18 



THE POLAR WORLD. 



which are winter-bound during the greater part of the year, he is generally a 

 mere wanderer over its surface — a hunter, a fisherman, or a herdsman — and 

 but few small settlements, separated fi-om each other by immense deserts, 

 give proof of his having made some weak attempts to establish a footing. 



It is difficult to determine with precision the Umits of the Arctic lands, since 

 many countries situated as low as latitude 60° or even 50°, such as South 

 Greenland, Labrador, Alaska, Kamchatka, or the country about Lake Baikal, 

 have hi their climate and productions a decidedly Arctic character, while others 

 of a far more northern position, such as the coast of Norway, enjoy even in 

 winter a remarkably mild temperature. But they are naturally divided into 

 two principal and well-marked zones — that of the forests, and that of the tree- 

 less wastes. 



INDIAN SUMMER ENCAMPMENT, ALASKA. 



The latter, comprising the islands within the Arctic Circle, form a belt, more : 

 or less broad, bounded by the continental shores of the North Polar seas, and \ 

 gradually merging toward the south into the forest-region, whi(;h encircles | 

 them with a garland of evergreen coniferas. This treeless zone bears the | 

 name of the " barren grounds," or the " barrens," in North America, and of ; 

 "tundri" in Siberia and European Russia. Its want of trees is caused not J 

 so much by its high northern latitude as by the cold sea-winds which sweep | 

 unchecked over the islands or the flat coast-lands of the Polar Ocean, and | 

 for miles and miles compel even the hardiest plant to crouch before the blast I 

 and creep along the ground. ; 



Nothing can be more melancholy than the aspect of the boundless morasses | 

 or arid wastes of the tundri. Dingy mosses and gray lichens form the chief i 



