ALEXEI MARKHOFF'S EXPEDITION. 183 



In this belief the late Dr. Scoresby also concur- 

 red ; and certainly no two men can be named who 

 were more entitled to give an opinion on the sub- 

 ject. 



It may also be remarked that Arctic sledge-trav- 

 eling has become very much better understood since 

 the days of Parry ; and one has only to read the 

 narratives of Dr. Kane, Sir Leopold M'Clintock, 

 and others, to see what can be performed by zeal- 

 ous and resolute men with well-appointed dog- 

 sledges. 



In Muller's "Voyages from Asia to America" 

 there is an account of a sledge-journey which seems 

 to me to go a long way toward establishing the 

 practicability of the thing. In 1715, one Alexei 

 Markhoff was sent by the Russian government to 

 explore the ocean lying to the north of Siberia ; 

 and this gallant fellow, with eight others, set off in 

 sledges, drawn by dogs, on March 10th, from the 

 mouth of the River Jana, in latitude 70° 30'. They 

 traveled due north, as fast as the dogs could go, for 

 seven days, by which time they had got to about 

 the 78th degree of latitude (400 miles in seven 

 days). Here their progress was interrupted by the 

 excessive roughness and irregularity of the ice, and 

 they were compelled to retrace their steps. Mark- 

 hoff seems to have made the dangerous error of mis- 

 calculating the quantity of his provisions, or of 

 overestimating the endurance of his dogs ; for, on 

 his return journey, he fell short of provisions, and 



