After drawing attention to the failures of the many expeditions which had approached the North Pole from the west, he considered the implications of the discovery of the Jeannette items, along with further finds of driftwood and other debris from Siberia or Alaska that had been identified along the Greenland coast.
Efter at have rettet opmærksomheden mod de mange fejlslagne ekspeditioner, som havde nærmet sig Nordpolen fra vest, betragtede han betydningen af fundene af vragdele fra "Jeannette" sammen med andre fund af drivtømmer og dele fra Sibirien eller Alaska, som var blevet identificeret langs Grønlands kyst.