CHAPTER I

THE CONQUEST OF THE ZONES

Geographical knowledge of the ancient Egyptians, p. 5--The mariner's compass, p. 7--Reference to the thirty-two points of the compass by Chaucer, p. 9--Halley's observations on the changes in the direction of the compass in a century, p. 10--Deviation of the compass, p. 11--The voyage of the _Carnegie_, the non-magnetic ship, p. 12--The "dip of the needle" first observed by Robert Norman, p. 13--The modern compass invented by Lord Kelvin, p. 14--Sailing by dead reckoning, p. 14--The invention of the "log," p. 15--The modern log, p. 17--The development of the sextant, p. 18--The astrolabe, p. 19--The quadrant invented by Hadley, p. 20--The perfected sextant, p. 21--Perfecting the chronometer, p. 23--The timepieces invented by the British carpenter, John Harrison, p. 25--The prize won by Harrison, p. 27--Finding time without a chronometer, p. 28--The _Nautical Almanac_, p. 30--Ascertaining the ship's longitude, p. 31--Difficulties of "taking the sun" at noon, p. 33--Measuring a degree of latitude, p. 34--The observations of Robert Norman, p. 35--The function of the _Nautical Almanac_, p. 37--Soundings and charts, p. 41--Mercator's projection, p. 44--The lure of the unknown, p. 45--The quest of the Pole, p. 47--Commander Peary's achievement, p. 49--How observations are made in arctic regions, p. 50--Making observations at the Pole, p. 52--Difficulties as to direction at the Pole, p. 54.