Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-06
THE ILLUSTRATED BEE.
Last Word from Baldwin
CONTINUED from Fourth Page.)

the men, seemed to comprehend the stu
alton and comforted themselves with quiet
demeanor. In a short time the Frithjof had
towed up alongside America and 1t was with
a good deal Of relief that we climbed
aboard to wait for a more favorable wind
and tide for our work of landing.
When the Frithjof had landed most of its
cargo on Alger island we took the rest on
board the America. Our plan is to leave as
little as possible at Alger island, and until
the night comes on we shall continue NOV
ing our supplies thence lorthward AS long
as it is possible we shall force the America
through the ice. Then the dogs and ponies
will carry a part of our camp equipment,
portable houses, etc, still farther along.
Delayed by bad weather.
It had been my hope TO equal the record
established by Nansen and the duke Of
Abruzzi in their Arctic camps, but | have
found this impossible. We experienced a
great deal of bad weather on our voyage to
Cape Flora; three weeks were consumed
when one should have been sufficient. AS a
consequence we found the ice in a more
solid condition., later on, when We were
ready to proceed from Alger island. I'm.
fortunately, the ice at this time was not
strong enough to permit our taking the
III VI bHNA - 49, - 'N
sufficiently firm to hold the America back
from any steady progress.
However, though we are located farther
south than some OF our predecessors in
pole searching, we feel confident that when
the time comes for our final dash we shall
more than make up the difference. Nansen
had less than forty dogs in his winter
camp; we have more than 400. This is not
the only item in which our equipment sur
passes that OF any polar explorer, but II 1t
were, assuming that we have sufficient food,
we stand a better chance to reach the north
pole than hansen did in making his high
est point.
Franz Josef Land is not an undiscovered
land to me and I know something of the
long winter night through which we shall
have to pass. What shall I say Of that
dreary movement of days, which are days
in name only, of the awful stiffness and the
bitter cold which former explorers have
written about? I shall not attempt to de-
scribe these experiences, because l believe
that no one who has not lived beyond the
Arctic circle and has not watched the
shortening days can appreciate them.
When one sees the dull glare Of the sun
for a few minutes only cut of twenty-four
hours, always from the southwark, and has
iAN'u nan NdsS VI Nv am ~
stiffness of these regions after the sun has
disappeared, then he may know something
Of the majesty of King Cold Now and then
there comes the ice pressure and the hum
mocks heave and crack with thunderous
reverberations out Of the eternal quiet.
Beauty enough there is also II one may ba
poetic, but 1t is a stern beauty, an austere
GOODNESS Of aspect, that gradually grows
more and more repellant. Occasionally we
may venture out for walks over the ice and
I when the moonlight or the glow Of the
aurora borealis is over the vast fields Of
ice and snow there are few scenes more
4 delightful. But how we shall long to have
the night end!
or the life we shall live up here I fear
its chief characteristic will be mono'ony.
or course, through the night, we shall try
TO busy ourselves with the allotted labors
OF taking observations, making full and
elaborate notes. Now and then we shall
make little excursions in various directions
from camp to camp. We have so much food
that 1t has not become necessary to estab-
fish a ration, though we have limited the
use of some OF our jellies and preserves.
We have excellent shelter from the cold and
our portable houses are so arranged that
they will At snugly together when We
N"' hH"A imp ~ ~ 10
fitted with electric lights, so that on board
the ship the ventilation is OF the best.
Three meals a day, warm clothes, a good
bunk and something to do each day-what
more can any man want? There is no
reason why we should not be contented and
happy. Forty men all told we are, and each
one takes his share OF the work. We have
several musical instruments on our ship
and many Of the men can play the different
ones. There is a fairly we'll stocked
library Of books and games Of all kinds
with which to vary the monotony. Boxing
gloves, fencing foils and other gymnastic
paraphernalla furnish us with needed exer-
else when We cannot get out Of doors.
When I selected the men who make up our
party ! was very careful to get men who
were cheerful in disposition and versatile
In amusements. This care has already
proved to be Of much Importance in our
life here.
Our scientific work thus far has been
valuable. We have made continuous
meteorological observations and we have