212 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



as far as possible before he allowed the Fram to be 

 frozen in. 



At Khabarova, Yugor Strait, thirty-four dogs which 

 had been sent there by previous arrangement were ob- 

 tained. Some days were spent here in making repairs, 

 shifting coal, etc. A ship loaded with coal was to meet 

 the From here, but turned up two days late, having been 

 delayed by ice. The Fram left Khabarova on 5th August, 

 and after careful navigation in a fog, succeeded in pass- 

 ing through the Yugor Strait into the Kara Sea. Cape 

 Chelyuskin, the northernmost point of Asia, was reached 

 on the 10th September. On the 12th September two 

 walruses were shot and secured. On the 18th September 

 the course was shaped northwards, to the west of the 

 New Siberian Islands, and the Fram had a straight run 

 until the 20th September, when it was stopped by ice 

 near latitude 78°. The edge of the ice was now followed 

 towards the north-west, and about 78i° was reached. 

 On the 24th September they found that the ship was 

 being frozen in. An observation taken on the 29th gave 

 latitude 79° 5'. By 8th November they had drifted as far 

 south as 77° 43' ; on the 19th November they were north 

 to 78° 27' ; and on the 23rd November they reached 79° 11', 

 which was the highest yet reached. On the 27th November 

 an altitude of Jupiter was taken, and the latitude found to 

 be 78° 36', from which it was believed that a mistake had 

 been made on the 23rd. By the end of the year they 

 were not much farther north ; sometimes the drift was 

 one way and sometimes the other. Several bears made 

 their appearance and were shot ; foxes were also seen. 



As early as 15th January 1894, Nansen began to 

 speculate about the possibility of leaving the ship and 

 making a sledge-journey over the ice towards the Pole, 

 but he decided to first wait and see the result of the 

 drift. On one point Nansen's calculations had proved 



