CHAPTER XXVII 



Nansen's Memorable Voyage in the "Fram" 



THE cruise of the "Jeannette," of which we have elsewhere 

 spoken, had one unexpected result. It was the inspiring 

 cause of one of the most memorable of polar voyages. This 

 arose from the fact that relics from the lost ship were found in 1884 

 frozen in floating ice off the coast of Greenland. This fact led to 

 much discussion among geographers and the belief arose that a 

 strong and steady current flowed along the course over which the 

 "Jeannette" had drifted and along that afterwards taken by the 

 floating relics. This belief was not sustained by the experience of 

 DeLong and Melville, of the "Jeannette," but it was held by many 

 others. 



Here was something worth proving. A theory is of no value 

 until it is demonstrated. As the belief that the world is round was 

 not proved until the adventurer Columbus undertook to demonstrate 

 it, so the theory in question remained an academic opinion until a 

 man was found willing to test its accuracy. The man appeared in 

 the hardy Norwegian, Fridtjof Nansen. 



Nansen was by no means a beginner in Arctic work. He had 

 already made a daring journey across Greenland, he being the first 

 man to cross its frozen interior. This was done in 1888, when he 

 started in at a point on the east coat of Southern Greenland and 

 emerged at a point on the west coast, having traversed the great 

 central ice-field of the island. 



As a student of Arctic phenomena, he became firmly convinced 

 of the existence of a drift current across the polar region and grew 

 eager to demonstrate it. It seemed to him that if a vessel were built 

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