SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



261 



or object of interest met with — landscapes, sea- 

 scapes, animals, birds, and natural phenomena 

 generally. They closely applied themselves to 

 the work of dredging and studying the character 

 and distribution of animal and plant life. Star- 

 fish, algae, and even bacteria, were taken from the 

 pools in the drifting ice. The long Arctic summer 

 day was busily spent in examining, under the 

 microscope, the objects almost invariably found 

 existing in the freshwater pools of the ice-floes. 



But, mainly, Nansen's account of his expedition 

 concerns itself with upsetting pre-existing theories 

 as to the physical character of the Pole. Nansen 

 has made a great geographical discovery. Arctic 

 explorers before him believed in the existence 

 of considerable areas of land dotted about in a 

 shallow circum-polar basin. Nansen himself was 

 amongst those who believed this. No one antici- 

 pated the discovery of a deep oceanic sea in the 

 Polar area. Nansen states that the Pole itself 

 probably lies in this deep ocean bed, although its 

 extent is not at present known ; but it extends a 

 long way north of Franz-Josef Land to the New 

 Siberian Islands. Soundings were taken of depths 

 exceeding 2,000 fathoms. Nansen believes that 

 for a considerable distance to the north of the 

 course followed by the Frani there is a deep-sea 

 area without any islands to affect the movements of 

 the ice. The temperature, as also the salinity at 

 different depths of the Polar Sea, leaves little doubt 

 in Nansen's mind that the Polar oceanic depression 

 is continuous with the deep Atlantic basin. 



The success of Nansen's expedition was due not 

 only to the hardiness of the Norsemen who 

 made up the party, but first and foremost to the 

 scientific training of Nansen's own life, and his 

 power to anticipate every difficulty experienced by 

 previous Arctic explorers. The minutest care was 

 taken, and every possible necessity provided for, 

 before the expedition started. Nansen set out with 

 the idea, which was Professor Mohn's before him, 

 that a continuous current ran from the New Siberian 

 Islands north-westerly across the Polar area to the 

 coast of Greenland, and he laid himself out to 

 establish the proof of it, which he has done. 



The Fram left Christiania on Midsummer Day, 

 1S93. It made its way to the north of the White 

 Sea and the coast of Nova Zembla, then south to 

 the Kara Sea. Finding a fair passage, it pushed 

 its way through the land-water (discovering a new 

 island, which was named Sverdrup's Island, by the 

 way) and soon rounded Chelyuskin, the most 

 northerly point of the old world, and thence to a 

 region of walruses, available as food. Towards the 

 end of September the ship got imprisoned in the 

 ice at about 78^^ N. latitude, and in the same 

 longitude as the most westerly of the New Siberian 

 Islands ; and here preparations were made for the 

 arctic winter night. For the next eighteen months 



the Fraw began to drift, sometimes southwards, then 

 south-easterly, and it seemed as though Nansen 

 was to be disappointed in the attainment of his 

 object. The winter passed away, summer came and 

 went, and the Expedition found themselves still 

 drifting. The Fram behaved excellently — well built 

 as she was— under the terrible pressure of the ice. 



Nansen, after careful deliberation and discussion 

 with his companions, resolved to leave the Fram, 

 and make his way northwards over the ice, 

 taking with him dogs, boats and sleighs. Lieut. 

 Johansen was his sole companion. Nansen himself 

 made, from bamboo and sail-cloth, the two kayaks 

 which played so important a part in the lives of 

 the two explorers after quitting the ship. Pushing 

 their way northward they found themselves, in a 

 few weeks, at a geographical point which had never 

 previously been reached, namely, 86^ i3'5' N. 

 latitude. Here they were stopped all further 

 progress, as the ice was moving southerly almost 

 as fast as their efforts to go further north. Nansen 

 then directed his course towards Franz-Josef Land, 

 which was distant four hundred and fifty miles 

 from this point. 



The thrilling experiences of the two explorers as 

 set out by Dr. Nansen himself must be read to be 

 appreciated. Sleighing over the ice, at other times 

 making their way in kayaks over the water-lanes, 

 mingled with adventures with bears and walruses, 

 the life of these two men had aspects at once 

 romantic and pathetic. At Franz-Josef Land 

 Nansen and his companion met the Jackson- 

 Harmsworth Expedition. Meanwhile, under 

 Captain Sverdrup, the Frani continued to drift as 

 far north as Spitzbergen, and soon found Nansen 

 standing on her deck in Tromso Harbour. 



The expedition to Central Africa, supported by 

 the Royal Society, with the object of investigating 

 the fresh-water fauna of Lake Tanganyika, in 

 relation to its supposed marine origin, and of 

 establishing the connection of that lake with the 

 other great African lakes, which was undertaken 

 by Mr. J. E. S. Moore, has resulted in the following 

 discoveries. Mr. Moore's statement is telegraphed 

 by Renter: " I found the fauna of Tanganyika to 

 be unique— unlike anything else anywhere — and as 

 limited as peculiar. The jelly-fish and shrimps 

 were certainly of a marine type, while the geology 

 of the district precluded the possibility of any 

 connection with the sea in recent times. The 

 water, which Livingstone found to be brackish, is 

 now quite drinkable. All this seems to prove that 

 the Tanganyika part of the great Rift Valley 

 running through this part of .\frica at one time 

 had access to the sea, while it is perfectly clear 

 that Lake Nyassa — some 246 miles to the south- 

 east — apparently never had any marine connection. 

 It is also a matter of interest that the fauna of 

 Tanganyika is not only marine, but of a very 

 peculiar and primitive type, and it is quite reason- 

 able to suppose that the characteristics of the 

 fauna are connected with the remote geological 

 connection of the lake with the sea." 



