THE ZOOLOGIST
THIRD SERIES.
Vol. II.] SEPTEMBER, 1878. [No. 21. |
NOTES FROM AN ARCTIC JOURNAL.
By H.W. Feilden, F.G.S., C.M.Z.S.
(Naturalist to the Polar Expedition, 1875–76).
During fifteen months that I spent within the Arctic Circle with the Polar Expedition of 1875–76, I kept a regular journal, which was daily entered, either in a note-book when travelling, or more fully when on board ship. It is not proposed to reprint this journal in extenso, but it is believed that extracts relating to the Botany, Zoology, and Geology of the voyage, if brought together in a consecutive form and sufficiently condensed, will interest the reader, without committing him to wade through the historical account of the Expedition. It is, however, with some diffidence that I have undertaken the task, because three separate works on the subject have recently appeared. In the first, Sir George Nares, the Commander of the Expedition, published a carefully compiled historical account of the voyage;* in the second, Capt. Markham, of the 'Alert,' has given a graphic account of his experiences and his journey over the ice of the Polar Sea;t whilst, thirdly, Dr. Moss, of the 'Alert,' has just published a magnificent volume, % containing a series of unrivalled Polar sketches, in which the reader is brought face to face with the scenery of the Arctic World. Many references to the Natural History of the region visited are scattered through the pages of these three works, whilst in a series of appendices to Sir George Nares' narrative, a
'Narrative of a Voyage to the Polar Sea in H.M. ships "Alert" and "Discovery."'
'The Great Frozen Sea.'
'Shores of the Polar Sea.'
