Sir George Nares appointed to the _Alert_ and _Discovery_--Overtaking a Season--Red Snow--The Greenland Mosquito--Peculiarities of Eskimo Dogs--And Dog Whips--Dangers of Kayaks--Advantages of Steam for Polar Regions--An Unpleasant Experience--A Huge Walrus--Arctic Scenery--A Big "Bag"--The Ships part Company--The _Alert_ reaches the Polar Sea--Winter Quarters--The North Pole attempted--Adventures and Sufferings of the Party--Lieutenant Parr's Heroism--Deliverance--The Greenland Attempt--Scurvy and Snow--Repulse Bay--In Pitiable Plight--Lieutenant Rawson to the Rescue 83 CHAPTER VI THE GREELY EXPEDITION The Scheme of the Expedition--Fort Conger--Arctic Wolves--Atmospheric Marvels--A Terrific Storm--Influence of the Sun--Lieutenant Lockwood's Expedition--The Second Winter--Preparations for Departure--They leave Fort Conger--A Remarkable Ice Passage--They fail to make Cape Sabine--A New Camp--Rations running Short--Fruitless Efforts to reach Food Depôts--Starvation and Death--A Bitter Blow--The Arrival of the _Thetis_ 114 CHAPTER VII PEARY IN GREENLAND The Greenland Question--Departure of the _Kite_--Peary breaks his Leg--A Camp made--Habits of the Eskimo--A Brush with Walrus--"Caching" Food--An Arctic Christmas Feast--Peary starts for the Great Ice-Cap--A Snow Sahara--The Ice-Cap Crossed--A Marvellous Discovery--Sails on Sledges--A Safe Return 146 CHAPTER VIII NANSEN AND THE _FRAM_ Nansen's Theories of Arctic Currents and Shipbuilding--His Theories adopted--The _Fram_ Built--A Start made--The Kara Sea reached--Good Hunting--The Ice Current reached--Frozen in--A Raid by a Bear--Will the _Fram_ stand the Pressure?--Preparing for Calamity--A Conclusive Test--Causes of Ice Movements--Life on the _Fram_--Nansen and Johansen leave the _Fram_--They reach their "Farthest North"--Incidents of their Return Journey--Some Narrow Escapes--The Meeting with Jackson--Arrival of the _Fram_ 173 CHAPTER IX FRANZ JOSEF LAND AND SPITZBERGEN The Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition--Object of the Expedition--An Interesting Experiment--The Franz Josef Land Question settled--A Group of Islands, not a Continent--Conway at Spitzbergen--Ancient History--Bygone Splendours--Scenery in the Making--The Romance of Andrée--Another Riddle 220 CHAPTER X THE POLAR METEORITES Eskimo Iron--A Mystery of 1818--Search and Failure--Peary and his Huskies--The Secret revealed--An Eskimo Legend--At the Iron Mountain--Removing the Trophies--A Massive Giant--Attack and Defence--The Giant Objects--A Narrow Escape--Conquered 236 CHAPTER XI THE SECOND VOYAGE OF THE _FRAM_ Norwegian Enterprise--Mapping the Islands--Nearly Frozen--A Novel Warming-Pan--Eskimo Melody--Arctic Bull Fights--Death of the Doctor--Fire on the _Fram_--New Lands--Prehistoric People 249 CHAPTER XII ITALY CLAIMS THE RECORD