point is of very limited extent. During the drift in the ice the
soundings were usually between 200 and 300 fathoms, which,
compared with the great depths to the north, clearly indicated
a continental shelf of considerable breadth, probably connected
with land in the south. The scientific collections were of unique
value and have been worked up and the results published at the
expense of the Belgian government.
The Hamburg America Company’s steamer “Valdivia,” chartered by the German Government for a scientific voyage under the leadership of Professor Carl Chun of Leipzig, with Dr Gerhard Schott as oceanographer, left Cape Town on the 13th of November 1898, and on the 25th was “Valdivia.” fortunate in rediscovering Bouvet Island (54° 26′ S., 3° 24′ E.), which had been searched for in vain by Cook, Ross, Moore and many other sailors. Steering south, the “Valdivia,” although an unprotected steel vessel, followed the edge of the pack from 8° E. to 58° E., reaching 64° 15′ S. in 54° 20′ E. on the 16th of December. At this point a depth of 2541 fathoms was found, so that if Enderby Land occupies its assigned position, 102 nautical miles farther south, the sub-oceanic slope must be of quite unusual steepness. The rocks dredged up contained specimens of gneiss, granite and schist, and one great block of red sandstone weighing 5 cwt. was secured, confirming the theory of the continental nature of the land to the south.
On his return to England in 1895 Mr Borchgrevink made strenuous efforts to organize an Antarctic expedition under his own leadership, and in August 1898 he left the Thames on the “Southern Cross,” in charge of a private expedition equipped by Sir George Newues.Borchgrevink, 1898. His scientific staff included Lieut. Colbeck, R.N.R.; Mr Louis Bernacchi, a trained magnetic observer, and Mr N. Hanson, biologist. About fifty dogs were taken out, the intention being to land at Cape Adare and advance towards the magnetic, and perhaps also towards the geographical pole by sledge. The “Southern Cross” sighted one of the Balleny Islands on the 14th of January 1899, and after in vain attempting to get south about the meridian of 164° E., the ship forced her way eastward and emerged from the pack (after having been beset for forty-eight days) in 70° S, 174° E. She reached Cape Adare, and anchored in Robertson Bay on the 17th of February. The land party, consisting of ten men, was established in a house built on the strip of beach at the base of the steep ascent to the mountains, and the ship left on the 2nd of March. Mr Borchgrevink found it impossible to make any land journey of importance and the party spent the first year ever passed by man on Antarctic land in making natural history collections and keeping up meteorological and magnetic observations. The “Southern Cross” returned to Cape Adare on the 28th of January 1900, and after taking the winter party on board-diminished by the death of Mr Hanson-set out for the south on the 2nd of February. Landings were made on several islands, on the mainland at the base of Mt Melbourne, and on the 10th of February at the base of Mt Terror, near Cape Crozier. From this point the ship steamed eastward along the great ice-barrier to a point in 164° 10′ W., where an inlet in the ice was found and the ship reached her highest latitude, 78° 34′ S., on the 17th of February. The edge of the ice was found to be about 30 m. farther south than it had been when Ross visited it in 1842. Mr Borchgrevink was able to land on the ice with sledges and dogs, and advanced southward about 16 m., reaching 78° 50′ S. He discovered that plant life existed in the shape of mosses and lichens in some of the rocky islands, a fact not previously known.
In the autumn of 1901 three well-equipped expeditions left Europe for Antarctic exploration. The British National Antarctic expedition was organized by a joint committee of the Royal Society and the Royal Geographical Society, and equipped under the superintendence of Sir Clements Markham. Most of the cost was borne by the government, the rest mainly by Mr L. W. Longstaff, who provided £30,000, the Royal Geographical Society, and Mr A. C. Harmsworth (afterwards Lord Northcliffe). A strong wooden ship of about 700 tons register (1700 tons displacement) was built at Dundee, and named the “Discovery.” She was made entirely non-magnetic amidships, so that magnetic observations might be carried on without interference from local attraction. The expedition sailed underScott, “Discovery.” the command of Commander R. F. Scott, R.N., with Lieut. Albert Armitage, R.N.R., as second in command, Lieuts. Royds and Barne, R.N., Lieut. Shackleton, R.N.R., and Engineer-Lieut. Skelton, R.N. The crew of forty men were almost entirely sailors of the Royal Navy. The scientific staff included Dr Koettlitz, who had shared with Mr Armitage in the Jackson-Harmsworth arctic expedition; Mr Louis Bernacchi, who had wintered with Mr Borchgrevink at Cape Adare; Dr E. A. Wilson, Mr Hodgson, biologist, and Mr Ferrar, geologist. The “Discovery” sailed from New Zealand on the 24th of December 1901, met the pack ice on the Antarctic circle and was through into the open sea in 175° E. on the 8th of January 1902. She made a quick run to Cape Crozier and cruised along the great ice barrier, confirming Borchgrevink’s discovery that it lay 30 m. farther south than in 1842, and at the eastern end of the barrier Scott discovered and named King Edward Land where Ross had recorded an “appearance” only. The sea in the neighbourhood had shoaled to less than 100 fathoms and the ice-barrier in places was so low that the “Discovery” was able to lie alongside as at a quay. A captive balloon ascent was made from the barrier but nothing was seen to the south. Returning to McMurdo Bay the “Discovery” found that Mts Erebus and Terror were on an island, the “bay” being really a sound. The ship was secured in winter quarters in 77° 49′ S. 166° E., and a hut erected on shore. From this base land-exploration in the Antarctic was initiated, and the history of exploration entered on a new phase. Although some symptoms of scurvy appeared during the winter they were checked by change of diet, and with the beginning of spring sledge journeys with dogs were commenced and a quantity of provisions was laid down in depots to assist the great journey which Scott had planned to the south. On the 2nd of November 1902 Captain Scott, with Lieut. E. H. Shackleton and Dr E. A. Wilson, set out with dog-sledges travelling south over the surface of the barrier in sight of a range of new mountains running parallel to their track on the west. The conditions of travelling were unlike those in the Arctic region, the weather being more inclement and the summer temperature much lower than in similar latitudes in the north. There were no bears to menace the safety of the travellers, and no wolves or foxes to plunder the depots; but on the other hand there was no game of any sort to be met with, and all food for men and dogs had to be carried on the sledges. The surface of the ice was often rough and much crevasses, especially near the western land, snow blizzards frequently occurred making travelling impossible and the heavy sledges had at first to be brought forward by relays, making it necessary to march three miles for every mile of southing made. The dogs also weakened and had to be killed one by one to feed the rest. On the 30th of December they were in 82° 17′ S. and Scott determined to try to reach the mountains to the west; but on approaching the land he found the ice so much crevasses and disturbed that the attempt had to be given up. Great peaks in 83° S. were named Mt Markham (15,100 ft) and Mt Longstaff (9700 ft.) after the chief promoters of the expedition. The outward journey of 380 m. had taken 59 days, and was a splendid achievement, for the conditions to be encountered were totally unknown, and new methods had to be devised as the necessity arose, yet no previous polar explorer had ever advanced so far beyond his predecessor as Scott did. The return journey occupied 34 days and the ship was reached on the 3rd of February 1903, but Shackleton had broken down on the way and he had to return by the relief ship “Morning” on the 3rd of March, Lieut. Mulock, R.N., taking his place on the “Discovery.” During the absence of the commander in the great southern journey Armitage and Skelton had found a way to ascend by a glacier in 78° S. to the summit of the vast snow-covered plateau beyond the granite summits of the western mountains. They reached a distance of 130 m. from the ship and an elevation of 9000 ft. Many shorter journeys were made; Ferrar studied the geology of the
