Inner Earth has intrigued me since I was little and I have always loved anything I can find out about it...thanks for sharing...

: Olaf Jansen's Story

: My name is Olaf Jansen. I am a Norwegian, although I was born
: in the little seafaring Russian town of Uleaborg, on the
: eastern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, the northern arm of
: the Baltic Sea.

: My parents were on a fishing cruise in the Gulf of Bothnia,
: and put into this Russian town of Uleaborg at the time of
: my birth, being the twenty-seventh day of October, 1811.

: My father, Jens Jansen, was born at Rodwig on the Scandinavian

: coast, near the Lofoden Islands, but after marrying made
: his home at Stockholm, because my mother's people resided
: in that city.

: When seven years old, I began going with my father on his
: fishing trips along the Scandinavian coast.

: Early in life I displayed an aptitude for books, and at the
: age of nine years was placed in a private school in
: Stockholm, remaining there until I was fourteen.

: After this I made regular trips with my father on all his
: fishing voyages.

: My father was a man fully six feet three in height, and
: weighed over fifteen stone, a typical Norseman of the most
: rugged sort, and capable of more endurance than any other
: man I have ever known.

: He possessed the gentleness of a woman in tender little ways,
: yet his determination and will-power were beyond
: description. His will admitted of no defeat.

: I was in my nineteenth year when we started on what proved to
: be our last trip as fishermen, and which resulted in the
: strange story that shall be given to the world,

: -- but not until I have finished my earthly pilgrimage.

: I dare not allow the facts as I know them to be published
: while I am living, for fear of further humiliation,
: confinement and suffering.

: First of all, I was put in irons by the captain of the whaling
: vessel that rescued me, for no other reason than that I
: told the truth about the marvelous discoveries made by my
: father and myself.

: But this was far from being the end of my tortures.

: After four years and eight months' absence I reached
: Stockholm, only to find my mother had died the previous
: year, and the property left by my parents in the possession
: of my mother's people, but it was at once made over to me.

: All might have been well, had I erased from my memory the
: story of our adventure and of my father's terrible death.

: Finally, one day I told the story in detail to my uncle,
: Gustaf Osterlind, a man of considerable property, and urged
: him to fit out an expedition for me to make another voyage
: to the strange land.

: At first I thought he favored my project. He seemed
: interested, and invited me to go before certain officials
: and explain to them, as I had to him, the story of our
: travels and discoveries.

: Imagine my disappointment and horror when, upon the conclusion
: of my narrative, certain papers were signed by my uncle,
: and, without warning,

: I found myself arrested and hurried away to dismal and fearful
: confinement in a madhouse, where I remained for
: twenty-eight years - long, tedious, frightful years of
: suffering!

: I never ceased to assert my sanity, and to protest against the
: injustice of my confinement. Finally, on the seventeenth of
: October, 1862, I was released.

: My uncle was dead, and the friends of my youth were now
: strangers. Indeed, a man over fifty years old, whose only
: known record is that of a madman, has no friends.

: I was at a loss to know what to do for a living, but
: instinctively turned toward the harbor where fishing boats
: in great numbers were anchored, and within a week,

: I had shipped with a fisherman by the name of Yan Hansen, who
: was starting on a long fishing cruise to the Lofoden
: Islands.

: Here my earlier years of training proved of the very greatest
: advantage, especially in enabling me to make myself useful.

: This was but the beginning of other trips, and by frugal
: economy I was, in a few years, able to own a fishing-brig*
: of my own.

: * A two-masted sailing rig with square-sails on both masts.

: For twenty-seven years thereafter I followed the sea as a
: fisherman, five years working for others, and the last
: twenty-two for myself.

: During all these years I was a most diligent student of books,
: as well as a hard worker at my business, but I took great
: care not to mention to anyone the story concerning the
: discoveries made by my father and myself.

: Even at this late day I would be fearful of having any one see
: or know the things I am writing, and the records and maps I
: have in my keeping.

: When my days on earth are finished, I shall leave maps and
: records that will enlighten and, I hope, benefit mankind.

: The memory of my long confinement with maniacs, and all the
: horrible anguish and sufferings are too vivid to warrant my
: taking further chances.

: In 1889 I sold out my fishing boats, and found I had
: accumulated a fortune quite sufficient to keep me the
: remainder of my life.

: I then came to America.

: For a dozen years my home was in Illinois, near Batavia*,
: where I gathered most of the books in my present library,
: though I brought many choice volumes from Stockholm.

: * (Batavia is derived from the name of the capital city in
: 1619 of the 'Dutch East Indies'. The area corresponds to
: present-day Jakarta, Indonesia.)

: Later, I came to Los Angeles, arriving here March 4, 1901. The
: date I well remember, as it was President McKinley's second
: inauguration day.

: I bought this humble home and determined, here in the privacy
: of my own abode, sheltered by my own vine and fig-tree, and
: with my books about me, to make maps and drawings of the
: new lands we had discovered, and

: Also to write the story in detail from the time my father and
: I left Stockholm until the tragic event that parted us in
: the Antarctic Ocean.

: I well remember that we left Stockholm in our fishing-sloop on
: the third day of April, 1829, and sailed to the southward,
: leaving Gothland Island to the left and Oeland Island to
: the right.

: A few days later we succeeded in doubling Sandhommar Point,
: and made our way through the Sound which separates Denmark
: from the Scandinavian coast.

: In due time we put in at the town of Christians and, where we
: rested two days, and then started around the Scandinavian
: coast to the westward, bound for the Lofoden Islands.

: My father was in high spirit, because of the excellent and
: gratifying returns he had received from our last catch by
: marketing at Stockholm, instead of selling at one of the
: seafaring towns along the Scandinavian coast.

: He was especially pleased with the sale of some 'ivory tusks'
: that he had found on the west coast of Franz Joseph Land
: during one of his northern cruises the previous year, and

: He expressed the hope that this time we might again be
: fortunate enough to load our little fishing-sloop with
: ivory, instead of cod, herring, mackerel and salmon.

: We put in at Hammerfest, latitude seventy-one degrees and
: forty minutes, for a few days' rest.

: Here we remained one week, laying in an extra supply of
: provisions and several casks of drinking-water, and then
: sailed toward Spitzbergen.

: For the first few days we had an open sea and favoring wind,
: and then we encountered much ice and many icebergs.

: A vessel larger than our little fishing-sloop could not
: possibly have threaded its way among the labyrinth of
: icebergs or squeezed through the barely open channels.

: These monster bergs presented an endless succession of crystal
: palaces, of massive cathedrals and fantastic mountain
: ranges, grim and sentinel-like, immovable as some towering
: cliff of solid rock, standing silent as sphinx, resisting
: the restless waves of a fretful sea.

: After many narrow escapes, we arrived at Spitsbergen on the
: 23d of June, and anchored at Wijade Bay for a short time,
: where we were quite successful in our catches.

: We then lifted anchor and sailed through the Hinlopen Strait,
: and coasted along the North-East-Land.

: (It will be remembered that 'Andrée' started on his fatal
: balloon voyage from the northwest coast of Spitzbergen.
: Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 was an effort to
: reach the North Pole in which all three expedition members
: perished.)

: A strong wind came up from the southwest, and my father said
: that we had better take advantage of it and try to reach
: Franz Josef Land, where, the year before he had, by
: accident, found the ivory tusks that had brought him such a
: good price at Stockholm.

: Never, before or since, have I seen so many sea-fowl; they
: were so numerous that they hid the rocks on the coast line
: and darkened the sky.

: For several days we sailed along the rocky coast of Franz
: Josef Land. Finally, a favoring wind came up that enabled
: us to make the West Coast, and, after sailing twenty-four
: hours, we came to a beautiful inlet.

: One could hardly believe it was the Northland.

: The place was green with growing vegetation, and while the
: area did not comprise more than one or two acres, yet the
: air was warm and tranquil. It seemed to be at that point
: where the Gulf Stream's influence is most keenly felt.*

: * (Sir John Barrow, Bart., F.R.S., in his work entitled
: "Voyages of Discovery and Research Within the Arctic
: Regions," says on page 57: "Mr. Beechey refers to
: what has frequently been found and noticed -- the mildness
: of the temperature on the western coast of Spitsbergen,
: there being little or no sensation of cold, though the
: thermometer might be only a few degrees above the
: freezing-point.

: The brilliant and lively effect of a clear day, when the sun
: shines forth with a pure sky, whose azure hue is so intense
: as to find no parallel even in the boasted Italian
: sky.")

: On the east coast there were numerous icebergs, yet here we
: were in open water.

: Far to the west of us, however, were icepacks, and still
: farther to the westward the ice appeared like ranges of low
: hills. In front of us, and directly to the north, lay an
: open sea .*

: * (Captain Kane, on page 299, quoting from Morton's Journal,
: the 26th of December, says: "As far as I could see,
: the open passages were fifteen miles or more wide, with
: sometimes mashed ice separating them.

: But it is all small ice, and I think it either drives out to
: the open space to the north or rots and sinks, as I could
: see none ahead to the north.")

: My father was an ardent believer in Odin and Thor, and had
: frequently told me they were gods who came from far beyond
: the "North Wind."

: There was a tradition, my father explained, that still farther
: northward was a land more beautiful than any that mortal
: man had ever known, and that it was inhabited by the
: "Chosen." *

: * (We find the following in "Deutsche Mythologie,"
: page 778, from the pen of Jakob Grimm;

: "Then the sons of Bor built in the middle of the universe
: the city called Asgard, where dwell the gods and their
: kindred, and from that abode work out so many wondrous
: things both on the earth and in the heavens above it.

: There is in that city a place called Hlidskjalf, and when Odin
: is seated there upon his lofty throne he sees over the
: whole world and discerns all the actions of men.")

: My youthful imagination was fired by the ardor, zeal and
: religious fervor of my good father, and I exclaimed:
: "Why not sail to this goodly land? The sky is fair,
: the wind favorable and the sea open."

: Even now I can see the expression of pleasurable surprise on
: his countenance as he turned toward me and asked: "My
: son, are you willing to go with me and explore -- to go far
: beyond where man has ever ventured?"

: I answered affirmatively. "Very well," he replied.

: "May the god Odin protect us!" and, quickly
: adjusting the sails, he glanced at our compass, turned the
: prow in due northerly direction through an open channel,
: and our voyage had begun .*

: * (Hall writes, on page 288: "On 23rd of January the two
: Esquimaux, accompanied by two of the seamen, went to Cape
: Lupton. They reported a sea of open water extending as far
: as the eye could reach.")

: The sun was low in the horizon, as it was still the early
: summer. Indeed, we had almost four months of day ahead of
: us before the frozen night could come on again.

: Our little fishing-sloop sprang forward as if eager as
: ourselves for adventure.

: Within thirty-six hours we were out of sight of the highest
: point on the coast line of Franz Josef Land. We seemed to
: be in a strong current running north by northeast.

: Far to the right and to the left of us were icebergs, but our
: little sloop bore down on the narrows and passed through
: channels and out into open seas -

: - channels so narrow in places that, had our craft been other
: than small, we never could have gotten through.

: On the third day we came to an island. Its shores were washed
: by an open sea. My father determined to land and explore
: for a day.

: This new land was destitute of timber, but we found a large
: accumulation of drift-wood on the northern shore. Some of
: the trunks of the trees were forty feet long and two feet
: in diameter.*

: * (Greely tells us in vol. 1, page 100, that: "Privates
: Connell and Frederick found a large coniferous tree on the
: beach, just above the extreme high-water mark.

: It was nearly thirty inches in circumference, some thirty feet
: long, and had apparently been carried to that point by a
: current within a couple of years.

: A portion of it was cut up for fire-wood, and for the first
: time in that valley, a bright, cheery camp-fire gave
: comfort to man.")

: After one day's exploration of the coast line of this island,
: we lifted anchor and turned our prow to the north in an
: open sea.*

: * (Dr. Kane says, on page 379 of his works: "I cannot
: imagine what becomes of the ice. A strong current sets in
: constantly to the north; but, from altitudes of more than
: five hundred feet,

: I saw only narrow strips of ice, with great spaces of open
: water, from ten to fifteen miles in breadth, between them.
: It must, therefore, either go to an open space in the
: north, or dissolve.")

: I remember that neither my father nor myself had tasted food
: for almost thirty hours.

: Perhaps this was because of the tension of excitement about
: our strange voyage in waters farther north, my father said,
: than anyone had ever before been. Active mentality had
: dulled the demands of the physical needs.

: Instead of the cold being intense as we had anticipated, it
: was really warmer and more pleasant than it had been while
: in Hammerfest on the north coast of Norway, some six weeks
: before.*

: * (Captain Peary's second voyage relates another circumstance
: which may serve to confirm a conjecture which has long been
: maintained by some, that an open sea, free of ice, exists
: at or near the Pole.

: "On the second of November," says Peary, "the
: wind freshened up to a gale from north by west, lowered the
: thermometer before midnight to 5 degrees, whereas, a rise
: of wind at Melville Island was generally accompanied by a
: simultaneous rise in the thermometer at low temperatures.

: May not this," he asks, "be occasioned by the wind
: blowing over an open sea in the quarter from which the wind
: blows? And tend to confirm the opinion that at or near the
: Pole an open sea exists?")

: We both frankly admitted that we were very hungry, and
: forthwith I prepared a substantial meal from our
: well-stored larder.

: When we had partaken heartily of the repast, I told my father
: I believed I would sleep, as I was beginning to feel quite
: drowsy. "Very well," he replied, "I will
: keep the watch."

: I have no way to determine how long I slept; I only know that
: I was rudely awakened by a terrible commotion of the sloop.

: To my surprise, I found my father sleeping soundly. I cried
: out lustily to him, and starting up, he sprang quickly to
: his feet. Indeed, had he not instantly clutched the rail,
: he would certainly have been thrown into the seething
: waves.

: A fierce snow-storm was raging. The wind was directly astern
: (from behind), driving our sloop at a terrific speed, and
: was threatening every moment to capsize us. There was no
: time to lose, the sails had to be lowered immediately. Our
: boat was writhing in convulsions.

: A few icebergs we knew were on either side of us, but
: fortunately the channel was open directly to the north. But
: would it remain so? In front of us, girding the horizon
: from left to right, was a

: Vaporish fog or mist, black as Egyptian night at the water's
: edge, and white like a steam-cloud toward the top, which
: was finally lost to view as it blended with the great white
: flakes of falling snow.

: Whether it covered a treacherous iceberg, or some other hidden
: obstacle against which our little sloop would dash and send
: us to a watery grave, or was merely the phenomenon of an
: Arctic fog, there was no way to determine.*

: * (On the page 284 of his works, Hall writes: "From the
: top of Providence Berg, a dark fog was seen to the north,
: indicating water. At 10 a.m. three of the men (Kruger,
: Nindemann and Hobby) went to Cape Lupton to ascertain if
: possible the extent of the open water.

: On their return they reported several open spaces and much
: young ice -- not more than a day old, so thin that it was
: easily broken by throwing pieces of ice upon it.")

: By what miracle we escaped being dashed to utter destruction,
: I do not know. I remember our little craft creaked and
: groaned, as if its joints were breaking. It rocked and
: staggered to and fro as if clutched by some fierce undertow
: of whirlpool or maelstrom.

: Fortunately our compass had been fastened with long screws to
: a cross-beam.

: Most of our provisions, however, were tumbled out and swept
: away from the deck of the cuddy, and had we not taken the
: precaution at the very beginning to tie ourselves firmly to
: the masts of the sloop, we should have been swept into the
: lashing sea.

: Above the deafening tumult of the raging waves, I heard my
: father's voice. "Be courageous, my son," he
: shouted, "Odin is the god of the waters, the companion
: of the brave, and he is with us. Fear not."

: To me it seemed there was no possibility of our escaping a
: horrible death. The little sloop was shipping water, the
: snow was falling so fast as to be blinding, and the waves
: were tumbling over our counters in reckless white-sprayed
: fury.

: There was no telling what instant we should be dashed against
: some drifting icepack.

: The tremendous swells would heave us up to the very peaks of
: mountainous waves, then plunge us down into the depths of
: the sea's trough as if our fishing-sloop were a fragile
: shell. Gigantic white-capped waves, like veritable walls,
: fenced us in, fore and aft.

: This terrible nerve-racking ordeal, with its nameless horrors
: of suspense and agony of fear indescribable, continued for
: more than three hours, and all the time we were being
: driven forward at fierce speed.

: Then suddenly, as if growing weary of its frantic exertions,
: the wind began to lessen its fury and by degrees to die
: down.

: At last we were in prefect calm. The fog mist had also
: disappeared, and before us lay an iceless channel perhaps
: ten or fifteen miles wide with a few icebergs far away to
: our right, and an intermittent archipelago of smaller ones
: to the left.

: I watched my father closely, determined to remain silent until
: he spoke.

: Presently he untied the rope from his waist and, without
: saying a word, began working the pumps, which fortunately
: were not damaged, relieving the sloop of the water it had
: shipped in the madness of the storm.

: He put up the sloop's sails as calmly as if casting a
: fishing-net, and then remarked that we were ready for a
: favoring wind when it came. His courage and persistence
: were truly remarkable.

: On investigation we found less than one-third of our
: provisions remaining, while to our utter dismay, we
: discovered that our water-casks had been swept overboard
: during the violent plungings of our boat.

: Two of our water-casks were in the main hold, both were empty.
: We had a fair supply of food, but no fresh water. I
: realized at once the awfulness of our position.

: Presently I was seized with a consuming thirst. "It is
: indeed bad," remarked my father.

: "However, let us dry our bedraggled clothing, for we are
: soaked to the skin. Trust to the god Odin, my son. Do not
: give up hope." The sun was beating down slantingly, as
: if we were in a southern latitude, instead of in the far
: Northland.

: It was swinging around, its orbit ever visible and rising
: higher and higher each day, frequently mist-covered, yet
: always peering through the lacework of clouds like some
: fretful eye of fate, guarding the mysterious Northland and
: jealously watching the pranks of man.

: Far to our right the rays decking the prisms of icebergs were
: gorgeous. Their reflections emitted flashes of garnet, of
: diamond, of sapphire.

: A pyrotechnic panorama of countless colors and shapes, while
: below could be seen the green-tinted sea, and above, the
: purple sky. . . . .

: Continued below.

: Bob
: ==>
:
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