The index in this electronic text was not printed in the original book.
The index was copied from Volume II of the series.
IN NORTHERN MISTS
| “THE GOLDEN CLOUDS CURTAINED THE DEEP WHERE IT LAY, AND IT LOOKED LIKE AN EDEN AWAY, FAR AWAY” |
IN NORTHERN MISTS
ARCTIC EXPLORATION IN EARLY TIMES
BY FRIDTJOF NANSEN
G.C.V.O., D.Sc., D.C.L., Ph.D., PROFESSOR OF OCEANOGRAPHY
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CHRISTIANIA, ETC.
TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR G. CHATER
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME ONE
LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN: MCMXI
PRINTED BY
BALLANTYNE & COMPANY LTD
AT THE BALLANTYNE PRESS
TAVISTOCK STREET COVENT GARDEN
LONDON
PREFACE
This book owes its existence in the first instance to a rash promise madesome years ago to my friend Dr. J. Scott Keltie, of London, that I wouldtry, when time permitted, to contribute a volume on the history of arcticvoyages to his series of books on geographical exploration. The subjectwas an attractive one; I thought I was fairly familiar with it, and didnot expect the book to take a very long time when once I made a start withit. On account of other studies it was a long while before I could dothis; but when at last I seriously took the work in hand, the subject inreturn monopolised my whole powers.
It appeared to me that the natural foundation for a history of arcticvoyages was in the first place to make clear the main features in thedevelopment of knowledge of the North in early times. By tracing how ideasof the Northern World, appearing first in a dim twilight, change from ageto age, how the old myths and creations of the imagination are constantlyrecurring, sometimes in new shapes, and how new ones are added to them, wehave a curious insight into the working of the human mind in its endeavourto subject to itself the world and the universe.
But as I went deeper into the subject I became aware that the task was fargreater than I had supposed: I found that much that had previously beenwritten about it was not to be depended upon; that frequently one authorhad copied another, and that errors and opinions which had once gainedadmission remained embedded in the literary tradition. What had to be donewas to confine one’s self to the actual sources, and as far as possible tobuild up independently the best possible structure from the veryfoundation. But the more[Pg viii] extensive my studies became, the more riddles Iperceived—riddle after riddle led to new riddles, and this drew me onfarther and farther.
On many points I arrived at views which to some extent conflicted withthose previously held. This made it necessary to gi