The polar regions extend respectively from the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, in 66° 32' N. and S. to the north and south poles, the circles being 1408 geographical miles from the poles. The intense cold and the difficulties of ice navigation have made the discovery and examination of these regions a slow and hazardous task. Millions of square miles are still entirely unknown. In the present article the history of the progress of discovery within the north polar region will be traced, and some account of its physical geography will follow. A similar review of work in the south polar region will conclude the article.

NORTH POLAR REGION.

Extent. The Arctic Circle is a ring running a little south of the northern shores of America, Asia, and Europe, so that those shores form a fringe within the polar region, and are its boundary to the south, except at three openings,—those of the North Atlantic, of Davis Strait, and of Behring's (more properly Bering's) Strait.

Approaches. The width of the approach to this region by the Atlantic Ocean, in its narrowest part, is 660 miles, from the Norwegian Islands of Lofoten to Cape Hodgson on the east coast of Greenland. The width of the approach by Davis Strait in the narrowest part, which is nearly on the Arctic Circle, is 165 miles; and the width of Behring Strait is 45 miles. Thus out of the whole ring of 8640 miles along which the Arctic Circle passes about 900 miles is over water. This great environment of land is an important feature in the physical condition of the north polar region. It influences the currents and the movements of ice, which are still further affected by the archipelagos : lying to the northward of the fringing coast-lines. The larger opening into the north polar region by way of the Atlantic is divided from Davis Strait by the vast mass of Greenland, which, extending for an unknown distance to i the north, crosses the Arctic Circle and ends in a point at Cape Farewell in 59° 48' N. lat. It was inevitable that the routes across the Arctic Circle by the Atlantic and Davis Strait should first become known, because these openings to the polar regions are nearest to the temperate regions inhabited by the exploring nations of Europe.

Thule. A rumour respecting Thule, an island on the Arctic Circle, first brought by PYTHEAS (q.v.), and afterwards doubted, was the extent of the knowledge of the north polar regions with which the ancients can be credited. But in the 9th century some Irish monks really appear to have visited Iceland. The monk Dicuil, writing about 825, says that he had information from brethren who had been at Thule during several months, and they reported that there was no darkness at the summer solstice.

Other. King Alfred told the story of the first polar voyages undertaken for discovery and the acquisition of knowledge, in his very free translation of Orosius. In the first book he inserted the narrative of the voyages of Other and Wulfstan, related to him by the former explorer himself. The localities mentioned in the story cannot now be identified, but it seems probable that Other rounded the North Cape, and visited the coast of Lapland.

Norsemen. The Norsemen of the Scandinavian peninsula, after colonizing Iceland, were the first to make permanent settle-ments on the shores of Greenland, and to extend their voyages beyond the Arctic circle along the western coast of that vast glacier-covered land. See GREENLAND. The Norse colonies in Greenland at Brattelid and Einarsfjord did not extend farther north than 65°, but in the summer time the settlers carried on their seal hunting far beyond the Arctic circle. One of their runic stones was found in a cairn in latitude 73° N., the inscription showing that the date of its being left there was 1235. Another expedition is believed, on good grounds, to have reached a latitude of 75° 46' N. in Barrow Strait, about the year 1266. Their ordinary hunting grounds were in 73° N., to the north of the modern Danish settlement of Upernivik. For the visits of the Greenlanders to the American coasts see AMERICA, vol. i. p. 706.

The last trace of communication between Greenland and Norway was in 1347. The black death broke out in Norway and the far off colony was forgotten; while the settlers were attacked by Skrellings or Eskimo, who over-ran the West Bygd in 1349. Ivar Bardsen, the steward to the bishopric of Gardar in the East Bygd, and a native of Greenland, was sent to convey help to the sister colony. A document, of which Ivar Bardsen was the author, has been preserved. It consists of sailing directions for reach-ing the colony from Iceland, and a chorography of the colony itself. It is the oldest work on arctic geography, and is still valuable in the study of all questions relating to the early settlements in Greenland. From 1400 to 1448 there was some communication, at long intervals, with the Greenland settlers, but during the latter half of that century it entirely ceased. Here then the ancient portion of polar history conies to an end. The next period, comprised in the 16th and 17th centuries, was that in which expeditions were despatched across the Arctic Circle to discover a shorter route to India.

Willoughby. Chancellor. Sebastian Cabot, whose own northern voyages have been spoken of in the article CABOT, was the chief promoter of the expedition which sailed under Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor on the 20th May 1553, " for the search and discovery of the northern parts of the world, to open a way and passage to our men, for travel to new and unknown kingdoms." Willoughby, after discovering Nova Zembla (Novaya Zemlya) by sighting the coast of Goose Land, resolved to winter in a harbour of Lapland, where he and all his men perished of starvation and cold. Chancellor reached the Bay of St Nicholas, and landed near Archangel, which was then only a castle.

He undertook a journey to Moscow, made arrangements for commercial intercourse with Russia, and returned safely. His success proved the practical utility of polar voyages. It led to a charter being granted to the Association of Merchant Adventurers, of which Cabot was named governor for life, and gave fresh impulse to arctic discovery.

Burrough. Pet and Jackman. in the spring of 1556 Stephen Burrough, who had served with Chancellor, sailed in a small pinnace called the " Search thrift," and kept a careful journal of his voyage. He went to Archangel, and discovered the strait leading into the Kara Sea, between Nova Zembla and the island of Waigat. In May 1580 the company fitted out two vessels under Arthur Pet and Charles Jackman, with orders to pass through the strait discovered by Burrough, and thence to sail eastward beyond the mouth of the river Obi. Pet discovered the strait into the Kara Sea, between Waigat and the mainland, and made a persevering effort to push eastward, returning to England in safety. after wintering in a Norwegian port, sailed home-ward but was never heard of again.

The Zeni. In 1558 a narrative and map were published at Venice which profoundly affected the system of polar cartography for many years afterwards. The publication was the handiwork of a Venetian nobleman named Niccolo Zeno. Towards the close of the 14th century his ancestor, also named Niccolo, made a voyage into the northern seas, and entered the service of a chief named Zichnmi as pilot. He was eventually joined by his brother Antonio, and four years afterwards died in the country he called Frislanda. Antonio remained ten years longer in the service of Zichnmi, and then returned to Venice. The younger Niccolo found the mutilated letters of these brothers in the Zeni palace, with a map; and out of these materials he prepared the narrative and map which he published, adding what he considered improvements to the map. It was accepted at the time as a work of high authority, and the names on it continued to appear on subsequent maps for at least a century, puzzling both geographers at home and explorers in the field. After a very exhaustive study of the subject, Mr Major has identified the names on the Zeni map, as follows :—Engronelant, Greenland ; Islanda, Iceland; Estland, Shetlands ; Frisland, Faroe Isles;1 Mark-land, Nova Scotia; Estotiland, Newfoundland; Drogeo, coast of North America ; Icaria, coast of Kerry in Ireland.

Frobisher. We now come to the voyages of Frobisher, undertaken to obtain the means for equipping an expedition for the discovery of a shorter route to India by the north-west. Aided by Michael Lok, an influential merchant and diligent student of geography, Frobisher sailed, in the spring of 1576, with two small vessels of 20 to 25 tons, called the "Gabriel "and "Michael." But the "Michael" parted company in the Atlantic, the voyage being continued in the "Gabriel" alone. On 20th July Frobisher sighted high land, which he called Queen Elizabeth's Foreland; and the next day he entered the strait to which he gave his own name, calling the land "Meta Incognita." On his return in the autumn, with various specimens of plants and stones, the " goldfinders " in London took it into their heads that a glittering piece of mica-schist contained gold ore. This caused great excitement, and much larger expeditions were fitted out, in the two following years, to collect these precious ores. As many as fifteen vessels formed the third expedition of 1578, and one of them, a busse (small ship) of Bridgwater, called the "Emma," reported that on her voyage home she had sighted land in the Atlantic and sailed along it for three days. It was never seen again, and may have been only a large ice-field; but it soon found its place on maps and charts under the name of Busse Island, and afterwards as "sunken land of Busse." For a long time Frobisher Strait was supposed to pass through Greenland, and, the map of the Zeni adding to the confusion, the land to the south was called Frislanda. It is now clear that Frobisher never saw Greenland, and that his strait and " Meta Incognita " are on the American side of Davis Strait. What Frobisher reaily did was to establish the fact that there were two or more wide openings leading to the westward, between latitudes 60° and 63°, on the American coast.

Davis. John Davis, who made the next attempt to discover a north-west passage, was one of the most scientific seamen of that age. He made three voyages in three successive years, aided and fitted out by William Sanderson and other merchants. Sailing from Dartmouth on the 7th June 1585, he was the first to visit the west coast of Greenland subsequent to the abandonment of the Norse colonies. He called it "The Land of Desolation." He discovered Gilbert's Sound in 64° 10' (where now stands the Danish settlement of Godthaab) and then, crossing the strait which bears his name, he traced a portion of its western shore. In the second voyage Davis noted what he calls "a furious overfall," which was the tide flowing into Hudson Strait; and in his third voyage, in 1587, he advanced far up his own strait, and reached a lofty granite island in 72° 41' N. which he named Sanderson's Hope. He considered that there was good hope of advancing farther, and reported "no ice towards the north, but a great sea, free, large, very salt and blue, and of an unsearchable depth." The results of his discoveries are shown on the Molyneux globe which is now in the library ; of the Middle Temple; but he found it impossible to reconcile his work with that of Frobisher, and with the Zeni map. In 1595 Davis published a tract entitled The World's Hydrographical Description, in which he ably states the arguments in favour of the discovery of a north-west passage.

The Dutch also saw the importance of a northern route to China and India, especially as the routes by the Cape of Good Hope and Magellan's Strait were jealously guarded by Spaniards and Portuguese. Their plan was to proceed by the north-east along the coast of Asia. As early as 1578 Dutch merchants had opened a trade with Kola and Archangel, but it was Peter Plancius, the learned cosmographer of Amsterdam, who conceived the idea of discovering a north-east passage.

Barents. In 1594 the Amsterdam merchants fitted out a vessel of 100 tons, under the command of Willem Barents. The coast of Nova Zembla was sighted on the 4th July, and from that date until the 3rd of August Barents continued perseveringly to seek a way through the ice-floes, and discovered the whole western coast as far as Cape Nassau and the Orange Islands at the north-west extremity. The second voyage in which Barents was engaged merely made an unsuccessful attempt to enter the Kara Sea. The third was more important. Two vessels sailed from Amsterdam on May 13, 1596, under the command of Jacob van Heemskerck and Corneliszoon Rijp. Barents accompanied Heemskerck as pilot, and Gerrit de Veer, the historian of the voyage, was on board as mate. The masses of ice in the straits leading to the Sea of Kara, and the impenetrable nature of the pack near Nova Zembla, had suggested the advisability of avoiding the land and, by keeping a northerly course, of seeking a passage in the open sea. They sailed northwards and on 9th June discovered Bear Island. Continuing on the same course they sighted the north-western extreme of Spitz-bergen, soon afterwards being stopped by the polar pack ice. This important discovery was named "Nieue Land," and was believed to be a part of Greenland. Arriving at Bear Island again on 1st July, Rijp parted company, while Heemskerck and Barents proceeded eastward, intending to pass round the northern extreme of Nova Zembla. On the 26th August they reached Ice Haven, after rounding the northern extremity of the land. Here they wintered in a house built out of driftwood and planks from the wrecked vessel. In the spring they made their way in boats to the Lapland coast: but Barents died during the voyage. This was the first time that an arctic winter was successfully faced. The voyages of Barents stand in the first rank among the polar enterprises of the 16th century. They led directly to the flourishing whale and seal fisheries which long enriched the Netherlands.

Waymouth. The English enterprises were continued by the Muscovy Company, and by associations of patriotic merchants of London; and even the East India Company sent an expedition under Captain Waymouth in 1602 to seek for a passage by the opening seen by Davis, but it had no success.

Hudson. The best servant of the Muscovy Company in the work of polar discovery was Henry Hudson. His first voyage was undertaken in 1607, when he discovered the most northern known point of the east coast of Greenland in 73° N. named " Hold with Hope," and examined the edge of the ice between Greenland and Spitzbergen, reaching a latitude of 80° 23' N. On his way home he discovered the island now called Jan Mayen, which he named "Hudson's Tutches." In his second expedition, during the season of 1608, Hudson examined the edge of the ice between Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla. In his third voyage he was employed by the Dutch East India Company, and he explored the coasts of North America, discovering the Hudson river. In 1610 he discovered Hudson's Strait, and the great bay which bears and immortalizes his name (see HUDSON, vol. xii. p. 332).

Spitzberge. Poole. The voyages of Hudson led immediately to the Spitzbergen whale fishery. From 1609 to 1612 Jonas Poole made four voyages for the prosecution of this lucrative business, and he was followed by Fotherby, Baffin, Joseph, and Edge. These bold seamen, while in the pursuit of whales, added considerably to the knowledge of the archipelago of islands known under the name of Spitzbergen, and in 1617 Captain Edge discovered a large island to the eastward, which he named Wyche's Land.

Greenland voyages. At about the same period the kings of Denmark began Danish to send expeditions for the rediscovery of the lost land colony. In 1605 Christian IV. sent out three ships, under the Englishmen Cunningham and Hall, and a Dane named Lindenov, which reached the western coast of Greenland and had much intercourse with the Eskimo. Other expeditions followed in 1606-7.

Button. Meanwhile the merchant adventurers of London continued to push forward the western discovery. Sir Thomas Button, in command of two ships, the " Resolution " and "Discovery," sailed from England in May 1612. He entered Hudson's Bay, crossed to its western shore, and wintered at the mouth of a river in 57° 10' N. which was named Nelson's river after the master of the ship, who died and was buried there. Next year Button explored the shore of Southampton Island as far as 65° N., and returned home in the autumn of 1613.

Baffin. An expedition under Captain Gibbons, despatched in 1614, was a miser-able failure ; but in 1615 Robert Bylot as master and William Baffin as pilot and navigator in the "Discovery" examined the coasts of Hudson's Strait, and Baffin, who was the equal of Davis as a scientific seaman, made many valuable observations. In 1616 Bylot and Baffin again set out in the " Discovery." Sailing up Davis Strait they passed that navigator's farthest point at Sanderson's Hope, and sailed round the great channel with smaller channels leading from it which has been known ever since as Baffin's Bay. Baffin named the most northern opening Smith Sound, after the first governor of the East India Company, and the munificent promoter of the voyage, Sir Thomas Smith. Wolstenholme Sound, Cape Dudley Digges, Hakluyt Island, Lancaster Sound, Jones Sound, and the Cary Pslands were named after other promoters and friends of the voyage. The fame of Baffin mainly rests upon the discovery of the great channel extending north from Davis Strait; but it was unjustly dimmed for many years, owing to the omission of Purchas to publish the skilful navigator's tabulated journal and map in his great collection of voyages. It may be mentioned, as an illustration of the value of these early voyages to modern science, that Professor Hansteen of Christiania made use of Baffin's magnetic observations in the compilation of his series of magnetic maps.

Luke Fox. Sir Thomas James. In 1631 two expeditions were despatched, one by the merchants of London, the others by those of Bristol. In the London ship " Charles " Luke Fox explored the western side of Hudson's Bay as far as the place called "Roe's Welcome." In August he encountered Captain James and the Bristol ship " Maria " in the middle of Hudson's Bay, and went north until he reached " North-west Fox his furthest," in 66° 47' N. He then returned home and wrote the most entertaining of all the polar narratives. Captain James was obliged to winter off Charlton Island, in the southern extreme of Baffin's Bay, and did not return until October 1632. Another English voyager, Captain Wood, attempted, without success, to discover a north-east passage in 1676.

The 16th and 17th centuries were periods of discovery and daring enterprise, and the results gained by the gallant seamen of those times are marvellous when we consider their insignificant resources and the small size of their vessels. Hudson's Strait and Bay, Davis Strait, and Baffin's Bay, the icy seas from Greenland to Spitzbergen and from Spitzbergen to Nova Zembla, had all been dis-covered. The following century was rather a period of reaping the results of former efforts than of discovery. It saw the settlement of the Hudson's Bay Territory and of Greenland, and the development of the whale and seal fisheries.

The Hudson's Bay Company was incorporated in 1670, and Prince Rupert sent out Zachariah Gillan, who wintered at Rupert's river. At first very slow progress was made. A voyage undertaken by Mr Knight, who had been appointed governor of the factory at Nelson river, was unfortunate, as his two ships were lost and the crews perished.

Scroggs. Middleton. This was in 1719. In 1722 John Scroggs was sent from Churchill river in search of the missing ships, but merely entered Sir Thomas Roe's Welcome and returned. His reports were believed to offer decisive proofs of'the existence of a passage into the Pacific; and a naval expedition was despatched under the command of Captain Christopher Middleton, consisting of the " Discovery" pink and the " Furnace" bomb. Wintering in Churchill river, Middleton started in July 1742 and dis-covered Wager river and Repulse Bay.

Moor. In 1746 Captain W. Moor made another voyage in the same direction, and Coats, explored the Wager Inlet. Captain Coats, who was in the service of the company 1727-51, wrote a useful account of the geography of Hudson's Bay. Later in the century the Hudson's Bay Company's servants made some important land journeys to discover the shores of the American polar ocean.

Hearne. Mackenzie . From 1769 to 1772 Samuel Hearne descended the Coppermine river to the polar sea; and in 1789 Alexander Mackenzie discovered the mouth of the Mackenzie river.

The establishment of the modern Danish settlements in Greenland has already been spoken of under the heading GREENLAND (q.v.).

Dutch whaling. The countrymen of Barents vied with the countrymen of Hudson in the perilous calling which annually brought fleets of ships to the Spitzbergen seas during the 18th century. The Dutch had their large summer station for boiling down blubber at Smeerenberg, near the northern extreme of the west coast of Spitzbergen. Captain Vlamingh, in 1664, advanced as far round the northern end of Nova Zembla as the winter quarters of Barents. In 1700 Captain Cornells Roule is said by Witsen to have sailed north in the longitude of Nova Zembla, and to have seen an extent of 40 miles of broken land. But Theunis Ys, one of the most experienced Dutch navigators, was of opinion that no vessel had ever been north of the 82d parallel.

Martens. In 1671 Frederick Martens visited the Spitzbergen group, and wrote the best account of its physical features and natural history that existed previous to the time of Scoresby. In 1707 Captains Gilies and Outsger Rep went far to the eastward along the northern shores of Greenland, and saw very high land in 80° N, which has since been known as Gilies Land. The Dutch geographical knowledge of Spitzbergen was embodied in the famous chart of the Van Keulens (father and son), 1700-1728. The Dutch whale fishery continued to flourish until the French Revolution, and formed a splendid nursery for training the seamen of the Netherlands. From 1700 to 1775 the fleet numbered 100 ships and upwards. In 1719 the Dutch opened a whale fishery in Davis Strait, and continued to frequent the west coast of Greenland for upwards of sixty years from that time. In the course of 6372 Dutch whaling voyages to Davis Strait between 1719 and 1775 only 38 ships were wrecked.

English whale fishery. The most flourishing period of the English fishery in the Spitzbergen seas was from 1752 to 1820. Bounties whale of 40s. per ton were granted by Act of Parliament; and in 1778 as many as 255 sail of whalers were employed. In order to encourage discovery 65000 were offered in 1776 to the first ship that should sail beyond the 89th parallel (16 Geo. III. c. 6).

Scoresby. Among the numerous daring and able whaling captains, Captain Scoresby takes the first rank, alike as a successful fisher and a scientific observer. His admirable Account of the Arctic Regions is still a text book for all students of the subject. In 1806 he succeeded in advancing his ship "Resolution" as far north as 81° 12' 42". In 1822 he forced his way through the ice which encumbers the approach to land on the east coast of Greenland, and surveyed that coast from 75° down to 69° N., a distance of 400 miles. Scoresby combined the closest attention to his business with much valuable scientific work and no insignificant amount of exploration.

Russians. The Russians, after the acquisition of Siberia, succeeded in gradually exploring the whole of the northern shores of that vast region. As long ago as 1648 a Cossack named Simon Deshneff equipped a boat expedition in the river Kolyma, passed through the strait afterwards named after Bering, and reached the Gulf of Anadyr. In 1738 a voyage was made by two Russian officers from Archangel to the mouths of the Obi and the Yenisei. Efforts were then made to effect a passage from the Yenisei to the Lena.

Tchelyuskin. In 1735 Lieutenant T. Tchelyuskin got as far as 77° 25' N. near the cape which bears his name; and in 1743 he reached that most northern point of Siberia in sledges, in 77° 41' N.

Bering. Captain Vitus Bering, a Dane, was appointed by Peter the Great to command an expedition in 1725. Two vessels were built at Okhotsk, and in July 1728 Bering ascertained the existence of a strait between Asia and America. In 1740 Bering was again employed. He sailed from Okhotsk in a vessel called the "St Paul," with G. W. Steller on board as naturalist. Their object was to discover the American side of the strait, and they sighted that magnificent peak named by Bering Mount St Elias. The Aleutian Islands were also explored, but the ship was wrecked on an island named after the ill-fated discoverer, and scurvy broke out amongst his crew. Bering himself died there on December 8, 1741.

Liakhoff. Thirty years after the death of Bering a Russian merchant named Liakhoff discovered the New Siberia or Liakhoff Islands, and in 1771 he obtained the exclusive right from the empress Catherine to dig there for fossil ivory.

Hedenström. These islands were more fully explored by an officer named Hedenström in 1809, and seekers for fossil ivory annually resorted to them. A Russian expedition under Captain Tchitschakoff, sent to Spitzbergen in 1764, was only able to attain a latitude of 80° 30' N.

Since the year 1773 the objects of polar exploration, at least so far as England is concerned, have been mainly the acquisition of knowledge in various branches of science. It was on these grounds that the Honourable Daines Barrington and the Royal Society induced the Government to undertake arctic exploration once more.

Phipps. The result was that two vessels, the "Racehorse" and "Carcass" bombs, were commissioned, under the command of Captain Phipps. The expedition sailed from the Nore on the 2d June 1773, and was stopped by the ice to the north of Hakluyt Headland, the north-western point of Spitzbergen. They reached the Seven Islands and discovered Waiden Island; but beyond this point progress was impossible. When they attained their highest latitude in 80° 48' N., north of the central part of the Spitzbergen group, the ice at the edge of the pack was 24 feet thick. Captain Phipps returned to England in September 1773.

Cook. Five years afterwards Captain Cook received instructions to proceed northward from Kamchatka and search for a north-east or north-west passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic. In accordance with these orders Captain Cook, during his third voyage, reached Cape Prince of Wales, the western extremity of America, on August 9, 1778. His ships, the "Resolution " and "Discovery," arrived at the edge of the ice, after passing Behring Strait, in 70° 41' N. On August 17th the farthest point seen on the American side was named Icy Cape. On the Asiatic side Cook's survey extended to Cape North. In the following year Captain Clerke, who had succeeded to the command, made another attempt, but his ship was beset in the ice, and so much damaged that further attempts were abandoned.

Barrow. The wars following the French Revolution put an end to voyages of discovery till, after the peace of 1815, north polar research found a powerful and indefatigable advocate in Sir John BARROW (q.v.). Through his influence a measure for promoting polar discovery became law in 1818 (58 Geo. III. c. 20), by which a reward of £20,000 was offered for making the north-west passage, and of £5000 for reaching 89° N., while the commissioners of longitude were empowered to award proportionate sums to those who might achieve certain portions of such discoveries. In 1817 the icy seas were reported by Captain Scoresby and others to be remarkably open, and this circumstance enabled Barrow to obtain sanction for the despatch of two expeditions, each consisting of two whalers — one to attempt discoveries by way of Spitzbergen and the other by Baffin's Bay. The vessels for the Spitzbergen route, the "Dorothea " and " Trent," were commanded by Captain David Buchan and Lieutenant John Franklin, and sailed in April 1818. Driven into the pack by a heavy swell from the south, both vessels were severely nipped, and had to return to England. The other expedition, consisting of the "Isabella" and "Alexander," commanded by Captain John Ross and Lieutenant Edward Parry, followed in the wake of Baffin's voyage of 1616. Ross sailed from England in April 1818. The chief merit of his voyage was that it vindicated Baffin's accuracy as a discoverer. Its practical result was that the way was shown to a very lucrative fishery in the "North Water" of Baffin's Bay, which continued to be frequented by a fleet of whalers every year. Captain Ross thought that the inlets reported by Banro were merely bays, while the opinion of his second in command was that a wide opening to the westward existed through Lancaster Sound of Baffin.

Parry was consequently selected to command a new expedition in the following year. His two vessels, the "Hecla" and "Griper," passed through Lancaster Sound, the continuation of which he named Barrow Strait, and advanced westward, with an archipelago on his starboard hand, since known as the Parry Islands. He observed a wide opening to the north, which he named Wellington Channel, and sailed onwards for 300 miles to Melville Island. He was stopped by that impenetrable polar pack of vast thickness which appears to surround the archipelago to the north of the American continent, and was obliged to winter in a harbour on the south coast of Melville Island. Parry's sanitary arrangements during the winter were very judicious, and the scientific results of his expedition were most valuable. The vessels returned in October 1820; and a fresh expedition in the "Fury" and "Hecla," again under the command of Captain Parry, sailed from the Nore on May 8, 1821, and passed their first winter on the coast of the newly discovered Melville Peninsula in 66° 11' N. Still persevering, Parry passed his second winter among the Eskimo at Igloolik in 69° 20' N., and discovered a channel leading westward from the head of Hudson's Bay, which he named Fury and Hecla Strait. The expedition returned in the autumn of 1823. Meantime Parry's friend Franklin had been employed in attempts to reach by land the northern shores of America, hitherto only touched at two points by Hearne and Mackenzie. Franklin went out in 1819, accompanied by Dr Richardson, George Back, and Hood. They landed at York factory, and proceeded to the Great Slave Lake. In August of the following year they started for the Coppermine river, and, embarking on it, reached its mouth on July 18, 1821. From that point 550 miles of coast-line were explored, the extreme point being called Cape Turnagain. Most frightful sufferings, from starvation and cold, had to be endured during the return journey; but eventually Franklin, Richardson, and Back arrived safely at Fort Chippewyan. It was now thought desirable that an attempt should be made to con-nect the Cape Turnagain of Franklin with the discoveries made by Parry during his second voyage; but the first effort, under Captain Lyon in the " Griper," was unsuccessful.

In 1824 three combined attempts were organized. While Parry again entered by Lancaster Sound and pushed down a great opening he had seen to the south named Prince Regent's Inlet, Captain Beechey was to enter Behring's Strait, and Franklin was to make a second journey to the shores of Arctic America. Parry was unfortunate, but Beechey entered Behring Strait in the " Blossom " in August 1826, and extended our knowledge as far as Point Barrow in 71° 23' 30" H. lat. Franklin, in 1825-26, descended the Mackenzie river to its mouth, and explored the coast for 374 miles to the westward ; while Dr Richardson discovered the shore between the mouths of the Mackenzie and Coppermine, and sighted land to the northward, named by him Wollaston Land, the dividing channel being called Union and Dolphin Strait. They returned in the autumn of 1826.

Work was also being done in the Spitzbergen and Barents Seas. From 1821 to 1824 the Russian Captain Lutke was surveying the west coast of Nova Zembla as far as Cape Nassau, and examining the ice of the adjacent sea. In May 1823 the " Griper " sailed, under the command of Captain Clavering, to convey Captain Sabine to the polar regions in order to make pendulum observations. Clavering pushed through the ice in 75° 30' N., and succeeded in reaching the east coast of Greenland, where observations were taken on Pendulum Island. He laid down the land from 76° to 72° N. Parry's attempt in 1827 to reach the pole from the Parry's first and second voyages

Frank-lin's first journey.

Parry's third voyage.

Beechey. Frank-lin's second journey.

Lutke.


Claver-ing.

attempt to reach the pole.

Graah.

The Rosses.

Back.

Simpson and Dease.

Rae.

northern coast of Spitsbergen, by means of sledge-boats, has been described under the heading PARRY. The highest latitude reached was 82° 45' N.; and the attempt showed that it is useless to leave the land and trust to the drifting pack in polar exploration.

In 1829 the Danes undertook an interesting piece of exploration on the east coast of Greenland. Captain Graah of the Danish navy rounded Cape Farewell in boats, with four Europeans and twelve Eskimo. He advanced as far as 65° 18' N. on the east coast, where he was stopped by an insurmountable barrier of ice. He wintered at Nugarlik in 63° 22' N., and returned to the settlements on the west side of Greenland in 1830.





In the year 1829 Captain John Ross, with his nephew James, having been furnished with sufficient funds by a wealthy distiller named Felix Booth, undertook a private expedition of discovery in a small vessel called the "Victory." Ross proceeded down Prince Regent's Inlet to the Gulf of Boothia, and wintered on the eastern side of a land named by him Boothia Felix. In the course of exploring excursions during the summer months James Ross crossed the land and discovered the position of the north magnetic pole on the western side of it, on June 1, 1831. He also discovered a land to the westward of Boothia which he named King William Land, and the northern shore of which he examined. The most northern point, opposite the magnetic pole, was called Cape Felix, and thence the coast trended south-west to Victory Point. James Ross was at Cape Felix on May 29, 1830. The Rosses never could get their little vessel out of its winter quarters. They passed three winters there, and then fell back on the stores at Fury Beach, where they passed their fourth winter of 1832-33. Eventually they were picked up by a whaler in Barrow Strait, and brought home. Great anxiety was naturally felt at their prolonged absence, and in 1833 Sir George Back, with Dr Richard King as a companion, set out by land in search of the missing explorers. Wintering at the Great Slave Lake, he left Fort Reliance on June 7, 1834, and descended the Great Fish River, which is obstructed by many falls in the course of a rapid and tortuous course of 530 miles. The mouth was reached in 67° 11' N., when the want of supplies obliged them to return. In 1836 Sir George Back was sent, at the suggestion of the Royal Geographical Society, to proceed to Repulse Bay in his ship, the " Terror," and then to cross an assumed isthmus and examine the coast-line thence to the mouth of the Great Fish River; but the ship was obliged to winter in the drifting pack, and was brought back across the Atlantic in a sinking condition.

The tracing of the polar shores of America was completed by the Hudson's Bay Company's servants. In June 1837 Messrs Simpson and Dease left Chippewyan, reached the mouth of the Mackenzie, and connected that position with Point Barrow, which had been discovered by the "Blossom" in 1826. In 1839 Simpson passed Cape Turnagain of Franklin, tracing the coast eastward so as to connect with Back's work at the mouth of the Great Fish River. He landed at Montreal Island in the mouth of that river, and then advanced eastward as far as Castor and Pollux river, his farthest eastern point. On his return he travelled along the north side of the channel, which is in fact the south shore of the King William Island discovered by James Ross. The south-western point of this island was named Cape Herschel, and there Simpson built a cairn on August 26, 1839. Very little more remained to be done in order to complete the delineation of the northern shores of the American continent. This was entrusted to Dr John Rae, a Hudson's Bay factor, in 1846. He went in boats to Repulse Bay, where, he wintered in a stone hut nearly on the Arctic Circle ; and he and his six Orkney men maintained themselves on the deer they shot. During the spring of 1847 Dr Rae explored on foot the shores of a great gulf having 700 miles of coast-line. He thus connected the work of Parry, at the mouth of Fury and Hecla Strait, with the work of Ross on the coast of Boothia, proving that Boothia was part of the American continent.

While the English were thus working hard to solve some of the geographical problems relating to Arctic America, the Russians were similarly engaged in Siberia. In 1821 Lieutenant Anjou made a complete survey of the Anjou. New Siberia Islands, and came to the conclusion that it was not possible to advance far from them in a northerly direction, owing to the thinness of the ice and to open water within 20 or 30 miles. Baron Wrangell prosecuted WrangeU similar investigations from the mouth of the Kolyma between 1820 and 1823. He made four journeys with dog sledges, exploring the coast between Cape Tchelagskoi and the Kolyma, and making attempts to extend his journeys to some distance from the land. He was always stopped by thin ice, and he received tidings from a native chief of the existence of land at a distance of several leagues to the northward. In 1843 Middendorf was sent Midde*-to explore the region which terminates in Cape Tchel- dorf-yuskin. He reached the cape in the height of the short summer, whence he saw open water and no ice blink in any direction. The whole arctic shore of Siberia had now been explored and delineated, but no vessel had yet rounded the extreme northern point, by sailing from the mouth of the Yenisei to that of the Lena. When that feat was achieved the problem of the north-east passage would be solved.

The success of Sir James Ross's Antarctic expedition Franklim and the completion of the northern coast-line of America expedi-by the Hudson's Bay Company's servants gave rise intlon" 1845 to a fresh attempt to make the passage from Lancaster Sound to Behring Strait. The story of this unhappy expedition of Sir John Franklin, in the " Erebus" and "Terror," has already been told under FRANKLIN (q.v.); but some geographical details may be given here.
To understand clearly the nature of the obstacle which finally stopped Sir John Franklin, and which also stopped Sir Edward Parry in his first voyage, it is necessary to refer to the map. Westward of Melville and Baring Islands, northward of the western part of the American coast, and northward of the channel leading from Smith, Sound, there is a vast unknown space, the ice which encumbers it never having been traversed by any ship. All navigators who have skirted along its edge describe the stupendous thickness and massive proportions of the vast floes with which it is packed. This accumulation of ice of enormous thickness, to which Sir George Nares has given the name of a " Pakeocrystic Sea," arises from the absence of direct communication between this portion of the north polar region and the warm waters of the Atlantic and Pacific. Behring Strait is the only vent in a southwesterly direction, and that channel is so shallow that the heavy ice grounds outside it. In other directions the channels leading to Baffin's Bay are narrow and tortuous. In one place only is there a wide and straight lead. The heavy polar ice flows south-east between Melville and Baring-Islands, down what is now called M'Clintock Channel, and impinges on the north-west coast of the King William Land discovered by James Ross. It was this branch from the pala;ocrystic sea which finally stopped the progress of Franklin's expedition. On leaving the winter-quarters at Beechey Island in 1846, Franklin found a channel leading-south, along the western shore of the land of North Somerset discovered by Parry in 1819. If he could reach the channel on the American coast, he knew that he would be able to make his way along it to Behring Strait. This channel leading south, now called Peel Sound, pointed directly to the south. He sailed down it towards King William Island, with land on both sides. But directly they passed the southern point of the western land, and were no longer shielded by it, the great palseocrystic stream from Melville Island was fallen in with, pressing on King William Island. It was impassable. The only possibility of pro-gress would have been by rounding the eastern side of King William Island, but its insularity was then unknown. Search It was not until 1848 that anxiety began to be felt expedi- about the Franklin expedition. In the spring of that tions. year gjr james Ross was sent with two ships, the " Enter-Ross. prise" and " Investigator," by way of Lancaster Sound. He wintered at Leopold Harbour, near the north-east point of North Devon. In the spring he made a long sledge journey with Lieutenant M'Clintock along the northern and western coasts of North Somerset. Austin. On the return of the Ross expedition without any tidings, the country became thoroughly alarmed. An extensive plan of search was organized,—-the " Enterprise " and "Investigator" under Collinson and M'Clure proceed-ing by Behring Strait, while the " Assistance" and " Resolute " with two steam tenders, the " Pioneer " and " Intrepid," sailed May 3, 1850, to renew the search by Barrow Strait, under Captain Austin. Two brigs, the "Lady Franklin" and "Sophia," under Captain Penny, a very energetic and able whaling captain, were sent by the same route. He had with him Dr Sutherland, a naturalist, who did much valuable scientific work. Austin and Penny entered Barrow Strait, and Franklin's winter-quarters of 1845-46 were discovered at Beechey Island; but there was no record of any kind indicating the direc-tion taken by the ships. Stopped by the ice, Austin's expedition wintered (1850-51) in the pack off Griffith Island, and Penny found refuge in a harbour on the south coast of Cornwallis Island. Austin, who had been with Parry during his third voyage, was an admirable organizer. His arrangements for passing the winter were carefully thought out and answered perfectly. In concert with Penny he planned a thorough and extensive system of search by means of sledge travelling in the spring; and Lieutenant M'Clintock superintended every minute detail of this part of the work with unfailing forethought and consummate skill. Penny undertook the search by Wellington Channel. M'Clintock advanced to Melville Island, marching over 770 miles in eighty-one days ; Captain Ommanney and Sherard Osborn pressed southward and discovered Prince of Wales Island. Lieutenant Brown examined the western shore of Peel Sound. The search was exhaustive; but, except the winter-quarters at Beechey Island, no record, no sign was discovered. The absence of any record made Captain Austin doubt whether Franklin had ever gone beyond Beechey Island. So he also examined the entrance of Jones Sound, the next inlet from Baffin's Bay north of Lancaster Sound, on his way home, and returned to England in the autumn of 1851. This was a thoroughly well-conducted expedition,—especially as regards the sledge travelling, which M'Clintock brought to great perfection. So far as the search for Franklin was concerned, nothing remained to be done west or north of Barrow Strait. Kennedy. In 1851 the "Prince Albert" schooner was sent out by Lady Franklin, under Captain Kennedy, with Lieutenant Bellot. Bellot of the French navy as second. They wintered on the east coast of North Somerset, and in the spring of 1852 the gallant Frenchman, in the course of a long sledging journey, discovered Bellot Strait separating North Somerset from Boothia,—this proving that the Boothia coast facing the strait was the northern extremity of the continent of America.

The "Enterprise" and "Investigator" sailed from Collinson. England in January 1850, but accidentally parted com-pany before they reached Behring Strait. On May 6, 1851, the "Enterprise" passed the strait, and rounded Point Barrow on the 25th. Collinson then made his way up the narrow Prince of Wales Strait, between Baring and Prince Albert Island, and reached Princess Royal Islands, where M'Clure had been the previous year. Returning south-wards, the "Enterprise" wintered in a sound in Prince Albert Island in 71° 35' N and 117° 35' W. Three travelling parties were despatched in the spring of 1852,—_ one to trace Prince Albert Land in a southerly direction, while the others explored Prince of Wales Strait, one of them reaching Melville Island. In September 1852 the ship was free, and Collinson pressed eastward along the coast of North America, reaching Cambridge Bay (September 26), where the second winter was passed. In the spring he examined the shores of Victoria Land as far as 70° 26' N. and 100° 45' W. He was within a few miles of Point Victory, where the fate of Franklin would have been ascertained. The "Enterprise" again put to sea on August 5, 1853, and returned westward along the American coast, until she was stopped by ice and obliged to pass a third winter at Camden Bay, in 70° 8' N. and 145° 29' W. In 1854 this most remarkable voyage was completed, and Captain Collinson brought the 1' Enterprise " back to England.

Meanwhile M'Clure in the " Investigator " had passed M'Clure. the winter of 1850-51 at the Princess Royal Islands, only 30 miles from Barrow Strait. In October M'Clure ascended a hill whence he could see the frozen surface of Barrow Strait which was navigated by Parry in 1819-20. Thus, like the survivors of Franklin's crews when they reached Cape Herschel, M'Clure discovered a north-west passage. It was impossible to reach it, for the branch of the pakeocrystic ice which stopped Franklin off King William Land was athwart their northward course. So, as soon as he was free in 1851, M'Clure turned south-wards, round the southern extreme of Baring Island, and commenced to force a passage to the northward between the western shore of that land and the enormous fields of ice which pressed upon it. The cliffs rose up like walls on one side, while on the other the stupendous ice of the pakeocrystic sea rose from the water to a level with the " Investigator's " lower yards. After many hair-breadth escapes M'Clure took refuge in a bay on the northern shore of Bank's Land, which he named " The Bay of God's Mercy." Here the "Investigator" remained, never to move again. After the winter of 1851-52 M'Clure made a journey across the ice to Melville Island, and left a record at Parry's winter harbour. Abundant supplies of musk ox were fortunately obtained, but a third winter had to be faced. In the spring of 1853 M'Clure was pre-paring to abandon the ship with all hands, and attempt, like Franklin's crews, to reach the American coast. But succour providentially arrived in time.

The Hudson's Bay Company assisted in the search for Rae's Franklin. In 1848 Sir John Richardson and Dr Rae journeys, examined the American coast from the mouth of the Mackenzie to that of the Coppermine. In 1849 and 1850 Rae continued the search; and by a long sledge journey in the spring of 1851, and a boat voyage in the summer, he examined the shores of Wollaston and Victoria Lands, which were afterwards explored by Captain Collinson in the "Enterprise."
In 1852 the British Government resolved to despatch another expedition by Lancaster Sound. Austin's four vessels were recommissioned, and the " North Star " was sent out as a depot ship at Beechey Island. Sir Edward Belcher commanded the " Assistance," with the " Pioneer " Belcher, under Sherard Osborn as steam tender. He went up Wellington Channel to Northumberland Bay, where he wintered, passing a second winter lower down in Wellington Channel, and then abandoning his ships and coming home in 1854. But Sherard Osborn and Commander Richards did good work. They made sledge journeys to Melville Island, and thus discovered the northern side of the Parry group. Kellett. Captain Kellett received command of the "Resolute," with M'Clintock in the steam tender "Intrepid." Among Kellett's officers were the best of Austin's sledge travellers, M'Clintock, Mecham, and Vesey Hamilton, so that good work was sure to be done. George Nares, the future leader of the expedition of 1874-75, was also on board the " Resolute." Kellett passed onwards to the westward and passed the winter of 1852-53 at Melville Island. During the autumn Mecham discovered M'Clure's record, and the position of the "Investigator" was thus ascertained. The safety of her crew was consequently assured, for it was only necessary to send a message across the strait between two fixed positions. This service was performed by Lieutenant Pim early in the following spring. The officers and crew of the "Investigator," led by M'Clure, arrived safely on board the "Resolute" on June 17, 1853, and they reached England in the following year. They not only discovered but traversed a north-west passage, though not in the same ship, and partly by travelling over ice. For this great feat M'Clure received the honour of knighthood,—a reward of ¿610,000 being granted to him-self, the other officers, and the crew, by a vote of the House of Commons. Sledge The travelling parties of Kellett's expedition, led by travelling. M'Clintock, Mecham, and Vesey Hamilton, completed the discovery of the northern and western sides of Melville Island, and the whole outline of the large Island of Prince Patrick, still further to the westward. M'Clintock was away from the ship with his sledge party for one hundred and five days and travelled over 1328 miles. Mecham was away ninety-four days and travelled over 1163 miles. Sherard Osborn, in 1853, was away ninety-seven days and travelled over 935 miles. The "Resolute" was obliged to winter in the pack in 1853-54, and in the spring of 1854 Mecham made a most remarkable journey in the hope of obtaining news of Captain Collinson at the Princess Royal Islands. Leaving the ship on 3d April he was absent seventy days, out of which there were sixty-one and a half days of travelling. The distance gone over was 1336 statute miles. The average rate of the homeward journey was 23J miles a day, the average time of travelling each day nine hours twenty-five minutes. This journey is without a parallel in arctic records.

Fearing detention for another winter, Sir Edward Belcher ordered all the ships to be abandoned in the ice, the officers and crews being taken home in the " North Star," and in the "Phoenix" and "Talbot" which had come out from England to communicate. They reached Inglefield. home in October 1854. In 1852 Captain Inglefield, R.N., had made a voyage up Baffin's Bay in the " Isabel" as far as the entrance of Smith Sound. In 1853 and 1854 he came out in the "Phoenix" to communicate with the Drift "North Star" at Beechey Island. The drift of the "'BBSO "Resolute" was a remarkable proof of the direction of the lute " current out of Barrow Strait. She was abandoned in 74° 41' N. and 101° 11' W. on May 14, 1854. On September 10, 1855, an American whaler sighted the "Resolute" in 67° N. lat. about twenty miles from Cape Mercy, in Davis Strait. She was brought into an American port, and eventually presented to the British Government. She had drifted nearly a thousand miles.

In 1853 Dr Rae was employed to connect a few points which would quite complete the examination of the coast of America, and establish the insularity of King William
Land. He went up Chesterfield Inlet and the river Belies Quoich for a considerable distance, wintering with eight j?^181*" men at Repulse Bay in a snow house. Venison and fish expedi were abundant. In 1854 he set out on a journey which tion. occupied fifty-six days in April and May. He succeeded in connecting the discoveries of Simpson with those of James Ross, and thus established the fact that King William Land was an island. Rae also brought home tidings and relics of Franklin's expedition gathered from the Eskimo; and this led to the expedition of M'Clintock in the " Fox," already described in the article FRANKLIN (vol. ix. p. 721-22). While M'Clintock was prosecuting his exhaustive search over part of the west coast of Boothia, the whole of the shores of King William Island, the mouth of the Great Fish River, and Montreal Island, Allen Young completed the discovery of the southern side of Prince of Wales Island. The "Fox" returned to England in the autumn of 1859.

The catastrophe of Sir John Franklin's expedition led Work of to 7000 miles of coast-line being discovered, and to a vastthe s<jfrcn extent of unknown country being explored, securing very ^es_1_ considerable additions to geographical knowledge. Much attention was also given to the collection of information, and the scientific results of the various search expeditions were considerable. The catastrophe also afforded a warn-ing which would render any similar disaster quite inexcus-able. If arrangements are always carefully made for a retreat beforehand, if a depot ship is always left within reach of the advancing expedition as well as of the outer world, and if there is annual communication, with positive rules for depositing records, no such catastrophe can ever happen again.

The American nation was first led to take an interest in GrinneJl. polar research through a very noble and generous feeling ^^<il of sympathy for Franklin and his brave companions. Mr Grinnell of New York gave practical expression to this feeling. In 1850 he equipped two vessels, the " Advance " and " Rescue," to aid in the search, commanded by Lieutenants De Haven and Griffith, and accompanied by Dr Kane. They reached Beechey Island on August 27, 1850, and assisted in the examination of Franklin's winter-quarters, but returned without wintering. In 1853 Dr Kane, in the little brig "Advance" of 120 tons, undertook Kane, to lead an American expedition up Smith Sound, the most northern outlet from Baffin's Bay. The " Advance" reached Smith Sound on the 7th August 1853, but was stopped by ice in 78° 45' N. only 17 miles from the entrance. He described the coast as consisting of precipitous cliffs 800 to 1200 feet high, and at their base there was a belt of ice about 18 feet thick, resting on the beach. Dr Kane adopted the Danish name of "ice-foot" (is fod) for this permanent frozen ridge. He named the place of his winter-quarters Van Rensselaer Harbour. In the spring some interesting work was done. A great glacier was discovered and named the Humboldt glacier, with a sea face 45 miles long. Dr Kane's steward, Morton, crossed the foot of this glacier with a team of dogs, and reached a point of land beyond named Cape Constitution. But sickness and want of means prevented much from being done by travelling parties. Scurvy attacked the whole party during the second winter, although the Eskimo supplied them with fresh meat and were true friends in need. On May 17, 1855, Dr Kane abandoned the brig, and reached the Danish settlement of Upernivik on 6th August. Lieu-tenant Hartstene, who was sent out to search for Kane, reached Van Rensselaer Harbour after he had gone, but took the retreating crew on board on his return voyage.

On July 10, 1860, Dr Hayes, who had served with Hayes. Kane, sailed from Boston for Smith Sound, in the schooner "United States " of 130 tons and a crew of fifteen men.

His object was to follow up trie line of research opened by Dr Kane. He wintered at Port Foulke, in 78° 17' N., and about ten miles from Cape Alexander, which forms the eastern portal of Smith Sound. Dr Hayes crossed Smith Sound in the spring with dog-sledges, but his observations are not to be depended on, and it is very uncertain how far he advanced northwards on the other side. He returned to Boston on October 23, 1861. Hall. The story of Charles Hall of Cincinnati, who was led to become an arctic explorer through his deep interest in the search for Franklin, has been told in the article devoted to him (vol. xi. p. 388). In his first journey (1860-62) he discovered the interesting remains of a stone house which Sir Martin Frobisher built on the Countess of Warwick Island in 1578. In his second expedition (1864-69) Hall by dint of the most unwearied persever- ance at length reached the line of the retreat of the Franklin survivors, at Todd's Island and Peffer river, on the south coast of King William Island. He heard the story of the retreat and of the wreck of one of the ships from the Eskimo; he was told that seven bodies were buried at Todd Island ; and he brought home some bones which are believed to be those of Lieutenant Le Vescomte of the " Erebus." Finally, in 1871, he took the " Polaris " for 250 miles up the channel which leads northwards from Smith Sound. The various parts of this long channel are called Smith Sound, Kane Basin, Kennedy Channel, and Eobeson Channel. The " Polaris " was beset in 82° 16' N. on 30th August; and her winter-quarters were in 81° 38' N., called Thank God Bay. The death of Hall and the subse- quent fortunes of the expedition have been described in the article above cited.

Norwegian and German expeditions. The Spitzbergen seas have been explored, in recent
years, by Norwegian fishermen as well as by Swedish explorers and by English yachtsmen. The Norwegian Spitzbergen fishery dates from 1820, but it is only in recent years that Professor Mohn of Christiania has watched over the voyages and carefully collected information from the captains. In 1863 Captain Carlsen circumnavigated the Spitzbergen group for the first time in a brig called the "Jan Mayen." In 1864 Captain Tobiesen sailed round North-East Land. In 1872 Captains Altmann and Nils Johnsen visited Wiche's Land, which was discovered by Captain Edge in 1617. In that year there were twenty-three sailing vessels from Tromso, twenty-four from Hammerfest, and one from Vardd engaged in the arctic sealing trade. They average from 35 to 40 tons, and carry a dozen men. There were also eight vessels from Tromso shark-fishing for cod-liver oil, and fifty from Hammerfest and Vardo. Since 1869 the Norwegians have extended their voyages to Nova Zembla. In that year Carlsen crossed the Sea of Kara and reached the mouth of the Obi. In 1870 there were about sixty Norwegian vessels in the Barents Sea, and Captain Johannesen circumnavigated Nova Zembla. In 1873 Captain Tobiesen was unfortunately obliged to winter on the Nova Zembla coast, owing to the loss of his schooner, and both he and his young son died of scurvy in the spring. Two years previously Captain Carlsen had suc-ceeded in reaching the winter-quarters of Barents, the first visitor since 1597, an interval of two hundred and seventy-four years. He landed on September 9, 1871, and found the house still standing and full of interesting relics, which are now in the naval museum at the Hague.

Swedish expeditions. Between 1858 and 1872 the Swedes sent seven expeditions to Spitzbergen and two to Greenland. All returned with valuable scientific results. That of 1864 under Nordenskiold and Duner made observations at eighty different places on the Spitzbergen shores, and fixed the heights of numerous mountains. In 1868, in an iron steamer, the "Sophia," the Swedes attained a latitude of 81° 42' N. on the meridian of 18° E., during the month of September. In 1872 an expedition consisting of the " Polhem " steamer and brig " Gladen," commanded by Professor Nordenskiold and Lieutenant Palander, wintered in Mussel Bay, on the northern shore of Spitzbergen. In the spring an import-ant sledging journey of sixty days' duration was made over North-East Land. The expedition was in some distress as regards provisions owing to two vessels, which were to have returned, having been forced to winter. But in the summer of 1873 they were visited by Mr Leigh Smith, in his yacht " Diana," who supplied them with fresh provisions.

Koldewey. Dr Petermann of Gotha urged his countrymen to take their share in the noble work of polar discovery, and at his own risk he fitted out a small vessel called the "Germania," which sailed from Bergen in May 1868, under the command of Captain Koldewey. His cruise extended to Hinlopen Strait in Spitzbergen, but was merely tentative; and in 1870 Baron von Heuglin with Count Zeil explored the Stor Fjord in a Norwegian schooner, and also examined Walter Thymen's Strait. After the return of the "Germania" in 1868 a regular expedition wa's organized under the command of Captain Koldewey, pro-visioned for two years. It consisted of the " Germania," a screw steamer of 140 tons, and the brig "Hansa" com-manded by Captain Hegemann. Lieutenant Payer, the future discoverer of Franz Josef Land, gained his first arctic experience on board the "Germania." The expedi-tion sailed from Bremen on the 15th June 1869, its destination being the east coast of Greenland. But in latitude 70° 46' N. the " Hansa " got separated from her consort and crushed in the ice. The crew built a house of patent fuel on the floe, and in this strange abode they passed their Christmas. In two months the current had carried them south for 400 miles. By May they had drifted 1100 miles on their ice-raft, and finally, on June 14, 1870, they arrived safely at the Moravian mission station of Friedriksthal, to the west of Cape Farewell. Fairer fortune attended the " Germania." She sailed np the east coast of Greenland as high as 75° 30' N., and eventually wintered at the Pendulum Islands of Clavering in 74° 30' N. In March 1870 a travelling party set out, under Koldewey and Payer, and reached a distance of 100 miles from the ship to the northward, when want of provisions compelled them to return. A grim cape, named after Prince Bismarck, marked the northern limit of their discoveries. As soon as the vessel was free, a deep branching fjord was discovered in 73° 15' N. stretching for a long distance into the interior of Greenland. Along its shore are peaks 7000 and 14,000 feet high. The expedition returned to Bremen on September 11, 1870.

Payer and Weyprecht. Lieutenant Payer was resolved to continue in the path of polar discovery. He and a naval officer named Weyprecht freighted a Norwegian schooner called the "Isbjorn," and examined the edge of the ice between Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla, in the summer of 1871. Their observations led them to select the route by the north end of Nova Zembla with a view to making the north-east passage. It was to be an Austria-Hungarian expedition, and the idea was seized with enthusiasm by the whole empire. Weyprecht was to command the ship, while Julius Payer conducted the sledge parties. The steamer " Tegethoff," of 300 tons, was fitted out in the Elbe, and left Tromso on July 14, 1872. The season was exceptionally severe, and the vessel was closely beset near Cape Nassau, at the northern end of Nova Zembla, in the end of August. The summer of 1873 found her still a close prisoner drifting, not with a current, but in the direction of the prevailing wind. At length, on the 31st August, a mountainous country was sighted about 14 miles to the north. In October the vessel was drifted within 3 miles of an island lying off the main mass of land. Payer landed on it, and found the latitude to be 79° 54' N. It was named after Count Wilczek, one of the warmest friends of the expedition. Here the second winter was passed. Bears were very numerous and as many as sixty-seven were killed, their meat proving to be a most efficient remedy against scurvy. In March 1874 Payer made a preliminary sledge journey in intense cold (thermometer at - 58° F.). On 24th March he started for a more pro-longed journey of thirty days. Payer found that the newly discovered country equalled Spitzbergen in extent, and consisted of two or more large masses-—Wilczek Land to the east, Zichy Land to the west, intersected by numer-ous fjords and skirted by a large number of islands. A wide channel, named Austria Sound, separates the two main masses of land, and extends to 82° N., where Rawlin-son Sound forks off to the north-east. The mountains attain a height of 2000 to 3000 feet, the depressions between them being covered with glaciers; and all the islands even are covered with a glacial cap. The whole country was named Franz-Josef Land. Payer returned to the " Tegethoff " on 24th April; and a third journey was undertaken to explore a large island named after M'Clin-tock. It then became necessary to abandon the ship and attempt a retreat in boats. This perilous voyage was commenced on 20th May. Three boats stored with provisions were placed on sledges. It was not until 14th August that they reached the edge of the pack in 77° 40' N., and launched the boats. Eventually they were picked up by a Russian schooner and arrived at Vardo on September 3, 1874. This great' achievement is one of the most important con-nected with the north polar region that has been made in the present century, and will probably lead in due time to still further discoveries in the same direction.

One of the most interesting problems connected with the physical geography of the polar regions is the history and actual condition of the vast interior of Greenland, which is generally believed to be one enormous glacier. In 1867 Mr Edward Whymper carefully planned an expedition to solve the question, and went to Greenland, Robert accompanied by Dr Robert Brown; but the season was Brown, too late, and progress was stopped, after going a short distance, by the breaking down of the dog-sledges. But Dr Brown made most valuable geological and natural history collections, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Disco, and still more valuable observations, the publication of which has added considerably to our knowledge. Dr Rink, for many years royal inspector of South Greenland and the most distinguished authority on all Greenlandic questions, has also visited the inland ice, and has given his stores of information to the world. The most import-Norden- ant inland journey was undertaken by Professor Norden-skiold in ski61d in 1870, accompanied by Dr Berggren, the professor land11" °^ Starry at Lund. The difficulty of traversing the inland ice of Greenland is caused by the vast glacier being in constant motion, advancing slowly towards the sea. This movement gives rise to huge chasms and clefts, which from their almost bottomless depth close the traveller's way. The chasms occur chiefly where the movement of the glacier is most rapid, near the ice streams which reach the sea and discharge glaciers. Nordenskiold, therefore, chose for a starting point the northern arm of a deep inlet called Auleitsivikfjord, which is 60 miles south of the discharging glacier at Jakobshavn and 240 north of that at Godthaab. He commenced his inland journey on 19th July. The party consisted of himself, Dr Berggren, and two Green-landers ; and they advanced 30 miles over the glaciers to a height of 2200 feet above the sea.





The gallant enterprises of other countries rekindled the English zeal of England for arctic discovery; and in October 1874 expedi-the prime minister announced that an expedition would be ^g°5°f despatched in the following year. The route by Smith Sound was selected because it gave the certainty of ex-ploring a previously unknown area of considerable extent, because it yielded the best prospect of valuable scientific results, and because it offered, with proper precautions, reasonable security for a safe retreat in case of disaster.

Two powerful screw steamers, the "Alert" and "Discovery," were selected for the service, and Captain Nares was selected as leader. Commander Markham, who had made a cruise up Baffin's Bay and Barrow Strait in a whaler during the previous year, Lieutenant Aldrich, an accomplished surveyor, and Captain Feilden, R.A., as naturalist, were also in the "Alert." The "Discovery" was commanded by Captain Stephenson, with Lieutenant Beaumont as first lieutenant. The expedition left Ports-mouth on the 29th May 1875, and entered Smith Sound in the last days of July. After much difficulty with the drifting ice Lady Franklin Bay was reached in 81° 44' N"., where the " Discovery " was established in winter-quarters. The "Alert" pressed onwards, and reached the edge of the pateocrystic sea, the ice-floes being from 80 to 100 feet in thickness. Leaving Robeson Channel, the vessel made progress between the land and the grounded floe pieces, and passed the winter off the open coast and facing the great polar pack, in 82° 27' N. Autumn travelling parties were despatched in September and October to lay out depots; and during the winter a complete scheme was matured for the examination of as much of the unknown area as possible, by the combined efforts of sledging parties from the two ships, in the ensuing spring. The parties started on April 3, 1876. Captain Markham with Lieutenant Parr advanced, in the face of almost insurmountable difficulties, over the polar pack to the high latitude of 83° 20' 26" N. Lieutenant Aldrich ex-plored the coast-line to the westward, facing the frozen polar ocean, for a distance of 220 miles. Lieutenant Beaumont made discoveries of great interest along the northern coast of Greenland. The parties were attacked by scurvy, which, while increasing the difficulty and hardships of the work a hundredfold, also enhanced the devoted heroism of these gallant explorers. Captain Feilden was indefatigable in making collections, and was zealously assisted by all the officers. The expedition returned to England in October 1876. The "Alert" reached the highest northern latitude ever attained by any ship, and wintered further north than any ship had ever wintered before. The results of the expedition were the discovery of 300 miles of new coast-line, the examination of this part of the frozen polar ocean, a series of meteorological, magnetic, and tidal observations at two points farther north than any such observations had ever been taken before, and large geological and natural history collections.

Voyages of the _____. In the same year 1875 Sir Allen Young undertook a voyage in his steam yacht the " Pandora " to attempt to force his way down Peel Sound to the magnetic pole, and if possible to make the north-west passage by rounding the eastern shore of King William Island. The "Pandora " entered Peel Sound on August 29, 1875, and proceeded down it much farther than any vessel had gone before since it was passed by Franklin's two ships in 1846. Sir Allen reached a latitude of 72° 14' N., and sighted Cape Bird, at the northern side of the western entrance of Bellot Strait. But here an ice-barrier right across the channel barred his progress, and he was obliged to retrace his steps, returning to England on October 16, 1875. In the following year Sir Allen Young made another voyage in the " Pandora" to the entrance of Smith Sound.

Dutch expeditions. Lieutenant Koolemans Beynen, a young Dutch officer, who had shared Young's two polar voyages, on his return successfully endeavoured to interest his countrymen in polar discovery. It was wisely determined that the first expeditions of Holland should be summer reconnaissances on a small scale. A sailing schooner of 79 tons was built at Amsterdam, and named the "Willem Barents." In her first cruise she was commanded by Lieutenant A. de Bruyne, with Koolemans Beynen as second, and she sailed from Holland on the 6th May 1878. Her instructions were to examine the ice in the Barents and Spitzbergen Seas, take deep-sea soundings, and make natural history collections. She was also to erect memorials to early Dutch polar worthies at certain designated points. These instructions were ably and zealously carried out. Beynen died in the following year, but the work he initiated, has been continued. Every year from 1878 to 1884 the "Willem Barents" has made a polar voyage, and has brought back useful scientific results. In 1879 the Dutch succeeded in sighting the coast of Franz-Josef Land.

Gore-Booth. Markham. In 1879 Sir Henry Gore-Booth, Bart., and Captain A. H. Markham, R.N., undertook a polar cruise in the Norwegian schooner "Isbjorn." They sailed along the west coast of Nova Zembla to its most northern point, passed through the Matotchkin Shar to the east coast, and examined the ice in the direction of Franz-Josef Land as far as 78° 24' N. Captain Markham brought home collections in various branches of natural history, and made useful observations on the drift and nature of the ice in the Barents and Kara Seas. Leigh In 1880 Mr Leigh Smith, who had previously made Smith, three voyages to Spitzbergen, reached Franz-Josef Land in the screw steamer "Eira." It was observed that, while the Greenland icebergs are generally angular and peaked, those of Franz-Josef Land are vast masses quite flat on the top, like the Antarctic bergs, and from 150 to 200 feet high. The " Eira " sailed along the land to the westward, and discovered 110 miles of new coast line as far as the western extreme of the south side of Franz-Josef Land, whence the land trended north-west. A landing was effected at several points, and valuable collections were made in natural history. In the following year the same explorer left Peterhead on July 14 ; Franz-Joseph Land was once more sighted on the 23d July, and the " Eira" reached a point farther west than had been possible in her previous voyage. But in August the ship was caught in the ice, was nipped, and sank. A hut was built on shore in which Mr Leigh Smith and his crew passed the winter of 1881-82; and on June 21, 1882, they started in four boats, to reach some vessels on the Nova Zembla coast. It was a most laborious and perilous voyage. They were first seen and welcomed by the " Willem Barents " on 2d August, and soon afterwards were taken on board the "Hope," a whaler which had come out for their rescue under the command of Sir Allen Young.

Nordenskiold. Professor Nordenskiold, when he projected the achievement of the north-east passage, was a veteran polar explorer for he had been in six previous expeditions to passage. Greenland and Spitzbergen. In 1875 he turned his atten-tion to the possibility of navigating the seas along the northern coast of Siberia. Captain Wiggins of Sunderland was a pioneer of this route, and his voyages in 1874, 1875, and 1876 led the way to a trade between the ports of Europe and the mouth of the Yenisei river. In June 1875 Professor Nordenskiold sailed from Tromso in the " Proven," reached the Yenisei by way of the Kara Sea, and discovered an excellent harbour on the eastern side of its mouth, which was named Port Dickson, in honour of Mr Oscar Dickson of Gothenburg, the munificent supporter of the Swedish expeditions. It having been suggested that the success of this voyage was due to the unusual state of the ice in 1875, Nordenskiold undertook a voyage in the following year in the " Ymer" which was equally successful. By a minute study of the history of former attempts, and a careful consideration of all the circum-stances, Professor Nordenskiold convinced himself that the achievement of the north-east passage was feasible. The king of Sweden, Mr Oscar Dickson, and M. Sibiriakoff, a wealthy Siberian proprietor, supplied the funds, and the steamer " Vega " was purchased. Nordenskiold was leadei of the expedition, Lieutenant Palander was appointed commander of the ship, and there was an efficient staff of officers and naturalists, including Lieutenant Hovgaard of the Dutch and Lieutenant Bove of the Italian navy. A small steamer called the "Lena" was to keep company with the "Vega" as far as the mouth of the Lena, and they sailed from Gothenburg on the 4th July 1878. On the morning of 10th August they left Port Dickson, and on the 19 th they reached the most northern point of Siberia and of the Old World, Cape Severo or Tchelyuskin, in 77° 41' N. On leaving the extreme northern point of Asia a south-easterly course was steered, the sea being free from ice and very shallow. This absence of ice is due to the mass of warm water discharged by the great Siberian rivers during the summer. On 27th August the mouth of the river Lena was passed, and the "Vega" parted company with the little " Lena," continuing her course eastward. Professor Nordenskiold very nearly made the north-east passage in one season. Towards the end of September the "Vega" was frozen-in off the shore of a low plain in 67° 7' N. and 173° 20' W. near the settlements of the Tchuktches. During the voyage very large and important natural history collections were made, and the interesting aboriginal tribe among whom the winter was passed was studied with great care. The interior was also explored for some distance. On July 18, 1879, after having been imprisoned by the ice for two hundred and ninety-four days, the " Vega" again pro-ceeded on her voyage and passed Behring Strait on the 20th. Sir Hugh Willoughby made the first attempt in 1553. After a lapse of three hundred and twenty-six years, the north-east passage had at length been accom-plished without the loss of a single life and without damage to the vessel. The "Vega" arrived at Yokohama on September 2, 1879.

Schwatka. In 1879 an enterprise was undertaken in the United States, with the object of throwing further light on the sad history of the retreat of the officers and men of Sir John Franklin's expedition, by examining the west coast of King William Island in the summer, when the snow is off the ground. The party consisted of Lieutenant Schwatka of the United States army and three others. Wintering near the entrance of Chesterfield Inlet in Hudson's Bay, they set out overland for the estuary of the Great Fish River, assisted by Eskimo and dogs, on April 1, 1879. They only took one month's provisions, their main reliance being upon the game afforded by the region to be traversed. The party obtained, during the journeys out and home, no less than five hundred and twenty-two reindeer. After collecting various stories from the Eskimo at Montreal Island and at an inlet west of Cape Richardson, Schwatka crossed over to Cape Herschel on King William Island in June. He examined the western shore of the island with the greatest care for relics of Sir John Franklin's parties, as far as Cape Felix, the northern extremity. The return journey was com-menced in November by ascending the Great Fish River for some distance and then marching over the intervening region to Hudson's Bay. The cold of the winter months in this country is intense, the thermometer falling as low as - 70°,—so that the return journey was most remarkable, and reflects the highest credit on Lieutenant Schwatka and his companions. As regards the search little was left to be done after M'Clintock, but some graves were found, as well as a medal belonging to Lieutenant Irving of H.M.S. " Terror," and some bones believed to be his, which were brought home and interred at Edinburgh. De Long. Mr Gordon Bennett, the proprietor of the New York Herald, having resolved to despatch an expedition of dis-covery at his own expense by way of Behring Strait, the " Pandora " was purchased from Sir Allen Young, and re-christened the " Jeannette." Lieutenant De Long of the United States navy was appointed to command, and it was made a national undertaking by special Act of Con-gress, the vessel being placed under martial law and officered from the navy. The " Jeannette " sailed from San Francisco on July 8, 1879, and was last seen steaming towards Wrangell Land on the 3d September. This land had been seen by Captain Kellett, in H.M.S. "Herald" on August 17, 1879, but no one had landed on it, and it was shown on the charts by a long dotted line. The " Jeannette" was provisioned for three years, but as no tidings had been received of her up to 1881, two steamers were sent up Behring Strait in search. One of these, the "Rodgers," under Lieutenant Berry, anchored in a good harbour on the south coast of Wrangell Land, in 70° 57' N. on the 26th August 1881. The land was explored by the officers of the " Rodgers" and found to be an island about 70 miles long by 28, with a ridge of hills traversing it east and west, the 71st parallel running along its southern shore. Lieutenant Berry then proceeded to examine the ice to the northward, and attained a higher latitude by 21 miles than had ever been reached before on the Behring Strait meridian, namely 73° 44' N. Sir R. Collinson, in 1850, had reached 73° 23' N. No news was obtained of the " Jeannette," but soon afterwards melancholy tidings arrived from Siberia. After having been beset in heavy pack ice for twenty-two months, the " Jeannette" was crushed and sunk on the 12th June 1881, in 77° 15' N. lat. and 155° E. long. The officers and men dragged their boats over the ice to an island which was named Bennett Island, where they landed on the 29th July. They reached one of the New Siberia Islands on the 10th September, and on the 12th they set out for the mouth of the Lena. But in the same evening the three boats were separated in a gale of wind. A boat's crew with Mr Melville, the engineer, reached Irkutsk, and Mr Melville set out in search of Lieutenant De Long and his party, who had also landed. The other boat was lost. Eventually Melville discovered the dead bodies of De Long and two of his crew on March 23, 1883. They had perished from ex-haustion and want of food. The "Rodgers" was burnt in its winter quarters, and one of the officers, Mr Gilder, made a hazardous journey homewards through north-east Siberia. Work of The Danes have been very active in prosecuting discoveries and scientific investigations in Greenland, since the journey of Nordenskiold in 1870. Lieutenant Jensen made a gallant attempt to penetrate the inland ice in 1878, and Professor Steenstrup, with Lieutenant Hammer, closely investigated the formation of ice masses at Omenak and Jacobshavn. In 1883 an expedition under Lieu-tenants Holm and Garde began to explore the east coast of Greenland, the discovery of the outline of which was completed in 1879. In the summer of that year Captain Mourier, of the Danish man of war " Ingulf, " sighted the coast from the 6th to the 10th of July, and was enabled to observe and delineate it from 68° 10' N. to 65° 55' N., being exactly the gap left between the discoveries of Scoresby in 1822 and those of Graah in 1829. Lieutenant Hovgaard of the Danish navy, who accompanied Nordenskiold in his discovery of the north-east passage, planned an expedition to ascertain if land existed to the north of Cape Tchelyuskin. He fitted out a small steamer called the "Dymphna" and sailed from Copenhagen in July 1882, but was unfortunately beset and obliged to winter in the Kara Sea. In 1883 Baron Nordenskiold undertook another journey over the inland ice of Green-land. Starting from Auleitsivikfjord on 4th July, his party penetrated 84 miles eastward, and to an altitude of 5000 feet. The Laplanders who were of the party were sent on snow-shoes 143 miles further, travelling over a desert of snow to a height of 7000 feet. Results in physical geography and biology were obtained which will render this unparalleled journey memorable.

Weyprecht's plan. On September 18, 1875, Lieutenant Weyprecht, one of the discovers of Franz-Josef Land, read a thoughtful and carefully prepared paper before a large meeting of German naturalists at Gratz on the scientific results to be obtained from polar research and the best means of securing them. He urged the importance of establishing a number of stations within or near the Arctic Circle, in order to record complete series of synchronous meteorological and magnetic observations. Lieutenant Weyprecht did not live to see his suggestions carried into execution, but they bore fruit in due time. The various nations of Europe were represented at an international polar conference at Hamburg in 1879, and at another at St Petersburg in 1882; and it was decided that each nation should establish one or more stations where synchronous observations should be taken from August 1882. This useful project was matured and executed. The stations were at the following localities round the Arctic Circle :—

Norwegians fiosekop, Alten Fjord, Norway, M. Aksel S. Steen.
Swedes Ice Fjord, Spitsbergen, Mr Ekholm.
Dutch Dickson Harbour, month of Yenisei, Siberia, Dr Smaller.
. j Sagastyr Island, mouth of Lena, Siberia, Lieut. Jürgens.
Russians j Moller Bay, Nova Zembla, Lieut. Andreief.
Ama _ «o f Point Barrow, North America, Lieut. Ray, U.S.A.
Americans ^ Lady Franklin Bay^ 8r iVN- Lieut, Greely,U.S.A.
English Great Slave Lake, Dominion of Canada, Lieut. Dawson.
Germans Cumberland Bay, west side of Davis Strait, Dr Giese.
Danes Godthaab, Greenland, A. Paulsen.
Austrians Jan Mayen, North Atlantic, 71° N., Lieut. Wohlgemuth.

The whole scheme was successfully accomplished with the exception of the part assigned to the Dutch at Dickson Harbour. They started in the "Varna " but were beset in the Kara Sea and obliged to winter there. The "Varna" was lost, and the crew took refuge on board Lieutenant Hovgaard's vessel, which was also forced to winter in the pack during 1882-83.

The American stations commenced work in 1882. Greely. Lieutenant Greely's party consisted of two other lieu-tenants, of twenty sergeants and privates of the United States army, and of Dr Pavy, an enthusiastic explorer who had been educated in France, and had passed the previous winter among the Eskimo of Greenland. On August 11, 1881, the steamer "Proteus" conveyed Lieutenant Greely and his party to Lady Franklin Bay during an exception-ally favourable season; a house was built at the " Dis-covery's" winter-quarters, and they were left with two years' provisions. The regular series of observations was at once commenced, and two winters were passed without accident. Travelling parties were also sent out in the summer, dogs having been obtained at Disco. Lieutenant Lockwood made a journey along the north coast of Green-land, and reached a small island in 83° 24' N. and 40° 46' W. Dr Pavy and another went a short distance beyond the winter-quarters of the "Alert," and two trips were made into the interior of Grinnell Land. The coast on the western side was reached, and a large lake was discovered near Discovery Harbour. The chief value of the work of Lieutenant Greely's party will consist in the I synchronous observations taken during 1882. As no succour arrived in the summer of 1883—though relieving vessels were despatched both in 1882 and in 1883—Lieutenant Greely started from Lady Franklin Bay with his men on the 9th August, expecting to find a vessel in Smith Sound. On the 21st October they were obliged to encamp at Cape Sabine, on the western shore of Smith Sound, and build a hut for wintering. A few depots were found, which had been left by Sir George Nares and Lieutenant Beebe, but all was exhausted before the spring. Then came a time of indescribable misery and acute suffering. The poor fellows began to die of actual starvation; and, when the relieving steamers "Thetis " and " Bear" reached Cape Sabine, Lieutenant Greely and six suffering companions were found just alive. If the simple and necessary precaution had been taken of stationing a depot ship in a good harbour at the entrance of Smith Sound, in annual communication with Greely on one side and with America on the other, there would have been no disaster. If precautions proved to be necessary by experience are taken, there is no undue risk or danger in polar enterprise.
There is now1 no question as to the value and importance of polar discovery, and as to the principles on which expeditions should be sent out. Their objects are exploration for scientific purposes and the encouragement of maritime enterprise. The main principles have been briefly and clearly stated by Lieutenant Weyprecht:—(1) arctic research is of the highest importance for a know-ledge of nature's laws; (2) geographical research is valu-able in proportion as it opens the field to scientific research generally; (3) the north pole has, for science, no greater significance than any other point in the higher latitudes. Lieutenant Weyprecht thus contends, as the council of the Eoyal Geographical Society has contended for years, that the attainment of the highest possible latitude or of the pole itself is not the object to be sought, but the explora-tion of the unknown area with a view to scientific results.

In planning a new polar expedition on an adequate scale it will be necessary to profit by the lessons of experi-ence. This experience may be summed up in a few words. Any advanced ship or party must have a depot ship to fall back upon which is within reach, and also in com-munication with the outer world. This makes disaster on a large scale, humanly speaking, impossible. Every precaution that medical science can suggest must be taken against scurvy. An advancing expedition must always follow a coast line, because an entry into the drift-ing pack entails failure and probably loss of the ship. The coast-line should trend north with a westerly aspect, because a general motion of the sea towards the west causes the ice to set in that direction, unless deflected from purely local causes. Hence there are usually open lanes of water along the west sides of polar lands at some time of the navigable season, while the eastern sides are usually closed with ice. These well-established canons point to the western side of Franz-Josef Land as the next region to be explored.

Physical Geography of the North Polar Region.—Our ignorance of about 3,000,000 square miles within the north polar circle, out of a total area of of 8,201,883, debars us from the possibility of considering the physical geography of the polar region as a whole. "We can merely take stock of the isolated facts which our limited knowledge enables us to register. Tern- As the physical condition of the whole area is mainly affected by perature. the movements and positions of the ice masses, the temperature, and the circumstances which affect it, become the first and most fundamental elements for consideration. An examination of Dove's isothermal charts shows that the isotherms about the pole form ellipses tending to arrange themselves between two poles of cold, one in North America and the other in eastern Siberia. The mildest winters appear to be in the meridians of Behring Strait and the Spitzbergen seas. These temperatures appear to be mainly influenced by the extent of frozen land or fixed ice on the one hand and the neighbourhood of open water and moving ice on the other. The following table shows the mean temperatures for the summer months, winter months, and whole year, at various stations in the archipelago north of the American continent:—

== TABLE ==

At the Great Slave Lake in North America, Sir John Richardson found the mean of the three summer months to be + 49°, of the three winter months -0°'8, and of the year +9°. On the west coast of Greenland the climate of the southernmost part resembles that of Iceland or the northern shores of Norway. It exhibits a gradually decreasing temperature throughout the whole of its extent to the north. The annual mean temperature at the south-ernmost station of Julianshaab is + 33°, and at the northernmost of Upernivik +13°. The mean temperature of the three summer months for Julianshaab is + 48° and for Upernivik +48°; for the three winter months respectively + 20° and - 7°. The lowest temperature ever known at the Danish Greenland stations occurred at Upernivik and was - 47°. Farther north on the west coast the "North Star," in 1851-52, observed the temperature for the year in "Wolstenholme Sound (lat. 76° 30' N.). For the three summer months the mean was +37°-8, for the winter months -6°'8, and for the year + 4° 5. The most northern observations ever taken for a complete year were those of H.M.S. "Alert," at Floeberg Beach in 82° 27' N. Synchronous observations were taken by H.M.S. "Discovery," in Lady Franklin Bay, lat. 81°

== TABLE ==

The minimum temperatures were - 73°, registered at Floeberg Beach in March, and - 70°, at Lady Franklin Bay in the same month. These temperatures can be compared with the observations taken at Mossel Bay, on the north coast of Spitzbergen, by Nor-denskibld (lat. 79° 54' N.), and on the south coast of Franz-Josef Land by Weyprecht and Leigh Smith. At these stations the winters are less severe on account of the closer proximity of open water. In Franz-Josef Land the minimum in the winter months was -43°, and the mean was -26°; in May the mean was +22°. The climate on the coast of Siberia was registered at the winter quarters of the " Vega " in 67° 7' N., the mean temperature of the three winter months being -10°, minimum — 51°, and the mean of the three summer months +36°; but the Siberian cold is far more intense inland.

The direction of the winds affects the temperatures and the Winds, movements of ice, but no general remarks upon them can be usefully made until our knowledge of the polar area is more complete. One of the most interesting features in polar winds is the instability of the temperature caused by them over certain areas during the winter months. At Jacobshavn, in Greenland, the mean temperature in February was +16° in one year (1872), and - 25° in another (1863), a difference of 41°. It was remarked that great rises in the winter temperatures occurred at a time when the wind was blowing from the interior glacier. This wind often turns into a sudden gale. Greenland is surrounded by regions which have extremely different winter temperatures. While on one side there is the intense cold of Arctic America and the Parry Islands, on the other, to the east-south-east, there is the warm temperature caused by the Gulf Stream ; so that the Greenland climate is at all times dependent on the direction of the winds. All winds from south through west to north-west bring cold weather, but the east and south-east winds raise the temperature. The hot south-east winds of Greenland are caused in the same way as the " fohn " of the Alps. The interior glacier of Greenland rises to a height of at least 7000 feet. A warm wind from the Atlantic saturated with moisture could afford to lose considerably by cooling on its journey of 400 miles over the lofty ice deserts of Greenland, and yet arrive on the west coast with a comparatively high temperature. The influence of the Greenland fdhns extends over a wide area. In 1875 there was a great rise of temperature at the Danish stations of Greenland; and Sir George Nares observed the same phenomenon, at nearly the same time, at his winter quarters in 82° 17' N. In Franz-Josef Land there are also great rises of temperature during the winter, with southerly winds accompanied by heavy falls of snow, as these winds come direct from expanse of open water caused by the current from the Atlantic.

Ice. Sea water, in the process of congelation, expels the salt, and its
freezing point is about 28°. The ice first forms in thin, irregular flakes called "sludge," andjwhen this is compact enough to hold snow it is known as " brash." Gathered into rounded masses it becomes " pancake ice," and soon it becomes thicker. The first thin covering is called by the whalers " bay ice." A " floe " is a sheet of ice the limits of which are visible. An ice-field " differs from a floe in being so extensive that its limits cannot be seen. " Pack ice " consists of broken floes forced together by the wind or currents. When the pack is loosened and scattered by a wind from an opposite direction the pieces are called " sailing ice. The greatest thickness attainable by ice in one season is about 7 feet. The results of observations made by Sir George Wares in 82° 17' N. on the west side of Green-land and by Captain Koldewey on the east side in 74° 30' N. were identical, namely 6 feet 7 inches. Old ice is believed to become thicker in a second winter, and even to attain a thickness of 10 feet. In the pataeocrystic sea there are floes from 80 to 100 feet thick, but these must be considered rather as sea-glaciers, formed by accumulations of snow on the ice year after year; and the smaller pieces broken from them have been very appropriately named floebergs. These mighty floes are sea-borne glaciers, perpetually wasted beneath and restored from above. Icebergs. Icebergs are only met with where there are great discharging glaciers on the land, or in currents leading from them. Greenland is the principal mother of icebergs. This immense mass covers an area of about 512,000 square miles, and has 3400 miles of coast-line. It is indented by deep channels or fjords, often extending more than 60 miles, with many islands and rocks along the coast. The whole of the interior is believed to be capped by an enormous glacier always moving towards the coast, and at certain points reaching the sea where masses break off in the shape of icebergs. These icebergs rise to a height of from 60 to 300 feet above the sea, with a circumference from several hundred to several thousand yards; and from seven to eight times the bulk seen above water is submerged, so that the weight of a large berg is millions of tons. When pieces break off from a parent iceberg the process is called " calving," and the pieces are " calf ice." Recent observation of one of the principal discharging glaciers of Greenland shows it to be 920 feet thick, and 18,400 feet wide, and that it advances at a rate of 47 feet a day during the summer season. In Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla there are much smaller glaciers discharging smaller berg pieces. The Franz-Josef Land glaciers produce large flat-topped icebergs, which do not, however, float southwards. Currents. The movements of the polar seas are influenced by the currents of seas and rivers which are constantly flowing northwards, and by ice-laden counter-currents which press through every strait and channel in the opposite direction. On the fringe of land forming the northern shores of Asia and America are the mouths of several great rivers. Of the Siberian rivers the Obi, with its affluent the Irtish, has a basin covering 60,000 square miles, the Yenisei 50,000, and the Lena 40,000; but these areas are almost entirely within the temperate zone. In America the rivers Mackenzie, Coppermine, and Great Fish (or Back) also pour their waters into the polar sea. The enormous volume of warm water which these rivers send into the ocean drives the heavy ice from the coast and, owing to the influence which the rotatory motion of the earth exercises, receives an easterly direction along the coast. Behring Strait is too narrow and too shallow to admit of any large flow from the Pacific, still there is a warm current which keeps the heavy ice at some distance and also flows easterly, its influence being felt beyond Point Barrow. The Norwegian current, usually considered to be a continuation of the Gulf Stream, conveys a large volume of water northwards along the coasts of Norway and Lapland, and keeps the ice at a distance from that shore throughout the winter. The polar currents flow southwards in the direction of the two great openings by Davis Strait and the sea on the east coast of Greenland, but the whole body appears eventually to find its way southwards by the former outlet. The current flowing south along the east coast of Greenland brings with it immense quantities of heavy ice, and when it reaches the south point of the land it turns westward and northward round Cape Farewell, until about 64° N., when it unites with the current coming from Baffin's Bay, and the united current, with its enormous quantity of ice and icebergs, flows south along the Labrador coast to Newfoundland. The other polar current flows southwards through all the channels and straits among the Parry Archipelago, and through Fury and Hecla Strait, down Baffin's Bay and Davis Strait. Pateo- The observations of various explorers lead to the conclusion that crystic these outlets are insufficient to carry off the great harvests of ice, sea. and that, in one part of the polar region, it continues to accumulate and form sea-borne glaciers. Collinson observed this formation off the coast of North America. M'Clure found it along the west coast of Banks Island, while M'Clintock and Mecham traced it along the western side of Prince Patrick Island. " The surface of the floes resembles rolling hills, some of them a hundred feet from base to summit,—aged sea ice which may be centuries old, and from want of an outlet likely to increase yet in thickness to an unlimited degree. The accumulated action of repeated thaws and falls of snow on the upper surface gives it a peculiar hill and dale appear-ance. " The same ice was found by Nares's expedition along the northern coast of Grant Land and Greenland 80 to 100 feet thick. A branch from it flows down M'Clure Strait and M'Clintock Channel until it impinges upon the north-west coast of King William Island. This is what Professor Haughton calls " the ice barrier placed in this position by the still waters caused by the meeting of the Atlantic and Pacific tides."

Geology. The physical aspects of polar lands are much influenced by their geological formation. The Greenland coast consists mainly of gneiss, mica schist, hornblende schist, and syenite pierced by granite veins. In this formation are found the steatite used by the natives to make lamps, the cryolite of Ivigtut in the south, and the plumbago at Upernivik. North of 69° N. a flow of basalt extends across the Noursoak peninsula and Disco Island, covering an area of about 7000 square miles, and rising to a height of 6000 feet. With these trap rocks are associated the Miocene and Cretaceous beds. The Cretaceous rocks have only been found in the Omenak-fjord in 70° N.; while the Miocene formation is confined to the shores of the Waigat Strait, between Disco and the mainland, underlying the trap. Coal beds appear in several places along the shore, and very interesting remains of fossil plants have been discovered. At the termination of Igalliko-fjord in 61° N. a compact red sandstone is found. Pendulum Islands on the east coast are Oolitic. But with these exceptions the whole mass of Greenland is granitic or gneissose. The opposite side of Baffin's Bay is of the same character, as well as both sides of Peel Sound. The Parry Islands are partly Silurian and partly of the Carboniferous period. The eastern part, including North Somerset and Prince of Wales Land (except the shores of Peel Sound) and Cornwallis Island are of Silurian formation, with fossils, equivalents to the Wenlock and Dudley groups. This formation extends westward from Boothia Felix and King William Island over Prince Albert Land and the southern half of Banks Island. The southern halves of Bathurst, Melville, and Prince Patrick Islands, and the northern half of Banks Island consist of Lower Carboniferous sand-stones with beds of coal, while Grinnell Land and the northern halves of Bathurst, Melville, and Prince Patrick Islands are Carboniferous limestone. Lias fossils (ammonites) were found at one place on the east side of Prince Patrick Island in 76° 20' N. Sherard Osborn also found the vertebra of a huge saurian (Teleo-saurus) at the north-west extreme of Bathurst Island, probably of the Lower and Middle Oolitic period.

Ellesmere Land, on the western side of Smith Sound, consists of gneiss rising to heights of 2000 feet which underlie Miocene rocks at Fort Foulke. Farther north the gneiss continues with stratified black slates having a very high and often vertical dip. In 82° 33' N. these slates give place to a series of quartzites and grits rising to elevations of 2000 and 3000 feet. Silurian limestones are found on the shores of Kennedy Channel up to Cape Tyron on the Green-land side. Carboniferous limestone occurs on the north coast of Grant Land, as far west as Clements Markham Inlet, rising to a height of 2000 feet. Near Lady Franklin Bay in 81° 45' N. a deposit of coal of the Miocene period was discovered, with a fossil flora including thirty species of plants—pines, birch, poplar, elm, and hazel. The whole of this land to the north of Baffin's Bay is slowly rising.

Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla are also composed mainly of primitive rocks. In northern Spitzbergen there are also Miocene beds with a fossil flora closely allied to that of Lady Franklin Bay, and some fossils of the Lias period. The geological characters of Franz-Josef Land and Spitzbergen are closely allied. The predomi-nant rock is dolerite, a kind of greenstone.

The "tundra" of Siberia is a wide belt of land intervening between the line of forest and the polar shores, and intersected by the great rivers. It is frozen for immense depths below the surface, and here the remains of mammoths, generally in great landslips along the river banks, have been found. But their fossil ivory occurs in greatest quantity in the New Siberia group. On these islands also occur the " wood-hills " consisting of horizontal sand-stone beds alternating with strata of bituminous tree stems, heaped on each other to the top of the hill. Ammonites of the Lias period are also found there.

Flora. In the polar regions the line of forest seldom reaches to the Arctic Circle; low birches and willows and shrubs bearing berries occur in the south of Greenland, but farther north the creeping willow alone forms wood. There are 762 flowering plants, and 925 cryptogams within the Arctic Circle, making'a total of 1687 plants. Lapland contains by far the richest arctic flora, amounting to three-fourths of the whole, while three-fifths of the species found in Arctic Asia and America also belong to Lapland. In the European arctic district 616 flowering plants have been collected, in Arctic Asia 233, in Arctic America eastward of the Mackenzie 379, and westward of that river 364, and in Greenland 207. The most arctic plants of general distribution, which are found far north in all the arctic areas, are three species of Ranunculus, a poppy (Papaver nudicaule), the Draba alpina and five other species, the Braya alpina, lady's-smock (Cardamine pratensis), eight species of saxifrage, two of Potentilla, two of Arenaria, the moss campion (Silenc acaulis), the dandelion, a Stellaria, the Dryas octopetala, Cerastium alpinum, Epilobium latifolium, crowberry, dwarf willow, and rushes and grasses of the genera Juncus, Carex, and Poa. The most ubiquitous of all is the Saxifraga oppositifolia, which is considered the com-monest and most arctic of the flowering plants.

Fauna. All the arctic seas team with the lower forms of animal life. The invertebrate animals have been enumerated and reported upon in full detail by the naturalists to whom the collections of the various expeditions have been entrusted. The fishes, birds, and mammals of the north polar region have also been studied and carefully described within the discovered areas, though the subject is far from having been exhausted. Inhabit- The human race is found to exist along the whole fringe of ants. European, Asiatic, and American coast-line within the Arctic Circle, and to have spread up the shores of Boothia, and up both sides of Davis Strait and Baffin's Bay. Living mainly on sea animals, the inhabitants of the polar regions rarely wander from the coast. Spitzbergen, Franz-Josef Land, and Nova Zembla are uninhabited, except that occasional summer visits are made to the southern shores of the latter group of islands. The Laps are the denizens of the European polar regions, and the Samoyeds succeed them along the shores of the Kara Sea and on the Yalmal peninsula. These Laps and Samoyeds possess herds of reindeer, and during the winter they withdraw from the coast. In Siberia there was once a coast population, but it has retired into the interior or died out, and inhabitants are not met with until the encampments of the Tchuktches are reached, from the Kolyma to Behring Strait. A very complete account of this interesting people has been given by Baron Nordenskiold in his narrative of the voyage of the ' Vega." The Eskimo race extends over the whole of Arctic America and along the Greenland coasts, the warlike Indian tribes preventing them from retreating inland, and forcing them to find a precarious living or starve on the shores of the polar sea. Differing in size and physical development, the individuals of the different tribes all have flat broad faces, black coarse hair, high cheek bones, low foreheads, short flat noses, and narrow eyes sloping upwards from the nose. Their hands and feet are small. Vast tracts of country, including the archipelago to the north of America, are not inhabited, yet there are traces of Eskimo encampments along the whole line of coast from Banks Island to Baffin's Bay. This may have been the route by which Greenland was first peopled, and it suggests a continuation of fand along the same parallel, from Banks Island to the Siberian coast. Yet it may be that the wanderers found their way northwards from America by Prince of Wales Strait. The most remarkable tribe is that named Arctic Highlanders by Sir John Ross in 1818, and they are the most northern people in the world. Their stations range along the Greenland coast from 76° to 79° N., a deeply indented coast-line of gigantic cliffs broken by deep bays, with numerous rocks and islands. They have no canoes, but dogs and good sledges, and they attack the walrus at the edge of the ice with spears. They are separated from the Eskimo of Greenland farther south by the glaciers of Melville Bay. In Danish Greenland the original Eskimo were probably intermixed in blood with the old Norse settlers, and since the time of Hans Egede the number of half-breeds has increased. In 1855 the half-breeds were calculated at 30 per cent, of the inhabitants of Greenland, and the two classes have since blended almost imperceptibly, so that there are now no full-blooded Eskimo. The population of Danish Greenland in 1870 was 9588, distributed among 176 winter stations. There are a few scattered families on the east coast of Greenland.

SOUTH POLAR REGION.

The south polar region, unlike the northern region, is almost covered by the ocean, the only extensive land being far to the south. It was of course entirely unknown to the ancients and to the early navigators of modern Europe, although a theory prevailed among geographers that a great continent existed round the south pole, the " Terra Australis Incognita." Lope Garcia de Castro, the governor of Peru, sent his nephew Alvaro Mendaiia in search of it, who sailed from Callao in 1567. Another expedition under Pedro Fernandez de Quiros left Callao in 1605, and discovered land in April 1606, which he called Australia del Espiritu Santo, now known to be one of the New Hebrides group. These were the first regular expedi-tions in search of the supposed southern continent.

The first ship that ever approached the Antarctic Circle was one of a fleet which sailed from Rotterdam under the command of Jacob Mahu as admiral in June 1598. She was called the "Good News," a yacht of 150 tons, with Dirk Gerritz as her captain. She was separated from the rest of the fleet in Magellan's Strait in 1599, and was carried by tempestuous weather far to the south, discover-ing high land in 64° S. This appears to have been the land afterwards named the South Shetlands. Gerritz and his crew were eventually captured by the Spaniards at. Valparaiso. In 1671 La Roche discovered South Georgia, a solitary island in the South Atlantic, but north even of the latitude of Cape Horn. Where so little is known, and where there is so little land, the discoveries within a few hundred miles of the Antarctic Circle come to be spoken of as south polar. In this category is Kerguelen Island in 48° 41' S., as it is at least a good base whence south polar discovery may start, though its latitude in the southern is almost the same as England in the northern hemisphere, on a meridian nearly half way between the Cape and Australia. Its discovery is due to the gallant but unfortunate Frenchman whose name it bears, Yves J. Kerguelen. He sighted it on January 17, 1772, on the same day that his countryman Marion discovered the island named after himself, on a meridian nearer the Cape. Captain Cook, in his third voyege, visited Kerguelen Island, and Robert Rhodes in 1799 mapped a considerable portion of its coast. The Sandwich group, south-east of South Georgia, was discovered in 1762.

Captain Cook in January 1773 sailed southwards from the Cape of Good Hope in the "Resolution" with the " Adventure" in company, and, after passing much ice, crossed the Antarctic Circle on the 17th, in longitude. 39° 35' E. In the same afternoon they sighted thirty-eight icebergs to the southward besides much loose ice; and in 67° 15' their progress was stopped. Cook did not think it prudent to persevere in getting farther south, and bore= up for New Zealand. In December 1773 another attempt-was made to discover the supposed southern continent, by steering southwards from New Zealand. On the 20th Cook again crossed the Antarctic Circle in 147° 46 W., and came amongst a cluster of very large icebergs with, loose ice in 67° 5' S. He got clear of them and after standing farther east he reached a latitude of 69° 45' S. in 108° 5' W., and still shaping a southerly course he reached 70° 23' S. on January 29, 1774. Next day he came to icebergs forming an impenetrable barrier. He counted ninety-seven, which looked like a range of moun-tains, with closely packed ice round them. Cook's farthest point was in 71° 15' S. on the meridian of 106° 54' W. Captain Cook discovered islands in 53" to 54° 30' S. in January 1775, which he named Sandwich,, Willis, Pickersgill, and Georgia Isles, in about 32° W. In 27° 45' W. he reached land which he named the Southern Thule, because it was the most southern land that had ever yet been discovered. It is in 59° 13' S. In the South Atlantic ice was met with as far north as 51°. In this second voyage Captain Cook made the circuit of the southern ocean in a high latitude, twice crossing the. Antarctic Circle. He established the fact that, if there was any extensive south polar land, it must be south of the parallels along which he sailed. The Russian expedi-tion under Bellingshausen in 1820 also sailed over a great many degrees of longitude in a high latitude, but only discovered two islets, Petra and Alexander. These islands were farther south than any land then known.

Auckland Island was discovered by Captain Bristow in 1806, and Campbell Island by Hazleburgh in 1810, both south of New Zealand, but far to the north of the Antarctic Circle. In 1818 Mr William Smith of Blyth rediscovered the land known as South Shetland. His work was confirmed by Mr Bransfield, the master of H.M.S. " Andromache," flag-ship on the west coast of South America, who further discovered another portion named Bransfield Land. Further coast-line was sighted by the French expedition under Dumont d'Urville in 1838, who named it Prince de Joinville and Louis Philippe Land.

The South Orkneys were discovered by Captain George Powell, in the sloop "Dove," on October 6, 1821. Mr Weddell, R.N., with the sailing vessels "Jane" and "Beaufoy," penetrated as far south as 74° 15' S. on the 20th February 1823.

In the early part of this century Messrs Enderby began to send vessels to the Antarctic regions for the whale fishery, which made several discoveries. The brig " Tula " of 148 tons and cutter "'Lively" left London in July 1830 under the command of Mr John Biscoe, R.N., on a sealing voyage, but with special instruc-tions to endeavour to make discoveries in high southern latitudes. In February 1831 land was discovered in longitude 47° 20' E. and latitude 65° 57' S., which Biscoe named Enderby Land, in honour of his employers. He did not, however, get nearer to it than 20 or 30 miles. In February 1831 Biscoe again discovered land in <57° 1' S. lat. and 71° W. long., to which he gave the name of Adelaide Island. It proved to be the westernmost of a chain of islands fronting a high continuous coast, since called Graham's Land. A few days afterwards Captain Biscoe succeeded in landing on Adelaide Island. In 1833 Captain Kemp, in the sealing schooner "Magpie," discovered another point of the land to the eastward, which doubtless forms part of Enderby Land.

Messrs Enderby sent out another expedition of discovery in 1838, consisting of the " Eliza Scott" of 154 tons, commanded by Mr John Balleny, and the " Sabrina" cutter of 54 tons, under Mr Freeman. In February 1839, when on about the 163d E. meridian, they sighted high land in 66° 30' S. On the 12th, Captain Free-man managed to get on shore, but the cliffs were perpendicular, and the valleys were filled with ice. The discovery proved to be a group of volcanic islands, one of them rising to a beautiful peak estimated at 12,000 feet above the sea, named Freeman Peak. Sabrina Island was discovered in March 1839. The other group received the name of the Balleny Islands. The Auckland Islands were ceded to Messrs Enderby in 1849, and a whaling establishment was formed there under good auspices.

In 1839 the French expedition under Dumont d'Urville proceeded south from Tasmania and discovered two small islands on the Antarctic Circle named " Terre Adelie " and " Cote Clarie." At the same time Commander Wilkes of the United States expedi-tion made a cruise to the southward and mapped a large tract of land in the latitude of the Antarctic Circle for which he claimed the discovery. But as a portion of it had already been seen by Balleny, .and the rest has since been proved not to exist, the claim has not been admitted.
The English Antarctic Expedition of 1839-43 was undertaken mainly with a view to magnetic observations, and the determination _of the position of the south magnetic pole. Two old bomb vessels, the " Erebus " and " Terror," were fitted out under the command of Captain (afterwards Sir James) Ross, with Captain Crozier in the " Terror." Dr Joseph D. Hooker accompanied the expedition .as naturalist. Leaving Chatham in September 1839, the two vessels first proceeded to the Cape, and went thence southwards to Kerguelen Island, which was reached in May 1840, and carefully .surveyed. In August Sir James Boss established a magnetic observatory at Hobart Town. The cruise for the second season was commenced from Tasmania in November 1840. The Auckland Islands and Campbell Island were first visited and surveyed, and oon New Year's Day 1841 the Antarctic Circle was crossed in about 172° E. A few days afterwards the two vessels were beset in the pack and began perseveringly boring through it. By January 10th they succeeded and were clear of ice in 70° 23' S., and next day land was sighted, rising in lofty peaks and covered with perennial snow. That day Ross passed the highest latitude reached by Cook {71° 15' S.). On a nearer approach to the land, there was a clear view of the chain of mountains with peaks rising to 10,000 feet, and glaciers filling the intervening valleys and projecting into the sea. The south magnetic pole was calculated to De in 76° S. and 145° 20' E., or about 500 miles south-west from the ship's position. The land interposed an insuperable obstacle to any nearer approach to it. Captain Ross landed with great difficulty, owing to the strong tide and drifting ice, on a small island near the shore, named Possession Island, in 71° 56' S. and 171° 7' E. Inconceivable myriads of penguins covered the surface, but no vegetation was seen. Next morning there was a southerly gale which moderated, and on 18th January they were again sailing south in an unexplored sea. On the 23d they were in 74° 20' S., and thus passed the most southern latitude previously reached (by Captain Weddell in 1823). Sailing along the newly discovered coast, Captain Ross landed alter much difficulty on an island named after Sir John Franklin in 76° 8' S. On the 27th they came in sight of a mountain 12,400 feet above the sea, which proved to be an active volcano emitting flame and smoke in great profusion. It was named Mount Erebus, and an extinct volcano to the eastward 10,900 feet high was named Mount Terror. Along the coast as far as the eye could reach to the eastward there was a perpendicular cliff of ice from 150 to 200 feet high, perfectly level at the top, and without any fissures or promontories on its smooth seaward face. Nothing could be seen above it except the summits of a lofty range of mountains extend-ing to the southward as far as 79° S. To this range the name of Parry was given. The most conspicuous headlands under Mount Erebus were named Capes Crozier and Bird. Captain Ross then sailed eastward along the marvellous wall of ice, in 77° 47' S. to 78° S. This ice barrier was calculated to be 1000 feet thick, and it was followed for a distance of 450 miles without a break. The winter was now approaching, young ice was beginning to form, but luckily a strong breeze ..enabled them to force their way through it. The whole of the great southern land discovered by Sir James Ross was named Victoria Land.
In returning to Hobart Town the expedition visited the Balleny Islands, and searched in vain for the land which Captain Wilkes had laid down on his chart.

In November 1841 the "Erebus " and "Terror " again shaped a southerly course, entered the pack ice on December 18th, and once more crossed the Antarctic Circle on New Year's Day. The naviga-tion through a belt of ice 800 miles broad was extremely perilous. At length on 1st February 1842 a clear sea was in sight, and they proceeded to the southward in 174° 31' W. On the 22d they were surrounded by numerous lofty icebergs aground, and at midnight the Great Icy Barrier was sighted and its examination recommenced in 77° 49' S. Next day the expedition attained a latitude of 78° 11' S., by far the highest ever reached before or since. After escaping imminent dangers in navigating through chains of huge icebergs, Captain Ross took his ships northward, and wintered at the Falk-land Islands.

In December 1842 the expedition sailed from Port Louis on the third visit to the south polar region, seeing the first iceberg in 61° S. On the 28th the ships sighted the land named after the Prince de Joinville by Dumont d'Urville, and the southern side of the South Shetlands was discovered and surveyed. During February about 160 miles of the edge of the pack were examined, on March 11th the Antarctic Circle was recrossed for the last time, and the expedition returned to England in September 1843. Thus after four years of most diligent work, this ably conducted and quite unparalleled voyage to the south polar regions came to an end.

In 1845 a merchant barque, the "Pagoda," was hired at the Cape, in order that magnetic observations might be completed south of the 60th parallel, between the meridians of the Cape and Australia. The ship's progress was stopped by an impenetrable pack in 68° S. The magnetic work was, however, completed.

H.M.S. " Challenger," the exploring ship commanded by Captain Nares, arrived at Kerguelen Island on the 6th January 1874, where surveys were made, and the island was thoroughly examined by the naturalists of the expedition. Two islands, named Heard and M'Donald, were also visited, which had been discovered in November 1853 by Captain Heard of the American ship "Oriental," owing to the practical application of the problem of great circle sailing. There is in fact a group of islands about 240 miles from Kerguelen. In February the " Challenger " ran south before a gale of wind and the first iceberg was sighted on the 11th in 60° 52' S. It was 200 feet high and about 700 long. On the 19th the ship was at the edge of a dense pack in 65° 42' S.; and on the 4th March they bore up for Australia. Several deep-sea soundings were taken, the greatest depth being 1975 fathoms. The route of the " Challenger " was much the same as that of the " Pagoda" in 1845, but more to the north. With it ends the somewhat meagre record of voyages across and towards the Antarctic Circle. (C. R. M.)

Footnotes

1 Admiral Trminger of Copenhagen holds the opinion that Frisland is not the Faroe Isles, but Iceland.



The above article was written by: Clements R. Markham.