Evening star., 1894-03-10

We make three or four miles PEI day
through such ice we shall be fortunate.
II ice like this extends far to the north We
shall not be able to make much progress in
the fifty or sixty days at our disposal This
is one of the chances which We are taking
and taking with our eyes open.
Where is the Level lee to He Found:
But in the nature of things. this extreme
roughness of the ice cannot extend fa- from
land. 1t is pressure that produces this con-
dition, and there can be considerable
pressure without both movement and re-
sistance. Movement is present throughout
the pack, but resistance. created by the
shore or the shoal, Is found less and less as
We get away from the land. As We go north
the surface will be found gradually, almost
imperceptibly, less rough, until finally it
assumes its normal condition-that of level
or gently undulatlng fields and foes. with
their margins only pressed up into hum
mocks by the collision of one with another
Ihe almost INFINITE pressure near the land
breaks the foes and fields themselves into
millions of pieces, some standing vertically,
others at all angles, many superimposed
upon others: but farther from this line of
contact between motion and immovability
the hoes and fields. as a whole, retain their
nat form and original area, only their bor-
ders being broken and crushed.
How far from the land the fiat, normal
Ice is to be found is unknown quantity
IL 1t is hundreds of miles, we shall never
reach IL, and ou- expedition will be fail
ure. so far the attainment of a high
latitude is concerned. If ii is only some
scores of miles, we shall struggle on until
We reach it and the easier travel which it
affords.
Any Change il for the BETTER.
If we take our chances upon finding the
worst, it must also be remembered that we
have a chance for the better Frequently
the ice to the north of Spitzbergen is COM
paratively level and easy to travel. 1t has
frequently been observed in this condition
by whalers and expeditions. The fields of
Ice which the whalers have encountered to
the west of Spitzbereen for two centuries
have usually been of this level character;
and this ice was fiCated out of the unknown
| regions above, away from the land. showing
conclusively that motion alone, unaccom-
panied by the resistance which the land
| affords, does not break up the pack. though,
of course, 1t does produce hummocks at the
| margins. The farther north Parry went in
1877. the larger and smoother he found the
fields of ice and foes. month earlier and
he could have nearly touched the POLE but
he was too late for just as he reached the
region favorable for travel he was COM
PEELED to turn back because a northern
wind combined with the sluggish current t
and drove him to the south as fast as he
could travel northward. On two occasions
Baron Nordenskiold found the fee to the
| north of Spitzbergen comparatively level.
| The third time. when he had hoped to jour-
ney over II We hope to jour
ney, but could not do 50 because the REIN
| dear which he had brought from Lapland
| for animal power had all escaped during the
| previous winter. 1t was exceedingly rough
as far as the eye could see.
Carrying Their Own Bridges.
Assuming that the ice will this year be
| found at its toughest. the hardest part of
| our journey will be at the outset. There
We shall have a chance to ascertain
whether We are equal to the emergency or
| not. There we shall have an opportunity
| also to test a simple device which we are
taking along for use in just such troubles
1t is nothing more nor less than a brilge
| or perhaps a ladder. We do not print a