The Portland daily press., 1897-04-09

oUCoullys VIC WOulu Ahiu6AAo uuhO suCu
a long confinement on the Toe bound ship
would have been almost ingupportable
1t was far from 1t, however, as Nan.
aen's journal tells. The hold of the Fran
was converted into workshop and there
was always something going on there.
The windmill which supplied the electric
light had to be attended to and observa-
tlons were taken. The mechanic, the
tinsmith, the Eailmaker, the electrician,
In fact. everyone but the ships doctor
found employment. He spent some of
MS time, however, in editing serio-
comic, illustrated newspaper. The dogs
mad to be cared for, and the men each
TOOK their turn in the galley, helping the
COOK. "As rule stories and jokes we re
circulated at table along with the beer.h'
Cards and games proved great resource
and there was an excellent library. In
addition to this, there were bear hunts,
sleigh drives and foot races. Holidays,
birthdays and other anniversaries we're
celebrated. The cook was always equal
to the occasion. being able to furnish
banqusts Of several ooarses, whenever
required. The ice in which the ship was
SO long imprisoned was constantly chang
ing. They often experienced the terrors
Of the ice pressure. which Nansen de-.
scribes insthe following words: !.
"Such an ice conflict is undeniably a
stupendous spectacle. One feels one q
self to be In the presence of Satanic forces
and 1t is easy to understand how timid
souls may be overawed and feel us if
nothing could stand before it. For when
the packing begins IN earnest 1t seems as
though there could be no spot on the
earth's surface left unshaken. First,
you hear a sound like the laundering
rambling of an earthquake far away on
the great waste; then you hear IL in
several places, always coming nearer and
nearer. The silent ice world ra-echoes
with thunders. natures giants are awak
ening to the battle. The ice cracks on
every side Of you and begins to pile itself
up; and all Of sudden you, too, find
yourself In the midst of the struggle.
There are howlings and thunderings
round you; you feel the ice treIn bling
aud hear 1t rumbling under your feet.
There Is no peace anywhere. In the
seml-darkness you can see 1t piling and
tossing itself up into high ridges nearer
and nearer you-does 10, 12,ss15 feet thick,
broken and flung on the top of each
other as it they were feather-weights.
Theysare quite near you now AID yOn
jump away to save your life. But the
ice splits in front of you, black gulf
opens, and water streams up. You turn
in another direction, but there 1T is the
same. All round there is laundering and
roaring as of some enormous waterfall,
with explosions like cannon salutes.
Still nearer you 1t comes. The foe you
are standing on gets smaller and smaller
water pours over, there can be no escape
except by. soranbling over, the rolling Ice
blocks to get to the other side of the
pack. But now the disturbance begins
is lost by degrees In the distance. This
is what goes on there in the north month
after month and year after year,
+. It is very noticeable how the spirits Of
Nansen and his men changed with the
wind. All look gloomy when we are
bearing south or too much to the vest
ward and all are beaminR with joy when
we are drifting to the northward, the
farther the BETTER Again he writes,
sit is more than true that 1t is easy to
live life Of battle; but here there is
neither storm nor battle, and thirst
after them, long to enlist titanic forces
and fight my way forward-that would
be living But what pleasure is there in
strength when there Is nothing for it to
doP Here we drift forward and here we
drift back and now we have been two
months on the same spot. ~ Wednesday,
October 10th. EXACTLY 33 years old, then.
There is nothing TO be said to that ex-
cept that life Ia moving on aud Will
never turD back. ." Sunday, October a1st.
A grand banquet today to celebrate the
eighty-second degree of latitude. Today,
then, Fran. thou art two years old. To
say the truth we all dearly love the Fran
as much as we can love an impersopal
thing. NJ mother can give her young
more warmth and safety under her
wings, than she affords to us. She is in
deed like home to us. We all rejoice to
return to her from out on the icy plains.
and when have been far away and have
seen her masts rising over the everlasting
mantle Of snow. how often has my heart
glowed with warmth towards her,"
The Fam was drifting slowly in the
right direction but Manson became i'm
patient and began to talk seriously of
leaving the ship, land with one Of the
men make an attempt to reach the pole
on foot over the Toe. He finally started
with Johansen, leaving Sverdrop in COM
mand of the ship. They took with them
twenty eight dogs, six sledges, kayaks,
firearms observing instru-
ments and two thousand pounds of food
Owinglto he.drifting ice they made little
progress. For six weeks they fought
their way northward against fierce winds
great lanes Of water driving snow
storms and great ridges of ice. They
managed to take observations with deli
cate Instruments Ialso photographs and
Nansen made few sketches. The dogs
began to give out and had to be killed.
cit was undeniable cruelty to the poor
animals from first to last, and one must
often look back on it with horror. 1t
makes me shudder even now when /
think of how we beat them mercilessly
with thick ash sticks when, hardly able
to move, they stopped from sheer exhaus-