The Portland daily press., 1896-06-20
OFF FOR THE POLE.
Andree Soon to Start on Ills Long
Aerial Voyage.
A BALLOON WHICH is PROVISION
ED FOR YEARS.

The Explorers Hope to Reach the Pole,
However, in Few Hours-They Are
Scientists of Enainence-The Details of
Their Undertaking.
About July Is the much heralded effo t
to reach the north pole in a balloon will
be made by S. A. Andree, the Swedish
aeronaut, scientist and civil engineer.
For more than two years the plans for
this trip have been making and there are
many people, well ersed in the matter,
who are confident of its success. Andree
Is one of them, and the two men who
will accompany him share in the belief.
The big balloon, which has been
christened "Pole Nord," is now ON its
way to the far-off island of Spitzbergen,
In the ARCTIC Ocean, whose northern
most point is within a trihe over 500
miles Of the pole. If Andree succeeds
1T may be, when he reaches the point for
which explorers have strivsn for sges,
that he will find that he is too late. The
fate of the daring explorer Fridtjof of
Nansen, who sailed with picked crew
from Christiania, June "a. 1883, in the
schooner Fran, with the intention Of
drifting to the North Pole. is still I'M
known. He may have persisted, but it is
possible that he succeeded. In February
last it was reported from Irkutsk, Sibe-
ria, that he had reached the Pole, and
that the Fran was drifting on its way
hom Q. Nothing oorroborative of this has
OF nd he int
DR.. Nansen to drift along with the cur
rent which carried some Of the wreckage
of THEY'LL fated Jeannette expedition from
one side of the Polar re lyon to the other.
Since Aug. 20, 1893, nothing definite
has been heard from Nansen, and it is
presumed that he has met the fate of
many other Arctic explorers.
A house has been built on tho north
western point Of Spitzbsrgen especially
for the Andree balloon. There it will be
inflated with gas and the final arrange
ments for the journey made.
ANDREE'S COMPANIONS.
Numerically 1t will be the smallest ex-
petition that ever tried to reach the Pole
Andree's companions will be Professor
Gustav EkholIn, II scientific observer,
and Nils Strindberg, physician and
photographer. Ekholm is man of for
ty-eight years, scientist by natural in
olination and by Subsequent develop
ment. For the last twenty years he has
been devoting his undivided attention
and his unlimited energy to the study
of meteorology. In 1882 he acted as chief
for the Swedish expedition to Spitzber-
gen, which was working in concert with
similar expeditions from this country
and ten European countries. 1t is gen.
orally asserted that tho results achieved
by the Swedish expedition surpassed
those gained by anyone of the other expt-
ditions and that this was chiefly brought
about by the excellent work done by
Ekholm.
At the present time Ekholm is by all
European students considered an author
ity on the branch of natural science to
which he has devoted himself. 1t may be
added that he Is a clever inventor who
has given to the scientific world a num-
whereby the study of meteorological phe-
nomena has been greatly simpifed.
The third Nom Der of the trio of explor-
ers is very young man, only twenty four
years of age. Yet Nils Strindberg has
already succeeded in making name for
himself as physical student Of high
standing. having paid special attention
to electric phenomena He is also an ex-
pert photographer, and as such will be of
great use to the expedition.
None of these men are reckless adven-
turers. Andree Is one of the most care
full and cautious men that ever tried to
reach that imaginary spot which has
played ouch an important part in the
dreams of hundreds of ambitious scien-
fists. But he has the courage Of his con-
victions, and he believes that the under
| taking planned by him is not by any
means as dangerous and la more feasible
| than the trip upon which Nansen en-
tered some two years ago. For q long
time Andree has been figuring and ex
perimsnting and planning until he has
reached a point where no detail of the
pending journey has been left untried.
He has chiefly conducted his researches
along two lines, trying to master the
science of aeronautios and to become per-
| fectly acquainted with the meteorological
conditions Of the Arctic regions.
The aeronautio exploits Of MIR. Audree
have become known all over the world,
and he has made name for himself a.
one of the III ost adaci u men that ever. as
oended in balloon Yet with him this
work is never a matter Of chance. Every
one of his daring trips has been carefully
planned, as if it had been the browning
journey northward, and it has been ex-
ecuted in strict accordance to the plans
made. Once he went up from Stockholm
and crossed the gulf of Bothnia. landing
on the shores of Finland, a deed never
before tried. Another time he sailed in
his balloon from the CITY Of Gothenburg,
on the western const of Sweden, to the
island of Gothland. in the Baltic, traver-
| Of ys1i1pa iy1 frn