PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2252, 29 April 1897, Page 51

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

\ Kansen. ami tlic Xovtit. | Last week I gava the why an -1 wherefore \ ii Iho expedition s\nd traced t.hs course of ■ tho P'ratn dorhig nai bbrfie years' iraprisou- ' meat. On board everything went swimmingly sud jolliiy. More than ono gage ia taken up in particularising bills ol fara, ccn» cert programmes, the contents of placards and of tho Frara newspaper, the 'pastimes, the domestic arrangements o£ their snutj j little eitabHshmenfc, and in end place about s four pagos are devoted to a "inscription of a , couple of families o? pups jusi littered. Tbe j men t.lirove, and bad cocspar&dvoiy little or no violent exercißs, uor had tbuy axi j dangers to face. I was veadiog some vi tho lighter | portion?— bills of, faro especially— -to a lady, and she exclaimed, " I <lo&'b call thab an expsduion ;< they're out for * picnic." Perhaps a mwu or two will izae/est you: — 1. Ox tail flonp ; 2. Fisb pudTdiutj, w?.th potatoes and melt ail butter ; 3. Ro&st of ' reindeer, with peas, V iych beans, potatoas, and crenbarry jam ; 4. Cloudberries, and ; cream ; 5. Cake and taarzipan. Tnafc wan ; for dinner ; hero's Ihe *npper following, foe | tea time was skipped, all being full up :— Coffee with pineapple preserve, gingerbread, vanilla oakas, cocoanut macarooaß, and various other cakea, windiog -ap with figs, almonds, and ra'isics. And btaakfxM that same day was equally ample 5n variety:— Coffee, freshly-baked breau, beattfiM Danish butter, Christmas cake, Cheddar oheejje, clove cheese, tongue, corned, beef, and marmalade. It was Christmas certainly, but ordinary daily fare was generally scmewbab elaboratealso, and after one of the menus STansen add« that they all looked like fatted pig*, aud that one or two had begun to cultivate double chins and corporations. And no wonder ; here's a braakfast :— Braad (ry« and wheat), live kinds of cheeße, corned beef nr mutton, luncheon ham or Chicago tinned | tongue — what an advertisement Nsw Zealand lost in not supplying a hamper or two— cod ! caviare, anchovy roe ; also oatmeal biscuits I or English ship biscuits, with orange marmalade or Frame Food jelly. A tuck-in fib for the gods. ! Bub, though the men lived like fighting I cocke, one thing was conspicuously absent — spirituous liquors. Nansen had about $lx years' provisions on the Fram and only abont 50 bottles of spirits, and these as medicine — not as a beverage, or less than two -thirds of a bcttle per man per year. We shouldn't; have many prohibition conventions if onr liquor bill did not average more thac Nansen'B. In the place of liquors Nanse^ used sweets and preserved fruits, of whiot he took a large supply. To-day, however, I intend outlining Na»>, sen's sledge journey, and though thoie c& the Fram lived well you will see — indeef you have seen already — that Nanßen, whiK: anxious to have every comfort for himself and his men, was quite willing and anxiouft to face living, plain to the disgusting, fofc after Fram fare, dog's blood porridge sm<* raw walrus became rather a contrast. The progress of the Fram had not bee& quite fast enough to please Nanßen, art,; besides he hadn't come east enough to dri^ across the Pole, so he resolved to quit tt^: ship and make a dash. With this end U view in the winter of 1894-5 he took special exercise, and made experiments with sledge£ and dogs, and schooled the men how to ao& in bis absence. On March 18 everitnin*

was ready, and Nansen and Jchaneen set out with sledges, kayaks, and 28 dogs. At this time the Fram was in 84deg north latitude, and lOldeg 55min east longitude. After events showed that, though Nansen got nearer to the Pole by 2£deg, he would have got almost as far if he had stopped on the Fram, for Bhe drifted to within about 20 miles of the same latitude that be reached. Nansen and Johansen took with them provisions for 100 days, and calculated that the dogs, with fish taken for them for 30 days, could by afterwards feeding on one another last out 80 days, and by that time Nansen remarks, in a matter-of-fact way, " We shall have arrived somewhere." On April 6 he had come to the conclusion that they were " not doing much good here"; the ice grew worse, nothing but ridge after xidge and ice rubble to travel over, so it was agreed to indulge in a banquet "on the northernmost camping ground." It consisted of lobscouse, bread and butter, dry chocolate, stewed whortleberries, and hot whey, and after fiiling themselves to repletion they •• crept into their dear bag," their " best friend." Next day they faced homewards. Remember, however, that next day means our days as to length, for the Arctic summer day was now commencing, and we read of the two adventurers rising at all hours, breakfasting afc midnight, and going to bed in the morning. At first things went fairljrsmoothly. The ice was good, and the ridges gave way to plains; so the men were in good spirits. Perhaps this accounts for Nansen describing the weather as mild and balmy with the thermometer 46deg below freezing point <Fahr.) 1 a day or two after Nansen was further elated by a fox track; land surely must be near. "Yes, I expect to see it every minute; perbape, though, it will be tome days yet." In point of fact it was i nearly three months (July 24) before this marvel happened. And now, when they were in buoyant spirits, fate went against them. Bad days came, ugly cracks ran right across their course, and loDg detours had to be made to ! pass them and the stretches of water formed by the melting ice and snows ; the sledges and kayaks got out of repair, and, worst of all, the dogs caved in one after another, and were slaughtered. At first the survivors wouldn't touch the fUsh of their dead comrades, hut hunger soon overcame any repulsive feeling they possessed. It must have been a pitiful sight to see each faithful dog at last fall down with paralysed limbs, and then have its throat slit, the blood to be drunk — at times, at any rate — by the men, and the carcase eaten by its late comrades. As the ranks of the dogs were thinned"it became necessary to lessen the loads. Clothing, the medicine chest, spare fittings had to go ; even the sleeping bag, sodden and now comfortless, ib was resolved to part with, though second thoughts caused them to retain it. Provisions ran low, and small allowances were doled out ; their clothes became coats of ice-mail, which were thawed only after being worn a couple of hours in the sleeping. bag, and then not by the warmth of the bag, but of the body. How their teeth must have chattered I Their situation became more and more critical, and almost superhuman efforts were made to reach land. One time they were so exhausted that they ilept 22 hours without wakir. g I S jmetimes they actually fell asleep with spoon in hand; und so suddenly that food only got half way iom the dish to the mouth. Bat they never lost-, hope, and even celebrated Johansen's birthday I . At length they reached open sea. But even then their dangers were not passed. Walruses threatened to sink the kayaks, and once the kayaks broke loose before the open sea was crossed. At last Franz Josef Land was reached, a hut of stone built, a dozen or so of bears shot and also a number of walruses, and once more they were comparatively happy and in plenty. Seal's flesh and blood pac cakes, cocked — sometimes, however, taken raw— in blubber and train oil, were voted first class and eaten to repletion. The bears' skins covered the hut and made a warm bed. In this way winter was passed. You already know that with the return of summer Nansen found he had been a winter neighbour of the men forming the JacksonHarmsworth (I think tbat'R the combined name) Expedition to Nova Zambia. I wish I had room to describe the meeting, but I must draw to a conclusion. The edition of Nansen's book, which is . sold here, costs less than one-eighth of the EDglish edition, but it contains no illustrations and only one map, and a poor one at „ that. I should very much like to see the Home edition, for the pictures engraved from Nansen's photograph?, the coloured drawings, and the mapß must add very much to the interest in the book. The two volumes are well worth reading, but I won't go so far as a Home critic who says that " Farthest North " is a magnificent and dangerously fascinating book, and that truant boys may be looked for by the score as stowaways aboard whaling ships as the result of Narisen's writings. The intrepid doctor is now coining money fast. The book and the articles contracted for have, it is said, already turned him in £25,000. He is now about through a course of 50 lectures in Britain, and is booked for 45 in America at £150 each and expenses. He has also received several other offers, one being from Germany for 100 lectures at £50 each, but this he has declined. Perhaps the much- travelled Smytbe will persuade him to come our way when his Northern Hemisphere engagements will have been fulfilled. As ha uses the lantern his lectures will be doubly interesting. — Mother : " Dear me 1 tho baby has swallowed thai piece of worsted." Father : "Tbat's nothicg to the yarns she'll have to swallow if she lives to grow up." It is rare, probably, to see a man so flabbergasted as Robinson was when he met Jones on the street the other day. " Why, old man," hs exclaimed, " 1 never expected to see you on your pins again. The last time I was up at your place, what with wheezing, sneezing, heavy cold, and expectorating I thought you were already as good as in the coffin. '' To which plesssnt and cheering remark Jones curtly replied :" You mistook, Robinson — in Fact you usually do. It was not I that went into the coughin' —it wu WOODS'S GBEAT SPsfpejbhmit Ccus. T»-W '