On Monday evening the friends of Arctic discovery, undeterred by
The Times, assembled to discuss the question of the alternative routes to the North Pole,—the Spitzbergen route, which is advo- cated by Dr. Petermann, and the Smith's Sound route, which is advocated by Captain Osborn. Sir George Back and Admiral (Johnson were in favour of Smith's Sound, Sir Edward Belcher and Admiral Fitzroy of the Spitsbergen route. Admiral Fitzroy (who is not, however, an Arctic navigator) believed that there was open water at the North Pole, and stated, accord- ing to the reporter, that a Thatch ship had once got two degrees beyond the North Pole. When was that, and what does "beyond" it mean? Did the ship get back by sailing down the opposite side of the globe, and how is it that we have never heard of that wonderful ship before?
Previous page
