The Washington times., 1901-12-22
POLAR SHIP FRAN
In THE ARCTIC SEAS
Nothing Heard From Syerdrup.
Her Captain. Since 1899.
N0RWEGfANS ARE ALARMED
Think II strange PcHry should Not
Have Obtnined Information Con
corning Him-IEnored Alternative

tor the safety OF the Fran expedition,
under the command of Captain Syerdrup.
which sailed from Christiania on June "a.
1898. for northwest Greenland. They are
earnestly considering the advisability of
sending a relief expedition in search of
.the Fran.
The vessel was fitted out for four years,
but Captain Sverdrup did not expect to
be away more than three years. His in
tention was to reach the Arctic Ocean
through the Smith Sound passage. double
the north end of Greenland, ascertain
what islands. If any. lay off the north
coast, and trace the coast line to the east
10 Independence Bay. discovered by Peary.
This was the very work that Peary ac-
complished last year.
Sverdrup further proposed to map the
unknown east coast between Independ-
ence Bay and Cape Bismarck and then
start homeward. looking for islands be-
tween Greenland ana spitzbergen.
The Norwegians are very much aston
ished TO learn that Peary has not seen
or heard anything further of the Fran
They seem to take it for granted that
Sverdrup passed over the very same
route along the north coast of Greenland
that Peary followed on his sledge journey
in the spring OF last year.
Another Possible Route
They have lost sight entirely OF an al
ternative route thnt Sverdrup may have
taken and that may prove TO be the solu-
tion OF the mystery Perhaps ne changed
his plans and instead OF sailing up Smith
Sound. where he had been bafIled by the
ice. turned into one Of the channels lead
ing to the west coast OF Ellesmere Land.
This coast has never beer mapped; the
northern extension Of Parry Archipelago
in those waicrs is unknown and the large
area has long been regarded rs Offering
one of the best opportunities in the
Arctic for pioneer research. Ii he reached
the northern Arctic at all it seems much
more probable that his route to il WAS
west Of Ellesmere Land than that he
could have passed through the series Of
channels beginning with Smith Sound un-
observed by the american explorer
"Peiermdnns MlttrIiuhsen Tor October
has the following comments vcicine the
Norweg nm view OF the situation
Neither peary nor Sverdrup was able
liz their FIRST year 1Sgs-s9l to push their
vessels through Smith SoGnd TO The north.
coast of north Greenland. Tic last news
from syerdrur. brought back by The Peary
steamer Windvard. was that SverdrUp. on
August Il. 1899. was advancing nCrthward
along the coast % EllssfHere Land 90
s,erdrup's Probable Course.
"It is very surprising. in view of this
fact. that PearS Who spent The winter of
Jss91s0O at Fort Conger in Lady Franklin
Bay, and whc in The spripg OF 1900 made
sledge journey on which he explored the
coasts Of north and northern Greenland as
far as Independence Bay did not obtain
any information Of Sverdrup. who must
have followed the same route IL be kept
TO his original plan
1T is very surprising indeed. that
Sverdrnp should not have left along this
whole extent OF coast line any informa-
tion about his movements IN a cache. as
has always heretofore been the custom
of North Polar explorers The ice con-
ditioDs. furthermore. must have been ex-
traordinarily favorable TO the north OF
Greenland In the summer of 1899. so that
the Fran was able to make a very short
passage from the Spith Sound route al
least as far as Independence Bay: for
The FRAN must have Travelled at least
that far by April 1900. or Peary would
undoubtedly have met the vessel
Though Peary had accused Sverdrup OF
intruding upon field OF exploration
that he had occupied alone for a long
series of years, still the view should NOT
be held that he avoided the neighborhood
of the Fran and Intentionally neglected
10 acquire Information with regard 10 his
competitor in the exploration OF the
coasts OF Greenland" "
Not ON iie Greenland Coast.
.sb h,r
accounts given in Peary's reports of the
ice conditions in the Smith Sound-Robson
Strait channel in the summer of 1899 and
in the sea north of this channel in the
spring OF 1900 may hnd evidences of
naivete In the aDoye allusion TO The possi-
bility that the Fran may have SKINNED
merrily along ahead OF PeaTy ON IN. way
TO Independence Bay.
Peary did write letter of protest be-
fore he or Sverdrup left home. against the
proposed occupancy of his field by the
Norwegian explorer TO carry out part
of the same programme OF research which
peary had outlined in the paper he read
before the American Geographical Society
But no discourtesy whatever was shown
10 the Nurwegians. though their appear
ance on the scene TO do the same work
IN the same field was act OF LiscoHrtesy
The supply ships that have visited Peary
from year TO year have expressed their
willingness to carry to the Fran anything
that the friends OF the Norwegian explor-
erE desired to send TO them. The sppar-
ent reason why reary did not ind Sver-
drup or his caches on the north coast OF
Greenland seems 10 be because they were
not TO be found there. Here is the record
Of the last tidings from the Fran:
Latest Findings.
In his report 10 the Peary hrctic Club.
dated "Etah, Greenland August ~.
1889 Mr.. Peary wrote that "wh ,e cross
ing from Cape Albert to Cape Sabine Ton
August s. we saw the Fran fast in the
ice some ten miles to the eastward" In
other words the Fran was At that time
imprisoned in the ice TO the north Of
Smith Sound
On August 10. Mr. Peary. having gone
further south on the Windward to Etah
on the Greenland coast. reported thar on
the afternoon OF that day the Fran came
in. she had just got free Of the ice and
reported ice closed down on Cape Sabine
again" That is she had come out OF
Smith Sound aud reported the ice closing
the channel
The Fran was last seen on August is
near the south entrance to Smith Sound
ten miles OF Etah. stuck fact IN the ice
This IL the only basis the Norwegians
have for thinking the Fran managed
somehow or other to skip up Smith Sound
that fall, just as winter was beginning
10 close down. About the most unlikely |
supposition AS to her fortunes is that she
reached the Arctic Sea. If at ALL through |
the Smith Sound channels. sim the Nor
wegians are now talking OF sending a
relief expedition next summer either |