1865.] Geography. 295 



pedition to the North Pole, the guardians of the public purse are not 

 likely to exact very demonstrative arguments or inquire too closely 

 into the probable residts, and thus the skeleton of an exploring party 

 may be furnished with vessels no longer of any great value for 

 warfare, but the chief expense of scientific apparatus, &c, will have 

 to be furnished by the Koyal, Eoyal Geographical, Ethnological, and 

 other Societies. 



The subject of his former paper having excited such great atten- 

 tion, and created so much discussion in various publications, Captain 

 Sherard Osborn read an abstract of Dr. Peterman's paper at the 

 meeting on the 27th of February, and then proceeded to combat to 

 some extent his position that the route by Spitzbergen was the better 

 one. Admitting that under the Pole there was water, he would not 

 admit that it was all open sea over the 150 millions of square miles 

 as yet unexplored. This was one of the points that it was desired 

 to get at rest ; but in either case it would be much safer, and would 

 give a much surer hope of the return of any exploring party if they 

 had to travel principally over dry ground. The number of men in 

 the naval service who were anxious for employment of this kind was 

 very large, and included men of all ranks, from admirals and those 

 who had won their renown in these regions, down to those who had 

 their laurels yet to gain. The sum expended by the nation on the 

 navy was great ; much had been spent in building vessels of war to 

 suit the new wants of scientific warfare, yet the results were few, and 

 the fighting vessels might be counted on the fingers, whilst but a 

 small share of this large sum, only one 230th part during the last 

 ten years, was expended on the scientific departments, and out of this 

 money had been used for a cricket ground — hardly a scientific ad- 

 vantage. All who have taken part in the discussion of this subject 

 admit that the risk to the lives of the explorers is diminished to a 

 very great extent, and that former failures ought not to be made a 

 standard by which to judge of the future. 



On the same evening, at a later discussion of the expedition to 

 the North Pole, an ingenius but rather speculative paper was read 

 by the Secretary, Mr. Markham, " On the Origin and Migration of 

 the Greenland Esquimaux." The Esquimaux were stated by this 

 gentleman to have originated in Asia ; to have found their way to the 

 Parry Islands, how or when does not appear, though in these islands 

 their traces are very numerous, and have been found by all arctic 

 voyagers ; and finally to have arrived at the northern part of Green- 

 land. Here they divided into two parts, one going south and driving 

 out the Norsemen who had previous to this colonized the south of 

 Greenland as far as Upernavik ; the other journeying northwards, and 

 from that time to this being cut off from communion with the rest of 

 humanity. To seek these distant offshoots of the human family is 

 the object of the proposed expedition, and an account of their habits, 

 manners, language, and mode of life would throw much light on the 

 early history of the world, and probably on the condition of our 

 ancestors in the earliest ages. Another portion of Mr. Markham's 

 paper, which contained less theory and a more solid basis of facts, 



