The most useful, however, of all the Arctic animals is the reindeer. Indeed it is as indispensable to the Laplander, the Siberian, and the Esquimaux, as the camel is to the Bedouin, or the mule to the Peruvian,⑤ or as the cocoa-nut palm-the tree of a hundred uses-is to the islanders of the Indian Ocean. Living and dead, he renders to the busy Lapp all the services which it requires three or four animals-the horse, the cow, and the sheep or the goat-to render to the inhabitants of temperate climes. He is tractable and easily tamed. He even saves his master the trouble of providing him with food. For the most remarkable circumstance about him is the unerring instinct with which he discovers his favourite moss, even when the snow covers it to the depth of several feet. As the camel is the "ship" of the ocean of sand, so assuredly is the reindeer the camel of the desert of snow!
The Antarctic regions are far more desolate than the Arctic. There no energetic hunters like the Esquimaux chase the seal or the walrus; no patient herdsmen like the Lapps followtheir reindeer to the brink of the icy ocean: all is one dreary, cheerless waste, uninhabited and uninhabitable, except by migratory birds, -the petrel, the albatross, the penguin. No plant of any deion is found on any part of the Antarctic continent; no land quadruped lives there; everywhere the snow-line descends to the water"s edge.
Certainly the grandest feature which nature presents inthese regions is the Parry mountain-chain, about 1700 miles south of New Zealand. The most conspicuous object of theMOUNT EREBUSchain is Mount Erebus,⑥ an active volcano, of which Sir James Ross-the greatest of Antarctic explorers-had the good fortune to witness a magnificent eruption in 1841. The enormous column of flame and smoke rising 2000 feet above the mouth of the crater. which is elevated 12, 400 feet above the level of the sea, together with the snow-white mountain- chain and the deep blue ocean, formed a magnificent scene. The South Pole was first reached on December 10, 1911, by a Norwegian expedition under Captain Amundsen, which was favoured in crossing the ice by exceptionally good weather. Little more than a month later it was also reached under the most adverse conditions by Captain Scott, who perished on the return journey.
WORDS
brilliancy, brightness. burnished, polished. column, pillar. conspicuous, prominent.
continent, a large portion of land.
crystal, glass-like. emerald, green. energetic, vigorous. firmament, heavens. implements, tools. imposing, striking.
indispensable, essential. magnificence, grandeur. mercantile, commercial. phenomenon, appearance. resources, means. serenely, calmly.
simultaneously, at one time. spectacles, sights. subsistence, sustenance. transparency, clearness. unerring, never-failing.
NOTES
① Midnight sun.-Though at his lowest point in the heavens, he is still above the horizon.
② The Aurora-that is, the Aurora Borealis, popularly called the Northern Lights. Aurora is the Latin word for "dawn," or "daybreak;" when personified this became the goddess of the morning. It was formerly believed that the aurora had its origin outside of the atmosphere of the Earth. It is now known to be caused by electric discharges in the upper regions of the atmosphere.
③ The magnetic meridian-a great circle passing through the spectator"s standpoint and the magnetic pole of the Earth, or a corresponding circle in the heavens. The magnetic pole, to which the magnet points, is not the same as the geographical North Pole, but it is near it.
④ Eider-down-the valuable down or soft breast-feathers of the eider-duck. Its collection is attended with great cruelty. The bird lines her nest with the down from her own breast, and lays her eggs in it. The collectors rob the nest of its contents. She lines it again, and lays more eggs. She is again robbed. When her own down is exhausted she calls her mate to her assistance, and he willingly bares his breast to supply the deficiency. If this be repeated oftener than three or four times, however, the birds are apt to abandon the spot and build elsewhere.
⑤ The mule to the Peruvian.-On the sandy waste of the coast of Peru, the mule is truly "the ship of the desert." It is able to bear both hunger and thirst, and all the fatigues of a prolonged journey over the sand, much longer than the horse.
⑥ Mount Erebus.-This mountain was named after the ship commanded by Sir James Ross in his expedition in 1841. An extinct volcano to the east of Mount Erebus was called Mount Terror, after the companion ship commanded by Francis Crozier, who afterwards perished with Franklin in the Arctic Sea.
QUESTIONS
What are the most striking aspects of nature in the Arctic regions? Where are icebergs seen to greatest advantage? Which is the mostmagnificent of Arctic phenomena? Where is it seen? How does it begin? What does the bow afterwards send forth? When does the phenomenon attain its highest splendour? Of what colours are the streams? What heightens the charms of the spectacle? What part does man play in those regions? On what is he solely dependent for sustenance? What animals yield valuable furs? Mention the other mercantile resources of the Arctic regions. What animal is most useful to man there? What is the most remarkable circumstance about the reindeer? What is the character of the Antarctic regions? What birds are seen there? Of what are these regions entirely destitute? What is their grandest feature? What is the highest summit of the chain called? After what? When was a grand eruption of it seen? By whom? Who discovered the South Pole?