43° 



The National Geographic Magazine 



the hearts of continents, and pushing 

 northward and southward, till today 

 only the northern and southern apices 

 of the earth still hide in the mists and 

 gloom of the polar nights. 



A little less than four centuries ago 

 the first expedition started out toward 

 the North Pole. Since that time, with 

 periods of greater or less intensity, prac- 

 tically all the civilized nations of the 

 earth have made attempts to reach that 

 charmed spot. 



Millions have been expended in the 

 efforts, and, though they have brought 

 back information and accessions to sci- 

 entific knowledge which have fully re- 

 paid the expenditures, the main object 

 remains still unattained. The ablest 

 writers, scientists, geographers, states- 

 men, and rulers have been interested in 

 the matter, and have urged the prose- 

 cution of the work with all the eloquence 

 at their command. Many of their re- 

 marks upon the subject have become 

 historic. 



THREE NORTH POLAR ROUTES 



As a result of all these explorations 

 extending through nearly four centu- 

 ries, the possible routes to the North 

 Pole have dwindled to three. In my 

 own personal opinion, they have dwin- 

 dled to two, but I note the three. First, 

 the drift method as devised, inaugu- 

 rated, and put into execution by Nan- 

 sen. The possibilities of this method 

 are acknowledged by every one, but it 

 by no means follows that another ship, 

 or even the Fram herself in a second 

 attempt, would be as fortunate as she 

 was in the first voyage. Again, it re- 

 quires a man of exceptional tempera- 

 ment and a crew of almost superhuman 

 qualities to undertake a voyage which 

 means that for four or five years at 

 least ship and people are but a helpless 

 bit of flotsam entirely at the mercy of 

 the ice in which the}' are drifting and 

 practically unable to control their own 

 fortunes or contribute by their efforts 



to success. Presumably Nansen and 

 Sverdrup are advocates of this route ; 

 yet neither has, to my knowledge, ex- 

 pressed a desire to repeat the experience 

 of the Fram's voyage. Bernier is re- 

 ported as contemplating a repetition of 

 the voyage. 



The second route is the so-called 

 Franz Josef Land route. Wellman, 

 Baldwin, and Mr Ziegler are advocates 

 and adherents of this route. If there 

 are others, I do not recall them at pres- 

 ent. 



Payer and Weyprecht, Leigh Smith, 

 Jackson, Wellman, Abruzzi, and Bald- 

 win have all exploited the Franz Josef 

 Land route with greater or less success. 

 Of Jihese various expeditions, however, 

 Abruzzi' s is the only one that has suc- 

 ceeded in pushing beyond the northern 

 limit of the Franz Josef Archipelago. 

 He is not at all in favor of this route. 

 In fact, he uncompromisingly advocates, 

 in words I shall quote to you later, the 

 third — the Smith Sound, or "Ameri- 

 can " route. 



PLANS FOR COMING EXPEDITION 



To come down to the present, I as- 

 sume that all of my hearers are familiar, 

 in a general way, with what I shall at- 

 tempt to do and how I shall attempt to 

 do it, but I have noticed so many mis- 

 apprehensions as to details on the part 

 of otherwise well-informed people, that 

 I feel a brief exposition of certain points 

 maj' not be out of place. 



I plan to take two ships — one a 

 steamer with engines of maximum 

 horse-power and minimum weight and 

 bulk, and an auxiliary vessel to carry 

 coal. With the steamer I plan, in the 

 summer of 1904, to push up Smith 

 Sound, Kennedy Channel, and Robeson 

 Channel, and then to station her for 

 the winter on the north coast of Grant 

 Land, carrying her, if possible, farther 

 north than the Alert or the Polaris. If 

 she can get me as far as that, I do not 

 care what becomes of her — she will 



