The Wichita daily eagle., 1893-11-04
FROM THE FAR NORTH.
A Letter Written by DR.. Nansen,
the Arctic Explorer.
Progress Of One OF the Latest Expeditions
Organized for the Purpose of Local
ting the North Pole and Explor-
ing the Extreme North.

| DR.. Nansen. the Arctic explorer. has
written letter 10 the London Times.
which viii probably be the last he Will
have an opportunity to send to Europe
| before he is caught in the ice which be
hopes viii drift him across the polar
regions. The letter is dated at Yugor
| strait, which separates the European
| mainland from Waigatch island at the
south of Novaya ZeInlin. He wrote
August ?. He says of his little vessel.
the Fran, which he built specially to
| withstand ice pressure:
1.-The Fran is splendid ship for ice
| navigation. She is as easy to handle
| and steer between the foes as boat
She has already given me many glad
moment when / have seen from the
| crows nest how well she behaves and
how strong she is. With feeling OF
| safeness let her quietly run with full
| speed in between the big, heavy foes:
| she breaks them under her with almost
| no shaking, no sound in the vessel her
| SELF
| Months before Nausen sailed he sent
man hundreds ofemiles into western
y
sledge dogs that were TO be found and
to deliver them at Yugor strait in July,
Dogs are an important feature of Nan
sens plans and it was regarded as a
matter of so much consequence that
the man succeed in his mission that
| King Oscar had gold medal struck to
give to him if he fulfilled the duty con-
fded to him. He was on the ground
with thirty-fve dogs when Nansen ar
rived. Nansen wrote:
MY man Trontheim went to the
Ostiaks on the river Soswa, where the
best sledge dogs in western Siberia are
to be had. There he bought forty dogs,
as he thought some OF them might be
lost on the way, and he was certainly
right. as five have died by various ac-
cidents. From the Soswa river he
travelled over the Siberian tundra. then
through the Ural mounta ms. then over
the vast plains again until he came
here with the dogs, travelling at last
with the sledges over the bare ground,
over grass and stones, as is the custom
here, where they travel with sledge
and reindeers in the summer as well
as in the winter. Trontheim has car
ried out his task very well and as re-
ward he will get the golden medal of
King Oscar, which have brought with
me for him. Now it only rests with US
to make good use of the dogs. They
are nice-looking animals, white, black
and gray, and with pointed nose and
standing ears, good tempered, and
easy to manage. But against strange
dogs they are furious; they almost
killed Samoyed dog which they got
hold of the other day: it would have
been torn to pieces had not saved the
poor creature
When Nansen wrote his coal tender,
a sailing vessel that was to replenish
his stock of coal, had not arrived, and
he was in much anxiety because unless
she came soon he would be compelled
to start with the coal he had in order
to get through the Kara sea and pass
along the coast of Asia before the new
ice should form.
In his steam launch he made short
reconnaissance in the Kara sea, and
everything seemed favorable for an
easy passage. He said of his further
plans:
MY present intention is to steer
eastward along the Siberian coast IN
til we reach the mouth of the Olenek
river, west of the Lena delta. | shall
keep as near as possible to the coast
wherever there is much ice, as there
is generally more open water along the
coast than in the ice. If there is time
and good opportunity should offer
itself l shall go into the mouth OF the
Olenek, as some twenty-six other dogs
are waiting for us there. As the
sledge dogs from eastern Siberia are
generally known to be better than the
western Siberia ones Baron Toll, the
Siberian traveller, who is now in ST.
IBERIA, proposed to me to let some dogs
wait for US there too, so that if |
should happen to pass may take them.
"A small expedition has also been
sent to the island of Kotelny, the most
western of the New Siberian islands.
On this island two depots Of provisions
will be left, one on the northwest
coast and one on the southwest coast.
1t is on Baron Tolls proposal that
these stores and provisions are ar
ranged there. As he says, they can do
no harm, but il is not probable that
we shall want them. Nobody knows,
however. what might happen, and had
De Long of the Jeannette expedition
had some such stores of provisionsoa
the New Siberian islands the expedition
would not have had such sad fate,
and l think Toll is right.
After having passed the Olenek
river we shall go northward alorg the
west coast OF the New Siberian islands
as far as we can in open water. ] hope
to be there by the beginning Of sep
tember. 1t may be that we shall meet
with unknown land or islands 20 the
northwest of hotelny. and possibly
there may be open water along the
coasts there. II so ! shall Of course
use it as best can. But when we get
no further there IS nothing left except
to let the Fran get beset Ia the ice and
be carried along northward or north
westward by the current, which, &C
cording to my opinion, must run in that
direction ia those regions"
The Neauinc OF "CfosEre