Fridtjof Nansen, who planned and will lead the Norwegian expedition
starting in June, is a naturalist, thirty-two years of age. He is
singularly adapted physically for deeds of daring and endurance,
perfectly equipped intellectually for command and research. His
lithe, erect figure testifies to athletic training, while his
expansive forehead and firm chin equally betoken thoughtfulness and
determination. He is a typical Norseman, fair in complexion and
hair, simple and rather reserved in manner, and modest almost to a
fault. No one can see him without becoming his friend. He speaks
English fluently, and a quiet, half-repressed humor lights up his
conversation. Never overstepping the truth, he does not seem to
feel the temptation of spinning imaginative yarns so over-powering
for the undisciplined traveller. He knows his own strength, and
measuring himself against the difficulties he proposes to meet, he
feels confident of victory, and inspires others with his own faith.
There is no turning back when once his mind is fully made up.
Nansen's whole life has been a training for the exploit he now engages
in. After graduating at the University of Christiania, he was
appointed curator of the Museum at Bergen, and carried out several
important biological researches, of which that on the anatomy of
whales is perhaps the best known. He was a diligent student of the
great Norwegian naturalist Sars, and on his return from Greenland he
entered into a closer relation by marrying the professor's daughter.
Mrs. Nansen is said to be the most accomplished lady ski-runner in
Norway, as her husband is the champion of his sex; their portraits in
the costume of this national sport are extremely characteristic. She
had originally planned to accompany Doctor Nansen on the Arctic
voyage, but has reluctantly relinquished the intention. She stays
behind with her little girl only a few months old. For the last three
years Doctor Nansen has devoted himself entirely to the study of
various branches of science likely to be of service to him in the
accomplishment of his great ambition, and in organizing every detail
of his expedition.
The chief circumstance in which Nansen differs from all his
predecessors is, that he prepares no line of retreat. To the common
question, "But how are you to come back?" his reply in word and deed
has always been, "I will never come back. I shall go through to the
other side." Thus, in crossing Greenland in 1888, he started from the
uninhabited east coast, so that he and his companions had to go
forward--retreat meant destruction. Such determination is only
redeemed from obstinacy by the forethought which inspires it. Before
setting out to cross Greenland, Nansen crossed the mountains of Norway
from Bergen to Christiania in winter, thus proving his mastery of the
ski or Norwegian snow-shoes, and testing his power of withstanding
cold and fatigue. Just as the crossing of the Norwegian mountains
proved his competence for the splendid feat of crossing Greenland,
that journey by its success establishes his ability for enduring the
severest privations which his new expedition may be called upon to
undergo.
[Illustration: FRIDTJOF NANSEN.]
A careful study of all the known phenomena of the Arctic Basin, and
the records of all the exploring, whaling, and sealing voyages in
these waters which were accessible, impressed two facts upon him--one,
that the currents of the Polar Basin were more regular and more
powerful agents than had been previously supposed; the other, that the
failure of the great expeditions to the north was in most cases due to
the great number of men carried, and the labor involved in keeping
open a line of retreat. The moral of this is simple enough: to sail as
far as possible with the currents, to take as few men as possible, and
these in thorough training for Arctic work, and to make no provision
for retreat. For the valor and heroic efforts of the earlier Arctic
explorers there can never be anything but praise; those men fought
against the most terrific odds, and stood their ground without
flinching, and their opinion on all matters connected with Arctic
travel carries the utmost weight. Nansen breaks away from all
tradition; he goes right against every cherished principle of all the
older Arctic men. He will secure no line of retreat, he will carry
only eleven men with him, every one of whom is inured to hardship and
expert in ice-travel. He is bound by no orders, but has perfect
freedom to alter his plans should circumstances seem to demand it. His
plan is to drift with the currents, and the evidence for the currents
moving in the direction he wishes to go is as follows:
The great drift of polar water southward along the east coasts of
Labrador and of Greenland has been known from the beginning of
Atlantic navigation, and the icebergs and floes carried along are
serious obstacles to the shipping of the North Atlantic. It is
estimated that between Greenland and Spitzbergen about eighty or
ninety cubic miles of water pour southward every day. The current,
like that down Smith Sound, flows from the north, but the water cannot
originate there. There is a very slight northward extension of the
Gulf Stream drift along the west coasts of Spitzbergen and Greenland,
but the main drift of North Atlantic water from the southward sets
round the North Cape of Norway, keeping the sea free from ice all the
year round. It is felt in the Kara Sea, and as a north-easterly stream
along the coast of Novaya Zemlya. It is difficult to estimate the
volume of this drift, but from certain observations made by the
Norwegian Government it seems to be about sixty cubic miles per day.
There is a current running on the whole northward from the Pacific
through Bering Strait with a volume of perhaps fifteen cubic miles a
day, and in addition there is the volume of perhaps two cubic miles
daily poured out during summer by the great American and Siberian
rivers. This water is fresh and warm, and accumulating near shore in
autumn it gives rise to the ice-free border which let the "Vega" slip
round the north of Asia. Even where the sea is covered with floating
ice, there are perceptible currents, and the ice-pack is never at
rest.
Since the vast body of water north of 80 deg. between Franz-Josef Land
and Greenland is streaming from the north, and since it must be derived
somehow from water which comes from the south, it is evident that
north-flowing currents of considerable power must exist in the Arctic
Basin. Parry in his splendid voyage of 1827 spent months in sledging
northward on a vast ice-floe which all the while was drifting south
faster than the dogs could drag the sledges northward.
This polar current is the exit by which Doctor Nansen intends to
leave the Polar Basin. It is a current which strews the coast of
Greenland with Siberian and North American driftwood, all coming
from the north, perhaps across the pole itself. Mud containing
microscopic shells which only occur in Siberia has been collected
on some of these southward-bound ice-floes. On one occasion a
throwing-stick of a form used exclusively by the Eskimo of Alaska to
cast their harpoons was picked up on the west coast of Greenland,
having obviously been drifted round Cape Farewell, as the boats of
many a whaler shipwrecked in the polar current have been drifted
before. But perhaps the most interesting argument is that derived
from the drift of the "Jeannette." The "Jeannette" (once a British
gunboat, and afterward employed as the "Pandora" in attempting to
repeat the north-west passage) was sent out by the proprietor of the
"New York Herald," under the command of De Long, to push north to the
pole, through Bering Strait, in 1879. In September of that year she
got fast in the ice, and drifted on the whole north-westward for
nearly two years. At last she was crushed in the ice on June 13,
1881, to the north of the New Siberian Islands. The drift of the
"Jeannette" was becoming faster as she got farther west; indeed, it
was possibly the more rapid movement of the current that set the
floes in motion and led to the crushing of the vessel. Three years
after she sank, an ice-floe was found on the south coast of
Greenland at Julianehaab, on which were a number of articles,
including documents relating to the stores and boats of the
"Jeannette," bearing De Long's signature. The relics had a romantic
history, and have given rise to controversy; but before their
authenticity had been seriously questioned they were sacrificed to
the sense of order of a Copenhagen housewife. Nansen is certain that
the relics did come from the "Jeannette," and he believes they were
drifted like the wood and Siberian mud upon an ice-raft across the
pole or in its immediate vicinity.
His resolve was made accordingly "to take a ticket with the ice," as
he phrases it, and so drift across. The point where it would be best
to join the current, Nansen decided to be off the New Siberian
Islands, although Captain Wiggins recommends the most northerly point
of continental land, Cape Chelyuskin, as a more likely starting place.
At first Nansen proposed to follow the "Jeannette" through Bering Sea,
but he has now decided to take the nearer route round the North Cape,
through the Kara Sea, and along the coast of Asia, as the "Vega" went,
striking northward off the Lena Delta. It will require extremely
skilful navigation even to reach the starting point, and it may even
be impossible to do so in one year, but, having reached and run into
the ice, another question comes to the front. The vessel in which the
drift of several years is to be made must not share the fate of the
"Jeannette," if human ingenuity can avoid it. And ingenuity has been
taxed to produce a ship of the most perfect kind.
Nansen's little vessel, launched at Laurvik last October, suits his
venture and himself as well as the famous "long serpents" of his
ancestors suited them and their voyages of conquest and discovery a
thousand years ago. She is built of wood, but is of a strength never
hitherto aimed at. The frame timbers, Nansen modestly says, "may be
said to be well-seasoned," for though cut from the gnarled oaks of
Italy they have been stored in a Norwegian dockyard during the whole
lifetime of the explorer. These timbers--the ribs of the ship--are a
foot thick, and are placed only two inches apart, the intervening
spaces being filled with a special composition, so that even the
skeleton of the ship would be water-tight should the planks be
stripped off. Inside, the walls are lined with pitch-pine planks
alternately four inches and eight inches thick, with cross-beams and
supports to resist pressure in every direction, as shown in the
accompanying section. Outside, there is a three-inch skin of oak,
carefully calked and made water-tight, then covered by another skin of
oak four inches thick, which in turn is encased in a still thicker
layer of the hard and slippery greenheart. Bow and stern are heavily
plated with iron to cut through thin ice. Finally, to render her fit
for living in during the coldest weather, the water-tight compartment
set apart for this purpose (one of three) is lined, walls and ceiling,
with layers of non-conducting material. Tarred canvas, cork, wood,
several inches of felt enclosed by painted canvas, and finally a
wooden wainscot, promise to effectually keep out the cold. In the
roof, a layer of two inches of reindeer's hair has also been
introduced.
The form of the vessel is as original as her material. She measures
one hundred and twenty-eight feet in extreme length, thirty-six in
beam, and is seventeen feet deep. With a full cargo she will draw
fifteen feet, and have a freeboard of little more than three feet. She
is pointed fore and aft, the stern being so formed that the propeller
and rudder are deeply immersed to escape floating ice, and both these
vital fittings are placed in wells, through which they may be brought
on board in case of need, or readily replaced if damaged. The hull is
rounded so that even the keel does not project materially. The form is
designed so that when the ice begins to press, it will not crush but
lift the ship, as one might lift an egg from a table by sliding two
hands under it. Her rig, as shown in the illustration, is simply that
of a three-masted fore and aft schooner, with a very tall mainmast,
designed to carry the crow's nest for the look-out. This will stand
one hundred and five feet above the water, thus affording the wide
view indispensable in ice navigation. A captive balloon would have
been used as well, but the necessary fittings were too heavy to carry.
The engine is not of great power, as no particular reason exists for
high speed, and with a coal capacity of only three hundred tons
economy of fuel is of the first importance.
The ship is prophetically named the "Fram," or "Forward," and for her
the viking explorer is determined there will be no turning back.
It is possible that in spite of all precautions the "Fram" may be
nipped in the ice-floe which will carry her along, or stranded on some
unknown northern land. This contingency is provided for by two large
decked boats, twenty-nine feet long, either of which could accommodate
the whole crew. These would be placed on the ice to serve as houses,
and in the end could be used for the return voyage. Many smaller boats
are carried, and light sledges with dog teams, in case it becomes
necessary to travel over the ice. The invaluable "ski" would of course
be used in such an emergency, and plenty of tarred canvas would be
carried, by means of which the sledges could be converted into boats.
Provisions for five years, at least, are stowed away on board; also
books for study and recreation, and a complete equipment of scientific
instruments for observations and collecting of every kind. The ship
carries no alcoholic drink; alcohol is taken only as a fuel for use
when the coal runs out, or if the ship has to be left. Nansen does not
smoke, and very likely he may regulate the smoking of his followers,
for his views on hygiene are clear, and his determination to enforce
them strong. The eleven men chosen for the enterprise have the fullest
faith in their leader, and that respect for his splendid qualities as
a man which is essential to good order being maintained. For in the
hardships of Arctic travel there is no sentimental deference to a
leader unless he is the best man of the party, and Arctic hardships
quickly reduce things and men to their real worth. Nansen and his crew
will prove, we are confident, as firmly knit together as the timbers
of the "Fram" herself. Captain Sverdrup, who accompanied him across
Greenland, goes as navigating officer of the "Fram."
Perhaps the most original of the many original fittings of this little
polar cruiser is the dynamo which will for the first time in the
history of exploration supply abundant light during the whole Arctic
night. When there is wind a windmill will work it; but in the calm
weather the men, in watches, will take their necessary exercise in
tramping round a capstan to the strains of a musical box of long
Arctic experience--it was in the "Jeannette,"--and thus at least eight
hours of perfect light will be secured every day.
Everything that foresight can suggest and money can buy has been
secured to make the voyage a success; but even in the most sanguine
mind the risk must appear great, and the time of suspense will be
long. The drift across the polar area cannot occupy less than two
years, and provisions are carried for five. But we need not dwell on
dangers; the personality of Nansen rises above them all--the motto he
carries with him in a little volume of condensed poetry, as powerful
meat for the soul as any of his cunningly concocted extracts are for
the body, is the wish of all his friends--
"Greet the Unseen with a cheer,
Bid him forward, breast and back as either should be,
'Strive and thrive!' cry 'Speed--fight on, fare ever
There as here!'"
The Norwegian expedition goes out under the command of a hero full of
experience, ripe in knowledge, certain to do all that a strong and
trained man can accomplish, backed by large grants of money from his
own government, and smaller gifts from people and societies in many
lands.