1875.] The Arctic Expedition. 513 
many feet below the surface. The most northern points of 
Asia have never been doubled, although Peter the Great had 
himself given directions in 1725 that the whole coast of 
Siberia should be explored. The most important discoveries 
due to the Russians are Behring’s Straits and the Islands 
of New Siberia off the mouths of the Lena. Baron Wran- 
gell, in 1820-3, explored a good deal of the North Siberian 
coast by means of sledges, with which, drawn by teams of 
dogs, he once travelled no less than 1530 miles in eleven 
weeks. Mr. Markham considers that Russia is entitled to 
rank next to England in the matter of Arctic exploration; 
since to it is due the survey of more than one-third of the 
threshold of the unknown Polar Region. 
Having thus briefly reviewed some of the more important 
Polar explorations prior to the nineteenth century, let us 
turn our attention to the work of the present century, 
which has far exceeded, at least in the number and magni- 
tude of the expeditions, any previous period. For about 40 
years after Cook’s voyage, no attempt was made to discover 
a north-west passage, until early in this century Captain 
Scoresby and Sir John Barrow drew the attention of the 
Government to the subject, and four vessels were fitted up 
for Polar research. Two of these—the Isabella and the 
Alexandey—under the command respectively of John Ross 
and Edward Parry, were to attempt the passage by way of 
Davis’s Straits; the other two—the Dorothea and the Trent 
—under the command of David Buchan and John Franklin, 
were to attempt to cross the Polar Sea between Spitzbergen 
and Greenland. Both expeditions started in 1818. Ross 
sailed up the east coast of Greenland, examined Jones’s 
Sound, and turning south arrived in Lancaster Sound, 
returning home by way of Cape Farewell. The most 
important results of the voyage were some magnetic obser- 
vations made by Captain Sabine. Aithough the other expe- 
dition under the command of Captain Buchan had as its 
primary object the discovery of a passage through the Polar 
Sea to Behring’s Straits, it was also enjoined to make various 
electrical and magnetic observations, to take temperatures, 
observe the refraction of the atmosphere, the velocity of 
ocean currents, and the height of the tides. An astronomer 
accompanied the Dorothea. ‘The ships skirted the west side 
of Spitzbergen, and anchored in Magdalena Bay early in 
June. After encountering very severe weather, the ships, 
which were much injured, and unfit to attempt further ex- 
posure in Polar seas, returned to England. During the 
succeeding year (1819), Franklin was sent out in command 
