PREFACE. 
HE voyage of H.M.S. “Challenger,” between the years 1872 and 1876, must 
always occupy a distinguished place in the annals of geographical discovery, 
as being the first systematic attempt made on a large scale to explore the 
depths of the ocean—hitherto generally deemed unfathomable. Avoiding what 
the beaten track of the world’s commerce, it was our good fortune to follow 
in the footsteps of many illustrious navigators of the past, and to revisit scenes which they 
had beheld for the first time. 
It occurred to the Author that a description of the different parts of the world touched 
at during the cruise of the “Challenger”—intended at first merely as a record of personal 
impressions for the use of relatives and friends, assisted by fugitive sketches taken in 
moments of leisure and of rest from more serious occupations—might possess attractions for 
the educated public, many of whom have taken a deep interest in the numerous successful 
attempts made in recent years to increase our knowledge of the world we inhabit. 
The coloured drawings and typo-etchings contained in this volume are simple 
topographical and ethnographical sketches, representing, as accurately as the circumstances 
of their production would permit, the natural scenery and the inhabitants of the regions 
traversed. 
It is hoped that the pages of At Anchor may also find a welcome among naval 
men, as recording the principal features of a great undertaking, the success of which was 
largely due to the earnest co-operation of the captains and officers engaged, and to the 
devotion and skill with which they guided the ship through all the dangers incidental to a 
long cruise in the Polar Seas, as well as among the treacherous coral reefs which guard the 
approaches to the sunny isles of the Tropics. 
JOHN J. WILD. 
may be called 
London, March, 1878. 
