THE WELLMAN POLAR EXPEDITION 



With the news that arrangements have been made for the re- 

 turn of Mr Wellman and his party, speculations arise as to the 

 probability of his having reached a point further north than has 

 been yet attained. Up to the last word received all his plans 

 had been carried out, and unless the unexpected has happened, 

 there is reason to believe that success will be his reward. The 

 story of the equipping and starting of the expedition has been 

 told by Mr Wellman {Century Magazine, Feb., 1899) — told mod- 

 estly and absolutely free from the exaggeration that such enthu- 

 siasm as his might well prompt. It was my good fortune to assist 

 in the final preparations for the trip, and from an experience of 

 travel under all sorts of conditions I could form an opinion as to 

 how well he was prepared to meet any conceivable emergency. 

 He had profited by the trials of all who had gone before, and 

 had devised a number of expedients that gave promise of mak- 

 ing his task easier. Unless the problem contains unheard-of 

 factors, I feel sure that he will reach the ultimate north. 



He sailed unusually .early from Tromso, intending to take 

 advantage of any breaking up of the ice; but unfortunately the 

 prevailing winds banked the ice up instead of driving it south- 

 ward, so lie was compelled to put back to Norway for coal and 

 then make a second attempt. This time he pushed through to 

 Franz Josef Land, and established his first camp on Hall island. 

 The plan was to send northward a reconnaissance party to locate 

 a favorable site for winter headquarters, and spend the remain- 

 ing days of summer hunting, to lay in supplies for the men and 

 dogs. The rest of the party would follow by slower marches, 

 and bring up the heavier equipment for the winter and for the 

 flying column that would start as early as possible this spring. 



The strongest feature of Mr Wellnian's plan is the way in 

 which this advance is to be made. For this he secured devices 

 that give the minimum of waste in motive power and material. 

 He has sought to avoid the discouraging retraveling of the route 

 by taking plenty of dogs and having light loads. One of the 

 best proofs of the wisdom with which every detail has been looked 

 after was the readiness of experienced men to accompany him. 

 Of the five Norwegians in the party three have repeatedly en- 



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