Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-17

n lief is tGat IL is posi-
BILE TO plan AMI carry
out an arctic trip with something like pre-
cisiOn. at any rate so far the time Of
starting and return is concerned. We may
Or may not realize all that We hope as to
the northern end OF our journey oTer the
ice. but We certainly should be able to
reach the southern and infinitely more i'm
portant end of 1t at approximately the time
which We have set therefor. the middle or
September. This is one of the tremendous
advantages OF a plan Ike ours and OF the
route which We have chosen.
Now that We actually On our way to
the frozen north We may be pardoaed for
calling attention To one of the striking
characteristics of the effort which we are
making. and this is that our expedition
has been planned, organized, equipped and
put to sea with methods that were business
Ike and practical. AS rule. arctic
efforts become sensational in one OF two
ways-by doing something really valuable
IN the work Of geographical exploration
or by getting into painful and periious sit
uatiOns which enlist the sympathy OF the
world 1t is 10 be regretted that a greater
plumber of expeditions have Won attention
with their misfOrtunes than with their
achievements. AS We sail today we have
but one promise to make to that large Fart
uentei us with its interest-we shal not
harrow up your souls with our tales Of woe
and stories Of suffering. We may not do
much and We may do a great deal. but
whatever We do We mean to DO il in a way
that will enable us to come back at the time
when we have said We would come, ard in
pretty good condition at that.
Tine Advantages of Dash.
Much surprise has been expressed that
we should propose to do our work in So
1.E4.--.
pie TO understand that We have any chance
at all in Journey which begins in May
and ends in September. They remember
that most arctic expeditions so out for two
or three or four years, and come back with
out having accomplished much How, then,
they ask, can We expect to accomplish any
thing in = single summer? There was a
time when five six months We're required
to go from the Mississippi river to San
Francisco. 1t is not SO long ago that two
three weeks was short voyage across the
Atlantic. The world is moving and is it to
be supposed that modern mechanical arts
offer no help in arctic work, and that We
are forced 10 labor under the same restric-
tons therein as those which our ancestors
endured?
one OF the strongest features of our plan
Is the CELEBRITY with which expect to
move By any other route toward the inner
polar region a previous wintering is abso-
lutely necessary. Little, if anything, can
Be accomplished during the summer in
which the expedition goes out. This is true
of the Greenland route, even in the across
lots plan which Lieut.. Peary SO shrewdly
and successfully adopts. 1t is true of Fran
els Joseph Land. and all other possible
routes toward the pole. In the way which
DR. Nansen is going, several wInterings
viii. in all probability. be necessary. But
by our route. Just the arctic summer sets
IN. We approach our task Just as the
temperature rises to a cOmfOrta be working
degree we are at the edge of the ice fields
ready for our advance over their surface
We are fresh and strong at this time. We
have not endured the rigOrs of the winter
nor suffered the depressing effects of the
long polar night. One winter brings down
the e. ective force, moral and physical of
the best OF parties from ~ 10 81 Der cent
From this deterioration there is no escape
except by avoiding the w!ntering.
By using only the summer. moreover we
avoid the need Of struggling against sever,
cold The average reader, accustomed al,
ways TO thinking of the arctics as associa,
tel with temperatures of fifty degrees below
zero. finds It iifitcult TO believe that there
are months in those regions in which there
Is more Jhawins than freezing. Many
well-mslniHs but lI-infcrmei friend has
told We were crazy to think of going into
the aTctics. We proposed to do. so far az
the road beyond our headquarters at Spitz.
bergen is concerned. without fur clothing
On our journey over the pack We shall
wear only such clothing as one needs in
New York or Chicago in ordinary winter
weather Nor snail we have need for fur
Sleeping bags and other heavy protectors
from the cod which siedge expeditions
working in spring OF autumn have found
Necessary. ana which are among the first
thingS one naturally thinks Of in connection
win an arctic journey.
The European DrnuGht Dogs.
Inasmuch as this is probably the last let
ter which We shall send TO The Star for sew
eral weeks il may oe well here to point out
TO the reader more definitely the itinerary
which have arranged In ten days We
Shall be in London. where We shall COM
plete our outfit. buying there large quanti-
T. Of speedily concentrated foods. We
Shall have as one important supply a food
Composed Of - per cent wheat flour and 10
per cent the finest butchers meat, less than
a pound Of which will support q man one
DAY. We know this food is EOurishing end
satisfying even in such small quantities,
because we have tested it most carefully.
We shall spend 4 week in Belgium ard
IiOil@cd, buying our pack OF fifty or sixty
craught dDgs-dOEs taken right from the
HARNESS from their daily toll the streets
o. Antwerp. Li-Ee. Brussels. Amsterdam
eHi Rotterdam. These dogs know nothing
pNl 20 pun thGIr Dads, and their fathers ana
tnotAe-S and eranLmOtheTs and GRANDPA
the-s before them knew nothing else. They
are INFINITELY superior to the ESqirnauX dog
To- dr1ught. being able to pull larger loads,
snt being 50 easily managed that If the
btIilf- team be driven the remaining teams
VI follow without guidance whereas every
e IN = - s.-;1liN dogs must have a driver,
"t-p = HIrn. over it, and il order TO Sc
cur reasonable amount Of work from
ue,1 the driver must leave a streak o:
Profanity along the trail bel.ni him. Neither
man nor dog IS stronger as a marching
ei-4.la- than MS feet. our draught hounds.
tahe:l from the CoJulg-p4vel streets of the
beiEia1 and Dutch cities VIII have tough
Tee These dogs can live upon ten or twelve
oGnceS q prepared dog food Per day and
G.s Is greet advantage to us.
Not Afraid Make Innovations.
Some Of our critics think We are making
! mistake in taking these European dogs.
tCSsib bly, we are. but this expedition has
ben ORGANIZED and equipped the prin
tfie that arctic experience was to suggest
merely. and not % dictate. On the theory