INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
27 
highest ‘ latitude, 82° 45' N., was attained, and then 
Parry was obliged to return, owing to the efforts of his 
men to proceed north being almost counterbalanced 
by the southerly drift of the ice. No land was seen 
to the north ; the only indication of such was some 
mud in holes of the ice in 82° N. Parry succeeded in 
reaching the highest latitude that has yet been at¬ 
tained either by ship or by travelling over the ice. 
From 1835 to 1840 a scientific commission, under the 
direction of Gaimard, explored and drew up volumi¬ 
nous reports on Iceland, Greenland, and Spitzbergen. 
From 1858 onwards the Swedes have been making 
most extensive explorations in Spitzbergen and the 
surrounding seas. They have accumulated an im¬ 
mense store of valuable scientific information. They 
have made regular surveys of the Spitzbergen Islands. 
In 1864, Messrs. Nordenskiold and Duner completed 
the survey for measuring an arc of meridian in high 
latitudes, as a means of ascertaining the true figure of 
the earth. In August, 1868, the sea off North Cape 
was almost entirely free from ice. The highest lati¬ 
tude reached in the ship was 81° 42' N. in 17° 30' E., 
which is higher than Parry’s farthest or even Pages’. 
No land was seen, but in several places the ice was 
black with stones, gravel, and earth. In October 
another effort was made to advance north in the Sofia. 
