The New York Herald Newspaper, February 25, 1875, Page 3

Circumpolar. Chart Showing the Boundaries of the Arctic Ocean and the Proposed Lines Approach to the North Pole. THE POLAR HIGHWAY. A Review of the Approaches to the North Pole, Th. AMERICAN ROUTE Its Claims Over All Others---The Kane, Hayes, Hall Expeditions. THE OPEN POLAR SEA. A Plan of International Co- Operation. AN APPEAL TO CONGRESS. Letter from Dr. I. I. Hayes, the Arotic Explorer. New Yor, Feb. 22, 1875, To Tas Epiton oF Tor HEkALD:— In view of the interest which jou Rave 60 long mMauilested in Arctic explorations and of the en- Couragement you have recently given to the pro- Jected enterprises in thas direction, [ trust you ‘Will not regard it as inappropriate on my part if 1 shouid, througa the columns of your paper, ex- Prest some viows with respect to the practicability iu expedi- tion, With two weil equipped Vessels, euch ui some 900 tous burden, to try the Suita Sound route, Which, alter mature consideration, has at jengia been regarued by the Bogilch geographers os Ukely to prove (he most ayuiavie. ‘This route bas Very properly been culled the “American route," Gad, since | nave bad & gv0d desi of experience in NEW YORK HERALD, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1875.—TRIPL. THE ARCTIC REGIO exploring it, a brief account of discovery there may not be out of piace, Smith Sound is only a northerly continuation of BaMin’s Bay. It was discovered by the famous Davigator, Bafin, in 1616, during his remarkable Circuit of that magnificent sheet of water, ‘rom which branch of, im its northern part, Wolsten- holme, Smith, Jones and Lancaster Sounds, all more or less famous in later times in connection with Arctic exploration, Baffin made this voyage in the little bmg Discovery, of Hity tons burden, and although Sir Jonn Ross followed upon his track in 1818, and sighted tne of Smith Sound, tne sound itself was never entered until Captain Inglefieid, of the British Navy, in 1852, sought it in the steamer Isabella, with the idea that Sir John Franklin, instead of guing. to the westward, through Lancaster Sound, in 1845, bad followed the line of the Greenland cosst ana sought the Polar Borth course. tain Ing! toreport that Smitn Sound expanded into the Polar Basin, and in this view he was sapported by the fact that very little ice was seen. The idea being seized upon by Dr. Kane, culminated, ulen iB what become known as tie Expedition. The discoveries o: pedition ior the first time made Smith Sound famous. Unnke ingi Kane found the sound blocked with ice at its entrance, and being forced im upon the Greenland shore was crowded intoa hazbor in jatitude 78 de® 87 min,, and in, as it proved, an inconvenient and hazardous position. The vessel was never liberated, and, ing two winters the: took them- Selves to boats, Aiter dragging them over the ice to ,the open water at the moutn of the scund, @ «distance of ninety miles, they then set out ior tne Danish colonies in Greenland. During his stay in winter haroor Dr, Kane and bis party performed many sledge Jour the spring, searching the es of Greenland as far Up as latituce deg. gorth. it was my ior. tune to be s® member of that expedition, and, with one of the smp’s company, I made a dog- sledge Journey across the sound to the nurth and West, reaching & land not hitherto known, ond whieh was called Grinnell Land. ‘This 1 traced to About latitude 80 deg., and (hen surveyed it on my return journey southward and westward, beiore Tecrorsing the sound, uutt! 1 connected it with the previous discoveries of Ingle: at Cape Savine, During the Homeward journey slong that shore I found everywiere suioota ice, indicating Leyond doubt ther apon the setting in of winter tnere had far ap as the bign highest point Was E SHEET. NS... q rant of Ice "Nien, OA za © va whey Smith Sound, which was called Kenneay Channel. This fact led me to believe that a strong southerly getting current through Smith Sound forced toe ice down npon the Greeniand coast, and left open water at the clove of the thawing season on the Opposite shore; and accordingly, upon my return home, I tmmediately advocated the fitting out of a new expedition, THESE EXPLORATIONS, Imay mention, proved that ingleflela was wrong: for, instead of expanding into the Polar Ucean, Smith Sound merely expanded into a broad sea which narrows again into Kennedy Channel, and is now known as Kane asin. Through the liberality of leading scientific societies of the country and of private individuals the expedition was organized in the spring of 1860. Upon reaching Smitn Sound, hewever, I discovered @ tongue of ice extending through the centre of the channel to the sooth and west, and baving only & small schouner I could not in the teeth of a gale bore this “pack” and reach the west coast. In the effort the schooner was so badly crippled shat I was forced into winter harbor September 8, some- What nearer the mouth of Smith Sound than that of Dr. Kane, and I was compelled, th in my su ent explorations with sleage over the irozen sea to traverse much the same course [ Dad taken beiore. During the greater part of this toilsome march Of sixty days the ice was very Tough; but, a8 in the former case, when acting Under tho orgera of Dr. Kane, I found a smooth belt of a aingle winter's freezing along the west coast, thus confirming my previous opinion and declaration as to the practicability of a passage, at least to Kennedy Channel, in that direction. Withia Keonegy Channel the ice was more oni- form, presenting alternately rough and smooth suriaces, The highest point attained on the ice was near lat, 62 » On laud, 81 $7 min,, where 1 jeu my flag end record. Tuis was, of course, in the spring, loug De- fore there was any general break up of the ice, I reached, however, open water, which stopped me, oven at the early ppriod of May 18, The ice in the channel was even then, When the mercury was about gero, very thin and Totten. ‘The proo‘s thus obtained incre: 9 Carnest. Ness Witn Which Ladvooated the route by Smith Sound, and in tuis advocacy I huve been supported by the American Geographical Society, and espe. cially by 1s emineat President, Chier Justice Charies P. Daly. The result Was @ general convic- tion that this Was the most avuliabie channel by Which the North Pole was to be reached, and mtranees to OR extension uf | Bualy, Cougress making & moderate appropilas tion, Captain ©. ¥, Ball was entrusted with the command of the famous Polaris Expedition. ENTERING S¥ITH SOUND. Both Dr. Kane and myself encountered at the mouth of Smith Sound not only a heavy pack, but severe head winds, which brought the “pack” down. But Captain Hall seems to have met witn no such obstacles, and entering the sound steamed to the west coast and thence to Grinnell Land, encountering no ice even there, thus fulfilling, by actual experiment, the predictions which I had made years before, Nor Wid he meet any ice in Kennedy Ohannel to embarrass him until he had reached latitude 82 deg. 16 min.; and thus hia voyage to that hitherto unattained latitude by sbip was as iree irom obstacles as a voyage irom New York to Liverpool, Here pack ice was encountered, and, when he attempted to p' througd it, ni t, and, when liberated, th r the season aban- doned, and the expedition went into winter quar- ters, There is 9 diference of opinion as to the con- dition of tho sea ahead at the time this re solve was made, some asserting tnat the “pack” Was but @ narrow belt and that open water could be discerned beyond, tain Tys one of the oMcers of tne Polart jes that he saw from the Masthead open water beyond the ice north as far as the eye could see, and that there was a clear “water sky.” He iurther states that afterward the channel was opened to the norrh- east, and that the vessel could have gone further north, but that Captain Hail, yieiding to the fon of Captain Buddington, nis sailing master, Gecided, against the views of the other officers, to abandon any further attemp: to advance. In thie view Captain Tyson is supported by many of the snip’s company, while others as- sert that there was neither water nor “water sky” oO the nortoward. Yet Captain Tyson is ‘need navigator, and is w peculiar phenomenon of t known as “water sky,” aad also the “ice bituk,” two distinct conditions of reflection in the atmos. puere that are ordinarily unmistakabie, this was early in Septemoer, the mcet navi- gable season; but, doudtioas, the experi ence of Captain Buddington had clearly shown Diu that there Was danger of being caugat in the “pack” for the Winter, and uf being irozen iast there if they continued longer at sea; and the Wisdom of his course can there/ore no: be called im question by those Who Were not upon tue spot, ond consequentiy must be ignorant of all ti cumstances, In going into Winter qdarters Cap talon Hail did a andon the emierpiise Whien be Dad 60 deriously at heart, but, stead/ustiy aduering / to nis original purpose, he intended to await an Opportunity and push on the following year. Un- happliy, however, for the enterprise, after making a@sledge journey to the north, he fell sick, and died almost before winter had fairly set in. Whether it was from pradential motives or a lack of opportunity we cannot undertake to say, ba {t is an unfortanate fact that when the Polaris was liberated the following summer she was headea south, and, when near the entrance to Smith Sound, was nipped by the ice, and, being Ml fitted for such encounters, was soon @ total wreck. THE POLARIS EXPEDITION. Ihave thus gone over the ground of the opening Of this channel at some length, in order to arrive at a just estimate of th ces of success beyond that which was achieved by the Polaris Expedi- tion. All Arctic navigators well know that the ice is Hable to obstruct the sea in almost avy quarter, and can judge as to whether the obstacles en- counterea by the Polaris Expedition in Robeson Channel, which is bat a contwnustion of Kennedy Channe’, was or was not likely to prove a perma. nent embarrassment, My own view of the matter may be plainly stated in a few words. I think, as lalways have thought since my first expe! e of 1854, that through Smitn Sound and the chan- nel beyond there 1s @ practicable opening leadiag into the Polar Basin. The current sete strongiy south, ag is proven by the art of the fee, and it needs only, in my judgment, patience, ct 4 suMicient means to accom- pleb a age in that direciion., True, it cannot be done without risk. nor yet without the probable embarrassment of drifting ice. But ice in al- most ail Arciic waters appears and disappears with remarkable rapidity in obedience to the di- Fection Of the winds and the currents; a’ sea ‘Which is open to-day may be covered with ice to- morrow. Practically 1 believe the Polaris was on the ‘gin Ol @ sea, OF rather ovean, which, in Consequence Oo! ite vast extent, is never com- pletely frozen over, and, although covered bere and there with driftiag magses of ice, which gather Under the influence of the wing, is yet navigable, From persoual observation during two joarne; know that Kennedy Onanuel closes very late in t! autumn and opensearly in the spring; tor even in May, a6 before stated, I found ice that was exceedingly diMcule to traverse with dog sledges, and on one cocasion, before reaching Qdsolutely open water, 1 was compelled to take to the snore amd follow thé Jand toe, At this eariy period I saw, fom my last point of observation, Open water. Tht eea proved by Cap: tain Mail's experience to be an OfPansio of Ren- edy Clansel, but it Was open Rone tue less. of . Whether this was due to the rapidity of the cnr Tent orto the proximity of an immense body of water beyond I cannot pretend tosay. ButI haveno doubt that both causes were operating. That this channel connects with the ocean to the north can earcely be doubted, for the reports from the - Polaris Expedition show that the tides set from that quarter. In view of the conditions observed from the turee expeditions of Kal Hall and my- self in that channel it can baraly apposed that the extension of Smith Sound to the northward can be very far beyond the point attained by Cap- tain Hall, evea althougn land was seen due north beyond my last observed point of Cape Union. 1 am convinced that, could the vbstruct- ing pack which embarrassed the Polar im that channel have been penetrated, the North Pole could have be reached by steam, for 1 do not doubt the existence of u per manent open sea avout the Pole. I cannot, indeed, imagine any circumstances under which so large @ watery area could become congealed. It is trae that we have no positively clear proof that there is any Arctic Ocean at all. Nor have we any proot that the continent of Greenland does not, as the eminent geographer, Dr. Petermann, bas con- Jectured, extend across tne Pole toward Benring Strait. But this, as it seems vo me, is $0 far in an- tagonism with all the reasonadie analogies of physical geography as scarcely to admit of serious discussion. AN BXAMINATION OF THE MAP will show the immense extent of Arctic coast line, bathed by the circumpolar waters, which forms an almost continuous line of land, with but comparatively narrow cnanneis, Separating the several bodies, and practi. cally enclosing an area more than 2,000 Tiles in diameter. There are no broad openings into it, and, sucn as they are, they have bitnerto been found blocked wita ice to such an extent that the passage of veasela nas veeo prevented. I believe that Greenland has been traced neariy, Af Dot quite, to ite northern extremity. I believe vhe same, too, o/ Grinnoll Lend, To me it ts impos- sible to Conceive of an area sucd as that of the Aretic Ocean beimg covered with ice. Large bodies of water donot treeze. Even Baifin’s Bay 1s not closed in the winter nor yet Hadson’s Bay, and at a temperatare of iorty degrees below sero 1 have seen waves dsshing apon the ice-girt shore and creaking without a siagie piece Of drifting ice in signt, Water will not freese unless sueitered and protected by the land, aad hence, after no ine cousiderable experience, 1 have arrived at the coaclusion that, a8 the Atotio Qceam w ab most entirely gitdied by lead, if 1® in Une magnet, gitdied by B ehenging, landcliamas