The science of oceanography has progressed considerably since the days of the Challenger; great improvements have been made in the varied apparatus connected with it, and the work has become at once more easy and more accurate. Steam power is indispensable, rendering reliable deep sea soundings possible and ice navigation much easier.
Some years after the return of the Challenger, the Germans despatched the Valdivia on a deep sea sounding expedition. She left the Cape in November, 1898, and reached the drift ice in 56° 45′ S. Further progress was stopped in 64° 15′ S. and 54° 20′ E. A depth of 3000 fathoms was obtained, and specimens of gneiss, granite, and schist, as well as a mass of red sandstone, were brought up, probably dropped by icebergs. The ocean floor between Kerguelen Island and Enderby Land was strongly folded, a depth of 1300 fathoms alternating with great abysses of 2000 and 3000 fathoms. Many lines of soundings are still needed from the known areas near the southern extremities of America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand to the southern continental shelves, as well as along the edges of the shelves themselves. Great progress, however, has been made in this respect within the last fifteen years, large collections have been obtained, and the Antarctic ocean depths have been sounded in several directions with important physical and biological results.
CHAPTER LIV
REVIVAL OF ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION
After the return of Sir James Ross a quarter of a century elapsed and the Antarctic regions remained neglected. While Sherard Osborn and I were working for the despatch of an Arctic expedition, we were equally resolved to use every effort for the revival of Antarctic research and to see Sir James Ross’s splendid discoveries continued by a worthy successor. From 1872 Osborn was collecting data for an Antarctic expedition, but my accomplished and energetic old messmate died in 1875. Still I had others to help, Sir Vesey Hamilton, Sir Joseph Hooker, who was always encouraging, and above all Captain Davis, who served with distinction under Sir James Ross as surveyor and artist. On February 26th, 1869, Captain Davis read a paper on antarctic discovery, proposing Sabrina Land, discovered by Balleny, as a station for the transit of Venus. He also presented the Geographical Society with a large map of the Antarctic regions, showing the tracks of explorers. Then on March 19th, 1870, Sir Vesey Hamilton read a critical paper on a book purporting to be the voyages of an American, Captain Morrell, showing that the statements were impossible, and the whole story apocryphal and of no use to us for reference or in any other way. These papers aroused some interest, and in September, 1885, the British Association appointed an Antarctic Committee which in 1887 reported in favour of further exploration.
Sir Graham Berry, the representative of the Colony of Victoria in London, took a great interest in our efforts, and induced the colonial authorities to promise a vote of £5000 if Her Majesty’s Government would give another £5000. I saw Sir Graham on November 30th, 1887, and arranged to have private representations made to the Ministers concerned. But on January 3rd, 1888, Her Majesty’s Government refused to join the Colony of Victoria in granting £5000, enclosing a characteristic report from the Board of Trade to the effect that there were no trade returns from the Antarctic regions. Then Oscar Dickson, the munificent Swedish promoter of polar voyages, offered to give the £5000 to the Victoria Government which our Government had refused, but then the Colony drew back. During this time we were warmly supported by Baron Müller of the Botanical Gardens at Melbourne, by Captain Pascoe, R.N., and by other geographers in that colony. From Baron Müller especially I received most enthusiastic letters, Sir Erasmus Ommanney actively supported and raised the Antarctic question at the Berne Congress, while Captain Davis continued to work steadily in the good cause until his death.
In 1892 I heard from Captain David Gray that it was intended to send three Scotch whalers to the south, in consequence of the numbers of whales mentioned in the narrative of Sir James Ross. Accordingly the Active, Balaena, and Diana were despatched, but the result was disappointing. They never even crossed the Antarctic Circle. The Active, in South Shetland waters, found that what was supposed to be Joinville Island really consisted of two islands, one much larger than the other; the smaller one, which the Active sailed round, was named Dundee Island. That was all: the voyage was not pecuniarily successful and was not repeated.
The Norwegian, Captain Larsen of the Jason, was much more enterprising. He landed on Sir George Seymour’s Island in 1892, and found several pieces of fossil wood and some fossil bivalves, a most important discovery. His voyage was considered so promising in Norway that in the following year he was sent again in the Jason with two other vessels in company, the Hertha and Castor. On the 18th November, 1893, Larsen again landed on Sir George Seymour’s Island to make collections, and then proceeded down the east coast of Graham Land, the best side for an advance south. In 65° 44′ S. he named a lofty peak Mount Jason. He observed several deep fjords, and the ice terraces resting on the slope of the mountains with their bases on the sea bottom. They are similar to the ice-foot up Smith Sound, but on a gigantic scale. On the 6th December Larsen had reached 68° 10′ S. and could have gone further, had he not remembered that his chief business was sealing. On the 9th December he discovered an island quite snow-covered, which he named Veiro. In 65° 20′ S. Robertson Island was discovered, and two other islands—one of them the cone of a volcano—were named Christensen (after the well-known builder at Sandefjord who fitted out the Jason) and Lindenberg Sukkertop. Captain Larsen went over the ice on ski to Christensen Island, and from it he saw five volcanic islets which were named Oceana, Castor, Hertha, Jason, and Larsen. Captain Eversen of the Hertha made his way to the west side of Graham Land and sighted Adelaide Island, in November, 1893. He went as far south as 69° 10′ S.
When Captain Larsen returned to Sandefjord he came to see me at Laurvik on July 23rd, 1894, and presented me with some of the fossil wood found on Sir George Seymour’s Island. Sir Archibald Geikie, to whom I afterwards gave them, was inclined to think that it was drift-wood, because it showed perforations. Larsen’s two voyages, in their way so important, were certainly a great help to our efforts by interesting geographers, and it was with no small degree of pleasure that I presented Captain Larsen with one of the Geographical Society’s awards—that bequeathed by Sir George Back.
When I was elected President of the Royal Geographical Society in 1893, I resolved that no efforts should be spared to secure the despatch of a properly equipped Antarctic expedition: the main object being to make further discoveries in connection with the great Antarctic continent which had received the name of Antarctica. No sooner was this known than enterprises sprang up in all directions—Norwegian, Belgian, Scottish, German, Swedish, and French. Without any concerted action, except as regards the Germans, none of these touched Antarctica, but roved as free lances, so that it will be quite convenient to deal with them separately before treating of the preparations for the Antarctic expedition of the Royal and Royal Geographical Societies.