REVIEWS 439 



land, to the northern terminus of Greenland. Proposal of the following pro- 

 phetic routes : From base of Noursoak Peninsula to head of Franz Joseph 

 Fjord and return ; from Whale Sound to northern terminus of Greenland or 

 intersection of ice-cap with east coast — this route the key to the Greenland 

 problem ; from Disco Bay to Cape Dan. 



The remainder of Vol. I is occupied by the story of the North 

 Greenland expedition of 1891-2. Most of our readers are doubtless 

 familiar with this famous trip across the northern portion of the great 

 ice-cap, but still they will read this authoritative statement by the 

 explorer himself with fresh interest and satisfaction. The author 

 summarizes the objects and results of this expedition as follows : 



Objects. — Determination of the northern limit of Greenland overland; 

 the possible discovery of the most practicable route to the Pole ; the study of 

 the Whale Sound Eskimos ; the securing of geographical and meteorological 

 data. 



Results. — The determination of the northern extension and the insularity 

 of Greenland, and the delineation of the northern extension of the greater 

 interior ice-cap ; the discovery of detached ice-free land-masses of less extent 

 to the northward ; the determination of the rapid convergence of the Green- 

 land shores above the seventy-eighth parallel ; the observation of the relief 

 of an exceptionally large area of the inland ice ; the delineation of the 

 unknown shores of Inglefield Gulf ; and the imperfectly known shores of 

 Whale and Murchison sounds; the discovery of a large number of glaciers 

 of the first magnitude ; the first complete and accurate recorded information 

 of the peculiar and isolated tribe of Arctic Highlanders (Dr. Cook) ; com- 

 plete and painstaking meteorological and tidal observations (Verhoeff) ; 

 sledge journey, which is unique in respect to the distance covered by two men 

 without a cache from beginning to end, and in respect to the effectiveness 

 with which those men were able to handle a large team of Eskimo dogs ; cor- 

 roboration of the opinion advanced that the inland ice offered an " imperial 

 highway." 



Vol. II opens with a narrative of the expedition of 1893-4, which 

 is memorable on account of the great equinoctial storm encountered, 

 that appears to have been without a recorded parallel even in that land 

 of terrific gales, and that proved disastrous to the undertaking. 

 Among the subsidiary narratives of special interest are the stories of 

 the discovery of the great Cape York meteorite by Peary and the 

 reconnaissance of Melville Bay by Astrup. In this part are also 

 included a summary of the valuable meteorological observations of 

 Baldwin. Then follows an account of the visitation of the Falcon, 



