The New York Herald Newspaper, November 13, 1874, Page 3

THE NEW WORLDS. Sr. Potermann on the Recent Are‘ic Discov. ories by Payer and Weyprecht, THE HERO M OF THE EXPLORERS, Three New and Important Po- lar Theories, Sune MYSTERY OF THE NORTHERN SPHINX, Scientific Results and In- genious Deductions. The following ts a translation of a valuable article on the recent Austro-Hungarian ex- Pedition to the Nortu Pole, pubiished by Dr. Peter- mann, the celebrated German geographer—proba- | bly the greatest living. Tue admirable comments of tne German scholar and iis profound de- auctions from the sctenttde results of this highly Important expedition will be read with especial interest. The Austro-Hungarian North Pole Ex- Pedition, Under Weyprecht and Payer, 1872-74, “Was rennt das Volk, was wilzt sich dort dle Jangen Gassen vrausend fort? (“Why run the crowd? What means the tarong that rushes fast the street along?” ‘rhe opening lines of Scnuler’s “Fight with the Dragon”) might the poets have recently sung of the returning Austrian voy- | agers of the North and thetr reception.* No gen- eral returning victoriously with his army trom the battle could have been received and welcomed im @ grander or more enthusiastic manner than were this little pand of twenty-two men, And yet they had only returned from a North Pole expedition. Although the Nation could not have been as familar with the dangers of such an expedition ag with those of @ battle, it felt, nevertneless, instinctively, that the achievement of the Tegethoi’s expedition was @ heroic decd. To win a battle hecatombs of precious human lives must be sacrificed, perhaps allof them harmiess men, who had done nothing wo create the strife; but here they all returned in good health with tue exception of one, who already carried within him the germ of death at his depar- ture. And aces a battle require more manly courage ? When the command for the attack is given even the timorous are carried away, and BS quickly as the action began, so quickly does it generally close. Tue struggle of the Tegethor crew lasted two years. A TRIBUTE TO HEROISM. People think of the times of Columbus and Vasco fa Gama, of their discoveries and return to Palos snd Lissabon, They left with three and four ships nd 120 and 160 men, and discovered worlds, Their return and reception at one point, at their native port, may have been grand; but it was no such triumphal march from the North Cape to Vienna, and these men alscovered but a portion of the Polar Sea and a piece of land of Ice. The people, whatever language they may speak, were right in welcoming the Austrian voyagers of bhe North as they did. Be it only that they wished to maintain the propriety of suck a work of peace, pr be it that they desired to do honor to manly valor, it was generally felt that those sturdy men should be recetved in just this manner, In what does the heroism ofa Columbus, a Vasco @e Gama, s Magalhaens consist? In their being the first to launch into an unknown sea, who pos- seased the courage, the Interest, the devotion and pnduraace necessary to the task. It was not the Jault of the Austrian expedition that it did not discover an America or an India. Greater de eds, from @ human point of view, could not even Columbus and other great discoverers have achtéved than Weyprechtand Paver accomplished, Before Columbus, people thought that the sea toward the west was not navigable because of thick fogs and darkness, The sea which the Austrian expedition determined to explore Was equally dreaded, and with far more reason. One of the first writers on the arctic regions, Scoresby, had only in 1820 drawn a line in his celebrated work, across the entire sea from Bear Island (about 743, deg. north latitude) to Nova Yembia, and said decisively, ‘Here is the ico border and here 1s the limit of all navigation.” WHAT THE AUSTRIANS DID. Seufarers regarded this line and the unknown mysterious region beyond it with a holy horror. The Austrian expedition has torn the veil from it up to 8&3 deg. north latitude, hence over elght degrees to the north, a considerable distance, considering the few portions of the earth yet remaining unknown. Those great discoverers achieved great and aimcnit things, aith@ngh to-day a trip to the ‘West Indies, East Indies or round the world ap- pears to us a mere bagatelle. But their ventures paved the way for us. Magalhaens, for instance, lost bis itfe on the way, and Pigaletta, Dis biographer, who prepared the report of this first trip round the world, expressed his firm conviction that, owing to the great dan- gers and multitudinous diMculties, such a voyage would never again be undertaken. Soarcely any- body could nave accomplished greater things in this line than the Austrian expedition. In the first place they had to pass four wW@exs in pene- trating; before Nova Zembla, and Jor a distance of atleast 240 nautical miles, through the thick ice before they even reached Cape Nassau, which was only regarded by the leaders as the starting point ofthe expedition, There they suffered the most terrible calamity which a Polar expedition can en- counter. They were caught in the ice stream and @riven to and fro in the Siberian Polar Sea for fourteen months by the pack ice, being constantly in danger of being crushed to death. For four- ‘veen months they were in constant peril, never & moment safe from the crush of the ice, and yet they did not flinch, although the northern coast of Nova Zembla was near eNough to afford them & chance of escape—i. ¢, by leaving the ship and saving themselves on terra jirma, Find- img at last in the open ice a tolerably calm pnd safe place tor passing the second winter the crew accomplished the heroic feat of parting irom one another, so that the newly dis- covered land might be more closely explored, thus exposing themselves to the danger of total estruction of both divisions, in case the suip was Jost or crifted away, and at last they heroically undertook to return on sleighs and boats, battling continually against @ powerful {ce stream. Truly, the peopie had a right to give these men Such 4 reception. AFRICA AND THE NORTH POLE. The English valued their Arctic expeditions Mainly for the reason that they trained their naval heroes, and have frequently pointed out that Nelson served as a cadet in the Phipps expe- dition north of Spitzbergen, and particularly dis- Unguished himself, The Tegetnoff men have shewn themseives worthy of their prototype, and faak properly with Ross (both uncle and nephew), Parry, McOlintock, Kane, Hayes and Hall, and whatever ail their names may be. As far aa the results of the expedition are con- ferned it ts self-evident thatall the problems ‘Which have to be solved in the Polar zone are not yet cleared up. If you will compare it in this respect with another celebrated problem of geo- Their battle with the ice reminds one also in other respects of Schilier’s “Fight with the 0,” How they Co od to struggle with their ip against the grim ice monater, and, leavin her, led by the nimble Payer, attempted on foo! ‘Wo Tob the Arctic Spinx of a portion of its secrets could be read in the folowing verses -_ Da banmetsich mein Ross und schenet An scinem Basiliskenblick Und seiues Athem’s glit'gen Wehen Und mit Entsetzen springt's 2uruck. ‘Da echwine ich mich behend vom Ross, &c. My bore reel’ wildly to and tro Hetore his basilisk-Itke look, And at his poison-teemin: backward and with t irom my swed 1 ( NEW YORK HERALD, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1874.-TRIPLE SHEET. THE NORTH POLE. Map of the Arctic Circle from 90 Degrees East to 90 Degrees West Longitude, Showing the Modern Explorations,. Including the Discoveries of the Austro-Hungarian Expedition. | | LLESMERR Humboldt G rox LR ard y) S/, 3) Tf: graphy, the exploration of the in- terior Of Airica, and more especialiv of the sources of the Nile, and con- sider how many bave been at work ‘on it for 350 years (since Franziscus Alvarez, in 1520), without accomplish- ing tne desired result, you will pot wonder that a Polar expedition of Rr xy THE PAYER-W af x yoWienn: o ee By YPRECHT DISCOVERIES, 1 Topless Se* Cumnn 1470-7 tk CaN eo ST 1.Sep.1870 and at the game time most scentine Raval Oiicers that over lived, ex- | piessed himself in 1831 to the effect | he ‘considered navigation on asia ol the Arctic region every- | re possible.” two years’ duration leaves yet some things to be done, But the road to final success has been paved from a side which, in the 300 years o! the history of Arctic exploration no one since Barents had dared to attack, There ie neither the apace uor the time to enter, upon this occasion, in- to the details of the results, The de- spatches an reports are in every- dody’s hands, but @ cartographic description is still new and always the first task of this pubiication, 1 therefore refer to the original maps. The one ww the right was drawn aller a preliminary sketch made by Payer, which I recetyed September 21, and on which I filled up the meria- Jans and homenclature aiter the first reports, The other original map to the leit gives ardsumé of the present knowleage of the Arctic regions in the semicircle extending from Smith Sound to the Kara and Siberian Seas, grouped andcolored after the explor- ations via Swith’s Sound, on the east- e@1D coast of Greenland, north ot Spitzbergen, tn vhe East Splizvergen Sea, near Nova Zembia and in the ad- jacent seas, particularly the Kara Sea. Quite new on this map 1s also the precise and hitherto unpublished course of the Orst Austrian expedi- Stoo under Weyprecht and Payer in THE GREAT PROBLEMS IN QUESTION, The prosceution of some aim al- Ways precedes discoveries, and the xing of such an aim is dependent on the maintenance of views which in their very nature must be more or jess hypothetical 1m proportion as the goal is more or less unknown, ‘The North Pole is in its very nature at present so totally unknown that the learned world have been quarrel- ling to this day as to whether it be composed of land or water, O/ a solid, evernal, unchangeable, unyielding, aud hence constantly growing, in- creasing and giacier-transiorming ice ‘‘calotte,”? or Whether it be of ice subject to the ordinary laws in other portions of the earth, yieldiug, irl- able, like our own glaciers, or, Hn- ally, whether tt be capuole of parting and opening under the infuence of Warm sun and air and water like our Tivers at home. The Austrian expe- dition was equipped and sent forth by large hearted men, who did not re- quire elaborate motives for the enter- prise, a fxea programme and the Prospects of grand results. There was @ painful solicitude on every side to make no promises, and, some- what after Moltke’s silent ‘1asmioa, they only said that explorations would be undertaken In the Siberian Sea, which begins at Nova Zembla, In order to mect all one-sided inver- pretations they declared positively:— “¢he expedition expects nelther an open Polar 5e@ Dor does it expect to reach Benring Strait, although these are their ideal aims. We shall not attempt to penetrate to the North Pole.’ “To reach higher latitudes will be @ secondary consideration, and itis seli-understood that the Sibe- Tian coasts must be avoided as much as possibie,” &o, 4 GREAT ERROR. The moment the expedition has re- turned, Bowever, the main points come prominently forward—namely, the North Pole, and quether it can be reached or not; the Arctic Sea, and whether it be navigable or not, &c. And judging from the experience of this expedition, although it could explore but @ comparatively small partot the great and yet unknown Arctic world, some people presume to pass upon the great and yet un- solved problems and the still undis- covered universal natural laws of the Polar regiong With & monkey-like readiness, The flowing oowl-joliity of the reception festivities has, fur- nished some statements which, from @ scientific point of view, Appear most, queer. This or that theory is de- ciared as “untenable and disposed of,” and the newly discovered Francois Joseph’s Land 18 sMrmed to be so constituted ‘as to end all the possi. I Cape tAVienna the American Captain Long, who | discovered (ne lad north of Bebring Ey he Land from| Witczek Istand in ‘the South.to Cape i 10 Cape Sirstdiscovereg, topes fa ine North| was Sonkiar.Giacier iy Mt.Briinn NW Here Land was seen} Ws 1046" BL, bilities of a discovery of the North Pole.’ Even the wires are pui in req- ey, 64 Longltude East$6 from Greenwich 68 —— uisition in order to start these theo- ries (which probably were not even ronounced in this fashion) on their course round he earth and thus to render them “tenabie.” The latest Polar explorations, and more espe- ciaily the expeditions since 1863, which mark @ new era, have rendered possivie’ fnd established three hypotheses: the probapiity of an ocean current setting from the south into the Arctic Sea, the likelihood ofan extension of Greenland from shanuon Island (more precisely Cape Arents) and Cape Constitution to the eouth and the navig- ability of certain portious of the Polar regions during certain seasons, 1 am {ree to confess myself guilty of defending all theae hypotheses. 1 shail be giad to have been in the wrong if the cause of Arctic exploration be only meanw' promoted; and this has been the cause during thé last six years to an unprece- dentea degree, It is perfectly immaterial in or moting a scientific cause whether this or that per- won’s opinions be right, THE ORIGIN OF GERMAN EXPEDITIONS. Ten years ago, when Polar exploration received &@ new impetus in Engiand, | suggested tne query whether Germans could not also enter this tnter- esting Geld of labor instead of killing themselves off in that dangerous, deatn-bringing Airican Con- tinent, where they fall victims to the fever epidem- ics, or to tue terrible climate, or to the fanaticism of the natives. When I had popularized this idea and finally, alter unspeakable or and trouble, had ealled inva life @ German expedition, | ex- pressed the nope that 1& would not follow the old course through Balin’s Bay, and that it would not be content with picking up the crumbs left by in- namerable English expeditions. Why not take a step forward into the great Arctic Ocean of Europe, ly right at our doors, provided only that ‘the always accessible western coast of Spitzbergen, @ special domain of Swedistr: editions, remained untouched? Hence! proposed as the bass of a thorough and scientific exploration of the Ventral arctic region the entire widti of this Ruropean North Sea from East Greeniand to Nova Zembia, starting from the latitude of Bear Istand (7434 deg. orth), to which I had_ previously called attention (more espec to the East Spltabergen Sea), and promi aiso & prize oi from 000 to 400 thalers to any seaman who would undertake a short reconuojtring trip “trom Hammerfest in @ northeasterly direction.” [ directed the first two expeditions which were seus tori) my 4 BaRyeRn 7 Greenland, thinking that it would be easier there to advance than in the Sea oi Eastern Spitz. bergene a theory wiich | specially elaborated in June, 1870, in a larger work on the Gulf Stream. Its correctness bas also been established, for though it was impossible atthe first attack ofa small sailing vessel, in 1868, to cut through the mighty ice stream oi Eastern Greenland, a second attempt, in 1869, with but a medium-sized steamer, was crowned with @ comparatively speedy aud easy success. FOR THIS EXPEDITION, conducted by an ola and esteemed contributor of the Geographical News, | succeeded in gaining the assistance of Julius Payer, the worthy expiorer of the Alps and of giacte He introduced a new feature into Arctic travel—namely, that of moun- tain climbing—which had on this expedition tne most brillant success, ior It overthrew notions held for more than a thousand years of the interior ‘of Greenland, and shed new light upon that mys- terivus country. Never belore bad such mountain climbing been done tn the Arctic or Antarctic re- gions. Already had Carl Weyprecht, then an ensign in the Austrian Navy, offered to accompany or to conduct an expedition. It is now of more than ordinary interest to read again his first letters of November 20 and December 13, 1845, 80 Well digested and the fruits of a profound study Of Arctic geography and the history of expiora- tion. And at last he even offered to fit out a boat such as are used on the Norwegian coast, with the petty sum of 3,000 florins (less than $1,500) and to explore, 83 far as possible, the East Spitabergen Sea, with the assistance of but one companion and four sailors. Truly, the present briiiant res not achieved in & moment or after endeavors. No, they have come from mature studies extending ir & period of ten years a from earnest efforts, One might truly y that Payer and Weyprecht have really and thoroughly lifted polar exploration into the saddle, It was very meritorious on the part of both that they (together with me and otter friends of the cause in Vienna, Frankfort and Teplitz) suc- ceeded in pee, out a preliminary expedition Into that sea in 1871, and carrying it to 8 successful {seue, thereby insuring the completion of the pe expedition, which has now returned Vic- AUSR WORD Keane The reanits of this expedition mark a new epoch in several respects; first of all by the terri- ble tce-dritt of fourteen months. Similar drifting on the ice On &@ ship or without a ship has beeu accomplished foreven greater distances, but not tor so long a period ot time, by De Haven, McClintock, and the Hansa and Polaris crews But all these expeditions driited only from bigh latitades to the south, the menof the Polaris from latitude £0 deg. north, through Bafin’s Bay to Labrador, at 53 deg., the latitude of Bre: and Hamburg. But the fact that the drift of the Austrian expedition was dif- ferent from all former experiences in being inces- santly directed toward the north, the central Arctic region, is of new and great importance to physical geography, NAVIGABILITY OF THE POLAR SEA. The general supposition and positive experience of the navigability of certain portions of Cie Arctic Ocean during certain seasons have been assailed on grounds supposed to have been furnished oy the preliminary short reports wpon the expedi- tion. { confine myself upon this occasion to a mere reference to positive tacts, and to the testi. eae of some of the most noted nautical au- thorities. The Arctic Ocean has recently been shown be even more navigable than even 1, the first champion of its navi- Ro lity, dared to hope. For instance, all's expedition north of smith sound showed that they penetrated easily irom Tessiusak in 73 deg. 20 min. north latitude, brongh the notorious Melville Bay, Smith Sound, Kennedy Channal and Robeson to 82 deg.11 min. north lativude, a distance of over 700 miles in only eleven days (irom Au- gust 23 till September 3, 1871), and the best oMcers Of this expedition, like Captain Tyler, Lester and Morton have expressed their unani- mous conviction that they might have even gone rarthgr north, formerly notorious as the 80- to The Kara called “ice cellar of the North ole,” has shown itself to be periectly navigable, Admiral Sir Kd- ward Parry, next to Sir James Clark Ross, proba- by the most experienced o1 all Arctic travellers, who reached jn 1827, nortn of Spitabergen, the jt polar latitude which had been attained came to this conciusion:—"A ship could have salled to latitude 82 deg. and scarcely have encountered a piece of ice.” AGMA Bee ang af the Moat dstinznished, Strait, said im 1868 that he was as | firmly convinced of the possibility of | edecling & passage from Benring Stray to the Auantic Ocean as of | solving any problem of the future, and tore so (han he was Aiteen years | ago of the possibility of iaying an At | lauuc cable. This route might not | prove Of great importsnce to the commerce between the two oceans, but i the passage could only be made to it it would be of great advantage in the development and utilization of | Uke patural resources of northern | Siberia. “We entirely concur in the | views of Captain Long,’? says the English Nautical Journal, THE POLE ACCESSIBLE. The Scotch Captain David Gray, one of the most experienced men tn Arc- tic navigation that ever livea, says in 1963 (and even Dow) :—“Arier having gone whaling for many years on the | eastern coast Of Greenland, and, alter having observed the tides of tie sea | and the conditions of the ice at vari- | ous Scasons, the conviction.gre Ww upon. me that there would ve litte or no | duficulty in reaching a very high lati- | Tude—it Dot the Pole itseli—with a | ship, I Oue Were to advance upon the ice somewhere under 75 deg., where there 18 usually a deep inward bend, | Pomting for 100 miles toward Shan- | Don Island in & nortuwesterly direc- Mon; thence were to pursue the | course Of Greenland as iung as it | leads to the pointin view, and then to advance northward tnroun the | loose icefields, which may be expected. in that quarter,” &c,, &c, I wall not proceed any further in these quotations oi the opinions of the most distinguished of Arctic sea: | jarers, opiMions supported by their own experience, and will only sug- | gest the important query, Is tue ex- | Perience of the Austrian expedition | 4s regards the conditions of the ice in | this newly discovered Arc:ic Sea the rule or ts it but the exception? Is the totally opposite result v1 the pre- vious expedition of Weyprecht and | Payer in 1871 of no weight? is it no Proor that since 1867 numberless Nor- | Wegiun fishermen were able to sail with their satung vessels round Nova Zembla year afier year, wat they | could penetrate jar into the Siberian Sea, and still had before tnaem a navi. gable ocean tree [rom ice? is {t no ey that at tne very time when | Payer and: Weyprecht found near | Nova Zembla the unusnai accumuis. | tion Of ice the entire western nalt of the great sca was, contrary to the general rule, free from tce, so that the Norwegian tishermen were for the first ume able to exsily reach the mysterious Gillis Land (namely, King Charles’ Land) ? Under certain unfavorable: condi- | tions oi the weather the north side of | Nova Zembila 18, perhaps, as dificult | for navigation as the nortn side of Spitzbergen, or Cape Horn, or Cape o1 Good Hope, or the English Chanuel, or the mouth of the Weser. But, in spite of the experience of the Aus- | trian expedition, it seems to me that the one ice-driit Can no more disprove tis Navigability in the lace of the in- | nummerable Norwegian voyages (ve- | sides Barents) than the navigabuity of Kafin’s Bay can be dieproved by the three Ice-drifts of De Haven, Mc- Clintock and tie Polaris crew. DRAWBACKS IN RECENT EXPEDITIONS, Of course @ great deal depends upon the ship. The Tegethoir has proved an excellent ship. However, a8 her capacity was Dut 220 tous, she ts only to be regurded as a weak steamer who could carry but a small | quantity of coal for the three years | which the expedition was to last. In | order to save coal steam was got up but three times during the frst three | weeks of the Arctic voyage to Cape | Nagsau, and in each case lor but | twelve hours. This is ‘ust as though one engaged ina hunt In the tropics who had botn bow and breec’-loader were to use the latter only in case a rhinoceros or elephant came in his | Way and he had no other beip, ! The direct and straight voyage via Cape Nassau was impossible in tne | summer of 1872, but Count Wilezek’s voyage in the satling vessel Isojdrn | has proven that it ts possibile to pene- | trate far by circuitous routes. None of the recent | Arctic voyages had the advantages of a steamer | affording periectly suMcient room for a greater stock of coal such a8 the English seamen consider requisite, Steam launches have hitherto been also | wanting in every expedition, most of them having | only rowboats. I am convinced that Koldewey would not again undertake an expedition to the Pole with such af unsatisfactory steamcr as the | Germania was. However dificult or impossible navigation may have shown itseli to be at a certuin time im the autumn of 1872 trom vape Nassau (0 73 deg. east of Greenwich, If the total results of both sores of Weyprectit and Payer east of Bear Isiand | in 1871 and 1872-4 be only Considered, iv wil un- \ doubtedly be conceded thas, tn respect to spuce, they have achieved more than any other two ex- | peditions to auy other portions of the Arctic | regions, (See map.) In respect to scientific | Tesults they Will noc compare unfavorabiy with other expeditions, and of particularily greav value | must be their meteorological station, so much farther northeast than any of the past. A TRIBUTE TO A WORTHY ADMIRAL, When [, ten years ago, made the rst sugges tions in regaid toa German Polar expedition, a | very meritorious AUstrian seaiarer, Admiral Von Wiillerstorf, adopted them with enthu- siasm, and placed himselt at my disposal. Austrian geographers, like Hochstetter, sup- ported principally the geograpuers’ mieceting which was called ior Juiy 25, 1865, at Frankfort. Austrian seamen and expiorers, Weyprecht and Puyer, went one step further 10 1871, alter the idea | hud received some approbation, and this atep was | the starting point o: the recent Polar explorations. They are the sume men who have returned irom the present expedition covered with glory, The dest articles whieh have been written on the first news and reporta are those of Dr. Joseph Cha- vanne in Vienna, upon the results of the expedi- | tion in {ta relations to the present state of Arctic | geography and to the current setting irom tue south into the Polar Sea, called Guill Stream, alias North Atiautic Drift-current, which i | print below, togesuer with the interesting com- munications of Henry von Littrow on tie excellence of the crew and officers. When these pages were already iu ita the imperial Royal Geographical Society oi Already caused to be | Second Army Corps, | came known. | Was taken prisoner to England, 3 Payer to the committee of the expedition, I here ae the conciuding sentence of Weyprecht’s noble ofthe seaman :—‘“Oflice! haved themselves excellently trip, both physt and morally. but littie impression ; the men bore It so e: some of them never even wore their fur clothing, Their moral conduct was wholly commendable, Punishments were of rare occurrence. Under | most dificult surroundings they never lost ¢ oe ‘There have been no cases of insubord Bation. “The results of the expedition are of considera- ble scientific interest, more especially becausé they were obtained ta @ hitnerto utterly unknown Tegion, which was far removed from ail the Vious stations of polar observations. Apart the discovery and partial exploration of @ country, the meteorological observations for t Years, the observations of magnetic variations in & region of continued disturbances of aa um Greamt-of magnitude, the deep water soundings €04 Investigations with the drag net over a di tance of 15 ‘degrees of longitude, and finally th Insight tnto the drifting of tue pack ice durin, Period of fourteen months, dese: especial mene Ucn aa results of the expedition.” Gorm, Oct. 8, 1874, A. PETERMANN. CUBA, General Concha’s Reception at Cie fuegos—Inteonse Excitement at a Civic Banquet. Havana, Nov. 2, 1874. During the visit of General Concha to Cienfuegoa @ banquet was given in his honor, and the Govere nor of Cleniuexos had ordered the administrator of the gas works to put on an extra bead of gas for the occasion. About ten o’clock, and while ail the dignitaries of the city were gathered around the festive board utscussing the five and ten per cent tax and the best mode of putting an end to the rebellion, the gas mains barst, suddenly leaving the banquet hall ana city IN TOTAL DARKNESS, Swords and pistols were drawn, and, for a time, intense excitemeat prevailed; but the arrival of a dozen or two of soldiers with tallow candleg restored order and the banquet proceeded. Tae administrator of the gas works Was arrested and fined $500, CITIZEN SENTIMENT, General Concha leit Cientuegos at twelve o'clock at night, and the laborantes have a rumor in cir. culation that he left at night for fear of being assassinated. Reports trom good authority say General Concha ‘Was entinsiastically recelved by citizens and sol- diers at al. points visited by him, OBITUARY. Brower Gesner, M. D. Dr. Gesner, whose decease at Fort Gibson, Ine dian Territory, 1s recorded in another column, will be remembered by his comrades as a surgeon of | more than ordinary skill, attached to the Army of | the Potomac during the late war. His professional services were exerted during the whole of the unfortunate struggle to alleviate the sutlerings of the wounded, he being among the first to volun. teer when New York State sent her regiments to the fleld. He was in the deld from the skirmish at | Big Bethel down to the decisive battle of Gettys- burg, and gained an honorable record through alt | the batties fought by the Army of the Potomac and through the Peninsular campaign. He was at one time Surgeon-in-Chief of the artillery in the When the war Closed he was brevettea Lieutenant Volonel by a spectal act of Congress. Dr. Gesner was recently attached to troops iu the Indian Territory, There are proba- bly many vetcraus of Kearney’s division, Third Army yd yp who Will not soon forget the genial spirit and professional skill of the subject of this sketch, Who made Many warm friends both in and out of his profession. He was a sou oi the late eminent chemist and geologist Dr. A. Gesner, of this city, where his boynood and youth were spent. ihe remains will ve interred in Greenwood on Saturday, the funeral ceremonies being at Trinity chape) at one P. M. Isaac C. Halsted. Isaac C. Halsted, a civil engineer, well known throughout Westchester county, died at the resle | dence of his widowed mother, in Mamaroneck, on Tuesday, after a comparatively brief tliness. Among his latest labors was the planning and lay- ing out of Sedgwick avenue, a broad thoroughfare running from Berrian landing, near Kingsbridge, to Morris dock, on the Syaryen. Duyvil creek, lie Was also prominently identified with other local public improvements. Deceased was a young man of much promise in hits profession, and was a gen- era) favorite on account of his urbane ameeniee ualities. His funeral will take place t y at jamaroneck. Harriet De Witt Mitchel. Miss Harriet De Witt Mitcnel, eldest daughter of the late General Ormsby McKnight Mitcuel, earlier known as professor of mathematics at West Point, director of the Cincinnati Observatory and author of popular werks on astronomy, died yesterday at the resideace of her sister, Mrs. William Hoak, in this city. Miss Mitchel was known to a wide cir- cle throughout this country and in Burope as a lady of exceptionally modest merit, the possessor of @ richly stored mind, gentle manners and ® heart which sympathized with all, and won for herself troops of loving irlends wherever she be- Her lunera) will take place at ten o'clock to-morrow morning from the keformed church, corner of Filth avenue and Twenty-first street, . Judge Charles B. Middlchods. Mr. Charles B. Middieliods, who was re-elected av the last election as Justice of Sessions, and who was Justice of the Peace in the town o: Northfield, died at his residence in Port Richmond early yes- terday morning. A French Survivor of the Battle ef Trafalgar. {From the Liverpool Mercury, Oct! 28.] There has just died at Paris a survivor of the battle of Trafaigar. His name was Pinon, and he Was engaged as cabin boy on board one of the French ships. His vessel was captured, and he and remained there until the restoration of the Bourbons, While there the then Archbishop of Centerbary | took an interest in htm and gave him a @ education, including a knowledge of the English language. On his return to France he settled at Nantes, and for more than thirty years gained bis living as a teacher of English. The Widow of the Claimant of the Throne of Ireland. [From the Liverpool Mercury, Oct. 28] The Marchioness of Thomond, who has just died at eighty-two years of age, was the widow ofa nobleman who used to claim that, according to lineal descent, he would be the lawiul King of Ire- | land. The Marquis and Marchioness used to live at Bat known in that city. ears ago. The widow married ‘ane, RN. William Tweedie, the English Temper= ance Publisher, William Tweedie, the well-known English tem. perance publisher, died on the 27th of October at his residence, Campden Gill road, Kensington. Mr. Tweedie was born in Scotland in 1821, ana went to London tn 1848 to open a depot for the sale of temperance publications. Since 1851 he ns Occupied te premises opposite the Somerset jouse, and their equipage was about the best ‘ne Marquis died some twen' Rear Admiri THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, To THE EpiToR oF THB HERALD:— To-day the Finance Committee of the Board of Apportionment will meet to discuss the subject of the reduced estimates for the Board of Education, and I trust that the result of their deliveration wiil be to cancel their late decision. No cuarge of wastelul expenditure has been brought against the Council of Education, while their unsparing desire to cut down every item of useless expense has ben fully recognized. In fact, so honest has been their work in this direction that, in the ace of the proposed reduction of nearly $400,000, they find themselves unable to dis ene with a single item, without danger of throw. ng the whole system out of gear. tne citizens of New York are justly proud or their schools, and respect those who have worked to bring them to their present perfection; during times when haraly a public board would bear scru- tiny they alone have been ‘sans peur et sans re proche.” \f wi reduced to practice age | why not attack the hotbeds of corruption extravagance which appear to invite the sicki¢ of the financial economist ? Caer if retrenchment {8 necessary shall out children be the first to suffer, shall we levy 0 first contributions on those tuo weak to resi ‘Their good guardians of the Councll of aac ance in thelr name, oppose; surely their voice sl prevatl, If the appeal to the Fin Committee is rejected tne open will be to redace the Ol the professors, the average amount of each being $660 to $750 per annum. are @: to appear as gentlemen, Can they exiss decently on less? We pay an ordinary policeman $1, ane annum, [8 aif thay amount too much to omer @ Man of education to inavruct our children ? Our school system has been the bright spot, Mrnich All nations a Merotinge_ tO. leser¥ of pratse, May Yours, obediently, JOHN MICHELS, printed the excelleat reports of Weyprecht and Naw YoRK, Nov, 12 1874,