St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-14
HAS FOUND THE POLE
EXPLORER NANSEN SAID TO HAVE
DISCOVERED THE LONGED-
FOR SPOT.
SAYS THERE'S LAND THERE.
NEWS BROUGHT TO IRkUTsK, 81
IBERIA, AND WIRED TO ST. Pc
TERSBURG.
SAYS THERE'S LAND THERE.
WORLD OF SCIENCE ALL AGoG,
For, if True, It's the Most Important
Discovery of the Gem
tury.

| tury.
ST. PETERSBURG, Feb. 13.-A tele-
gram received here today from Irkutsk,
Siberia, says that Siberian trader
named Kouchnareff, who is agent Of
| DR.. Fridtjef Nansen, the Norwegian
! explorer, who sailed in the Fran June
"a, 1898, for the Arctic regions has re-
ceived information to the effect that
DR.. Nansen has reached the North
pole, has found land there and is now
returning towards civilization. The
news from DR.. Nansen, which was tel
egraphed from Irkutsk, Siberia, was
received there from Ust Yacht at the
mouth of the Yana river. The Yana
| river falls into the Arctic ocean by
| several mouths in latitude 70 degrees
north and longitude 1877 degrees east
| of Greenwich. Ust Yacht,of Ust Yansk,
| is one of these. In fact, Ust, or COST,
| is the Russian name for the mouth Of
a river. Ust Yansk is only a little
more than hundred miles from Liakov
island, which is one of the new Siberian
islands. The mouth Of the Yana is
considerably over a hundred miles east
| of the Lena Delta.
The ill-fated jeanette was crushed in
| the ice in " degrees 15 minutes north
latitude and 155 degrees east longitude
on June 13, 1881. This point Is to the
northeast Of the new Siberian island.
! Those of the expedition who reached
land came 500 miles in boats and sleds
to do it. Their point of arrival was
west and north of Ust Yansk.
| LONDON, Feb. 14.-The reported dis
| covery by DR.. Nansen Of the north pole
is much discussed in the press this
morning, both in London, and, accord
ing to foreign kilograms, elsewhere, and
| the general opinion seems to be some
what skeptical, without denying the
| possibility Of the truth of the report.
But this report is held to at least indi-
cate that DR.. Nansen is safe and is re-
turning. The Royal Geographical So
ciety's officials consider it strange that
| they should receive no word, as DIR.
Nansen promised that that society
should have the very first news and
they have as yet received nothing.
1t is pointed out here in we'll informed
circles that if the news that DR.. Nan
cen is returning from the north pole
| turns out to be correct, it indicates
| that the explorer has made his way
back from the Arctic regions to New
Siberia, and is there awaiting favora-
| BILE conditions before commencing his
! homeward journey. Keuchnareff, the
man mentioned in the dispatch from
Irkutsk, Siberia, via ST. Petersburg, as
the agent of DR.. Nansen, who has re-
| ceived information that the explorer
has found the pole and is returning, is
DR.. Nansen's dog supplier. He resides
near the mouth of the Lena river. The
people Of that locality pay frequent
visits to New Siberia, and he may in
| this manner have brought the news to
| kouchnareff.
SOMETHING ABOUT NANSEN.
In April last the Figaro, of Paris,
| circulated a rumor that DR.. Nansen
| had found the north pole and that it
| is situated on a chain of mountains.
1t was then added that he had planted
the Norwegian flag there. The story
was generally regarded as being with
out foundation. On Sept. II of last
year advices were received in London
| from Danish trading station of Ang-
magsalik on the east coast of Green
land, that ship, supposed to be DR..
| NansenS Fran, had been sighted at
| the end of July stuck fast in an ice
drift.
DR.. Fridtjof Nansen is distin-
guished scientist of Norway, and an
enthusiastic believer in the possibil-
ity Of reaching the north pole. He is
about thirty-five years Of age He
entered the University of Christiania
! in 1882, and two years later went on
sealing trip to Denmark straits on
| the east coast of Greenland in the
Viking. Later in 1882 Nansen was ap-
| pointed curator of the museum at
Bergen, which position he retained un-
| til 1858, when he led a small expedi-
ton Of six men to Greenland, cross
ing the southern part of that portion
| Of oil nhn r 1,1,s
this trip that Narsen conceived the
| plan of making an effort to reach
| the north pole in vessel constructed
specially for such an undertaking. In
any case, after his return to Norway
Nansen took the preliminary steps to-
wards fitting out his expedition, and
| the Fran was planned and construct
ed. She is generally classed as a
three-masted sailing schooner, but
she had a 160-horSe power steam en-
inc in addition to her sails. Her dis
| placement was 800 tons, and her sides
were SO constructed as to force all ice
meeting the vessel to pass underneath
her, thus preventing ''pinching" and
"screwing."
The Norwegian parliament allowed
| Nansen about $4,000 to fit out his
craft, and in addition he was assisted
in his work by many private subscrip-
tions including one of $4,000 from King
| oscar. Inc fTdn was ldunCn0Q oct.
26, 1892, at Laurwik, near Christiania
DR.. Nansen, according to Lieut..
Davis l.. Brainerd, United States army,
who accompanied the Greely expedi-
ton as subsistence officer, bases his
! theory of the current which he relied
on to carry him through the Arctic
regions on the fact that the trend of
the jeanette was generally in the direc-
ton of the pole and that pieces of
drift wood, etc., have been found on the
/ east and west coast of Greenland and
along the east coast Of Ellesmere and
Grinnell Land, which, from their ap-
pearance and character, seem to indi-
cate that they had drifted from the
Siberian coasts. Other articles, such
as large stopper or plug for powder
horn, coasting stick, cane, ETC., evil
dently the work of Alaskan Indians,
have also been found in the same
places Therefore the supposition was
advanced that they drifted across the
pole, down the east coast of Green
| land, around Cape Farewell, and up
into Baffn's bay and Smiths sound.
HIS FAILURE PREDICTED.
1t was also recalled by Lieut.. Brain
erd that the relics of the Jeanette
left on the ice at the time she was
crushed were eventually found on the
| West coast of Greenland, near Julians
I Head, and to have reached there. 1t