The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1930-09-20
Faded, Fragile
Pages Tell Arctic
B~allOOnists' Story
Continued from page one)

cabin Of the ballon but it was
promptly extinguished.
The diary records then: "The bal
loon again rose, but both valves were
opened in preparation for a landing"
The next week. from July ID to July
q was spent encamped or the ice
while a sledge journey back toward
land was organized, the explorers,
who besides Andree were Nils
Strindberg and Knut Frankel, hop
ing to reach Franz Josef land. now
known as Fridtjof Nansen land.
Struggled Onward
1t is not just clear why they
should have headed toward this lit
tie known and uninhabited region in
stead of toward Spitzbergen. where
they had food depots and there were
some inhabitants.
The doomed men struggled on day
after day. crossing. ice crevasses. and
traversing. by means OF a small can
vass boat. deep pools of fresh water
which they found on the ice.
Each of the three men had their
experience with falling into these
pools, but oil kept up their spirits,
laughing and Joking in the face of
adversely. Frankel and Strindberg
developed d%iarrahoea. and both suf.
fered from bruised feet.
The irony of that long march did
not at first appear, but on August
fourth they knew from observations
as to their position that while travel
ing east, the ice was drifting west
VS,o NJ NJ ~ nx,oa reno%A~ rnfn
Their position August 4th was
about 60 miles west of their starting
point.
After some consideration they
turned here and began a belated
journey towards Seven Islands. Oft
Spitzbergen, where there were
caches Of food and supplies. Their
own food was running out. They
were on shortened rations and the
outlook was pretty glum. They
killed some polar bears, which An
dree calls wandering meat shops of
the Arctic" and with each successive
kill the prospects of the party
frightened. There were~days when
hungry.
Kept Up Scientific Interest
During all this travail, Andree's
interest as a scientist never tagged.
Occasionally on the ice hummocks
he would pick off specks of clay and
bits of moss. and he saved some
twenty of them. One of the speci-
mems SO taken Andree dried by put
ting next to his bare chest. 1t was
his idea that valuable information
as to the ocean drifts might be OBJ
tanned from the samples.
AS the party slowly approached
the coast of Spitzbergen they we're
given rest periods.
more skilful at obtaining food, and
the diary mentions that Frankel be-
came adept at preparing a savory
%concoction known as a "blood pam
cake" which served them for bread.
Strindberg's speciality was seaweed.
With arrival in the shallower wat
ers north of Spitzbergen the drift
changed and Andree realized it
would be impossible to reach Seven
Islands. Between September IL and
II. the ice on which they located
drifted 400 kilometers in an east
southeast direction and the cold be-
came more and more intense.
Their decision then was to spend
the winter on a suitable Zee float"
and they set to wprk building what
they described as a "cecot." On
September II they sighted Hvitvoen,
which they called "New Iceland It
was the first land they had seen
since July II. The next day they
killed their first seal. and the next
day three more and on September
70 q bear. Andree estimated that as
a result of their good fortune there
would be food to last until the next
April.
Moved Into Ice Cabin
They constructed and moved into
a little ice cabin which they called
"the hon." At this point a sudden
and i~rreparable disaster overlook
them. The ice floe on which they
had chosen to live craked up with
q thunderous roar and separated
their stores and supplies on small
chunks of ice. They brought much
Of it together and looked toward
Hvitvoen.
The diary comes to a sudden end
Just here with the comment by An
dree: (which such companions every
thing will go on all right in almost
any circumstances"
There is no clue to the end Of the
men, which Of them died first and
what brought death on. There is, in
solution Of this, only the fact of dis
covery Of their remains. Strindberg's
and FrankePs laid out as if in a sort
Of interment, and Andree's W body
up against the side of a mountain,
as if he lay down there knowing it
was where he would die.
Scientists disagree In their esti-