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THE WELLMAN POLAR EXPEDITION 



A PAIR OF WALRUS KILLED FOR DOG FOOD 



Copyright, 1899, by Walter Wellman 



progress at all. At the minimum each man must have two 

 pounds of food and each dog one pound per da} r , and the haul- 

 ing power of a dog is limited to about 60 pounds and of a man 

 to about 200 pounds. Besides, there is weight of sledges, in- 

 struments, bedding, weapons, etc., to be reckoned. 



3. It is useless to establish depots upon the sea ice beyond the 

 land, for the sufficient reason that they could never be found 

 again, except by rare good luck. Even in winter the ice-sheet 

 is never at rest. It is constantly drifting to and fro, with a gen- 

 eral movement, as was shown by the voyage of the Fram, toward 

 the west. If one left a depot upon the ice he could never be 

 sure the ice had not opened there during his absence and de- 

 stroyed it. On returning from their sledge journey, Nansen and 

 Johansen made no effort to find the Fram again, though they 

 were at no time more than 115 miles from the ship, and on their 

 southward march, with a dreadful and doubtful prospect before 

 them, they must have passed within 30 or 35 miles of her at 

 farthest. 



Limited in time and limited in weight, the explorer perceives 



