GEOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES. 333 



in caves, some of which extended for many miles under ground. 

 — The Academy, Nov. 13, 18G9. 



ARCTIC RESEARCHES. 



Dr. 1. 1. Hayes continues to commend to public attention the im- 

 portance offending out a new American expedition for the survey 

 of the Polar basin, enterinj: bv Smith's Sound. The followino- 

 summary of his project is printed in the " New York Tribune " : — 



'^ First, as to design. The design of the expedition which I 

 have proposed is to complete the exploration of the entire region 

 northward of Baffin's Bay; to trace Greenland and Grinnell Land 

 to their termination ; then ascertain if other lands lie to the 

 northward; to explore the open Polar Sea; and, lastly, to reach 

 the North Pole, making upon .the course such observations as cir- 

 cumstances will allow. Thus will a field be opened for the most 

 valuable discoveries in geograpliy, geology, in glacier formations, 

 magnetism, countries and currents, and in natural history. Sec- 

 ond, as to plan. I would set out in May with two vessels, one a 

 small steamer, and would make my course northward, provided 

 with the best chart of Greenland, through the Middle Ice, until I 

 reached Smith's Sound, in latitude 78° 17', where, in my old har- 

 bor of 1860-61, I would pass the winter. Here there is abun- 

 dance of game, and I would found a colony. "Walrus, seals, rein- 

 deer, and foxes could be caught in great numbers, and not only 

 would the colony be made self-sustaining, in point of food, but 

 a valuable cargo of furs and oil might be collected. Then I 

 would push northward the next summer with the steamer, and 

 would thus strike for the North Pole. In any case, I would se- 

 cure a harbor and a base of operations much to the north of the 

 colony, and thus would the steamer and the colony become the 

 centres from which the explorations already mentioned would be 

 made. Third, as to cost. A public-spirited citizen of New York 

 has offered to supply a suitable steamer ; and there is good rea- 

 son to suppose that we could obtain from the government the loan 

 of a saiiing-vessel, one of the many not in use. These vessels 

 furnished, they could be equipped and maintained in the field for 

 two summers and two winters at a cost of 40,000 dollars. Fourth. 

 Let it be remembered that this is the 'American route.' The land 

 extends there further north than in any other quarter so far as 

 known, and Americans have thence explored to within less than 

 8°, that is to say, within 450 miles of the pole. Independent, 

 therefore, of the value to science of this particular line of discovery 

 above any other in the unexplored parts of the Arctic regions, 

 there is something of national honor involved in the pursuit of it, 

 especially at this time when Enghmd, France, Germany, and Swe- 

 den are each aiming to reach the North Pole by various other 

 routes; to which end expeditions are now actually preparing. 

 Shall we let those nations win from us the coveted honor of pri- 

 ority? I do not believe there is a single person within the sound 

 of my voice who would be indifferent to the matter, and wiio 



