THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 583 



they had hard work of it during the following days. 

 Not only had all my telegrams to be despatched, but 

 hundreds streamed in from the south — both to us and 

 to the people in the town, begging them to obtain in- 

 formation about us. Anion q: the first were teles^rams to 

 my wife, to the King of Norway, and to the Norwegian 

 Government. The last ran as follows : 



"To his Excellency Secretary Hagerup: 



" I have the pleasure of announcing to you and to the 

 Norwegian Government that the expedition has carried 

 out its plan, has traversed the unknown Polar Sea from 

 north of the New Siberian Islands, and has explored the 

 region north of Franz Josef Land as far as 86" 14' north 

 latitude. No land was seen north of 82°. 



" Lieutenant Johansen and I left the Fram, and the 

 other members of the expedition on March 14, 1895, 

 in 84" north latitude and 102" 27' east longitude. We 

 went northward to explore the sea north of the Franis 

 course, and then came south to Franz Josef Land, 

 whence the Windward has now brought us. 



" I expect the Fram to return this year. 



" Fridtjof Nansen." 



As I was leaving the telegraph - office the manager 

 told me that my friend Professor Mohn was in the town, 

 staying, he understood, at the hotel. Strange that Mohn, 

 a man so intimately connected with the expedition, 



