Year: 1873



 The expedition of Capt. Hall, which has so signally failed by the loss of the Polaris, was fitted out at great expense, and under the personal supervision of the naval officials at the Washington Navy Yard. At the time of the depar- ture of the Polaris her fate was predicted by experienced naval seamen who have carefully studied the chants, and pro- nounced the passage undertaken by Captain Hall as only waste of money.

 Captain Hall was an old Arctic ex- plorer, but owed his distinction chiefly to his search for the remains of the Sir John Franklin expedition. The absorb ing theory of his life was the existence of an open Polar sea, which he felt it was perfectly possible to reach by cross ing it's ice-bound margin on sledges. Captain Hall wrote and lectured good deal on the subject of the North Pole, and, like all men imbued with single ness of purpose, he made his way in the long run to the attention of the public. Finally Congress voted an appropriation of $50, ,O00 to fit out an expedition for the object of giving practical test to the theory of Hall and aiding the pro- gress of science and civilization. There was great deal of interest felt through out the country in the enterprise, and this became more evident when Con- gress, which just then happened to be in parsimonious mood, appropriated liberal means for it's equipment. A government vessel was set apart to be fitted up specially with view to Arctic navigation. This was the Porlaris. for merly the Periwinkle. She was ex- ceedingly staunch and we'll fitted, and Captain Hall gave his days and nights to experimenting her equipment.

 The lost Polaris was about 400 tons measurement, larger than the Advance, in winch Dr. Kane undertook his former voyage, and was belived to be as strong ly and as thoroughly built as wood and iron could make her.

 Captain Hall was about five feet eight inches in height, with a compact, firmly knit frame, indicative of great vigor and strength, and weighed probably about one hundred and ninety pounds. He had @ large head, with profusion of thick, brown hair and heavy brown beard inclining to curl. His forehead was broad and massive, with a full de- velopment of the temporal and coronal regions. His eyes were blue and the whole expression of the countenance firm, but very agreeable, kind and pleasant. Captain Hall hailed from Cincinnati, where he was once engaged in the newspaper business, publishing the Occasional and afterwards the Daily Penny Press. In his earlier years he was blacksmith, working at the forge, and his robust development, beyond question, was in some measure attribu table to the exercise of that ardent oc- cupation. He was in no wise a scientific or highly educated man, but had a re- markedly practical mind, with g great deal of force of character. He had never studied the science of navigation even, though he was, through experi- ence and aptitude, as competent to navi- gate ship or conduct an overland ex- ploring expedition as any of the daring band of discoverers that had endeavored to solve the great Arctic problem. He sailed northward in 1860 in search of Sir John Franklin, since which time his name and fame have been the common property of the world.