Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-09-29
By May %. By June /. By June Z.
udQ KrQparS Kronoro


quarter degree of latitude attained beyond
s2.45
The expedition will remain on board as
long as there Is a reasonable chance of get
ting farther north with the ship.
Time Is to run until midnight of the dates
given. and the latitude attained is to be de-
termined by yourself and Prof. French.
Hoping that you and your crew will be
able to earn at least a part of the above, I
am, sincerely yours,
WALTER wELLMAN.
This offer was made not because we had
any rear Capt BottelfSen and his men would
fail to do the best they could without re-
ward. but because We wanted them to feel
that they well as ourselves had some
.nlng 70 work for and that there was to be
some compensation for the hardships they
are compelled to endure while navigating
the arctic seas.
Capt. Botteifsen thanked us for the offer
and modestly announced his intention to do
the best he could. with without reward.
But that he was pleased with the opportun-
lty 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 sd
of May, and says if he had more coal in the
bunkers he might a little later beat the
WORLDS record for a ship, or 81. 16 That
record was made by Capt. Halls Polaris in
north was claimed for the Polaris on that
occasion. but SIG is all that has been al
lowed by critical arctic historians.
First Taste of lee Hear.
We had our first taste of ice bear today
when Mr.. Franklin took the place of Stew
ard Wastfalt and prepared the lean parts of
the cub shot on Tuesday for our dinner
table. A platter two feet long and fifteen
inches broad. heaped full of hamburg steaks
made Of cub flesh. was none too much for
fifteen men-a sure indication of the popu-
larity of the meat In a crew like ours
Young bear Is much esteemed by all the
Norwegian sailors, but the old animals, they
say, are rather rank. A popularity of ice
bear as an article of food is the supposed
danger of eating it's liver, which is general
~ believed to be poisonous This theory has
Deen contradict on what appears to be
good authority. but You couldn't hire a Nor
wegfan to taste bears liver for love or
money.
The polar bear is peculiar beast in
more respects than one. If man comes
upon bear unexpectedly the best thing
y do Is to run at him, shouting and wav-
IN the arms, whereupon Mr.. Bear becomes
frightened and runs away. If the man
runs 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
II 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,
ana toss them to the pursuer. The bear
can easily outrun a man, but is burdened
with so much curiosity that he will stop to
snun 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 weeks growth before
ne gets chance to scare You Is that, while
the bear never fails to improve his oppor-
UNITY when 1t comes sometimes he is
Doorish enough to refuse to run In the right
direction when you take your turn.
colilsion under such circumstances is not
greatly to the disadvantage of the bear
but Is likely to be uncomfortable for the
man. The NorweStans are not afraid to
meet bear face to face at close range n
they have boathook or pikestaff in their
n n,Ir h..
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
stan IN the snow or ice and permit him
TO rush upon 1t and stab himself to DEATH
The Worst Day Yet.
Wednesday. May 16-Oficer of the day.
Captain Petersen.
During the night the gale increased In
violence, the wind occasionally veeriny
more to the north. and Captain Bottelfsen
found 1t necessary to move the ship two
or three times In order to keep her away
ircm the waves. which broke against the
Ice with considerable force. The tempera-
lure was not low, but, with driving snow
ana a strong wind, the weather was any
thing but pleasant, even In the lee of the
Islands. Outside the moderate gale had
. .nrsi 10 strong gale. and 1t was in
teresting to watch the ice go drifting-or.
as captain b. terms 1t, "shooting''-by
enormous masses, resembling now high
buildings or castles. with here and there
went drifting by at an incredible speed
In such storm, with the air SO thick with
snow mat but few miles Of sea could be
seen even from the crows nest. Captain
bottel1sen recommended a policy of in
action. at least for a few hours. This was
ais0 our own Judgment, hard as 1t is to lie
sui ana see the day slip by In idleness.
still Ice-BOund.
Thursday. May 7.-Officer Of the day,
Mr.. Dodge.
II was stormy morning. but with a
frightened sky and a cessation of snow
Capt. Bottelfsen concluded to 20 out and
nave look at the ice. So he steamed out
short distance beyond Little Table Island
or TO latitude $3.50. but the gale was still
Violent. and the heavy ice was coming in
large Quantities from the northeast. He
therefore returned to anchor within the lee
OF Table 1slanu, where We spent a greater
part of the day.
In the afternoon the barometer rose a
little, and the wind went down, inducing
Capt B. to try another look at the ice to
the north. At o'clock he steamed out
past Little Table Island. past a point of
pack ice that had drifted to the lee of that
rock. famous as being the northernmost
land Of the Spitzbergen archipelago, and
only forty years ago believed to be the
Hol tHeTHHnOSt lana IN the world. 1t
In these waters, more than a century ago.
that young naval officer, Nelson by name
had an encounter with polar bear which
afterward figured in history. 1t was Glenn
ents X. Markham, president of the Royal
Geographical Society of England, who said
that the young officers experiences with
arctic storms and polar bear bore fruit at
Trafalgar. We have 10 naval ambition but
feel that We are becoming pretty good sail
ors. As the Jarl steamed northward in a
lead OF Ice Capt Bottelfsen called the
writer to the crows nest for consultation
The wind was still blowing strong and the
temperature was the lowest we have vet
seen-1l above zero F. But we mounted
to the nest In good sailorman style, and.
after quarter hours study of the situa-
ton, agreed with Capt. Bottelfsen that It
was useless to go farther. Only scattered
patches of open water could be seen ahead,
and with the Ice In rapid drift to the west
We might be nipped and carried far out of
our position. SO we reluctantly gave the
order to turn back and to round a point of
Ice just to the west into what appeared to
be large bay Of open water, extending as
far north as S1.15. and possibly to Sl.3O.
Capt. Bott.lfsen Is eager to make this much
northing for U.s. in order to earn the re-
ward which we have promised him and his
crew therefor, but we care more now for
reaching the solid pack, where we can be-
gin our Sledge journey, than for the lati-