THE JACKSON – HARMSWORTH POLAR EXPEDITION.

Waikato Argus, Volume II, Issue 103, 6 March 1897, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE JACKSON - HARMSWORTH POLAR EXPEDITION.

0 The following paper was read before the Royal Geographical (Society by Mr Arthur Montefiorc Brice, F.G.S., on the 10th November last : To-morrow it will bo exactly a year since I lnd tho honour to submit to this Society a report of the work then accomplished by tho Jackson-Harrnsworth Expedition. The t-xpedition as you are aware, was despatched from England in 1594 by Mr Alfred Harms worths Follow of this Society, anr? he placed in command another Fellow of the Geographical .Society, Mr Frederick, Juckson who isnow wintering for the fourth successive year in tho Aretic Regions. Well, I concluded my paper last year wi'h the hope that in tho autumn wonriaht again welcome the gallant little Windward home, "and with her, too, another and even more important budget of news —news of discovery, news of sumess, and, best of all, news of well-being and good health." That hope, I have tho highest satisfaction in telling you, has been more than abundautly justified. For the Windward herself made a most remarkable passage —sailiug under the able and energetic command of Captain James Brown from Vardo, on Juno 29, i ivigating some GOO miles of pack-ice, discharging a large and very valuable cargo at Franz Josef Laud, aud returning to Vardo six weeks to the day after she had left that northern port. She brought with her, too, tho good news for which wo had hoped—news of systematic explortion and its fruit of valuablo discovery; news of snecsssful battling with tho well-nigh overwhelming odds which Nature in her Arctic mood presents ; and news ot the continued aud almost unprecedented well-being of our gallant explorers in the great White North. Moreover, tho Windward brought the world a graut surprise. Rather over three years ago, an Arctic explorer perhaps tho most audacious tho world has yet seen—had set sail ou the voyage which experience, knowledge, and science regarded with feelings not greatly different from dismay. I allude, of course, to Frithjof Nansen and his voyage in tho Frau>, On August 3, 1893, he passed through the strait of Yugorski Schar into tho Kara Sea, and from tbat moment ho ■was not merely lost to sight, but to all knowledge or opportunity of knowing. For throe long yoard there was silence and, I think, steadily growing anxiety; and then, when tho most sanguine of us were looking for him or news of him from tho ice-laden waters of Greenland, and tho most desponding were telling us it were v tin,to look at all, the Windward, steamed'Jinto the fishing-port of Vardo, bavin;: on board as passsugers Dr. Nansen and his companion Johacnesan. The deliirht and tho wonder of it were not confined to what wo call " geographical circles," but commanded tho attention of that world which honours the courage and applauds the prowess of the polar explorer —a world which is as wide as our globe, and only limited by tho distribution of tho human race. Of tho strange chance that brought it to pass that Naifon and Johanncseu should be on tho Windward, and of what has happened in L'Vanz Josef Laud before Mr. Harmsworth's polar yacht had reached Mr. Jackson's quarters, I shall endeavour to give some account a little later. Rut I have referred to these several points now to remind you how abundantly justified has been that hope that " another and even more important budget of news" would remain an annus mirabilis in tho history of discovery. Hut I may also note, in passing, that a considerable amount of work of secondary importance lias been attempted and, in one or two instances, completed in 189(5. l'cary has made an interesting voyage into Smith's sound, though it in no way compares, of course, with his magnificent journeys across tho great inland ice-cap of Greenland, Andrce has accomplished all but the final flight on his great venture of stiling through the air to the pole. And Sir George lHden Powcl has been able, in his yacht, to afford in Noviiia Zemlian waters tin exception il opportunity and a now vant tge ground for Eutrlish astronomers. Wo mu-t now return, however, to the suiuuku yf lij'Jo, tj J uly 8, when tho

Windward started lnmeward on that memorable voyage tbronirh tho ice, which f<r sixty-three days defied fill tha efforts of steam-power aud the incessant labour of her crew. Exactly three days later—on July 11—Mr Jackson set s-.il on n western voyage of discovery in the little hlitp, Iho (Mary Harmsworth. This was a whale-boat, rigged with lug-sail and jib, 25 feet Gin long, o feet Tiuchcs in beam, and undecked. Accompanying him were Mr A Armitagc, Lieut. R.N.R., second in command; Mr H. Fisher, botanist; Mr J Child, photographer; Blomvist, an A. 1). taken from tho Windward, and w hose record of work in Franz Josef Land is very good; und Mr S. Burgess, whose placfl was a day tr two later t ikon by Mr Reginald Kettlitz, the doctor aud geologist of the expedition. The object of this boat journe3 T was to extend our knowledge of tho cost-line, to survey and fix the positions of the main points, to enter and explore the intcrventing fiords and bays, and to discover, if possible, now land to tho westward. 'I he party had a month's provisions with them, some stores for a depot to be made on Cape Grant, and a canvas boat was towed fjr additional Bcrvico and safety. This last was the more necessary as landing-places are few aud far between in the almost continuous glacier-wall, which forms a perpendicular face to the coast. Moreover, as we shall see, storms rise suddenly and become severe and dangerous. On the evening of July 11 the party tied up to the land-floe off Bell island, tD find that Eira harbour was full of heavy winter ice, and of no use to the navigator. Tho next eveniug they reached Cape Grant, where they established one of the depots which Mr Juckson is gradually placing all over this Archipelago—for his own or some other explorer's benefit—and here, two they left the canvas boat. On the 13th thoj started again, this time for Cape Crowther : but the sea-ice came in very quickly with the incoming tide, and the boat had several severe nips before she could be got out of the water on the fast ice of Gray bay. This ice showed no signs of having been broken up that year, and as the sea-ice was still coming in on a strong tide and with irresistible force, Mr Jackson headed back for Cape Grant. Establishing a camp hero, he sent the boat on a mission to Elmwood, the headquarters of the expedition, under tho command of Mr Armitage. Mr Jackson and his companions in the mean time dredged and made collections of everything that could be procured. He and another member of the party ascended to the summit of Cape Grant by the glacier, and erected a cairn ; but on looking over tho sea westward, it was evident that the iec was ratreating seaward again, and so on the 20th the voyage was renewed. Early on the 21st Cape Crowther was reached, and, bud weather delayed them here for a day, it was utilized in ascending to the summit of the c;ipe, erecting a cairn, and making such observations as were possible. On the 22nd. however, they were able to start attain, and late that night they gained Cape Neale. The boat was now seat back to Grant for some provisions, while the remaining members devoted themselves to observing and collecting. The cape was climbed, the usual cairn erected —I may say that in all these dims a Union Jack was placed—and Mr Fisher, the botanist, searched for additions to his department, and Mr Kettlitz, in his capacity as geologist, for rocks and fossils. I may mention, in passing, that Mr Fisher was able on this journey, as at other times, to make some important and highly interesting sketches. Ic was when on tho summit of Cape Neale that, the day being clear, Jackson was able to distinguish high land bearing away west to the farthest point previously seen. Anxious to see this new land at closer *quart?r<, he started once more in the Mary Harms worth on the 28th. He sailed across Cambride bay, and then, and at other times, took every opportanity of mapping it; arid at the head of the bay he discovered a bold and lofty headland } which ho named Cape Frithjof Nansen, On either side of this headland a strait appeared to lead away to the north and connect with the sea beyond. Passing Cape Ludlow, an unimportant promontory, ice-capped and glacier-faced like the greater part of the coast, he rounded the next point—Capo Lofley—aud looked, for the first time at close qnarters, upon a cape of majestic if of truly Arctic character. As the boat approached it, the weather suddenly changed for the worse. A storm-cloud lowered in the west; a dense bank of fog came up from the sea. The wind rose to a modeiate gale, aud set the ice-packs in motion, rendering the position of the boat one of considerable peril. Nevertheless, it was sent slowly ahead, and they drew nearer to tho land. Right in front of them the great white head-land rose out of the water. At its base there stood a vertical face of ice some 30 feet high ; then steep tain?, covered with snow and ice, sloped at e. steep angle upward t> a narrow corona of rocks about 700 feet above ; above this, came the icecup, whieh rose without a break to an elevation of at least 2000 feet. This cape is one of the most imposing yet discovered in Franz -'osef Laud, and the circumstances of its discovery were not calculated to depreciate its character. For tha storm-cloud which now hung over it loomed very dark ; a cold and weird buff-tinted glara flickered ominously beyond on tho horizon : tho water grew black under the growing darkness of cloud ; while tho cape rose serene and beautiful from all this gloom—a great mass of pure dead white, with scarcely a preceptible shadow to denote the inequalities of its contour, and blending at its summit as it receded from tbc sight with tho snow-squalls that now whirled round the high cap of ice. Opportunity had, however, been presented for sketching and taking beatings, and the newly found cape received tho name of Cape Mary Harmsworth. It was just at this time, however, that the whole party were nearly lost. The wind had so increased that it blew with the force of a strong gale in gust--, and the broken-up pack allowe.l a heavy sea to got up. Tho masses of disrupted ice were in rapid and eccentric motion, and momentarily threatened to crush the boat to matchwood. Neither was there shelter near. Tho whole of tli3 coast was girded with a wall of ice not less than 30 feet high; there was not even a spit of bare rook, such as occasionally occurs further east, to afford a landing-place. For two days the gale blew hard, and on tho third I find this note: " The gale blowing as hard as ever from tha north and north-west. The suow drives incessantly, the sea still high. How tho boat keeps up is a wonder.'' A little later I get this note, showing that even under these uncomfortable circumstances the eye of the observer was not closed : " Several times during the day I noticed a very remark able appearance in the sky. as tho wind brought up the snowstorms. It appeared as if laths of wood were irregularly distributed over tho sky, even to the zenith, wherever tho nimbus clouds of the snowstorm covered it ; and on the northern horizon appeared thrco polos, exactly usombling the three; bare masts of a ship with the hull hidden by the high waves. They were white, and at equal distances from each other. Tho ' laths ' were also white, and appeared straight, and the edges ran parallel to each other, They were all of a uniform tTCadth,"

Well, to cut a somewhat long story short, the pale did not lull until thd evening of the third da;,-, hy which time the Mary Harmsveorth had been blown about .30 miles off the laud in a southeasterly direction. Then, fortunately, a change in the direction of the wind to the eastward enabled (hem to run back to laud under double reefs, travelling- about S knots an hour, until the)' once again saff-ly made Cape Grant. Mr Jackson notes down in his journal, " Since leaving 1 Cape Nealo, three days ago, no one has had any sleep or eaten anything but buscuits, except Child and I, who had a raw dovekie each.' The last night was even colder than those which had srouc before. The snow and sleet continued, an.l we were tired and hungry but sleeping was out -of the question, as the boat had to be constantly bailed, and getting at the food was too trreat a business. Thus we rode out the night, expecting at every moment to go down, so high had the sea become, and so much le-s buoyant our boat. Every otie was more or less cheerful, though. All my men have behaved extremely well, and if wo hud gone to the bottom "they would have done 80 as becomes men.*' The camp at Capo GraDt, rough though it was, appears to have been n luxury after the crumped quarters in the boat, but there wan plenty of work to do. Twice had the boat been stove in by heavy blocks of ic«, and she required repairing in several directions. Moreover, before she was ready to start, another heavy gale sprang up and lasted for six days, leaving the sea strewn w ith faHy heavy ice and unnristakeably in its early winter coat. Jackson consequently determined to return to Elmwood whil? ho could. So on August 5 he left Cape Grant, and after visiting Cape Stephen, Bell and Mabel island, and the intermediate coasts, he regained Elmwood, at Cape Flor.i, ou August 12. "Wo only got back," he writes, " in the nick of time, for the following day iho sea became packed with ice, and it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible to cross the intervening water." Taking this boat journey in review. I may first point out that Jackson's observations during its process confirmed him in the opiuion that June and July aae better months for navigating in Franz Josef Land waters ttan August and September. The influence, of the wind, he incidentally points out, is noteworthy in the fact that for two years ho had found the ice packed against the land while the sea was open, in Juno and July. The next noteworthy feature is the fact that for the first time those napes und that coa«t which were seeu bv Mr Leigh Smith from the Eira in 1880" and ISSI—in some case at a considerable distance and under the disadvantageous circumstances of mist and foe—were actually reached and ascended; their position was for the first time accurately laid down after a series of careful obs2rvati«ms ; and calculations made -which, when worked out. cannot fail to decisively establish the geology and natural history of a region never previously visited. But there is yet another point in connection with this boit journey, Jackson has advanced Franz Josef Land a considerable distance westward of the previously known limit; and in doing this, he has, I contend, rediscovered and at last attained the long lost and most mysterious Gilies Land. It was in 1707 that Captain Cornells, a Dutch uavigator sailed eastward of the Seven Islands for some leagues. He then altered his course to south-east and south and when in lat. 80 deg. N., he saw very high land about 2o miles—old Dutch miles one to four English geographical miles—to the east from North-Ea«t Land. This land ha« since that time been known as Gilies Lund. Many navigators have tried to roach it and failed ; only two, indeed, .have been fortunate enough t) sight it. Captain Carlsen—memorable for having been the circumnavigator of Spitzbergcn and Nova Zeirbla—sighted Gilies Land on [August 16, 1863. in the brig the Jan Mayen; and Captain Tobiesen, when in command of the schooner iE:>lus, sighted Gilies Land on August 7, IS6I. This land was seen by Captain Carlsen when sailing down the east of North-East Land ; by Captain Tobiesen when he was in the position of 12" N. !by AV. off the eastern point of North-East Laid. From that Doint Gilies Land bore S.E. by S. The observation of Captain Tobiesen is the more important because he continued to see the land during the two succeeding days. Now all the three navigators who have sighted Gilies Land closely agree as t> its position. However far it may extend north and south, it is quite clear the parallel of 80" N. lat. runs through it. It is truo that you will find in your maps today a degree and a half further north, but that seems to be mainly due to the waywardness of a German geographer and the complaisance of those Enjli-di cartographer who believe in maps made in Germany—though not I may add without reasonable grounds. On this question of Gilies Land, however, the Germans have not the shadow of any other pvidenci in their favour. It will be sufficient, I think for English geographers if I cite the opinion of Sir Clements Markham—for many years and still our highest authority on early Arctic voyages, as well as in other departments of historical geography. In his valuable summary. ♦ The Threshold of the uckown Region,'' which has gone through many editions, he distinctly states that the narrative of Gilies' voyage, as given by Dailies Harrington, '• exactly agrees with Van Keulen's chart" aud also "with the bearings taken by Tobiesen in IS6I. But," continues Sir Clements, "Dr Petermann has written rather disparagingly of Van Keulen's chart, and has altered the position of Gilies Land from So° to 81" 30', referring to Barrinsrton as his authority. Mr Foster, who was one of the lieutenants in Puny *s expedition of 1527, gives a very different estimate of the value of Van Keulen's work. He says, ' We recognized distinctly almost every feature of the lands delineated in the old Dutch chart.' " That being so, I am content to consider Gilios Land as moved hick again to the old latitude of SO' N. Now, Mr Jackson in extending the coast of Franz Josef Land to Cape Mary Hannsworth, which, lies ia 80' 30"- N, lat. and -12' 30' ]■•',, lontc , comes (as he approaches from the cast) within—putting it roughly, of coarse—some 30 miles of the western coast of Gilies Land ; of that coast, in fact, which whs seen by Gilies. No land wt.s seen by Mr Jackson to the westward or south of westward, and it seems to mo perfectly clear that in discovering that cape Mary Harms worth, Mr Jackson has also bt'eii the first to approach the land which has so long been a matter of debate and speculation. For Mary Harinswori.h is, in my opinion, the southern point of the. long-sought Gilies Lmd. (To be ctmlbtitnl).

Taking the young and the oM together, it is found that '2l> ycara is the average at whieh iv-op]e die in London. In England and Wales only, mote than 100,001) persons are always slowly dying of consumption, An apron is the royal standard of Persia, (ioa, a L'er*iau who was a blacksmith by tride, raised a revolt which proved successful, and his leather apron, covered with jewels.is still bume in tlia van of Persian armies.