The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-08-14
RETURN on NANSEN.
The Intrepid Arctic Explorer Safe
in Norway.
DID NOT REACH THE NORTH POLE,
hut lie Touched o Point Four Degres,
Nearer Than Any Other Explorer Has
Dons-He Is Accompanied by Lie utenant
SchOtthnusen.

! b"t he IOuched Point -Four Degree
| Nearer Than Any Other Explorer Ha
Dons-He Is Accompanied by Lieutenant
| schotthnusen.
| MALMO Sweden, Aug. 14-The news
paper Dagensnyheter has received com
munications from Dr. Nansen and Lieu
tenant Schotthausen from thegIsland OF
Vardo. These communications state that
they abandoned the Fran in the autumn
of 1895, and resorted to the ice The steamer
Windward, carrying supplies to the Jack
on-Harmsworth expedition, picked them
up near Franz Joselland They expected
that the Fran would eventually drift to
the east coast of Greenland. DR.. Nansen
failed to reach the North Pole, but he
touched point four degrees nearer than
any other explorer has dono.
DIR. Nansen left the Fran OH March A.,
1898, in "a degrees north latitude. He
trayersed the Polar sea to point IS degrees
IA minutes north latitude, situated north
of the New Siberia islands No land was
sighted north of 80 degrees north latitude
or thence to Franz ,Joseiland, where he
passed the winter, subsisting on bears
flesh and whale blubber.
DR., Nansen and his companion are In
the best of health. Tho Fran Is expected
at Vardo or Bergen shortly. She stood
the ice we'll. There were no sick persons
aboard when Nansen left her.
The steamer Windward took letters for
Nansen when it started to the relief of the
on-Harmsworth expsditisn as Mr.
jackson expected to find, Sansenand was
convinced that hisidea Of drifting across
the pole in the ice was impracticable. He
was also convinced that Nansen would re-
turn In the direction of Franz Josefilnnd.
Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian
scientist, now about SO years old sailed
from Christiana on June "a, 1893, on a
voyage of discovery to the Arctic regions,
and with the intention of reaching the
North Pole if possible He embarked on
board tho three masted schooner The
Fran, which was provided with u 160 horse
power steam engine. She was Of 800 tons,
and her sides were so constructed as to
force all ice meeting the vessel to pass un-
dor it, thus preventing all "pinching' and
"screwing" The Fran was launched at
Laurwik, near Christiana, on Oct. 28, 1892,
and the Norwegian parliament gave DR..
Nansen about $52, 900 in aid of bis expedi-
tion. Additional funds were forthcoming
by private subscription, including one of
over s5, 900 from King Oscar.
The Fran was in every way admirably
equipped and had n crew of twelve men,
all of whom occupied the cabin, which
measured only thirteen feet square and
which was heated by means of an English
petroleum stove, which consumed three
litrcs of petroleum day The Fran had
enough fuel aboard to last eight or nine
years and she also had library consisting
of about 900 books.
DR.. Nansen's plan was to make for the
New Siberian islands and thence sail di-
rcctly north until tho Fran should be I'M
beddel in the ice. He then proposed to
drift along with the ice, following the west
coast of any land that might be met. A
dispatch was received from the doctor at
Vardo on Aug %, 1898, written in the
Yugorski straits on the I'd of that month,
that the expedition was
about to sail into the Kara sea.
DIR. Nansen entered the University at
Christiana in 1880, and in 1882 went as a
passenger on the sealing steamer Viking
to Denmark straits and the cast coast Of
Greenland. 1t is believed that this voyage
laid the foundation for the ambition Of |
his life, namely, that Of discovering the
North Pole. On his return from Green |
land he was appointed curator of the |
at Bergen, and held that position |
until 1883, when he led small expedition
to Greenland and crossed the southern |
portion Of that country from the east coast |
to Godhaven, on the west coast, whore the
party wintered and returned to Norway |
in June, 1889.