of dogs. Hastily going outside, they saw a man, with a sledge, advancing from the direction of Teplitz Bay. They waited in silence for him to come up, fearing he brought news of disaster. But their fears were turned to joy when he shouted the news that the third detachment had safely returned to camp, having penetrated as far as 86 34' N., and so established the "farthest north" record of any expedition yet despatched to the Arctic.

The story Captain Cagni had to tell was one of persistent courage and determination. The straits to which he and his companions were reduced were shown by the condition of their equipment. They had a single sledge in a very damaged state, a bottomless saucepan, a broken cooking lamp, and a ragged tent. Their dogs were reduced to seven, the others having been killed to feed the survivors as well as the men. On the return journey the drift of the ice had carried them to the west, so that when they reached the lat.i.tude of Teplitz Bay they were many miles to the west of it. The condition of the ice had compelled them to go still further away before they were able to turn and head direct for the camp.

From March 11 to April 24 they marched steadily towards the north, and covered something like six hundred miles in ninety-five days. For the whole period of 104 days they marched 753 miles. During the first stage of the journey they maintained a speed of five miles a day, but during the second stage they doubled that, and covered, on an average, ten miles a day. From their experience they argued it was impossible to reach the Pole from any such base as that at Teplitz Bay while dog sledges were the only available means of transport.

With the return of this detachment the work of the expedition was at an end. The vessel was freed from the ice after a little difficulty, and, proving to be seaworthy, steamed out of the bay on August 14. They arrived at Hammerfest without mishap on September 5.

CHAPTER XIII

THE ANTARCTIC REGION

The Mystery of the South Pole--Ignored by Early Navigators--An Accidental Dutch Discovery--Captain Cook Sets Sail--Discouraged by the Ice--Turns Back in Despair--A Second Accidental Discovery--Weddell breaks the Barrier--Antarctic Land revealed--British resume the Search.

While the desire to penetrate into the mysteries of the North held the mind of mankind from the earliest times, the very existence of a similar world of ice, at the opposite pole, was undreamed of until a few centuries back. At the time when the world was generally held to be a flat disc, this is not to be wondered at, seeing that there could only be one other side possible under that belief, and that side the "under world," into which it was not desirable that human beings should ever penetrate. But the time came when the world was demonstrated to be a sphere, and the more thoughtful of men realised the necessity of having some theory wherewith to explain what form the world would take at the opposite pole to the North. The theory which found most general acceptance was that which contended for a similar distribution of sea and land at the South as was currently supposed to exist at the North Pole. It was argued that only by such a distribution could the balance of the earth be maintained. Nor did the theorists stop there. The ancient geographers delighted their hearts by imagining a southern division of land and sea inhabited by identical animals, covered with the same kind of verdure and plants, and occupied by similar races of men to the North. In the absence of any evidence to contradict it, this theory held for many years.

In the Middle Ages, when the Portuguese and Spaniards were sailing from sea to sea, and later, when their successors, the Dutch, roamed the ocean, carrying their flags to the East and the West, none seem to have penetrated into the ice-bound regions of the South. The Cape of Good Hope was doubled. Cape Horn was sailed round. Australia was located, and even the south of Tasmania was visited. But further south the world was still unknown.

An explanation of this may be found in the fact that in southern lat.i.tudes the drift of ice is very much further away from the Pole than is the case in the north. In the northern hemisphere ma.s.sive ice-floes are not encountered until the 70th parallel of lat.i.tude has been pa.s.sed, while it is not until the 75th parallel is pa.s.sed that the ice becomes so packed as to appear to be stationary. In the southern lat.i.tudes, on the other hand, drift ice is encountered in the 50th parallel, and by the time the 60th parallel is reached, the ice is found to be as close set as it is in the 80th parallel in the north. In the islands off Tierra del Fuego the mountains remain covered with snow down to the water's edge through all the summer months, though the lat.i.tude is only 54 S.

This may be due, in a large measure, to the small quant.i.ty of land existing in the south, as compared with the north. The heat of the sun does not radiate from the sea with the same intensity as it does from the earth, whence the ice, drifting from the south into the oceans nearer the equator, melts more slowly, and is consequently enabled to travel longer distances, thus lowering the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere and still further delaying the melting process.

At a comparatively recent period, the limit of the floes, in the southern oceans, was much nearer the equator than it is to-day, for the most southerly parts of Africa, Australia, and America all show unmistakable evidences of having, within recent times, been under a great ice covering.

It was not until 1600 that the first contact was made with the southern world of ice. Dirk Gerritz, a Dutch navigator, sailing with a squadron for the East Indies, was separated from his other s.h.i.+ps while pa.s.sing through the Straits of Magellan and was driven as far as 64 S. He discovered, in that lat.i.tude, a rocky coast line covered with snow. The discovery did not excite any great interest at the time, and, for a period of nearly two centuries, nothing was done to probe further into the mysteries of the South. In 1769 an expedition was sent out under Captain Kerguellen to explore the regions lying to the south of the Cape of Good Hope. He was successful in locating the group of islands, still known as Kerguellen Islands, and sailed thence to Australia, demonstrating that no land, other than these islands, existed between the Cape of Good Hope and Australia.

In 1772, Captain Cook, who had already done so much to reveal the southern hemisphere to the knowledge of man, left the Cape of Good Hope with two s.h.i.+ps, the _Resolution_ and the _Adventure_, in search of the continent believed to exist somewhere beyond the regions. .h.i.therto visited. In 48 41' S. lat.i.tude, and 18 24' E. longitude, a sudden fall in the temperature from 67 to 38 Fahr. was experienced. On the following day an iceberg, fifty feet in height and nearly half a mile in length, was sighted. The course was continued to the south, but the third day after sighting the first berg the sea had become so full of ice that no further progress to the south was possible, although the lat.i.tude was only 54 50' S., the corresponding lat.i.tude in the northern hemisphere being that of the city of Hull.