The Belgica & Beyond
amateur translations, scans, & assorted research by m.w.
actively under construction.
WRITTEN FROM THE BELGICA 1897-1899
CORRESPONDENCE
- coverage in the Belgian press, translated
- coverage in the British press
- coverage in the American press
- scientific lectures, translated
- list of Expedition publications a) Lecointe on Danco’s contributions
QUELQUES EXPÉDITIONS SUIVANTES
- de Gerlache & Charcot (the Français)
de Gerlache & the Duke of Orléans (the Belgica in the Arctic) - the failed Second Belgian Antarctic Expedition (Arctowski & Lecointe)
- the successful Second Belgian Antarctic Expedition (Gaston de Gerlache)
- the Royal Belgian Observatory
Georges Lecointe’s 20th Century
MARRIAGES & OTHER LIFE EVENTS
Lecointe Family Arctowski - de Gerlache
- Racovitza
- van Mirlo
- van Rysselberghe
ASSORTED BELGICA RESOURCES
- bibliography
- associated persons
- contemporary photographs
the sailors of the Belgica performing a “starlight concert” on Sept. 26, 1897, from Johan Koren’s diary
contact: packloafertranslations@gmail.com
Review of the Scientific Work of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition
Conference Given to the Royal Belgian Geographic Society, the 18th of November, 1899
by M. Georges Lecointe
Second Commander of the Expedition
by M. Georges Lecointe
Second Commander of the Expedition
Ladies and Gentlemen, Monseigneur,
The period of time that has been granted to me this evening to speak to you about the Belgian Antarctic Expedition is so limited that I see myself being forced to deliver you a very brief summary of our work.
I will, first of all, bring you to an understanding of the conditions under which we outlined our plan; next I will elaborate on this plan; finally, I will show you how we executed it. You will conclude, I think, that the old legends are destroyed, and that the Expedition has things to report other than an overwintering and two deaths.
Expeditions directed towards the Antarctic have been very few in number, but still sufficient enough for us to know the broad outlines of the whole region. This important knowledge grew from the work of Cook, of Bellingshausen, of Biscoë, of Dumont d’Urville, of Balleny, of Wilkes and of Ross.
Today, one must limit their field of exploration and study every detail of it, if the explorers want to do science and not just some travel.
Our intention at the outset was to take a route towards Victoria Land along the length of the pack; but, delayed several times by unexpected events, we were forced to recognize that the austral summer was already too far advanced to allow for pursuit of our first plan.
Only one advantageous path stood before us: to devote our first year of study within the Antarctic regions to a scouting trip close to Graham Land.
First, we wanted to go into Hughes Bay and settle whether there was any connection between the south of that bay and the Georges IV Sea. If this hypothetical canal could have been confirmed, we would have had a chance of reaching a high latitude, since Weddell reached a latitude of 74°25’ S on February 20th, 1823, while the sea to his south remained free of ice.
But if Weddell, afraid of being imprisoned in the pack ice, was forced to head for the north, because his ship had not been prepared with the provisions for an overwintering, our means would allow us to be more audacious.
Our desire was not solely to attain a high latitude; our goal was more elevated.
We thought, in fact, that in the following year we might penetrate the Ross Sea; but, if we found unknown lands in the Georges IV Sea, we surely would have claimed these lands as our base of operations, and we would have explored them with care. So, we were able to draw up our plan a priori, but we had decided not to be its slaves.
Ahead of everything else, the Expedition took advantage of the journey from the Magellan Strait to the Bransfield Strait by completing a line of soundings dropped more or less following the meridian.
Photography by Doctor Cook.
From the 14th to the 20th of January 1898, eight soundings were completed. The most considerable depth was 4040 meters, taken at latitude 55°51’ S and longitude 63°19’ W. The temperature of the seafloor varied from +0.6° to +1.2° centigrade.
The storm raging in the Bransfield Strait did not allow us to complete a sounding; it even forced us to seek shelter to the SW of Low Island.
On January 23rd, 1898, the Belgica entered Hughes Bay and sailed there for 48 hours, seeking in vain to locate a passage towards the SE.
On January 24th, around 7 o’clock in the evening, the fog having completely dissipated, we were able to observe two rather large defiles in the chain of mountains which had initially seemed to close the bay on all sides. One of these trenches, oriented towards the NW, transformed the north of Palmer Land into an island; the other, oriented towards the SW, seemed to indicate the presence of a large canal leading to the Pacific Ocean.
Seeing the importance of this region, and noticing how much its appearance differed from that which we had on our maps, it was decided that we would do a quick survey of the area, and that in it we would carry out the scientific work that had been included in our program.
To do useful work, it would be necessary to operate swiftly, without any unnecessary additional stops. The most important thing was to obtain a good sketch of the whole, neatly breaking the region down for the future needs of navigation.
Consequently, after having chosen the reference points for the survey of the map, twelve principal stations were determined astronomically.
To obtain the other reference points, we used either the segments capables method or that of magnetic bearings.
In order to find certain points along the coast, which we had momentarily lost sight of in the fog, and especially in order to speed up the pace of the work, we tried our hand at making use of Admiral Mouchez’s method. To this effect, Messrs. de Gerlache, Danco, Arctowski, Cook and Amundsen undertook the ascension of one of the most important mountains in the region. This ascension would also grant them a much wider horizon, and allow them, eventually, to differentiate the passages towards the SE.
Throughout our landings, scientific observations were constantly underway: Lieutenant Danco would determine the declination, the inclination, and the horizontal and vertical intensities of the magnetic field vectors; M. Arctowski would collect numerous rock samples and study the glaciers; M. Racovitza would occupy himself with the flora and fauna.
Photography by Doctor Cook.
Without going into detail, I’ll say that the soil was composed of ancient crystalline rocks.
Among the samples collected by M. Racovitza, the naturalist of the Expedition, to whom I am indebted for all my knowledge concerning his specialities, mention must be made of a dipteran (a fly), a snow flea, and three or four acarians, a sort of little spider that feeds on mosses and lichens.
Among the microscopic animals, we found infusoria and rotifer nematodes; all lived in freshwater produced by melting ice.
The rock faces, being ceaselessly worn down by the glaciers, could not serve as a refuge for littoral animals. It was for this same reason that algaes were very rare in the area that we visited. We only found some little algaes in sheltered spots; on these lived some rare species of marine animals.
The sheer cliffs of rock that did not retain snow were sometimes covered in lichens; and, in the humid places, various species of moss grew. In a few shelters, we found the tufts of a grass which is the only flowering plant living on these shores.
As for birds, many cormorants nest in the strait. Amongst the gulls are found Dominican gulls, brown gulls, and sterns. Petrels are also seen there, such as cape pigeons, snow petrels, and the giant petrel. All of these birds nest on the lands bordering the strait. Finally, one must not forget the sheathbill, the only non-palmate bird of the region. It was only sighted a single time, on Auguste Island, where it hid its nest in a natural cave.
Two species of penguin were encountered: the chinstrap penguin and the gentoo penguin; they form tribes whose very curious organization M. Racovitza studied with care.
We saw two types of seals: the false sea leopard and the crabeater.
Cetaceans were abundant in the strait; Messrs. Racovitza and Cook photographed some balaenoptera and some megaptera. We never encountered right whales and only rarely did we glimpse orcas.
One lone sounding was taken in the new strait: it indicated a depth of 625 meters.
Doctor Cook, who had voluntarily taken charge of the photographic work, took and developed plates of all the important points of the coast, in addition to a large number of the mosses and animals.
Meteorological observations were conducted without interruption under the direction of M. Arctowski.
There you have, in a few words, a look at how we used our time in the Belgica Strait. A quick once-over of the provisional sketch of the map demonstrates far better the importance of the work accomplished in such a relatively short amount of time.
The contour lines indicated by the mountains were plotted by sight on the map; they only had one purpose: give an idea of the elevation of the earth. In drawing these contour lines, photography was a potent aid.
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On February 12th, 1898, the Belgica overtook Cape Renard, which protruded from the west of Danco Land in a manner very similar to the new strait’s entrance.
We then followed the coast, passing on our starboard side a series of little islands almost entirely covered in snow; that day, we had our first encounter with the sea ice.
On February 13th, the Belgica sailed in the pack all morning, searching for a way to force through it towards the eastern side of the earth. In the face of the ice’s density, however, she was forced to retreat to the northern border of the pack ice.
From February 15th, the ship was drowned in a misty haze; it navigated by keeping the edge of the pack ice to port. The colors of the ice (iceblink) were constantly reflected in the sky.
On February 16th, during a sunny spell, we glimpsed Alexander Land, but at a distance we could not calculate. We astronomically determined the ship’s position; then, around 9 o’clock in the evening, we compromised by taking the magnetic bearings of the three most important spots on the coast.
The ice was so dense that it was impossible for us to approach this land.
In the hope of finding a passage a little more to the west, we went along the pack ice; on February 18th, we took a second shot at forcing through it.
We had barely managed a few miles to the south when the ship was immobilized and we were shut off from the route back to the open sea.
In the evening, around half past 8 o’clock, a slight decrease in pressure occurred; the Belgica was able to retreat to the edge of the pack ice, but it took enormous effort.
On February 20th, for the third time, we sought to break into the pack; and, for the third time, we were forced to renounce this plan. To the south, however, we saw the reflections of open water in the sky.
On February 23rd, a new attempt at forcing the pack! Our efforts remained fruitless. The season was advancing, it would be necessary to reorient facing north. The idea that we might be leaving the Antarctic one day too early weighed heavily on the majority of us.
Photography by Doctor Cook.
An unexpected circumstance suddenly laid out a new course of action: on February 28th, a terrific storm broke overhead and put the whole pack into motion! The blocks of ice, lifted by the raging sea, broke as they smashed together; the pack ice burst apart with deafening cracks. A fissure formed in the ice; it went on to spread into rivers, into lakes; the ship leapt over these at a frantic pace. Next, the pieces of ice all came together, crashing anew and climbing over each other. When the pressure subsided, the ship shot off like a bolt, forcing its own way through. Sometimes, spurred on by the wind, it reached considerable speeds; this would abruptly cease at the edge of each lake.
The wind was blowing from E-NE, nothing could have been simpler for us than to head north and west to exit the pack ice.
But the opportunity was unique, it would be wise to take advantage of it. Commander de Gerlache came to find me on the bridge. Our conversation was not long; it ended with a handshake, and with profound joy I passed the order to the helmsman to set a course for the south!
We did not shy away from the risks of this temerarious enterprise! The bad season would probably condemn us to a dangerous overwintering. If we succumbed, who would bring the precious documents that we’d already collected back to the country?
But, was it not while confronting these dangers that Ross encountered Victoria Land, that he passed under the volcanoes “Erebus and Terror” and opened the path that must lead to the southern magnetic pole?
What Ross attempted with sailing ships, was de Gerlache not required to undertake with a steam-powered ship? Yes, de Gerlache knew that we were risking our lives; but he stared death in the face, and did not do us the mortal injury of displaying timidity on our behalf…
On March 2nd, the pack ice, which had opened under the force of the storm, sealed up again, and it was with enormous difficulty that the ship advanced another two miles to the south.
Soon, the temperature dropped, especially at night, and young ice began to form, welding the older floes together.
On March 3rd, we tried vainly to turn ourselves towards the north; the pack ice was too compact, it would not even let us make a dent. Finally, on March 5th, it became quite clear that the Belgica was imprisoned in the ice. Consequently, we began preparing our arrangements for overwintering.
Photography by Doctor Cook.
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I have limited myself to describing here the route the ship followed, from its entry into the pack until the moment when it was definitively locked in ice; but it must not be concluded that we stayed idle during that time or that we limited our efforts to battling the pack ice.
We pursued meteorological, magnetic, and astronomical observations; we increased the number of soundings and measured the underwater temperatures, just as we had in open waters.
Furthermore, disembarking allowed for the collection of numerous ice samples containing diatoms.
From March 5th onwards, the ship, imprisoned in the ice, would travel with its surrounding pack ice across an enormous trajectory, indicated on the map (see Map III).
Take a quick glance at the line of this movement and observe how turbulent that route was. For example, on July 21st, 1898, we found ourselves in a position right beside the one we’d occupied on the 28th of February. If one follows the ship’s logs attentively, one sees that during this first part of the overwintering, the winds seemed to have a prominent influence on the drift.
One month later, on August 22nd, we were east of the position we’d held at the start of the overwintering. From that moment on, the ship seemed to obey the directions of the wind less and less! Though violent breezes sometimes blew in from the west, the eastward displacement remained negligible. This effect is probably due to two causes: first to the stronger density of the pack ice which only occasionally allows for the most minimal movements of expansion; then to the neighboring floes closer or further from land, which exert pressure in the opposite direction of the wind.
Additionally, notice the parallelism of certain lines of this drift: we would see that the eastward displacements were accompanied by movements towards the north while the motions towards the west, on the other hand, bore us south.
The proximity of Pierre I Island and Alexander Land would eventually produce an explanation for this fact.
Finally, there is an area showing that from February 9th, 1899, the speed of the drift was increasing by huge percentages at a time, and that this seems to indicate the presence of a current.
If we consider the map from another point of view, we can observe that it is peppered with figures indicating the ocean’s various depths. Our numerous and carefully conducted soundings clearly indicate the existence of a continental shelf in the area where the Belgica wintered. At the edge of this continental shelf, the side oriented from the NE to the SW, the depths increased very rapidly. The soundings returned numerous samples of undersea sediments.
M. Arctowski measured the submarine temperatures, which he used to outline some very interesting diagrams.
Apart from the sedimentary samples collected by the soundings, the Expedition possesses rock specimens brought up by the dragnets.
Thus passed the long hours of our overwintering. To us they seemed neither long nor monotonous. Each of us had too many occupations for it to be possible for any to abandon himself to melancholy dreams!
I will not emphasize the battles we waged against nature herself: protecting our ship against the pressure shifts; preparing ourselves an escape route north, in the event that our vessel was crushed; trying with all our might to open a passage leading out of the pack ice. Despite their great importance, these details fall into the domain of travel books, and would only be of secondary interest to the Royal Belgian Geographic Society.
We have spoken of soundings and submarine temperature readings; a word on meteorological observations.
These observations were made hour by hour; they primarily concerned the barometric pressure as read on one or more aneroids, a marine barometer, and, often, on a Fortin barometer as well. The minimum absolute pressure was 711.74m/m; the maximum absolute pressure was 772.14m/m.
Next, the temperature readings were taken from several thermometers, of very different models, arranged within a meteorological hut.
The minimum temperature was 43.1° below zero.
Hourly observations were also recorded from the actinometers regarding the relative measurements of the speed and strength of the wind. The state of cloud coverage in the sky and the direction of the wind were noted with care. M. Dobrowolski made very interesting remarks on the clouds, sometimes writing these every quarter hour.
I will not speak further on these endlessly ongoing observations, the pages of which are attached to the registers.
Throughout this time, M. Racovitza gathered precious collections: birds which he had temporarily stuffed or whose skeletons he’d taken; seals whose skins and skeletons he had prepared. The long period spent on the pack ice allowed him to complete an important collection of seal embryos preserved in alcohol.
Four species of seal were found: crabeater seals and false sea leopards, who brought their young into the world on the pack ice; true sea leopards; finally, the Ross seal.
At certain times, the birds were quite numerous. We especially encountered giant petrels, brown gulls, cape pigeons, snow petrels, and occasionally terns and storm petrels.
As for pingouins, or rather manchots, there were two species: the penguin of Adélie Land, and Forster’s penguin, which measures up to 1m20 in height, and weighs up to 40 kilograms.
M. Racovitza fished up pelagic specimens from every depth. As for the makeup of these catches, diatoms formed the most considerable part. These are microscopic algae which live not only in liquid water and at varying depths, but also in the sea ice, which they tint green-brown, and at the base of certain icebergs, as well as inside the majority of the floating ice.
The pelagic animals are numerous as individuals, but varied little in species: only two or three forms could be identified with forms previously described; microscopic crustaceans were the most abundant.
The deep-sea fishing performed by the Belgica was the first of its kind to have been done at that latitude; it allowed us to establish the types of Antarctic marine fauna. Caught at a depth of roughly 500 meters, this fauna was of an abyssal character, which is to say like those that inhabit the deepest ocean trenches.
With this type of fishing, all the samples gathered were completely new; none could be identified as known species.
Lastly, we were frequently visited by balaenoptera and hyperoodons, which surfaced for air within the crevasses or lakes in the pack ice.
In order to determine the exact position of the ship on the earth, and to trace the route followed while drifting, the work of astronomical observations was indispensable. The latitude was ideally determined with the help of the stars’ meridian transits; the longitude was in turn obtained by Borda’s method. The sky, often hidden by haze, did not clear except on rare occasions; we could not, in these conditions, concern ourselves with the meridian transits of our location. And so for almost the entire summer we were required to use circles of equal altitude and to apply the method of Marcq Saint-Hilaire.
As everybody knows, the determination of longitudes requires knowing the time at the prime meridian. This knowledge was difficult to obtain in the Antarctic regions. To that end, we had successively employed the lunar distance method, a method based around the occultations of stars by the moon, and one that used the eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites.
Photography by Doctor Cook.
The magnetic observations, which Lieutenant Danco directed with great zeal up until the moment of his death, were concerned with the measurements of declination, inclination, and the intensity of the earth’s magnetic field.
These observations were generally very delicate operations due to the constant movement of the pack ice. The instruments used for measuring magnetic variations could not be installed either, because the ice lacked any fixed nature.
We were thus limited to measuring the absolute values of magnetic elements, and we were able to establish more than sixty stations for this purpose throughout our overwintering.
The study of the earth’s magnetism is, obviously, connected to that of the polar auroras.
Indeed, the earth is not a magnet; it’s a globe which has an excess of negative electrical energy on its surface. This electricity is conveyed through the atmosphere by certain phenomena and gathered there by others (fogs, auroras, rains).
The force of the wind being greater than that of the weak negative charges, it follows that the clouds, charged with the electricity of the same name, will encounter each other. The charge inside these clouds grows. From another angle, as the potential energy increases alongside the altitude, we can see how storms are produced in our climates.
In the polar regions, there are other phenomena. Let us keep in mind Geisler tubes, containing rarefied air which allows one to watch the flow of electricity, and how one examines that light with a spectroscope. We shall find the same rays in these spectrums as those found in the polar aurora.
In the Antarctic, the atmospheric pressure is low; the innumerable flakes of ice spreading all throughout the air serve as conductors for the positive electricity of the upper echelons, which drains very slowly in the sun.
In our regions, electrical phenomena produce discharges: sprites; in the polar regions they produce auroras: the slow flow of electricity.
So, as the extant theories of the auroras, such as those of reflection and cosmic pressure, all dissipate, leaving room only for that of atmospheric electricity, we understand what an enormous influence this phenomenon must have on the variations in the state of the earth’s magnetic field.
Although the instruments for studying these variations were not able to be installed on the pack ice, on various occasions we observed the influence of the auroras on the magnetic storms, just by the absolute value readings.
The value of the magnetic readings collected by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition cannot be contested; first because we are the first to have done them in that region; furthermore, because they provided modifications to the magnetic charts for the region where we overwintered which were, up to this point, sketched only from simple hypotheses.
Photography by M. Lecointe.
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Now to summarize, in broad terms, the outcome of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition.
From the geographic point of view, we brought back a map of an entirely new region, wherein the continental section is split by a large strait. We completed twenty debarcations there; we collected numerous zoological, botanical, and geological samples; we collected precious meteorological and magnetic observations there.
And one must not view this work solely as having produced solutions for exclusively scientific problems. Ships that sail around Cape Horn are sometimes chased by storms until South Shetland. If they are stranded; if they fear heading north without having repaired their damages; they could find many secure shelters in the new strait. It might also be possible to start an important fishing industry there; the very abundant balaenoptera and megaptera of that region could soon be assiduously hunted. Already, the Government of the Argentine Republic has begun asking for the concession of these lands with the goal of establishing a new industry in Tierra del Fuego, the base of which would tentatively be within the new strait.
And these lands which we have explored, could they have any other uses? It’s probable. Let us recall the international missions of 1882. If, in that era, Cavelier de Cuverville Island, which we discovered, had been known, there is no doubt, in my opinion, that any mission, and presumably the French mission, would have been advantageously installed there.
The Belgica was the first ship that has wintered in the Antarctic, and this overwintering was fortunate from all points of view. Our ship was imprisoned in the pack ice, right where the English had decided to spend the winter on their new Expedition! But as this project had not yet been formed at the time when we were leaving South America, none of us could have known of it; we’ve borrowed nothing, we’ve copied no one!
Finally, for those who look to polar voyages more for questions of sport than questions of science, let them, too, be reassured: in the region where we explored, the Belgica is the ship that has gotten closest to the pole and, with each step of its journey, it pushed back the limits of the unknown. Before our Expedition, no one knew of the terrestrial Antarctic fauna; we are the first who have brought back samples of the fauna from beyond the polar circle. Our collections consist of 900 zoological specimens and 400 botanical ones, but these figures only represent the categories, as the number of individuals is even more considerable still.
Photography by Doctor Cook.
Human physiology; this, too, was studied by the Expedition. Doctor Cook, to whom I can truthfully say many of us owe our lives, had the occasion to study the many phenomena that occur in men as the results of deprivation of fresh food, extreme cold, low atmospheric pressure, and, above all, the long and punishing polar night.
Lastly, I will mention the usage of saws on ice, and sledges; the employment of dangerous explosives like tonite, and how to conserve them; and all the thousands of hours of practical work performed on the ice, the experience acquired during which will, I am quite certain, benefit those who follow after us.
My task here would not be complete if I did not report the following incident from our overwintering:
In the middle of the long polar night, Commander de Gerlache found himself greatly weakened. At one point, he had all the symptoms of a terrible and unforgiving sickness: scurvy! The doctor judged it his duty to inform the sick man of the danger threatening him. Surely, de Gerlache feared for his life, and his heart must have ached in anguish as he thought of his loved ones. Well! no emotion appeared on his face.
I mention this story to explain how much care the health of our young leader requires, and why he is prepared to ask for a well-earned rest* in the mild climate of the Mediterranean.
I have attempted to stand in for our commander this evening; but soon enough, a commission composed of this country’s savants will be called to judge the work of the Belgica; shortly thereafter, a great many reports will be published under the care of that commission. So then everyone will be able to see for themselves the importance of the work accomplished; everyone will see that Commander de Gerlache was worthy of the nation’s confidence.
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*Translator’s note: de Gerlache was indeed granted this leave; he retired to the French Riviera with his mother for the entire next year. Though there was a heartbreak involved at the beginning of this part of his journey, he would eventually meet his first wife while recuperating in France.