, 1882-11-17
.fTIENPTS TO REi en- THE
NORTH POLF.

nianet mas ever thougut the llII VI" Wv
Inhahit worthy of telescope study, there
can be little doubt that the snowy re-
gions which surround the Arctic and Ant
arctic poles must have attracted n large
share of his attention. Waxing and
waning with the passing seasons, those
two white patches afford significant in
telligence respecting the circumstances
uf our planets constitution. They mark
the direction of the imaginary axial line
upon which the planet rotates; so that
we can imagine how an astronomer on
Mars or Venus could judge from theirpo-
Aition how it fares with terrestrical Great
ures. There may, indeed, be astrono-
mers who laugh to scorn the notion that
aglobe so inconveniently circumstanced
as ours can be inhabited. and are ready
to show that if there were living beings
here they must be quickly destroyed by
excessive heat. On the other hand,
there are doubtless skeptics on Venus
also who smile at the vanity of those
who can conceive frozen world such as
this, our outer planet, to be inhabited by
any sort of living creature. But we
doubt not that the more-advanced think.
crs both in Mars and Venus are ready to
admit that the earth is inhabited
Such questions as these might possibly
lie resolved at once, could our astrono-
lners take their stand on some neighbor-
ing planet, and direct the searching
power of their telescopes upon this ter
restrial orb. For this is one of those
cases referred to by Humboldt, when he
said that there are circumstances under
which man is able to learn more respect
ing objects millions of miles away from
him than respecting the very globe
which he inhabits.
If we take terrestrial globe and ex-
anime the actual region near the North
pole which has as yet remained unvisit-
nd by man, it will be found to be far
nmallGr than most people are in the
habit of imagining. In nearly all maps
the requirements of charting result in o
considerable exaggeration of the polar
regions. This is the case in the ordi-
nary "maps of the two hemispheres
which are to be found in all aliases,
And it is, Of course, the case to much
more remarkable extent in what is
termed Mercator's projection. In a
Mercator's chprt we see Greenland, for
example, exaggerated into q continent
fully as large as South America, or to
seven or eight times its real dimensions.
There are three principal directions in
which explorers have attempted to APP
proach the North pole. The first is
that by the way OF the sea which lies
between Greenland and Spitzbergen.
We include under this head Sir Edward
Parry's attempt to reach the pole by
crossing the ice fields which lie to the
north Of Spitzbergen. The second is
that by way OF the straits which lie to
the west of Greenland. The third is
that pursued by Russian explorers who
have attempted to cross the frozen seas
which surround the northern shores of
Siberia.
In considering the limits of the un-
known North-polar regions, we shall also
have to take into account the voyages
which have been made around the north.
ern shores Of the American continent in
search Tor Northwestern passage.
The explorers who set out upon this
search found themselves gradually forced
10 seek higher and higher latitudes ii
they would find away round the COM
plicat, barriers presented by the ice-
bound straits and islands which lie to the
north OF the American continent. And
t may be noticed in passing, ~ q re-
utitl uulOICSccu circumstance,
that the farther north the yoyagers went
tl.s less severe was the cold they had to
encounter.
II W. examine map OF North Amer
rl constructed in recent times, we sh"ll
sna t'r.: hcjweGn Greenland and Canada
"nse extent of coast line has
been charted. A vast archipelago COW
ers this part of the northern world. Or,
II the strangely-complicated coast lines
which have been laid down really be-
long TO but small number of islands,
the figures of these must be of the most
fantastic kind. Toward the north west,
however, we find several islands whose
outlines have been entirely ascertained.
Tina rUa hoya sno