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.