The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-08-15

feel comfortable in our thin wooden
clothing. To save weight we had left
our fur suits on board the ship. The
minimum temperature in March was 40
and the maximum q degrees. We saw
no sign of landin any direction. It fact
the ice seemed to move so freely that
there could not have been anything in
the way of the wind to stop it for a long
way off.
ION April 8 we began our March tow
are Franz Josef1and, on April II our
watches ran down owing to the unusual
length of the day march. After that
date We were uncertain as to our longi-
tude but hoped that our dead reckon
ing was fairly correct. As we came
south we met many cracks which re-
tarded our progress. The provisions
were rapidly decreasing. The dogs were
killed one after the other to feed the
rest.
and the snow was in exceedingly bad
condition for travelling the dogs and
the Skees and sledge runners broke
through the crust and sank deep in
the wet snow. Only a few dogs were
now left and progress was next to i'm
possible but unfortunately we had no
line of retreat. The dogs rations as well
as our own were reduced to a minimum
and we made the best way we could
ahead. We expected daily to find land
in sight but we looked in vain. On May
81 we were in 81 degrees 81 minutes
north and on June in 81 degrees q
minutes north but on June Is we had
been drifted to the northwest to 50 de-
grees 26 minutes north. No land was
to be seen although according to Pay
er's map we had expected to meet with
Peterman land. These discrepancies
became more and more puzzling as time
went on.
ION June % we had at last shot
seal and as the snow became constantly
worse we determined to wait. We now
had supply of seal meat until it melted
away.We also shot three bears. We
had only two dogs left which were now
we'll fed upon meat
ION July p we continued our journey
over the tOIerably good snow. On July
"a when about 81 degrees we sighted
unknown land but the ice was every
where broken into small foes the water
between being filled with crushed ice.
We therefore had to make our way by
balancing from one ice piece to another
and we did not reach land till Aug. at
S1:24.
This proved to be entirely ice capped
islands. In kayaks we made our way
westward in open water along these
islands and on August II, we discover
ed land extending from southeast to
northwest. The country became more
and more puzzling as / could find no
agreement with the Payers map. /
then thought we were in longitude east.
ION August 26 we reached a spot in
S1.31 north evidently well suited to
wintering and as it was now too late
for the voyage to Spitzbergen I con-
sidered it WiSeSt to stop and prepare
ruses and built a hut of stones, earth
and moss making the roof of Walrus
hide tied down with rope and covered
with snow. We used the blubber for
cooking, light and heat. The bear meat
and the bIubber were our only food for
ten months. Bear skins formed our
bed and sleeping bag. The winter
passed well and we were both in per-
feet health.
1--WE hoped to have an easy voyage
to Spitzbergen over the foe ice and to
open water. We were obliged to manu-
facture new clothes from blankets and
a new bag of bear hides. On May q
we were at last ready to start. We
came to open water on May %, but we
preferred to travel overland.
I'VE came on June II to the south
side of the island and found much open
water there. We sailed and padded
in this direction in order to if possible
reach Spftzen bergen"
After touching upon the meeting with
Jackson which has already been cabled
to the Associated Press DR.. hansen
concludes:
I'VE left Franz Josefand on the
steamer Windward on August Z and
had a short and very pleasant passage.
Thanks to the mastery way in which
Capt. Brown brought his ship through
the ice and in open sea to Vardo.
ISigned1 NANSEN'