412 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



quail. Warm and hearty was the reception from 

 their comrades in the Alert — a reception which 

 thus found expression in words : 



" Welcome home to the wished-for rest, 

 Travelers to north and travelers to west ; 

 Welcome back from bristling floe, 

 Frowning cliff, and quaking snow ; 

 Nobly, bravely the work was done ; 

 Inch by inch was the hard fight won. 

 Now the toilsome march is o'er, 

 Welcome home to our tranquil shore. 

 KouKh and rude is the feast we bring; 

 Rougher and ruder the verse we sing. 

 Not rough, not rude, are the thoughts that rise 

 To choke our voices and dim our eyes, 

 As we call to mind that joyous sight 

 On an April morning cold and bright, 

 When a chosen band stepped boldly forth 

 To the unknown west and the unknown north : 

 And we from oar haven could only pray — 

 ' God send them strength for each weary day 1 ' " 



The parties from the Discovery, especially 

 that which made important discoveries on the 

 north shores of Greenland, also suffered terribly 

 from scurvy. This outbreak was the one single 

 calamity in an otherwise successful expedition. 

 Every precaution was taken to check its progress, 

 and as soon as fresh meat was obtained in the 

 summer, the men rapidly recovered, and there 

 was not a soul on the sick-list when the ships 

 arrived at Portsmouth. The outbreak of scurvy 

 was not an unmixed evil. It has taught lessons 

 which will be of great use hereafter, when the 

 next expedition is fitted out. Nor should the ex- 

 amples of devotion to duty called forth by the 

 terrible sufferings of the sledge-travelers be over- 

 looked. They have added to the prestige of our 

 navy, and will have an enduring value. 



The work was not confined to the extended 

 parties. From March to August, 1876, every soul 

 in the expedition was actively engaged in further- 

 ing its objects — some in laying out depots and 

 bringing succor to those engaged on the long 

 journeys, others completing the examination of 

 inlets, glaciers, and of other points of interest 

 nearer the ships. The naturalists were away in- 

 cessantly making collections, and other officers 

 zealously assisted them, especially in the exami- 

 nation of the post-tertiary beds. All did their 

 work admirably, and extended their explorations 

 to the utmost limit — in three sad cases beyond 

 the utmost limit — of human endurance. They 

 fully, completely, and with heroic self-devotion, 

 fulfilled the objects sought by geographers, by 

 exploring that portion of the unknown region 

 accessible by the Smith Sound route, to the far- 

 thest extent possible with the means at their dis- 

 posal. 



At the conclusion of the sledging season, in 

 August, 1876, Captain Nares was able to review 

 the work that had been accomplished. The out- 

 break of scurvy had made it imperative to return 

 to England, in order to avoid a certain and seri- 

 ous loss of life. But even if perfect health had 

 been happily maintained, it would have been his 

 duty to return. For the work was done, and 

 done thoroughly. A point had been reached to 

 the westward beyond which exploration would 

 be better conducted by another route. To the 

 eastward a point was attained beyond which fur- 

 ther discovery must be achieved by the route on 

 the east coast of Greenland. This part of the 

 polar sea was found to be covered with ancient 

 ice, and is not navigable. The work was finished, 

 and it was the duty of Captain Nares to obey the 

 order contained in the eighteenth paragraph of his 

 instructions—" to use his best endeavors to re- 

 join his consort in 1876, and to return to Eng- 

 land, provided that the spring exploration had 

 been reasonably successful." 



After overcoming even greater difficulties and 

 dangers in the return-voyage than had been en- 

 countered on the way out, the expedition returned 

 to England in October, 1876, and received that 

 cordial and hearty reception which its great suc- 

 cess, its valuable scientific results, and the ad- 

 mirable conduct of officers and men had so fully 

 earned for it. 



We would now invite our readers to consider 

 the results of the late Arctic Expedition. It will 

 be seen that the wildest and most remote and un- 

 known parts of our earth teem with matters of 

 great interest in every branch of science ; and 

 that all the expense, danger, and suffering, en- 

 tailed in their discovery and examination, are well 

 and abundantly repaid a hundred-fold. 



Let us first glance at the geographical results 

 Four hundred miles of previously unknown coast- 

 line was discovered ; and this, be it remembered, 

 is no barren result. Geography is the base of 

 all other sciences. It supplies the essential ele- 

 ment of locality. The accurate delineation of an 

 unknown region is essential for correct descrip- 

 tion, and to correct deductions in other branches 

 of science, especially in meteorology, geology, and 

 biology. So that the new discovery and survey 

 of unknown land was in itself an important re- 

 sult. But still more valuable were the discov- 

 eries of the late expedition with reference to the 

 sea of ancient ice. 



It was found that the coast-lines beyond Robe- 

 son Channel trended away to west and northeast, 

 forming the shores of a frozen polar sea, and that 



