TROUBLES OF' EXPLORER 153 



brave men whose 'purpose held to sail beyond the sunset.' In those volumes 

 will be found tales of ships beset not only months, but years, of ice packs and 

 ice fields of extent, thickness and mass so enormous that description conveys 

 no idea; of boat journeys where constant watchfulness alone prevented instant 

 death by drifting bergs or commingling ice floes; of land marshes when ex- 

 hausted humanity staggered along, leaving traces of blood on snow or rock; 

 of sledge journeys over chaotic masses of ice, when humble heroes straining 

 at the drag ropes struggled on because the failure of one compromised the 

 safety of all ; of solitude and monotony, terrible in the weeks of constant polar 

 sunlight, but unsettling the reason in the months" of continuous Arctic dark- 

 ness; of silence awful at all times, but made yet more startling by astounding 

 phenomena that appeal noiselessly to the eye; of darkness so continuous and 

 intense that the disturbed mind is driven to wonder whether the ordinary 

 course of nature will bring back the sun or whether the world has been cast 

 out of its orbit in the planetary universe into new conditions ; of cold so in- 

 tense that any exposure is followed by instant freezing; of monotonous sur- 

 roundings that threaten with time to unbalance the reason; of deprivations 

 wastmg the body and so impairing the mind ; of failure in all things, not only 

 of food, fuel and clothing and shelter — for Arctic service foreshadows such 

 contingencies — but the bitter failure of plans and aspirations, which brings 

 almost inevitably despair in its train. 



"Failure of all things, did I say? Nay, failure, be it admitted, of all the 

 physical accessories of conceived and accomplished action, but not failure in 

 the higher and more essential attributes — not of the mental and moral quali- 

 ties that are the foundation of fortitude, fidelity and honor. Failure in this 

 latter respect have been so rare in Arctic service as to justly make each of- 

 fender a byword and scorn to his fellow laborers and successors. Patience, 

 courage, fortitude, foresight, self-reliance, helpfulness — these grand charac- 

 teristics of developed humanity everywhere, but which we are inclined to claim 

 as especial endownments of the Teutonic races, find ample expression in the de- 

 tailed history of Arctic exploration. If one seeks to learn to what extent 

 man's determination. and effort dominate even the most adverse environment, 

 the simple narratives of Arctic exploration will not fail to furnish striking ex- 

 amples." 



Many interesting accounts are given of the terrible cold, which, after all. 

 is the worst of the polar explorers' troubles. 



