6 A rctic and Antarctic Exploration [part i 
King William Island. Otherwise the only outward 
current for the heavy polar ice is down the east coast of 
Greenland. Even there the great body of ice comes from 
the Arctic Ocean itself, and but a small part is due to the 
escape of ice that has been pressed upon the western 
land. The outward current of Baffin's Bay only carries 
off the ice of one or two years' growth, which has formed 
in the bay itself and in the straits and channels leading 
into it. There is thus a vast accumulation along the 
outer shores of the western side, and the rising tendency 
of Arctic lands no doubt increases the difficulty of escape, 
and the consequent secular and unchanging block all 
along the western outer shores of the Arctic Ocean. 
We may now turn to the quadrants of which mention 
has already been made on page 4. On the eastern side the 
first quadrant extends from the Greenwich meridian to 
90 0 E., on an arc of the Arctic Circle, with two converging 
lines each 1410 miles long. In this quadrant we have 
Arctic Norway and Russia to Cape Chelyuskin, and the 
Spitsbergen, Franz Josef, and Novaya Zemlya groups of 
islands. It may be called the Spitsbergen Quadrant. 
The second quadrant on the eastern side includes the 
Siberian coast from Cape Chelyuskin to Bering Strait — the 
Siberian Quadrant. The third quadrant, being the first 
on the western side, includes Greenland, Baffin's Bay, 
and Baffin, North Devon, and Ellesmere Islands. The 
fourth quadrant, being the second on the western side, 
contains the northern coast of the American continent, 
and the Parry Archipelago. It is the American Quadrant. 
It is desirable thus to have before us a general sketch 
of the Arctic economy before proceeding to the con- 
templation of the achievements of discoverers. We shall 
better appreciate their labours, their splendid efforts 
extending over centuries, if we know what they did not 
know, the results of their combined victories over the 
mighty obstacles which Nature placed in their way. 
