CHAPTER XXIII. 



CAPTAIN C. F. HALL. His PERSONAL APPEARANCE. EARLY Lrr. 

 INTEREST in BOOKS OP TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE. HE BECOMES IN- 

 TERESTED IN ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS. FIRST EXPEDITION. JOE ANB 

 HANNAH. His RETURN, AND THE RESULTS OF His LIFE IN GREEN- 

 LAND. SECOND EXPEDITION. ITS RESULTS. 



WE come now to speak of the universally lamented 

 Captain Charles Francis Hall, and of his three notable 

 expeditions and their important results. 



Of the many brave, adventurous men who have entered 

 upon the work of exploring the Frigid Zone, scarcely one, 

 except it be Sir John Franklin, can be classed with Cap- 

 tain Hall. During a period of more than twenty years, 

 his one leading idea was to conduct an expedition to the 

 work of exploring the far North ; his large mind was 

 devoted to laying out plans and devising means to discover 

 the hidden secrets of the frozen regions of the North 

 Pole. No man, with the single exception suggested, has 

 ever so entirely consecrated himself to this work. 



In his prime, Captain Hall was tall and well pro- 

 portioned, possessing a massive, rugged and yet vigorous 

 frame which seemed to indicate that he could endure a 

 vast amount of exposure and fatigue. His physique was 

 just what we should imagine that of a man of his indomita- 

 ble courage and indefatigable energy. He had a firmly- 

 set, expressive mouth, enveloped by a thick brown beard 

 and moustache; a clear, penetrating dark-blue eye, with 

 heavy overhanging brows. Pie had the appearance of a 

 man born to command, and one who could not be swerved 

 from a path he had once chosen for his feet. 



In presenting a sketch of Captain Hall, we shall not 



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