INTR OD UCTION 9 



was siniply that I was unable to procure any serviceable 

 animals.* 



A third method may yet be mentioned which has 

 been employed in the Arctic regions — namely, boats and 

 sledges combined. It is said of the old Northmen in 

 the Sagas and in the Kongespeilet, that for days on end 

 they had to drag their boats over the ice in the Green- 

 land sea, in order to reach land. The first in modern 

 times to make use of this means of travelling was Parry, 

 who, in his memorable attempt to reach the Pole in 1827, 

 abandoned his ship and made his way over the drift-ice 

 northward with boats, which he dragged on sledges. 

 He succeeded in attaining the highest latitude (82° 45') 

 that had yet been reached; but here the current carried 

 him to the south more quickly than he could advance 

 against it, and he was obliged to turn back. 



Of later years this method of travelling has not been 

 greatly employed in approaching the Pole. It may, 

 however, be mentioned that Markham took boats with 

 him also on his sledge expedition. Many expeditions 

 have through sheer necessity accomplished long distances 

 over the drift-ice in this way, in order to reach home 

 after having abandoned or lost their ship. Especial 

 mention may be made of the Austro-Hungarian Tegcthoff 

 expedition to Franz Josef Land, and the ill-fated Amer- 

 ican Jeannette expedition. 



* First Crossing of Greenland, Vol. I., p. 30. 



