ALPINIST OF THE HEROIC AGE 563 



outburst of British energy, which brought the subjugation of all the 

 higher Alps, until the ascent of the Meije in 1877. This was the last 

 great Alpine peak to be conquered. From the pioneering of Whymper 

 and his brethren came the widespread efforts which have left only a 

 few great summits on the globe still unconquered. 



These and other achievements of Mr. Whymper in the Alps are set 

 forth in his famous book, " Scrambles among the Alps in the Years 

 1860-1869." The beautiful illustrations were engraved by the author 

 himself, and they have been copied numerous times in books of travel. 

 This absorbingly interesting little volume now commands a premium 

 among collectors. It is at once a thrilling tale for children about the 

 family fireside: a guide-book for the amateur; a style book for the 

 writer of travels. Forty years have improved its flavor but have not 

 dimmed its charm or usefulness. 



Whymper returned to England to find himself grown famous in a 

 night. The sad fatalities of his expedition did not shake his nerve. 

 He was soon on the road again, this time visiting Greenland on an 

 important expedition in 1867. The fine collection of fossil plants and 

 Eskimo relics which he made on this occasion and upon a later visit in 

 1872, are now preserved in the British Museum. He also proved, by 

 the discovery of magnolia cones, that Greenland was once covered by 

 luxurious vegetation. His able review of this work was published in 

 the Report of the British Association for the year 1869. Though the 

 Greenland expedition was not the success that Whymper hoped it 

 would be, for he was hampered by lack of financial backing and by the 

 prevalence of an epidemic among the natives, yet he not only made 

 important Tesearches in the fauna and flora of Greenland, but he proved 

 that the interior could be explored by the use of properly constructed 

 sledges, and thus contributed to the advance of Arctic exploration and 

 to the ultimate discovery of the pole. The expedition of 1872 was 

 devoted to a survey of coast line. Although a busy artist, he found 

 sufficient vacation every year to do some valuable climbing or 

 exploration. 



It was in 1879 that Whymper undertook his notable journey to the 

 Ecuadorian Andes. He had contemplated going to the Himalayas, and 

 in 1874 had projected a scheme which would have taken him to this, 

 probably the most difficult mountaineering ground on the globe. He 

 proposed to carry his exploration and research up to the highest attain- 

 able limits. Just at the time it was possible to start, the British Gov- 

 ernment entered upon the construction of a " scientific frontier " for 

 India, and rendered that region unhealthy for any but soldiers. 

 Whymper then turned to South America. Perhaps he would have pre- 

 ferred to go to Peru or Chile, but owing to unhappy local dissensions 



