 On the 17th of May, the Fram was in about 83°45 minutes north latitude and 12°50 minutes east longitude. We again celebrated the day with a flag procession as on the previous 17th of May. Mogstad sat on the bearskins in the sledge, driving a team of seven dogs and with the band, that is Benson, at his side. Just as we were arranging the procession for the march upon the ice, five female gnarls suddenly appeared and immediately afterwards a small seal was seen in the lane abreast of the ship and in livening sight, which we accepted as a good omen for the coming summer. The great hummock, which was the scene of our merry makings on the 17th of May last year, was now so far away and so difficult to reach on account of lanes and rugged ice that the festivities in the open air were limited to the flag procession. The cortege took its way southward, passed the thermometer hut, to the lane, then snortward along the lane, and then back to the ship where it dispersed, but not before it had been photographed. At twelve o'clock a salute was fired, after which we sat down to an excellent dinner with genuine Chateau La Fromme, vintage 1896. The table was laid with great taste and there was an elegant paper napkin at each cover with the word from in the corner and the following inscription. The 17th May, our memorial day, recalls what our fathers have done. It cheers us and heartens us on to the fray and shows us that where there's a will there's a way, and with right on our side we may hope to display the proud banner of Victory One. During the dinner speeches were made in honor of the day of Norway, of Nansen and Johansen, et cetera. During the days following May 17th we were occupied in getting the engine and its appurtenances ready for work in clearing the rudder well and the propeller well. First we attempted to pump water into the boiler through a hose let down into a hole out upon the ice, but the cold was still so intense that the water froze in the pump. We were obliged to carry water in buckets and pour it into the boiler by means of a canvas hose made for the occasion and carried from the boiler to the hatchway above the engine room. Amundsen thought at first that he had got the bottom cock clear so that he could let the water run direct into the boiler, but it soon became evident that it was too slow work as long as there was still any ice around the cock. Later on we hoisted the funnel and lighted the furnaces and on the afternoon of May 19th the steam was up for the first time since we got into the ice in the autumn of 1893. Next we cut away as much of the ice as possible in the propeller well and carried a steam hose down into it. It was very effectual. We also attempted to use the steam for melting away the ice in the propeller sheath around the shaft, but without apparent success. We easily procured water for the boiler now by filling the water tank on the deck with ice and melting it with steam. After supper we went down into the engine room to try to turn the shaft and finally we succeeded in giving it a three-quarters turn. This was victory and we were all fully satisfied with the day's work. The following day we melted away the ice in the rudder well by steam and at one-thirty p.m. Amundsen began to move the engine. Some large pieces of ice floated up from the rudder stock or frame. We fished them up and everything was in order. Amundsen let the engine work some time and everybody was down with him to see the wonder with their own eyes and to be convinced that he really had got it to turn round. This was quite an event for us. It filled us with renewed courage and hope of soon getting out of our long captivity, though the way might be ever so long and weary. The from was no longer a helpless ball tossed to and fro at the caprice of the drift ice. Our gallant ship had awakened to renewed life after her year-long winter sleep and we rejoiced to feel the first pulsations of her strongly beating heart. It seemed as if the from understood us and wanted to say onward, southward, homeward. The state of the ice around the ship, however, was still far from being so favorable as to give us any prospect of getting out just at present. It is true that symptoms of spring began to show themselves, the temperature rose and the snow vanished rapidly. But we still remained at about the same latitude where we had been lying for months, namely at about eighty-four degrees. From the crow's nest indeed we could see a large channel which extended southward as far as the eye could reach, but to get through the belt of ice over two hundred yards wide which separated us from it was impossible before the thick pack ice slackened somewhat. We therefore made no attempt to blast the ship free, but devoted our time to various duties on board, did whatever was left undone, got the steam windlass in order, examined all our cordage and so forth. In the hole in the ice which was always kept open for the striking of the log-line, we had placed the heads of the two bears so that the amphipods might pick off the meat for us, a task which they usually perform quickly and effectually. One day when a swarm of amphipods appeared above the bear's heads, Scott Hansen caught a lot of them in a bag net and had them cooked for supper intending to give us a regular treat. But we were sadly disappointed. There was not a particle of meat on the miserable creatures, nothing but shells and emptiness. If we put a couple of dozen into our mouths at a time they tasted somewhat like shrimps, but I am afraid that where we limited to such fare and nothing else we should soon diminish unpleasantly in weight. In the later days of May the prospects became brighter as the wind changed to half a gale from the east and north. The ice began to drift slowly towards the southwest and continued to slacken at the same time so that on May 29th we could see to the southward a good deal of open water with dark air above as far as the eye could reach. After several requests had been made to me I decided to make an attempt at blasting the vessel clear. At one p.m. we set off a mine of one hundred ten pounds of gunpowder. It had an astonishingly good effect, wrenching up heavy masses of ice and sending them rushing out into the channel. Our hopes revived and it really seemed that another such blasting would entirely liberate the vessel. Immediately after dinner we went to work to lay out another large mine twenty yards abaffed the stern. It gave us an incredible amount of work to make a hole in the ice to get the charge down. We first bored a hole, then we tried to make it larger by blowing it out by means of small gunpowder charges and later with gun-cotton, but it was of no avail. Then we had to resort to lances, ice-picks, steam, in short to every possible means, but all in vain. The ice had however got so cracked in all directions owing to the many charges which had been exploded in the same place that we presumed that a large mine in the log-line hole would blow up the whole mass. As the ice was thinner at that part the mine was lowered to a depth of ten yards. It exploded with terrific effect. A mighty column of water was forced as high as the fore-top. It did not consist of water alone but contained a good many lumps of ice which rained down for some distance round. One piece of over one hundred weight came down right through the tent and onto the fore-cassel. Other pieces flew over the vessel and fell on the starboard side. Scott Hanson and Henrickson, who were standing on the ice at the electric battery used for firing the mine, were not pleasantly situated when the mine exploded. When the shock came they of course started to run as fast as their legs would carry them but they did not get away quickly enough to reach the deep snow. The pieces of ice rained unmercifully down upon their backs. After a great deal of trouble we laid and fired two other large gunpowder mines besides some smaller ones but without much effect. We then began to bore holes for two gun-cotton mines which were to be fired simultaneously but when we had got down two and a half drill lengths the screw broke and before we could proceed new grooves had to be filed on the other drill before we could use it again. At twelve o'clock at night we knocked off work after having been added unceasingly since the morning. Next day at six o'clock the boring was continued but the ice was so hard and difficult to work at that although four men were handling the drill we had to erect a small crane with tackle to hoist the drill out every time it got clogged up. The ice was so thick that it took four drill lengths about twenty feet to make a hole through it. One of the gun-cotton mines was now lowered into the hole while the other was put beneath the edge of an old channel by means of a long pole. Both mines were fired simultaneously but only one exploded. We connected the wires and then the other went off too but the result was far from answering our expectations. Although the large mines were carried down to a depth of twenty yards where the ice was thin the resistance was too great for us. The blasting was now discontinued till June 2nd when during the night the ice opened up along the old lane closed to the vessel. First we fired a gun-cotton mine right abaffed. It took effect and split the ice close to the stern. Next we drilled a hole about sixteen feet deep right abreast of the ship and loaded it with ten prismar or 330 grams of gun-cotton equivalent to about thirty pounds of ordinary gun-powder. But as I thought it would be too risky to explode a mine of this strength so near the vessel we first fired a small gun-powder mine of eleven pounds to see what effect it would have. The result was insignificant so the large mine was fired. It made things lively indeed. The ship received such a shock that one of the paintings and a rifle fell down on the floor in the saloon and the clock in my cabin was hurled from the wall. It was evidently felt in the engine room as well, for Amundsen had a bottle and a lamp chimney smashed. On the ice the explosion took such good effect that the ship nearly broke loose at one blow. She was now merely hanging on a little forward and aft. With a little more work we might have got quite clear the same evening but I left her as she was to avoid the trouble of mooring her. Instead of that we had something extra after supper. We considered that we had done such a good stroke of work that day that we deserved a reward. Next morning we blew away the ice that held our bow. I myself took a pickaxe and commenced to hack away at the ice which held the stern fast. I had hardly been at work at this for more than four or five minutes before the vessel suddenly gave a lurch, settled a little deeper at the stern, and moved away from the edge of the ice until the housers became taut. She now lay about six inches higher at the bow than when she froze fast in the autumn. Thus the Fram was free and ready to force her way through the ice as soon as the circumstances would permit, but we were still unable to move. Even in the month of May there had been signs of whales and seals in the channels and an occasional seabird had also put in an appearance. During the months of June and July there was still more animal life around us so that we could soon go in for hunting to our heart's content. During the summer we not only shot a number of fulmars, black guillomots, squaws, ox, and little ox, but also a couple of eiderducks and even a brace of broad-beaked snipe. We also shot a number of small seals but only got hold of six. The others sank so rapidly that we could not reach them in time. As a matter of course we welcomed every opportunity of a hunting expedition, especially when there was a bear in the case. It was not often he did us the honor, but the greater was the excitement and interest when his appearance was announced. Then the lads would get lively and hastily prepare to give the visitor a suitable reception. Altogether we killed sixteen or seventeen full-grown bears during the summer and a young one which we captured alive but had to kill later on as it made a fearful noise on board. One night in the beginning of June when Henrickson was on his way to the observation-house to take the readings of the instrument a bear suddenly came upon him. Before starting on his scientific quest he had been prudent enough to go up on the bridge to have a look around and see whether the coast was clear but he did not observe anything suspicious. When he approached the observation house he suddenly heard a hissing sound close by and caught sight of a greening bear which was standing at a pressure ridge staring at him. Naturally Henrickson felt anything but comfortable at this unexpected meeting unarmed as he was. He had first considered whether he should be to dignified retreat or whether he should fly at the top of his speed. Both parties were equally far from the vessel and if the bear had evil intentions it might be advisable to retreat without delay before he approached any nearer. He started off as fast as he could and was not sure whether the beast was not at his heels but he reached the vessel safely and seized his gun which was standing ready on deck. Before he came out upon the ice again the dogs had scented the bear and at once attacked him. The bear at first jumped up on the observation house but the dogs followed so down he went again and was such a lacquery too that Henrickson had no time to fire. The bear started off to the nearest channel where he disappeared both from the dogs and the hunter. In his eagerness Gorham jumped out upon some pieces of ice which were floating in the thick brush in the channel and now he was afraid to jump back again. There he sat howling. I heard the wailing and soon caught sight of him from the crow's nest whereupon Scott Hanson and I started off and rescued him. Some days later at about ten o'clock in the morning we heard Nordahl crying bear and all hurried on deck with our rifles but the dogs had had the start of us and had already put the bears to flight. Mogstead perceived however from the crow's nest that the dogs had come up with them at a small lane where they had taken the water and he then came down to tell me. He and I started off in pursuit. The condition of the ice was good and we made rapid progress but as we had the wind on our side it was some time before we could distinguish the barking of the dogs so as to be able to guide ourselves by it. Presently I caught sight of one of the dogs behind a small ridge. Soon I saw some more and at last I sighted the bears. They were both sitting on a flow in the channel leaning with their backs against a big piece of ice. Two of the dogs had jumped out upon the flow while the other stood on guard round the channel or pool. The dogs had played their part well keeping such a close watch upon the bears that we had no difficulty in giving them their quietess. They both tumbled over on the spot but as they moved slightly we gave them a final shot just to make sure. Well there they lay but to get out to them was not so easy. Finally having walked round the pool we succeeded in getting out upon the flow from the other side where the distance from the solid ice was less and where some small flows formed a kind of bridge. We cleaned the game and then tried to haul the bodies over upon the solid ice. This we accomplished by putting a running noose over the mussels of the bears and pulling them through the water to the edge of the ice where we pushed some small flows beneath them and then with our united strength we hauled them up. When homeward bound we met Nordahl, Pettersen, Benson, Henriksen and the mate who had guessed from the report of our guns that there was business on hand and had started out to meet us with sledges and harness for the dogs. The sledges were lashed together, one bear was placed on each and with nine dogs harnessed to them and a man sitting astride each bear, off they went at such a speed that the rest of us had to run to keep pace with them. On the night of June 24th we again received a visit from two bears. Nordahl discovered them when at twelve o'clock he went out to the observation house. He came running back and called those who had not yet gone to bed, but when they hurried out upon the ice the bear saw them immediately and disappeared. Three days later a she-bear with a young cub came trotting towards the vessel at noon. We burned some blubber in order to attract them but the bear was very cautious and it was some time before she approached to within two hundred to three hundred yards. Then the mate could not restrain himself any longer and fired, so the rest of us sent her a few shots at the same time and she fell after walking a few paces. Some of us took the pram and pulled across to the place as there was a wide channel between the bear and the vessel. The cub poor thing was a fine little fellow with almost perfectly white fur and a dark muzzle. It was about the size of one of our smallest dogs. When they came up he sat down on his mother's body, remained there quite still and seeming for the present to take matters calmly. Henriksen put a strap around his neck and when the mother was conveyed to the channel he followed quite willingly and sat down on her back again when she was towed across. But when unarriving at the ship he found he was to be separated from his mother and brought on board it was quite another story. He resisted with all his strength and was in a perfect rage. He got worse when he was let loose under the companionhood on board. He carried on like a frenzied being, biting, tearing, growling and howling with wild rage, like a veritable fiend, ceasing only as long as he was occupied in devouring the pieces of meat thrown to him. Never have I seen in any one creature such a combination of all the most savage qualities of wild beasts as I found in this little monster, and he was still quite a cub. In the evening I gave orders to rid us of this unpleasant passenger and Mogstead ended his days with a well-aimed blow of the hatchet. For about a fortnight we saw no bears, but during the night of July twelfth we had a visit from three, one of which, after a hot pursuit, was killed by Scott Hanson, the mate, Nordahl and Benson. The dogs too did a good service this time. The other two bears sneaked off at the first shot and were lost to sight in the fog. On the evening of July eighteenth Mogstead and I shot a bear, which we should hardly have got hold of but for the sagacity and alacrity of Bella. The dogs at first attacked him once or twice, but after a short resistance he jumped into the water and crossed over two broad lanes, which it took the dogs a long time to get round. He was just about to plunge into a third channel when Bella, who in the meantime had come round, intercepted him not twenty feet from the edge. At a distance of two hundred or three hundred yards Mogstead fired and was lucky enough to hit him in the head, bringing him down, and he now made only some feeble attempts to keep the dogs off. I then sent him a shot behind the shoulder, but as he was not quite dead Mogstead gave him the final one. On July twentieth the mate shot a large bear which came swimming across a channel and we killed our last bear on the evening of August sixth, but in such an awkward position that we had to leave the meat and it was as much as we could do to get the high down board. In the matter of birds we were also pretty fortunate. For instance Scott Hansen and I one night shot nine little ox, one kitty wake and one squaw and the following day twenty one more little ox and two black Guillemots. Henriksen in one day's shooting bagged eighteen little ox and one black Guillemot and Nordahl twenty six little ox and one black Guillemot and later on when there had been an abundance of game for some days we killed as many as thirty to forty birds in the course of a few hours. This hunting life had not only a beneficial effect upon our spirits which occasionally were rather low, but it also gave us an appetite which sometimes was quite ravenous. When we were weighed at the end of the month we found that whereas some of us had previously been losing weight we had now steadily and uniformly increased from the time when the ox breast, roast Guillemot, stewed kitty wake, squaw soup, and last but not least ribs of bear became the daily fare on board. Indeed we stood in need of all the encouragement and good living which our hunting procured us. The state of the ice was anything but cheering and the prospect of getting out of it during the present year became less every day. During the first days following the release of the from the ice was comparatively quiet but on June 8th and 9th we had some bad pressures especially on the latter day when the stern of the vessel was pressed about six feet upward so that the rudder well was quite out of the water while the bow was raised about two feet with four degrees list to port. On the 10th and 11th the pressure was also strong especially during the night from eleven thirty p.m. till three or four a.m. Finally the ice slackened so much on the morning of June 12th that there was a prospect of warping the vessel some distance ahead. As the brash was still very thick we did not think it possible to haul ourselves along without using the steam windlass so I gave orders to start a fire under the boiler. But before steam was up the channel opened so much that we succeeded in warping the ship through the narrowest passage. When steam was up we steamed through the pool where I had found a good berth for the ship. As the rudder was not yet shipped I had sometimes to go a stern so as to be able to turn the vessel. We remained there till June 14th when the ice slackened a little and we saw a channel in a south southwest direction and determined to make for it. So we lighted the furnace, shipped the rudder, and made at full speed for a narrow rift which led into the channel. Time after time we forced the vessel into the rift but all in vain. The edges would not budge a hair spread. I let the vessel remain for some time working at full speed and evering to force the rift, altering the position of the rudder occasionally. This maneuver was partially successful as we got the vessel into the rift as far as the fore rigging but that was all we could do. The opening began to close up and we had to return and more in the same place as before. This was all the more provoking as the whole opening was not longer than about three-fourths the ship's length. We remained there till the evening of the twenty-seventh when the ice slackened so much that I decided to make a new attempt. We got up steam and commenced to force the ice at eleven thirty. It was slow work in the heavy ice and at two o'clock we had to moor the ship having advanced about two miles southeast by south. We tried the engine this time as a compound engine with a favorable result. It made one hundred sixty revolutions per minute but the consumption of coal was, of course, correspondingly greater, almost twice as much as usual. We remained there about a week until on July third the ice opened sufficiently to allow us to advance about three miles through a channel which ran south-southwest. During the night between the sixth and the seventh we made another attempt to force the ice but had only made about one mile when we had to moor again. The southerly wind which predominated at that time held the ice thickly packed together and there was no drift to speak of. On the other hand there had been, since the middle of June, a good deal of current owing to the set of the tide. We could not, however, observe that the current really flowed in any definite direction. Sometimes the line would show every point in the compass during the 24 hours. The current was, however, often very strong and would occasionally spin the ice flows around in the channels in a way that made you uncomfortable to look at it. The ship, too, would often receive such violent shocks from these dancing flows and blocks of ice that loose objects tumbled it down and the whole rigging shook. The sea continued very deep. For instance, on July 6th we could not get bottom at 3000 meters, 1625 fathoms, but two days later we were then about 83 degrees two minutes north latitude we took soundings and reached bottom at 3400 meters, 1841 fathoms. On July 6th we succeeded in warping the ship some two or three short stretches at a time but it was slow and hard work. The ice was bad and the contrary wind impeded us very much. But though progress was slow, yet progress it was, and I gave orders that the ship should be hauled along as often as there was any opportunity to advance a little southward. But although we struggled along in this manner by short distances at a time, the observation on the 13th revealed to us the fact that we had actually been drifting a considerable way backward, having returned to 83 degrees 12 minutes north latitude. It might seem ridiculous under such circumstances to continue pushing forward, but gloomy as the prospects were we tried to keep up our hopes and were ready to utilize the very first chance which should present itself. Late in the evening of July 17th the ice began to slacken so much that we decided to get up steam. True it closed up again at once but nevertheless we kept up steam. Nor were we disappointed. For at one o'clock in the morning the water opened so much that we were able to steam ahead and we made three miles in a southerly direction. Later in the morning we were stopped by an immense flow of ice extending many miles and we had to make fast. The whole day following we remained there. About midnight the ice slackened a good deal, but the fog was so dense that we could see nothing. At last on the 19th we made what we considered excellent headway. Starting when the fog lifted a little in the forenoon we made about 10 miles from 12.30 p.m. till 8 p.m. This stroke of good luck made our spirits revive wonderfully and they rose still more the following day when notwithstanding the fog and though we had to stop three times we advanced from 83 degrees 14 minutes in the morning to 82 degrees 52 minutes at noon and 82 degrees 39 minutes midnight. From the 20th to the 27th we continued to make good progress. By midnight on the last name day we had reached 81 degrees 32 minutes north latitude. From July 27th till August 2nd it was slow and tiresome work. By August 2nd we had not got beyond 81 degrees 26 minutes north latitude. At the same time we had been carried some distance eastward namely to 13 degrees 41 minutes east longitude. On Monday August 3rd we made about two miles to the southwest but had to remain moored in impossible waters till the 8th when it slackened so much around the vessel that we were able to proceed again at 9 a.m. However we had only made about six miles when we were stopped by a long narrow strait. We tried blasting with ordinary gunpowder and later with gun-cotton and time after time we steamed full speed against the smaller flows that blocked the strait but without effect. These flows as a rule are not so small and innocent as they appear. They consist generally of the fragments of old thick and very tough pressure ridges which have been broken up. When these pieces get free they sink deep below the surface of the water leaving only a comparatively insignificant part of them discernible while the lower parts may be very large. It was precisely this description of flow that blocked the channel against us. They were so tough that it was useless to try to break them with the stem of the vessel although we repeatedly made at them with full speed. We could plainly see how the tough old eyes bent and rose up at the shock without breaking. The blasting of such flows was frequently impracticable as they were of such a thickness that we were unable to lay the mine under them. And even if we succeeded in blowing up one of these flows we gained little or nothing as the channel was too narrow to allow the pieces to float astern and they were too heavy and thick to be forced beneath the solid edge of ice. Occasionally it happened that old thick eyes suddenly emerged from beneath the water in a channel or opening which we were just about to pass into, thus blocking up the passage before us. On one of these occasions the from received a blow in the ribs that hardly any other vessel would have withstood. As we were passing through an open channel I saw from the crow's nest one end of a large submerged flow appearing above the edge of the solid ice and I immediately gave orders to steer clear so as to pass round it. But at the very moment when we reckoned to clear it the flow was released and came to the surface with such a rush that the spray rose high into the air and struck the from at the fore rigging on the starboard side with such tremendous force that the ship lurched violently and fell about ten points out of her course until she ran up against some small flows. When the monster flow emerged it lifted a huge mass of water and sent it like a roaring cataract out into the channel. Something similar happened when we occasionally touched a drifting hummock that was just on the point of rolling over owing to the quicker melting of the ice below the waterline. The slightest push would be enough to capsize the hummock and turn it over in such a violent way that the sea around us would become as agitated as during a storm. On August 9th we worked the whole day clearing the channel but only made slight headway. On the 10th the work was continued and in the course of the forenoon we finally succeeded in getting through. During the rest of the day we also made some headway to the south until the ice became impassable and we were compelled to make fast at 10 p.m having made about two miles. On account of the fog we were unable to take any observation until the 9th when we found ourselves in 81 degrees 48 minutes north latitude the last latitude observation we made in the drift ice. On Tuesday the 11th we again proceeded southward by dint of arduous labor in clearing flows and brash which often blocked our way. At 7 30 p.m we had to make fast in a narrow straight until in the course of the night we cleared the obstacles away and were able to proceed to the southwest. Progress was however slow and on the morning of August 12th we were stopped by a very awkward flow. We tried to blast it away but while we were at work on this the ice tightened up quickly and left the vessel imprisoned between two big flows. In the course of a couple of hours it slackened again in a southwest direction and we steamed off in comparatively fair channels until 12 30 p.m when a flow stopped our farther progress. We had made nine and a half miles in about five hours this forenoon. Some thin ice now appeared and from the crow's nest we could see when the fog cleared off a little for a few moments several large channels running in a southerly direction both east and west of our position. Besides we noticed an increase in the number of birds and small seals and we also saw an occasional bearded seal all evidences that we could not be very far from the open water. Between 3 and 4 p.m we were released from the flows which had held us enclosed and at 5 30 p.m we steamed off in a southeast direction through steadily improving ice. The ice now became noticeably thin and brittle so that we were able to force the smaller flows. From 5 30 p.m till midnight we advanced about 16 miles. The engine was used as compound during the last watch. After midnight on august 13th we steered southwest then south and southeast the ice continuing to grow slacker. At 3 o'clock we sited a dark expanse of water to the south southeast and at 3 45 we steered through the last ice flows out into open water. We were free. Behind us lay three years of work and hardships with their burden of sad thought during the long nights before us life and reunion with all those who were dear to us just a few more days. A chaos of contending feelings came over each and every one. For some time it seemed as if we could hardly realize what we saw as if the deep blue lapping water at the bow were an illusion, a dream. We were still a good way above the 80th degree of latitude and it is only in very favorable summers that ice-free water stretches so far north. Were we perhaps in a large open pool? Had we still a great belt of ice to clear? No, it was real. The free unbounded sea was around us on every side and we felt with a sense of rapture how the from gently pitched with the first feeble swells. We paid the final honors to our vanquished antagonist by firing a thundering salute as a farewell. One more gaze at the last faint outlines of hummocks and flows and the mist concealed them from our view. We now shaped our course by the compass south southeast as the fog was still so dense that no observation could be taken. Our plan was at first to steer towards Red Bay, get our landfall, and thence to follow the west coast of Spitzberg and southward till we found a suitable anchoring place where we could take in water, shift the coal from the hold into the bunkers, and, in fact, make the from quite ship-shape for our homeward trip. At 7 a.m. when the fog lifted slightly, we sighted a sail onto port and shaped our course for her in order to speak to her and try to get some news of Dr. Nansen and Johansen. In an hour or so we were quite near her. She was lying too and did not seem to have sighted us until we were close on her. The mate then ran down to announce that a monster ship was bearing down upon them in the fog. Soon the deck was crowded with people, and just as the captain put his head out, the from passed close up on the weather side of the vessel, and we greeted her in passing with a thundering broadside from our starboard cannon. We then turned round a stern of her and fired another salute to Leeward, after which hostilities were discontinued. No doubt it was a rather demonstrative way of making ourselves known to our countrymen who were lying there so peacefully, drifting in the morning mist, and probably thinking more of seals and whales than of the from. But we trust that Captain Bottleson and his crew will forgive us our overflowing joy at this our first meeting with human beings after three long years. The vessel was the Galleate Sestranae, the sisters of Tromsø. The first question which was shouted to him as we passed alongside was this, have Nansen and Johansson arrived. We had hoped to receive a roaring yes, and were ready to greet the answer with a thundering hurrah and salute, but the answer we got was short and sad. No. Captain Bottleson and some of his crew came on board to us and had to go through a regular crossfire of questions of every conceivable kind. Such an examination they had certainly never been subjected to and probably never will be again. Among the many items of news which we received was one to the effect that the Swedish aeronaut, engineer Andre, had arrived at Danes Island intending to proceed thence by balloon to discover the North Pole. Bottleson came with us as a passenger leaving his vessel in charge of the mate and accompanied us as far as Tromsø. We reshaped our course about noon for Red Bay intending to steam from there to Danes Island and see Mr. Andre. About midnight we sighted land ahead and supposed it to be the Cape immediately to the west of Red Bay. It was one thousand forty one days since we last saw land. We lay too for some time at this point, waiting for the fog to clear away sufficiently to allow us to find the landmarks. As it did not clear we steamed slowly westward taking frequent soundings and soon found ourselves as we anticipated right in Norsk Sundet, Norwegian Sound, and proceeding up we anchored at nine thirty a.m. off Hollanderna set Dutch Cape. The fog was now cleared and we soon saw the steamed ship Virgo of the Andre expedition and the balloon house ashore. Through the telescope we could see that our arrival had been observed and a steam launch soon came alongside with Mr. Andre, the other members of the expedition, and Captain Zakkow of the Virgo. Neither could these gentlemen give us any news of the fate of our comrades. Our spirits became still more depressed than before. We had confidently expected that Nansen and Johansen would reach home before us. Now it seemed as if we were to be the first to arrive. We did not, however, entertain any serious fears for their safety, especially when we learned that the Jackson expedition had spent two winters in Franz Josefland. It was highly probable that Dr. Nansen and Johansen would sooner or later meet with this expedition and were perhaps only waiting for a chance of getting home. But if they had not met with Jackson something had evidently gone amiss with them, in which case they needed assistance, and that as soon as possible. Our plans were soon laid. We would hurry home to Trompso to get reliable information, and in case nothing had been learned there either, we would complete our coal supply, we were not in want of anything else, and immediately proceed to Franz Josefland to make a search for them, and as we hoped, have the unspeakable pleasure of bringing them home to our expectant fatherland in our own faithful from. Our stay at Danes Island was consequently cut as short as possible. We paid visits to the Virgo, saw the balloon, which was now ready to start as soon as a favorable wind would permit of it, and received return visits from our amiable Swedish friends. During the night we finished taking in water and shifting the coal. The vessel was ready for sea, and at three a.m. on August fifteenth the From steamed off with sail set through Snarenburg Bay and out to sea. During the passage across we had good weather and a fair and often fresh breeze, the vessel making good speed upward of nine and one quarter knots. At nine a.m. on the nineteenth we saw the first blue ridges of our native mountains. By noon we sided Loga, and at eight p.m. the north point of Loppen. Then we steered into Kavanon Gunfjord and anchored off Chervo at two o'clock in the morning of August twentieth. As soon as the anchor had fallen I called the doctor and Scott Hansen who both wanted to go ashore with me, but as they were too slow with their toilet I asked Benson to put me ashore in the pram and was soon at the telegraph station where I tried to knock life into the people by thundering with my clenched fist first at one door then at another, but for a long time in vain. At last a man put his head out of a window on the second floor to inquire what kind of night prowlers were making such a disturbance. It was the chief of the telegraph station himself. He describes the nocturnal incident in a letter to one of the christianian newspapers in the following pleasant manner. It was with anything but amiable feelings and intentions that at about half past four I turned out to see what wretch it was who was making such a lively rattle at my front door. Rather lightly clad I put my head out of the window and roared out, hello, what's the matter, deuce of a noise to make it this time of night. A man dressed in gray with a heavy beard stepped forward. There was something about his appearance that made me think at once that I had perhaps been somewhat too hasty in giving vent to my displeasure at being called up and I felt a little crestfallen when he slyly remarked, yes, that's true, but all the same I must ask you to open the door. I come from the from. Immediately it dawned upon me who it was. It could be none other than Sverdrup. Coming directly, captain, I answered, and jumping into the most necessary clothes, down I went to let him He was not at all annoyed at the long waiting or the unfriendly words with which he had been received when he set foot again in his native country after the long and famous expedition, but was very kind and good-humored when I begged his pardon for the rudeness with which I had received him. In my inmost heart I made an even warmer apology than I had stammered out in my first embarrassment. When Sverdrup was seated the first question was naturally as to the way he had come. They had just arrived from off the coast of Spitzbergen. On the 13th they had got out into open water where they almost immediately met with captain Bartolfsson from Tromsø, who was there with his whaling ship. They had brought him with them. They had next visited Andre, who was about to pack up and go home, and had then proceeded to this place. They had first learned from Bartolfsson and then from Andre, who ought to have had some of the latest tidings from Norway, that nothing was known about Nansen whom they hoped to find at home and the joy they were feeling at the prospect of reaching home soon was considerably damped by this news. Ah, but I can give you news of Nansen, said I. He arrived at Vardo on August 13th and is now at Hammerfest. He's probably starting for Tromsø today in an English yacht. Has Nansen arrived? The stalwart form bounded up in a state of excitement rarely shown by this man and exclaiming, I must tell the others at once, he vanished out of the door. A moment later he returned accompanied by Scott Hansen, Blessing, Mogstead, and Benson, all of them perfectly wild with joy at the latest news which crowned all and allowed them to give full vent to their exaltation at being once more in their native land after their long and worrisome absence which the uncertain fate of their leader and his comrade would otherwise have damped. And did they rejoice? Is it true? Has Nansen arrived? Was repeated on all sides. What a day this is! What joy! And what a curious coincidence that Nansen should arrive on the same day that we cleared the last ice and steered homeward, and they congratulated each other all quivering with emotion these sturdy fellows. In the early morning two thundering reports were suddenly heard from the Fram followed by the ringing cheers of the crew in honor of their absent comrades. The inhabitants of the place who were fast asleep were quite startled and soon got out of bed, but when it finally dawned upon them that it could be none other than the Fram they were not slow in turning out to have a look at her. As they anchored here the fragrance of the pneumone hay was wafted to them from the shore, and to them it seemed marvelous. The green meadows with their humble flowers and the few trees bent and almost withered by the merciless wind and weather looked to them so delightful that our poor island was a veritable Eden in their eyes. Yes, today they would have a good role on the grass. For the rest mother nature was as smiling and festively arrayed as could be expected so late in the year in these northern latitudes. The fjord was calm as though it feared by the faintest ripple to interrupt the tranquility which enveloped the tired and weather-beaten warrior now resting upon its smooth surface. They were all quite enthusiastic about the vessel. I do not believe there is a man on board who does not love the Fram. Sferdrup declared that a stronger and finer ship had never been built and was not to be found in the wide world. On my way to the fjord I met five of our comrades. Nordahl hurried at once on board with the glad tidings while the rest of us settled down with a telegraph manager around a smoking cup of coffee which tasted delicious. A better welcome we could not have had, but it did not end with a coffee or with a telegraph manager. Soon the popping of champagne corks sounded successively in the houses of the storekeeper and local magistrate while the telegraph manager sent message upon message announcing our arrival to Dr. Nansen, his majesty the king, the Norwegian government, and to relations and friends. At ten a.m. we weighed anchor and set off to meet Nansen and Johansen at Tromsø, passed to the north of Chervo and steamed south. Off Ulfstinden we met the steamer King Hulfton with 600 passengers on board coming from Tromsø to meet us. We accepted the offer to take us in tow and at 8 30 p.m. the Fram glided into the harbor of Tromsø accompanied by hundreds of flag-covered boats and was received with cheers and hearty welcome. Next day, August 25th at 4 p.m., Sir George Baden-Powell Steemjad, Otaria with Dr. Nansen and Johansen on board arrived. After a separation of 17 months our number was again complete and the Norwegian polar expedition was once more united. End of file 22. File 23 of farthest north volume 2. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Sharon Riskadal. Farthest north by Fridjof Nansen volume 2. Conclusion by Dr. Nansen. What then are the results of the Norwegian polar expedition? This is a question which the reader might fairly expect to find answered here but the scientific observations brought back are so varied and voluminous that it will be some time yet before they can be dealt with by specialists and before any general estimate of their significance can be formed. It will therefore be necessary to publish these results in separate scientific publications and if I now attempted to give an idea of them it would necessarily be imperfect and might easily prove misleading. I shall therefore confine myself to pointing out a few of their more important features. In the first place we have demonstrated that the sea in the immediate neighborhood of the pole and in which in my opinion the pole itself in all probability lies is a deep basin not a shallow one containing many expanses of land and islands as people were formerly inclined to assume. It is certainly a continuation of the deep channel which extends from the Atlantic Ocean northward between Spitsbergen and Greenland. The extent of this deep sea is a question which it is not at present easy to answer but we at least know that it extends a long way north of France Joseph land and eastward right to the new Siberian islands. I believe that it extends still farther east as I think may be inferred from the fact that the more the genetic expedition drifted north the greater depth of sea did they find. For various reasons I am led to believe that in a northerly direction also this deep sea is of considerable extent. In the first place nothing was observed either during the drift of the from or during our sledge expedition to the north that would point to the proximity of any considerable expanse of land. The ice seemed to drift unimpeded particularly in a northerly direction. The way in which the drift set straight to the north as soon as there was a southerly wind was most striking. It was with the greatest difficulty that the wind could head the drift back towards the southeast. Had there been any considerable expanse of land within reasonable distance to the north of us it would have blocked the free movement of the ice in that direction. Besides the large quantity of drift ice which drift southward with great rapidity along the east coast of Greenland all the way down to Cape farewell and beyond it seems to point in the same direction. Such extensive ice fields must have a still larger breadth of sea to come from than that through which we drifted. Had the from continued her drift instead of breaking loose to the north of Spitzbergen she would certainly have come down along the coast of Greenland but probably she would not have got close into that coast but would have had a certain quantity of ice between her and it and that ice must come from a sea lying north of our route. On the other hand it is quite probable that land may exist to a considerable extent on the other side of the pole between the pole and the North American archipelago. It appears to me only reasonable to assume that this multitude of islands must extend farther towards the north. As a result of our expedition I think we can now form a fairly clear idea of the way in which the drift ice is continually moving from one side of the polar base north of Bering Strait and the coast of Siberia and across the regions around the pole and out towards the Atlantic Ocean where geographers at one time were disposed to locate a solid immovable and massive ice mantle covering the northern extremity of our globe we now find a continually breaking and shifting expanse of drift ice. The evidence which even before our expedition had induced me to believe most strongly in this theory is supplied by the Siberian driftwood that is continually being carried to Greenland as well as the mud found on the ice as it could scarcely be of other than Siberian origin. We found several indications of this kind during our expedition even when we were as far north as 86 degrees furnishing valuable indications as to the movement of the ice. The force which sets this ice in motion is certainly for the most part supplied by the winds and as in the sea north of Siberia the prevailing winds are south easterly or easterly whereas north of Spitzbergen they are north easterly they must carry the ice in the direction in which we found the drift. From the numerous observations I made I established the existence of a slow current in the water under the ice traveling in the same direction but it will be sometime before the results of these investigations can be calculated and checked. The hydrographic observations made during the expedition furnished some surprising data thus for instance it was customary to look upon the polar basin as being filled with cold water the temperature of which stood somewhere about minus 1.5 degrees centigrade. Consequently our observations showing that under the cold surface there was warmer water sometimes at a temperature as high as plus 1 degree centigrade were surprising. Again this water was more briny than the water of the polar basin has been assumed to be. This warmer and more strongly saline water must clearly originate from the warmer current of the Atlantic Ocean the Gulf Stream flowing in a north and north easterly direction off Novia's Emilia and along the west coast of Spitzbergen and then diving under the colder but lighter and less briny water of the polar sea and filling up the depths of the polar basin. As I have stated in the course of my narrative this more briny water was as a rule warmest at a depth of from 200 to 250 fathoms beyond which it would decrease in temperature though not uniformly as the depth increased. Near the bottom the temperature rose again though only slightly. These hydrographic observations appear to modify to a not inconsiderable extent the theories hitherto entertained as to the direction of the currents in the northern seas but it is a difficult matter to deal with as there is a great mass of material and its further treatment will demand both time and patience. It must therefore be left to subsequent scientific publications. Still less do I contemplate attempting to enter here into a discussion on the numerous magnetic astronomical and meteorological observations taken. At the end of this work I merely give a table showing the main temperatures for each month during the drift of the from and during our sludging expedition. On the whole it may probably be said that although the expedition has left many problems for the future to solve in connection with the polar area it has nevertheless gone far to lift the veil of mystery which has hitherto shrouded those regions and we have been put in a position to form a tolerably clear and reasonable idea of a portion of our globe that formerly lay in darkness which only the imagination can penetrate. And should we in the near future get a bird's eye view of the regions around the pole as seen from a balloon all the most material features will be familiar to us. But there still remains a great deal to be investigated and this can only be done by years of observation to which end a new drift like that of the from would be invaluable. Guided by our experience explorers will be in a position to equip themselves still better but a more convenient method for the scientific investigation of unknown regions cannot easily be imagined. On board a vessel of this kind explorers may settle themselves quite as comfortably as in a fixed scientific station. They can carry their laboratories with them and the most delicate experiments of all kinds can be carried out. I hope that such an expedition may be taken ere long and if it goes through bearing straight and then snortward or perhaps slightly to the northeast I shall be very much surprised if observations are not taken which will prove a far greater scope and importance than those made by us but it will require patience. The drift will be more protracted than ours and the explorers must be well equipped. There is also another lesson which I think our expedition has taught namely that a good deal can be achieved with small resources even if explorers have to live in eskimo fashion and content themselves with the barest necessities they may provided they are suitably equipped make good headway and cover considerable distances in regions which have hitherto been regarded as almost inaccessible. Mean temperatures Fahrenheit for every month during the drift of the from months 1893 1894 1895 1896 January no entry 32.3 degrees minus 28.1 degrees minus 35.3 degrees February no entry minus 32.1 degrees minus 34.2 degrees minus 30.5 degrees March no entry minus 35.1 degrees minus 30.6 degrees minus 1.7 degrees April no entry minus 6.1 degrees minus 19.7 degrees minus 0.6 degrees May no entry plus 13.8 degrees plus 10.2 degrees plus 12.6 degrees June no entry plus 29.3 degrees plus 28.0 degrees plus 28.9 degrees July no entry plus 32.4 degrees plus 32.5 degrees plus 31.8 degrees August no entry plus 30.2 degrees plus 27.3 degrees plus 34.1 degrees September plus 29.1 degrees plus 17.1 degrees plus 14.9 degrees no entry October minus 1.1 degrees minus 8.5 degrees minus 6.2 degrees no entry November minus 11.6 degrees minus 23.4 degrees minus 23.6 degrees no entry December minus 20.6 degrees minus 30.8 degrees minus 27.2 degrees no entry continuous periods of temperature under minus 40 degrees years dates 1894 January 11 to 12 14 to 15 27 to 29 February 3 to 7 11 to 19 23 to 24 March 5 to 15 17 to 19 25 to 26 November 14 to 15 December 8 to 10 17 to 18 30 to 1 1895 January 14 to 18 23 to 26 February 9 to 10 13 to 16 18 to 22 March 19 to 23 26 to 28 November 20 to 23 December 7 to 8 1896 January 29 December to 18 February 4 to 9 11 to 20 March 4 to 5 the mean temperature of the 24 hours for these periods years 1894 January minus 36.8 degrees minus 39.1 degrees minus 40.5 degrees February minus 48.5 degrees minus 43.4 degrees minus 38.6 degrees March minus 47.9 degrees minus 45.8 degrees minus 40.2 degrees November minus 42.3 degrees December minus 40.7 degrees minus 37.3 degrees minus 42.7 degrees 1895 minus 41.1 degrees minus 46.3 degrees February minus 41.4 degrees minus 43.1 degrees minus 42.2 degrees March minus 39.8 degrees minus 37.7 degrees November minus 41.1 degrees December minus 39.5 degrees 1896 minus 45.8 degrees February minus 41.1 degrees minus 43.2 degrees March minus 35.7 degrees end of file 23 end of farthest north volume two by free chaff nonsense