Scottish Geographical Magazine ISSN: 0036-9225 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsgj19 The second Norwegian Polar expedition in the “Fram,” 1898–1902 Captain Otto Sverdrup To cite this article: Captain Otto Sverdrup (1903) The second Norwegian Polar expedition in the “Fram,” 1898–1902, Scottish Geographical Magazine, 19:7, 337-353, DOI: 10.1080/14702540308554276 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14702540308554276 Published online: 30 Jan 2008. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 6 View related articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rsgj19 Download by: [University of Sydney Library] Date: 07 June 2016, At: 04:10 THE SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE. THE SECOND NORWEGIAN POLAR EXPEDITION IN THE "FRAM," 1898-19022 By Captain OTTO SVERDRUP. UPON learning that Messrs. Axel Heiberg and Ringnes Brothers were willing to defray the costs of a Polar expedition under my guidance and direction, I petitioned the Norwegian Government to lend me the Arctic vessel Fram. The Government at once placed her at my service, while the Storthing generously granted 26,000 kroner (2 £1445)for the renovation of the ship and the construction of a new saloon forward, two working-cabins, and six berths for the officers and scientific staff. The Fram was a first-rate boat before these alterations were made. Prof. Nansen had asked Mr. Collin Archer to make her strong, and strong she unquestionably was. But now she was better than ever; and though she was not so severely tried on the second occasion as she was on the first, still she did not escape without two or three pretty severe tussles. The original object of the expedition was to spend the winter in the Downloaded by [University of Sydney Library] at 04:10 07 June 2016 Arctic regions, and by means of sledge-expeditions carry out the scientific exploration of the north-west coast of Greenland. But in case the ice should prove unfavourable for this purpose, or we experienced difficulty in penetrating through Kane basin, the generous authors of the expedi- tion gave me a perfectly free hand to turn my attention to other fields. Thus I was under no obligation to follow a predetermined and unalter- able plan. The personnel of the expedition consisted of the following, in addition to myself: Captain Victor Baumann, second in command, who was 1 A paper read before the Society on May 4, 1903. VOL. XIX. 2 B 338 SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICALMAGAZINE, appointed first lieutenant in the Norwegian navy in 1895. He had charge of the magnetic observations, having studied magnetism at Berlin and Wilhelmshafen. The "mate" was Mr. Oluf Raanes, who had served as fisherman and seaman on the Coast of Norway all his life. The cartographer was Captain (l~itmester) Gunerius Ingvald Isachsen, a cavalry officer in the Norwegian army. The botanist was a Swede, Mr. H. G. Simmons, who had distinguished himself by a botanical expedition to the F~eroes. The zoologist was Mr. E. Bay, a Dane, who took part in Lieut. Ryder's expedition to the east coast of Greenland in 1891. Dr. J. Svendsen, a native of Bergen, was the medical man of the party. The geologist was Mr. Per Schei; and the chief engineer Mr. Karl Olsen, with Mr. Jacob NSdtvedt as his principal assistant. The other members of the party consisted of Messrs. 1). L. Henriksen, who accompanied Prof. Nansen in the Fram's first voyage; I. Fosheim, our hunter; A. H. LindstrSm, who acted as cook and steward; S. Hassel, R. Stolz, and O. Braskerud--the last two and Fosheim acted as firemen. We left Christiania oh June 24, 1898, for the Danish colonies on the west coast of Greenland, where we took on board sixty-six dogs, which the Royal Greenland Trading Company had kindly bought ready for us. On August 7 we got set fast in the ice of Melville bay, and were kept there until the 13th. After getting out into open water again, we hardly saw any further trace of ice. Watch after watch passed, and we still had the open sea in front of us, and I was beginning to calculate how many days we should need to go through Kennedy channel and Robeson channel. But I was reckoning without my host. The drift-ice was not so very far off after all, for we encountered it in great quantity in the northern end of Smith sound. At first we tried to creep along by the coast of Greenland, but were stopped by the ice, which lay for a long distance to the north, close-packed and motionless, absolutely impenetrable to any ship that ever was built. There was no help for it ; we had to turn round and go back the same way we came. As soon as it was practicable, we crossed over to the west side of Smith sound, and made another attempt to penetrate northwards along the coast of Ellesmere Land; but we were again stopped, on August 17, by the drift-ice, close to the little island of Cocked Hat. It was still early in the year, and we hoped the ice would loosen Downloaded by [University of Sydney Library] at 04:10 07 June 2016 again, so that we might yet be able to push on farther north before the autumn came to an end. But we were doomed to disappointment. Da F after day passed, and the ice never moved, and so effectually blocked our passage. Meanwhile the nights began to be cold, a warn- ing that winter was coming, which suggested to us the advisability of looking about for winter quarters. These we eventually found in a small sheltered cove in the northern part of Rice strait. At that time we were still uncertain whether Hayes sound really was a sound or only a large system of fjords, and as soon as the ice bore, which it did early, for the frost was very severe, we set about exploring the interior parts of Hayes sound. In the following spring, 1899, we made two expeditions across Elles- THE SECOND NORWEGIAN POLAR EXPEDITION IN THE " FRAM." 339 mere Land to its west coast. Bay and I, starting from the inner extremity of North fjord (Nord-fjord), travelled the whole way over bare ground, and came eventually to a large fjord which penetrated due east. Un- fortunately the weather was not clear, and we were unable to see far; but what we did see distinctly suggested that we were standing at the head of a very large fjord, and that, further to the west, it sent off still larger side fjords to both north and south. But as we had been unable to transport overland a sufficient supply of ibod for ourselves and the dogs, it was entirely out of the question for us to think of pushing our investigations further. Meanwhile Isachsen and Braskerud started to cross the glaciated portion of Ellesmere Land. Keeping the whole time to the inland ice, they came at length, near the west coast, to a broad belt of bare ground, which stretched right down to the sea, and prevented them from getting any nearer to it. They also saw a large fjord with some islands in it. In the year 1899 the ice was again extremely unfavourable in Kane basin, filling it entirely from side to side in a densely packed mass; and in those waters, where the ice is almost wholly without movement, you have to exercise the very greatest care lest you get set fast in it. If you do, you will probably have to stay there the whole year, or perhaps even longer. In the condition in which the ice was that summer, if I had attempted to penetrate it, I should almost certainly have set the Fram fast, and that I did not wish to do at any price. For if we did get caught, we should use up during the winter such a large proportion of the dogs' food, that, should an opportunity offer in the following summer for pushing on north, we should be unable to do so. For the journey round the north coast of Greenland, and then down its east coast as far as Sabine island, would necessarily require a large number of dogs, and consequently large supplies of food--larger than we should then have at our command. As it was, we did get ice-bound several times; but only in the outer fringes of the pack, so that there was no real danger, for we very soon drifted south down Smith sound, and so got free again. We made several attempts to penetrate northwards, but all ended the same way; we were carried down Smith sound, and so out into open water. Accordingly, on August 22, we decided to leave Smith sound and turn southwards into Jones sound. For it was by then in the highest Downloaded by [University of Sydney Library] at 04:10 07 June 2016 degree doubtful whether the ice would loosen sufficiently to allow of our getting further north, and if we remained in Smith sound, there was a risk of our being frozen in for another winter. On the other hand, we knew that there were several extensive stretches of unexplored land lying north of the point where Inglefield turned back in 1852, and thence up to Greely fjord. Belcher, for instance, saw land due north from Table island, which he called North Cornwall. Besides which, there were many reasons for supposing there existed several islands or patches of land in the big bay between rrince Patrick island and Grant Land.