The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-02-14

THE NORWEGIAN's PROGRAM.
How the Brave Explorer Achieved His
Wonderful Discovery.
DR.. Nansssn left Norway in the Harm
in June, 1898, Dr.Nansen sent dispatch
from Vardo August 2S, 1885,. which he
had written at Charabowa, in the
Yugorski Strait, on the second of the
same month, announcing that he was
about 10 sail into the Kara Sea, and
that the Farm had behaved splendidly.
DR. Nansen tried to discover the North
Pole by route and under conditions
which presaged great suffering and
probable disaster Despite the fate of
the teannette and the ultimate destruo-
tion of the ship by the Siberian Ioe foes.
Naasen sought the conditions which the
Jeanastts long in vain stroys to avoid,
and hoped to pluck safety and success
from the very nettle of danger. He
started in a specially constructed ship,
which, however, failed to com u end itself
to any ARCTIC explorer, and, piunging in
to the ice foes to the northeast OF the
Kara Sea, with his courageous COM
p1ulUuo, CAp6oUeQ W uEllb dCTOSS Or very
near the neIghborhood Of the North Pola.
They trusted entirely 10 favorable ocean
currents, which Nansen estimated would
carry them across the unknown regions
OF the Arctic zone into open water be-
tween Spitzbergen and Greenland. He
figured on the average speed Of ths
whole current at swo nautical miles per
day and contemplated an absence of two
or three years. Ii is doubtful if the
Farm q HtQGEar fnr five ynar,c cruiap
According to reports at the time OF sail
ing she did note take provisions for mere
than three years. voyage. 1t may be
that Nansen contemplated a FIVE years.
absence, but it Goes not seem probable.
The request TO his brother that at the
end of TWO years his wife be told that he
would be gone five years Mt least, was
accustom her to an absence that perhaps
would be permanent.
Mr.. Herbert Ward wrote of Dr.
Nansen's expedition as follows: Each
year of this closing century regularly in
trOduces to US some new and mighty en-
terprise of geographical nature. AT one
time the thoughts and syInpathies of the
whole civilized world are directed toward
the adventures Of an African exploring
expedition, and their attendants perils
and privations in the heart OF q tropical
country inhabited by oahnibals and
dwarfs. Now attention is diverted from
the blacks to the blondes, and the naIne
Of Fridtjof Nansen becomes familiar in
every educated section of the world. In
June, 1893, DR.. FridtjO2 Nansen and his
crew Of twelve Norwsgians sailed from
Christiania in the Farm to explore the
North Polar region. In this bold expedi-
ton we find no motive OF mere bravado.
With the experiences and disasters of
many former Arctic veyagers before him
as practical evidence, DIR. Nsnsen has de-
veloped an original scheme, in the work
ing out of which he aims to solve some
of the remaining important problems in
physical geography, meteorology and
other branches of science. No fantastic
notion OF an open Polar Sea passage to
China and India occupies the mind of
DR.. Nansen; he thinks only of accom-
plishing scientific work. In carrying
out his task he proposes to avaIte himself
Of the forces Of nature, and to work in
harmony with the natural Arctic our
rents instead of buffetiDg against them
after the manner of most previous Polar
explorers.
zone of the most convincing argu-
ments in favor Of DR.. Nansen's theory
lies in the history ofthe ill-fated Ameri-
can vessel Jeannstte, which was caught
September, 1879. AS the Jeannette
driftsd toward tho region north Of the
New Siberian islands, where she subse-
quently sank, the current attained
speed Of eight miles every twenty -four
hours. 1t Is In this region that DIR.
Nansen considers the Greenland current
originated, and il from here he proposes
to com mence the main features Of his ex-
plorations, having based his calculations
primarily upon the fact that many
articles Of ships gear belonging to the
Jeeannette were discovered three years
later on the southwest coast of Green
land, having drifted directly GROSS the
Polar region Other vital and oonvictng
proofs of this existing ourr emit are to be
found in the fact that considerable
amount of Siberian driftwood is annually
washed upon the Greenland shores. For
the purpose of practically testing the