Admiral Marakoff believed that the ice near the pole was thin, and that his ship would be able to steam directly to that long-sought-for goal. But in battling against the wide and heavy ice floes of the Arctic ocean, the _Ermack_ proved a failure. It is said, however, that she made five successful trips between Nova Zembla and Franz Josef land. Another expedition, the progress of which was watched with interest, was that of the Duke of Abruzzi, who is cousin to the king of Italy. He started for the North Pole in the _Stella Polare_, in 1899. In the spring of 1900, he succeeded in arriving within 239.15 statute miles of the pole. This record surpassed Nansen’s by twenty-three miles, and is, therefore, the best yet made. It is said that Abruzzi and Nansen will join in command of an expedition which will start from Franz Josef land. Both men have done valuable work in the icy North, and important results are expected from their united efforts. Captain Bernier, a French Canadian, planned to enter the Arctic by way of Bering strait. He expected then to travel over the route taken by the _Jeannette_. Bernier hoped to be carried near the pole by the ice drift. When he had reached a suitable place, he intended to leave his ship and proceed to the pole by means of dog sledges, reindeer sledges, and boats. The newly invented system of wireless telegraphy was to be used by Captain Bernier, as a means of communication with his ship. Captain Otto Sverdrup, in command of the _Fram_, was already in the North in 1902. Sverdrup won his spurs, you will remember, while on the famous Nansen expedition. He was sent out by the Norwegian government to explore the northern coast of Greenland, and to connect Peary’s work on the east coast with that of a German expedition on the west coast. Robert Stein’s expedition had not the proper equipment to seek the pole, but was designed for the exploration of Ellesmere land. Stein returned without accomplishing much valuable work. A novel plan has been announced by Dr. Anschutz Kampfe. Dr. Kampfe proposes to build a submarine boat, and proceed to the pole beneath the ice. For more than three hundred years, men have struggled to reach the North Pole. They have braved bitter winds and faced starvation and death, in order to wrest the secrets of nature from the great white North. Since Sir John Franklin’s first trip to the Arctic regions, interest in the Frozen North has never flagged. Very grave doubts as to the wisdom of spending so large sums of money and of risking so many human lives have arisen in the minds of those who have followed the story of suffering and death. It is natural in this century, when men are counting the cost of every project, to ask wherein lies the advantage of exploring the polar country, since the work is in every case so difficult, so dangerous, and in many cases fatal. But we may feel sure that the work will never cease until every part of the Frozen North is known.