The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 56, December 2, 1897 | Page 6

the Polar Sea, far from being shallow, as had also been supposed, was a wide sea of vast depth.
He explored many of the lands that lie in the Polar Sea, and made observations that will be of immense value to geologists and botanists.
Greatest of all, he proved that it is possible for men to undertake the perils and hardships of an Arctic expedition without loss of life or health. The first of his achievements was the proof that there is a current from Asia to America, in which the Fram drifted for three years, not, it is true, carrying him to Greenland, as he had expected, but none the less taking him across the frozen sea, and landing his vessel at Spitzbergen.
Next to it come the ease and comfort with which this tremendous undertaking was accomplished.
During all these long years he did not lose a man, nor indeed were any of his companions sick; the doctor of the expedition had to study diseases of dogs to keep his hand in, so little work was there for him to do.
The story of the voyage reads like the journal of a quiet family at home, it is so peaceful and uneventful. It tells no tales of hardships and privations, no sickness or suffering from the isolation.
It is instead the record of a well-ordered household, in which each man performed the duties assigned to him, duties which gave each enough exercise to tire him out and make him long for the quiet hours of reading or chess-playing, or games, which were to follow in the cabin when the day's work was done.
During the entire trip Nansen and his men performed the various duties of their lives, turn and turn about, the difference of occupation giving the men the change necessary to keep them in health and spirits.
The journal tells of little simple festivities, with processions round the ship, to celebrate Christmas and birthdays. Of the extra dinners prepared for these great occasions, dinners which made the men feel a little tight about the waist and sleepy at the grand entertainment which always closed a holiday.
The book is full of those little simple nothings which seem hardly worth telling to the outside world, and which are so full of meaning to those who have lived them through.
The diary is only here and there varied with an account of a bear-hunt, or a dog-fight, or a wily bear coming along and stealing a dog or two for his own private consumption. It is at times hard to realize that these men of whom the journal treats were heroes ready to sacrifice their lives in the interest of science, and that in this peaceful, homelike way the greatest voyage of the century was being made.
It will interest you to know that Nansen used every available modern invention to help make his voyage successful and bearable.
In the Arctic regions there are long months when there is no day. The sun disappears beneath the horizon, and does not appear again for weeks. There is no day and no sunshine, only one long night.
This time is the most trying period for Arctic travellers, and many poor fellows have gone insane under the terrible oppression of the months of darkness.
When this time came, and the sun had bidden its good-by to the Fram, Nansen lighted his ship by means of electricity, generated from power obtained from a windmill. When the wind failed the crew manned a capstan, an apparatus used for hauling anchors on board ship, and which Nansen applied to this excellent use.
With light to work by, plenty of work to do, and books and games for the evenings, one would have thought the men were well supplied, but Nansen added yet one more pleasure to their store. A friend had made the expedition a present of a phonograph. Nansen had his faithful wife sing into it all the favorite songs of the day, and so the sailors had one more comfort for their peaceful evenings, in the singing of well-known ballads by a well-loved voice.
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The five Competitor prisoners have been released from Cabana fortress after an imprisonment of nearly twenty months.
The names of these five men are: Alfredo Laborde, William Gildea, Ona Melton, William Leavitt, Charles Barnett.
By the release of these five men Spain has given us a very decided proof of her desire to keep our friendship.
She has not done the thing by halves either, for an order has been issued to return the prisoners any arms that had been taken from them, and to restore the schooner Competitor to its owners.
The five prisoners will sail for New York at once, and will have the happiness of eating their Thanksgiving dinners in their own country.
Three of the five men are native-born Americans; of