NATURE 



\Nov. 2, 1876 



Any such frightful ice-barrier as that reported, and, let us 

 add, admirably photographed, by our expedition was not 

 seen by Hall and his men ; and indeed it has been stated 

 that had it not been for the scruples of the second in 

 command, Buddington, Hall would have pushed still 

 further northwards, all on board, except Buddington, who 

 had no heart in the work, agreeing that the undertaking 

 was perfectly practicable. Meyer, in his evidence before 

 the U.S. Commission, declared that if 82° 16' could have 

 been passed, there was nothing to hinder a ship reaching 

 85° or 86° " or even farther. Had poor Hall not met with 

 an untimely death, the attempt would certainly have been 

 made in the following summer. This terrible ice-barrier, 

 then, before which our expedition has wisely returned, 

 does not appear to be a constant phenomenon so far south, 

 for Hall's observations have been generally accepted as 

 perfectly trustworthy. May there not have been some 

 cause at work in the high north to push the thick-ribbed 

 ice south to the northern entrance of Robeson Channel ? 

 This seems to have been an unusually severe season in 

 the north ; icebergs were met with in abundance a week 

 or two ago far south in the Atlantic, and last week we 

 reported the wreck of a whole fleet of whalers in the 

 Behring Straits region. If the latter casualty has been 

 produced by ice, it would seem to show that some cause 

 has been at work this season to render it unusually 

 unfavourable for Arctic work. It is perhaps worth 

 noting here, at least, that 1871 was a maximum, while 

 1876 is a minimum, sun-spot year. The temperature 

 was undoubtedly the coldest on record, neither the 

 Polaris northeAustro-Hungarian expedition experiencing 

 anything like it, namely, 104° of frost. There was no stint 

 of animal life in the region in which the Polaris wintered, 

 and as far north as the expedition penetrated, it was ob- 

 served, while the Austro-Hungarian expedition found 

 the cliffs swarming with life at their farthest north 

 point. The dearth of animal life is a noticeable feature 

 in the results of our expedition ; it ceased altogether at a 

 short distance to the north of the Alert's quarters. The pre- 

 vailing wind during the sojourn oi th^ Polaris ■wa.s from the 

 north-east ; this year it is stated scarcely any easterly wind 

 was noticed, but a strong current and drift set constantly 

 in from the west along the north coast of America. We 

 mention these points simply to suggest that the conditions 

 met with by our gallant expedition can hardly without 

 further observations be regarded as the normal ones. 

 Round the Pole doubtless there must be a permanent 

 barrier of impenetrable floe-bergs, for it would be ridicu- 

 lous to suppose that 150 feet thick ice of thousands of 

 square miles in extent is melted and re-formed every year. 

 But is it possible that usually this barrier lies further 

 north than our expedition found it ? 



As to positive discoveries, an unprecedentedly rich collec- 

 tion of observations in all departments have been obtained. 

 It will be seen from our map that positive additions have 

 been made to Arctic geography. "With the exception of 

 Hayes Inlet, all the coast from Cape Farewell to the 

 northern end of Robeson Channel is now laid down, and 

 considerable advances have been made west along the 

 American, and east along the North Greenland coast, in the 

 former case to 86° 30' W,, and in the latter to 48° 33' W. 

 President Land does not exist, no land having been seen 

 north of Cape Columbia in 83° 7' N. It was a pity thatPeter- 



mann Fjord was blocked up with ice, otherwise it might 

 have been ascertained whether or not it divides. Green- 

 land in two, as has been conjectured. There is little 

 doubt, at any rate, that Greenland is an island, and that 

 it does not extend right across to Wrangell Land as Peter- 

 mann conjectured. For the more important scientific 

 observations we must wait some little time, but we have 

 reason to believe they are abundant and of the highest 

 value. The drift of the current along the North American 

 coast it will be seen, is from the west, and it is possible it 

 may come right across from Behring Straits. A magnificen 

 series of tidal observations has been obtained, entirely con- 

 firmatcry of the conclusions that Bessels came to, viz., 

 that the tides in the north of Smith's Sound come from 

 the Pacific. It would be interesting now to know what 

 lies between Parry Islands and ths n°wly discovered 

 coast, and whether currents have an unobstructed passage 

 from Behring Straits across the Polar Sea. The magnetic 

 observations entirely endorse the theory on which the 

 charts have been constructed ; and had it not been for a 

 change of officers and an accident to the clock, the pen- 

 dulum observations for determining the figure of the earth 

 would have been completed and of the greatest interest. 

 Capt. Feilden, the naturalist, whose exertions are beyond 

 all praise, obtained admirable results in his depart- 

 ment. 



We may be permitted to say'that we think Capt. Nares 

 has acted gracefully and generously in his selection of 

 names for the lands discovered ; the most northern point 

 discovered now bears the name of Cape Columbia. It 

 was in keeping with this disposition to recognise Ame- 

 rica's claims to remembrance that Capt. Nares paid a 

 deserved tribute to the brave Hall by affixing to his no 

 longer lonely grave a brass tablet containing a suitable 

 inscription. 



Altogether we have every reason to be satisfied with 

 the conduct and results of the expedition, and thankful 

 that these results have been obtained with so little loss. 

 It might have been otherwise, for the Discovery was 

 within a minute of being crushed by an iceberg, and had 

 it not been for an accident to the Alert's screw, she would 

 certainly have pushed further north and got into a position 

 from which it would have been impossible to extricate 

 her. Many lessons with regard to future Arctic work are 

 to be learned from the experiences of this latest expedi- 

 tion. We would also remind our readers of the plan 

 advocated by Weyprecht, and recommended by a German 

 Government Commission, to establish at suitable points 

 all round the Polar region a series of permanent stations 

 from which the Arctic citadel can be slowly but surely 

 sapped. The recommendations of the German Govern- 

 ment Commission we consider so important, that although 

 we published them at the time, we think it appropriate to 

 reproduce them here in the present connection, and the 

 admirable scientific spirit in which the subject is ap- 

 proached is worthy of note. 



" I. The exploration of the Arctic regions is of great 

 importance for all branches of science. The Commission 

 recommends for such exploration the establishment of 

 fixed observing stations. From the principal station, and 

 supported by it, are to be made exploring expeditions by 

 sea and by land. 



"2. The Commission is of opinion that the region 



