The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1894-10-04
and also have larger lee shore t
under.
Caching Food and Supplies.

and also have larger lee shore to run
under.
Caching Food and Supplies.
We Immediately sent boat containing
several boxes of timed meats, a case of
biscuits and two cases of armebis, the lat
ter a concentrated food comprising both
-four and meat, or enough for party of
Is men for 10 or 10 days. The cache was
made on ledge at the northern point of
the island about 100 feet above the wa
ter's edge A hole in the rocks was clear
ed of snow, the provisions, all well boxed,
put in, and then sort of roof of boards
built over them. Upon the boards a large
number of heavy stones were placed in
hopes of keeping the meat away from the
noses of the bears which here abound. In
bottle placed upon the food boxes was
placed a paper containing the following
notice in Norwegian:
''These provisions were placed here by
the Walter Wellman north polar expedi-
ton for the use of parties returning by
boat and sledge from the north. Please
do not disturb, as they may save our lives.
walter WELLMAN."
We have much more fear of the bear
than of human pilfering. Few hunting
vessels visit these shores, and a Norwegian
who would rifle cache of this sort would
be disgrace to his country. For the
sportsman the Seven islands must be ex-
tremely attractive if he could get here be-
fore the season of almost constant fogs sets
in. Wild fowl are seen in abundance about
the ship, bear tracks are plentiful Oh
land, and seal, walrus and foxes abound.
Our progress up to this time has been
almost phenomenal. In two days we have
made the passage from Danes island to
the Seven islands, which is unprecedented
at any season of the year. In II days we
have come from civilization to latitude
beyond which only half dozen arctic ex-
petitions in all history have penetrated,
and only two or three have succeeded in
going more than few miles nearer to the
pole than we are at this moment The
record Of the farthest north is only 100
miles beyond our anchorage. Rare good
fortune have we had to reach such a point
of vantage on the 18th day of May. Sir
Edward Parry was here six weeks later in
1897, and even Baron Nordenskjold, who
wintered in Spitzbergen in order to get an
early start for tks north pole, was here no
earlier than we are.
Whatever may be the outcome Of our
effort, this record justifies all the conf
dence which we have ever expressed in the
desirability of the Spitzbergen route to-
ward the inner polar area, and with the
fine start we now have we shall be pretty
certain. unless prevented by some acct
dent which cannot be foreseen, to make q
high northing before the summer is over.
In our plans the Seven islands was the
farthest point we had ever dared hope to
reach with the ship, and we had little ex-
pectation Of doing SO much, or, If at all,
not before the end Of May or early part of
June. We are therefore from three to
four weeks ahead of what might be term
ed our schedule, and having done SO well
with the ship we are naturally eager to do
still better. Though the pack lies strong
and forbidding to the north, we are not
without hopes of being able to penetrate
some distance farther to the north before
leaving the Ragnvald Jarl for our journey
over the desert Of ice. At any rate, the
chance is worth waiting day or two for
WALTER WELLMAN.