Daily inter mountain., 1899-03-18
A Great Crowd Oil For The Pole
RELIEVE


The polar regions are going to be
crowded this summer-that is, for the
polar regions. No less than siX-and if
Andree be included, seven-eXpeditions
are either in those desolate lands or will
be on their way hither. OF these, four
are bound on one common pursuit, the
search for the North Pole, while others
are all relief parties, searching after the
absent explorers. At no time since
Arctic explorations began have the polar
regions been assaied by so many forces
of their wouldbe conquerors.
OF the exploring parties now under
way, or about to start, the little band
of Andree's who left Franz Josef Land in
what seems to be now their ill-fated bal
loon, naturally attracts the most atten-
ton Old Arctic explorers put little
truth in the occasional stories that come
from the northwest in British Columbia
or from remote places in Siberia that An
dree's body, that of his companions,
or portions of his balloon have been
found .
, Many of them believe that Andree will
| turn up just as Dr. Nansen did. And
| though polar explorations by balloon is
| never likely to become popular, it is not
| without bounds of probability that this
| first expedition of the kind may turn out
Ifavorably.
Next to this Lieutenant Peary's expe-
| dition is of the most interest, particu
| ~ ~ fAllltllc lDI Lieutenant IedIy
| has way with him of going north and
coming back again in good shape and
| with fresh discoveries to tell about. Then
there is Captain Sverdrup's big eXpedi-
ton which sailed on the Fran, from
Chrlstiania, in June last; the Duke of
| Abruzzfs expedition; and that conducted
| under the auspices of the Quebec Geo
aphical society by Captain Bermier Of
Quebec. OF these, aside from Andree's,
ICaptain Sverdrup's and Captain Berniers
are the most noticeable, both from the
| size of their equipments and the number
of men engaged in them.
The relief parties consist Of an expedi-
tion which is now being fitted out at ST.
Johns, n. F., by Walter Raine Grieve,
to go to the relief Of Lieutenant Peary;
and an expedition under the direction Of
the Danish explorer, Captain Daniel
| Rrun, with Professor Nathorst, the
Swedish geOloglst, which will start in
few weeks for Jan Mayen, small volcanic
island 300 miles east of Greenland. The
Peary relief ship will follow in the eX
plorer's wake direct to Greenland. The
| Andree relief expedition will search the
Idepot established by the Austrian gov
lernment on Jan Mayen island and then
proceed to the east coast of Green
land.
! Work on the Duke of Abruzzi's polar
| expedition is now going rapidly forwa rd
lat Copenhagen. He is expected to ar
| IlNe III J'lt DdIlSn cdplldl IN q snort tlfne
to superintend personally, preparations
for his latest venture. He will sail in
the early summer for Spitzbergen and
will pass the winter on Franz Josef Land
| He hopes to reach the North Pole by dog
sleds in August, 1900. The expedition will
cost about $250,O00, most Of which has
been subscribed by, King Humbert. The
| latter is quoted as saying that Or. Nan
sen had made Overtures to the duke for
| the command Of the proposed expedition,
but that the offer was refused.
! Captain SVerdrup, who, with Is COM
rades, sailed on the Fran from Chris
tiania, Norway, on June "a last for ex-
ploratiOns on the north coast of Green
Ia nd. arrived at Egesdeminde, Greenland
after rough journey, on July 2S The
party reached Upernivik, near the north
ern boundary of the Danish domain, on
August 4, and he is supposed to have
sailed on the following day for the far
north. On the journey up the Greenland
coast Sverdrup, purchased some dogs
making about 100 sledge animals, includ-
ing Is that he took from Norway.
| SVerdrups intention was to force his
way through Smith sound and RobesOn
| channel as far north along the coast Of
Greenland as possible, and then to use
his ship as headquarters for Sedgc eX-
petitions. These Sledge parties will be
sent out to explore and man the northern
mainland coast line and to attempt to
connect Cape Washington, the most
northerly point known on the west coast
of Greenland, with Independence bay, on
the east coast, discovered by Peary, and,