The polar and tropical worlds: a description of man and nature in the polar and equatorial regions of the globe. Two volumes in one

Front matter

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■■MUMMra

I

Preface

Oxe of the most noticeable of common experiences is the acknowledged absence of intelligent and well-defined knowledge of the world in which we live. Nor is this an indication of illiteracy by any means, for in this absorbing and engrossing age only those who live lives of scholastic study or abundant leisure can keep abreast of the teeming press. The very abundance of the books relating to the history of the world and its inhabitants discourages rather than invites investigation; for, while each writer discusses his chosen specialty, and confines his researches to some particular department of travel or exploration, he who would get at the general results and gain from them a comprehensive view of the whole field, is appalled at the outset by the abundance rather than the paucity of books which claim his attention. The things which attract and interest one explorer are passed over completely by another; and so it happens that while one writer devotes himself to the natural history of the country, or countries, which he visits, another will deal with the descriptive geography and material resources, another with the manners and customs of the people, another with the physical geography and climatic conditions and limitations, and still another with the commercial possibilities and international relations. But the business or professional man, the merchant, mechanic, or farmer, has no time to follow each traveler or writer as he roams at will among his chosen fields of exploration, or describes at length the results of his labors. The practical results he would gladly become acquainted with, but he can not search for them amid a mass of comparatively unimportant details, whose mastery would require a life-time of scholastic leisure. This work of sifting out practical facts and important general laws, and arranging them in the order and sequence in which they naturally belong, if done at all, must be done for him, and that is precisely what the present work aims to do. The two forces in nature which more than any others, more, even, than all others, affect and determine the conditions of living and the range of productions, are heat and cold — the Polar and Tropical Worlds. A knowledge of the working of these forces furnishes the key to I hose climatic changes which are ever going on, and shows how

PREFACE.

living, in our spheres of action, and even in

_':,t, by the variations and extremes of temperature. The

plorations which have been made can hardly

tnd nothing has added bo much to the world's knowledge

iplished in this department of investigation.

lives have been devoted to science and scientific

; to honorable and grateful mention than

who bare unlocked the mysteries of the Polar and Tropical Worlds,

within the reach of every one facts which have a prac-

reryday life as well as upon scientific studies. The group-

these invrstL from the discovery of Iceland a thousand

to the present time, pi m array of facts and observations of

thrill: 8 well as vital value, and the pages of this work will be

found to be replete with attraction no less than instruction. Baffin, Parry,

Franklin, Kai and Hall — fiction records no stronger experiences

than were theirs in exploring the Polar World, and science has had no more

faithful devotees than they. With almost the minuteness of preconcerted

je men has supplemented the work of those who have pre-

ceded bim, until in the summary of their successive voyages, given here, we

lie whole Btory of hi'.- and its conditions in the regions of the lower tem-

rning from the Polar to the Tropical World, we find men who

rial Buns as well as Arctic snows to examine and define the

and vegetable, animal and social life. Ag

Squier in South America, and Wallace, Burton, Speke and Livingstone

upon t]|(- eastern continent, have each ami all made invaluable contributions to

«>ur K of tropical regions; and whatever may be accomplished by

future explorers, it is hardly possible that the secret mysteries of the Polar and

i al Worlds will ever be more thoroughly revealed to us than by Captain

Hall and Dr. Livingstone, whose recent sad and tragic fates, as martyrs to

their chosen life-work, will never cease to be recalled with tender interest. Xo

men in thi ion have done more for Bcience and for the world than they,

and there an- r.-ally no loftier plaees in the Temple of Fame than are occupied

by t] nd deeds of tin- guild of climatic explorers, whose experiences

outlined and summarized in this work.

CONTEXTS.

Chapter I. The Arctic Lands

The barren Grounds or Tundri. — Abundance of animal Life on the Tundri in Summer.— Their Silenc* and Desolation in Winter. — Protection afforded to Vegetation by the Snow. — Flower-growth in the highest Latitudes. — Character of Tundra Vegetation. — Southern Boundary-line of the barien Grounds. — Their Extent. — The forest Zone. — Arctic Trees. — Slowness of their Growth. — Monotony of the Northern Forests. — Mosquitoes. — The various Causes which determine the Severity of an Arctic Climate. — Insular and Continental Position. — Currents. — Winds. — Extremes of Cold observed by Sir E. Belcher and Dr. Kane. — How is Man able to support the Rigors of an Arctic Winter? — Proofs of a milder Climate having once reigned in thj Arctic Regions. — Its Cause according to Dr. Oswald Heer. — Peculiar Beauties of the Arctic Regions. — Sunset. — Long lunar Nights. — The Aurora , Page 17

CHAPTEB II.

ARCTIC LANI> QUADRUPEDS AND r.IKDS.

The Reindeer. — Structure of its Foot. — Clattering Noise when walking. — Antlers. — Extraordinary olfactory Powers. — The Icelandic Moss. — Present and Former Range of the Reindeer. — Its invaluable Qualities as an Arctic domestic Animal.— Revolts against Oppression.— Enemies of the Reindeer.— The Wolf.— The Glutton or Wolverine.— Gad-flies. — The Elk or Moose-deer. — The Musk-ox. — The Wild Sheep of the Pocky Mountains. — The Siberian Argali. — The Arctic Fox. — Its Burrows.— The Lemmings. — Their Migrations and Enemies, — Arctic Anatids. — The Snow-bunting. — The Lapland Bunting. — The Sea-eagle. — Drowned by a Dolphin 34

CHAPTEB III.

r ii i: a B < PIC a i: A S.

Dangers peculiar to the Arctic Sea. — Ice-fields. —Hummocks. — Collision of Ice-fields. — Tcebergs. — Their

Origin. — Their Si//-. — The Ghtcien which give them Birth. — Th ir Beauty. — Sometimes useful Auxiliaries to the Mariner. — Dangers of anchoring to a Berg. — A crumbling Berg. — The Ice-blink. — Fogs. — Transparency of the Atmosphere. — Phenomena of Reflection and Refraction. — Causes which prevent the Accumulation of Polar Ice. — Tides.— Currents. — Ice a bad Conductor of Heat. — Wi;e Provisions of Nature -is

CHAPTEB IV.

ARCTIC MACINK ANIMALS.

Populou-ness of the Arctic Seas. —The Greenland Whale. —The Fin Whales. — The Narwhal.— The Beluga, or White Dolphin. — The Black Dolphin.— His wholesale Massacre on the Faeroe Islands.— The Ore, or Grampus. — The Seals. — The Walrus. — Its acute Smell.— History of a young Walrus.— Parental Affection.— The Polar Bear.— Hie Sagacity. — Hibernation of the She-bear. — Sea-birds 59

CHAPTER V.

Ii I.I.AMi.

Volcanic Origin of the Island.— The Klofa Jbkul.— Lava-streams.— The Burning Mountains of Krisu* vik.— The Mud-caldrons of Reykjahlid.— The Tungo-hver at Reykholt.— The Great Geysir.— The

Contents

'..-The Almannngja.-The Surts-h, llir. -Beautiful Ice-cave.-The Gotba

-Climate n.-Cattle.-Barbarous Mode of Sheep-sheenng.-

Ia.-The Eider-duck.-Videy.- Vigr.-Tbe Wild Swan.— The Ra-

Chapter II. I \i.i I I L1tdi And Plateaus Of The Tropical World

Influence of Ligation upon Climate. — The Puna of Peru: Squier's Description of the Puna. —

The Soroche or Veta, — View from La Portada. — Effects of the Soroche. — The Sarumpe.

—Tin- Veruga Water.— Etlccts of the Veta on Animals. — Vegetation of the Puna. — The

A.— The lluanacu.— The Alpaca. — The Vicuna. — Hunting the Vicuna. — The Hunts

.,• Ancient [ncas.- Enemies of the Vicuna. — Other Native Animals. — The Ox, Horse,

and Sheep.— Waterfowl. — Warm Valleys. — Rapid Change of Climate According to

;tion. —Lakt Titieaca: The Sacred Island of Titicaca. — Manco Capac, the First Inca.

— Qii Journey from Lake Titicaca to Cuzco. — Fact and Myth respecting Manco Capac. —

•it of the Inca Empire — Inca Civilization originated in the Puna, near Lake Titi-

red Bock on the Island. — Ruins and Relics on the Island. — The Hacienda

on the Wand.— The Eve of St John.— The Bath of the Incas.— Other Sacred Islands—

- at Tiliuanico. — Some more ancient than the Incas. — Immense Monolithic Gateways

and Bewu Stones.— Inca Civilization. — The Great Military Roads. — System of Posts and

of Quito: Approach to the Valley from the Pacific Coast. — A

, —Climbing the Cordillera. — Scenes by the Way. — Quito.— Climate of the

Valley. — Astronomical Site— Trees. Fruits, Vegetables, and Flowers. — Animals. — Birds. —

1 Fish.— The Population of the Valley. — Indians. — Half-Breeds. —

• the People— A Polite Message. — Scenery of the Valley. — Volca-

- — Imbabura.— Destruction of Otovalo. — Cayamba. — Guamani. — Antisana. — Sincho-

1 Sotopaxt— The Pica's Head.— Tunguragua.— Altar. —Sangai. — Its Perpetual Erup-

-t'liiinhora/o— Caraguariso.— Illinza.— Corazon.— Pichincha.— Its immense Crater.

— 'Descent into the Crater.— Eruptions of Pichincha.— The Table- Land of Bogota : Voyage

CONTENTS. xv

up the Magdalena — Ascent to the Plateau-. — Bogota and the Bogotanos. — Traveling at Bogota. — Table-Land of Mexico : Its Extent.— The Tierra Calienta.— The Tierra Templada. — The Tierra Fria. — The Valley of Anahuac. — The Volcanoes of Orizaba, Popocatapetl, Iztacihuatl, and Toluca. — The Sikkim Slope: Approach and Ascent. — Dorjiling. — The Sikkini Peaks. — Altitude of Kinchin-junga. — Flight of the Condor, Page 4»0

Chapter III. Savannas And Deserts Of The Tropical, World

Water and Life. — Characteristics of the Savannas. — The Llanos: The Dry Season. — Effects upon Vegetable Life. — Effects upon Animal Life. — Approach of the Rainy Season. — Revival of Vegetable and Animal Life. — Vast Migrations of Animals. — The Pampas: Horses and Cattle in the New World. — Effects of their Introduction upon the Character of the Population.— The Mauritia Palm. — Living in the Tree-tops — The Grand Chaco — Its Indian Inhabitants. — The Guachos. — The Lasso and Bolas. — The Plains of Southern Africa: Thorny Bushes. — Excessive Droughts. — A Great Hunting Ground. — Species of Game. — Vegetation — Watery Tubers. — Escu-irU Gourds. — Possibility of Wells — Water-Pits in the Kalahari. — Mode of Pumping Up the Water. — Livingstone's Theory of Water-Making Ants. — More Probable Explanation. — Inhabitants of Southern Africa. — The Lake Region of Equatorial Africa: Little Known. — Explorations of Livingstone and Burton. — Speke's Journey. — His Notices of the Country. — Moderate and Equable Temperature. — The Inhabitants. — Characteristics of a Real Desert. — The Atacama of Peru : Its Arid Character. — The Mule the Ship of this Desert. — The Australian Desert: Its Utter Desolation. — Sturt's Exploration. — Leichardt. — Lost Rivers. — The Sahara: Extent and General Characteristics. — The Capital of Fezzan. — Perilous Adventure of Barth. — Plains and Hills. — Oases. — Luxuriant Vegetation of the Oases. — Contrasts of Light and Shade. — The Khamsin or Simoom. — Animals and Reptiles. — The Ostrich and its Chase. — Fluctuations of Animal and Vegetable Life according to the Seasons, 499