246 POLAR PROBLEMS 



les lies de rAmerique Nord-Ouest," the provisions of the treaty 

 here material, in its original text, read thus: "La meme ligne meri- 

 dienne du I4ime degre formera, dans son prolongement jusqu'a la 

 Mer Glaciale, la limite entre les Possessions Russes et Britanniques 

 sur le Continent de TAmerique Nord-Ouest." 



It is to be remembered not only that in 1825, when this treaty 

 was written, the northern part (at least) of the boundary fixed was 

 a matter of little concern to the parties or to any one else, but also that 

 the two countries were dealing to some extent with the unknown. A 

 considerable length of the northern mainland coast, both east and west 

 of what is now Demarcation Point, was unexplored in 1825 and was 

 put down on the maps of that time by guess. Bering Strait and its 

 vicinity had been charted for half a century; but Point Barrow was 

 not reached till 1826. 



In 1867, by our treaty with Russia,^" we purchased Alaska for 

 $7,200,000 and succeeded to the rights of Russia under the Treaty of 

 1825. The expression above quoted from the Treaty of 1825 was 

 incorporated in the French text of our Treaty of 1867; and in the 

 English text it is imperfectly translated as "the said meridian line of 

 the 141st degree, in its prolongation as far as the Frozen Ocean." 



How far is "as far as the Frozen Ocean," or "la Mer Glaciale" 

 of the Treaty of 1825? That the "Frozen Ocean" meant what came 

 to be called the "Arctic Ocean" may be assumed; in the negotiations 

 the words "Polar Sea " were used at least once ; but this does not answer 

 our question as to the extent of the line. What lands, if any, lay 

 between the northern coast and the north pole was not known in 

 1825, for it is not known now. Certainly if there had been islands 

 adjacent to that coast they too, although then unknown, would have 

 been subject to the same line. We now know that there are no such 

 adjacent islands; there may be islands to the north, but if so they are 

 some hundreds of miles toward the pole. Indeed, the expression 

 "as far as the Frozen Ocean" is vague enough (taking into account 

 the previous Treaty of 1824) to make it at least arguable that the line 

 runs as far as the 141st meridian itself runs, and that means to the 

 north pole (for the continuation of that line beyond the pole is not 

 the 141st but the 39th meridian). 



It is also of interest here to notice what the Russian Treaty of 1867 

 says about our boundary to the west. The treaty ceded "all the 

 territory and dominion now possessed by his said Majesty (the Em- 

 peror of All the Russias) on the Continent of America and in the 

 adjacent islands, the same being contained within the geographical 

 limits herein set forth"; and the western limit subsequently set forth 

 in the text runs from a point in Bering Strait on the meridian (ap- 



w Treaties and Conventions Concluded Between the United States of America and Ottier Powers 

 Since July 4, 1776, revised edit., State Dept., Washington, 1873, pp. 741-743. 



