Polar Exploration/Chapter 6
CHAPTER VI
ANIMAL LIFE
Brief reference has already been made to some of the polar animals and their habits, but it is necessary to give a more detailed account of this aspect of Polar Regions. The striking feature of the Antarctic Regions, with one partial exception, is the entire absence of land vertebrates. There are no land mammals—no bears, wolves, foxes, or lemmings; no musk-oxen, reindeer, or hares, neither are there any land birds with the exception of the sheath-bill (Chionis), which is only a summer visitor to the shores of most Antarctic lands. Sone white-legged sheath-bills, however, remained at Scotia Bay all the winter of 1903, and Sir Joseph Hooker tells me that the black-legged sheath-bill remains in Kerguelen all the winter. Neither are there any fresh-water fishes, as there are practically no rivers and only a few pools which are scarcely ever free of ice. This striking fact makes inland journeys in the Antarctic Regions very much more serious business than the inland journeys in the Arctic Regions, since every pound of food required for a journey has to be carried by the explorers. There is no food in the interior of Antarctica. There is not a single living thing, except possibly a stray lichen or moss, which may harbour an insect or two, or some microscopical invertebrates and unicellular algæ.
In the Arctic Regions, on the other hand, with the perfect and light equipment that is carried nowadays and with the modern and accurate long-range firearms, so different from those used by Franklin, Rae, Richardson, Back, and others, who actually starved with reindeer in sight, there is little chance of explorers not being able to obtain food supplies. It is true there may be difficulty on occasions in obtaining food by one's own gun, in certain districts, for several days, but it is scarcely possible now to be reduced to such extremities as Arctic explorers were in the days of Franklin and Rae, with their heavy equipment and primitive firearms. Even as late as the Nares expedition of 1875, extraordinary "regulation" equipment was carried—great solid sledges, massive canteens, heavy ships' boats, etc., instead of light sledges, thin aluminium canteens, canvas kayaks, and the like, which are the Polar equipment of the present day. A modern Polar explorer marvels at the wonderful achievements of his predecessors, which are all the more remarkable when he knows that, added to this cumbersome equipment, their preserved provisions were such as almost certainly to cripple their strength, if not utterly to prostrate them with that deadliest of Polar enemies—scurvy.
The most striking of all Polar animals is undoubtedly the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus). The resemblance of this remarkable animal to its surroundings has already been dealt with; let us now consider other characteristics. The habitat of the bear is the sea ice and the sea, and not the land. The polar bear is constantly wandering about the floes and pack. It is a solitary animal usually. If there are two or three together, they will be a mother with one or two cubs. The bear does not hibernate, as is commonly supposed, but walks around in a desultory manner, examining and sniffing at everything. Dr. Kœttlitz has pointed out that what have been called hibernating holes or caves are only ice and snow houses constructed occasionally by the male and female for shelter in very bad weather, but usually by the female for shelter during her final stages of pregnancy and for a little time after the birth of her young. The mother and young do not appear to stay long in these caves, but soon begin again their wandering life. Their wanderings seem objectless except for the sake of obtaining food. The chief food of the polar bear is seals, preferably the floe-rat (Phoca fœtida). A bear has been seen lying stretched on its belly at the edge of a floe, watching intently the water till a floe-rat coming to the surface has put his head out for a breath and look out: no sooner had the seal's head appeared than one fell stroke with the heavy paw of the bear landed its prey, stunned, on to the floe.
During the winter-time, when the sea gets more or less frozen up into one continuous field of ice, bears are constantly wandering about in the vicinity of cracks in the ice, or near the breathing-holes which the seals keep open all the winter by constantly coming in and out of them. It is very doubtful if a bear ever catches a seal sleeping; it is by long and patient waiting at a seal's hole, and by strategy and stalking that the seal falls a victim to the bear. The bear's skill as a stalker is well instanced by an incident that nearly deprived Nansen of his companion Johansen, during their journey from the Fram to Franz Josef Land across the Polar Basin. Before either of them or even their two dogs were aware of its presence, a bear had felled Johansen by his heavy paw. "The bear," says Nansen in his Farthest North, "must have followed our track like a cat, and, covered by ice-blocks, have slunk up while we were clearing the ice from the lane and had our backs to him. We could see by the trail how it had crept over a small ridge just behind us under cover of a mound by Johansen's kayak. While the latter, without suspecting anything or looking round, went back and stooped down to pick up the hauling rope, he suddenly caught sight of an animal crouched up at the end of the kayak, but thought it was 'Suggen.'" Fancy taking a bear for a dog, a couple of yards off! Yet I know how possible this is, having myself at various times mistaken a dog, a gull, and a flag for a bear!—"Before he had time to realise that it was so big, he received a cuff on the ear which made him see fireworks, and then, as I mentioned before, over he went on his back. He tried to defend himself as best he could with his fists: with one hand he seized the throat of the animal, and held fast, clenching it with all his might. It was just as the bear was about to bite Johansen on the head that he uttered the memorable words, 'Look sharp!' The bear kept glancing at me continually, speculating, no doubt, as to what I was going to do; but then caught sight of the dog and turned towards it. Johansen let go as quick as thought and wriggled himself away, while the bear gave Suggen a cuff which made him howl lustily, just as he does when we thrash him. Then Kaifas got a slap on the nose. Meanwhile Johansen had struggled to his legs, and when I fired had got his gun, which was sticking out of the kayak hole. The only harm done was that the bear had scraped some grime off Johansen's right cheek, so that he has a white stripe on it, and had given him a slight wound on one hand; Kaifas has also got a scratch on his nose. Hardly had the bear fallen, before we saw two more peeping over a hummock a little way off—cubs who, naturally, wanted to see the result of the maternal chase. They were two large cubs."
I was once similarly stalked by a bear that watched its chance for a long time, while I was busy attending to some baited traps lowered in the sea, through a hole in the ice, three-quarters of a mile from the shore where the encampment was. Fortunately, by the vigilance of one of my comrades, Armitage, the bear was detected when within a hundred yards of his prey, and, finding he was discovered, made off. The remarkable swimming powers of the bear were exhibited well on this occasion, for he took to the water and began to swim towards an island that was twelve miles distant. A bear is, in fact, just as much at home in the water as on the ice, and often, if it comes to a large pool of water in the floe, a bear will swim across rather than take the extra trouble of walking round.
Although there have been many narrow escapes from polar bears, it is doubtful if there is any authentic record of a man being killed by a bear. Dr. Börgen, of the German Polar Expedition in 1869–70, had perhaps one of the most marvellous escapes that has ever been recorded. Dr. Börgen was knocked down by a bear that seized him by the head in its jaws and carried him off. The bear and its victim were followed, and the bear ultimately shot. Dr. Börgen received a very severe scalp wound, as well as wounds on the arm and hand, from which, however, he soon miraculously recovered, as already stated. The bear seldom comes to the land as long as he can get plenty of seals on the sea ice; he will only come if he knows of a short cut across some land or glacier to get from one feeding-ground to another, or he will come to eat grass as a dog does when he is not feeling well. He may also come to land if there is a human encampment, being attracted by the smell; and this habit is so well known that hunters when ashore or on board a ship will burn seal or bear fat, and if there is a bear to leeward he is sure to come up to the encampment or ship. In this way about 120 bears were seen and 69 were shot in Franz Josef Land during 1894–97, by the Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition. When hungry, a bear will eat anything. Kœttlitz found seal, grass, seaweed, paper, manilla rope yarn, a hard lump of woven texture, horse-dung, macintosh sheeting, canvas, basaltic pebbles and bear blubber in the stomachs of thirty bears he examined. But the bear's usual food is seal, and although he will devour every part of a seal, his particular fancy is the skin and blubber.
Of land mammals, musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) are the most noteworthy and useful to man. The musk-ox is specially interesting, being the single representative of its genus. It is more nearly allied to the sheep than the ox. It is about two-thirds of the size of the American bison, but its long coat of hair makes it look larger. It inhabits the northern parts of the Canadian mainland, and the islands to the north of Canada as far as Grinnell Land, as well as the coasts of Greenland. In prehistoric or pleistocene times the musk-ox extended to the north-west in Alaska, and at a still earlier period, when North America was colder than now, the musk-ox ranged as far south as Kansas and Kentucky. Musk-ox bones have been also found in the frozen soil of Siberia, as far east as the Obi. It formerly existed as far south as Wurtemburg, while the Pyrenees and Alps seem to have marked the southern limits of its range. The skulls have been dredged up from the Dogger Bank. Unlike the bear, the musk-oxen keep in herds, and they are seldom met singly. "This herding gives them a better chance to defend themselves against their one enemy, the arctic wolf." When danger is at hand they "always retreat," says Mr. Biederbeek, "to some elevation near by, and upon the approach of the enemy they form in a perfect line, their heads toward their foe; or if attacked, at more than one point, they form a circle, their glaring, blood-shot eyes restlessly watching the attack."
Like the bear, they are protected by their environment, as a description by Captain Otto Sverdrup shows (New Land, vol. i, p. 47). "As I was working my way past a sudden bend in the valley, I suddenly saw both animals standing high up on a steep crag, and within range. It was merely by chance that I caught sight of them, for the crag was exactly the same colour as the animals, and this was the only place in the valley of that particular tint. So the polar ox, I thought, seeks cover from the prevailing tone of his environment, just as does the ptarmigan from the stones and juniper in summer, and in autumn, after it has changed its colour, from the large patches of snow." "Musk-ox," says the late Dr. E. L. Moss (Shores of the Polar Sea), who has depicted so well many an Arctic scene by his pen and brush, "rarely attack, and can generally be approached within rifle-range with little trouble. Sometimes, however, they are unaccountably timid. . . . They seemed to take some time to realise that we did not belong to their world. But having once made up their minds, they showed even more terror than wild animals usually do. Each musk-ox gave us about two hundred pounds of meat, often most excellent, but occasionally tainted with the flavour that gives them their name. We failed to ascertain the source of this characteristic. It occurs in both sexes and at all ages; and, moreover, it is not peculiar to the musk-ox, for a haunch of reindeer presented to us by the governor of Egedesmunde possessed the very same flavour."
The musk-ox has been a most valuable asset to polar explorers. Without its existence the north and east coasts of Greenland could not have been unravelled as they have been, nor could exploration have been carried on so effectually in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
The reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) is another not only striking but also useful Arctic animal, and one of the most widely distributed. Some consider there are two species, but that matters little just now; suffice it to say that the reindeer is found in almost every Arctic land, except Franz Josef Land, where however at one time it used to exist, since their horns have been found there by myself and others. Its range extends so far south on the European, Asiatic, and American continents that it may be regarded as being not only an Arctic but also subarctic animal. The reindeer differs from all other deer in that both male and female have antlers, though those of the female are smaller. The genus is distinguished by the form and position of these appendages, which take their origin immediately over the occipital ridge instead of low down in the forehead. Another characteristic is the broad-spreading hoof, giving a good surface for support on snow or bog. The tail is conspicuously white. The larger varieties may weigh up to 400 lbs. The reindeer proves most valuable nutriment for Arctic explorers, and Eskimo, and other Arctic tribes; and, like the musk-ox, has constantly furthered Arctic exploration, not only as a valuable food supply, but also because its skin is one of the most useful articles of clothing. Reindeer-skin sleeping-sacks have been an almost indispensable part of the equipment of Arctic and Antarctic explorers; the skin of the young reindeer is suitable for various articles of clothing. The skin of the legs of the reindeer buck are made into "finnesko," the most useful form of winter boots, by treatment for twenty-four hours in a strong decoction of birch or similar bark. The skin of the hind legs is used for the soles and sides, and that of the fore legs for the upper leather, the hair being left outside. Those boots are worn with the fur outside, and may be filled inside with a sedge or "sennegroes." They are very suitable both for ski and Canadian snow-shoes.
The northern races of Europe and Asia have domesticated the reindeer. The standard of wealth of the Lapp is according to the number of reindeer he possesses. It is his all in all. The reindeer transports his household and himself from one place to another; it supplies him with milk and meat; it clothes his family and himself. Its bones form needles, and its sinews threads. Its bones also make spoons and other useful articles of equipment. All and every part of a reindeer—living or dead—is indispensable to him. For food the reindeer is never at a loss, even fending for itself when winter snow covers the ground. With its hoof the reindeer scrapes away the snow and discovers underneath the reindeer moss—a lichen which forms a favourite food.
It is pitiable to see this graceful and useful animal ruthlessly slaughtered, as it has been in Spitsbergen during recent years, and it is discreditable to relate that a person of exalted position has been one of those who have set so deplorable an example. Norwegian hunters are also greatly to blame—not even hesitating to use strychnine and other poisons, and thus decimating not only reindeer but also bears, foxes, birds, and other animals, and transforming fertile Spitsbergen into a barren cemetery.
It is impossible to describe the Arctic mammals species by species, and it is indeed difficult to know where to draw the line. The elk or moose (Alces machlis) ranges north of the Arctic circle, and has to withstand Arctic conditions of weather, but it is a forest animal, and along with a host of other mammals may be regarded as subarctic rather than Arctic. The Arctic hare (Lepus timidus), on the other hand, is a mammal that penetrates the northernmost of Arctic lands, being widespread over the Canadian Arctic Archipelago up to 83° N. latitude. It is very widely distributed over northern Europe and Asia, extending from Ireland to Japan. It is common in Scotland, where it is known as the blue or mountain hare.
Wolves (Canis lupus) are common all over the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Greenland, as well as foxes, of which there are many varieties. The silver or black fox (Canis vulpes) is said to be a variety of the ordinary British fox, and is almost the most valuable of all foxes. It is entirely black except the tip of the tail, which is usually white. The silvery lustre is due to grey rings which usually mark the black hairs on the head, the hinder half of the back, and the thighs. The blue fox (Canis lagopus) is next in value. Its coat remains blue all the winter, the hair lengthening considerably. The Arctic fox, which may be a variety of the blue fox, has a short greyish brown and white coat in summer, and a long white coat in winter. I believe these two forms seldom, if ever, inter-breed. These foxes are exceedingly numerous in all parts of the Arctic Regions, and frequent especially the many great bird rookeries that occur in Arctic lands. They are among the most characteristic animals of the Arctic. They used to be in great numbers in Prince Charles Foreland, where the Scottish Expedition carried out survey work during three summer seasons, but the advent of the Norwegian hunter with his traps and his devilish poison has almost exterminated them. In 1906 and 1907 hundreds of these animals were seen, but in 1909 they were practically non-existent, none having been seen by any of the Conqueror's party, and only one having been heard barking although almost every part of the island was traversed by the explorers. This beautiful animal is extraordinarily bold, though it can scarcely be said to be tame. The Scottish explorers in 1906 and 1907 had these animals coming to within a few feet of them, eating the fat out of the frying-pan of the canteen, stealing the sugar, bacon and other food-stuffs, feeding even out of the hands of the explorers, and sleeping within a few yards of the tent, preferably on the tops of the covered caches of provisions. On one occasion when standing cooking by the canteen I had emptied a tin of condensed milk and had dropped it on the ground, when a fox came between my legs from behind and made off with the tin which was lying between the canteen and myself. Yet for all their boldness and audacity, it was impossible to catch them, for while giving them bacon or something else out of your hand, and watching an opportunity to pounce upon them and secure them, the fox too had its pair of wonderful eyes fixed upon yours and was ready at the slightest sign of any hostile move on your part. When I have been chaining, I have known them lick the fat off the steel measuring-tape, and bite off the straps of my sextant-case lying on the ground a few yards from me.
In August they lie in wait in shallow holes in the ground, watching the young looms (guillemots) coming down from the cliffs accompanied by the old birds. Should the young bird fall short of the sea, the fox immediately seizes it, provided the chick has escaped the fate of being swallowed whole by a glaucous gull. On one occasion I was watching, under cover of a large rock, two or three foxes lying thus in wait. Presently a young loom accompanied by its mother came flying down from the rocky cliffs above, and fell short of the sea. The devoted mother landed near by to urge its young on to the sea and safety, but the nearest fox, swift as lightning, in bee-line, head down, eyes absolutely fixed on the old bird, made a rush on its desired prey. Both fox and loom were out of range of my gun, but, instinctively wishing to succour the weaker one, I ran towards the spot where I thought they would meet and at long range fired just too late, the fox dropping to my shot in the very act of plunging its teeth in the loom's neck. The swiftness of the whole act was the remarkable feature of this striking scene.
Speaking of lemmings (Myodes torquatus) in Grinnell Land, Admiral Markham says, "These little mouselike creatures are the smallest yet the most numerous and common of all quadrupeds in the Arctic Regions. They are extremely pugnacious and fearless, and often attract attention, when they would otherwise be unobserved, by their shrill cries of rage at an approaching step. They hibernate in burrows under the snow, and live during the summer on the scant vegetation of these regions." With epicurean satisfaction the explorer further narrates, "When roasted and served up on toast, like sparrows, they were found to be excellent eating, although provokingly small." They have been met with on the sea ice three miles from the nearest land. There appear to be no lemmings in Spitsbergen or Franz Josef Land, but otherwise they occur in all Arctic lands, and spread themselves far south in Europe, Asia, and America. Brehm has graphically described the countless swarms of lemmings that sweep the tundra, leaving a track of desolation in their rear.
Such is the mammalian life of Arctic lands: think of the contrast in Antarctica, where, in an area of five and a half million square miles, or a continent the size of Europe and Australia combined, there is not a single mammal! Nor, as far as we know, did mammals ever exist in that mighty continent at any time!
Just as Australia was cut off from northern lands before the advent of the carnivores or any of the higher mammals, so there seems good evidence that the great continent of Antarctica, which appears to have been connected at one time with Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and South America, was isolated before the advent of mammals in the Trias, in which system the first relics of mammalian life appear. The land connections of Antarctica with adjacent continents have been dated even as late as Eocene times. "The exact date at which the Antarctic continent had its great extension northward can perhaps hardly be definitely decided upon at present. Hutton argues for the Jurassic period as the period of greater extension; but since he wrote much further evidence has arisen, and it seems probable that the date should be placed later—perhaps in Eocene times. Ortmann, discussing the matter from a somewhat different aspect, considers that it probably occurred in the Cretaceous and Eocene periods" (Dr. C. Chilton, in Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand, vol. ii, p. 807: Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 1909). But even if Antarctica was united at later times to Australia or to the southern extremities of South America and South Africa at the time the western and more ancient part of Australia possessed "the ancestral forms of its strange marsupial fauna, both of which it had probably received at some earlier epoch by a temporary union with the Asiatic continent over what is now the Java Sea" (Island Life, by Alfred Russel Wallace, p. 497), we could only conceive of marsupial forms occurring on the continent of Antarctica. It is quite clear from the fossils brought home by Dr. Donald of the Scottish Expedition of 1892–93, by the more recent able researches of Dr. Otto Nordenskjold and his companions during the Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–04 in the same region, as well as by the researches of Dr. Pirie of the Scotia, the naturalists of the Discovery and of Sir Ernest Shackleton's recent expedition, that at one time, certainly in Jurassic times, there must have been a temperate if not a subtropical climate over Antarctica. Therefore, if there happened to be land connection with Antarctica at even as late a date as I have, for the sake of argument, supposed—and there is so far no evidence that there was—it would have been possible, under those conditions of climate, for marsupials to exist. But with the changed conditions of climate it does not seem likely that they or their descendants could possibly survive. It is therefore not surprising that there should be no mammals in Antarctic lands, though they are abundant in the Arctic, where there are even now plentiful connections with lands largely occupied by mammals of almost every description.
But if the Antarctic lands are desolate of mammals it is not so with the Antarctic seas. As in Arctic seas, whales and seals abound in enormous numbers, except where they have been annihilated by man. Of the whales very little is known. Ross described a whale "greatly resembling, but said to be distinct from, the Greenland whale." But so far no such whale has been seen by other explorers or whalers within the limit of the pack ice, although we know of at least two other right whales in subantarctic waters. Finners (Balænoptera), humpbacks (Megaptera), and thrashers (Orca) have, however, been recorded, and on the edge of the ice, blackfish (Globiocephalus). These great whales very often occur in immense schools in Antarctic seas. The Scottish Expedition of 1892–93 passed through thousands of finner whales. On December 16, 1892, many came quite close to the ship, and, as far as the eye could reach in all directions, one could see their curved backs, and see and hear their resounding blasts. During recent years these whales have been greatly hunted by Argentine, Chilian, Norwegian and British Whaling Companies, in the same manner as similar whales have been hunted in northern European and Spitsbergen waters. Whaling stations have been set up by these companies on the South Shetlands (Deception Island), South Georgia, and more recently at the Falkland Islands, and the results of these fishings have been a very handsome dividend to the shareholders. The southern right whale (Balæna australis) is also caught by these whalers. It is reported, however, although this industry has been established only for five or six years, that the numbers of the whales have already markedly diminished. But these whales penetrate well into the pack, where the small iron steamers dare not follow, so there is yet a chance that they will not be altogether exterminated. The purely commercial aspect of these whaling expeditions has, so far, made it impossible to make any detailed scientific cetacean investigation. A most profitable scientific investigation would be a cetacean expedition, which devoted its whole time with two or three ships to the study of these Antarctic whales, and, indeed, to the study of whales all the world over. It is not possible for an Antarctic exploring ship, with so many other duties to perform, to carry out this very important work.
In Arctic seas the most notable whale is the Greenland or Bowhead whale (Balæna mysticetus) which has been captured in enormous numbers in the past. In the seventeenth century there was a Dutch settlement called Smeerenburg, in the north-west of Spitsbergen, where the oil was boiled down and the whale-bone collected. As many as 2,000 people lived and worked there during the summer months, women as well as men, as any one visiting Spitsbergen at the present day can determine by reading both men's and women's names on the old Dutch wooden crosses, that have stood there in some cases for three hundred years, and many of which are still in a good state of preservation. Coffin after coffin is seen projecting half above the ground; human skulls and bones lie in and around them.
Other species are similar to those of the Antarctic seas, but not nearly so numerous, and besides these there are two worthy of special mention, namely, the White whale (Delphinapterus leucas) and the Narwhal (Monodon monoceros). The white whale is found skirting the shores of almost every Arctic land, and is very easily distinguished by its cream-coloured skin; so regular are its movements along a coast that skilful hunters seldom fail to secure the greater part of a school of them by knowing that they will travel along a certain coast by a certain route. They are driven ashore by means of boats and nets. They yield a considerable amount of oil, and their skins are manufactured into "porpoise" boot-laces. The narwhal is nearly allied to the white whale, but is easily distinguished by the male's single long spiral ivory tusk, often 7 or 8 feet long, which has earned for it the name of "unicorn," or "uni," by whalers. It is hunted by whalers for the value of the ivory of the tusk and for its oil; the tusk is usually developed on the left side, but occasionally two are developed. It has a circumpolar range. (For a fuller account of Arctic whales and seals than is possible here, see papers by Dr. R. Brown on "Seals of Greenland and Spitsbergen Seas" (Proceedings Zoological Society, London, 1868, pp. 405–438), and on "Cetacea of Davis Straits and Baffin Bay" (P.Z.S., 1868, pp. 533–556). Both papers, in revised form, in Arctic Manual and Instructions, 1875.)
Four species of seals are known to inhabit Antarctic seas. The first concrete accounts of these animals were brought back by Weddell, D'Urville, Wilkes, and Ross. But it was not until after the departure of the Scottish Expedition in 1892 that much was known about them. The best known and most widely distributed is the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddelli) which is found on, or near, all Antarctic shores. The least known is the Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossi); this is the rarest true seal in the world. Very few of these have ever been seen, and not many occur in collections. The other two species are the Crab-eating or White Antarctic seal (Lobodon carcinophaga) and the Sea-leopard seal (Stenorhyncus leptonyx). The latter is a very remarkable seal, noted for its litheness and swiftness. It chases, catches, and feeds on penguins in the sea. Mr. Wilton, of the Scotia, records that "a sea-leopard was observed to catch a black-throated penguin by the leg and haul him down in the water."
Another true seal occasionally penetrates the pack, but is really an inhabitant of subantarctic lands and seas: this is the Great Sea-elephant seal (Macrorhinus leoninus), the male of which measures about twenty feet in length.
The Southern Fur seal (Otaria australis) is also an animal that is confined to subantarctic and south temperate seas. It does not enter the pack. Much could be said about this interesting animal, concerning the enormous numbers, the animal's habits and home, and how stupid seal-hunters destroyed a valuable industry for half a century by massacring millions of these fur seals, not hesitating to kill mothers suckling their young, which perished in hundreds of thousands (Pinnipeds, J. A. Allen, Washington, 1880, p. 230).
Arctic seals, like Arctic birds, are more numerous in species, but probably not in numbers of individuals. Bloody slaughter is recorded in the north as in the south, especially in the case of the Walrus (Trichechus rosmarus), which has been absolutely exterminated in some parts of the Arctic, where formerly it used to occur in great herds (Seasons with the Sea Horses, Lamont, 1861).
Much has been written recently regarding the great fur-seal fisheries of Alaska and the Behring Straits, and Labrador, but those Fur seals (Otaria ursina), like their cousins in the south, are subarctic rather than Arctic; they keep outside the polar pack. The real Arctic seals are, with the exception of the walrus, like the Antarctic seals, all "true or earless seals," that is Phocidæ. There are several species, notably the Greenland seal (Phoca grœnlandica), the Bearded seal or square flipper (P. barbata), the Ringed seal (P. hispida), the Floe-rat (P. fœtida), the Hooded or bladder-nosed seal (Cystophora cristata). Of these probably the Greenland seal is the commonest. These animals assemble in immense herds, especially on the ice in Newfoundland seas. "In Greenland the annual catch was estimated at 33,000, while that in Newfoundland used to exceed 500,000, and in Jan Mayen seas the total number killed each year was fully 30,000." Fortunately the killing of these seals, like that of the fur seals, is now regulated by law, and although they may sometimes be over-killed, yet there is not altogether reckless slaughter. The bearded seal is the largest of Arctic seals, and although it is not so large as some Antarctic species, yet it may attain a length of about ten feet. Like other mammals in Spitsbergen, all these seals have been largely killed out in that archipelago.
The birds of the Polar Regions are a characteristic feature, and again there is the striking fact that, although Arctic lands teem with many species of birds, there are, with the exception of the migratory Chionis, no Antarctic land birds. This is probably due in part to the geological reasons that explain the absence of mammals, in part to the obvious difficulty of fragile land birds getting to Antarctic lands across the wide expanse of the stormy Great Southern Ocean, and also in part to the fact that, if they did arrive there, they would find hardly any suitable nesting-place, and would be without their necessary food supply on account of the scarcity of plant life, especially the practical absence of flowering plants and flower-visiting insects. Scoresby, in the neighbourhood of Scoresby Sound at Cape Swainson in 71° N. on the east coast of Greenland, says, "Numbers of winged insects, however, were met with, particularly on the hills among the stones. These consisted of several species of butterflies, with bees and mosquitoes! Near the beach were several plants in flower, with a few that were further advanced and in a state of fructification." What a paradise for Arctic land birds, and what a contrast to the barren rocks of Antarctica, almost completely obliterated with ice and snow! How could there be land birds in Antarctica?
Arctic land birds are full of interest, but it is impossible to enter into any detail concerning them here. The reader should look into the works of Seebohm, Feilden, Harvie-Brown and Pearson, as well as the delightful pictures of tundra life that Brehm gives. (For the natural history of Arctic birds reference should be made to the following:—From North Pole to Equator, A. E. Brehm; Beyond Petsora Eastward, Henry J. Pearson, with appendices by Colonel H. W. Feilden, C.B.; The Birds of Siberia, Henry Seebohm; Travels of a Naturalist in Northern Europe, J. A. Harvie-Brown.) The most typical of all Arctic birds is the Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), which is in immense numbers, and which finds a home and nesting-place in every Arctic land, no matter how bleak. The snow bunting arrives in Franz Josef Land about the middle of April, and has been recorded to remain plentifully until October 14th, and stragglers not leaving until October 30th, three days after the disappearance of the sun in that latitude, viz. 80° N. The nests, which are made of dried grass and feathers, are built among stones, under shelter of over-lying rocks, in rock crevices, and under peaty banks. There are usually five to seven eggs. The young birds have been recorded as early as July 10th in Franz Josef Land. The Purple Sandpiper (Tringa striata) is the next most plentiful Arctic land bird. It is usually the first bird that meets the Arctic explorer on landing. The first sandpiper of the season recorded in Franz Josef Land was seen on May 29th. Late in June eggs were found, and on July 4th the first young sandpipers were captured. The nest is built in a hollow among Arctic willow, lichen, and the like, and is very difficult to see, either when the eggs are bare or when the bird is sitting upon them, because of the remarkable resemblance of the bird, eggs, and nest to its surroundings. One may almost tread on the bird before it will rise, and even then the nest is difficult to find. A known nest at a definite number of feet in a certain direction from a prominent mark is very difficult to see. Of course, this may also be said of many other birds and eggs, but it is perhaps as pronounced in the case of the purple sandpiper as any other bird. There are many other birds that could be noticed—the Knot (Tringa canuta), whose eggs have only recently been found; the Sanderling (Calidris arenaria); the Grey Phalerope (Phalaropus fulicarius); the Dunlin (Tringa alpina); the Little Stint (Tringa minuta), which Pearson found breeding in such numbers in Novaya Zemlya; the Lapland Bunting (Calcarius lapponicus), Redpoles (Linota) and many others of the smaller birds too many to enumerate. Then there is the Ptarmigan (Lagopus rupestris and L. hemileucurus), and the Willow Grouse (Lagopus albus), which vary their plumage with the season, so that they are at all times very much in accord with their surroundings, whether the snow is white or dirty yellow, or whether they are sitting among lichen-covered stones. These birds form most excellent food, the ptarmigan being common to almost all Arctic lands, even beyond the 83rd parallel of north latitude. Birds of prey, notably the Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca) and the Greenland Falcon (Falco candicans) are also characteristic birds in many Arctic lands.
But when we come to consider sea birds, then the Antarctic Regions are as rich as the Arctic Regions, if not in species, certainly in numbers. The two most characteristic orders of birds are penguins and petrels. Besides these there is a shag, one gull, two skuas, and two terns. The penguins literally swarm in millions, and occupy every available space of bare ground near the sea that is not ice-covered. These crowded areas recall the remarkable bird cliffs and isolated bird islands of the Arctic Regions. So numerous are penguins even in subantarctic islands that sealers have resorted to the barbarous method of boiling these birds down indiscriminately for the sake of the valuable oil that they contain. This custom has been rightly put a stop to in some British possessions. The most remarkable penguin that exists in the Antarctic Regions is the Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), which, though not so numerous as other species, is found in very great numbers in certain places, as, for instance, Victoria Land, Coats Land, and other lands that are situated well within the ice limit. It is the handsomest and largest of all penguins, an adult, when in good condition, weighing about eighty pounds.
D'Urville was the first to discover and bring back to Paris the egg of the Emperor Penguin, but nothing was known about the breeding habits of this remarkable bird until Dr. Wilson and the naturalists of the Discovery brought back the first description. The bird builds no nest, but sits on the ice and lays a single egg, which it places on the top of its feet and covers by a flap of skin and feathers. The egg being laid before the winter is over and hatched before the advent of spring, there is heavy mortality among the chicks. The chick is nestled on the feet of the parent bird, and kept warm like the egg by the flap of skin and feathers, which surrounds it almost like a marsupial pouch. In spite of the care thus taken of the chicks, many die from exposure, and each bird if it has not a chick of its own is anxious to secure one from its neighbour. The early breeding of the Emperor Penguin has possibly arisen from the necessity of giving sufficient time by the end of the summer for the young bird to develop to such a stage of maturity that it can by that time fend for itself.
Other penguins are all very much smaller than the Emperor, weighing about 8 to 14 lbs., the most plentiful and characteristic species is the Black-throated penguin (Pygoscelis adeliæ). This species is common to every Antarctic seaboard that explorers have yet visited. The Scotia naturalists estimated that, on Ferrier Peninsula alone, which was for two or three miles simply alive with these birds, there were not less than two millions. Altogether, in Laurie Island, South Orkneys and its off-lying islets, no less than fourteen rookeries were known, besides the Ferrier Peninsula rookery. The favourite sites for these communities were on rocky places near the sea, where small stones abounded, and these were sometimes occupied up to 500 ft. above sea-level. As the season advanced these rookeries became indescribably dirty, being masses of mud, with pools of filth, and the birds themselves became correspondingly defiled.
At the rookeries in Scotia Bay the first signs of nest-building were noted (1903) on October 10th. By the 20th nearly all were paired, and the appearance of an unpaired bird gave rise to a fearful commotion, every bird trying to get a billful of feathers from the unhappy one, while all the penguins in the vicinity raised their voices and screeched their loudest.
The appearance of such wanderers, too, generally resulted in a free fight among those around.
The nests are built of stones, which the penguins gather often from a long distance, and they may be lined with a few stray quills and a bone or two. Every bird is an accomplished thief, and whenever possible steals stones from its neighbour's nest. There are usually two eggs. The first egg found by the Scotia naturalists was taken on October 29th; on October 31st no less than 739 eggs were gathered from the same rookery, and between November 2nd and 10th no less than 2,075 eggs were taken for domestic use. The period of incubation is about thirty-two days. Both the flesh and the eggs of this penguin form very nutritious and palatable food. Besides the black-throated penguin, it was estimated that there were at least 100,000 Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) in the Scotia Bay rookeries. The naturalists of the Scotia were fortunate in falling in with a great number of the Ringed penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) at the South Orkneys at several rookeries, notably at Ellium Isle and Saddle Island. At a rookery on Mackenzie Peninsula there were about a quarter of a million of ringed penguins, and the rookery at Saddle Island was tenanted by about 50,000 birds. They were entirely absent during the winter, not reaching the South Orkneys till November 2nd. Over 1,000 eggs were taken by Dr. Pirie on December 12th, at the Mackenzie Peninsula rookery. There is one very remarkable discovery the Scotia naturalists made with regard to the young of this bird, and that is, that the chick has two stages of down. This is a most interesting discovery, for no other bird is known to have more than one down stage. These are the four species of penguins characteristic of the Antarctic Regions, though the golden crested or Marconi penguin (Catarrhactes chrysolophus) is also recorded from the South Orkneys as a straggler, and breeds at the South Shetlands. Thus it is seen that there are several million penguins of at least three species on South Orkneys alone! Imagine the legions that swarm on every possible Antarctic coast!
Among the important ornithological results of the Scottish National Expedition, not the least striking were the investigations made by the Scotia naturalists on petrels. Wilson petrels (Oceanites oceanicus) were found breeding in considerable numbers, and several eggs were obtained. They had only previously been found breeding on Kerguelen. The occurrence of the Black-bellied stormy petrel (Fregetta melanogaster), says Mr. Eagle Clarke, "was one of the most interesting ornithological discoveries made by the expedition. It implies a remarkable extension in its known range, and removes the doubt which has hitherto overshadowed the record of its having bred at South Georgia, as mentioned by Pagenstecher, in the southern summer of 1882–83."
Other interesting discoveries made by the Scotia naturalists were the finding the eggs of the Cape pigeon (Daption capensis) and the young of the Snowy petrel (Pagodroma nivea). From their observations, too, it may almost certainly be forecasted that the Antarctic fulmar (Thalassæca antarctica) and the Silver petrel (Priocella glacialoides) will be found to breed in the South Orkneys. Such a series of records made in one order of birds in one locality by the efforts of Mr. Wilton, Dr. Pirie and Dr. Rudmose Brown, apart from many other valuable records, may safely be said to be without parallel in the history of Polar exploration.
Petrels, next to penguins, are scattered most widely all over the Antarctic Regions, and are in most cases common, not only in that region, but also in the Great Southern Ocean, where many other species which do not penetrate into the ice zone occur. One of the most striking of these is Wilson's petrel, which can be followed from British waters to the farthest southern limit of Antarctic seas, and which is found breeding, as I have indicated, in the South Orkneys, Kerguelen, and probably other Antarctic islands. In all probability the birds in British waters breed in Antarctic islands! This fact is hardly conceivable when we consider the proportions of the bird, which are much the same as those of a swallow, but the same remarkable fact appears to hold good for the Arctic tern, which breeds in the Arctic Regions, and which was discovered by the Scotia naturalists to be spending its days, during the northern winter, in the seas off Coats Land!
Ross regarded the presence of the Snowy petrel as a sign of proximity of the Antarctic pack, and this observation appears to be perfectly correct, for there are few days, whilst navigating in the pack, that one does not meet this graceful bird. It is circumpolar in distribution, and breeds in most inaccessible cliffs on nearly all Antarctic coasts. For three hundred years the Cape pigeon has been known to every South Sea sailor, but the eggs were first taken by Dr. Pirie on the cliffs of Mount Ramsay, on the west side of Jessie Bay, South Orkneys, in 1903. This species which we are inclined to regard as the most plentiful bird in the world, will probably be found to breed on most Antarctic and subantarctic islands, and on many parts of the coast-line of Antarctica, and is found scattered over the whole of the vast Southern Ocean from 35° S. to the edge of the Antarctic continent. Fully 50,000 of these birds breed in the South Orkneys. Their nests, composed of small angular fragments of rock and some earth, are placed on the ledges of precipitous cliffs. The Cape pigeon, like other petrels, has the habit of ejecting from its tubular nostrils a red, oily, foul-smelling fluid, composed of the half-digested remains of crustaceans (Euphausia). The naturalists visiting the nests had to risk having this fluid squirted over their face and clothes. The birds can squirt this fluid to a distance of six or eight feet. The Cape pigeon often allowed itself to be captured on its nest. The eggs, which are pure white, are laid singly, and are very large for the size of the bird.
Besides these there are many other petrels recorded in Antarctic seas, and perhaps the best known of these is the Giant petrel (Ossifraga gigantea) called also the Nellie and the Stinker. Why sailors should have called this bird a "Nellie" I do not know, but the name "Stinker" is quite appropriate, on account of the curious, unpleasant, and persistent odour it possesses. Not only does the bird have this odour externally, but even its flesh and eggs have the same smell. The Scotia dogs readily ate penguins and other birds, but would not eat the flesh of the giant petrel. The weight of this bird varies from 7¼ to 10 lbs., and it looks nearly the size of a swan. The plumage varies from white, through grey, to almost black. These varieties appear to interbreed. The nest is a large pile of subangular stones, in the form of a truncated cone; and usually only one large white egg is laid. The nellie's gluttonous habits are well known to South Sea sailors; feeding ravenously on the remains of slaughtered seals or refuse, and filling itself to repletion till it is almost comatose, it is unable to rise from the ground till it disgorges the contents of its stomach. I have seen these filthy birds, feeding on the carcase of a seal, move off a few steps and disgorge what they had devoured and then begin to eat again.
Although a shag had previously been noted in the Antarctic Regions, the specific identity of these Antarctic shags remained somewhat uncertain until the Scottish Expedition finally settled the matter at the South Orkneys, in 1903, by finding it was the Blue-eyed shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps).
The Dominican gull (Larus dominicanus) is not very plentiful and does not appear to cross the circle. The Antarctic skua (Megalestris antarctica) and MacCormack's skua (M. maccormicki) are typical Antarctic birds: the former is very plentiful in the South Orkneys and other less southern Antarctic islands. The latter is more associated with higher southern latitudes. Antarctic skuas are very ferocious birds, and they will fight with each other to the death.
The two terns are the White-rumped tern (Sterna hirundinacea), which breeds plentifully on Antarctic islands, and the Arctic tern (S. macrura). Mr. Eagle Clarke is of opinion that the Arctic tern does not breed in the Antarctic Regions, but that it is a summer visitor during the Arctic winter. Mr. Clarke says, "The finding of this tern in the seas off the South Polar continent must be regarded as one of the most important ornithological discoveries made by the Expedition (Scotia), for, as has already been stated, no terns appear to have been previously captured within seas girdled by the Antarctic Circle."
But besides whales, seals, and birds, Polar seas teem with lowlier forms of animal life from fishes down to simple unicellular animals, and it is all this vast host of fishes and invertebrates that accounts for the large number of mammals and birds in Polar Regions—north and south. These lowlier and mostly smaller forms of animal life depend, as already indicated, upon the meadows and pastures of the oceans which are made up of immense quantities of unicellular algæ. Fishes and invertebrates occur everywhere in Polar seas, from the surface down to depths of about 2,000 fathoms in the Arctic Regions, and to depths exceeding 3,000 fathoms in the Antarctic Regions.
It would be entering into too large and intricate a subject, and too technical a one, to attempt to discuss Polar invertebrate life in the present volume. It is also dangerous at the present time to formulate general statements regarding the distribution and general laws which regulate this host of living beings, as Polar exploration is as yet in its infancy, as far as serious research in this subject is concerned. Still there are one or two points that may already be gleaned from the oceanographical research of several of the recent expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic—notably those of Leigh Smith, Payer, Nordenskjold, the Prince of Monaco, Duke of Orleans, Nathorst and others in the north, and those of the Challenger, Valdivia, Belgica, Scotia, Discovery, Gauss, Français, Antarctic and Pourquoi-pas? in the south.
One forecast of importance that may be made is regarding the theory of "Bipolarity," in which it is suggested that species of animals in Arctic seas find, as it were, their reflected images represented by species in Antarctic seas.
A few years ago the case was doubtful. But modern Polar exploration, especially in Antarctic seas, with the tendency to explore more thoroughly definite areas, by vessels carrying on board a much larger number and more highly trained staffs of naturalists, to whom better opportunities are being given to carry out their special work, has rather revealed the fact that such similarities which could support the theory of bipolarity do not occur. Nay, even this interesting fact seems to be brought out—that, to a large extent, the invertebrate fauna that inhabits one area of Antarctic seas is not the same as that which inhabits another. The invertebrate animals taken by the Belgians and the French to the west of Graham Land are markedly different in many respects from those taken by the Scots and the Swedes to the east of Graham Land. The English also obtained in the Ross Sea different species from those obtained by the Scots and Swedes, Belgians and French, or Germans.
Examination of the results of the deep-sea trawling shows that, although in shallow water quite a number of new species were obtained, forming but a small proportion of the whole number of animals collected, the list of deep-sea species shows that almost every animal obtained in deep waters and in high southern latitudes is new to science. These facts should give an indication of the scientific value from a zoological point of view of deep-sea exploration in the Antarctic Regions. Take any group whatever and it will be found that the greater portion of animals obtained in deep Antarctic waters are new to science.
With the exception of that great Scottish navigator and explorer Sir James Clark Ross, who led the way to deep-sea exploration with efforts which Sir Joseph Hooker has described as almost incredible, and who was the first and only one for many a year to bring back examples of deep-sea animals from the Antarctic Regions, Polar explorers until quite recent years have not considered it an important part of their programme to investigate the physics and biology of Antarctic seas.
The Challenger, which was not an ice-protected ship, and which did not include Antarctic exploration as part of its programme, did, nevertheless, in 1874, cross the Antarctic Circle, and made one trawling in 1675 fathoms only slightly north of the Circle, and made other deep-sea investigations in relatively high latitudes. The Valdivia also carried out valuable oceanographical researches in similar latitudes a little further west than the Challenger. But of recent Antarctic expeditions the Belgica, Scotia, Gauss, Français, and Pourquoi-pas? are the only ones that have made oceanographical research a special aim. The Scotia, besides being strongly fortified to battle with ice, was better equipped as an oceanographical ship than any Antarctic ship has ever been, and was thus able to carry out most important investigations in very deep water in high latitudes.
In the scientific work carried out on board the Erebus, Hooker especially supported Ross, and Sir John Richardson in his report on "The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror," says the warmest thanks of zoologists "are due to Dr. Joseph Dalton Hooker for his able co-operation with his commanding officer, and for the excellent sketches and notes which he has contributed." Hooker was the sole worker of the townet, bringing the captures daily to Ross and helping him with the preservation of marine animals, as well as with drawing a great number of these animals for him. The zoological collections of that expedition were most important and furnished the first evidence that a rich fauna existed in Antarctic seas at all depths from the surface to the bottom. The deep-sea exploration of the Challenger in relatively high southern latitudes furnished further concrete evidence that there existed in Antarctic seas a very rich fauna of fishes and invertebrates, and also indicated to us that great results might be obtained by an exploring ship equipped for deep-sea work that was also fitted out for doing that work well within the Antarctic ice-pack. The Valdivia in 1898 explored as far south as 64° 14′ S. off Enderby Land, and made extensive biological collections especially in plankton.
But it was the Belgica in 1897–99 that first successfully carried out marine biological investigation well within the Antarctic Circle. During a cruise and remarkable drift south of 70° S. latitude between 80° and 102° W. longitude, as well as during her more easterly cruise along the west coast of Graham Land, frequent dredgings were made which resulted in a very remarkable collection of deep-sea marine animals being secured. Most of this collection was made in water of about 200 or 250 fathoms; but north of 70° S. a few dredgings were made in depths of more than 1,400 fathoms. The reports on this rich collection of Antarctic marine animals are now nearly completed in a large series of valuable volumes giving an account of the scientific results of the voyage. Never before had such a large collection of marine animals been made in the Antarctic Regions. Fishes, echinoderms, crustaceans, polychæts, gorgonids, bryozoa, and, in fact, representatives of almost every order of invertebrates, were obtained. The Gauss, Discovery, and Antarctic (1901–04) were a series of expeditions which continued the exploration of the sea in relation to marine animals, but their work was not nearly so comprehensive in this direction as that of the Belgica. The Gauss trawled in greater depths, but not nearly in such high southern latitudes. The work of all these expeditions has, however, added considerably to our knowledge of Antarctic invertebrate zoology, and not least of all the fine work done by Mr. T. V. Hodgson, who made the greatest possible use of every opportunity that was given to him. To Hodgson is entirely due the fine invertebrate records the Discovery brought home.
But it was left to the Scotia to carry on more extensively than any other Antarctic expedition has ever done marine biological research, and also to carry on that research in very deep water well south of the Antarctic Circle. Altogether the Scotia dredged 150 times in water varying between 4 and 161 fathoms, and had traps down on 250 days, hauling them up and rebaiting them 200 times. But besides this, the Scotia trawled 18 times in water exceeding 1,000 fathoms, 15 times in water exceeding 1,500 fathoms, 11 times in water exceeding 2,000 fathoms, and 4 times in water exceeding 2,500 fathoms. Most of these trawlings were taken south of 60° S., whilst navigating well within the Polar pack and among bergs. On account of the constant presence of ice the greatest possible vigilance and care was required in handling the trawling gear. Sometimes the trawling cable would catch on a floe, which would add several tons pressure to what the cable had already to bear. On such occasions the great mass of ice might be carried down below the surface to quite a considerable distance, until something destroyed the equal balance that held it, when it would rapidly rise to the surface and shoot out endwise far above the water. When this happened the ship had to be handled in such a way as to avoid if possible the severe shock it would sustain from the blow of such a huge piece of ice, weighing many tons and as hard as rock. But even when it was impossible for the ship to escape the blow, it was of vital importance to handle her in such a way that the rudder and propeller were not damaged or carried away by the impact of the ice. This was the first time that deep-sea trawling had been attempted in the ice-pack, and if under ordinary circumstances in the open sea great care, accuracy, and considerable practice are required to carry out the operation successfully, much more so was that the case on the present occasion. The Scotia trawling cable was capable of withstanding a strain of more than nine tons, and on more than one occasion the dynamometer showed a strain of more than six tons. Every thousand fathoms of the trawling cable weighed a ton, and on several occasions the Scotia had as much as 4,000 fathoms, i.e. 4½ miles, of cable paid out. It can be understood, therefore, that the operation was no child's play, and that the 40-horse-power winch, the derrick, the blocks and every portion of the working gear had to be in as perfect condition as possible to avoid any accident. Yet, in spite of every precaution in the course of this arduous work, more than once the lives of men were endangered. I have undertaken arduous sledging and other land work within the Arctic and Antarctic Regions, but I know of no work that is more difficult or more dangerous than trawling in the greatest depths of the ocean in a sea closely packed with ice. The great increase of strain on the cable when it is caught by the ice, which is unavoidable, and the sudden release of strain, it may be to the extent of even 3 or 4 tons, tells to the utmost on all the gear, and it is not unlikely that something may give way with disastrous results. Such accidents are most likely to happen in the early part of a voyage, before everybody is thoroughly familiar with the operation. On one occasion the trawling-cable drum on the Scotia, containing 6,000 fathoms of cable weighing over six tons, "took charge," and the bo'sun had a miraculous escape, and on other occasions other members of the expedition had their lives and limbs endangered. These incidents are only mentioned here to let the reader understand that Polar explorers carrying on their researches at sea encounter perils at least as great as those making long journeys on the land.
During the winter alone in the South Orkneys, in Scotia Bay and Jessie Bay, the Scottish naturalists caught upwards of 2,000 fish, which served not only for zoological requirements, but also as an excellent supply of fresh food. Besides fishes, examples of almost every class of invertebrate animals were secured. So large are the collections of the Scottish Expedition alone, that it is difficult to do more than refer the reader to the official reports. But it will give a good idea of what the result of the deep-sea trawling operations were, if some quotations are given from these volumes. Here is one from the author's own log, which gives some idea of a day's work at trawling, as well as of a zoological catch, in the far south, and in tolerably deep water. "March 18th, 71° 22′ S., 16′ 34′ W. Barometer falling slightly, 29.206 to 28.84 inches, temperature steady, 28° to 29° F. Wind, gentle, with westerly breezes till 8 a.m., N.E. to N. afterwards. Fine clear though overcast weather, with occasional light showers of snow. We sounded from 6.45 a.m. to 8.15 a.m., in 1,410 fathoms, and took five serial temperatures from surface to the bottom. The trawl with 2,400 fathoms (=2¾ miles) of cable out, which registered a strain of 2½ tons, brought up one of the two richest hauls we have had, that of the Burdwood Bank possibly equalling, but scarcely surpassing it—and this one, on account of the greater depth and high southern latitude in which it was taken, is certainly by far the most important we have had. Two very large-stalked sponges, both new species (Caulophacus scotiæ and Malacosaccus coatsi), besides two others, three or four very large purple holothurians, a quantity of brilliant red crustacea, probably Crangon, two species of isopods, five or six chætopods, three or four gasteropods, two masked with anemones,—a large number of very hard and large sea-anemones of a pale-greyish and lavender colour, about three species of brittle stars, five species of fish including one of a beautiful blue and delicate grey-lavender colour, and one of which we only secured the head, which was remarkable for its crocodilian appearance, with its long and toothed jaw,—some ctenophores, and jelly-fish, not in good condition,—bryozoa and probably sertularians and alcyonarians,—altogether fully sixty species; specimens which, for their striking variety of colour and form as well as from their large number, could not fail to strike the most casual and least interested individual. Yet ignorant people tell you there is no life in the Antarctic!"
As an example of disappointment it may be mentioned that on the following day, in a depth of 1,221 fathoms, the trawl was lowered, putting out 2,000 fathoms (=2¼ miles) of cable, but it did not touch the bottom, and this occurred more than once in this locality. The only way that this could be accounted for was that there were strong under-currents sweeping the trawl off the ground; for during the previous year, in about 2,500 fathoms, bottom was reached with 3,100 fathoms of cable, or only 600 fathoms extra beyond the depth, instead of 800 as on this occasion.
On the 21st of March, however, in lat. 69° 33′ S., 15° 19′ W., the Scotia secured a good haul in 2,620[1] fathoms (=3 miles) on a bottom of blue mud. In order to make sure of the trawl reaching the bottom, we fixed four furnace bars, each weighing 22 lbs., and two olive-shaped weights on the cable, each of 20 lbs. An extra 1,000 fathoms of cable were let out, that is to say, 3,620 fathoms (4⅛ miles) in all. The trawl began going out at 10.15 a.m., and was on board again at 6.33 p.m.; this time there had been about 500 fathoms of cable on the bottom, showing that we could have done on this occasion with our usual allowance of 500 or 600 extra fathoms. The dynamometer registered up to 5 tons. The trawl came up with a great deal of mud and many big stones, and the following animals:—one fish, a siphonophore tentacle about 600 fathoms from the end of the cable, arenaceous worm tubes, two species of asteroids, one species of ophiuroid, four species of holothurians, broken bits of echinoids, a medusoid, probably from the surface, two species of fixed stalked colonial cœlenterates, two species of sponges, and some species of foraminifers (Zoological Log of the "Scotia," Edinburgh, 1908).
Besides trawling on the bottom, the Scottish Expedition used other means of catching animals living in Antarctic seas. They followed the excellent practice of the Prince of Monaco by using large baited traps, resembling in principle the common lobster pot or creel, extensively employed by fishermen of Scotland and other countries. These traps consist of a light framework of wood covered with herring-net, with two funnel-shaped entrances placed in suitable positions through which fishes and other creatures swim or crawl into the trap, and being unable to find their way out again are captured. This valuable form of apparatus was first used in the Polar Regions by the author in 1896, in Franz Josef Land, and since that time has been used by many Polar expeditions with success—notably by the Prince of Monaco himself in Spitsbergen Seas; and in the Ross Sea by Hodgson, following the advice of Armitage and Kœttlitz, both of whom had seen it used with such success in Franz Josef Land. During the wintering of the Scotia, these traps were used extensively, several of them being put out in different depths and at varying distances from the ship. The Scotia also used these traps in a depth of 161 fathoms off Coats Land.
Mention has already been made of the use of fine silk tow-nets, which were used to get samples of diatoms and other algæ drifting about on the surface of the water. These nets, while doing their botanical scouting, also gather small marine invertebrates drifting or swimming freely on or near the surface of the sea. This "plankton" investigation forms one of the most interesting forms of Polar exploration, and the Belgica, the Gauss, and the Scotia all carried out extensive investigations in this direction in Antarctic seas with very important and interesting results. But besides using such nets on the surface, the Polar explorer uses them, like other explorers of the sea in other parts of the world, for ascertaining what creatures are drifting or swimming in intermediate depths between the surface and the bottom.
The nets used for this purpose are of various sizes and shapes, the smallest may be two inches in diameter, the largest many feet: the Prince of Monaco uses a vertical plankton net 15 or 16 feet in diameter; the largest net the Scotia used was eight feet in diameter. The most generally useful size and that most frequently employed was, however, one of four inches diameter, and three feet in length, made of the finest Miller's silk, which catches almost all the minutest forms except possibly cocospheres and rhabdospheres. (The finest Miller's silk, known as No. 20, has 5,926 meshes to a square centimetre: each side of the mesh is 0.05 mm. long.) The larger nets are made of coarse muslin. Among the various designs of these plankton nets some are devised to open and close at definite depths, so that a definite stratum of the sea may be explored to see what animals live there; others are so constructed as to enable an approximate estimate to be made of the number, as well as of the species, of animals that live in a certain volume of water. All these different kinds of nets were extensively used on board the Belgica, Gauss, Scotia, Français, and Pourquoi-pas? and less extensively on other recent Antarctic exploring ships. The Discovery and Nimrod did not use these nets or other marine biological apparatus so extensively, because their explorations were more specially on the land rather than the sea. The Scotia used an 8-foot vertical net as far south as 71° 50′ S., 23° 10′ E., lowering it there to 1,000 fathoms below the surface. The handling of these delicate nets within the pack is by no means easy, and cannot very often be carried out. Through a hole in a continuous field of ice, such a net can be lowered with relative safety, but in the drifting pack it may be very difficult and often quite impossible. The successful accomplishment of this delicate operation by the Scotia demonstrates to what a state of proficiency the officers, staff, and crew had attained in the handling of this and other deep-sea gear, and it is a matter of deep regret that such a ship, on which so much thought, ingenuity, and money had been expended, had to be sold for "an old song," and such a set of men, who had come to know how to carry on not only such important deep-sea exploration, but to pursue it in high latitudes within the pack ice, had to part once more, to scatter all over the face of the globe, never again to meet together to carry on such important work for the advancement of science, which is always for the good of mankind.
The handling of a trawl among the pack is difficult, even dangerous, on account of the heaviness of the gear and the great and often sudden strains that occur. With the large fine tow-nets there is no danger, but the apparatus—winch, wire, and net itself—are all of such a light description that, if the wire or net gets entangled on pieces of pack ice, they are apt to get damaged or carried away. Consequently the greatest vigilance has to be used: long poles have to be in readiness to push the heavier pieces of ice away from the place where the net is expected to come to the surface by the people on the ship and on the ice itself. The winch-man has constantly to be on the alert to "heave gently!" "stop!" "heave gently!" or what always produces such a cheery effect, "heave away!" Nothing is more exciting, nothing more intensely interesting than to hear the merry winch under perfect control heaving in the vertical net, or the trawl culminating in the final act of "taking it aboard." Reaching the South Pole isn't in it! At the beginning of such a voyage of exploration there are apt to be smiles at the eager zoologist emerging pale from his laboratory, but after the first time the trawl comes on board with its wonderful burden of living things of every colour and shape, each more quaint or beautiful than its neighbour, everybody on board becomes almost as enthusiastic as the zoologist who, now that he has got his sea-legs, feels himself more on an equal footing with his breezy seaman companions.
Off Coats Land, the highest southern latitude in which a vertical net has been successfully used, it is recorded by Wilton in the Zoological Log of the "Scotia," that the haul was a rich one, containing five species of fishes, and at least fifteen species of other animals, including "several examples of Salpa, four species of crustaceans, many specimens of Sagitta, several ctenophores, four species of medusoids, and some broken pieces of a jelly-fish." The examination of these specimens found in the vertical net on this occasion is a very useful indication to the reader of what "drifting life," or plankton, is in Antarctic seas, and one wonders at the delicate nature of most of the forms captured in these waters, which are at or about the freezing-point of fresh water, and often considerably below, especially when one knows that a considerable number of these forms must have been taken near the surface, where the ice-pack grinds and crushes in all its fury during violent storms.
So much for the zoology of Antarctic seas. One thing is perfectly clear, and that is that there is an immense field for most interesting exploration of the most useful kind open to those who wish to explore in the South Polar Regions. There is no form of exploration more fascinating and more important than oceanography—physical and biological—in any part of the world, and in no region is it more interesting and important to carry on these investigations than in the seas round about the South Pole. Interesting as is the exploration of Antarctic lands, the exploration of Antarctic seas is not less so.
Neither is the exploration of these seas accompanied by fewer privations, difficulties, and dangers. In recent years no one has had a more exciting or adventuresome experience than Captain Adrien de Gerlache, during that remarkable drift in the South Polar pack for nearly a whole year, when human beings for the first time spent a winter in the Antarctic Regions. The adventures of the relief party of the Swedish Expedition are unsurpassed in the history of Polar exploration. Caught in the pack, their ship, the Antarctic, was crushed like a match-box, and left them stranded on the pack many miles from land. With almost superhuman effort they reached the land, but cut off from two men they had landed at another place with a tent and a few days' provisions, and without having been in sight of the main encampment that they were to relieve. It was about twelve months before these three parties were to meet together, and, wonderful to relate, they and the Argentine relief ship Uruguay all met within a few hours of each other. Lastly, the world has learnt of the difficulties and dangers that the gallant French explorers had under the able leadership of Dr. Jean Charcot, who hammered out the Western record to 124° W. along the 70th degree of south latitude, knowing that the ship's keel and planking had been ripped off on the rocks of the west coast of Graham Land (Le Pourquoi-pas? dans l'antarctique, by Dr. Jean Charcot: Paris, 1910).
The biology of Antarctic seas is perhaps more interesting and important than that of Arctic seas for reasons which will be afterwards considered. Although a great deal of zoological research has been carried out in the Arctic seas from time to time, that research had been much less systematic than in the Antarctic Regions, because in the Arctic Regions it began before zoology was organised as it is now. At a period when practically no research was being carried out in Antarctic seas, many of the earliest writers have given descriptions of northern invertebrates. Martens, for instance, gave excellent descriptions of the animals he saw in Spitsbergen, both on the land and in the sea, during his voyage in 1671. Not only his text, but his excellent drawings show what an accurate and close observer he was: he has fair pictures of seals and walruses, remarkably good drawings of the Greenland whale, and a number of interesting ones of invertebrates such as Gorgonocephalus, two other ophiuroids, a Caprella, two medusoids, also the well-known pteropod (Clio borealis), all of which can easily be identified. After Martens, there are no very accurate descriptions of Arctic marine invertebrates until the beginning of the nineteenth century. At this time Scoresby was one of the best observers. The first man to give us a concrete idea of animals that lived in the deep Arctic waters was Sir John Ross, who initiated his nephew, James Clark Ross, in that work which, as already mentioned, he afterwards carried out successfully in Antarctic seas. Baron Nordenskjold did really good systematic marine zoological work; and after him Payer and Weyprecht, during the German Expedition of 1870 to East Greenland and the Austrian Expedition of 1874 to Franz Josef Land. In 1897 the author brought home large zoological collections from Franz Josef Land. Major Andrew Coats' expedition to the Barents Sea and the Prince of Monaco in Spitsbergen seas in 1898 also carried out important marine biological research. During that year and in 1899, 1906, and 1907 the Prince of Monaco and Dr. Jules Richard trawled, trapped, and tow-netted several times in high latitudes and deep water in the Greenland Sea. Since 1898 many others, including the Duke of Orleans, Nathorst, and Amundsen have done similar work, so that altogether we have a very considerable knowledge of the fishes and invertebrates of the Greenland, Spitsbergen, and Barents Seas, as well as those of Davis Strait and some of its sounds.
One of the characteristics of the Arctic, like the Antarctic, marine fauna is the enormous number of individuals of certain species, specially some of the amphipods, copepods, and echinoderms. Two species of amphipods (Anonyx nugax and Onissimus edwardsii) swarm in such quantities in Arctic seas that the carcase of a large bird will be entirely cleared of soft parts by them, and a well-cleaned skeleton is left in twenty-four hours. Such a tough morsel as a bear's skull, if lowered into water of 10 or 20 fathoms, will be beautifully cleaned in the matter of a few days. Naturalists have often resorted to this method to help them in their work.
In a depth of 197 fathoms at the entrance of Ice Fiord, Spitsbergen, the Prince of Monaco obtained in a trap no less than forty pounds of large, red prawns (Pandalus borealis), altogether 1,775 specimens; not only were these prawns interesting zoologically, but they were found to be an excellently delicate food, and were used on board for that purpose. A sea-urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) is enomously plentiful, and so are some species of brittle-stars. The water teems with pteropods, especially Clio borealis, the food of the Greenland whale, and arrow-worms (Sagitta, with their transparent houses. In the Barents Sea I have gathered a pound or more of small copepods (Calanus finmarhicus) in my tow-net in the space of a few minutes. These enormous swarms of animal life form the basal food supply of the myriads of birds, and herds of seals and walrus, and the numerous whales. And it should always be remembered that man himself, when the worst comes to the worst, can find abundant food in the small crustaceans of the sea, if he has any means of catching them.
Though collecting animals and plants that live in Polar seas, and enumerating species is of great interest, much more than that is required of the modern biologist. He must try to find out what is the reason of there being certain species in Polar seas, of there being such enormous numbers of certain species, and the relationship which this marine life has to marine life in other seas. It is of immense interest when we discover facts regarding life in Polar seas that have a distinct bearing on human economy. A beginning of such discoveries has already been made, although we still see "as through a glass darkly."
- ↑ At 2,620 fathoms there is a pressure on any object of about 2½ tons per square inch, reckoning 1 ton per 1,000 fathoms.