Daily Kennebec journal., 1896-09-28
The Next Dash Al sAs North Pal.
IN. Y. SUM-

1
steamer will leave Ero.s
1, GUNNER 70 bring home the Jack.on
iar'hsworth Arctic expedition. wh;n,.
NOW spending its third winter g.,
JOSEF Land. All who are into
.S.e' IN arctic endeavor will await VIII,
hnucn interest the result of Jacksn.,,..
.lorts next spring and summer. for ~.
"'ehds, II fortune favors him To g,,r
pass Nansen's furthest north and 70
recover FOR England the record sbo i,.st
"heh 1reely's party, in 1882. wres,nd
rom markham the laurels of the ne,r-
esl approach to the North Pole
| '@'ksoh mas done notable thinpe T.,
sidh@ JOSEF Land. He has proved that
tne hurried explorations Of Wevnracbt
anu Fayer In 1874 gave us most or
| .'heous notions Of that region. III.
Journeys nave swept away the great
podies OF terra firma which figure o.,
fayers map as Zichy Land and vii
cZek Land. Payer gave us tho ido.
that Franz Josef Land was at Ieas, ~.
large as Spitzbergen. But Jackson h.s,
round his Queen Victoria Sea where
Payer placed land. He has substitu,ad
Tor Payers large land masses a con-
siuerapie number OF small islands and
large sea. He believes he has traced
the archipelago to its most northwest
ern point, and that his work. with that
OF Nansen. has fixed it's northern and
northeastern limits. The climate and
Ice movements also seem to prove that
there Is no large northern extension Of
land.and the drift of the Fran confirms
This belief. Franz Josef Land after all.
is nothing but a comparatively small
archipelago.
Jackson expects. this fall. to com
piete his mapping of these islands. and
next spring he will set out on the ice or
the waters Of Victoria Sea where Paw
e llaced Zichy Land. and tempt any
iatc that fortune may have for him i'm
tbe far north. Il look upon Queen Vic
tofla sea, he wrote, ' as my most fav-
orable route northward next wear.
When the sun returns next spring the
mapping of Franz Josef Land will he
practically complete, and nothing
should prevent my attempting the open
waters or the crust of ice of this sea,
Mr.. Harmsworth. who is footing the
entire bill for the costly enterprise,
says that this. opportunity of reaching
the higlFst latitude ever attained will
not be allowed to pass, and that Jack
son will strain every nerve to beat
Nansen's record.
There are some things in Jackson's
favor. There is no doubt of his fitness
for Arctic leadership, or of the excel
lent quality of his men. He also re-
celNed, last summer. an entirely fresh
equipment of sledges, reindeer. port
able boats, tents. and food of all kinds
sufficient for several years. His right
hand man, Lieut.. Armitage his physi-
clan, DR.. kettlits, and Mr. Hayward
remain with him, though their agree
'nent was that they should return home
at the end of the second year 1t is an
advantage. too. that he knows Just
what Nansen has done. and what he
must do to surpass the record; and he
viii do some big things if his hopes
are fulfilled.
While his equipment for a boat and
'ledge journey is probably better than
that of Nansen. it must be borne in
mind that he will have to travel from
ais camp, due north, about 240 geogra-
phical miles before he attains the
ttude at which Nansen left the Fran
tied north on his sledge journey;
"dyance about 375 geogra-
north before he can
IN ale than Nansen
ef >kson can ac-
tfH nall boats
'g over
ting