328 PROMOTION OF ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC DISCOVERY. 



design, constructed at Baltimore, and weighing only 450 pounds each. 

 The boats are 18 feet long, 6 in beam, and 2 feet deep amidships, and 

 are intended for a crew of nineteen men. They contain no frames, the 

 gunwale, thwarts, knee braces, and water-tight compartments at either 

 end giving the necessary rigidity; but too much rigidity is undesirable, 

 elasticity serving to cushion ■ the blows of the ice and to transmit 

 the force of the concussion through the whole structure. The keel is a 

 plate of aluminium, and the plates are riveted together clinker fashion, 

 and are only a tenth of an inch thick. Two ash runners are fitted on 

 the boat's bottom, so as to convert it into a sledge, and a sheet of alu- 

 minium is riveted to the outer sides of both, so as to form a broad sur- 

 face for running on the snow or ice. It is donbtfnl how this kind of 

 runner will work, but the lightness of the boats will be an incalculable 

 advantage, and Mr. Wellman ought to advance far beyond I'arry, 

 especially if the dogs prove to be of use. If there are islands beyond 

 83° north on the Spitzbergen meridians, and he is able to explore them, 

 his expedition will be of great service to geography; but if not, very 

 little benefit can be derived from a journey over the ice floes in Parry's 

 footsteps. 



The enterprise of Lieut. Robert E. Peary in northern Greenland is of 

 the greatest geogra])hical importance. It is designed to solve the ques- 

 tion of the insularity of Greenland, one of the oldest that remains for 

 solution, and not the least interesting. It is a great achievement to 

 put the finishing touch to the long tale of heroism and constancy which 

 relates the discovery of the outline of that vast glacier-bearing island. 

 The romantic story of the Norsemen is succeeded by the splendid work 

 of Davis and BaflBn, followed by the voyages of Ross, Inglefield, Kane, 

 Hayes, Hall, and Nares, and by the sledge journeys of Beaumont and 

 Lockwood. These dauntless explorers completed what we know of the 

 western side. On the east side the boat journeys of Graali, Holm, 

 and Ryder have been connected with the discoveries of Scoresby and 

 Clavering, and the German expedition of Koldewey named the most 

 northern point they saw on the east coast after Prince Bismarck. It is 

 Peary's noble ambition to connect Cape Bismarck with the farthest 

 point reached by Lockwood; and he resolved to make the attempt from 

 the western side by one of the most remarkable, if not the most 

 remarkable, journeys" ever made over an unbroken glacier. 



Peary is a native of Maine, aged about 40, and an engineer in the 

 United States Navy. He is a man who appears to be cut out for sucli 

 work, combining forethought and ]n-udence in planning his operations 

 with great skill and the most undaunted resolution in carrying them 

 into execution. His first expedition in 1891-U2 was tentative, but it 

 was a great success. He went out in the whaler Kite, and was landed 

 in McCormick Bay in 77° 43' north, on the northern side of Inglefield 

 Gulf (the Whale Sound of Battin), the party consisting of seven persons, 

 including Mrs. Peary. Peary had his leg broken during the voyage, 



