442 NANSEX — POLAR EXPEDITION, 1893-96. FOct. 29, 



Special Meeting, October 29, 1807. 



President Fraley in the Chair. 



Present, 100 members. 



The special meeting was held for the reception of com- 

 munications on subjects of science. 



Dr. Fridtjof Hansen, a recently elected member, was pre- 

 sented to the Chair, and took his seat. 



Dr. Nansen presented a communication on " Some Kesults 

 of the Norwegian Polar Expedition, 1893-96," Avhich was 

 discussed by Commodore Melville, Prof. Abbtj, Prof. Heilprin 

 and Mr. Amos Bonsai 1. 



The reading of the rough minutes was dispensed with, and 

 the Society was adjourned by the President. 



SOME RESULTS OF THE NORWEGIAN POLAR EXPEDI- 

 TION, 1893-96. 



BY DR. FRIDTJOF NANSEN. 



{Read October 29, 1897.) 

 Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : — 



First of all, I beg to thank you most heartily for the great honor 

 the Society has shown me and the cordial welcome you have given 

 me. 



It is with some hesitation that I come to discuss the results of the 

 exploration from which I returned last year. The material I brought 

 back is not by far worked out, and it will take years before it can 

 be properly studied, and before this is done perhaps I ought not to 

 talk much about the results for fear of giving you wrong ideas. 

 But in the meantime I would like to point out a few of the more 

 important points in our discovery, and I propose to begin with the 

 geographical discoveries. 



The whole plan of the expedition was based on a theory con- 

 cerning the currents, about which we knew very little before. I 

 thought, for various reasons, that there was a constant drift of 



