The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1894-10-11


By May %. By June l. By June 2.
Latitude. Kroners. Kroners. Kroners.
81.15. ............ 1000 $50 800
$3.50. ........... 1850 LOCO $50
81.45. ............ 1900 1850 1000
82.OO............. $3.50 1900 1,5OO
$3.50. 5000 1850 1900
82.30............ $500 5000 $500
S2.45. 400 $500 5000
One thousand kroners additional for each
quarter degree Of latitude attained beyond
82.45
The expedition will remain on board as long
as there is reasonable chance Of getting far
Their north with the ship.
Time is to run until midnight Of the dates
given, and the latitude attained is to be deter
mined by yourself and Professor French.
Hoping that you and your crew will be able
to earn at least part Of the above, am, sim
cerely yours, WALTER WELLMAN.
This offer was made not because we had
any fear Captain Bottelfsen and his men
would fail to do the best they could with
out reward but because we wanted them
to feel that they as we'll as ourselves had
something to work for, and that there was
to be some compensation for the hardships
they are compelled to endure while navi-
eating the arctic seas.
Captain Bottelfsen thanked us for the
offer and modestly announced his inten-
ton to do the best he could, with or with
out reward. But that he was pleased with
the opportunity given him was as natural
as obvious. The master of the Jarl has
hopes of being able to make at least 81. 80
before the 23d of May and says if he had
more coal in the bunkers he might a little
later beat the worlds record for ship, or
80. IL. That record was made by Captain
Halls Polaris in the Greenland waters
Ten miles farther north was claimed for
the Polaris on that occasion, but 80. l6 is
all that has been allowed by critical arctic
historians.
First Taste of Ice Bear.
We had our first taste of ice bear today
when Mr.. Franklin took the place of Sew
ard Wastfalt and prepared the lean parts
of the cub shot on Tuesday for our dinner
table. A platter 2 feet long and Is inches
broad, heaped full of hamburg steaks made
of cub flesh, was none too much for Is men
ASSURE indication of the popularity of the
meat in a crew like ours. Young bear is
much esteemed by all the Norwegian sail
ors, but the old animals, they say, are rath-
er rank. A popularity of ice bear as an
article of food is the supposed danger of
eating its liver, which is generally believed
to be poisonous. This theory has been
contradicted on what appears to be good
authority, but you couldn't hire Norwe-
gian to taste bears liver for love or money.
Captain Petersen has been mourning
the loss of the she bear that was shot on
Sunday and got away to the ice. He re-
buried by ice or drowned in the sea and
today organized party to go ashore and
look for the dead or dying victim of too
nod Tohl Ii &c
land and crossed on the ice to Phipps' is
Land, but could find no bear, either living
or dead. Nor were they able to get shot
was out on his own hook, secured half a
dozen arctic birds of beautiful, thick plum
age, perfectly white The wounded bear
must have been drowned or buried by ice
unless she was shrewd enough to perform
upon herself the surgical operation which
the polar bear is known to be adept in
the stoppage of hemorrhage by pulling out
clawfuls Of her own hair and stufing
them in the wound, thus gaining enough
strength to make good her escape.
The polar bear is peculiar beast in
more respects than one. If man comes
upon a bear unexpectedly, the best thing
to do is to run at him, shouting and wav-
ing the arms, whereupon Mr.. Bear becomes
frightened and runs away. If the man
run from the bear, the bear will be sure to
run after the man. In such an emergency
the best thing the pursued biped can do,
If he is not too badly scared to think, is to
take off his hat, his coat, his mittens and
other articles of wear, one after another, and
toss them to the pursuer. The bear can
easily outrun man, but is burdened with
SO much curiosity that he will stop to
snuff at every strange object found in his
path. The weak and awkward feature of
the little game of running at the bear and
soaring him out Of a week s growth before
he gets chance to scare you is that, while
the bear never fails to improve his oppor-
tunity when 1t comes, sometimes he is
boorish enough to refuse to run in the right
direction when you take your turn. A
collision under such circumstances is not
greatly to the disadvantage of the bear,
but is likely to be uncomfortable for the
man. The Norwegians are not afraid to
meet bear face to face at close range if
they have boathook or pikestaff in their
hands. They approach the bear on the
sunny side, where he has his front paw up
to shade his eyes, he being unable to see
in the bright sun without taking this pre-
caution. The experienced Norwegians take
the sunny side because the bear cannot
see them very well there, and coming close
to him they plant the end of their pike
staff in the snow or ice and permit him to
rush upon it and stab himself to death.
The Worst Day Yet.
WEDNESDAY,, May Is. - Officer Of the
day, Captain Petersen.
During the night the gale increased in
violence. the wind occasionally veering
more to the north, and Captain Bottelfsen
found it necessary to move the ship two
OF three times in order to keep her away
from the waves, which broke against the |
ice with considerable force. The temperar
ture was not low; but, with driving snow
and strong wind, the weather was any
thing but pleasant, even in the lee Of the
islands. Outside the moderate gale had |
increased to 9 strong gale, and it was In
teresting to watch the ice 60 drifting OF, J