tainments in speed and its palatial furnishings. Abundant supplies of the best food; the best chefs and regiments of waiters catered to the throngs aboard the boats. Not infrequently the larger ones carried five hundred passengers, and it was often necessary to serve the meals twice.

The ladies were first allowed to take their places at the head table with their escorts; then followed a rush of the unattached eager to get a place at the first table. Nowhere was the American mania for speed more evidenced than during these feasts. They were over in a very few minutes. No thought was given to precedence or position; not a word was heard above the boisterous clatter of chinaware, knives, forks, and spoons. To quote an English writer's description, it was "entrant omnes, adeunt omnes, exeunt omnes."

Talking may not have been general at meal time, but it was resumed after that function. The various opinions of these motley steamboat constituents, gathered from all quarters of a newly organized nation, furnished ample material for controversy. The pros and cons of political problems were argued furiously. Such bitterness and internal strife prevailed that visitors from other lands recorded their opinions that the Republic could not long hold together.

To escape this turmoil the ladies could retire to their parlor. Thence came peaceful strains of song or the rhythmic music of the recently introduced "waltz."

On boats traversing the long and tortuous routes of the Western waterways, where voyages of a thousand miles and more were made, gambling was commonly indulged in the secluded quarters of the boats. At the faro-table or in a "friendly" game of cards the croupiers wrought the ruin of many a planter whose faith in luck endured until the last of his season's income had been squandered. These episodes were sometimes followed by scenes of violence and crime.

The entire security with which women could travel without a companion was another distinctive feature of the steamboat era in this country. Without regard either to her dress or appearance, any woman was assured of every courtesy and protection in her journeys. This was true especially in the West and in the undeveloped sections

of the South. This characteristic of American life bore a marked contrast to conditions existing in Europe at the time, and was duly noted by European travellers.

With the coming of darkness the dining saloon again became the centre of interest, and promptly at nine o'clock it was converted into a huge dormitory for men. The room was lined on each side with narrow beds, which had been let down at night, and they were arranged in tiers of three. If the ladies' compartment proved to be too small for their needs, as much of the main cabin as was necessary was appropriated and curtained off. After the ladies had been provided for, the remaining space was raffled off among the men, with good-natured acceptance of the luck that befell them. A numbered slip signified that the fortunate chooser might occupy the berth of the corresponding number, but a blank bit of paper meant nothing more promising than a tabletop for a bed, or an uneasy snooze in a chair.

The darkness without and the flickering, uncertain shadows cast by the argand lamps within did not lessen the fears of impending accident that ever haunted these river passengers. To be prepared, as far as possible, for any emergency, many travellers refused to change their attire at night, and were ready for instant flight, should there occur any untoward sound or motion of the boat.

The weary night hours were usually so filled with mingled associations of groaning. machinery, of bawling commands of captain and pilot, the crying of children, the endless thumping of logs of wood on their way to the furnace, and the ceaseless patpat-pattering of the paddle-wheels and racking of boat that sound repose was seldom enjoyed.

Undoubtedly they were the most potent factors in the early development of this country. Their ministrations began when our Republic was composed of but seventeen States, all but three of which skirted or were very near the Atlantic coast. Westward lay an almost untouched wilderness of a still new world. In traversing this great expanse of country, the government's expedition, under charge of Lewis and Clark, was absent more than two years. To reach the furthermost settlements upon the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, the emigrants could, with

SHE North Pole has been conquered by American en terprise. What of the South Pole?

Perhaps in this very hour two European expeditions from two kindred nations are there, or are approaching it. The one is the British expedition under Captain Scott, the excellent leader of the previous Discovery expedition to the Antarctic-the other is the Norwegian expedition under Roald Amundsen, the explorer of the Magnetic North Pole and the conqueror of the Northwest Passage.

Many people seem to look upon the purpose of these two expeditions as being merely a race for the South Pole, and are anxious to know who will have the chances of getting there first. I am not able to look at it in that way, as I cannot understand that it matters much who gets there first, or whether they reach their goal some days sooner or later; the important thing is that regions of the earth still unknown will be explored. I think that never before were two so wellequipped expeditions, led by such capable explorers, in the field simultaneously, and we may certainly expect that both will achieve great things.

If we compare their chances of reaching the South Pole, I think that both expeditions have their special advantages. Captain Scott has one great advantage in his knowledge of the region, as during his previous very important expedition, which first revealed the interior of the Antarctic to us, he traversed a great part of the same distance which he now has to cover on his way to the Pole. And, moreover, he is going to follow the same route which was taken by Shackleton. He thus knows beforehand the ice, its condition, and what difficulties are to be expected. He has, moreover, the advantage that he is travelling southward parallel with a mountain range which will provide him with landmarks. It is thus easy for him to lay out VOL. LI.-31

depots without running the risk of not being able to find them when they are wanted. Finally, Scott may also, perhaps, have some advantage, as compared with Amundsen, in having more men, who may help him in establishing the depots, and may also support him during the first part of his southward journey and meet him when he returns.

It may also be considered by some an advantage on Scott's side that he has brought a motor-car, specially constructed for traversing snow-fields. I am not certain, however, that this will prove of very great value. After all, such a motor-car does not perform any kind of work that is not performed by the draught animals. Scott's car travels slower than the dogs, and, as far as I can make out, it cannot pull its own fuel for any distance which is comparable with the long distances the dogs can pull their own food. The motor-car is very heavy and complicated and it may cause great difficulties where obstacles of any kind are met with. As long as the motorcar has not been better developed for the purpose, I consider it, therefore, to be very doubtful whether it may not give more trouble than an additional number of draught animals performing the same work. Then it has also to be considered that when the animals have got no more food they can be eaten by the men, and also by each other, in the case of dogs, whilst the motorcar is of no more use when its fuel is at an end.

On the other hand, Captain Amundsen has undoubtedly his great advantages. By venturing to establish his winter quarters cn the ice-barrier itself, he was able to obtain a starting-point nearly one degree farther south than Scott's station. His route toward the interior of the Antarctic region and to the South Pole is consequently about sixty geographical miles shorter each way; that makes a reduction of about a hundred and twenty miles on the whole journey.

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