The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-09-26
ALONE IN THE ARCTICS
Terrible Experience of the
Brave Norwegian, BjOeryig.
GUARDING HIS DEAD COMRADE
For Four Long Months After FenizeE
Died from Melancholy, Brave Bjoersig
Kept His Body from the Wild Beasts and
Waited Patiently for the Relief Corps
Says WelimaE's American Assistants
Were Unfit sor the Expedition.

SAYS WelImaI's American Assistants
Were Unfit FOR the Expedition.
Christiania. Sept. 10-Bjoervig, the Nor
wegian, who held the arctic outpost OF
| the Wellmann north pole expedition al
| Fort Mckinley, Cape Heller, IN LATITUDE
81, from October %, 1895. TO February 70
| this year was interviewed at Tromsoe-
! He talked interestingly about his Two
months lodging IN an S by 10 stone nut,
| with the corpse Of his mate, Nentzen
who succumbed TO the terrors OF loneE-
ness. of cold. and darkness about Cnr-st-
mas time. He also made some remark
able statements concerning Mr.. Well
| mans American associates. who seem to
/ have been all more or less physically unnl
| 10 make the dash for the pole.
Il am an ignorant man, knowing little
| about the scientific side OF north pole
! hunting" said Bjoervig TO the reporter;
| that * probably the reason why l car
| not conceive what may have been the
! object of leaving US two men alone IN the
| icy wilderness during the worst season
of the year.
we were not expected to make any
| observations with regard 10 the stars or
| other natural phenomena. No other north
| pole expedition was supposed to touch al
| Cape Heller during the winter, and Lieut..
| Baldwin, of the United States Weather
| Bureau, had ascertained. before he left
us on October % that no traces of Andree
were 10 be found there. Fort Mckinley
wasn't a storehouse. either. The lieu
| tenant left only enough provisions to last
Us until spring. Still. Ventzen and 1
| a
| the unprecedented sacrifice asked OF us
was. 10 our minds, entirely useless. The
| northernmost region impresses mans
| mind and heart most powerfully. 1t
| teaches one TO regard self-denial as a
matter of course, and obedience becomes
! ones second nature.
Fort Mckinley Was Cold.
Fort Mckinley is narrow stone nut.
| its crevices lined with ice blocks and
covered with hide. 1t proved entirely
unsuitable for a winter home, and Oh
stormy days and nights the danger of its
| probable collapse was always before our
| eyes. Still, We were both hardy men,
used TO the climate, and were spared at
| least that dreadful specter of old-time
| north pole travel-hunger With all that
we kept asking ourselves. What are we
here for? 1t seemed so unreasonable to
| leave US 10 suffer alone when suffering in
| company is the only way to make the
| trials of an arctic winter bearable.
Then there was the thought OF how
much better our comrades Jared in the
! comfortable Ha-msworth House, which
! Mr.. Wellmann had brought from Elm
wood, the headquarters of the Jackson
| expedition, to set up at Cape Tegethoff
| Harmsworth House had all convenences;
| ii afforded even room for exercise, and,
when buried in the snow, could be kept
| warm, while our hut was a refrigerator
| even in the fall
My mate had been with DR.. hansen,
| and couldn't help making comparisons
| between the business-lke, health, life,
! and work-saving methods of that expe-
| dition and this apparently aimless, Sc
| called dash for the pole the original
programme of which had been abandoned
almost from the start. We were TO have
| wintered in Franz Joseph Land. to pro-
coed north by sleigh Immediately after
| the polar night came to an end. All this
was changed, and consequently We had
| lost heart and confidence
Fierce Polar hears.
1T preyed on poor Ventzen's mind He
was an ambitious fellow, and our long
season of inactivity embittered him When
| saw my comrades again at the end of
February, they told me of the good sport
| they had had. Well, they were in num-
| bers. they had plenty of dogs, and their
| house offered them a good meal, warm
| bed after an exciting hunt. Two men
can't successfully cope with the polar
| bear-the smartest of all brutes and the
most blood-thirsty; neither can they go
walrus hunting. We would like TO have
| =
| eat us. Between the time you observe
gray-yellOwish mark on the horizon and
| the moment the bear attacks you, two
minutes scarcely pass. You needn't mind
him so much in summer, for then he has
| plenty TO eat, but in winter and spring he
is a most dangerous neighbor, exploring
his territory earre-wise and bouncing
| upon everything that promises food of
| some kind. Some books say that he
| doesn't attack man except to defend him
| self; that is amateur talk. The polar bear
| is as strong as a lion, as ravenous as
| tiger, and as impaFceptible of approach as
| a snake / have seen dozens floating on
| WalruS carcaSSeS or detached cakes of ice
| ready Tor business-and kept out of their
| way AS to the walrus, you have to fight
/ rim in the water, and he swims quicker
| than six men can row. His head is as i'm
pregnable as metal, and his breast seems
| bullet proof. To make sure of killing
him, you must pierce him with a spear.
Hunting big game being out of the ques-
| ton and birds being scarce, what employ
| ment was there for US? The books we
| lad brought along We soon knew by
| heart, and the preparation of our meals
| didn't take Us long. Meat fried in bIubber,
| and rancid blubber soup with meat balls
! eat that for four months on a stretch
and see how you like il, 1t made US sick
| 10 talk about what our comrades We're
able 10 do toward providing for a varied
| bill of fare, and in our minds eye We saw
| them feast on polar bear steak with pota-
| toes steaming hot soup of musk OK meat,
curry of ice birds. black seal with cloves.
1 heart Of walTus. smoked fox, seal noszle,
| salad. &c. An! they were having a good
| time; they could talk and play ga and
make plans. and We were condemned 10
! solitary confinement like criminals.
Died of melancholy.
While the dreadfulest winter howled
and shTieked around our hut, the winter
| OF discomfort was in our hearts Poor
Ventzen got daily more melancholy. and
when December weather proved the en-
| tire unsuitableness Of our abode for win
ter quarters, his undermined system
gave way. In the long run he couldn't
stand the cold. the rheumatism, the
drafts, the mOnotonous diet, the loneIi-
| ness, and the terrible dark. So he laid
| down and died.
That was on Christmas Eve-ah, what
/ holidays have / passed at the side OF his
| bunk After lad kept the body for three
| days, the exhalations made its speedy Du-
| rial desirable. Ordinary interment being.
| OF course, out Of the question. as the
ground was frozen many feet / wandered
| about for miles seeking a hollow where I
might lay poor FentZen 10 rest, his body
| so weighted down with stones as 70 pre-
! vent Tavenous animals from Decorating
the grave In his dying agony my old