The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1894-09-06

t1On,, between the seventy seventh and
seventy eighth parallels of latitude, or
farther north than the spot at which the
Jeanette was sunk, almost as far as DR..
Kane penetrated and nearer the pole than
many of the early explorers were able to
reach. Moreover, we have had to come
thus far in order to see piece of ice, and
all the ice now visible from the crows
nest of the Ragnvald Jarl would not I'M
pede the progress of a fishing smack. To
day we have a calm sea, bright, genial
sun and a clear way to the north. To-
morrow, in all probability, we shall reach
our headquarters at Danes island, just
under the eightieth parallel. Rarely have
vessels been able to get SO far north along
this coast SO early in the year. Never be-
fore, SO far as we know, did one make the
voyage, as we have done, absolutely with
out interruption by ice. Our American
luck appears to be still with us.
The First Five Days.
But it was wild ride. We left from
so Tuesday evening, May l. Early next
morning we were out Of the 1ords to the
north and in the open sea. At O'Clock
Captain Bottelfsen reported his latitude.
at 70.32. But long before this most of the.
members of our party were painfully aware
that we had exchanged the quiet of the
Norwegian fiords for the turbulence of
the Arctic sea. As arctic travellers we
must all he tested, but as sailors tho great
majority Of us have already been tried
and found wanting. There was dis
graceful lack of diners at the dinner tables
The hunks were nearly all filed with SUI
fering mortals. Our Norwegian contin-
gent suffered even more than the Ameri-
cans, and even the dogs in the undertook
were as miserable as dogs we'll could be,
refusing all nourishment and filing the
noisome air Of their quarters with the
most piteous whines. Two of them in
deed suocumbed to the rigors of the jour-
ney, and our original pack of 50 has been
reduced by drowning, by fighting, by
strangulation and too much seasickpess to
48. We held no funerals over the deceased.
There is a great deal of sentiment in arc
tic work, and but for sentiment no one
would ever engage in it, but we were all
too miserable on our own accounts to
waste any breath over dead dogs. Our
only consolation in this connection was
that we have lost fewer animals than we
had expected to lose and have more than
enough remaining for our work.
No wonder both human and canine
members Of the expedition were i'll. Even
one of the sailors of the Jarl fost his meals
overheard the first day out, but kept at
his work all the while, brave fellow!
Think Of the heroic stuff there must be in
a man who can run up the ropes and out
the yardarms of a dancing ship while suf-
fering the torrents of NAL de mer!
The sea was high and running from
southwest to northeast. That made it q
cross sea, and a bad sea for us. Down into
one valley the Ragnvald Jarl plunged her
nose as if perversely bent upon going to
the bottom; then, with snort and a wild
lunge to right or left she rose again and
stood upon her hind legs. Or she rolled
to port so that the cabin floor looked like
a greasy fight of steep stairs in tene-
ment house and then reversed herself and
brought men, dogs, boxes, trunks, dishes
and all movable articles back to starboard
with crash and chatter that made the
sleepy sick ones think their fondest desires
had been realized and the Ragnvald Jarl
was going down. One of the greatest
comforts our suffering companions had
was the consciousness that about 20 feet
from where they lay was big box of dy-
Mantle, brought along to blast ice with
in case of necessity, and the accompany
ing belief that in some of her vicious
lurches the Jarl would explode this dy-
Mantle and bring all their troubles to an
end.
For three days and two nights the wind
was from fresh to strong to east and south
east. Though the sea rolled in great hill
locks and the spray covered the ship from
stem to stern, we never pulled in our can
vas or stopped our engine. What cared we