The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1916-10-26
H0MESICK FOR
frozen NORTH
And ICE PACKS
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 GOrk.-Cupt. Robert \. Bart
lett, who has been in arctic exploration
for rs years of his life, who has been
fGrthcr north than any other white
man with the exception of Peary, who
has suffered hardShipa in the frozen
regions, is afflicted with arctic uostal-
gia. He is homeSick for ice peaks,
frozen seas, polar bear and seal meat,
blubber and nights that last six
months. He wants to 20 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 Alneri-
can of English birth, forty years old,
tall and straight as an arrow, but soft
spoken and almost difiident in his man
ner, explained in detail his latest pro-
ject for arctic exploration when | saw
him the other day ut the Explorers
club, says writer in the New York
Herald.
MY idea" he said, lis to superin-
tend the construction of wooden YES
sci of about $50 touS. especially de
signed for arctic work; start in May
1918, nOrthward through Boring strait :;
go eastward OFF the northern coast of
Alaska to about 1870 west longitude,
and latitude II or -, 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 million square miles of
uneXpIored 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 drifted we would take soundiugS
and use Il derp-sea dredgc to gather
the flora and fauna from the floor of
the ocean and keep 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 some extent, by Nanscn.
Il believe that such an expedition,
while having little of the spectacular
about is, would add greatly to the
worlds scientific and geographical
knowledge 1t has the moral support
of the National Geographic society, at
Washington; the Philadelphia Geo
graphical society; AdmiralS Pilsbury.
Chester and Pcary, the United States
coast and geodctic survey, the EXplor,
ers' club and maay other societies and
individuals of note
Financial Assistance PLEDGED.
Il have pledges Of financial assist
ance TO the extent of $50 900 already. |
and | will require about as much more. |
l am encouraged to believe that the
full amount can be obtained Without a
great deal of trouble, for there are
many philosophical men who will sub
scribe 10 the project when they under
stand its nature and value.
Instead of regular steam engines /
and boilers, requiring the consump- |
ton Of coal, | will install BoIlinger
crude oil engine thus doing away with [
the necessity of engineers and firemen. .
From my knowledge of the arctic
regions and the currents and general +
drift of the ice ! should say that we
would drift about five years before
reaching civilization again. but we
might do 1t in three years. | would
provision the ship for five or six years.
ana that would be easy with only nine
men to provide for. The general drift
would be TO the west, and should say
that we would eventually come out
either between Greenland ana Spitz-
bergen or between Spitzbergen and
Franz Josef Land.