68 FARTHEST NORTH 



used to sail with square - rigged ships, and, with the 

 conservatism pecuHar to their class, were of opinion 

 that what they had used was the only thing that could 

 be used in the ice. However, the rigr we chose was un- 

 questionably the best for our purpose. In addition to 

 the ordinary fore-and-aft sails we had two movable yards 

 on the foremast for a square foresail and topsail. As the 

 yards were attached to a sliding truss they could easily 

 be hauled down when not in use. The ships lower 

 masts were tolerably high and massive. The mainmast 

 was about 80 feet high, the maintopmast was 50 feet 

 high, and the crow's-nest on the top was about 102 feet 

 (32 m.) above the water. It was important to have this 

 as high as possible, so as to have a more extended view 

 when it came to picking our way through the ice. The 

 aggregate sail area was about 6000 square feet. 



The ship's engine, a triple expansion, was made with 

 particular care. The work was done at the Akers 

 Mechanical Factorv, and Eno;ineer Norbeck deserves 

 especial credit for its construction. With his quick 

 insight he foresaw^ the various possibilities that might 

 occur, and took precautions against them. The triple- 

 expansion system was chosen as being the most econom- 

 ical in the consumption of coal ; but as it might happen 

 that one or other of the cylinders should get out of order, 

 it was arranged, by means of separate pipes, that any of 

 the cylinders could be cut off, and thus the other two, or, 

 at a pinch, even one alone, could be used. In this way 



