THE SECRET OF THE NORTH POLE. 103 



voyagers have made to the northward of Siberia. It 

 must be noticed, in the first place, that the coast of 

 Siberia runs much farther northward than that of the 

 American continent. So that on this side, indepen- 

 dently of sea explorations, the unknown arctic regions 

 are limited within very high latitudes. But attempts 

 have been made to push 'much farther north from 

 these shores. In every case, however, the voyagers 

 have found that the ice-fields, over which they hoped 

 to make their way, have become gradually less and 

 less firm, until at length no doubt could remain that 

 there lay an open sea beyond them. How far that 

 sea may extend is a part of the secret of the North 

 Pole ; but we may assume that it is no narrow sea, 

 since otherwise there can be little doubt that the ice- 

 fields which surround the shores of Northern Siberia 

 would extend unbroken to the farther shores of what 

 we should thus have to recognise as a strait. The 

 thinning-off of these ice-fields, observed by Baron 

 Wrangel and his companions, affords, indeed, most 

 remarkable and significant testimony respecting the 

 nature of the sea which lies beyond. This we shall 

 presently have to exhibit more at length ; in the 

 meantime we need only remark that scarcely any 

 doubt can exist that the sea thus discovered extends 

 northward to at least the eightieth parallel of latitude. 

 We may say, then, that from Wellington Channel, 

 northward of the American continent, right round 

 towards the west, up to the neighbourhood of Spits- 

 bergen, very little doubt exists as to the general 



