ANDREE’S HEROIC DEATH

Taranaki Daily News, 14 November 1930, Page 7

ANDREE’S HEROIC DEATH

HAZARDOUS ARCTIC TREK. RECORDS OF PRIVATIONS. Grim records of the privations of the heroic march of Dr. Andree and his companions in the ill-fated Arctic expedition of 1897 are contained in the dead explorer’s diary, which was discovered recently when the relics of the tragedy were brought to light. An entry records that on the evening of July 13, 1897, a fire , occurred in the ballobn and that it was immediately extinguished. The diary does not make it clear why the balloon descended on July 14, the entry in this connection confining itself to the statement that the two valves were opened in preparation for a landing. It was not until a week later that the long, wearisome and hazardous trek over the ice was begun. A course was not shaped, ( as might have been supposed, for Spitzbergen, where provision depots had been established, but in rfn easterly direction toward unknown regions to the north of Franz Josef Land —evidently for scientific purposes. The explorers wandered slowly day after day in': a constant struggle with the creaking ice and deep pools of fresh water, which they had crossed with the help of their canvas boat. The distance covered varied greatly, but the maximum in any one day did not exceed a few miles. Their astronomic observations indicate that the westward drift of the ice was beginning to overwhelm them.

On August 4 the heroic band had to abandon their plan of penetrating further eastwards, and decided to proceed with the aid of the drift on the ice in a flouth-westerly direction, in a belated attempt to reach Seven Islands, off Spitzbergen. The provisions taken from the balloon proved to be totally insufficient. Consequently, the fate of th© distracted wanderers depended upon their chance kills of Polar bears—“the wandering meat shops of the Arctic,” as Andree calls them in th© diary. With every successful “kill” the future prospects of the party brightened. But when th© “wandering meat shops” failed to put in an appearance the most rigid economy had to b© observed. Fraenkel and Strindberg both suffered periodically from illness and bruised feet. Fraenkel experienced a particularly bad bout at one period, but his good spirits never failed him, and jokes continued to be plentiful. ’ ’ Despite all the drudgery and fatigue of the journey, Andree continued to fill page after page of his diary with scientific observations. Moreover, he collected some twenty samples of clay, gravel, moss and driftwood. One of the samples he dried on his bare chest. There are frequent entries; showing Andree’s great solicitude for these specimens, which he believed might prove to be of great importance for the study of the icedrift in th© Polar seas.

On on© or two occasions the party had an opportunity to load the whole of their equipment on their small canvas boat and enjoy a few restful hours. At the same time they gradually acquired a great amount of skill in picking up any food available on or beneath the ice.

Fraenkel, for instance, was very skilful in preparing a so-called “blood pancake” as a substitute for bread, while Strindberg acquired a great reputation for making soup from “algas,” a kind of seaweed. The icedrift eventually began to change, rendering it impossible to reach Seven Islands, and the cold became worse and worse.

On September 17 AVhite Island was sighted—the first land seen since July 11. The next day the party killed their first seal, and on the following day three mor© seals, and on September 20 a bear. As a result Andree estim'itcd that they would have a sufficient supply of food until the following April. A week later they moved into their ice cabin, which they named “The Home.” But on the morning of October 2 they were awakened by a thunderous noise. The icefloe on which they had taken up their quarters had split and shattered their little “ice-cot.” As a result of this fresh*disaster the party’s equipment and provisions drifted about on various icefloes until rescued by members of the party plunging into the icy water. In the midst of this catastrophe th© diary comes to a sudden end with the following entry: “With rmch companions everything will go on all right in almost any circumstances.”