THE WHITE WORLD 



of purpose was inspired which could not have been called 

 forth by any expedition which had simply exploring for 

 its purpose. All were determined to spare no pains, to 

 incur any exposure, to assume any required task, and to 

 be unremitting in watching for and seizing upon oppor- 

 tunities to advance, be it much or little, on the journey 

 toward Greely and his party. 



Everything was now in readiness. The Bear set out 

 from New York the 24th of April, the Thetis the 1st of 

 May, and the Alert the 15th of May. On all sides were 

 given hearty expressions of the best wishes. The Secre- 

 tary of the Navy voiced the sentiments of the whole coun- 

 try when he telegraphed: 



" I wish you and all your comrades good health, good 

 courage, and good luck. Goodbye." 



At last the expedition was started in earnest. 



Shall we be too late or shall we be in time? This was 

 the burning question of the hour, a question which only 

 Divine Providence could answer. 



It is unnecessary here to describe in detail our journey 

 to the North. But there are some statements and incidents 

 that may prove interesting. 



As has been said, there were but few of us who knew 

 much about Arctic navigation. But we had been warned 

 against placing too much reliance on the subject of experi- 

 ence, as applied to Arctic affairs. It is a fact that, in the 

 whole history of Arctic expeditions, renewed voyages under 

 the same commander have led to failures rather than to suc- 

 cesses. This was notably the case in the many expeditions 

 of Franklin, Parry, Barentz, Hudson, Hall, Kane, McClure, 

 and Back. Their failure to attain their aims was probably 

 due in some measure to a too rigid following of what they 

 had learned from experience, and had therefore laid down 

 as rules. I am quite well aware that this is a refutation 

 of the old and generally true maxim, " Experientia docet," 

 but I am also convinced that what I have stated is correct, 

 so far as voyages in the Polar regions are concerned. 



Another thing may be more or less surprising. In many 

 instances, we found our charts to be of little or no help. In 

 fact, on more than one occasion, our ships steamed over 

 places which on the chart were marked as land. 



