Washington sentinel., 1899-02-25

that there was really no danger n
travelling in a balloon, that it was
in trying to make a landing thai
the trouble usually occurred. ms
was much like the man who iouno
little danger in jumping from the
top of house, but discovered that
it was in alighting that the ele-
ment of danger must be considered
Itwould be well just now to con-
slider what are the principle dan
gers to be encountered by Andree
and his companions in making
a forced or unintentio1al landing.
The worst that couldhappen would
be to come down III an open sea
far from shore. Their condition
then v ould be we'll nigh hopeless.
But while their course was toward
the North it is not likely that they
would find large stretches OF open
water. Wherever human beings
have been travelling in the high
est latitudes ice and land prevail,
broken by occasional Polynias, or
open water leads, that Andree's
party is fully prepared to overcome
To be sure, they might be blown
in a heavy gale OF wind against
tall hummocks of ice, or against a
rocky coast, and come to grief or
lose their stores. Their airship,
however, is provided with a long
rope that trails over land and ice,
or drags through the water to
steady the YES sells motion, and acts
in conjunction with sail that may
thus change its course several
points ofthe compass.
The explorers have provisions
and stores sufficient to maintain
them tor three years, and should
they land upon ice or terra frma
without serious accident they
would be able to take care Of them
selves at least until they reached
soma point where they could find
natives to aid them or could secure
sufficient food with their guns and
ammunition to carry them beyond
the danger area-that is, three
years rations would be food
enough if they could carry 1t ali
with them; but they will probably
find, as all other explorers have
found, that the difficulty is not
simply to have food enough on
hand when you start on journey,
but to have it just when you need
It while travelling.
For instance, the stores and pro-
visions OF the balloonists weighed
more than two thousand pounds,
and this is more than three men
could haul tor any considerable
distance, even upon a light and
we'll iced sled, over smooth snow,
and is not likely they could return
to their base to resupply themsel-
YES with provisions as needed.
When saIlorm en- from expedition
ary ships have been employed to
drag the sleds their own food for
the trip has to be carried along, and
a man cannot drag much more
than his own rations for thirty
days With dogs for motive power
there is the same trouble, though
not to the same extent, for when
you put dogs on low diet they
don't grumble and rebel as men
do. So it is a question OF trans
portation only whether or not the
North Pole may be reached.
Nansen had a shipload of pro-
vision when he left the Fran with
one companion and two dog sleds,
and yet after reaching his tarthest
north he was compelled to turn
back because he had barely enough
provisions to take him to a place
Of safety, and yet he had taken on
his sleds the utmost limit of food
that it was possible to handle. He
could have reached the North Pole
at the rate OF progress he was then
making with the provisions he had,
but would have had nothing for
his return journey. This will prob
ably prove to be Andree's most
serious difficulty.
As to the most recently reported
find OF traces the missing explor
ers in Siberia, there was nothing
whatever in the story to give it the
least show OF probability to any
enc who is acquainted with that
part OF the world. The fact that it
is so inaccessible makes Taimur
Peninsula favorite place to locate
the finding OF absent explorers, but
generally a graphic description of
the barren landscape and the bleak
surroundings Of the miserable hut
in which the refrigerated remains
are discovered accompanies the
story.