THE MENTOR
SERIAL NUMBER 37

THE CONQUEST OF THE POLES

BY
REAR ADMIRAL ROBERT E. PEARY
Discoverer of the North Pole

Ten years ago many, perhaps the majority, of intelligent people doubted if the Poles of the earth would ever be reached by man. From east to west, and west to east, the world seemed small. Jules Verne’s “Round the World in Eighty Days” dream of not so many years ago had been cut in two; but from north to south the world still stretched in apparently unattainable infinity.

Within the last four years the two Poles have been reached three times, and in their attainment the globe has shrunk to commonplace dimensions. With the attainment of the Poles the climax of polar discovery has been reached, the last of the splendid series of great world voyages and mighty adventures has been finished. But while the glamour, the mystery, the speculation, as to what exists at the ends of the earth are gone, the work of detailed explo­ra­tion, of continuous scientific observations and investigations, will continue until to the scientist and geographer the polar regions will be as well known as the more favored regions of the earth.

EARLY POLAR EXPLORATION

It is nearly four hundred years (1526) since the first recorded expedition went forth to seek the North Pole under the initiative of England.

Trade, the great prize of the commerce of the opulent East, land lust, and the spirit of adventure in turn played their part as incentives for the earlier expeditions. It seems to be generally accepted that nothing had a more powerful influence on the work than England’s determination to have a trade route of her own to the riches of the East, independent of the southern routes controlled by Spain and Portugal. It was this determination that made the terms Northeast Passage and Northwest Passage historic, and brought about years of search that, though latterly scientific, have been largely the acme of adventure and sentiment.

From the misty date of Pytheas (325 B.C.) down through the succeeding centuries, the record of polar explo­ra­tion contains much of interest, of mystery, of superstition, followed by some of the grandest epics, most heroic efforts and sacrifices, and somberest catastrophes and tragedies in all the wide field of explo­ra­tion. Briton and Scandinavian, Teuton and Latin, Slav and Magyar, and American, have entered the lists and struggled for the prize.

In the earlier years of this long record occurred the strange voyages of the Zeni, and Eric the Red, Icelandic outlaw, with his discovery and colonization of Greenland,—strange stories of hot springs in that far country, with which the monks warmed their monastery and cooked their food; a tribute of walrus tusks toward the expenses of the Crusades; tales of the rich green pastures, and herds of grazing cattle, of these colonists, and later their mysterious and complete disappearance, leaving only a scattered ruin here and there to show that they ever existed.

ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS

Beginning with the earliest authentic expedition (1526), it is possible to touch only on the most important incidents of the record of this later phase of the subject. The time from 1526 to date may be roughly and generally divided into three periods:

The first, from 1526, the time of the first North Polar expedition by England, to about 1853, the close of Great Britain’s Franklin search expeditions. In this period the preponderance of British efforts over those of all other nations combined was so great as almost to obscure them and make this period preëminently British.

In this period British navigators essayed every route to the polar regions, attempted the Northeast and Northwest Passages again and again, and wrote some of the most brilliant pages of Great Britain’s history over the names of Hudson, Davis, Baffin, Ross, Parry, Franklin, McClintock, and others.

The second period covers from about 1850 to 1895, In this period other nations—the United States, Germany, Austria, Sweden, and Norway—showed equal activity with Great Britain, and the names of Kane, Hayes, Hall, Lockwood, Brainard (United States), Nares and Markham (Great Britain), Koldewey and Weyprecht (Germany), Payer (Austria), Nordenskjöld (Sweden), and others were written indelibly into Arctic history. In this period the record of farthest north which had been held by Great Britain was wrested from her in 1882 by Lockwood and Brainard of the United States.

THE NORTH POLE ATTAINED

The third period is from 1895 to date. In this period, while other valuable work was being done,—as Amundsen’s navigation of the Northwest Passage, Sverdrup’s extensive discoveries in the North American archipelago, Erichsen’s completion of the last gap in the north Greenland coast line,—three men, Nansen, Abruzzi, and Peary, each having for his object the attainment of the North Pole, pushed in succession far beyond the farthest of their predecessors, penetrating the inmost regions of the north, and the last named attaining the Pole which had been the prize of centuries.

Briefly summarized, from 1526 to 1882 Great Britain held the palm of nearest approach to the Pole, slowly pushing the record up till Markham reached 83° 20´ north latitude. Then the lead came to the United States with Lockwood and Brainard’s 83° 24´. In 1895 Norway went to the front in a great leap in Nansen’s 86° 14´, and in 1900 Italy grasped the blue ribbon with Abruzzi’s 86° 33´. In 1906 the United States took the lead again with Peary’s 87° 6´, and finally closed the record with his attainment of the Pole on April 6 and 7, 1909.

ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION

The explo­ra­tion of the Antarctic regions dates back much less far than that of the Arctic. In 1772 Captain James Cook first crossed the Antarctic Circle and penetrated the Antarctic regions. After him came the Russian Bellingshausen in 1819, who discovered the first land within the Antarctic Circle. Then came Weddell the British sealer, who in 1823 pushed his sailing ship south into the great bight southeast of Cape Horn, named after him Weddell Sea, to 74° 15´ south latitude, 241 miles beyond Cook’s record, and not exceeded in that region until the last year. At Weddell’s farthest no land or field ice was to be seen, and only three icebergs were in sight.

In 1839–1841 occurred the important voyage of Sir James Ross. Ross a few years before had located the North Magnetic Pole. He was now in command of the Erebus and Terror, two ships that a few years later were to bear the Franklin expedition to its fate near the same North Magnetic Pole. Ross discovered South Victoria Land, directly south of New Zealand, with its long stretch of southerly trending savage coast line from Cape Adare to 78° 10´ south latitude, where he found an active volcano, Mt. Erebus. From here Ross followed the edge of the great ice barrier some three hundred miles to the eastward. The great indentation in the Antarctic continent thus discovered and navigated by Ross, and named after him Ross Sea, has since been the base of operations from which the South Pole was twice attained.

“FARTHEST SOUTH”

After Ross came various minor expeditions contributing to the knowledge of the Antarctic regions, and in the 1890’s began a renaissance of Antarctic interest and explo­ra­tion. In 1892, 1893, 1894 Scottish, German, and Norwegian whalers reconnoitered the Antarctic seas of Ross and Weddell in search of new whaling grounds, and in 1894 the first landing was made upon the Antarctic continent by some members of Bull’s Norwegian crew; in 1895 Newmayer introduced in the sixth Geographical Congress in London a resolution upon the importance of Antarctic explo­ra­tion; and in the years following there was an international attack upon the problem by Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Scotland, Sweden, and France. In 1898, for the first time in the history of Antarctic explo­ra­tion, an expedition (the Belgian under Commander de Gerlache), passed a winter within the Antarctic Circle beset in the ice; and a year later, in 1899, a British expedition under Borchgrevink passed a winter on the Antarctic continent itself, and made at Cape Adare, in Ross Sea, the first attempt at land explo­ra­tion.

In 1901–1902 a German expedition under Drygalski determined a new part of the coast of the Antarctic continent south of Africa, and three others, under Bruce of Scotland, Nordenskjöld of Sweden, and Charcot of France, made valuable discoveries in Weddell Sea, and the regions southeast, south, and southwest of Cape Horn. In 1901–1903 Scott of Great Britain, selecting the Ross Sea region discovered by Ross sixty years before as his base, effected the first serious land explo­ra­tion of the Antarctic continent. In a magnificent sledge journey he covered three hundred and eighty miles due south, reaching a point within four hundred and thirty-seven miles of the South Pole. Following Scott, his lieutenant, Shackleton, in 1908–09, using essentially the same base and route as Scott, made an even more brilliant journey, and reached a point within ninety-seven miles of the Pole, January 9, 1909. At that time this was the “farthest south” record.

THE SOUTH POLE

The successes of Scott and Shackleton still further stimulated interest in the Antarctic problem, and in 1910 and 1911 Great Britain, Norway, Germany, Australia, and Japan sent expeditions into the field; the United States unfortunately, as in the past, being unrepresented. Four of these expeditions—the Japanese, Australian, Norwegian, and British—selected the Ross Sea region south of New Zealand and Australia for their work; while the German expedition selected the Weddell Sea region southeast of Cape Horn, the most promising of all points of attack upon the Antarctic continent. All these expeditions have now returned. The Japanese expedition explored an unknown section of the coast of King Edward VII Land east of Ross Sea, the Australian expedition explored a long stretch of Wilkes Land west of Ross Sea, the German expedition made new discoveries in Weddell Sea, reaching a point farther south than ever before attained in that region; while Amundsen’s Norwegian expedition, from its base in the southeast angle of Ross Sea, attained the South Pole, December 14 to 17, 1911, and Scott’s British expedition, from its base in the southwest angle of Ross Sea, attained it a month later, January 18, 1912, Scott and his four companions dying of cold and starvation on the return.

The record of Antarctic explo­ra­tion from 1772 to date may be divided into two periods; the first from 1772 to 1898 and 1899, a period of summer voyages only, the work carried on entirely by ships, with no land or sledge work, and no attempt to winter in that region. During this period, though other nations, notably the United States and France, took part in the work, the work of Great Britain was so pronouncedly preponderant as to more than equal all the others combined. The second period is from 1899 to date, and is the period of overland explo­ra­tion with sledges. In this period, as in the last period of Arctic explo­ra­tion, three men, Scott, Shackleton, and Amundsen, each having for his object the attainment of the South Pole, pushed so far beyond all predecessors as to be in a class by themselves, two of them, Amundsen and Scott, actually reaching the Pole.

THE POLAR REGIONS—A COMPARISON

After the foregoing condensed résumé of Arctic and Antarctic explo­ra­tion and discovery, I feel sure the reader will be interested in noting some of the striking contrasts between the two Poles and their surroundings. These contrasts are as great as the Poles are far apart. The North Pole is situated in an ocean of some fifteen hundred miles’ diameter, surrounded by land. The South Pole is situated in a continent of some twenty-five hundred miles’ diameter, surrounded by water. At the North Pole, Peary stood upon the frozen surface of an ocean more than two miles in depth. At the South Pole, Amundsen and Scott stood upon the surface of a great elevated snow plateau more than two miles above sea level. The lands that surround the North Polar Ocean have comparatively abundant life, musk oxen, reindeer, polar bears, wolves, foxes, arctic hares, ermines, and lemmings, together with insects and flowers, being found less than five hundred miles from the Pole. On the great South Polar continent no form of animal life is found.

Permanent human life exists within some seven hundred miles of the North Pole; none is found within twenty-three hundred miles of the South Pole. The history of Arctic explo­ra­tion goes back nearly four hundred years. The history of Antarctic efforts covers one hundred and forty years. The record of Arctic explo­ra­tion is studded with crushed and foundering ships, and the deaths of hundreds of brave men. The record of Antarctic explo­ra­tion shows the loss of but one ship, and the death of a dozen men.

For all those who aspire to the North Pole, the road lies over the frozen surface of an ocean, the ice on which breaks up completely every summer, drifting about under the influence of wind and tide, and may crack into numerous fissures and lanes of open water at any time, even in the depth of the severest winter, under the influence of storms. For those who aspire to the South Pole, the road lies over an eternal, immovable surface, the latter part rising ten thousand and eleven thousand feet above sea level. And herein lies the inestimable advantage to the South Polar explorer which enables him to make his depots at convenient distances, and thus lighten his load and increase his speed.

THE FUTURE OF POLAR EXPLORATION

The efforts and successes of the last fifteen years in the Antarctic regions ought to, and I hope will, spur us as individuals, as societies, and as a nation to do all in our power to enable the United States to take its proper part and share in the great work yet to be done in that field. There are three ways in which this country could make up for its past lethargy in regard to Antarctic work, and take front rank at once in this attractive field.

One is to establish a station at the South Pole for a year’s continuous observations in various fields of scientific investigation. With the practical experience in methods of travel and transportation now at the command of the United States as the result of our last twenty-five years of North Polar work, this would not be so difficult as it may seem to the layman.

Another is to inaugurate and carry out, in a special ship, with a corps of experts, through a period of several seasons, a complete and systematic survey and study of the entire circumference of the Antarctic continent with its adjacent oceans, with up to date equipment and methods. This plan would probably be the most attractive to scientists, as it would secure a large harvest of new and valuable material to enrich our museums and keep our specialists busy for years. It would also be the most expensive.

The third would be the thorough explo­ra­tion of the Weddell Sea region southeast of Cape Horn, which is specially within our sphere of interest, together with a sledge traverse from the most southern part of that sea to the South Pole. Such a traverse, with the journeys of Amundsen, Scott, and Shackleton from the opposite side, would give a complete transverse section across the Antarctic continent.

This last would promise the largest measure of broad results in the shortest time, and least expense, and would probably be the most attractive to geographers.

The successful accomplishment of any one of these ventures would put the United States in the front rank of Antarctic achievements.

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SUPPLEMENTARY READING—“Nearest the Pole” and “The North Pole,” Peary; “On the Polar Star,” Duke of the Abruzzi; “The Heart of the Antarctic,” Shackleton; “Farthest North,” Fridtjof Nansen; “The Uttermost South—the Undying Story of Captain Scott,” Everybody’s Magazine, July, August, September, and October, 1913.