Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 October 1875 — Back from the Polar Regions. [ARTICLE]

Back from the Polar Regions.

Hiw York, Oct. 17. A London special to the New York Herald gives .some interesting details of the cruise of the Pandora to the Arctic regions for the purpose of receiving dispatches from the British expedition. The steamer crossed the much-dreaded Melville Bay without encountering ice. They were disappointed in not finding Capt. Nares’ dispatches at Carey Island, and so they steered on to Lancaster Sound. There they encountered gigantic floes and navigated with much difficulty. On reaching Barron Straits they were enveloped in an impenetrable fog. Beechy Island was reached Aug. 25, and a strange discovery was made. They found the yacht Mary, which had been drawn upon the beach by Capt. Ross in 1850, still standing with hei masts upright. Traces of bears were also found. The headboards over tlie graves of Sir John Franklin’s men were still standing upright, and in good preservation. The Pandora then sailed for Peel’s Strait, and was beset on the voyage by vast fields of ice. She passed the farthest point reached by McClintock’s expedition, and reached King William’s Land, thus navigating a sea never sailed over , by any other vessel before except, perhaps, Franklin’s. She then steamed down the west coast of Prince of Wales’ Land. Here delightful weather, soft, refreshing atmosphere and open expanses of water, with warm-air currents, were enjoyed. Officers were intensely excited and expected important results; many believed they would discover traces of Franklin’s expedition and some were hopeful that Sir John Franklin’s papers would be found, and they would eventually make Behring’s Straits, but in this they were disappointed. They encountered solid ice-fields atJßouquette Island, which effectually blocked the vessel’s further progress. They stayed there until Sept. 7, and then set out on their return voyage. This was full of difficulties and many exciting scenes and narrow escapes were experienced. At last they reached Carey Island in safety, where they found the long-looked for dispatches from Capt. Nares tor the British Admiralty. These were brought home to England. A distracted Staten Islander who has lain awake all night fqr several weeks past proposes to offer a prize ot SSOO for the best treatise on “ How to make ouf-door life attractive to mosquitoes.” _ The population of Minnesota, according to the census just taken, the population of Ramsey County being estimated at 38,000, is 603,856. This is an increase of about 164,000 since 1870.