508 The Arctic Expedition. [October, 
notable attempts to explore the Arctic Regions, let us open 
a map and glance at the region in question. Looking 
down upon the North Pole of the earth, we notice at a dis- 
tance of about 1500 miles from it (about as far as from the 
North of Scotland to the South of Spain), the circumference 
of the Arctic Circle. Travelling east from Iceland, we 
observe that the latter just touches the northern border of 
that island, passes through the north of Norway, Lapland, 
and Russia, the south of the Gulf of Obi and Northern 
Siberia, passing a few miles to the north of the narrowest 
portion of Behring’s Straits; continuing through Alaska, it 
cuts the northern portion of the Great Bear Lake and Cum- 
berland Sound, the middle of Davis Straits, and so through 
the south of Greenland to Iceland again. Grouped around 
the Pole at distances of from a thousand to twelve hundred 
miles, we have the great northern limits of Europe, Asia, 
and America. The great space of more than one and a 
half million square miles marked “‘ unexplored Polar Region” 
is entered from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by three 
channels—to wit, from the Pacific Behring’s Straits, from 
the Atlantic, Davis Straits, and the great stretch of ocean 
extending between Greenland and Norway. If we finally 
narrow our gaze to the innermost circle, 10° (690 miles) 
from the Pole we notice that through more than half that 
circle no land penetrates ; indeed it is an altogether unknown 
region. Above the north-west corner of Greenland, we 
have President’s Land within 400 miles of the Pole, while 
above Novaya Zemblya we have Petermann Land, also 
within 400 miles of the Pole. 
Iceland, the northern portion of which, as we have seen, 
is on the edge of the Arctic Circle, was discovered in the 
year 860 A.D., by a Norwegian Vikingr, and fourteen 
years later it was colonised by Norsemen. About the year 
8go, Audher, a Norwegian, gave an account of his voyages to 
Alfred the Great, and there can be no doubt from his story 
that he was the first to double the North Cape and to enter 
the Artic Circle. Nearly a century later Erikr Rauthi, an 
Icelander, having been convicted of manslaughter, was 
banished from the country, and determining to pass a por- 
tion of his time of banishment in exploring the Northern 
Seas he fitted out a vessel and soon came in sight of the 
east coast of Greenland. He then doubled Cape Farewell, 
and landed on the western coast of Greenland, which he spent 
three years in exploring. In 986 he returned to Iceland and 
reported so favourably of the new-found country that he 
persuaded a large body of his countrymen to sail with him, 
