458 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. II. No. 41. 



head of the baj' by crossing the ice on dog 

 sledges, the lodge was reached on the 3d of 

 August, after an ovei-land joui'nej- from the 

 head of McCormick Bay. 



The main facts concerning the work of 

 the year were soon learned. The provis- 

 ions which had been cached on the ice cap 

 for the trip of 1894, not being used that 

 year, were relied upon for the journey of 

 the succeeding season. In September of 

 1894, after the departure of the Falcon, an 

 attempt was made to visit the nearer 

 caches. One of the objects of the visit was 

 to get the provisions out from beneath the 

 season's snow; so as to make them more 

 accessible when the journey of the follow- 

 ing spring should be begun. Although the 

 same caches had been visited in the preced- 

 ing Julj' and the provisions then raised to 

 the surface of the snow, it was found in 

 September that the snowfall of the sum- 

 mer had been so heavy that neither of the 

 two caches nearest the boarder of the ice 

 could be found, the signals having been 

 completely buried. After this discovery, 

 little hope was entertained that search for 

 the caches would be more successful in the 

 following spring. As the caches on the ice 

 contained the pemmican, which was to have 

 been the chief article of food, and the 

 alcohol which was to have served as fuel, 

 Mr. Peary was obliged to foce the prospec- 

 tive loss of both. With this unpleasant out- 

 look, the ^vinter was passed. 



Instead of giving up the pi-oposed journey 

 across the ice cap, Mr. Peary made such 

 provision for the trip as was possible, and 

 on the 1st of April, accompanied bj^ Lee 

 and Henson, started for Independence Bay. 

 As had been expected, the important caches 

 were not found. In spite of this the cross- 

 ing of the ice cap was successfullj^ accom- 

 plished, the distal edge being reached on 

 the 13th of May. The rest of the month 

 was spent on the land about the bay. From 

 lack of provisions a longer stay was im- 



practicable, and the return journey across 

 the ice was begun on the 1st of June and 

 ended on the 25th. 



The enterprise and courage with which 

 Mr. Peary conceived and attempted to ex- 

 ecute his plans would seem to have en- 

 titled him to more consideration at the 

 hands of the powers that be. On two suc- 

 cessive years his weU matured plans have 

 been thwarted by circumstances over which 

 he had no control, and upon which he 

 could in no way count. 



While adverse circumstances have made 

 it impossible for him to carry out, in full, 

 his plans with reference to the north coast 

 of Greenland, he has nevertheless accom- 

 plished much during his Arctic residence. 

 He has twice (in 1892 and 1895) crossed 

 the ice cap from Inglefield Gulf to Inde- 

 pendence Bay, and has gathered informa- 

 tion concerning the inland ice and the ice- 

 free territory beyond, which possesses 

 unique value. Further he has mapped a 

 considerable stretch of the coast of West 

 Greenland, in the vicinity of his head- 

 quarters. The full value of this work will 

 first appear when the map is published 

 but a few general statements concerning it 

 will indicate something of its scope. It 

 covers the coast from Cape Alexander (lat. 

 78° 10') on the noi-th to Cape York (lat. 

 75° 55') on the south. W^ithin this lati- 

 tude the range in longitude is nearly 8°. 

 The coast is very irregular, as may be in- 

 ferred from the fact that its actual length, 

 including the islands near the mainland, is 

 about 1,000 miles. A comparison of Mr. 

 Peary's MS. map with the earlier charts of 

 the same region reveals the extent and the 

 importance of the changes, which are so 

 gi-eat as to make it apparent that the new 

 map is really such, and not merelj' a cor- 

 rected copy of the old. The modifications 

 are so extensive that, were it not for the 

 names, the new map, and the last edition 

 of the chart of the same region, issued by 



