Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1909-01-14
TOCROSS NORTHPOLE
Explorer BaldWin's New Plan OF
an Arctic Expedition.
WILL DRIFT FOUR YEARS.
Expects Ice Pack to Carry Ship and .
Party From Alaska to Greenland In
That Time-To Start Next Septem-
ber-Many Casks to Be Taken.


That Time-To Start Next Septem-
ber-Many Casks to Be Taken.
Evelyn Briggs Baldwin, the arctic
explorer who led the unsuccessful
Ziegler expedition in search of the
north pole, few nights ago revealed
his plans for another dash northward
whereby he not only hopes to reach
the pole, but actually to cross over it
by traversing u course from northwest
of Point Barrow, Alaska, to a point
between SpitZbergen and the east
coast of Greenland. 1t is his plan to
let nature shape his course by run
ming his ship into the drift ice, per-
mitting it to become part of the Ice
pack, and then to drift with the Arctic
| currents until he has accomplished his
| purpose of discovering the pole. Bald
| win estimates that the drift will last
/ four years and that its slowness will
permit him and his associates to make
many exploration trips on sledges on
/ both sides of the course.
| By that means he feels sure much
will be added to the present scientific
and geographical information in rela-
/ tion to the arctic regions. Efforts
will be made to keep the public in
America and Europe in touch with his
progress by sending up balloons carry
ing bulletins, says the New York Press.
That plan was pursued on the Ziegler
expedition, and several of the bulletins,
/ which were incaSed in cork buoyS,
were founN on land or at sea. The
start on this new expedition will not
be made before next September.
The Baldwin party will leave the
Pacific coast in a steamship, which
will be the main ship of the cXpedi-
tion. There also will be two or more
supply steamships, which are to be
employed in transporting many heavy
timbers from the Oregon or Alaskan
forests. and also thousands of strong
! casks, which will be filled with oil,
clothes food, emergency supplies and
other things needed for the long vOy
age. There also will be portable
houses, sledges. small but strong
boats. forty or fifty dogs and three or
four Siberian horses. The horses will
be used the first year of the drift or
until provender runs out and then
they Will be killed and eaten.
The exploring party will consist OF
about twentyfour persons, including
probably two American navy officers.
who already have expressed eagerness
to go ON the expedition Not more
than two or three Eskimos will be
taken along, because they Will be OF lit
tie use on an expedition conducted for
purely scientific purposes Baldwin
says he does not expect to find land at
the pole. He will not be surprised,
however, to find It to the east Of that
point.
THE initial point OF the drift will be
to the northwest of Point Barrow.
Alaska he said. There we Will make
fast TO one of the large ice foes at the
southern edge of the ice pack. The
supply steamships will discharge their
supplies on the surface Of the ice foes
and then leave US in charge of the
main steamship. We will proceed at
once TO form Il settlement upon the
floating ice island. These ice foes are
from eight to thirty feet thick and in
size rs large as Central park or even
Manhattan Island They are close to-
gether. and the edges continually rub,
thus forming the ice pack
He said the reason for scattering
thousands of logs and casks on the ice
foe is that if the foe should split they
can be recovered easily from the wa
ter. Even If few should be lost
thousands will remain to supply the
needs of the explorers.
Asked how fast he thought the drift
would be after his ship had become
part of the ice foe he said
I'VE will be forced along Mt an aver
age rate of two miles each twenty
four hours-that is to say, one rec
OF latitude a mOnth-and in course
parallel to the course of the Jeanette
OF De Longs expedition and of the
Fran of Nansen's expedition. Our
course, however, will be directly
across the Arctic ice pack instead OF
across the margin, as was the case
with De Long and Nansen"
How long do you think that drift
Will lastF Baldwin was asked.
AS we are to drift midstream-
that is, through the field of unobstruct-
ed drift of the pack, where the ice
moves more swiftly than it does near
the coast llnes-we probably will con-
sumo about four years in the actual
drift. We will have drifted over the
northern curvature Of the earth. leav-
ing the pole about midway in the line
Of drift. We will go right over the
pole"
Baldwin said the hull of his ship
will be shaped to avoid the danger of
being nipped by the ice if the foe
should break to pieces and that the
discharge of the supplies on the ice
will make her ride high Asked If he
thought such long drift would break
down the minds and bodies of him and
his companions, the explorer said II
probably would If the expedition were
conducted on antiquated lines