St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-14

was estimated, the relics must have
drifted at the rate of about three miles
day. But, the lieutenant added, Dr.
Nansen seems to have disregarded, or
at all events, taken his chances on one
important factor, the battling and un-
certain nature Of the current flow,
about which nothing is definitely
known.
Il believe that not only will the Nansen
expedition prove failure, but that it will
end in disaster. think it doubtful whether
DR.. Nansen will ever be heard from. I
think that he has had too little experience
to cope with the difficulties he will inevitably
encounter and especially with the ice.''
Norwegian paper describing the fitting
out Of the Fran said:
Bread is the principal nourishment of
Nansen and his people. The bread is kind
of biscuit, large and round, white and very
compact. The ration Of each man is to
consist of four biscuits day. This, at
left Norway. Silk is used as the most suit
able material for tents, as it shuts out the
cold better than anything else. The cabin
of Nansen's ship, the Fran forward), is
heated by means of English petroleum
stove, which consumed two litres of petrol
cum per day. AS the explorer has taken
along with him a sufficient supply of this
fuel to last him eight or nine years, there
will be lack of heating material. The
library of the expedition consists of 1000
books half of which are scientific works and
e.
twelve men, and all occupy the cabin,
which measures only thirteen feet square.
There they dwell, eat and work. The suits
they wear cannot be penetrated by water
THE EXPEDITION SAILED
from Christiania, June "a, 1898, the doc
tors plan being to make for the new
Siberian islands and head south until
the Fran, by being imbedded in the
ice, would be compelled to drift along
~ 1,,, aia1, ,,oier rI1f
be found. On Aug. %, 1895, DR.. Nansen
sent dispatch from Varde, reporting
that on the I'd of that month he was
about to sail into the Kara sea and that
the Fran had behaved splendidly up
to that stage of the journey, especially
in forcing her way through the ice.
A London dispatch dated March 4, Of
last year, announced that letter dated
Kjolleadord, Feb. "a, had reached Ham
merfeSt, Norway, announcing that tel
egraph inspector at station in the
mountains between Labesy and Lang
fjord had seen a balloon, moving in a
southerly direction, and believed that
II was possibly carrying dispatches
from DR.. Nansen, but until the forego-
ing dispatch, no further news of the
balloon Of DR.. Nansen had been re-
ceived. DR.. Nansen's S companions were:
Capt. Otto Sverdrup, shipmaster Sigurd
Scott Hansen, lieutenant in the Norwegian
navy and director of the astronomical, mete-
geological and magnetic observations: Henrik
Blessing, surgeon and botanist; Theodore G.
Jacobsen, mate; Peder Hendriksen, harpoon-
er; Antona Mundsen, chief engineer; Lars
Peterson, second engineer; Hjalmar Johan-
nesen, officer in the Norwegian army; Ber-
nard Nordahl, electrician; Ivan Mogatad, car
penter, and Adolph Juel, steward.
The following letter was received last year
by A. Balm, of Sheffield, Eng, an arctic lee
turer
"Christiania, Sept 1.-THE steamship
Hearth, freghted by Danish government to
bring victuals and furniture to the Danish
colony (Angmegsalik), which was established
last year on the coast of Greenland, arrived
there on Aug. 25. Peterson, the manager of
the colony, then reported that different Es-
quimaux twice saw, at the end of July,
three-masted vessel stuck fast in the ice.
The ship had short foremast. 1t was first
seen in the Sermiligakfjord (65 degrees 20
minutes north latitude; 3S minutes longi-
tude). They had seen no smoke from the
ship. The report is quite trustworthy. We
can get no more until next year. The Frams
foremast was extraordinarily short, so that
the description agrees SO far. From the
statement of the Esquimaux we should in
that case, not hear from the Fran until
next year. Meanwhile we must be patient
and not feel quite certain that we have to do
with the Franz"