372 NAN SEN'S MEMORABLE VOYAGE IN THE "FRAM" 



Cape Chelyuskin, the most northerly point of Asia, was reached 

 on September loth. They were now nearing the region in which it 

 was thought the current turned northward, and after steaming a 

 week further east the course was changed and the "Fram" headed 

 northward. As long as there was open water ahead the energetic 

 crew kept working their vessel so as to get her as high up as possible 

 into the area affected by the current; but when they had passed the 

 line which marks the limit of the floes, they soon found that further 

 navigation was impossible. The "Fram" was soon fast in the ice 

 and, with winter upon them, the crew made themselves and the ship 

 as comfortable as they could. 



The builder of the "Fram" had given attention not alone to the 

 exterior of the vessel; he had also made the internal arrangements 

 as complete as possible for the comfort of the explorers during the 

 prolonged period they were to remain in the ice. Now that they 

 were in the pack, they realized how well their comfort had been 

 considered. For the matter of that, they had always found their 

 quarters cosy, even when the "Fram" displayed her capabilities of 

 rolling and tossing. The main cabin, in which they lived, was 

 always warm, and the passage-ways leading from it to the outside 

 were so skilfully arranged that those on board did not experience 

 the distressing moisture which was so troublesome on the "Alert" 

 and "Discovery." The electric light as a substitute for lamps was 

 also an admirable innovation, for the interior of the cabin was 

 always brightly lit without the air becoming heavy, as would have 

 been the case with exposed lamps. A great deal of thought had 

 also been given to ventilation, with the result that the cabins were 

 never close. 



Over the deck a large screen was erected, tent shape, and above 

 it there was reared the windmill which drove the electric motor and 

 generated the electricity for the lights. As the ship was to remain 

 in the ice until it drifted out again, everything was made snug for 

 a long stay. On the ice alongside various observatories were erected 



