Search for "the Indies" was carried on with wonderful perseverance and nerve. It is very difficult for us in these days to imagine the obstacles that these old sailors had to overcome, or the dangers their tiny craft encountered. Their little boats would now be considered absolutely impracticable for long and arduous trips; and that they should have explored all they did, shows how sturdiness and courage have caused the growth of the world's known territory. As time went on, the idea of securing the passage to the fabled lands of the riches gave place to search in the Arctic regions for the scientific knowledge that could be obtained from such expeditious. "The Indies" and their fabulous riches had become known countries which were readily reached through other routes, and the saving in time by going to them by way of the North had been found to be more than offset by the rigor and perils of an Arctic voyage, even if it could by any possibility be made. In 1818 Sir John Barrow, who did much for scientific Arctic exploration, secured the passage of a law in England offering $100,000 to any one who would find the Northwest Passage, and $25,000 to any one who should reach the 89th parallel of latitude. This stimulated the search. The expeditions of Ross, Parry, and Franklin made trips which, although not successful to the degree of winning the reward, added much to the knowledge of the Arctic regions. The Hudson Bay Company, incorporated in 1670, had all this time been actively at work investigating the new territory in the northern part of the American continent, and all this district became fairly well mapped out. Modern ingenuity has not succeeded in accomplishing very much more than was done by the ill-equipped mariners of centuries ago. American expeditions and English expeditions have gone farther into the North, but they have cost more lives. They have been more venturesome and have obtained considerable scientific data, but their gain is not in proportion to the advance in their facilities, and it seems to be established that the contest against the great icy fields of the Polar regions is one that will be waged a long time before man is the conqueror. The expeditions of our own naval engineer, Peary, are well known to us; and the trip of Greely was an interesting one. This last was undertaken by the United States after agreement among the various nations of the world as to the wisdom of pushing a series of stations in the Arctic regions for observation. A number of these stations were established, and Greely had charge of the American one.