these islands. Large quantities of eider-down have
been obtained annually from this section, but the rapid destruction of
the ducks by hunters has lessened the industry and will probably
annihilate it. There being no law to regulate hunting, sportsmen
wantonly kill the wild animals, especially the reindeer and bears, in
great numbers.

We owe much to dogs in arctic explorations. It would have been
impossible to penetrate to the interior of arctic lands or to traverse
the frozen seas but for the services of the faithful dogs trained to
draw sledges. Many of these animals have suffered from overwork and have
perished from starvation; others have been sacrificed for food in dire
extremities to preserve the lives of their masters. Surely arctic
service has proved as destructive to the poor dogs as to men.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Isolated masses of native iron are usually of meteoric
origin, but to determine whether or not the native iron fell from the
sky a portion of the surface is ground off and polished; then the
polished surface is etched with acid. If crystalline lines are plainly
brought out, there can be no doubt of its being of meteoric origin.

The following excerpt from the American Museum Meteoric Guide will make
the matter clear: "The iron of meteorites is always alloyed with from
six to twenty per cent of nickel. This 'nickel-iron,' as it is commonly
called, is usually crystalline in texture, and when it is cut, polished,
and 'etched' a beautiful net-work of lines is brought out, indicating
plates which lie in positions determined by the crystalline character of
the mass. This net-work of lines constitutes what are called the
Widmannstattian figures, from the name of their discoverer. When these
figures are strongly developed the meteoric origin of the iron cannot be
questioned, but their absence does not necessarily disprove such an
origin. Native iron of terrestrial origin is extremely rare."]

CHAPTER XII

POLAR REGIONS--ANTARCTICA

A continent twice the size of the United States lies sleeping beneath a
mantle of snow and ice at the south pole. No vegetation save a few
mosses and lichens exists anywhere on this vast expanse. No four-footed
animals rove over it; no human beings inhabit it.

Hundreds of thousands of square miles of pack-ice, glaciers, and
ice-walls jealously guard it on all sides. On one side, for a distance
of five hundred miles, extends a great ice barrier whose perpendic