The sun., 1893-10-06
DR. NANSEN,s PROGRESS.
The Last Letter He wgote Before Starting
Into the Arctic Ocean.

Into the Arctic Ocean.
DR.. Nansen. the Arctic explorer. has written
letter to the London Times. which will prob
ably be the last he will have an opportunity to
send to Europe before his ship Is caught In the
Ice which, he hopes. will drift him across the
Polar regions. The letter is dated ut YuEor
Strait which separates the European main
land from Waieatch Island at the south end
OF Novaya Zemlia. Ho wrote on Aug. 2. He
says Of his little vessel. the Fran. which he
built specially to withstand ice pressure:
The Fran is splendid ship for Ice navlGa-
tion. She is as easy to handle and steer be-
tween the foes as boat. She has already given
me many q glad moment. when have seen
from tho crows nest how we'll 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 herself"
Months before Nansen sailed he sent man
hundreds OF miles into western Siberia to get
thirty OF tho best sledge dogs that were to be
found. and to deliver them at Iugor Strait in
July. Dogs nre an important feature OF Nan
sen plans, and 1t was regarded matter Of
SO much consequence that the man succeed in
his mission that King Oscar had gold medal
confded to him He was on the ground with
thirty i've dogs when Nansen arrived. Nam
My man Trontheim went to the Oetaks on
the River Sosswa, where the best sledge dogs
In western sdrt siberia are re TO- be had Tnere ~ he
might be ost on the way. and he was certainly
right, as five have died by various accidents.
Siberian Tundra. then through the Ural Noun.
tains. then over the vast fiat plains again until
with the eiedges over the bare ground. over
Tbsr, a Wis Il the SS
n mar In fhn wi nf
Trontheim has carried out his task very well.
and as reward he will get the golden medal
for him. Now it only rests with US to make
good use of tho dogs. They are nice-looking
an
easy easy to manage. But against strange dogs
sy aFe ehey hod n
have been torn to pieces had not saved the
When Hansen wrote. his coal tender. sail
Ing vessel that was to replenish his stock OF
coal. had not arrived and he was in much
sth the
pass along the coast of Asia before the new
In his steam launch he made n short recon-
noissance in the Kara sea. and everything
seemed favorable Tor an easy passage. He
My present intention is to steer eastward
mouth o the osnes er VEST Of Se Lens
Delta. I shall keep as near as possible to the
coast wherever there Is much ice. as there Is
generally gen more @ open water along the coast
opportunity should offer itself. shall go into
the mouth Of the Olenek. us some other twen-
tv-six dogs are waiting for us there. As the
sledRe dogs from Eastern Siberia are gener-
Siberia ones. Baron Toll. the Siberian traveller.
who Is now in Siberia. proposed to me to let
some dogs wait for us there. too. SO that II l
should happen to pass ! may take them.
the island Of kotelny. the most western OF the
pots Of provisions will be left. one on tho
northwest coast and one on the southwest
these stores OF provisions are arranged there.
AS he says. they can do no HARM but t is not
probable that we shall want them. Nobody
knows. however what might happen. and had
De Long Of the Jeannette expedition had
ssome such stores If provisions on the New 81
beri rian Stands the expedition would not have
had such sad fate. and think Toll Is right.
After having passed the Olenek River wa
shall go northward along the west coast OF the
New Siberian Is lands as far as we can In open
water hope to be there in the beginning OF
September. 1t may be that we shall meet with
unknown land or islandst to the northwest OF
kotelny. and poss bly, there may be open waite.
along the coasts there. II SO shall. OF course.
use It as best can. But when we can get no
further. there Is nothing left except to let the
Fran get heset in the Ice and be carried along
northward or northwestward by the current,
which. according to my opinion. must run in
that direction In those regions.
Then there will probably pass a long time
before We are driited across tho unknown polar
region ana into open water again or to some
coast from whtchwe can return home. In this
when years have passed hope you will some
day get the news that W o are all afey returned,
and that the knowledge OF man has advanced
another step northward.'