Patagonia Bookshelf
1904
THE CHURCH NEAREST THE SOUTH POLE
The South Pole expedition so recently returned revives interest in that inhospitable
region, and in all that pertains thereto. The country that has the honor of
possessing tho church that is nearest the South Pole is Chili. This is at Tekenita
[sic], a station in the island of Hoste, at the extreme south of the American
continent. It is extremely cold on the island, and is only habitable in midwinter,
by the use of furs abroad and great fires at home. Three feet of snow on the
ground is quite usual, and to this must be added the stormy winds for which
the locality is famous. The church shown in the sketch was established at Tekenika
— which has quite a Maori flavor — by the South American Missionary Society,
which has met with considerable success in its efforts in this way. Attached
to the church is a school, while the missionaries have charge of a boys' home,
a store, and a small Hospital.