The Scottish Naturalist. 



249 



by the Corresponding Societies Committee." This was duly 

 carried, and the proceedings terminated. It should be added, 

 however, that Delegates are, in virtue of their representative 

 character, members of the General Committee ; and as such I at- 

 tended two of its meetings. 



Having thus given the substance of what took place at the two 

 meetings in which the Corresponding Societies are most directly 

 interested, I may say a few words about the distinguished 

 traveller who was the lion of the occasion. As a rule, there is at 

 every annual meeting of the British Association some one savant, 

 voyager, or traveller, who has come prominently before the world 

 since last meeting. This year the hero was Dr. Nansen, who 

 read on Monday, the 16th, in Section G., an account of his cross- 

 ing the southern part of Greenland from east to west, in August 

 and September 1888. A large map on which the track made by 

 him and his daring companions on the journey was indicated, 

 and two pairs of snow-shoes, and a one-man sledge, which formed 

 part of the equipment, were also shown. Dr. Nansen, though a 

 Norwegian, can write and speak English very well indeed ; and 

 he quite captivated his audience, especially the more numerous 

 portion of it (I mean the ladies), by his fine, young, handsome 

 and manly figure and features, as well as by the highly amusing 

 and graphic way in which he described the dreary, hungry, and 

 extremely cold character of the regions traversed. Besides him- 

 self, the party consisted of three Norwegians and two Lapps. 

 After leaving the ship, on July 17th, at the edge of the pack-ice, 

 about 66 degs. N., they had to get through about a dozen miles 

 of moving ice before they could reach solid land ; and here the 

 greatest difficulty of the journey was encountered. It took them 

 12 days to get on shore, and meanwhile they had drifted south to 

 lat. 61^ N., or near the South end of Greenland. It was not, 

 however, till the 6th August that they began to cross the dreary 

 icy waste, hitherto untrodden by civilised man. They had five 

 sledges, one loaded with four hundred lbs., drawn by Nansen and 

 the second in command, the others with two hundred lbs. each, 

 drawn by one man. He at first intended to cross away to the 

 N.W., and arrive at Disco, but it was soon seen that the season 

 was too far advanced for so long a journey, and the direction was 

 changed for Godthaab, which they reached on the 3rd October, 

 all well. The highest N. latitude reached by him in Greenland 



