LET us imagine ourselves elevated above the region of the North Pole to a height sufficient to enable us to take in at one view the whole Arctic Circle. What we should see immediately beneath us can now be certainly affirmed. It would be the open Polar Sea discovered by Dr. Hayes of Kane"s Expedition, in 1853. The view adopted by most geographers has been found correct, and there rolls around the Pole a sea about twelve hundred miles in breadth, abounding in animal life, and kept free from ice during a great part of the year by the influence of equatorial waters, which reach it by way of Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla. But beyond this unexplored region we should see three distinct zones, forming what are called the Arctic Regions,-an icy barrier, treeless wastes, and vast forests.
The belt of ice which girdles the Polar Sea and the Poleitself has been the scene of many a deadly struggle between man and the f rost-king, who reigns supreme in these inhospitable regions. To force a passage across or through this barrier has been the life-dream of many a heroic explorer; and hundreds of brave men, from the 17th century onwards, have perished in making the attempt. On September 6, 1909, the memorable announcement was made to the world by Commander Peary of the United States Navy that five months previously, on April 6th, he had "nailed the Stars and Stripes to the Pole." So intense is the cold within the whole Arctic Circle, and in the interior of Asia and America even beyond it, that, the average winter temperature ranges from 50°to 60°below the freezing point of water, and during a great part of the year converts mercury into a solid body.① But at theremote points to which man has penetrated in the northern ice-zone the spirit-thermometer has been known to fall as low as 90°, and even 100°, below the point at which water freezes! It may well be asked how man is able to bear these excessively low temperatures, which must seem appalling to an inhabitant of the temperate zone. But thick fur clothing; a hut small and low, where the warmth of a stove, or simply of an oil-lamp, is husbanded in a narrow space; above all, the wonderful power of the human constitution to adapt itself to every change of climate, go far to counteract the rigour of the cold.
The treeless zone, called "the barren-grounds," or simply "the barrens," extends southward from the ice-bound shores of the polar seas, and gradually merges into the forest-region, where it is encircled by a garland of evergreen. The want of trees in this region is caused not so much by its high northern latitude as by the cold sea-winds which sweep unchecked over the islands and the flat coast-lands of the Polar Ocean, and for miles and miles compel even the hardiest plant to crouch before the blast and creep along the ground. Nothing can be more melancholy than the aspect of the boundless morasses or arid wastes of the barrens of Siberia. Dingy mosses and grayTHE DESKET OF ICElichens form the chief vegetation; and a few scanty grasses and dwarfish flowers that may have found a refuge in some more sheltered spot are not sufficient to relieve the dull monotony of the scene.
In winter, when animal life has mostly retreated to the south, or sought a refuge in burrows and in caves, an awful silence, interrupted only by the hooting of a snow-owl or the yelping of a fox, reigns over this vast expanse; but in spring, when the brown earth re?ppears from under the melted snow, and the swamps begin to thaw, enormous flights of wild- birds return to the scene, and enliven it for a few months. An admirable instinct leads those winged legions from distant climes to the Arctic wildernesses, where, in the morasses and lakes, on the banks of the rivers, on the flat strands, and along the fish-teeming coasts, they find abundance of food; and where, at the same time, they can with greater security build their nests and rear their young. Some remain on the skirts of the forest-region; others, flying farther northward, lay their eggs upon the naked wastes.
Eagles and hawks follow the traces of the swimming and②strand-birds; troops of ptarmigansroam among the stunted
bushes; and when the sun shines, the finch or the snow- bunting warbles his merry note.
While thus the warmth of summer attracts hosts of migratory birds to the Arctic wildernesses, shoals of salmon and sturgeons enter the rivers, in obedience to the instinct that forces them to quit the seas and to swim up the streams, for the purpose of depositing their spawn in the tranquil sweet waters of the river or lake. About this time, also, the reindeer leaves the forests, to feed on the herbs and lichens of the barrens; and to seek along the shores, fanned by the cool sea-breeze, some protection against the attacks of the stinging flies that arise in myriads from the swamps.
Thus during several months the barrens presents anTHE FOREST REGION OF THE NORTHanimate scene, in which man also plays his part. The birds of the air, the fishes of the water, the beasts of the earth, are all obliged to pay their tribute to his various wants-to appease his hunger, to clothe his body, or to gratify his greed of gain.
