110 CKUISE 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 

 begu/i three centuries ago. The principal achievements were the 



