Abstract
INFORMATION has been received from Tromsoe which augurs well for the success of Mr. Leigh Smith's present voyage. Capt. Isaaksen, of the Norwegian whaler Proven, saw the Eira on June 30 at Matushin Straits at the edge of the ice, a few miles from the coast. On July 2 he again saw the Eira steaming southward, and he concludes that Mr. Smith failed to force his way along the coast 6f Nova Zembla. It is supposed that he again failed to pass Kara Straits, as he was afterwards seen bearing north from Gooseland. Capt. Isaaksen says that the ice was in about its usual position in June and July, but on August 8 it had all gone, he did not know where or how. On the 16th of that month there was no ice twenty miles north of Nova Zembla, but a heavy sea was running from the north. This conclusively shows that the sea was open for a very considerable distance, probably as far as Franz Josef's Land, which Capt. Isaaksen feels certain Mr. Smith has reached, and in such circumstances he would not be astonished if tidings came of his having reached a point very much nearer the North Pole this year. As might have been expected, the Russian Government and Mr. Gordon Bennett are doing everything possible to succour the people of the crushed Jeannette; we hope they will soon be all safe in Western Europe.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Geographical Notes . Nature 25, 209–210 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/025209b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/025209b0