HAYES' EXPEDITION (i860) 51 



" It is well known that the great difficulty which has 

 been encountered, in the various attempts that have been 

 made to solve this important physical problem, has been 

 the inability of the explorer to penetrate the Ice-belt 

 with his ship, or to travel over it with sledges sufficiently 

 far to obtain indisputable proof. My former experience 

 led me to the conclusion that the chances of success were 

 irreater bv Smith Sound than by any other route, and 

 my hopes of success were based upon the expectation 

 which I entertained of being able to push a vessel into 

 the Ice-belt, to about the 80th parallel of latitude, and 

 thence to transport a boat over the ice to the open sea 

 which I hoped to find beyond. Reaching this open sea, 

 if such fortune awaited me, I proposed to launch my boat 

 and to push off northward. For the ice-transportation I 

 expected to rely, mainly, upon the dog of the Esquimaux."" 



Dr. Hayes had a strong belief in the existence of an 

 open Polar Sea, but it may here be mentioned that sub- 

 sequent exploration proved that his views were not correct. 

 On the other hand, the view of the old geographers that 

 for a long distance around the Pole the sea was covered 

 with immovable ice has also been disproved. Throughout 

 the whole year the ice is found to be more or less in 

 motion, except where it is in contact with the land. 



Dr. Hayes expected to be able to start with two 

 vessels, — one a small steamer, to be taken out under sails, 

 and the steam-power only to be used when actually 

 among the ice ; the other a sailing vessel, to be employed 

 as a tender or store-ship. He found, however, that the 

 fund which he had raised with great difficulty would only 

 enable him to fit out and man one small sailing vessel. 



A fore-and-aft schooner of 133 tons register, named 

 Spring Hill, was purchased, and after some necessary 

 alterations, was rechristened United States. 



August Sonntag, the astronomer of Kane's expedition, 



