SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



259 



NANSEN'S JOURNEY TO THE POLE. 



'npHE results to science in general of Dr. Nansen's 

 journey to the " Farthest North " cannot 

 at present be stated. The three years' collection 

 of materials and data to be dealt with on his 

 return by naturalists and other scientific experts 

 have yet to be examined, and it may be a 

 year or two before the full results are known. 

 But apart from this, the account of the Expedition, 

 so admirably told by Dr. Nansen in his book just 

 published, (^) leads one to expect some very valuable 

 additions to scientific knowledge, quite apart from 



He was at one time Curator of the Bergen Museum, 

 during which time he published a number of 

 pamphlets on scientific subjects. Later, being 

 still a young man, he made his famous journey 

 across Greenland. 



The excitement of exploration made a strong 

 appeal to the romantic and enterprising character 

 of Nansen, and ere long he meditated his now 

 world-famed journey to the North ; which, it 

 should be noted, was not undertaken through any 

 empty or ill-considered ambition, but after much 



The " Fram " Imprtsoned in the Ice. 

 (Copyright by Constable & Co.) 



the great geographical discovery which the world 

 owes to this intrepid explorer. 



Dr. Nansen is pre-eminently a man of science. 

 Nature-study and sport had a great fascination for 

 him in very early life. Distinguishing himself by 

 his success as a bear- and seal-hunter, he did also, 

 in his young days, much valuable scientific work, 

 particularly in the field of biology. He would 

 suffer considerable self-sacrifice to obtain oppor- 

 tunities for the prosecution of scientific research. 

 (1) Fridtjof Nansen's " Farthest North." Constable and Co. 

 M.-kRCH, 1897. — No. 34, Vol. 3. 



study, and with the object of proving the correct- 

 ness or otherwise of his theory as to the existence 

 of a polar current, which he conjectured ran from 

 the New Siberian Islands to the east coast of 

 Greenland. 



In his book Nansen makes no attempt what- 

 ever to state the advantages likely to accrue 

 to science as a result of the many observations 

 made by him. His aim has been to record 

 experiences, not results — to give a narrative 

 account of the Expedition such as would be of 



