456 MELVILLE — REMARKS ON POLAR EXPEDITION. [Oct. 29, 



loughby to date. We were fortunate in having a very extensive 

 Arctic library on board, and, as tlie discussion of Arctic literature 

 and the formulation of theories and conjectures were among our 

 pleasantest ways of passing time, you can well imagine that, with 

 eight intelligent readers in our cabin mess, it was not long before I 

 had a chart with hundreds of arrows denoting currents as laid down 

 by voyagers for more than 300 years. It was remarkable how 

 plainly they pointed to the fact that, if our ship should hold 

 together and our provisions last, we should drift out either by way 

 of Franz-Josef Land aiid Nova Zembla, or, taking the northern 

 cant across the north face of Franz- Josef Land, between the Spitz - 

 bergen and east coast of Greenland. That was as well understood 

 and believed by the officers of our ship as it is to-day proved by 

 Dr. Nansen. 



In addition to what we learned from our drift chart, we also knew 

 that drift wood covered the east side of the Spitzbergen, Franz- 

 Joseph Land, and even the northeast coast of Nova Zembla, where 

 grand old Barents wintered, and it was certain that this was brought 

 by the great Siberian rivers discharging into the Arctic ocean. 

 These facts had all been established before our time, but none of us 

 then supposed for a moment, nor do I now believe, that this debris 

 would drift across the North Pole. In fact, I have not believed 

 hitherto that it ever drifted beyond 85°, but Dr. Nansen and the 

 drift of the Fram have demonstrated that it has drifted north of 

 S6°. So I must concede that latitude, at least, as possible for drift 

 wood to reach. 



There were, however, two great '' ifs " in the way of our accom- 

 plishing this long drift : Could our ship hold together ; would our 

 provisions hold out ? We had pumped our ship night and day for 

 twenty-two months, at first by hand and steam power, afterward by 

 a wind-mill that was extemporized on board ship, supplemented by 

 hand power, or steam, as the emergency arose. The merry *'chug" 

 of the pump night and day^ for twenty- two months, never ceased. 

 Our game in the far north had become scarce, and we had not 

 added much to our larder beyond a few seals, walrus and bears we 

 had taken in the early part of our drift, in the spring of 1880. 



After many consultations about the situation b}* the officers of the 

 ship, and a close account of the provision list, it became manifest 

 that our provisions would be exhausted before January, 1882. So, 

 the question was whether we should abandon our ship in the spring 



