New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-02-16
COURAGE.
rBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBuNEl


Washington, Feb 15.-The reported confirmation
nom Archangel Of the report of the return OF DR..
Nansen does not really amount to a confirmation in
the opinion OF General Greedy and Of Lieutenant
Scheutze The latter is. with the possible exception
Of Commodore Melville. who is temporarily absent
from Washington. better posted than any other oni-
cial in Washington on the characteristics OF the
North Siberian coast which he has visited on q
Government mission. being charged with the distrl
button Of rewards to the natives who aided the sur
vivors Of the unfortunate Jeanette expedition he
said: This confirmation OF the Irkutsk story from
Archangel Is as If we had telegram from Portland
Me- confirming a story from Sandy Hook
General Greedy took similar view and held that
Il was inconceivable that the story could eInahate
from two places so remote from each other as III
Irkutsk and Archangel. He knew OF no way IN
which news Of Nansen's approach to the northern
mouth Of the Lena Delta should also reach Arch-
angel. With the aid Of a chart General CREEPY III
dicated the vast distances between Archahsei anu
Irkutsk the latter point being that where inc iis'
report Of Nansens return started. He showed that
II Il was really true that news OF Nansen move
ments had reached the mouth Of the Lena. and had
an worked I'D the river to Irkutsk then II was I'M
probable that the same Information couid nave
reached Archangel. Then there was the same lach
OF detail about this last Dispatch he sa'u' i"' ia"
been noted in the first, and this absence OF even
h,n, ~ whore Nansen was or how he was commu-
n,ca+ed with cast suspicion on both reports. Arch-
angel General Greedy said. Is large anu ,ipo 'a''
Russia town. with good connections win III" 80
world and II such news had reached there ne Sd"
no rea son why full details were not oo'ai""o'e
GENERAL, GREELY's DISBELIEF UNSHAKEN'
General Greedy called attention 10 ano'hei pone'
vh,ch was that II Nansen has really eme'seu i'o''
the Polar regions anywhere OH inc oipe'A. =,
chen h. has himself dsproved the correctness o'
N. ,heorv on which his expedition was enloarneu'
II would show he said that instead OF 'hero eN
,st,nr a current across the Pole. there was cur
rent that swept him up from the nelgnporhoou y.
I,.nnett Island to the Pole and then turned BACK
and returned him his starting point uehei@'
r,r..v thought this state Of affairs was haroly pos
e,hle Certainly there was no scientinc evidence
of the existence Of such obliging current - 's'
and therefore notwithstanding the Archangc s'ory'
General Greely stood mistaken IN MS o'soe"oA 40
the return Of hansen as described
Iiea,tenant Scheutxe made the point that mao ~
nar.ntlv ESCAPED observation that II the first story
from Irkutsk was true then Nansen was sigh'eo or
heard from off the Lena River Delta away pa.n
last summer Lieutenant Scheutze Is thoroushiy
familiar with that country. He says that from
Irkutsk to Yakutsk. which Is the most hor'"ei'.
Russian post OF any significance. Is distance Oh
about 900 miles and communication Is had only oy
sleds or In GUNNER. by RATS down the River Lena
From Yakutsk to Ust Yansk. at the mouth Oh 'ho
Lena. where the Russian trader is said 10 nave
hoard from Nansen, is a distance OF l0o" Hlies
through an unbroken wilderness and the means OF
communication are reindeer or dogs Inc oii'y
travel between Yakutsk and Ust Yansk IS conrheu
to few half breed traders who go up to the at'er
point early in the winter and stay until inc next
eprine Many months required for the trip ana
40 any news OF Nansen coming from Cst Yansk
must DO very old. Reverting to the possibility OF
the same news coming also from Archange. Lieu
tenant scheutze said that 1t was extremely pn,
after having been sighted somewhere off the Lena
Delta Nansen may have WORKED kes his way westward
Lieutenant Scheutze referred 10 difrcutes tnat
rumor as that in question He said that natives
who might have sighted an Arctic explorer woui d
owing to their dense ignorance it would hardly be
possible for them to transmit an nteligiole account
half-breeds who knew little more. TO civilization
IN illustration he cited the experience Of NSrden
fog while hunting party Of natives was on IT, The
ye s Sp be aGt sd the ns Ss they
were stricken with terror. put out their camp fires
fter WA Was it finally wormed out Of them by
haif-breed. who had been fortunate enough to have
tually passed in the neghborhood
NANSEN's COURAGE AND RESOURCE.
Lombard stejneger. former associate OF Or.
Nansen when the doctor was curator OF museum
in Norway. and who is now one OF the curators OF
the United States National Museum, thinks there is
nothing intrnscally improbable in the story, and
bears high tribute to Dr. Nansens indomtahle conr-
age and fertility OF resource II said he Dr
Nansen found land north OF the New Siberian Isl
ands 1t would be a comparatively easy matter for
him to proceed northward, for the distance Is not
so great: the extreme difficulties experienced IN
travelling over the frozen sea make the task one
OF greater hardship and iInmeasuraby increase the
apparent distance. We know that there Is land
reason that birds fly north Of the limit OF exp
lions. raise their young ana return w WIN mem
must have land. and because they DO go north ana
breed is very good for believing that land is
TO be found there" 40 x.,..,
Captain Herenden, of the Smithsonian Institution.
was a member OF the expedition OF Lieutenant r
IT. Ray, in 1891, which went as far north as Point
Barrow. subsequently. when in the whaling bus-
He has thus had some actual experience IN the
northern country. 1.-The surprising thing to me Is,
ssid ne chat hansen has been heard from at this
q the Had he returned las. .,or 1bs
ana we are bound therefore to believe that ne mas
Just returned To one having no experience IN these
tray the enormous difficulties encountered IN tray
cling the frozen seas on and even II u rs rs
covered with ice the IL quite dnerent, ana the
only way can account for Nansens return az ms
time OF the year is the possible fact that ne mas