Page:Proposed Expedition to Explore Ellesmere Land - 1894.djvu/16

17 on its shores. Probably the Prince of Wales Mountains protect them from the moist southwesterly winds.

(Page 84:) An opportunity was taken (in Princess Marie Bay, 32 miles north of Ellesmere Land) to obtain a haul with the dredge and trawl along the bottom, in a depth of thirteen fathoms, which proved to be rich in animal life. Five or six species of fish were obtained; nine or ten species of Mollusca; Echinodermata were Very numerous, and the meshes of the trawl "entangled many Comatulæ (Antedon Eschrichtii). These beautiful crinoids, closing and opening their pinnules when exposed to the atmosphere, reminded us of sensitive plants; Echinus drodachiensis was most abundant. The tangles came up perfectly covered, and it required numerous pairs of scissors and many willing hands to clear them previous to each descent of the dredge. The variety and richness of the captures made us regret that the ever-pressing necessity of advancing northward whenever an opening in the ice admitted, prevented us from using the dredge more frequently.

ÉLISÉE RÉCLUS.

The Earth and its Inhabitants, Vol. I, p. 98. Grinnell Land is limited southward by Hayes Sound, which, according to all the surrounding natives, is not a fiord or inlet but a strait passing right through to the western seas. Ellesmere Land, as the district south of this strait has been named, forms, with Lincoln Land, the region known to the Eskimos by the name of Umingman Nuna—that is, "Musk-Ox Land." It is separated from the island of North Devon by Jones Sound, one of the channels opening in the direction of the North Pole, and it is surprising that none of the Arctic explorers have yet tried to reach that goal through this lateral and apparently easier route.