| Show ANTARCTIC possibilities explorer th inks there may be BB a lature for fer C commerce er there the recent antarctic expedition was a commercial one and commercially it was a failure because we did not find the right whale so valuable for its whalebone the antarctic was fitted bitted out for the hunt of that particular kind nd of whale nevertheless I 1 have no doubt that therom the commercial e calr result of the expedition would have been much better had bad we worked under more favorable auspices I 1 do not by any amy means consider the fact of our not having met with the right whale in those seas as conclusive proof of their nonexistence in the bay at victoria land the antarctic found the right whale at campbell island in the winter time the boats fastened to five of them of which however only one was caught now to me it does not beem improbable that these whales go south to the bay of victoria land where ross saw them in the summer and then return north in the winter it would s sem seem em incredible that a man of sir james ross standing supported as he be was ky by able scientists and experienced whalers chalers wh alers should have made a grave error when he said that this valuable talu able whale was to be found in large numbers in these southern latitudes the difference in the appearance of the blue whale as we found it there them and the right whale in the method of spouting is so striking that even the most casual observer could not easily be debei el 71 very possibly had we penetrated farther into the large open ba bay discovered by ross boss in the vicinity ociee oe the volcano peaks erebus and terror nac c to too would have found the rig right lit whale in great numbers cumbers we saw very anany many blue whales but had not the afie appliances afia ances avs to take them As I 1 remarked at international the geographical congress we found few apals they increased however in number as we worked eastward anti and seemed afraid of the land all of the sea seals Is that hat we met on the shora showed much uneasiness and speedily made for the water a fact which strengthened my belief in the existence of a large enemy of the seal on the continent I 1 do not doubt that the seals congregate together in larger numbers at some places place on the bay I 1 consider the guano beds which we discovered of great commercial importance and they ought to be well worth the attention atte ution of enterprising business men the specimen which I 1 brought hack back with me contains a large percentage of nm ammonia monia furthermore from the analysis of the r specimen of rock which I 1 brought back with me the possible and probable presence of valuable minerals on the continent is proved although the lava and the volcanic aspect of the coast line do not speak favorably for the presence of heavy metals near the surface C E in fix century |
