406 LETTERS FROM THE ANDREE PARTY. 



were obliged to leave the balloon aud proceed over the ice, we shouldn't 

 consider ourselves lost. We have sledges and provisions for four 

 months, guns, and ammunition ; hence are just as well equipped as other 

 expeditions as far as that is concerned. I would not object to such a 

 trip. The worst thing is that the folks at home will feel uneasy if we 

 don't appear in the fall, but are obliged to spend the winter in the Arc- 

 tic regions. My body is now in such good condition, and I have got so 

 accustomed to the Arctic life, that a winter up here don't seem terrible 

 at all. One gets used to everything. But the best thing would be to 

 come home in the fall. * * * 



" Well, I hoi)e we shall soon have favorable winds. On the 8th day 

 of July we had a strong southerly wind, but then it was too strong. 

 It was almost a gale, and it would have been impossible to ascend 

 without damage to the balloon. Later it shifted over to the west too 

 much. If we don't get a southerly wind before the 15th of July we 

 intend to try with a southeasterly, to be carried north of Greenland, 

 and there possibly utilize the south winds which, according to Lieuten- 

 ant Peary, are prevalent during summer. 



'' Well, good-bye, now, brother; just wonder if we will meet next time 

 in ]SIew York. Send my love to Uncle and Aunt Outad and the boy, 

 also to the Ellnrod family. Tell them that nowadays I write to nobody 

 but my fiancee. Got no time for more. 



" Your brother, Nils. 



"The Lofoten^ which arrived this morning at 7 o'clock, has left 

 already at 10 5 so this will have to go by the next mail." 



THE START. 



When the members of the party arose on the morning of July 11, 

 they sent up a joyous cry of "A strong, steady wind from the south!" 

 What followed this bestirring announcement has been very well 

 described by one of the party, and we can not do better than to quote 

 his account : 



"After a short discussion on the morning of the 11th, Mr. Andree 

 and his companions decided to ascend as soon as possible. Now fol- 

 lowed some hours of great activity. Everyone felt perceptibly the 

 importance of the moment, and all demonstrated tliis in an excellent 

 way. Through the roaring storm, which so powerfully pressed against 

 the balloon house that it cracked aud squeaked in all its joints, Mr. 

 Andree's powerful voice was heard, now from the outside, now from the 

 inside, and now again from the top of the colossal building, giving 

 orders and superintending the last preparations for this long-planned 

 journey, which had cost so much effort and so much anxiety and for 

 which so much was risked. All that was invested in the undertaking 

 could still be lost at the very start. 



"The wind is roaring, and the gigantic balloon pulls and pulls at its 

 anchorage, sometimes with threatening force. Heavy clouds come 

 tearing down from the mountain tops; a sudden gush of wind strikes 



