with-nXT^sen Ulllii I Hi nil I li "'III"!!!!!!!! Lieut JOHANSi; i*ll III Hi!; :1 III I iiil |i;iii'i'iiiiiiii i; \Ki THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES WITH NANSEN IN THE NORTH [LANCASTER. K lOHANSEN. {Frontis/iiece. WITH NANSEN IN THE NORTH A Record of the Fram Expedition in 1893-96 BY HJALMAR JOHANSEN lieutenant in the norwegian army Translated from the Norwegian BY H. L. BR.EKSTAD LONDON WARD, LOCK AND CO LIMITED NEW YORK AND MELBOURNE 1899 — ijr Contents CHAPTER I TAGE The Equipment of the Expedition— Its Start—The Voyage along the Coast—Farewell to Norway I CHAI'TER II The First Ice — Arrival at Khabarova—Meeting with Trontheim Arrival of the Dogs— Life among the Samoyedes— Christofersen Leaves us—Excursion on Yalmal—The last Human Beings we saw lo CHAPTER III A Heavy Sea—Sverdrup Island—A Reindeer Hunt—The First Bear —A Stiff Pull—Firing with Kerosene 20 CHAPTER IV Death among the Dogs — Taimur Island — Cape Butterless — The Northernmost Point of the Old World—A Walrus Hunt—To the North 28 CHAPTER V Open Water—Unwelcome Guests—Fast in the Ice—Warping—The Northern Lights 34 CHAPTER VI First Day of Rest— Surprised by Bears—The Dogs are let Loose- Ice Pressure—A Hunt in the Dark 4° CHAPTER VII More Bears—The Power of Baking Powder— "Johansen's Friend"— V Electric Light— Shooting Competition ...•• 5° V 1212604 vi COXTENTS CHAPTER VIII PAGE Foot-races on the Ice—More about the Dogs—The Northern Lights- Adulterated Beer—Ice Pressure—Peder Attacked by a Bear . 57 CHAPTER IX Deep Soundings—The Bear and the Trap—Christmas and New Year —The Drift— Our State of Health—Walrus 69 CHAPTER X Changes in the Ice—Trying the Dogs with the Sledges—The Return of the Sun—A Ski-tour in 60° below Zero—An Eclipse of the Sun—Unsuccessful Bear-hunting—Spring 79 CHAPTER XI Summer Excursion on the Ice— Midsummer Day—" Suggen " and " Caiaphas "—The Drift 9^ CHAPTER XII Snow-blindness—More Dogs—Mistaking a Dog for a Bear—A Real Bear—A Retrospect—Nansen Asks Me if I will Accompany Ilim to the Pole ^°5 CHAPTER XIII Nansen's Lecture— Fitting out the Sledge Expedition— Christmas and New Year Once More—Our Worst Pressures . .120 CHAPTER XIV Beating the World's Record—The Dep.jt on the Big Hummock-The Second Arctic Night— More about the Equipment of the Sledge Expedition ....••••••• '34 CHAPTER XV The Departure—We Make Two Starts—I Act as Snow-plough— Sun Festival and Celebration on Passing the Eighty-fourth Degree . 147 CHAPTER XVI North Off at Last—The Fight Across the Ice to Se*" 14'—Farthest . 157 ——A CONTENTS vii CHAPTER XVII PAGE The Norwegian Flag in tiie Farthest North —On the Way Home—Our Watclies Stop^In the Kingdom of Great Silence —Tracks of Foxes — Mild Weather . 171 CHAPTER XVIII More Lanes —Summer Weather—Another "Seventeenth of May"'— Whale—Wherein all the World is Land? . , . , 180 CHAPTER XIX More Ridges and Lanes—The First Bird and Seal —Whitsuntide—Fish —Still no Land— Short Commons—The First Ferry—A Lucky Shot 192 CHAPTER XX "Longing Camp"— St. John's Eve Illuminations—Three Bears— Long Sleep — The White Cloud-bank — Land! — In a Bear's Clutches ........... 207 CHAPTER XXI Farewell to the Drift-ice —"Suggen" and "Caiaphas" must Die Under Sail at Last —What Land is this ?—Attacked by Walrus The Fog Lifts—We Cut our Sledges Adrift—A Snowless Land Drift-ice Again—Plenty of Bears and Walruses .... 227 CHAPTER XXII Obliged to Winter—Our " Den "—Hunting the Walrus—Adrift Again —A Hard Struggle for Land—Awakened by Bears —Hunting Bears in the Kayak—An Inquisitive Walrus—Birds and Foxes —Our Implements—The " Hut " 248 CHAPTER XXIII An Uninvited Guest in our Hut—Walrus in Abundance —The " Water Bear"—Two Motherless Ones—The "Lean Bear"—We Chance our Quarters—The First Night in the Hut 261 CHAPTER XXIV Life in the Hut —Our Domestic Animals—Fox Traps, but no Foxes A Kayak Adrift —Open Water —Christmas Once More . 273 — — viu CONTENTS CHAPTER XXV PAG 6 The New Year — The Sun Reappears — Spring — Running Short of Bhibber — The Bear which Wanted to Get into the Hut — Pre- paring to Start Again—The Land of the Ice-bear . 290 CHAPTER XXVI Farewell to the Hut—Across the Ice-field on Ski—Weather-bound for Fourteen Days—Open Water— Sailing on the Ice and at Sea "WTiere are We ?—A Swim for Life 306 CHAPTER XXVII Hunting Young Walruses—A Walrus Cuts a Hole in Nansen's Kayak —We hear Dogs Barking — Nansen does not Return from his Reconnoitring—Six Strangers on the Ice—The Norwegian Flag Hoisted—Soap and Civilization 318 CHAPTER XXVIII English Hospitality—A New Life —Post from Norway—Visit from a Bear—Excursions —Waiting for the Ship—Home-sick . 327 CHAPTER XXIX The IVmdward Arrives —Farewell to Franz Josef Land—The Last of the Ice — Norwegian Soil under our Feet Otaria—The Fj-am has Arrived—We Meet our Comrades Again—Andree—A Month of Festivities .......... 334 [Lancaster. iJlv. IKlUiJOl- .NANSEN. :he Xorl/i.] [Page I. CHAPTER I The Equipment of the Expedition—Its Start— The Voyage along the Coast- Farewell to A^orway IT was in the spring of 1893 that we who were to share through good Jind ill the fortunes of the Fram began to assemble in Christiania. We came from different parts of Norway, and as we were strangers to one another, we scanned each other's faces with not a little curiosity. We were all, of course, absolutely confident as to the success of the expedition, and were most cordial in our greetings, wishing each other a successful journey to the Pole. With regard, however, to the time which the journey would take, opinions w^ere divided. Those of us who had never been to the Arctic regions before naturally listened Cc'igerly to the talk of the more experienced about pack-ice and ice-floes. The expedition consisted of the following members: — Born Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, chief of the expedition iS6r Otto Sverdrup, commander 1855 Sigurd Scott-Hansen, lieutenant in the Norwegian Navy, who undertook the meteorological, as- tronomical, and magnetic observations 1868 Henrik G. Blessing, doctor and botanist 1866 Theodore C. Jacobsen, mate 18-55 Anton Amundsen, chief engineer 18.-Q53 Adolf Juell, steward and cook i860 Lars Petterson, second engineer . i860 R 2 WITH NANSEN IN THE NORTH Peder Hcndrikscn, harpooner .... 1859 Bernhard Nordahl, electrician .... 1862 Ivar Mogstad, general hand .... 1856 Bernt Bentsen, general hand, who joined the expedition at Tromso ..... i860 The thirteenth member of the expedition was myself; I engaged to go as stoker, as no other post could be found for me when I applied. My duties as stoker lasted only two months—until we entered the ice. After that I acted as meteorological assistant. For two months before our departure we had a busy time, and the nearer the day approached the greater was .the activity which we displayed. Men from the Akers Engineering Works were to be seen all over the ship. There were mechanics, joiners, carpenters, riggers, and stevedores. Juell and I were busy on the little island of Tjuveholmen, examining and making lists of the provisions. These were afterwards stowed away with the greatest care and order in the main- hold, the fore-hold, and the holds on both sides aft the cabin, in the bows, between the beams and the knees, lay Peder Hendriksen stovN^ing dog-biscuits until the sweat ran down his cheeks. A cargo of these biscuits arrived from I^ondon when the ship was almost full, and I remember Dr. Nansen telling me what a start it gave him when, on coming on board one morning, he saw the deck covered with cases of them. Room had to be found for as many as we could stow away. It was really wonderful what that ship held ; and she was not empty, either, when we got home. Indeed, we could very well have gone off on a new expedition with what remained. We prepared a kind of plan of the various rows of boxes, so that we should easily be able to lind the sort of provisions that might be wanted from time to time PROVISIOXIXG THE 'TRAM" 3 after we had got among- the ice. The coal was stowed in the lower hold and in the bunkers on either side of the engine-room, while the paraffin oil was kept in large iron tanks in the lower hold, in the 'tween decks, and on the upper deck. A large quantity of the oil was kerosene. This was to be used as firing for the boilers, being sprinkled over the burning coals in the form of a spra}^ by means of a steam-jet apparatus. Most of the provisions were stowed awa}' in the main-hold, every corner of which was utilized. If the boxes could not be got in between the knees, the space was tilled up with firewood, which would always come in useful. Of good food there was plentj' on board the Fram—preserved meats from Norway, Denmark, America, and Australia, such as pork cutlets, forced- meat balls, roast and corned beef, roast and corned mutton, rabbits, breakfast bacon, which we called "hymn books," various kinds of pemmican, cod roe, minced fish, mackerel, dried and grated fish, fish-meal, dried and tinned vegetables, jams and marmalades, rice, chocolate, cocoa, oatmeal, Indian meal, white and rye bread, flour, sugar, colTee, lime-juice, Knorr's soups, etc., etc.