The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-04-05
NANSEN'S CHANCES.
LITTLE HOPE FOR THE SUCCESS OF
THE EXPLORER.
Much Interest is, However. shown.
and There Are Many Who Will
Pray for His Success.


north pole and is now on his way home,
great interest in the news is still
Shown among scientific men and trav-
elers in this city. Neither General
Greedy, Commander Melville nor any
other experienced Arctic man believes
Nansen has reached the pole In fact,
If he has returned to the coast of ST.
IBERIA, as reported, the proba bilities are
his expedition has resulted in another
addition to the long list of failures of
effort to fathom the secrets of the icy
north, says Walter Wellman in an eX-
change. If NanSen has returned to ST.
IBERIA the probabilities are his staunch
little ship, the Fran, has been wrecked
in the ice, probably not far from the
coast, and certainly nowhere near the
pole itself. 1t would net surprise Arc
tic experts here if hansen had ad-
vanced nearer the pole than the eigh-
tieth parallel of north latitude, which
is not so far as a dozen other expedi-
tions have progressed. 1t must be
borne in mind, however, that all these
opinions are merely the speculations of
such men as Greedy and Melville, who
are familiar with the conditions by
which Dr.. hansen was surrounded.
The Fran plunged into the polar ice
three years ago next june off the
coast of Siberia, in about the seventy
fifth parallel of latitude. DR.. Nansen
has been out two whole winters, two
whole summers and part of this win
! ter. From the point at which he found
| the ice ncrthward there is in summer
nothing but masses of ice, more or less
broken, and drifting to and fro accord
| ing to the winds and currents. In Win
ter which means from the middle O
| October to April, the Fran would be
frozen solidly in. 1t is highly improb-
able that in the two summers the ship
drifted or was able to force her way
more than 200 or 300 miles northward.
That would carry her, say, to the
eighth parallel, still leaving 700 statute
miles to the pole.
If DIR. Nansen has returned to Siberia
his whole scheme has been failure.
He believed he could drift through the
polar basin with the current, coming
out between Spitzbergen and Green
land. 1t was upon this current that
he placed all his hopes of success. Arc
tic men in Washington do not place
much confidence in the current theory
While there may be a little movement
of the sea in that direction across the
polar basin, it would be contrary to
all experience in other parts of the
Arctic ocean if it were to prove strong
enough to carry a ship through in three
or four years. If indeed DR.. Nansen
has returned to Siberia, it means either
that the current theory has failed or
that the Fran has been destroyed in
the ice. In either case it is possible
the intrepid explorer and his crew have
abandoned al, effects but those abso-
lutely essential to their existence and
made for the land, just as the unfor-
tunate Lockwood and the luckier Mel |
vile and their companions left the
spot where the Jeanette sank and
started for the delta of the Lena.
ON THE POLAR PACK
DR. hansen was we'll equipped for
travelling over the ice. He had small, !
light boats built for that purpose and
had with him condensed foods and
other commissary articles appropriate
for sledging. He took out dogs also,
but dogs are of no use except on
smooth ice, and DR.. Nansen is likely to
find very little smooth ice on the
polar pack. Nansen had with him
hardy Norwegians like himself, who
are the best arctic travellers, but at
best their rate of progress over the
The writer, who has had little ex-
perience in arctic work, has always
believed DR.. hansen and most of his
party would return to civilization
without their ship and probably with
out having approached very near the
pole. AZ
Arctic navigation and travel are
largely matters of circumstance, vary
ing with seasons but all the proba-
bilities are DR.. Nansen has not pene-
trated the ice zone so far that he and
his men could not work their way out
Melville, Greedy and others do not be-
lieve the report that Nansen has
reached the coast of Siberia. Rumors
concerning arctic expeditions are
started in the most inexplicable man
ner. They usually come from remote
quarters of the earth and gain in SEN
sationalism as they approach civiliza-
ton. Similar rumors concerning Nan
sen have been afloat before, and every
expedition has had the same expert
ence. 1t is possible that Nansen made
his way back to the Siberian coast last
fall before the winter set in, and that
he landed remote from any settlement
and during the winter has made his
way as best he could along the coast
to one of the Russian outposts. But
in that case it is strange that a mes
sage from Nansen himself was not
carried by the same agency which
brought in the alleged news of his re-
turn. Those who wish DR.. Nansen
success in his brave adventure will
hope he has not returned to Siberia,
while those who are more anxious for
his safety will pray there shall be
found some foundation for these ru-
morS.
A BRAVE SPIRIT.
If hansen has not returned to Sibe- !
ria. where is he? The opinion of the |
experts on this point is that he must
now be somewhere in the Arctic sea
north Of the Lena delta, with his ship
fast in the ice and himself carefully |
considering the question whether he
shall use the next summer for going |
farther north or for returning home
with his small boats and sledges. His |
decision will doubtless depend upon
the health of his men, the condition of |
his vessel and the northing thus far at
tanned. If he has reached the eighty |
fifth parallel and his men are reason
ably well, DR.. hansen is too brave
spirit to turn back. The farther he
goes, the less probability that he will |
ever return. If he is now beyond the
parallel, the best opinion is
that his chances of escape are not as
good as 90 in 100.
There has been talk of sending out
relief expedition in search of hansen.
1t could do no good. The relief party
would soon be in the same trouble
hansen is in. If he cannot save him
self, nothing can save him. Unless DR..
well-known zeal and indo-
mitable will lead him to going too far
when the chances are against him, I
believe he will yet reappear in civiliza-
ton, probably without the pole. but
\ ~-,.&l