The morning times., 1896-02-18
ARCTIC HIS NO CURRENTS
Expert Opinion Is That Aansen
Has Probably Failed.
JEANETTE RELICS FAXED
Two Middies Perpetrated the Joke
Melville, Dali and Other Experts
Show Why 1t Is Impossible for the,
Fran to Cross the Frozen Sea

"Nansen knew that no jeanette relics
had ever been found in Greenland and what
ever thought he may have given TO Arctic
currents must have demonstrated to him
that drift across the pole was utterly i'm
| practica ble.'
This was DR.. Dall's comment yesterday
when his attention was called to the fact
! that surprise had been expressed at his
| statement Sunday. discrediting the long
| accepted jeanette relic theory.
DIR. Dali is the Arctic expert of the Smith
| sonian Institution, and has devoted most of
| a long life to scientific research in the north
| frozen ocean. He believes that should the
! reported return of NanScn by way of ST.
| IBERIA be verified, il will be found that he
has not been to the pole and that his eX-
petition was a failure though 10 some ex->
| tent more successful than Others entering
the ice in the same vicinity through the
| fact that some one has returned to tell the
! tale In that case IL will be a repetition OF
| the jeanette expedition.
NOT IN THE FRAN
| That Nansen would return in the Fran,
| DIT. Dali has never for an instant believed
| and in this he is supported by Melville,
| Greely, Nortlenskiold, and a host OF other
| great explorers.
| He declares that there are records of
more than a hundred ships going into the
ice between Point Barrow and the Lena
Delta, and not a single relic OF one OF
| them has ever been found. All the wood
| that reaches Greenland, he says, is treas
| ured as il ii We're gold
In that treeleSs land the Sleds are fire.
quently made of small bits OF wood peggcd
| together with the most rigid economy
| of nateral~and scientists examining these
sledS have found nothing from any Siberian
| Records ~. af.,-
demonstrate that no system OF currents
! exists in the North Polar Ocean such as
are well known in temperate or tropical
waters.
In regard TO the jeanette relic story, DR..
| Dali says this fiction was totally exploded
the moment it gained currency. He had
! associated with him in the SmithsCn an
! Institution, DR.. Emil Besseis, surgeon
| of the polaris expedition, under DIR. Hall.
when the announ cement came from Europe
! tbat fifty-eight objects from tie Jeanette
! had been found on an ice floe ON the
| southwest coast OF Greenland and bad
been exhibited by the Danish government
| at Amsterdam.
PROVED IT UNTRUE.
This was 50 totally at variance with al
knowledge of Asiatic matters that DR.. Bes-
| sci and himself proceeded to investigate it.
| They questioned a number of seamen who
had been on The United States man-of-war
| Yantic under Commodore Wilde, 10 that
| portion of Greenland at the time the relics
were said to have been discovered.
Among them were Nnderman and Noros,
OF the jeanette party. The Yantic had been
| to the north looking for clues OF belongs
party under The supposition that survivors
might possible make their way south
| through Greenland. These sailors united
| in the statement that some of the younger
| officers on the ship, the midshipmen or en-
| signs, had gotten up lot of alleged relics
| and put them an on ice floe near the ship
To fool some of their superior officers
Itwassim ply intended a a Naval A caaemy
| prank. a boysh joke, ana wholly without
seriousness. The fl0e drifted eff the
! Yantic's Officers did rot find the ,'Teics''
| bit as subsequently appeared they fell into
the hands of Esqaimos ana passed taenceIo
| the Danish Government -.t&
After the ioke miScarried its seriousness
BECAME apparent 10 tn perpetrators ana for
| their own safety and to avoid probabl
| codrt--nartial they pledged 10 secrecy all
| the sailors who knew aholt the affair.
PERPETRATORS NOT FOUND.
DR.. Dali and DR.. Bessler never learned the
| names of these young officers. but they
| wrote NOrdenskioid about il AMI DR.. Dali
| gave a full account of it To DR.. Ringya the
Danish officiaiatCopenhagen having charge
| OF Greenland affairs. This may account
| Tor tue ueSlTuGliDH OF TIC alleged relics
soon as they were returned from Amsterdam
| to oDenmark, their wurthieSsness having been
| proven.
| Or. Dali says there never was conceal
| ment Of The discovery made by DR.. Bessler
and himself. They were constantly thrown
| with persons interested in the Arctic and
they exploded the relic fake whenever il
was mentioned to them.
Commodore Melville. chief engineer of
The United States Navy brandsthe Jeanette
| relic story as an utter impossibility. He
says the first report from Europe OF the
| find which came little over ten years ago
described two mems bo-iies as being found
| side by side, covered with canvass on an
ice floe with a lot of other articles.
SUPPORTED BY MELVILLE.
He promptly nailed that lie. accounting
for every one missing from the jeanette and
| proving that not a man could have been
on a floe covered with canvass. Excep-
those in Lieutenant Chipp's boat. which
1 sank in open water. the whereabouts of
| every body was known. Then the Danes
| retracted that portion of the discovery,
but still claimed to have the other relics.
Il tried every way in my power" Com
modore Melville says, Ito have the story
| sifted. / offered every inducement to Sc
| cure an opportunity TO examine the relics
| knowing that could tell i'll an inst ant every
article on board the jeanette and every inch
| of wood i'll her.
Il pointed out that such relics, or at
least portion of them, should come to
| America, where they belonged, but / could
get no satisfaction in any direction. | was
| convinced that il any such relics were found
in Greenland they We're taken there by the
hand of man and not by currents"
None of the systematic currents that Nan
sen relied upon to take him TO the pole ex ist,
| according to Commodore Melville.s ex-
perience.
NO ARCTIC CURRENTS.
AS drift expert of De Longs expedition
he became more familiar perhaps than any
man with the supposed currents.
| On that expedition" he said, 1--WE driftea
! Twenty-Five months after entering the ice
| near where Nansen entered and went only
| 1900 miles. In March of our first winter
| we came almost to the point where we put
in the previous October, in sight of WongcIl
Land, not thirty miles difference in position
| in five months.''
Every mile we went for nearly two
| years we dredged and got Siberian River
| mud between sixteen and thirty faith
onls. We never found current in that
whole time; we were simply blown along