Page:Polar Exploration - Bruce - 1911.djvu/240



world shrinks and now there are few parts of the globe which have not been traversed.

I say purposely traversed, for many parts traversed have not been explored. A race across Africa, from Paris to Pekin on a motor car, or what has been aptly called the "boyish Pole hunt," can now no longer be regarded as serious exploration. In fact, in Polar exploration especially, people are beginning to see the comparative uselessness of such journeys, and rarely can any Polar expedition get money unless the leader announces that such and such scientific investigations are to be made by a staff of experts, and that such and such scientific results are likely to accrue. Yet what the mass of the public desire is pure sensationalism, therefore the Polar explorer who attains the highest latitude and who has the powers of making a vivid picture of the difficulties and hardships involved will be regarded popularly as the hero, and will seldom fail to add