THE QUEST FOR THE SOUTH POLE
An American had placed the Stars and Stripes on the North Pole in 1909.
It was a Norwegian who succeeded in reaching the South Pole in 1911.
But the spade-work which contributed so largely to the final success
had been done so enthusiastically by two Englishmen that the
expeditions of Scott and Shackleton must find a place here before we
conclude this _Book of Discovery_ with Amundsen's final and brilliant
dash.
The crossing of the Antarctic Circle by the famous _Challenger_
expedition in 1874 revived interest in the far South. The practical
outcome of much discussion was the design of the _Discovery_, a ship
built expressly for scientific exploration, and the appointment of
Captain Scott to command an Antarctic expedition.
In August 1901, Scott left the shores of England, and by way of New
Zealand crossed the Antarctic Circle on 3rd January 1902. Three weeks
later he reached the Great Ice Barrier which had stopped Ross in 1840.
For a week Scott steamed along the Barrier. Mounts Erebus and Terror
were plainly visible, and though he could nowhere discover Parry
Mountains, yet he found distant land rising high above the sea, which
he named King Edward VII.'s Land. Scott had brought with him a captive
balloon in which he now rose to a height of eight hundred feet, from
which he saw an unbroken glacier stream of vast extent stretching to
the south. It was now time to seek for winter quarters, and Scott,
returning to McMurdo Bay named by Ross, found that it was not a bay
at all, but a strait leading southward. Here they landed their stores,
set up their hut, and spent the winter, till on 2nd November 1902 all
was ready for a sledge-journey to the south. For fifty-nine days Scott
led his little land-party of three, with four sledges and nineteen
dogs, south. But the heavy snow was too much for the dogs, and one
by one died, until not one was left and the men had to drag and push
the sledges themselves. Failing provisions at last compelled them to
stop. Great mountain summits were seen beyond the farthest point
reached.
"We have decided at last we have found something which is fitting to
bear the name of him whom we most delight to honour," says Scott, "and
Mount Markham it shall be called in memory of the father of the
expedition."
It was 30th December when a tremendous blizzard stayed their last
advance. "Chill and hungry," they lay all day in their sleeping-bags,
miserable at the thought of turning back, too weak and ill to go on.
With only provisions for a fortnight, they at last reluctantly turned
home, staggering as far as their depot in thirteen days. Shackleton
was smitten with scurvy; he was growing worse every day, and it was
a relief when on 2nd February they all reached the ship alive, "as
near spent as three persons can well be." But they had done well: they
had made the first long land journey ever made in the Antarctic; they
had reached a point which was farthest south; they had tested new
methods of travel; they had covered nine hundred and sixty miles in
ninety-three days. Shackleton was now invalided home, but it was not
till 1904 that the _Discovery_ escaped from the frozen harbour to make
her way home.
Shackleton had returned to England in 1903, but the mysterious South
Pole amid its wastes of ice and snow still called him back, and in
command of the _Nimrod_ he started forth in August 1907 on the next
British Antarctic expedition, carrying a Union Jack, presented by the
Queen, to plant on the spot farthest south. He actually placed it within
ninety-seven miles of the Pole itself!
With a petrol motor-car on board, Eskimo dogs, and Manchurian ponies,
he left New Zealand on 1st January 1908, watched and cheered by some
thirty thousand of his fellow-countrymen. Three weeks later they were
in sight of the Great Ice Barrier, and a few days later the huge
mountains of Erebus and Terror came into sight. Shackleton had hoped
to reach King Edward VII.'s Land for winter quarters, but a formidable
ice-pack prevented this, and they selected a place some twenty miles
north of the _Discovery's_ old winter quarters. Getting the wild
little Manchurian ponies ashore was no light job; the poor little
creatures were stiff after a month's constant buffeting, for the
_Nimrod's_ passage had been stormy. One after another they were now
led out of their stalls into a horse-box and slung over the ice. Once
on _terra firma_ they seemed more at home, for they immediately began
pawing the snow as they were wont to do in their far-away Manchurian
home.
[Illustration: SHACKLETON'S SHIP, THE _NIMROD_, AMONG THE ICE IN
McMURDO SOUND, THE WINTER LAND QUARTERS OF THE BRITISH ANTARCTIC
EXPEDITION. _By Sir Ernest Shackleton's permission from his book "The
Heart of the Antarctic," published by Mr. Heinemann_.]
The spacious hut, brought out by Shackleton, was soon erected. Never
was such a luxurious house set up on the bleak shores of the Polar
seas. There was a dark room for developing, acetylene gas for lighting,
a good stove for warming, and comfortable cubicles decorated with
pictures. The dark room was excellent, and never was a book of travels
more beautifully illustrated than Shackleton's _Heart of the
Antarctic_.
True, during some of the winter storms and blizzards the hut shook
and trembled so that every moment its occupants thought it would be
carried bodily away, but it stood its ground all right. The long winter
was spent as usual in preparing for the spring expedition to the south,
but it was 29th October 1908 before the weather made it possible to
make a start. The party consisted of Shackleton, Adams, Marshall, and
Wild, each leading a pony which dragged a sledge with food for
ninety-one days.
"A glorious day for our start," wrote Shackleton in his diary,
"brilliant sunshine and a cloudless sky. As we left the hut where we
had spent so many months in comfort we had a feeling of real regret
that never again would we all be together there. A clasp of the hands
means more than many words, and as we turned to acknowledge the men's
cheer, and saw them standing on the ice by the familiar cliffs, I felt
we must try to do well for the sake of every one concerned in the
expedition."
New land in the shape of ice-clad mountains greeted the explorers on
22nd November. "It is a wonderful place we are in, all new to the world,"
says Shackleton; "there is an impression of limitless solitude about
it that makes us feel so small as we trudge along, a few dark specks
on the snowy plain."
They now had to quit the Barrier in order to travel south. Fortunately
they found a gap, called the Southern Gateway, which afforded a direct
line to the Pole. But their ponies had suffered badly during the march;
they had already been obliged to shoot three of them, and on 7th
December the last pony fell down a crevasse and was killed. They had
now reached a great plateau some seven thousand feet above the sea;
it rose steadily toward the south, and Christmas Day found them "lying
in a little tent, isolated high on the roof of the world, far from
the ways trodden by man." With forty-eight degrees of frost, drifting
snow, and a biting wind, they spent the next few days hauling their
sledges up a steep incline. They had now only a month's food left.
Pressing on with reduced rations, in the face of freezing winds, they
reached a height of ten thousand and fifty feet.
It was the 6th of January, and they were in latitude 88 degrees, when
a "blinding, shrieking blizzard" made all further advance impossible.
For sixty hours the four hungry explorers lay in their sleeping-bags,
nearly perished with cold. "The most trying day we have yet spent,"
writes Shackleton, "our fingers and faces being continually
frostbitten. To-morrow we will rush south with the flag. It is our
last outward march."
The gale breaking, they marched on till 9th January, when they stopped
within ninety-seven miles of the Pole, where they hoisted the Union
Jack, and took possession of the great plateau in the King's name.
"We could see nothing but the dead-white snow plain. There was no break
in the plateau as it extended towards the Pole. I am confident that
the Pole lies on the great plateau we have discovered miles and miles
from any outstanding land."
And so the four men turned homewards. "Whatever our regret may be,
we have done our best," said the leader somewhat sadly. Blinding
blizzards followed them as they made their way slowly back. On 28th
January they reached the Great Ice Barrier. Their food was well-nigh
spent; their daily rations consisted of six biscuits and some
horse-meat in the shape of the Manchurian ponies they had shot and
left the November before. But it disagreed with most of them, and it
was four very weak and ailing men who staggered back to the _Nimrod_
toward the end of February 1909.
Shackleton reached England in the autumn of 1909 to find that another
Antarctic expedition was to leave our shores in the following summer
under the command of Scott, in the _Terra Nova_. It was one of the
best-equipped expeditions that ever started; motor-sledges had been
specially constructed to go over the deep snow, which was fatal to
the motor-car carried by Shackleton. There were fifteen ponies and
thirty dogs. Leaving England in July 1910, Scott was established in
winter quarters in McMurdo Sound by 26th January 1911. It was November
before he could start on the southern expedition.
"We left Hut Point on the evening of 2nd November. For sixty miles
we followed the track of the motors (sent on five days before). The
ponies are going very steadily. We found the motor party awaiting us
in latitude 80-1/2 degrees south. The motors had proved entirely
satisfactory, and the machines dragged heavy loads over the worst part
of the Barrier surface, crossing several crevasses. The sole cause
of abandonment was the overheating of the air-cooled engines. We are
building snow cairns at intervals of four miles to guide homeward
parties and leaving a week's provisions at every degree of latitude.
As we proceeded the weather grew worse, and snowstorms were frequent.
The sky was continually overcast, and the land was rarely visible.
The ponies, however, continued to pull splendidly."
As they proceeded south they encountered terrific storms of wind and
snow, out of which they had constantly to dig the ponies. Christmas
passed and the New Year of 1912 dawned. On 3rd January when one hundred
and fifty miles from the Pole, "I am going forward," says Scott, "with
a party of five men with a month's provisions, and the prospect of
success seems good, provided that the weather holds and no unforeseen
obstacles arise."
Scott and his companions successfully attained the object of their
journey. They reached the South Pole on 17th January only to find that
they had been forestalled by others! And it is remarkable to note that
so correct were their observations, the two parties located the Pole
within half a mile of one another.
Scott's return journey ended disastrously. Blinding blizzards
prevented rapid progress; food and fuel ran short; still the weakened
men struggled bravely forward till, within a few miles of a depot of
supplies, death overtook them.
Scott's last message can never be forgotten. "I do not regret this
journey which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardship, help one
another, and meet death with as great fortitude as ever in the past....
Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood,
endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the
heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must
tell the tale; but surely, surely, a great, rich country like ours
will see that those who are dependent upon us are properly provided
for."
It was on 14th December 1911 that Captain Amundsen had reached the
Pole. A Norwegian, fired by the example of his fellow-countryman,
Nansen, Amundsen had long been interested in both Arctic and Antarctic
exploration. In a ship of only forty-eight tons, he had, with six others,
made a survey of the North Magnetic Pole, sailed through the Behring
Strait, and accomplished the North-West Passage, for which he was
awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Geographical Society. On his
return he planned an expedition to the North Pole. He had made known
his scheme, and, duly equipped for North Polar expedition in Nansen's
little _Fram_, Amundsen started. Suddenly the world rang with the news
that Peary had discovered the North Pole, and that Amundsen had turned
his prow southwards and was determined to make a dash for the South
Pole. Landing in Whales Bay some four hundred miles to the east of
Scott's winter quarters, his first visitors were the Englishmen on
board the _Terra Nova_, who were taking their ship to New Zealand for
the winter.
Making a hut on the shore, Amundsen had actually started on his journey
to the Pole before Scott heard of his arrival.
"I am fully alive to the complication in the situation arising out
of Amundsen's presence in the Antarctic," wrote the English explorer,
"but as any attempt at a race might have been fatal to our chance of
getting to the Pole at all, I decided to do exactly as I should have
done had not Amundsen been here. If he gets to the Pole he will be
bound to do it rapidly with dogs, and one foresees that success will
justify him."
Although the Norwegian explorer left his winter quarters on 8th
September for his dash to the Pole, he started too early; three of
his party had their feet frostbitten, and the dogs suffered severely,
so he turned back, and it was not till 20th October, just a week before
Scott's start, that he began in real earnest his historic journey.
He was well off for food, for whales were plentiful on the shores of
the Bay, and seals, penguins, and gulls abounded. The expedition was
well equipped, with eight explorers, four sledges, and thirteen dogs
attached to each.
"Amundsen is a splendid leader, supreme in organisation, and the
essential in Antarctic travel is to think out the difficulties before
they arise." So said those who worked with him on his most successful
journey.
Through dense fog and blinding blizzards the Norwegians now made their
way south, their Norwegian skis and sledges proving a substantial help.
The crevasses in the ice were very bad; one dog dropped in and had
to be abandoned; another day the dogs got across, but the sledge fell
in, and it was necessary to climb down the crevasse, unpack the sledge,
and pull up piece by piece till it was possible to raise the empty
sledge. So intense was the cold that the very brandy froze in the bottle
and was served out in lumps.
"It did not taste much like brandy then," said the men, "but it burnt
our throats as we sucked it."
The dogs travelled well. Each man was responsible for his own team;
he fed them and made them fond of him. Thus all through November the
Norwegians travelled south, till they reached the vast plateau
described by Shackleton. One tremendous peak, fifteen thousand feet
high, they named "Frithjof Nansen."
On 14th December they reached their goal; the weather was beautiful,
the ground perfect for sledging.
"At 3 p.m. we made halt," says Amundsen. "According to our reckoning,
we had reached our destination. All of us gathered round the colours--a
beautiful silken flag; all hands took hold of it, and, planting it
on the spot, we gave the vast plateau on which the Pole is situate
the name of 'The King Haakon VII.' It was a vast plain, alike in all
directions, mile after mile."
Here in brilliant sunshine the little party camped, taking
observations till 17th December, when, fastening to the ground a
little tent with the Norwegian flag and the _Fram_ pennant, they gave
it the name "Polheim" and started for home.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN ROALD AMUNDSEN TAKING SIGHTS AT THE SOUTH POLE.
From a photograph, by permission of Mr. John Murray and the
_Illustrated London News_.]
So the North and South Poles yielded up their well-hoarded secrets
after centuries of waiting, within two and a half years of one another.
They had claimed more lives than any exploration had done before, or
is ever likely to do again.
And so ends the last of these great earth-stories--stories which have
made the world what it is to-day--and we may well say with one of the
most successful explorers of our times, "The future may give us
thrilling stories of the conquest of the air, but the spirit of man
has mastered the earth."
DATES OF CHIEF EVENTS
PAGE DATE
4 The oldest known Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.C. 6000-5000
7 Expedition to Punt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 1600
11 Phoenician Expeditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 700
19 Neco's Fleet built . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 613
23 Anaximander, the Greek, invents Maps . . . . . . " 580
25 Hecataeus writes the First Geography . . . . . . " 500
27 Herodotus describes Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . " 446
30 Hanno sails down West Coast of Africa . . . . . . " 450
32 Xenophon crosses Asia Minor . . . . . . . . . . . " 401
38 Alexander the Great finds India . . . . . . . . . " 327
41 Nearchus navigates the Indian Ocean . . . . . . . " 326
45 The Geography of Eratosthenes . . . . . . . . . . " 240-196
48 Pytheas discovers the British Isles and Thule . . " 333
55 Julius Caesar explores France, Britain, Germany . " 60-54
61 Strabo's Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A.D. 18
68 Agricola discovers the Highlands . . . . . . . . " 83
71 Pliny's Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " 170
74 Ptolemy's Geography and Maps . . . . . . . . . . " 159
78 The First Guide for Travellers . . . . . . . . . Fourth century
83 St. Patrick explores Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432-93
85 St. Columba reaches the Orkney Isles . . . . . . . . . . . 563
85 St. Brandon crosses the Atlantic . . . . . . . . Sixth century
90 Willibald travels from Britain to Jerusalem . . . . . . . . 721
92 The Christian Topography of Cosmas . . . . . . . Sixth century
94 Naddod the Viking discovers Iceland . . . . . . . . . . . . 861
95 Erik the Red discovers Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . 985
95 Lief discovers Newfoundland and North American Coast . . . 1000
97 Othere navigates the Baltic Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 890
99 Mohammedan Travellers to China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831
103 Edrisi's Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1154
108 Benjamin of Tudela visits India and China . . . . . . . . . 1160
110 Carpini visits the Great Khan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1246
112 William de Rubruquis also visits the Great Khan . . . . . . 1255
115 Maffio and Niccolo Polo reach China . . . . . . . . . . 1260-71
117 Marco Polo's Travels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1271-95
126 Ibn Batuta's Travels through Asia . . . . . . . . . . . 1324-48
126 Sir John Mandeville's Travels published . . . . . . . . . . 1372
134 Hereford Mappa Mundi appeared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1280
137 Anglo-Saxon Map of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 990
138 Prince Henry of Portugal encourages Exploration . . . . . . 1418
140 Zarco and Vaz reach Porto Santo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1419
140 Zarco discovers Madeira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1420
142 Nuno Tristam discovers Cape Blanco . . . . . . . . . . . . 1441
143 Gonsalves discovers Cape Verde Islands . . . . . . . . . . 1442
144 Cadamosto reaches the Senegal River and Cape Verde . . . . 1455
145 Diego Gomez reaches the Gambia River . . . . . . . . . . . 1458
148 Death of Prince Henry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1460
149 Fra Mauro's Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1457
150 Diego Cam discovers the Congo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1484
152 Bartholomew Diaz rounds the Cape of Good Hope . . . . . . . 1486
153 Martin Behaim makes his Globe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1492
160 Christopher Columbus discovers West Indies . . . . . . . . 1492
166 Columbus finds Jamaica and other Islands . . . . . . . . . 1493
167 Columbus finds Trinidad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1498
169 Death of Columbus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1504
170 Amerigo Vespucci finds Trinidad and Venezuela . . . . . . . 1499
175 First Map of the New World by Juan de la Cosa . . . . . . . 1500
177 Vasco da Gama reaches India by the Cape . . . . . . . . . . 1497
181 Pedro Cabral discovers Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1500
188 Francisco Serrano reaches the Spice Islands . . . . . . . . 1511
192 Balboa sees the Pacific Ocean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1513
203 The First Circumnavigation of the World . . . . . . . . 1519-22
206 Cordova discovers Yucatan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1517
206 Juan Grijalva discovers Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1518
209 Cortes conquers Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1519
217 Pizarro conquers Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1531
221 Orellana discovers the Amazon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1541
225 Cabot sails to Newfoundland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1497
228 Jacques Cartier discovers the Gulf of St. Lawrence . . . . 1534
236 Sir Hugh Willoughby finds Nova Zembla . . . . . . . . . . . 1553
238 Richard Chancellor reaches Moscow _via_ Archangel . . . . . 1554
240 Anthony Jenkinson crosses Russia to Bokhara . . . . . . . . 1558
244 Pinto claims the discovery of Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . 1542
245 Martin Frobisher discovers his Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . 1576
249 Drake sails round the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1577-80
260 Davis finds his Strait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1586
269 Barents discovers Spitzbergen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1596
275 Hudson sails into his Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1610
281 Baffin discovers his Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1616
285 Sir Walter Raleigh explores Guiana . . . . . . . . . . . . 1595
290 Champlain discovers Lake Ontario . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1615
298 Torres sails through his Strait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1605
299 Le Maire rounds Cape Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1617
302 Tasman finds Tasmania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1642
306 Dampier discovers his Strait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1698
312 Behring finds his Strait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1741
322 Cook discovers New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1769
326 Cook anchors in Botany Bay, Australia . . . . . . . . . . . 1770
333 Cook discovers the Sandwich Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . 1777
338 La Perouse makes discoveries in China Seas . . . . . . . 1785-8
347 Bruce discovers the source of the Blue Nile . . . . . . . . 1770
353 Mungo Park reaches the Niger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1796
359 Vancouver explores his Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1792
362 Mackenzie discovers his River and British Columbia . . 1789-93
366 Ross discovers Melville Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1818
368 Parry discovers Lancaster Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1819
372 Franklin reaches the Polar Sea by Land . . . . . . . . 1819-22
378 Parry's discoveries on North American Coast . . . . . . . . 1822
382 Franklin names the Mackenzie River . . . . . . . . . . . . 1825
386 Beechey doubles Icy Cape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1826
388 Parry attempts the North Pole by Spitzbergen . . . . . . . 1827
392 Denham and Clapperton discover Lake Tchad . . . . . . . . . 1822
396 Clapperton reaches the Niger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1826
397 Rene Caille enters Timbuktu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1829
402 Richard and John Lander find the Mouth of the Niger . . . . 1830
404 Ross discovers Boothia Felix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1829
405 James Ross finds the North Magnetic Pole . . . . . . . . . 1830
411 Bass discovers his Strait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1797
413 Flinders and Bass sail round Tasmania . . . . . . . . . . . 1798
416 Flinders surveys South Coast of Australia . . . . . . . . 1801-4
421 Sturt traces the Darling and Murray Rivers . . . . . . 1828-31
424 Burke and Wills cross Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1861
429 Ross discovers Victoria Land in the Antarctic . . . . . . . 1840
432 Franklin discovers the North-West Passage . . . . . . . . . 1847
440 Livingstone crosses Africa from West to East . . . . . 1849-56
452 Burton and Speke discover Lake Tanganyika . . . . . . . . . 1857
454 Speke sees Victoria Nyanza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1858
457 Livingstone finds Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa . . . . . . . 1858-64
461 Speke and Grant enter Uganda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1861
468 Baker meets Speke and Grant at Gondokoro . . . . . . . . . 1861
470 Baker discovers Albert Nyanza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1864
477 Livingstone finds Lakes Meoro and Bangweolo . . . . . . . . 1868
482 Stanley finds Livingstone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1871
484 Livingstone dies at Ilala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1873
499 Stanley finds the Mouth of the Congo . . . . . . . . . . . 1877
509 Nordenskiold solves the North-East Passage . . . . . . . . 1879
519 Younghusband enters Lhasa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1904
524 Nansen reaches Farthest North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1895
534 Peary reaches the North Pole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1909
544 Amundsen reaches the South Pole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1911
INDEX
Abram, 4.
Abyssinia, 344-7.
Afghanistan, 36.
Africa, 20-2, 72, 103, 127, 339.
" Central, 349-56, 391-402, 442-500.
" South, 152, 173-6, 440.
" West Coast, 22, 30, 139, 143-51, 349.
Agricola, 68.
Alaska, 317, 334, 338.
Albert Nyanza, 470.
Albuquerque, Alphonso d', 184-8.
Alexander the Great, 35-43.
Alexandria, 45, 74.
Alfred the Great, 96.
Almagro, Diego de, 220.
Almeida, Francisco, 184-6.
" Lorenzo, 185-6.
Alvarado, Pedro de, 206, 208.
Amazon, 221.
America (Central), 168, 170, 191, 205.
" (North), 95, 228, 255, 275, 316, 358.
" (South), 167, 170, 180, 196, 215, 252.
Amundsen, R., 542-4.
_Anabasis_ (of Xenophon), 34.
Anaximander, 23.
Andes, 217, 220.
Antarctic regions, 331, 428-31, 536-44.
Arab explorers, 98-107, 126.
_Arabian Nights, The_, 101.
Arctic regions, 53, 238, 259-84, 312-8, 365-90, 403-9, 501-10, 521-35.
Arculf, 88-90.
Argonauts, 13-6.
Auckland, 429.
Australia, 296-301, 307-11, 326-38, 410-27.
Babylonia, 3-4, 32.
Back, Sir George, 372-4, 382.
Baffin, William, 280-3.
Baffin's Bay, 282-3.
Bagdad, 109.
Bahamas, 160.
Baker, Sir Samuel, 465-73.
Balboa, Vasco Nunez de, 190-3.
Balbus, 72.
Bangweolo, Lake, 477.
Banks, Sir Joseph, 320, 336, 349, 413.
Barents, William, 265-72.
Bass, George, 410-3.
Baudin, Nicholas, 414.
Behring, Vitus, 312-8.
Behring's Strait, 312-8, 334.
Benjamin of Tudela, 108.
Black Sea, 14.
Bogle, George, 512.
_Book of the Tartars_, 97.
Boothia, 404.
Borneo, 102.
Botany Bay, 326, 336.
Brandon's Isle, 86-7.
Brazil, 181, 196.
British Columbia, 358, 362.
" Isles, 48, 50-2, 57-60, 66-9, 74.
Bruce, James, 339-48.
Burke, R. O'Hara, 424.
Burton, Sir Richard, 450-5.
Button, Sir Thomas, 280.
Cabot, John and Sebastian, 224-7.
Cabral, Pedro, 180-2.
Cadamosto, Luigi, 143-5.
Caille, Rene, 396.
Calicut, 129, 177-8, 181-3, 186.
California, 255.
Cam, Diego, 150-1.
Canada, 228-34.
Cano, Juan del, 204.
Carpentaria, 300, 416.
Carpini, Johannes, 110.
Cartier, Jacques, 228-34.
Caspian Sea, 36, 240.
Cassiterides, _see_ "Tin Islands."
Cathay, _see_ China.
Ceylon, 91, 105, 124, 185-6.
Champlain, Samuel, 290-5.
Chancellor, Richard, 235-9.
Chatham Island, 358.
Chelyuskin, Cape, 504, 522.
Chili, 220, 254.
China, 75, 92, 99-101, 110-24, 130-1.
Chitral, 38.
_Christian Topography_, 92, 133.
Christmas Island, 333.
Chukches, 315, 507.
Circumnavigation of Africa, 19-22.
" " the World, 196-204, 249-57, 308.
Clapperton, Lieut. Hugh, 391-6.
Cochin, 184-5.
Columbus, Christopher, 155-70.
Cook, James, 319-35.
Congo River, 150-1, 480, 491-500.
Cordova, Francisco Hernando de, 205.
Cortes, Hernando, 207-14.
Cosmas, 90-2, 132.
Cuba, 161, 166.
Dampier, William, 306-11.
Darien, 168, 191-2.
Davis, John, 259-64.
Davis Strait, 260, 281.
Delphi, 24.
Denham, Major, 391-5.
Diaz, Bartholomew, 151-4, 180-1.
Drake, Sir Francis, 249-58.
Drusus (Germanicus), 69-71.
Edrisi, 108.
Egypt, 4-8, 26.
"El Dorado," 222, 285.
Eratosthenes, 45-7.
Erik, 94.
Eskimos, 246, 262, 281, 367, 379, 385, 405, 435.
Flinders, Matthew, 410-8.
Floki, 94.
Florida, 205.
France, _see_ Gaul.
Franklin, Sir John, 368, 372-8, 382-7, 482-9.
Franz Joseph Land, 526-8.
"Friar John," _see_ Carpini.
Frobisher, Martin, 245-8, 296.
Gama, Vasco da, 171-9, 182-3.
Gambia River, 30, 145, 349, 355.
Gardar, 94.
Gaul, 53-8.
Germany, 55-7, 69-71.
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 259.
Gobi Desert, 75, 118.
Gomez, Diego, 145-8.
Good Hope, Cape of, 21, 152-4, 174, 181, 257.
Grant, Captain J. A., 460-6.
Greenland, 95, 246, 260-3, 274, 282, 501, 521.
Grijalva, Juan, 206.
Guiana, 287-8.
Hanno, 29-32.
Hawaii, 333, 335.
Hawkins, Sir John, 250.
Hayti, 161, 168, 191.
Hecataeus, 25.
Hedin, Sven, 518.
Helena, 77-8.
Henry of Portugal, Prince, 138-49.
Herodotus, 19-22, 26-9.
Himilco, 49.
Holland, 51.
Homer, 16-8.
Honduras, 213-4.
Horn, Cape, 253, 300.
Houghton, Major, 350-1.
Huc, Abbe, 514-8.
Hudson, Henry, 273-9.
Hudson River, 276.
" Strait, 248, 277, 281.
Hudson's Bay, 246, 372.
Huron Lake, 294.
Ibn Batuta, 126-32.
Iceland, 94, 277.
India, 38-43, 66, 128, 177-86.
Ireland, 59, 63, 66, 69, 83-6.
Ithobal, 20-3.
_Itinerary from Bordeaux to Jerusalem_, 78-9.
Jamaica, 166.
Japan, 123, 241, 282.
Java, 124, 328.
Jenkinson, Anthony, 240-1.
Jerusalem, 24, 77-9, 89.
Julius Caesar, 54-60.
Kamtchatka, 313-8.
Kara Sea, 504, 522.
" Strait, 503.
King Edward VII.'s Land, 536.
Kin Sai, 120.
Kublai Khan, 115-25.
Kyber Pass, 38.
Labrador, 96, 228, 262-4.
Ladrones Islands, 202.
Lander, John and Richard, 396, 399-402.
La Perouse, Comte de, 338.
Lapland, 238.
Le Maire, Isaac, 299.
Lhasa, 511-20.
Libya, 20, 27-9.
Lief, 95.
Livingstone, David, 440-9, 456-9, 474-85.
Machin, Robert, 141.
McClintock, Sir Leopold, 433-9.
McClure, Sir R. J. Le M., 433.
Mackenzie, Alexander, 362-4, 382.
Madagascar, 103.
Madeira, 86, 140.
Magellan, Ferdinand, 190, 193-202, 296.
Magellan's Strait, 198-9, 253.
Magnetic Poles, 405, 430.
Malabar, 182-3.
Malacca, 187-8.
Malay Archipelago, 188-9.
Mandeville, Sir John, 126.
Manilla, 298.
Manning, Thomas, 513.
Maoris, 303, 322.
Maps (ancient), 24, 46, 62, 75, 92, 108, 133-7, 149, 305.
Massoudy, 107.
_Meadows of Gold_, 107.
Mesopotamia, 2-4.
Mexico, 206-14.
Mongolia, _see_ China.
Montreal, 232, 292, 295.
Mota, Antonio de, 241.
Mozambique, 176.
Mumbo Jumbo, 350.
Murchison Falls, 472.
Murray River, 421.
Murrumbidgee River, 420-4.
Naddod, 94.
Nansen, Fridtjof, 521-9.
Natal, 175.
Nearchus, 41-5.
Neco, 19-20.
New Albion, 255, 333, 358.
Newfoundland, 96, 225-7, 275.
New Guinea, 298, 303-5, 310.
New Holland, _see_ Australia.
New South Wales, 328, 410, 415.
New Zealand, 303, 322-6.
Niger River, 72, 348, 353-6, 396, 399-402.
Nigeria, 394-402.
Nile, The, 4-9, 27, 339-42, 345-7, 454-62, 468, 470.
Nordenskiold, Baron, 501-10.
North-East Passage, 235-40, 315, 501-10.
North-West Passage, 245-64, 290, 332, 366, 403, 433.
North Pole, 531-5.
Nova Scotia, 229.
Nova Zembla, 237, 265-72, 503.
Nyassaland (and lake), 458-9, 475.
Ontario, 294.
Orellana, Francisco de, 220-2.
Orinoco, 167, 285-8.
Otaheite, 320-2.
Othere, 96.
Oudney, Dr., 391-4.
Oxus, 37, 117, 241.
Pacific Ocean, 130, 192, 199-203, 250, 253.
Panama, 191, 250, 306.
Park, Mungo, 348-56, 396.
Parry, Sir W. E., 365-71, 378-81, 388-90.
Patagonia, 196-9, 252.
Paula, 80.
Peary, R. E., 530-5.
Pekin, 115, 119.
Pelsart, Captain, 300, 309.
_Periplus_ (of Hanno), 29.
Persia, 32-3, 117.
Peru, 216-20.
Philippine Islands, 202, 256.
Phillip, Captain, 336.
Phoenicians, 10-3, 19-23, 29-32.
Pilgrims, 77-92.
Pinto, Mendex, 241-2.
Pizarro, Francisco, 215-23.
Pliny, 66, 71-3.
Polo, Niccolo, Maffio, and Marco 115-25.
Prester John, 111, 126, 176.
Prickett, Abacuk, 277, 280.
Przhevalsky, N. M., 518.
Ptolemy, 74-6.
Punjab, 39.
Punt, 5-8.
Pytheas, 48-53.
Quebec, 290.
Quilimane River, 175.
Quiros, Pedro Fernandez De, 298.
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 285-9.
Red Sea, 5-7, 20-1, 343.
Richardson, Sir John, 372-87.
Ripon Falls, 463.
Ross, Sir James, 388, 403-9, 428-31, 433.
Ross, Sir John, 365-8, 403-9.
Rubruquis, William de, 112-4.
Russia, 238-40, 313.
Sahara, 391.
St. Brandon, 85-7.
St. Columba, 84-5.
St. Lawrence River, 228, 230, 290.
St. Louis River, 292.
St. Patrick, 83-4.
St. Paul's Island, 200.
Sandwich Islands, 333, 335.
San Francisco, 255.
Sargasso Sea, 50.
Scandinavia, 72, 93, 97.
Schouten, Cornelius, 299.
Scotland, 68, 84-5.
Scott, Captain R. F., 536-42.
Senegal River, 30, 144, 351.
Sequira, Diogo Lopes de, 186.
Serrano, Francisco, 188, 194.
Shackleton, Sir E. H., 536-40.
Shirwa, Lake, 457.
Siberia, 313-8.
Sierra Leone, 29-30, 143.
"Sindbad the Sailor," 101-6.
Society Islands, 322.
Socotra, 184.
Solis, Juan Diaz de, 196.
Somaliland, _see_ Punt.
South Pole, 536-44.
Spain, 49, 64.
Speke, J. H., 450-5, 460-6.
Spice Islands, 188-90, 203, 256.
Spitzbergen, 269, 274, 388, 501.
Staaten Land, 299, 303, 324.
Stanley, Sir H. M., 480-2, 486-500.
Stanley Falls, 494.
Strabo, 52, 61-7.
Sturt, Captain, 418-24.
Sudan, The, 468.
Sumatra, 104, 124, 130, 187.
Sydney, 337.
Sylvia of Aquitaine, 80-2.
Tacitus, 69-71.
Tanganyika, 452, 476, 491.
Tartary, 110.
Tasman, Abel Jansen, 302-5.
Tasmania, 302-5, 413.
Tchad, Lake, 392.
Thule, 51-3, 97.
Tibet, 123, 511-20.
Tierra del Fuego, 199, 254.
Timbuktu, 391-8.
"Tin Islands," The, 10, 12, 48-50.
Tippu Tib, 492.
Torres, Luiz Vaez de, 298.
Torres Strait, 298.
Trinidad, 167.
Tsana, Lake, 345.
Tyre, 29.
Uganda, 461, 488.
Ulysses, 16-8.
Vancouver, 255, 357-61.
Vancouver, Captain, 357-61.
Van Diemen's Land, 302, 410-2.
Vasco da Gama, _see_ Gama.
Vera Cruz, 208-9.
Vespucci, Amerigo, 169-70.
Victoria Falls, 445.
" Nyanza, 454, 462, 487.
Vikings, 93-6.
West Indies, 160-1, 164-8.
White Sea, 238.
Willibald, 90.
Willoughby, Sir Hugh, 235-8.
Wills, W. J., 424-6.
Xenophon, 22-4, 33-4.
Younghusband, Sir F. E., 519.
Zambesi River, 442-8.
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