4 THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE KARLUK 
ever gone into the Arctic. It differed, too, in one 
other respect than that of size, from previous 
Arctic expeditions, in that its main objects were 
essentially practical,—in fact, one might say, com¬ 
mercial. It was in two divisions. The northern 
party, under Stefansson himself, was primarily to 
investigate the theory so ably advanced by Dr. R. 
A. Harris of the United States Coast and Geodetic 
Survey that new land—perhaps a new continent— 
was to be found north of Beaufort Sea, which is 
that part of the Arctic Ocean immediately to the 
north of Alaska. “The main work of the party 
aboard the Karluk ”—to quote Stefansson—“was 
to be the exploration of the region lying west of 
the Parry Islands and especially that portion lying 
west and northwest from Prince Patrick Island. 
The Karluk was to sail north approximately along 
the 141st meridian until her progress was interfered 
with either by ice or by the discovery of land. If 
land were discovered a base was to be established 
upon it, but if the obstruction turned out to be ice 
an effort was to be made to follow the edge east¬ 
ward with the view of making a base for the first 
year’s work near the southwest comer of Prince 
Patrick Island, or, failing that, on the west coast 
of Banks Island. 55 The Karluk was to go first to 
Herschel Island, the old rendezvous of the Arctic 
whaling fleet and the northernmost station of the 
