xxxiv INTRODUCTION 



number of temperatures, samples of water, and speci- 

 mens of the plankton in this little-known region, to a 

 depth of 2,000 fathoms and more. They thus made the 

 first two sections that have ever been taken of the South 

 Atlantic, and added new regions of the unknown ocean 

 depths to human knowledge. The Pram's sections are 

 the longest and most complete that are known in any 

 part of the ocean. 



Would it be unreasonable if those who have endured 

 and achieved so much had now come home to rest? 

 [But Amundsen points onward. So much for that; now 

 for the real object. Next year his course will be through 

 Behring Strait into the ice and frost and darkness of the 

 North, to drift right across the North Polar Sea five 

 years, at least. It seems almost superhuman; but he 

 is the man for that, too. From is his ship, " forward ' 

 is his motto, and he will come through.* He will carry 

 out his main expedition, the one that is now before 

 him, as surely and steadily as that he has just come 

 from. 



But while we are waiting, let us rejoice over what has 

 already been achieved. Let us follow the narrow sledge- 

 tracks that the little black dots of dogs and men have 

 drawn across the endless white surface down there in 

 the South like a railroad of exploration into the heart 

 of the unknown. The wind in its everlasting flight 



* Fram means " forward/' " out of," " through." TR. 



