viii PREFACE 



the Geographical Society of Philadelphia, undertook to raise some 

 money and presently secured from one wealthy patron a pledge to 

 buy a ship for the expedition, and from another the promise that he 

 would outfit the ship. 



Had these generous promises from Philadelphia come a week 

 sooner than they did the expedition would doubtless have remained 

 under American auspices, for when you have a ship promised and 

 also the outfitting of that ship, you have taken care of the major 

 expenses of an expedition. The $50,000 secured from the three 

 organizations mentioned above would have been amply sufficient 

 to cover other expenses. However, a week before my receipt of 

 Mr. Bryant's letter I had gone to Canada to lay the situation before 

 Sir Robert Borden, who was then Prime Minister. 



My first polar expedition, that of 1906-07, had been paid for 

 jointly by the Universities of Harvard and Toronto. The money 

 given me by Toronto University was actually contributed by Sir 

 Edmund Walker, the President of the Canadian Bank of Commerce. 

 As a result of this. Sir Edmund had continued his interest in my 

 polar work. When I now went to Canada, Sir Edmund Walker 

 lent me warm support in my representations at Ottawa. He did 

 this by letter, while another eminent Canadian, Sir Edmund Osier, 

 President of the Dominion Bank, gave me personal support, for he 

 was then a member of the House of Commons. My second expedi- 

 tion had been under the joint auspices of the American Museum 

 of Natural History and the Geological Survey of Canada. The 

 Director of the Survey, Mr. R. W. Brock, had therefore been in 

 direct touch with my work for several years. He was at once willing 

 to use his entire influence with the Government, and went with 

 me to see the Prime Minister. 



My idea at the time was that the Canadian Government might 

 join in the support of this expedition as they had already joined 

 in the support of the previous one. The Prime Minister said, how- 

 ever, that while he was inclined to support my plans, he felt them 

 so important and so directly a concern of Canada that he would 

 prefer that the Canadian Government should undertake the whole 

 responsibility and the whole expense of the enterprise. I replied 

 that I could scarcely make to the American scientific organizations 

 the proposal of transfer, but suggested that in case he should open 

 negotiations I would inform them of my entire willingness to sur- 

 render the expedition to the Canadian Government. 



Sir Robert Borden then wrote letters to Professor Henry Fair- 

 field Osborn, President of the American Museum of Natural His- 



