The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-02-19
NANsEN AND THE POLE.

wonderful there Is with II the persist
ent search after the truth. NanSen
sailed away for the Arctic realm in mis-
ship Fran, nearly three years ago. He
he'd the reputation of being one of the
worlds boIdest explorers. He went
after the supposed possible. But it
was and is only a superstition. Tn
less, indeed, Nansen is alive and really
reached the North Pole, the feat must
still remain problematical. OF late
it had come to be hoped by Kansans
| that among her own SONS had been
found the indomitable spirit equal TO
making such an undertaking success
full. hansen on setting out expected
| to be gone at least three and probably
four years, and made preparations &C
cOrdingly. Now comes these uncertain
rumOrs, cOnjectures and guesSes. They
are only such. AS yet it is all guess
work, but mere opinions predicated
upon very few known facts. Back
of it all is the supposition that Nansen
| is dead, lost together with his brave
comrades, in the circle of eternal ice
fields and unending cold under which
the northern extremity Of the globe lies
buried, and in trying TO penetrate the
dead and desolate mysteries of which
so many Others have lost their lives.
Numerous expeditions-they may al
most be counted by the score-gener-
ally undertaken at private cost and
commanded by gallant men have sailed
nOrthward through the frigid, trackless
waters of the Pacific to Behring strait
and into the Arctic sea; or by way of
Baffin'S bay and Smiths sound; or be-
yond Greenland, between its ''icy
mountains" and Spitzbergen; or,
farther around, between these desoiate
islands and Nova Zembla. A refer
ence TO some of the more notable ex-
petitions will probably be of interest.
1t may be said, in the first place, that
by the Behring strait route no sailor
has ever assembled to point beyond the
seventy-seventh parallel, while on the
other side, from Smiths sound 10 the
Norway coast one explorer at least
reached point more than eighty-three
degrees north, and by the Baffin'S bay
route, Lieutenant Greedy reached
1921 degrees north, the highest point
ever attained and within about $50
miles of the North Pole Hudson in
1907 sailed between Greenland and
SpitZbergen, near the latter, to eighty
two degrees north latitude. In 1918
Buchan reached point within one de-
gree of that where Hudson turned
back. In 1927 Parry penetrated to the
eighty-third parallel by the same route.
McClintock in his successful search for
relics of the Franklin expedition in
1853 went a little beyond the seventy
seventh parallel. Hall struggled
through Smiths sound in 1871 TO the
extreme northern point of, Greenland,
which is not above the eighty-third par
allel. Mares in 1870 took this route
and attained the highest point known
to have been reached by a sailor up to
that time-10 min. % sec. beyond the
eighty-thrd parallel. As before stat
ed, Lieutenant Greedy in 1882 by the
Greenland route penetrated TO the
farthest point that had been reached
by an explorer from any direction. The
more recent Peary expedition, by way
of Greenland, attained latitude eighty
three. The Wellman expedition, by
way of SpitZbergen, did not get far into
the Arctic sea. The results of eXpedi-
tons by way of Behring strait have
been very unsatisfactory. Mcclure
and Kellett reached seventy-five de-
grees north, though in different direc-
tons, the latter in 1913 and the former
in 1851. Behring in 1928. Cook in 1176
through the strait into the Arctic
ocean. In 1S7S-79 Nordenskjold made
a great advance in Arctic exploitation by
the discovery of the northeast passage.
He sailed from Hammerrest. in Nor
way, around Nova Zembla. through the
Kara sea and along the coast of ST.
IBERIA. This proved that the northeast
passage was a practicable and prob
ably the easiest route to the Pole. DR..
Nansen took this course. His eXpedi-
ton sailed from Christiania June ~.
1893, his plan being To make for the
new Siberian islands and head north
until his vessel by being imbedded in
the ice would be compelled to drift
along the west coast of any land which
might be found. Further reports from
the Nansen expedition will be awaited
with keen interest, especially in scien-
ufic circles. which. it must be said. re-
gard the current story from Siberia as
ap0cryphal
But it is evident that the civilized
peoples of the world. especially those
nauonalitieS whose love of science is
supplemented with love Of adventure
IN exploring remote regions for the
solution Of great problems. Will never
rest contented until some good shin
shall have successfully braved the
perils of the Polar sea and reached the
goal toward which many venturesome
explorers have boldly pressed.
PROSECUTING BICYCLISTs.
The NuruqI RauaS- k.:z