ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 2037, 17 September 1874, Page 3

ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

»■ The San Francisco Bulletin gives the following account of the sailing of the steamer Diana from Dundee, fche vessel having been chartered by. Captain Wiggins, of Sunderland, for fche purpose of proceeding on an exploring expedition in the Arctic Seas : — The vessel has been thoroughly equipped for the .voyage,: which ifc is expected will occupy about four months. Captain Brown, of- Peterhead, who has had much experience in Greenland, has been engaged as ice-master, and fchere will be a crew of 14 handß. Capt, Wiggins will himself control the operations, and the voyage will be undertaken by way of Nova Zembla. One object of ifc will be to make a search for the missing Austrian expedition which went but aome two yeara ago, and regarding which no report has yet been received. Ifc appears fchafc fche Austrian ship Tegetthoff had been fitted out by private enterprise ; and from a circular which has been issued by Baron Wilezek fco those who have friends en board, or who were in any way ooncorned in the Vessel, we learn that fche belief is fchafc fche State of affaire, as on the. 2lsfc August;, 1872 (on which day the Tegetthoff was lying near the Northern Barents Isle), hadaiot changed. Those who were with the ewjfdition knew they would have to encountettflangera of all kinds, but were prepared fco ' meet tbem. What those dangers had been, no one oould tell, aa " ifc .was impossible to say what kind of weather had been experienced. Meteorological observations bad shown that the heavy storms which occurred in the North and Baltic seas in November, 1872, did not prevail in the White Sea or in Lapland. The Bummer and autumn of thafc year were very mild in Norway, Lapland, and the north of Bussia, whereas in the Arctic Ocean the summer wag very unfavourable. Yet, although theae were facts, no one could aay what sort of weather the Tegetthoff, had encountered j bufc, assuming that the weather had been unsatisfactory, that waa no reason for discouragement. The Tegetthoff .was well able to brave dangers. They had succeeded in traversing the stormy, ice-bound sea between Spitzbergon and Nova : Zembla in twenty -seven days, wifch fche small, ship Isbjoern, which neither sailed nor steered well. Tho Tegetthoff, on fche other hand, had' been specially builfc for the expedition*, and behaved admirably under either steam; or oanvas. She was provided with coal and pro-

..■.»■-■ «..- ~DJ.__gj » l) gy-»-.--. mmtamr r-w - n.^^— — w .yisioi-* for three y^n* kin T .\k*v>rebhfc, an eminent »_L« •■r-jw- hi*-. 7 splendid gtdd. aci T*.e was aesj^. .* by ''he -'-.perienced > '■???* * 1 ""' fl vp <>*!'■ -*r offl*-"- 7aoh of wuom ..-.m c: j - of . • . .••••.ding a shin- 4"r...r>g theiii •?■ .;" i . ■„ il-known Oa . isori, *V> .had ben ..:-.■' tiu-.-.ii jue midst ■f - iceberg. \V><.,, 'h? T«*gcV„L*..V waß last v.rii.«..he er-aref 1 to ' '->c n.rfch and i.i rhe event of 'Dt-iuj* -vertaken t v bad wcs'lur, would l".-.cly h«i : entovy.d ..n-,^ ha- bun on Nova ZT'toMh t . ass u,j :.•;••( -r. Iv *;.7.r to get ...: ■*-'].., abo-a iv;.- ooint, >*he -.iron had offered -a- prize of lOu-3 florin a to any person who could diaepver traces of the Tegetthoff; and .advertised 1 in * the- Swedish, Norwegian, and-BjUßsian papers. .The past summer hadbeen favourable!, many ships passing round' Nova Zembla to the Kara Sea, and the report from them was fchafc the Tegetthoff did not spend the winter in Nova Zambia. It is presumed that the Tegetthoff found open water, and, taking advantage of thia circumstance, Weyprecht would have, sailed towards the east/and would have been able fco advance as far aa Pecina Land. Weyprecht'a plan was to reach Cape Tachelynuakin. If he had been obliged to pass two winters there, it would have been impossible fco receive any information from him, the coasts being quite uninhabited. The Samojedes seldom pass so far north aB Cape Tschelynuskin, and are, besides, very - bad postmen. Then Peyer was nofc likely fco travel to such an extent to the southward with his sledges as to get into contact; wifch some of fche Samojede tribes, as his task was to travel as far east and north on the ice as posaible, for the purpose of investigating and drawing maps of the unknown coasts and islands in that part of the Arctic Ocean. It waa also likely that the Tegetthoff might' advance still more to the east, and in that event the difficulty of obtaining information would be increased. The letter concludes with this statement * — " Weyprecht and Peyer themselves will bring us the firat news next October or November, and as Hamerfeat was fche firat port which the Tegetthoff will enter, we may expect from that town by telegraph the first news of their happy return."