110 CRUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 
cription, and Peary deserves the greatest credit for the manful 
way in which he overcame it, and succeeded in not only cross- 
ing the ice-cap of the northern part of Greenland, but also in 
tracing its northern outline far to the eastward, and so establish- 
ing the certainty of the island character of that supposed 
peninsula. 
The last of the expeditions to the Smith sound region was 
that headed by Captain Sverdrup, in the famous Fram. This 
expedition started with the intention of exploring the northern 
part of Greenland, but found Smith sound blocked with ice, 
and the fram was obliged to pass the winter of 1898-99 at Cape 
Sabine, where Greely's party passed their last winter. In the 
spring, parties from the ship explored Hayes sound, and crossed 
Ellesmere island to its west coast. In 1899 Smith sound con- 
tinued closed, and Sverdrup returned south with the intention 
of exploring Jones sound. Taking the fram up that channel, 
he went into the second winter quarters on its north side, in a 
small fiord on the south coast of Ellesmere island. During the 
following spring two long sled journeys were made to the north 
and west, occupying seventy-six and ninety days respectively. 
The Fram broke out of winter quarters on the 9th of August, 
1901, and proceeding westward was beset off the north coast of 
Grinnell peninsula until the middle of September, when she 
was again released, and reached winter quarters in Belcher 
channel at the western end of Jones sound. In the spring of 
1902 two long journeys were again undertaken by Sverdrup 
and Isacksen, involving important discoveries. The fram could 
not be released, and a fourth winter had to be faced. Sverdrup 
made his longest and most important journey in the spring of 
1902, while his companions were making minor trips. on the 
6th of August the Fram was released, and returned to Norway, 
after having completed the last great and important work that 
remained to be done in the Arctics, thus finishing .the work 
begun three centuries ago. The principal achievements were the 
