The Siege and Conquest of the North Pole

To sleep in, they used a double bag of adult reindeer-skin.

In Nansen’s opinion, a tent should always be carried. He thinks that the inconsiderable increase in weight is more than compensated for by the extra comfort. The tent used was square at the base and pointed at the top, and was pitched by means of a snowshoe-staff which served the purpose of a tent-pole. The walls were kept down by pegs, and then banked carefully round with snow to exclude wind and draughts. At first Nansen tried a tent with a canvas floor attached, but found that snow and moisture collected on this and added much to the weight. The whole tent weighed a little over 3 lb.

The cooking apparatus consisted of two boilers and a vessel for melting snow or ice. A Swedish gas-petroleum lamp, known as “The Primus,” in which the heat turns the petroleum into gas before it is consumed, was used for heating. Nansen used petroleum because it generates more heat in comparison with its weight than alcohol. He took with him 4 gallons, and this enabled them to cook two hot meals a day and melt an abundance of water during 120 days.

Several pairs of snow-shoes were taken. Their firearms consisted of two double-barrelled guns, each having a shot-barrel of 20 bore, and a barrel for ball of about 360 calibre; and the ammunition amounted to about 180 rifle-cartridges and 150 shot-cartridges.

The instruments were: a small theodolite, a pocket sextant and artificial horizon, a light azimuth compass and two other compasses, two aneroid barometers, two minimum spirit-thermometers, three quicksilver sling-thermometers, an aluminium telescope, and a photographic camera.

As regards provisions, the chief article was pemmican, but there was also a good supply of butter, calf’s liver, albuminous flour, wheat-flour, whey-powder, cornflour, sugar, vril-food, chocolate, oatmeal, white bread, aleuronate bread, fish-flour, dried potatoes, cocoa, a “special food” made of pea-flour, meat-powder, fat, etc., and a few others. An important point as regards provisions is that the food should be in a condition to be eaten without cooking, in case the fuel be lost or used up.

During the first week the travelling was good, from 9 to as many as 20 miles being covered daily. On the 22nd of March the latitude was found to be 85° 9′. From this time onward the ice was bad. The temperature at first was very low, frequently more than 40° below zero. On 29th March the latitude was found to be 85° 30′, although Nansen expected that he had reached 86°. This probably indicated that the ice was drifting southwards. On 30th March, when one of the sledges was going over a crack in the ice, all the dogs fell in, and had to be hauled out. The next sledge fell in, and had to be unloaded before it could be got out. Next day Johansen in crossing a lane went through the edge of the ice, wetting both legs, which soon became covered with a mass of ice.

A great deal had always to be done before starting off on the day’s journey. The breakfast had to be cooked; sometimes a sledge had to be relashed; a hole would be found in a fish-flour sack which had to be sewed up; and the dogs’ traces had to be disentangled with great difficulty. On the 1st April they kept on the move so long that it was too late to wind up their chronometers. Johansen’s had stopped altogether, but Nansen’s was still ticking. The ice was now becoming worse and worse, and Nansen began to have doubts as to the wisdom of going northwards much longer.

On the 3rd April the second dog was killed as food for the others. Nansen now calculated that the distance to Franz-Josef Land was three times as far as the distance they had come. He saw that it was impossible to reach the Pole or its immediate vicinity over the ice they were encountering, with the dogs they had. He now wished that the number of dogs had been much greater. On 4th April the latitude was 86° 3′. On the 8th April, Nansen finally decided to return and shape his course for Cape Fligely, in Franz-Josef Land, about 450 miles distant. The latitude of the farthest north point was found to be 86° 13.6′, and the longitude about 95° E.

During the first few days on the return journey they met with comparatively level ice, much to their surprise; but they soon began to meet more open lanes. On the 12th April they had the misfortune to let their chronometers run down. This was the cause of much worry afterwards. On 16th April, Nansen calculated that they were 60 miles on their way home. The temperature had now risen to about 15° below zero, and they considered this mild. A dog had to be killed every few days in order to feed the others. They considered this slaughtering of the faithful animals a horrible affair, but it was an absolute necessity.

On the 21st April they came across an immense piece of timber sticking out of the ice. Nansen believed it to be Siberian larch. Johansen marked it “F. N., H. J., 85° 30′ N.” On the 25th April fox-tracks which were fresh were seen in the snow. This discovery raised the question whether land could be near, but the weather was so thick that it might have been near and could not be seen.

Open water in the form of lanes in the ice now became more frequent, but Nansen was still reluctant to use the kayaks. There were several large holes in them which would require to be repaired, and in the present condition of the ice Nansen believed that it would be difficult to protect the bows of the kayaks from being cut, and in the event of water getting in, ice would immediately form, and to remove it would be impossible.

On 3rd May the dogs had been reduced to sixteen. Two days later the latitude was found to be 84° 31′, and longitude 66° 15′ E. This was not so far south as Nansen expected, but farther west.

In some places the snow was very deep among the rough ice, and as the snow-shoes had frequently to be taken off for the purpose of helping the sledges over difficulties, Nansen regretted that he had not also Indian snow-shoes, which would have been of more use in such circumstances.

On the 14th May, during a storm, the opportunity was taken to remove the load from one of the sledges which was not now required. An attempt was made to use the wood of the sledge as fuel, but after burning nearly the whole of it and succeeding in obtaining only one pot of boiling water, they gave it up as a failure, and went back to the “Primus.”

They had for some time been expecting to see land daily, but there was still no appearance of it. The open lanes of water were causing more and more trouble. On the 17th May a school of narwhals was seen in one of them, but none was obtained. On the 19th May the first bear-tracks were seen. On the 25th the latitude was found to be 82° 52′, and yet there was no land in sight. Payer had supposed Petermann Land to be in latitude 83°.

The first bird was seen on 29th May, and seals made their appearance soon afterwards. On the last day of May only seven dogs remained. On the 2nd of June it was found that it was necessary to make use of the kayaks, and preparations were made to put them in proper order. The covers were patched and the frames relashed. It was not until the 8th of June that everything was ready for a fresh start, and then it was found that all the lanes had closed, so that the kayaks were not yet required. For the first time the temperature rose above the freezing-point on 6th June.

The travelling was now extremely difficult, and they had to be satisfied with journeys of 1 and 2 miles daily. Sometimes it was found that they had drifted about as far northward as they had travelled southward, and it became a serious question whether they were likely to reach land. Although about the latitude of Cape Fligely, there was no appearance of land, and Nansen was in great difficulty over his longitude, due to the time when the chronometers ran down. He calculated and recalculated his observations without making the matter any more clear. Sometimes he thought he might be east of Cape Fligely, and sometimes that he might be to the west.

About the middle of June, three months after they left the Fram, they began to see signs of returning life. Little auks were numerous, more bear-tracks were seen, and on the 22nd June they were fortunate enough to kill a seal. This seal was one of the large bearded variety (Phoca barbata), and supplied sufficient food and fuel to last a month.

The killing of the seal furnished a very exciting incident. It was on the first occasion that the kayaks were used. They had just crossed a pool, and Nansen had hauled one of the sledges half-way on to the ice when the seal appeared and was shot by Johansen. Nansen seized a harpoon and threw it deep into the fat back of the seal. Meanwhile the sledge, which had been drawn partly on to the ice, slid down again, and the kayaks with Johansen and the dogs were set adrift. He tried to drag the sledge up on to the kayak, but failed. The sledge gradually heeled the kayaks over until one side of Johansen’s was in the water. The cooker which was on the deck fell off and drifted away; the snow-shoes followed. Nansen meanwhile was holding on to the seal, but had to let go and assist in preventing the kayak from sinking. In the end, the lost articles were rescued, and the seal hauled on to the ice. They had previously reduced their rations and fuel to a minimum, but now they feasted on seal’s flesh and blubber. It was decided to remain here some time, to see if the ice would open to allow the kayaks to be used. About this time they abandoned everything that was not absolutely necessary, so as to lighten the load as much as possible – even the sleeping-bag was left behind.

From this camp they first saw land without being aware of what it was. While still waiting at this camp, a bear with two cubs put in an appearance, and after a difficult chase over ice and lanes, all three were shot. This fortunate occurrence supplied an abundance of food. Nansen and his companion remained at this place, which was named “Longing Camp,” until the 22nd July. A great deal of meat had to be left behind, and a good many articles, such as a hammer, Finn shoes, a frying-pan, sail-cloth, etc. In place of these articles, some flesh from the seal and bear was carried.

Land was first detected on 23rd July. It had been observed before, but the snow-fields were mistaken for clouds. It had long been expected, and now it gave the travellers great joy.

On 29th July, Nansen began to suffer from lumbago, probably caused by sleeping on the bare ice. It gave him severe pain during several days.

When land was first seen, Johansen expressed the opinion that it would be reached next day. Due, however, chiefly to the drift, the journey occupied thirteen days.

On the 4th of August, Johansen nearly lost his life. They had reached a lane, and were preparing to launch the kayaks, when Nansen heard Johansen cry to him to take the gun. On looking round to see what was the matter, he saw an enormous bear standing over Johansen, who was on his back. Nansen tried to seize his gun, but his kayak slipped into the water, and it took some little time to pull it out again and to reach the gun, which was in its case on the fore-deck. Luckily one of the dogs came to the rescue, and the bear turned its attentions to it. This enabled Johansen to wriggle himself out of its grasp, and the next moment Nansen fired, and the bear dropped dead.

At last, on the 6th of August, open water was reached. For some time the dogs had been reduced to two in number, and now that open water had been gained, Nansen could not see how the two dogs could be taken farther. He was sorry to part with them; they had been faithful and enduring, and had followed him the whole journey through. A cartridge was sacrificed on each.

The two kayaks were lashed together, and the sledges placed on deck, one in front and one behind. Before going far, the wind rose sufficiently to enable a sail to be used, and soon the margin of a glacier was reached. This was from 50 to 60 feet in height, and landing was therefore impossible. The margin of the glacier was followed towards the west, and it was found necessary to land on a drifting floe in order to obtain sleep. Next day, when they turned out, they found the ice packed around them; but fortunately the open water was not far off to the west, and they reached it without much difficulty. Birds were now plentiful, and it was with great satisfaction that they observed the signs of animal-life, and knew that they could obtain food. Later on they discovered that the land they were coasting along consisted of islands. The first three Nansen named “Eva’s Island,” “Liv’s Island,” and “Adelaide’s Island” respectively. South of these the land had probably been seen by Payer.

On the 11th of August, while Nansen was on a hummock inspecting the waters ahead, a huge monster of a walrus came up near the kayaks. No notice was taken of it, but it came up snorting, sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other, and threatened to thrust its tusks into the frail kayaks. Ultimately Johansen shot it through the eye, and with a terrific bellow it rolled over and disappeared. Not long afterwards, Johansen’s kayak received a violent shock from another walrus, which was shot dead through the forehead by Nansen. With great difficulty, they managed to cut a hole in the thick skin, and obtained some walrus-meat and blubber.

On the 12th of August it was decided to cut off the ends of the sledges, so as to be able to use the kayaks singly. This was done, and better headway was made; but frequently the channel closed, and the sledges had to be hauled over the ice. On the 14th of August an iceberg some 50 to 60 feet in height was seen, and this was the highest met with off Franz-Josef Land. On this day they had bare land under their feet for the first time in two years. The Arctic poppy was here in flower. The imperfections of Payer’s map at this point greatly confused Nansen, and he was not yet certain whether the land reached was part of Franz-Josef Land. A sound to the west, which he at first supposed to be Rawlinson’s Sound, did not at all agree with the description given by Payer. Nothing was to be seen of Dove Glacier, which was supposed to bound the Sound on one side. Nansen reasoned that if they were in Rawlinson’s Sound they must have traversed the glacier and Wilczek Land without seeing any trace of either, for they had travelled westwards a good half-degree south of Cape Buda-Pesth. Nansen, therefore, was inclined to believe that the land was new, and must be to the west of Franz-Josef Land. But the next puzzle was that if this was the case, the new land must be very far to the west, for nothing had been seen of Oscar’s Land. For the present the question was left in a state of doubt.

When they rounded the headland to the west, they were delighted to find open water as far as they could see, and that the land was trending south-west. Their hopes of getting home now ran high, but soon afterwards a storm delayed them four days and three nights, and the ice packed close along the coast. This, at one blow, destroyed all hope of getting home that year. While camping during the storm, a bear came to the tent and was shot by Nansen. As food was becoming scarce, this was a fortunate occurrence.

From the 24th of August till 6th December there was a gap in Nansen’s diary. On the latter date he began to fill up the blank.

After being stopped by the storm, and then drifted out to sea on the ice, they sailed for a whole day in open water in their kayaks. On the following day the weather became stormy, and they were obliged to land. Scarcely had they reached the shore when a bear was seen and promptly shot. Walruses were also seen in great numbers. After feasting on the bear’s flesh, they lay down to sleep, but were awakened during the night by a peculiar sound outside the tent. This was found to be caused by a she-bear and her young one, but as Nansen thought they had already sufficient food for the present, they were allowed to escape. Next day the ice had again been driven against the shore, and as they could not proceed they decided to make themselves more comfortable by building a temporary hut of stone. The roof was made of the silk tent spread over snow-shoes and bamboo rods, and the doorway was closed with their coats. Daylight could be seen between the stones on all sides, but yet they considered it comfortable. The way south was still blocked on the following day, which was the 28th of August, and Nansen finally resolved on remaining here during the winter. He was afraid that if he went much farther south he might not have sufficient time to build a house and obtain food. He therefore decided to begin at once and lay in stores while game was yet plentiful. They first decided to attack the walruses, and as they were emptying the kayaks in order to be prepared, a she-bear and her cub were seen coming along the edge of the ice, and both were shot. This was a good beginning. Next day they tried their luck at walrus-hunting. A walrus was soon found, but nine cartridges had to be expended before the monster was killed, and then, before they could get near enough to use a harpoon, it sank and disappeared. They returned to the shore very much crestfallen.

They now found two walruses lying asleep on the shore-ice, and stole cautiously up to them. Nansen fired at the back of the neck of one, and killed it with the first shot. The other one was struck too far forward in the head, and required three bullets to kill it. They had now to skin them, but as there was a danger of being sent adrift, the wind having risen, Nansen took the wise precaution of bringing up the kayaks and sledges. It was as well he did so, for while they were busily engaged skinning the animals, the wind rose rapidly, and they suddenly discovered that the ice had broken off and that they were adrift. They hurriedly cut off as much walrus-flesh as possible and flung it into the kayaks, but it was a hard pull to reach the shore in the storm. Meanwhile the ice on which the bodies of the walruses were, drifted out to sea and disappeared. During the following night they were again awakened by a bear outside the hut. It was a she-bear with two large cubs. The mother was shot, but the cubs took to the water, where they reached a piece of floating ice. Nansen decided to go out in the kayaks after the cubs. When they went to get the kayaks, they found that the bears had been at the walrus-meat and devoured every piece of fat and blubber on it. One of the kayaks was thrown half into the water, and the other high up among the stones, but fortunately they were still seaworthy. The kayaks were launched, and the cubs chased to land, where they were shot. Three bears in one day was good work, and to add to their satisfaction, the sunken walrus shot on the previous day was found floating at the edge of the ice. It was towed into a place of safety in a creek and made fast. After skinning the bears and covering up the flesh, they turned in for sleep, as they had obtained little the two previous nights. On the 2nd September they set to work on the skinning of the walrus. Another walrus, evidently curious to see what was going on, came into the channel where the dead walrus was lying, and approached right up to the edge of the ice where Nansen and Johansen stood. Its curiosity cost it its life, and there were now two walruses to skin instead of one. This work was far from agreeable: they had to lie on the animals and cut down as far as they could reach below the water, and they were soon saturated from head to foot with blubber and oil and blood. To make matters worse, they had no chance of changing their clothes during the winter; but it was a work of necessity, as the walrus-blubber was needed for fuel.

On 7th September the building of the permanent winter-hut was commenced. Stones were quarried from among the débris at the foot of a cliff near by, and part of a sledge-runner had to do duty as a pick. A spade was made out of a shoulder-blade of a walrus tied to a piece of a broken snowshoe-staff. The walls were built of stone, with moss and earth between, and were finished in one week. They were scarcely 3 feet in height, but an equal distance had been dug into the ground, so that the hut was high enough to stand in. The forming of the roof was the greatest difficulty. However, a piece of driftwood had been found on the shore, and after a day’s work Johansen succeeded in cutting it in two with a small axe. These formed the ridge-piece, and walrus-hides formed the rest. In one corner of the hut a little hearth was made to cook upon, and above this a round hole was cut in the walrus-hide. A smoke-board was made of a bear-skin. The hearth had not been used long before it was found necessary to build a chimney. This was erected on the roof, and as the only materials were ice and snow, it was not altogether free from the drawback of sometimes dripping down on the hearth. Lamps were made by turning up the corners of some sheets of German silver. These were then filled with crushed blubber, and wicks were made from bandages. They gave a good light, but assisted very little in raising the temperature. A sleeping-shelf made of stone was erected along the back wall of the hut, but although bear-skins were spread on this it always remained hard and uncomfortable. The door consisted of an opening at one corner of the wall, which led into a short passage, dug out in the ground, and then roofed over with blocks of ice. The inner opening was covered with a bear-skin, and another skin was laid over the outer opening. The hut was 10 feet long and 6 feet wide. The cooking was very simple: it consisted in boiling bear’s flesh and soup in the morning, and frying steak in the evening. Large quantities were consumed at every meal, and yet they never tired of it, and had always good appetites.

While building the hut an anxious look-out was kept for bears, as none had been seen for some time, and too little meat had yet been obtained to last during the winter. On the 23rd September one was found beside a walrus-hide which had been put in water to thaw. Soon afterwards a second bear was seen gnawing at the hides on the roof of the hut. Both were shot. On the 24th September two more walruses were shot, and from these they obtained all the blubber they now required. On the 26th September a bear was seen out on the ice, but when Nansen approached it made off. He fired twice at long range, the second shot wounding the animal. It leaped and struck the ice, and finally broke through into the water. It then made desperate efforts to regain the ice, but the ice always broke under its weight, and ultimately it died in the water. Nansen and Johansen by means of a rope attempted to haul the bear up on to the ice, but they found the weight beyond their powers, and the ice always gave way. By making a narrow crack sufficient to allow the rope to pass, they dragged the bear under the ice to the shore, where they made a hole and managed to draw it out. After skinning the animal, they carried as much of the meat as they could to the hut. When they neared the place where their blubber was heaped, they were astonished to see three bears tearing at it – a she-bear and two young ones. The mother was killed, but the two young ones escaped. On the morning of 28th September a large bear was found sleeping on the blubber-heap, and was shot. It had eaten an enormous quantity of the blubber, and had also killed the two young bears which escaped.

The foxes caused a good deal of trouble during the winter. They stole everything they could move. Pieces of bamboo, steel-wire, harpoons and harpoon-lines, a collection of geological specimens, a ball of twine, and lastly a thermometer, were all carried off.

On the 15th of October they saw the sun for the last time above a ridge to the south. The last bear was shot on the 21st October, and no more were seen until the spring.

The life during the winter was very monotonous. It consisted chiefly of cooking and eating, and taking a little exercise when weather permitted. On Christmas Eve preparations were made to celebrate Christmas, but these preparations were of a very limited character. Johansen turned his shirts and put the outside one next the skin. Nansen did likewise, and washed himself in a quarter of a cup of warm water, using a dirty pair of drawers as sponge and towel. For supper they ate a small portion of the provisions they had preserved for the journey south in the spring. Only on this occasion and on New Year’s Eve were these provisions touched during the winter.

Birds again made their appearance on 25th February, and a bear was shot on 8th March. This bear came in good time; the supply of oil was running low, and they could only afford to cook once a day. Another bear was shot on 2nd April, and as they now had a considerable quantity of blubber and meat, preparations were made for the journey south. But a great deal required to be done. New clothes had to be made out of blankets; the windclothes had to be patched; the “komager” had to be soled; and socks and gloves had to be made out of bear-skin. Then a light sleeping-bag of bear-skin had also to be made. The hut was therefore suddenly transformed into a tailor’s and shoemaker’s workroom. Thread was obtained by unravelling the cotton canvas of some provision-bags.