THE “POLE NORD” AND ITS MISSION.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1264, 21 May 1896, Page 18

THE “POLE NORD” AND ITS MISSION.

THE LATEST IN ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

AN AERIAL EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH ROLE.

For some months past considerable interest has been manifested by American scientists, geographers, and others interested in the subject of Arctic exploration, in an attempt which is to bo made by M. S. A. Andree, a daring Arctic explorer of Swedish birth, to reach the mysterious North Polo by means of a balloon. M. Androo, whoso portrait wo publish at the head of this article, is an exceedingly handsome and virile man. Ho is forty-two and is more than six feet tall. He was born at Grennaburg in 1854, and has made many voyages to the Arctics. He is a veteran aeronaut as well as sailor, and onco journeyed from Gothenburg to the Islo of Gothland, 200 miles, in live hours.

Physician lo the Expedition. Ho will be accompanied in his balloon by two friends, Professor Gustav Ekholin, a well-known Swedish scientist, and Dr Nils Steindberg, a physician and photographer. jr. andicke’s plan.

All previous attempts to reach tho pole by vessel or sledge have failed. Intrepid explorers, familiar with the frozen north, are now agreed that it is impossible to roach the pole over the surface of the ice, and they arc hopeful that Andree has at last hit upon a practical plan. In tho absonco of accurate information as to tho Nansen expedition in tho Fram, geographical societies do not believe that tho Norwegian has been more successful than his courageous predecessors, and they are now pinning their faith to Andree and his big balloon. Their faith is substantial, for a group of noted American, Swedish, and Norwegian geographers have contributed £ 10,000 towards tho expense of Andree’s expedition. THE BALLOON. .The balloon is now building at Vaugirard, a suburb of Paris, and will be completed in time for the start of the expedition, which has been fixed by Andree for the last week of May or tho early part of Juno. Tho balloon, which has been christened “ Polo Nord,” will bo made of silk, specially woven on tho best looms of Lyons. Tho * diameter of the “ Polo Nord ” will bo 20.1 metres, its capacity 4500 metres. Tho bag will bo made of three thicknesses of silk, bound together by an adhesive varnish specially prepared for the purpose. It is calculated that the balloon will be gasproof, and that the gas with which it will bo charged at tho point of ascension will not leak, and will retain its buoyancy until Andreo and his two companions cither reach the pole, or, baffled, land on tho most northerly part of the American Continent. A BIG GUIDE HOPE. A curious feature of tiio balloon is the big guide-rope of cocoa-nut fibre, weighing 1000 kilogrammes, a weight sufficient to maintain the balloon at the height of about 600 feet, at which elevation the explorers can study tho regions over which they pass, and enable M. Steindberg, the photographer, to picture them. WHERE THE START WILL BE MADE. The expedition will start from Gothenburg on a specially chartered steamer, tho Virgo, and will reach Northwestern SpitzSpitzbergen in two weeks. Thero the explorers will debark and erect a tem‘porary house. In this houso the balloon will be charged with gas carefully made by experts. It will require some time to make Hie gas and charge the envelope, but M. Andree expects to got away in the balloon early in July. He does not know

how long he will be in the air before he finds an air current which will drift him over the pole, but expects the “ Polo Nord” will be able to stay aloft three weeks and cover a distance of 6000 miles, and the balloon will be therefore provisioned for that period. • mmm ww»»—j i—umaMTwmi jwwn rnwnfTi«ror>