The times., 1898-01-28
NANSEN ON HIS TRAVELS
Two Graphic Pictures of the
Frozen North.
THE VOYAGE OF THE FRAN
He Tells of His Search for the Cur.
coyeries He Made His Inte rest
ing Trip Across GreenIann's Icy
Mountains,

DR.. Nansen, of Arctic fame, delivered
| two lectures in this city yesterday. The
| first lecture was given at the Grand
Opera House in the afternoon and
treated of the voyage of the good ship
Fran and the dash toward the pole,
and the second lecture was given at
Convention Hall last night and was
review of the explorers transit of
Greenland
DR.. Nanscn was introduced at the
Opera House by Prof. Alexander Gra-
ham Bell. The explorer began his dis
course by suggesting that many peo-
pie wondered deeply why some men
would run such risks in the hope of
accomplishing so little as the discov-
cry OF the north pole. He did not
know that humanity would be mucn
Deneflted by the fact that some par
ticu1ar man had reached this mathe-
matical point. He pointed out the
strong desire which many men have
10 piant their feet where no other foot
prints have been made This desire is
stronger In some men than in others
and he intimated that this had beer
particularly strong desire with him
he wanted to go into that land abour
winch nothing was knoWn-into the
land of the unknown
his journey in the Fran had not for
It's main object the reaching of the
north pole. 1t was more for the pur-
pose OF demonstrating his theory of
the existence OF a current which rolled
through the Polar Sea from west IN
east. 1t was an American ship which
gave him the idea. 1t was the Jean
cite, or, at least, the relics of the ill
starred jeanette. When these relics
We're picked up three thousand miles
from the place where the shin was
wrecked, he could reach no other con-
clusion than that they had drfted with
some hitherto unknown current. The
efforts of all prior polar explorers had
been aimed at combating the ice He
conceived the idea of constructing a
snip which when the ice pressure set
In, would be pressed upward and thus
avoid being crushed
lie retold the story of how the Fran
was frozen in and for three years how
she drifted, travelling at an average
rate OF one mile day. He recounted
me on that lce-bound craft. They ate,
slept. and pursued their work. This
consisted Of meteorological. astrononn
lcal and magnetic observations and
deep sea soundings. This sounding re-
Veaied that the polar sea is very deep
and that average depth along the |
course of the Fran was found To be |
zVo0 IathomS. The discovery was also |
Hldue that the temperature. away down |
IN the depths Of the polar sea was
higher than at corresponding depths in
the Atlantic and Pacific in much more |
souJherly attitudes
The temperature Of the atmosphera
on the course of the Fran was from 40
to 30 degrees below zero. DR.. Nansen
sald seriously that it was the most
heaithful climate in the world Disease
was unknown provided of course tho |
system was properly nourished The
reason OF this was said to be that tho |
temperature was too low for microbes |
10 hFe IN, and that there were none of |
tnose minute organisms which make |
lie struggle in gentler climes NOT |
one OF the members of the expedition /
caught cold during the three years |
journey. but as soon as the Fran, |
got back to Norway every membeI. ~ |
the party caught a severe cold The |
pole. he thought. would be a great |
place Tor Sanatarium DR. Manson
recounted his sled ride towards the pole |
with his cOmrade Johensen, and the
various adventures which befelI them.
Dr. Nansen was introduced at Con-
Vention Hall last night by Superintend |
ent foWeli, OF the District public |
schools. III this lecture the traveller
told of his trip across Greenland from
the east to the west coast When the |
snip in which he sailed from Norway |
the Jason, struck a favorable point of |
the east coast for debar rka ton the mar
ty left her. Land was about sixty miles
away At frst they made fair progress
III III thelr ooats, but the ice grew thicker
ana more troublesome as they ap-
he Sl,- i.
carried them far to the south. In tho
breaking up of one of the foes one
boat was crushed. and the party mar
ioWlY escaped destruction Finally ar |
ter reaching land, the party struck IN
The westward 1t was a Journey
through deep SHOWS and across gla-
ciers- The danger of crevasses beset
them- These crevasseS We're often hid
den under a fragile bridge of snow
and many hairbreadth ESCAPES We're
had from this cause.
DR.. Nansen enlivened his lectrre
with many anecdotes of the long and
perilous journey across this land of
white. He told of their scanty food
and crude methods of cookery. They
procured drinking water by packing
snow in bottles and then thawing this
oy carrying the bottles under their
clothing. They had one coffee boiler
II which they prepared tea chocolate
soup and stews without the formaIftv
1f washing the vessel between meals.
The interior of the country was de-
'cribed as being eight or nine thousand
FEET above sea level. which altitude
lelped materially to keep the tempera-
.ure very low.
A map of the transit was thrown on
he screen, and the points along the
Sintry pilgrimage were traced with
wand. Dr. Nansen spoke feeIingly of
he reception given him at the Danish |