Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1916-10-27
Veteran Arctic Explorer to Drift
Five Years Across Top Of
Continent.
TAKE COLLEGE MEN ALONG
Captain Robert A. Bartlett Tires Of
New York and Is Arranging to
Gather Scientific Data in the
Million Miles Yet Untouch-
ed by White Men.

New York.-Capt. Robert A.. Bart
lett. who has been in arctic exploration
for IS years of his life, who has been
farther north than any other white
man with the exception of Peury, who
has suffered hnrdships In the frozen
regions, is afflicted with arctic nOstal-
gin. lie Is hOmesick for ice peaks,
frozen seas, polar bear and seal meat,
blubber and nights that last six
months. lie wants to go to the far,
far north again, get frozen up In the
arctic ocean, and drift wherever the
currents may carry the ice pack and
his ship.
Captain Bartlett, who is an AmerL
can of English birth, forty years old,
tall and straight as an arrow, but soft
spoken and almost difiident In his man
uer. explained In detail his latest pro-
ject for arctic exploration when l saw
him the other day ut the Explorers
club, says n writer in the New York
Herald.
MY idea" he said, "is to superln-
tend the construction of n wooden YES
sci of about $50 tons, especially de-
signed for arctic work start in May,
1913, %northward through Boring strait ;
go eastward of the northern coast Of
Alaska to about 1870 west longitude,
and latitude "a or 70, or even farther
north let the vessel freeze up and go
with the ice drift through the great
unexplOred arctic regions. There are
more than n million square miles of
unexplored territory In the Arctic
ocean.
Il would take only eight men with
me on the trip, preferably young col
lege men, not too scientific, but with
sufficient knowledge and brains to do
the scientific work necessary. While
we drlfted we would take soundings
and use a deep-sea dredge to gather
the fora and fauna from the floor of
the ocean and keep a careful record
as well as specimens of what we found.
This work would be of the same char
acter as that undertaken by the prince
of Monaco, the late Sir John Murray
and, to SOM extent, by hansen.
81 believe that such an expedition
while having little of the spectacular
about It, would add greatly to the
worlds scientific and geographical
knowledge. IL has the moral support
Of the National Geographic society. al
Washington; the Philadelphia Geo
graphical society Admirals Pillsbury
Chester and Peary, the United State,
coast and geodetic survey, the Explor
ers' club and many other societies anC
individuals of note.
Financial Assistance Pledged.
II have pledges OF financial assist
ance to the extent OF $4,000 already
and will require about as much more
1 am encouraged 10 believe that tn,
full amount can be obtained Without 1
great deal OF trouble. for there ar,
many publlc-splrited men who will sub
scribe to the project when they under
stand It's nature and value.
Instead Of regular steam engine.
and boilers. requiring the eOnsump
ton OF coal. / will install a BOlllnge.
crude oil engine. thus doing away will
the necessity Of engineers mt hremen
"From my knowledge of the arcti,
regions and the currents and genera
drift Of the ice / should say that W,
would drift about five years beforI
reaching civilization again, but W,
might do Il In three years. / woul,
provision the ship for five or six years
and that would be easy with only min.
men to provide for. The general drift
would be 20 the west. and l should sa,
that we would eventually come on
either between Greenland and SpltI
bergen, Dr. between ~Spltzbergen AM
Franz Josef Land.