636 THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 



do as Osborn did and dot in his land, restraining his imagination 

 from connecting it with Findhiy Land and especially from supply- 

 ing the detail of curved coastline and topographically shaded inte- 

 rior. As to the topographic shading, it must be said that there is 

 in the scientific report of the Sverdrup expedition the statement 

 that "the shaded lands are those surveyed by this expedition," and 

 that there is no intention to indicate contours by the shading but 

 merely to show that these are the lands discovered and explored 

 as distinguished from the unshaded ones previously known. Still, 

 why should there be several lines of shading leading to small and 

 isolated eminences in some cases, as in Ellef Ringnes Island? To 

 any one familiar with the ordinary conventions of map-making, 

 these are ways of graphically indicating elevation, and so it was 

 evidently taken by the British Admiralty who faithfully copied all 

 the shading. 



I have since learned to interpret correctly MacMillan's reference 

 to "Findlay Island (King Christian Land)" and consider that 

 thereby hangs a rather appealing story. MacMillan had made a 

 very excellent journey from Etah across Smith Sound and Elles- 

 mere Land, past the south end of Axel Heiberg Island, through 

 Hendriksen Sound and thus past Cape Nathorst to probably the 

 east end of King Christian Island as it now stands revised. He 

 arrived in thick weather which kept him in camp for two or three 

 days. Meantime he had leisure to think of how long a way it was 

 back to Greenland and how early in the season Smith Sound would 

 perhaps break up, preventing his return. He had estimated that 

 in order to cross Smith Sound safely he would have to be back by 

 the first of June. The purpose of his journey had been to complete 

 the outline of King Christian Land, connecting it with Findlay 

 Land (if, like us, he had taken the chart at its face value), 

 but he now concluded that what with the small amount of pemmi- 

 can on hand and the rapid advance of the season, he had better 

 hurry back while sledging conditions were favorable and Smith 

 Sound crossable. It is almost tragic, as it seems to me, that he 

 started on his return journey without having the opportunity to 

 climb to the top of some hill in clear weather to see for himself that 

 he was on a small island with sea ice all around, instead of on the 

 northeast corner of a large land, as he supposed himself to be. 



