For the Cincinnati Nonpareil.
"The North Country"— The Polar Regions.
MESSRS. EDITORS : The recont discoveries of Arctic navigators have demonstrated the fact that an open sea surrounds the North Pole, instead of mountains of ice and a frozen ocean. The ancient and popular delusion that moun-tains of ice and a frozen sea extended to the North Pole, in now becoming obsolete. A new theory has suddenly supplanted the old delusion. A great change has been produced on this subject in the minds of men of intel-ligence. There have, heretofore, been limits set to Gentile locomotion in that region; but when we understand the geography of the Polar regions, we may possibly discover that there are entrances into the interior of the earth at the North and South Poles, and that the interior of the earth is inhabited by the ten tribes of Israel. In defence of these ideas, I will notice the statements of Lieutenant Os- borne, Commander of the Pioneer in the Eng- lish expedition which was sent in search of Sir John Franklin in 1850 and 1851. Capt. Penny, of the same expedition, confirms the truth of these statements. They state that, beyond the icy sea which they visited, they saw open water as iar as the eye could pene- trate, to the North. They also state that they "saw long flights of birds retreating from their summer breeding places somewhere beyond the broad fields of ice." On the 5th of Sep-tember, whilst they were seeking deliverance from a mass of ice off Point Innis, Lieut. Os- borne states, "we had abundant amusement and occupation in observing the movements of shoals of white whales. They were what the fishermen on board called "running South" a term used to express the steady and rapid passage of the fish from one feeding ground to the other. From the mast-head, the water about us appeared filled with them, whilst they constantly rose and blew, and hurried on like the birds we had lately seen, to better regions in the South. That they had been North to breed was undoubted, by the num-ber of young "calves" in every shoal. The affection between mother and young was very evident, for occasionally some stately white whale would loiter on her course, as if to scrutinize the new and strange objects now floating in these unploughed waters, whilst the calf, all gambols, rubbed against the moth- er's side, or played about her.......It was a subject of deep interest and wonder to sea this migration, and I determined to search the numerous books with which we were well stored, to endeavor to satisfy my mind with some reasonable theory, founded upon the movements of bird and fish, as to the existence of a Polar Ocean or Polar Continent." This article is an extraction and revision from one that I commenced writing about five months since and completed about three months since. My design was, to show that an open sea and an undiscovered and inhabited land are situ- ated beyond the icy sea. Since I penned these arguments that open sea has been entered. The two steam vessels that accompanied the former expedition from England have again been sent into the Arctic regions, and have penetrated into the open sea. Their names are the Isabella and the Pioneer. The former returned after making a short exploration in the open sea, leaving the latter to make fur- ther explorations. The report brought by the Isabella obviates the necessity of any arguments from me to prove that there is an open sea North of the icy regions. That fact is established by the return of the Isabella. I shall, therefore, confine myself to those argu- ments which, I imagine will prove, (as far as argument can prove any fact) that a "Polar Continent" is located North of the "Polar Sea". The existence of an open sea North of the icy region and the migration of birds and fishes with their young,show that there is a more genial climate around the North Pole, and there must be land there, otherwise these birds could not raise there young there. Now, it is a well known fact, that the heat of the Sun becomes weaker and weaker as we pro-ceed to the North. It is, therefore, contrary to the laws of nature for the Sun to produce more heat at the North Pole than it does 16 degrees South of it. There is, therefore, an undiscovered source of heat more powerful than the Sun, which prevents an incessant ac-cumulation of mountains of ice in that part of the world. If the cold is so intense in the 74th degree of North Latitude that the sea is covered with a mass of ice during ten months of every year, surely 16 degrees further North would exhibit cold of far greater magnitude. Is it not, therefore, a correct inference, that if the Sun was the only source of heat at the North Pole there would be a solid mass of ice instead of open water, fiom Wellington Chan-nel to the Pole ? The invisibility to us of the source of heat at the Pole, may be accounted for on the supposition that it is located in the interior of the earth and communicated through anopening at the Pole.
It is useless for any one to ridicule this theo- ry, for there is evidently an invisible source of heat in the north and it could, not be invisible if it was not located in theinterior of the earth, for the distance is too small from the regions that have been visited for this source of heat to be located on the outward surface of the earth at the pole, and be invisible. The various phenomena which are extensively dis-played in the heavens in the Arctic regions, maybe reflections from this body of heat. It is well known that these phenomena are far more frequently and brilliantly displayed in the Arctic regions than in any other part of the northern hemisphere, and that no phen- omena of this kind emanates from the south pole, neither are they visible in high southern latitudes. The phenomena to which I alude are the auroraborealis, mock suns and mock moons. Many have imagined that the aurora borealis is produced by the reflection of the sun on the ice at the north pole, but as it has been shown by the Arctic navigators, (who have lately returned from the north) that there is an open sea north of the icy regions and as this phenomena has been seen most extensively in close proximity to the open sea, the reflection of the sun on the ice could not create this phenomena. When this pheuomena is visible, the polar regions are then alto- gether destitute of the light of the sun. It is also seen when the sun has not enlightened those regions for several weeks. If it was caused by the reflection of the sun would not the same effect be produced at the south pole.
There is a mystery connected with the mag- net which is beyond the comprehension of scientific men. The cause of this attraction is unknown. Future discoveries at the north, may elucidate this mystery. The Aurora Borealis is seen more extensively in high northern latitudes, but the power of the mag-net is destroyed, by a near approach to the north pole. In high southern latitudes, the power of the magnet is unimpaired. If severe frost, or immense masses of ice, destroy the magnet's power, the result will be the same in high southern latitudes, as in high northern latitudes. As it is only in the Arctic regions that the power of the magnet is impaired and destroyed, it must be in consequence of a peculiarity which is connected with the north pole. Allow me to suggest a few ideas con- cerning this peculiarity. I will suppose that there is an opening or entrance to the interior surface of the earth, which is located at the north pole, and that this entrance is several hundreds of miles in diameter, and also, that the influence which attracts the magnet is diffused universally ever the whole extent of this opening. Let a magnet be brought so near to this opening that the east side of it is situated north- east of the magnet, and the western side issituated north- west of the magnet, the influence which I suppose attracts the magnet to thenorth, being too much scattered abroad from the north- east to the north- west, it cannot attract the magnet to the north, and is therefore powerless. These and other peculiarities which might be described, which are connected with the north pole, will probably be all explained in a short time, by the explorations which are now being made in that region. We may yet discover, that the interior surface of the earth contains a larger population than the exterior surface, and that Sir John Franklin and his company are there, in "the north country." J. S.
