means generally the loss of two or three, and a walk home with the
wounded survivors occupying the sled.

Under the circumstances it is very necessary to understand how to handle
these useful but eccentric beasts. The Eskimos have reduced this
knowledge to a science, and from them Nansen learned to be the master of
those dogs which were of so much service to him in his last and greatest
expedition.

This expedition was undertaken in June, 1893, and its object was to
drift across the pole from Siberia to Greenland.

During Nansen's Arctic experiences he had noticed that the shores of
Greenland were strewn with driftwood of a kind also found on the shores
of Siberia.

The matter caused him some deep thought, and at length he arrived at the
conclusion that there must be a current which crosses the Arctic Ocean
and carries this material from Asia to America.

After much thought, he came to the conclusion that if he could only
build himself a vessel which would withstand the pressure of the ice,
and once get into the stream, he and his vessel would be carried with
the rest of the drift from Asia to America, and in the course of the
trip would be borne right across the North Pole.

It was a bold scheme, and for a time no one would listen to it, but
Nansen's reputation stood him in good stead here, and finally convinced
people that he must have a good foundation for his belief.