The Ice Balloon: S. A. Andree And The Heroic Age Of Arctic Exploration - Plot & Excerpts
By four it was steady from the southwest, and sometimes squalling. The clouds moved constantly north. Two Norwegian sealers arrived looking for safe harbor from a storm, which they expected to last a few days. Around eight, having rowed ashore with Strindberg, Fraenkel, Svedenborg, the alternate, and Machuron, Andrée said that he would like to brood for an hour, but that Strindberg and Fraenkel should pack their things and finish their letters. Fraenkel wrote, “Dear Mother, time for only a few lines now as we may cast off today. The wind is not the best in direction or strength, but we have waited so long now that we must take this chance. If you hear no more this year we may be wintering in the Arctic. A winter camp on Franz Joseph Land presents no difficulties. I must finish here!” The sky in the north grew clear while clouds in the south moved quickly, suggesting that the wind blew even more forcefully aloft. Andrée’s concern was that the wind was too squally to be trusted. Also, that it might be blowing too strongly for the balloon to get safely out of its house.
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