MAP OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS SHOWING ROUTE OF NANSEN AND THE _FRAM_ " " 173 THE _FRAM_ IN THE ICE " " 185 NANSEN AND JOHANSEN START ON THEIR DASH FOR THE POLE " " 198 THE MEETING OF JACKSON AND NANSEN " " 216 THE FRONT EDGE OF KING'S GLACIER, WESTERN SPITZBERGEN " " 230 ESKIMO ARMS AND TOOLS " " 240 ESKIMO VISITORS TO THE _FRAM_ IN NIGHT ATTIRE " " 256 ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE _STELLA POLARE_ " " 272 SKETCH MAP SHOWING CAPTAIN AGNI'S FARTHEST NORTH " " 280 THE _SOUTHERN CROSS_ IN THE ICE PACK " " 305 THE AURORA AUSTRALIS " " 310 EMPEROR PENGUINS " " 312 POLAR OUTFIT USED BY THE _BELGICA_ EXPEDITION " " 320 MAP OF SOUTH POLAR REGIONS " " 339 THE _DISCOVERY_ LYING IN WINTER QUARTERS, FROZEN IN " " 340 THE FARTHEST SOUTH SLEDGE PARTY IN A BLIZZARD " " 344 A DRIFTING ICE FLOE ATTACHED TO THE _DISCOVERY_ BY A ROPE " " 348 The Romance of Polar Exploration CHAPTER I THE ARCTIC REGION The Mystery of the North Pole--The First Explorer--"The Great Dark Wall at the End of the World"--"Frost-Smoke"--The Lights and Sounds of the North--The Aurora Borealis--Mock Moons--The Early Adventurers: Willoughby, Frobisher, Davis, Hudson, Baffin, Ross, and Parry--The North-West Passage. In all the range of romantic adventure to be found in the history of man, there is, perhaps, none which appeals so strongly to the imagination as the search for the Poles. In all the tales of daring courage and patient, persistent bravery, two qualities which stand foremost in the admiration of every English-speaking boy, the tales of the fearless explorers who have faced the terrors and the mystery of the frozen regions are without a rival.