34 FARTHEST NORTH 



coast of Greenland, in this way lost a great quantity of 

 their supplies. 



" For the success of such an expedition two things 

 only are required, viz., good clotJiiug and plenty of 

 food, and these we can take care to have with us. 

 We should thus be able to remain as safely on our 

 ice-floe as in our ship, and should advance just as 

 well towards the Greenland Sea. The only difference 

 would be that on our arrival there, instead of proceed- 

 ing by ship, we must take to our boats, which would 

 convey us just as safely to the nearest harbor. 



" Thus it seems to me there is an overwhelming 

 probability that such an expedition would be successful. 

 Many people, however, will certainly urge: 'In all cur- 

 rents there are eddies and backwaters ; suppose, then, 

 you get into one of these, or perhaps stumble on an un- 

 known land up by the Pole and remain lying fast there, 

 how will you extricate yourselves.^' To this I would 

 merely reply, as concerns the backwater, that we must 

 get out of it just as surely as we got into it, and that we 

 shall have provisions for five years. And as regards the 

 other possibility, we should hail such an occurrence with 

 delight, for no spot on earth could well be found of 

 greater scientific interest. On this newly discovered 

 land we should make as many observations as possible. 

 Should time wear on and find us still unable to get our 

 ship into the set of the current again, there would be 

 nothinf^ for it but to abandon her, and with our boats 



