NATURE 



589 



THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1898. 



''EARY'S ''NORTHWARD OVER THE GREAT 



ICE." 

 Northward over the " Great Ice." A narrative of life 

 and luork alottf; the shores and upoti the interior ice- 

 cap of Northern Greenland in the years 1886 and 1891- 

 1897. With a description of the little tribe of Smith 

 Sound Eskimos, the most northerly human beings in 

 the -u'orld, and an account of the discovery and bringing 

 home of the " Saviksue " or great Cape York meteorites. 

 By Robert E. Peary, Civil Engineer, U.S.N. With 

 Maps, Diagrams, and about eight hundred Illustrations. 

 In two volumes. Pp. Ixxx + 522 and xiv + 626. 

 (London : Methuen and Co., 1898.) 

 TT may safely be said that the title-page is the dreariest 

 J- in this book. It lacks the quaintness which en- 

 livened the gossipy titles of the sixteenth century, and it 

 does not altogether dispense with the necessity for a 

 table of contents. The maps also are extremely dis- 

 appointing, and it is to be regretted that the English 

 edition at least was not provided with a well-executed 

 map of part of the polar regions on a fair scale, especially 

 as Mr. Peary repeatedly found errors in the existing 

 charts which his observations enabled him to correct. 

 The new work, however, has probably been postponed 

 until the expedition on which Mr. Peary is now en- 

 gaged—the survey of the Arctic archipelago, north of 

 Greenland — has been carried out. We are promised 

 a full discussion by specialists of the various branches of 

 science studied by the members of the various expeditions, 

 the record of which fills these volumes. They profess 

 only to give a popular account of the work accomplished, 

 and they do this in a full and satisfactory manner. The 

 almost innumerable illustrations differ in quality, but 

 many of them are remarkably clear and some have an 

 artistic beauty that is unusual. 



The outward form of the book is like that of most 

 books of popular travel, but within there are marked 

 differences. The amounts of time occupied and of space 

 covered were so large that the narrative had to be com- 

 pressed (to the detriment of the printing towards the 

 end), in order to get it into two volumes. Hence, as the 

 author states, there was no room for padding. An 

 excellent device is that of following each section de- 

 scribing an expedition with a summary of the objects 

 and results. One result not mentioned is that Mr. Peary 

 has obtained more experience of long-distance sledge- 

 travelling with dogs, and of life at extremely low 

 temperatures, than any other living man. 



With regard to these Arctic journeys it is desirable 



to point out that they are the work of one man, an 



enthusiast determined to persevere in the attempt to 



accomplish his plans, but absolutely unfettered by the 



instructions or advice of others. The United States 



Government have done no more for him than to renew 



his leave with increasing reluctance, the scientific 



)( ieties have supported him, but could only give very 



;iall money grants, a few private friends have done 



-Dinething to help forward the expeditions ; but in every 



case the greater part of the funds has been provided by 



NO. 151 2 VOL. 58] 



the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Peary themselves. All they 

 have been able to make they have put into the equip- 

 ment of the new expedition, and from a pecuniary point 

 of view it is impossible that the labours of so many 

 years of effort can meet with an adequate reward. 



Mr. Peary is very frank in expressing his opinion 

 about himself, he bases his passion for Arctic travel 

 mainly on sentiment, but the sentiment bears fruit in 

 sober plans, laborious scientific researches, and a terse 

 manly narrative of occurrences. 



The object of the first journey in 1886 was " to gain a 

 practical knowledge of the obstacles and ice conditions 

 of the interior of Greenland, to put to the test of actual 

 use certain methods and details of equipment, to make 

 such scientific observations as may be practicable, and 

 to push into the interior as far as possible." 



The results were the attainment of a greater distance 

 inland and a higher elevation on the inland ice than 

 had been previously done by any white man, and a great 

 deal of valuable experience as to equipment and methods. 

 Mr. Peary, on his return, drew attention to three lines 

 along which the crossing of Greenland from west to 

 east should be attempted, and he demonstrated that the 

 attempt was practicable. 



In 1888 Dr. Nansen succeeded in crossing the south 

 of Greenland from east to west ; and accordingly Peary 

 concentrated his attention on the northern routes, 

 although it was not until the summer of 1891 that he 

 was able to escape from official routine and resume 

 exploration. 



The objects of the 1891-92 expedition were the de- 

 termination of the northern limit of Greenland overland 

 the possible discovery of the most practicable route to 

 the pole, the study of the Smith Sound Eskimos, and the 

 securing of geographical and meteorological data. 



The results were highly satisfactory. The conditions 

 of travel over the smooth elevated surface of the inland 

 ice were worked out, one of the most interesting details 

 being the use of an odometer or measuring wheel attached 

 to a sledge, in order to give distances by dead reckoning ; 

 another was to demonstrate the possibility of sleeping at 

 the lowest recorded temperatures in the open air without 

 either tent or sleeping bag. The inland ice was found to 

 have the same shield shape in the extreme north as 

 Nansen showed it to have in the south, and the surface 

 was smooth and unbroken, except near the edges and 

 where the glacier basins dipped to the north. The in- 

 sularity of Greenland was determined to Mr. Peary's 

 satisfaction, grass was found growing, and musk-oxen 

 feeding north of the ice-cap ; and still further north, 

 beyond a narrow strait, low land was discovered free from 

 ice. In addition, comprehensive meteorological and tidal 

 observations were made at the base station on Inglefield 

 Gulf, the shores of which were surveyed, and the tribe of 

 Arctic Highlanders were exhaustively studied and pho- 

 tographed as no tribe of Eskimos had been before. 



The expedition of 18913-94 set out with an ambitious 

 programme. A large party was to cross the ice-cap to 

 Independence Bay on the north-east coast, and there to 

 divide : part going north in an attempt on the pole, part 

 turning south to trace the unknown east coast of Green- 

 land. It was a failure. Mr. Peary points out that the 

 efforts he was obliged to make to raise funds prevented 



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