The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1891-04-17

The Latest Schemes for Reaching
the North Polo.
ships. Balloons and Doe-sieds % 10 Em
pioyed In the Efforts 20 solve
That Profoundest Of
Mysteries.

Find something SO difficult Of accom-.
plishment as TO be deemed impossible.
and Immediately you discover that
there are plenty 81 daring spirits ready
70 risk life and limb in an attempt 70
prove that II Is not impossible. For
more than two hundred years. says the
Boston Transcript. the north pole has
been the Mecca Of forlorn-hopc ven
lures. Disasters upon disasters have
not dismaycd the scientific enthusiasts;
and June next DIR. Frithy. OF Manson.
an intrepid Norwegian explorer. who
has already won his spurs in this field
BY his daring journey across Greenland.
will start from Europe in a small vessel
built expressly for the purpose and 80
constructed as TO be able TO withstand
the nippings Of the ice foes which sent
the Jeanette 10 the bottom. The YES
sci will be provisioned for five years
and will carry strong small boats. sleds,
dogs, etc. for use in case Of accident TO
the ship. Nansen believes that currents
exist in that region that have an easterly
tendency us far as the longitude Of the
Siberian rivers, where he expects 70 find
northcrly current which will bear
him north TO within the vicinity Of the
pole. lie bases his opinion Of an east
erly current or currents on the fact that
certain articles left on the wreck Of the
Jeanette in the opposite part Of the
polar sea driftcd in three years TO the
coast Of Greenland. So he win take his
ship 70 the place where the Jeanette
went down, and allow il to drift with
the ice foes until the northern currents
are reached In this way he will not
have 10 stem currents or resist re dLes,
but will allow them TO carry him. TO his
destination. Northern currents. he
thinks. must be formed by the empty
ing Of the Siberian rivers into the Polar
sea-
Another scheme to reach the north
pole is that OF two enthusiastic yot--4
Frenchmcn. who propose TO drift over
balloon This air ship will be strongly
constructed Of two thicl<nesses Of China
silk. and will have q small interior
balloon. the object Of which is TO pr,.
vide that the larger envelop shall al
ways be inflated. Four subsidiary
balloons and sixteen very small bal.
looms will be attached to the larger one,
both to afford auxiliary gas and for
scientific use in determining the direc.
ton Of air currents at the pole. The
big balloon will have capacity OF
forty-five thousand cubic feet of hydro
gen gas and is estimated to lave q
carrying capacity Of more than eight
thousand pounds The car IS Of novel
construction and looks like . small
house. II is To be made of wicker coat
ed with thin plates Of steel and will *
water-tight- The equipment will be
besides the 1--WE men and q number Of
dogs, provisions for eighty days. I
sleigh. an unsuitable canoe, scienti6<
| instruments, etc According TO pg0
gramme they will leave SpitzenberReu
| n che summer Of 1891. sometime whez
: wind b found blowing directly ovel
the pole. They expect 70 Be IN the ali
ten days and TO land in Alaska or west
ern Asia. The scheme Is not Endorsed
by the French eronautical societies
A plan Of polar research that Is li'rely
to be Of more practical value than either
Of the aforementioned expeditions
which are only 20 satisfy scientific
curiosity. is the scheme developed in A US
tralia for the exploration Of the Ant
arctic region. Since the celebrated ex
petition Of Sir James Ross in 1S30-43 ir
the Erebus and Terror. no attempt has
been made to investigate this region