In addition to these facts are the following items which have a bearing upon the shape and size of this unknown land:

The westerly drifting of the _Jeannette_.

The westerly drifting north of Alaska observed by Mikkelsen and Leffingwell.

The existence of Crocker Land.

The shoaling indicated by a sounding of 310 fathoms taken in Lat. 85 23' N.

The eastward progression of the tide wave along the northern coast of Grant Land as shown by observations at Point Aldrich, Cape Sheridan, and Cape Bryant.

The great age of the ice found in Beaufort Sea.

Items of some importance in this connection, but which cannot be regarded as established facts are:

The probable westerly courses taken by casks set adrift off Point Barrow and off Cape Bathurst, the one recovered on the northeastern coast of Iceland, the other on the northern coast of Norway;

The question suggested by Harrison whether or not enough ice escapes from the Arctic to account for the quant.i.ty which must be formed there if one were to adopt the a.s.sumption of an un.o.bstructed polar basin.

Taking various facts into consideration, it would seem that an obstruction (land, islands, or shoals) containing nearly half a million square statute miles probably exists. That one corner lies north of Bennett Island; another, north of Point Barrow; another, near Banks Land and Prince Patrick Island; and another, at or near Crocker Land.

METEOROLOGY.--Regular hourly observations of the thermometer and barometer were carried on day and night by the tide observers.

A brief resume of the results obtained is given below, together with a few taken from the Report of the Proceedings of the U. S. Expedition to Lady Franklin Bay by Lieutenant (now General) A. W. Greely.

TEMPERATURES

------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cape Sheridan |Fort Conger[7]

----------------------------------------------------------+-------------- |Maximum |Minimum| Mean | Mean -------------------------------+--------+-------+---------+-------------- | | | | November 14-30 | - 7 | -39 | -23.96 | December, 1908 | - 5 | -53 | -29.22 | -28.10 January, 1909 | - 6 | -49 | -30.61 | -38.24 February, 1909 | - 7 | -49 | -31.71 | -40.13 March, 1909 | +13 | -52 | -20.87 | -28.10 April, 1909 | +13 | -37 | -15.63 | -13.55 May, 1909 | +46 | -15 | +18.00 | +14.08 June, 1909 | +52 | +15 | +31.51 | +32.65 November 17-December 18, 1908 | - 7 | -39 | -25.75 | January 16-February 12, 1909 | -21 | -48 | -35.48 | May 17-May 22, 1909 | +37 | +12 | +22.97 | June 11-June 25, 1909 | +50 | +25 | +34.17 | ==========================================================================

TEMPERATURES

------------------------------------------------------------------------- Station | Date |Maximum | Minimum | Mean | | | | -------------------+-----------------------+--------+---------+---------- Point Aldrich near | | | | Cape Columbia | Nov. 17-Dec. 13, 1908 | -14 | -46 |-31.96 Cape Bryant | Jan. 16-Feb. 12, 1909 | -12 | -55 |-36.68 Cape Morris Jesup | May 17-May 22, 1909 | +35 | +16 |+27.92 Fort Conger | June 11-June 25, 1909 | +54 | +28 |+34.44 Fort Conger[7] | June 11-June 25, 1882 | +44.4 | +26.7 |+34.883 Fort Conger[8] | June 11-June 25, 1883 | +39.6 | +26.4 |+33.393 ==========================================================================

From these values we see that from November 17 to December 13, 1908, the average temperature at Point Aldrich was 6.21 degrees lower than the temperature at Cape Sheridan for the same period; that from January 16 to February 12, 1909, the average temperature at Cape Bryant was 1.20 degrees lower than that at Cape Sheridan; that from May 17 to May 22, 1909, the average temperature at Cape Morris Jesup was 4.95 degrees higher than that at Cape Sheridan; and that from June 11 to June 25, 1909, the average temperature at Fort Conger was practically the same as that at Cape Sheridan during this period.

BAROMETER READINGS (UNCORRECTED)

=================+=======================+========+=======+======+========= Station | Date |Maximum |Minimum| Mean | Mean | | | | | | | | | | Fort | | | | |Conger[9]

-----------------+-----------------------+--------+-------+------+--------- Cape Sheridan | Nov. 13-30, 1908 | 30.42 |28.96 |29.899| | Dec., 1908 | 30.27 |29.28 |29.749| 29.922 | Jan., 1909 | 30.42 |29.18 |29.752| 29.796 | Feb., 1909 | 30.59 |29.03 |29.772| 29.672 | March, 1909 | 30.89 |29.69 |30.282| 29.893 | April, 1909 | 30.58 |29.20 |29.991| 30.099 | May, 1909 | 30.60 |29.39 |30.105| 30.066 | June, 1909 | 30.21 |29.37 |29.804| 29.878 | Nov. 17-Dec. 13, 1908 | 30.42 |29.26 |29.866| | Jan. 16-Feb. 4, 1909 | 30.40 |29.18 |29.691| |May 14-May 22, 1909 | 30.52 |30.04 |30.304| |June 11-June 25, 1909 | 30.10 |29.47 |29.834| Point Aldrich |Nov. 17-Dec. 13, 1908 | 30.51 |29.35 |29.998| Cape Bryant |Jan. 16-Feb. 4, 1909 | 30.10 |29.83 |29.976| Cape Morris Jesup|May 14-May 22, 1909 | 30.70 |30.24 |30.469| Fort Conger |June 11-June 25, 1909 | 30.19 |29.74 |30.013| Fort Conger[10] |June 11-June 25, 1882 | 30.129 |29.416 |29.817| Fort Conger[10] |June 11-June 25, 1883 | 30.218 |29.590 |29.949| =================+=======================+========+=======+======+=========

The above tabulation shows that during the month the average fluctuation of the barometer at Cape Sheridan amounts to 1.2 inches, being greatest in February and least in June.

An inspection of the monthly means shows that the barometer at Cape Sheridan is lowest for the months of December and January, or about January 1st, and highest about April 1st, the range of the fluctuation being about 0.5 inch. These results agree well with those obtained by Greely at Fort Conger and ill.u.s.trated by a diagram upon p. 166, Vol. II, of his Report.

From a tabulation made according to hours of the day, but not given here, there is seen to be a diurnal fluctuation at Cape Sheridan amounting to a little more than 1/100 of an inch. The minima of this fluctuation are fairly well defined from November to April and occur at about 2 o'clock both A.M. and P.M.

After leaving Etah, August 17, 1908, on the voyage northward until July 12, 1909, thermograms covering 5-1/2 months and barograms covering nine months of this interval were obtained from self-recording instruments.

These are records in addition to the direct hourly readings of the thermometer and barometer made by the tide observers and from which the above results have been deduced.

FOOTNOTES:

[4] Transmitted by O. H. t.i.tTMANN, Superintendent, Coast and Geodetic Survey.

[5] These observations were made by Marvin and MacMillan, a.s.sisted by Borup, seaman Barnes, and fireman Wiseman.--R.E.P.

[6] Results from Greely's observations, 1881-83, covering a period of nearly two years.

[7] Observations made in 1875-76 and 1881-83. Greely's Report, Vol. II, p. 230.

[8] Greely's Report, Vol. II, pp. 196, 197, 220, 221. Hourly readings used.

[9] Observations made in 1881-83. Greely's Report, Vol. II, p. 166.

[10] Greely's Report, Vol. II, pp. 122, 123, 146, 147. Hourly readings are reduced to sea level.

APPENDIX II

_Facsimiles of Original Observations by Marvin, Bartlett, and Peary and of Original Certificates by Marvin and Bartlett, respectively, during the Sledge Journey to the Pole._

I. Marvin's Observations, March 22, 1909.

II. Marvin's Observations, March 25, 1909.

III. Certificate of Marvin as to the Position of the Expedition on March 25, 1909.

IV. Bartlett's Observations, April 1, 1909.

V. Certificate of Bartlett as to the Position of the Expedition April 1, 1909.

VI. Peary's Observations April 6, 1909.

[NOTE.--The originals were all made in pencil in notebooks. The engravings in line printed in this appendix are reproductions in slightly reduced size of tracings carefully made of the original ma.n.u.scripts. The enclosing line in each case indicates the edges of the leaf on which the original work was written.

The size of this leaf is, with practical uniformity throughout the series, 4 x 6-3/4 inches. The facsimiles of Peary's observations of April 7, 1909, (_q.v._) on pages 292 and 293 have been similarly made but are in the exact size of the originals. _The Publishers._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: I. (_a_) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 22, 1909]

[Ill.u.s.tration: (_b_) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 22, 1909]

[Ill.u.s.tration: II. (_a_) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 25, 1909]

[Ill.u.s.tration: II. (_b_) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 25, 1909]

[Ill.u.s.tration: II. (_c_) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S OBSERVATIONS OF MARCH 25, 1909]

[Ill.u.s.tration: III. (_a_) FACSIMILE, SLIGHTLY REDUCED IN SIZE, OF MARVIN'S CERTIFICATE OF MARCH 25, 1909]