THE BELGIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2370, 3 August 1899, Page 44

THE BELGIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS

Some of the secrete of the ice region about the South Pole have just been received by the last mail. .We have an account of the voyage and wintering of the exploring steamer Belgica in the Antarctic regions. We give some extracts from Captain Gerlache's letter to the Royal Belgian Geographical Society, written from the Straits of Magellan in April. The Belgica left Punta Arenas, in the Magellan Straits, on 14th December, 1897, and proceeded via the Cockburn and Beagle channels to Lapataia, in Terra, del Fuego, where she filled up with coal, leaving again on Ist January, 1898. But her misfortunes began early. She struck a submerged rock the same evening, and stuck fast upon it until next day, when, by pumping out all the fresh water, the vessel was lightened sufficiently to be floated off. But it would never do to start into the region of perpetual ice without a supply of fresh water, and so it became necessary to put into the Bay of St. Johns, on Staten Island, to replenish the supply. This took up a. fortnight, and it was not till 14th January that a fresh start was made for the South Shetland Islands. These were sighted in a- week — on 21st January, — during a clear interval in thick weather. The Belgica proceeded through Bransfield Strait to Hughes Bay, discovering a new strait separating an important archipelago from the land to the eastward. This was a distinct addition to our knowledge. Three weeks were then spent in making a rapid survey of Hughes Bay and the new straits, and 20 landings were made between Bransfield Strait and the Pacific, the parties landing both on the eastern" part of the islands of the archipelago and on the eastern mainland, which they named Danco Land, where the natural history collections were considerably enriched. The Belgica entered the Pacific Ocean on 12th February, and, steering for Alexander I Land, met with thick fog until 16th, when, the weather clearing up, Alexander I Land was sighted, as wel) as some land to the east, which they thoiight might be either Graham Land or Adelaide Tsland. The course was then continued to the westward to explore the edge of the ice pack, and on 28th February the ship reached latitude 70deg 20min south and longitude 3bdeg west. An east-north-easterly gale was then blowing, and great gaps being visible in the ice, Captain Gerlache thought it a good opportunity to enter the pack. It was not exactly entering the jaws of death or the mouth of hell. It was rather too frigid for the temperature of Hades, but it was like a dive out of the world and into the realms beyond the Styx. The Belgica gained a part of the Antarctic area which was still quite unexplored, for, although the season was still far advanced, he determined to incur the risk of wintering if caught in the ice pack, as there was the chance of attaining a high latitude, and even if unable to regain the open sea, the ship might possibly winter in the neighbourhood of new Jand. After entering the ice pack the Belgica reached latitude 71deg 31min south, longitude 85deg 16min west without much difficulty, but on 3rd March, further progress to the south being- found impossible, the ship was put about and an effort made to steam north again, but the ice pack was so solid that only seven or eight miles were made during tho ensuing week. On the 10th March the vessel was finally blocked, and the floating pans of ice freezing together soon formed an immense field of ice. The Belgica was then about 60 or 70 miles within the edge of the ice pack, and preparations were made for wintering. This is an interesting process. It is to enable men to live in an almost unbearable atmosphere. The ship was banked up with snow to the height of the deck to reduce the loss of heat by radiation, and tho deck was roofed over. Until 26th March there appeared to be some prospect of the ice breaking up again, but after that southerly winds set in, and the weather became intensely cold. The temperature depended entirely upon the direction of tho wind. With a southerly wind tlia weather was cold and clear, with a northerly wind it was cloudy, often foggy, with the thermometer keeping near freezing pomt — something even above it. The drift of the ship was also a direct function of the wind. On 16th May, latitude 71.34 south was t reached in long. 89.10 west; on May 30, lati- j j tudo 71.36 south, long. 87.39 we',t. I The appearance of the ice pack constantly i changed during the winter. Generally it was ! very compact, but sometimes great openings, | clear spaces and channels of water appeared. These openings, however, soon closed up, either by freezing in calm weather, or by rows of hummocks forming by pressure. A great | deal of wind was experienced during tho wini ter, and violent snow storms often made all I outside work impossible. Any attempt to make an extended journey on the ice was prevented either by strong winds or the mobility of tho ice pack. The sun finally set on May 17, and did not rise again until July 21. I Seals and penguins, although never mime rous in the neighboiirhood of the vessel, formed «a considerable portion of the food supply of the ice-bound crew during the winter montlis, and materially assisted to keep up the health of the men, which generally was excellent, according to Captain Gerlache's report, except during tho critical period of the polar night, when heart aeffctions gave some trouble. In October, the cracks, channels, and open hpaces became more numerous, but still the ice round tho ship remained colid for the space of a mile in radius, and although summer rapidly advanced, yet on certain days when the wind was in the south the temperature was sufficiently low for young ice to form, and a second wintering to appear imminent. At the beginning of January, 1899, it was resolved to cut a canal through the ice to a large open space, which had formed in October, and had remained practically open since. The distance was about 800 yards, but altogether, the two longitudinal lines and the transverse lines amounted to a total of 3000 yards of ice to be sawn through, and although a lane of comparatively thin ice was taken advantage of for part of the distance, an average thickness of more than 3ft had to be cut, the ice round the vessel being 7ft thick. This work occupied the Belgica crew fully three weeks. On February 1 they commenced to saw through and blow up with tonite the blocks of ice nearest the ship, but a pressure occurred, narrowing the newly-cut canal, and entirely closing up the open space it led to, and all chance of escaping a second season seemed hopeless. Afterwards, however, the movement of an ocean swell became perceptible, and it was soon plain that the icebound craft was drifting to the northwards, and was evi-

dently much nearer the edge of the pack than at the commencement of the winter. On February 11, there was a great crack; the canal opened out a little, and from the crow's neat the clear space could be seen extending to the north. As the swell became more and more perceptible, the crew set to work clearing the canal of young ice, etc. . On February 13 the engineers were able to work the propeller for a few turns, and on February 14the Belgica finally left her winter quarters, after having been icebound for no fewer than 340 days. But their difficulties were not by any means ended, for during that day and the next the ice was so thick, though the pack was much broken up by the swell, that they oijly mode 15 or 16 miles northing. They were again blocked on the evening of 15th, and remained in a very uncomfortable position. Every day the swell became stronger, causing the vessel to be constantly struck by immense blocks of ice, and, in fact, placing the Belgica in a more dangerous position than she had hitherto been in, as throughout the winter she had but onco been subjected to pressure sufficiently severe cause of real danger, and that only for a few minutest At last on 20th February the open sea was seen from the crow's nest, extending along the horizon under the " water sky " in a long black line from east to west, and not more than eight miles distant to the northward ; but the ice pack still temained solid, -though heaving with the swell. But eventually, on 14th March, 1899, the pack opened sufficiently to allow the ship to steam out and gain the open sea, the Belgica finally cleared the ice at noon on the same day, exactly one year and 14 days after entering the pack. During the second detention in the pack, the wind was easterly and the westerly drift very considerable; altogether the westerly drift was 18deg of longitude in a mean latitude of 70deg 30min. The vesrel entered the ice in longitude 85deg 16rnin west, and emerged in 103deg west, drifting over 300 miles. Captain Gerlache states that the hypothetical outline of the Antarctic Continent must be carijecl several degrees further south in that portion of the zone, for they saw no sign of the "appearance of land" marked on the charts in 70deg south and lOOdeg west, as reported by Wilkes in 1839, and his opinion is confirmed by the result of soundings, which were constantly taken during the drift, which varied with the wind from north to south, and was equally free in either direction. The Belgica appears to have wintered about the position of the " Ice Wall " reported by Bellingshausen, who also discovered Alexander I and Peter I Islands in 1821. Throughout the winter (notable for having been the first spent in the Antarctic ice) the scientists of the expedition were able to carry on good magnetic observations, and made a very important series of hourly meteorological observations, and a fine collection of pelagic* and deep sea organisms and deposits was also made. Only two casualties are reported — one of a sailor named Wiencke, who fell overboard in Branfcfield Straits, and Lieutenant Danco, who, after a month's lingering illness, died on sth June, and was buried through an opening cut in the ice on the 7th. The return voyage from the edge of the ice to the Straits of Magellan occupied 14 days; during which time it is a remarkable fact that not a single piece of even drift ice was encountered. The Belgica, which anchored air Punta Arenas on 28th March, is now on the way to Europe, where the vessel is expected to arrive about the middle of August.