Chapter IV: Part 4

How would he know when he reached a spot which no one had seen? Roald had seen the instrument which sailors use to tell direction when out at sea. It is a needle that always points toward the north star and that star is almost directly overhead at the North Pole. Roald knew that he could carry such a needle with him. With it he would be able to tell when he came to the North Pole. For there the needle could no longer point north, so it would move about trying to find north.

But Roald was then too young for such an adventure. Ten years passed after Nansen’s return before he began to prepare for a journey to the North Pole. He was to sail in the same boat that Nansen had used, the _Fram_. Amundsen’s party was almost ready to start from Norway when news came that an American, named Peary, had reached the North Pole. Already the Stars and Stripes floated over that spot at the top of the earth.

Roald Amundsen still longed to visit the North Pole, but he decided not to go at that time. He said, “No one has yet reached the South Pole—at the bottom of the earth. We will go to the South Pole. Perhaps the Norwegian flag may be the first to float there.”

On a bright sunny day in August, 1910, about a year after Peary found the North Pole, Amundsen and his men set out on the long journey from Norway to the South Pole at the bottom of the earth. He knew that the Antarctic (ant ark tic)—the land and water at the bottom of the earth—is a place of ice and snow. Amundsen knew much about cold lands of ice and snow as he had always lived in Norway. He had traveled on skis ever since he was a small boy. He had read many books about the land to which he was going.

He planned everything very carefully so that he and his men would have every chance to succeed. He said, “If a person starting on a hard task prepares for the task carefully, he is likely to succeed—and then people say he had _good luck_. If a person does not prepare carefully, he is likely to fail—and then people say he had _bad luck_.”

On the deck of the _Fram_ were ninety-six Eskimo dogs. Amundsen said, “The Eskimo dog is the best animal to endure the cold and to pull sledges over the ice and snow.” Amundsen gave each man in the crew a number of dogs to be in his care. The men named their dogs and began making friends with them as soon as the journey began. They must have the dogs ready to work well with them by the time they reached the Antarctic.

On the deck of the boat too were skis and snowshoes, heavy blankets, suits of Eskimo clothes, suits of reindeer skins, canned meat and other foods, and lumber ready to fit together for a house. Amundsen had tried to make sure that he and his men would _be lucky_.

The first part of the journey was through the North Sea along the coast of Norway. Then the _Fram_ sailed into the Atlantic Ocean. As they traveled farther and farther south, the weather got warmer each day. The men saw the sun get higher and higher in the sky each noon. Then they came to a place where the sun at noon was almost directly over their heads. They were then halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole.

The men put on light summer clothes. The dogs kept under the shelter built for them, but still they suffered from the heat.

The _Fram_ went on farther south, but the weather began to grow cooler and cooler. The farther the boat went from the place where the sun was almost directly over head at noon, the cooler the weather was. The men put on warmer clothing and the dogs left their shelters.

By New Year’s Day the _Fram_ was in the icy waters of the Antarctic. The men saw huge pieces of ice floating in the water. The boat had to make its way through the ice. In about two weeks more, they reached a wall of ice about one hundred feet high. Amundsen was expecting that wall of ice, which was the edge of the great field of ice called _The Great Ice Barrier_.

The _Fram_ could go no farther. The men unloaded the supplies on the ice. Not far from that spot, they dug into the ice and made a cellar where they stored their supplies. Over it they set up the house they had brought from Norway. They called their new home _Framheim_, which means _Fram home_.

In January the weather in the Antarctic is much like June weather in the far north. Day after day the men watched the sun go in a circle around their home on the ice. The sun there moved much the same as they had seen it move in the Arctic where Hammerfest lies. At Hammerfest, that town which is farther north than any other town, the sun is in the east in the early morning, in the south at noon, in the west in the late afternoon, and in the north at midnight. But in the Antarctic the men saw the sun in the east in the early morning, in the _north_ at noon, in the west in the late afternoon, and in the _south_ at midnight.

The men knew that after April twenty-second the sun would not be seen in this land at the bottom of the earth for four months. They would not have time to reach the South Pole before that long night came. They must wait for another summer.

During the long night the men lived comfortably in their house on the ice. They looked over every sledge, every piece of harness, their clothes, and their skis to make sure that everything was in shape for the trip over the ice to the South Pole.

The sun appeared in the sky for only a few minutes on August twenty-fourth. Each day after that it crept a little higher and stayed a little longer until at last the long day came when the sun was in the sky for weeks and weeks without setting.

For weeks after the sun appeared, the weather was bitter cold. The men watched for signs of warmer weather. Late in September they saw a seal crawl out of the water. They then knew that they soon would have warmer days, so they began to prepare for the journey to the pole.

On October twentieth, Amundsen and four other men with four sledges and fifty-two dogs set out from Framheim. The sledges were loaded with provisions enough to last four months. As they journeyed south, they stopped at different places and built up piles of snow blocks. The heaps of snow would help them find their way back. Under the blocks of snow they put supplies which they would need as they came back.

The dogs made good time over the ice of the Antarctic. They traveled about seventeen miles a day. The men on their skis easily kept up with the dogs. But by the middle of November they came to snow-covered mountains. Some of them are two miles high. Travel was then harder. The party traveled up about one mile. They then rested. Travel was easier for a few days as they had reached a high level stretch of land which we call a plateau (pla tō). They then began to climb mountains again. Early in December they were up two miles high. From that time on they traveled on another plateau. Travel was easy on this level stretch of land. The men knew that the South Pole was on this plateau. The end of their journey seemed near.

On the night of December thirteenth, they had that strange feeling that something was going to happen. And at three o’clock the next day they were on the spot which they reckoned to be the South Pole. The happy men seized each other’s hands. How glad they were! They then did the most important act of the journey—they planted the flag of Norway on that spot.

The hands of all five men held the flag as it was set into place. Amundsen would have it that way. He said later, “It was not for one man to do this; it was for all who staked their lives in the struggle, and held together through thick and thin.”

As the men put the flag in place, they said, “Thus we plant thee, Beloved Flag, at the South Pole, and give the plateau on which it lies the name _King Haakon VII’s Plateau_.”

So while the Stars and Stripes floated at the top of the earth, the red, white, and blue flag of Norway floated at its bottom.

In about six weeks the happy men were back in Framheim. About a week later the _Fram_ set sail for the long return trip to Norway. But early in March the _Fram_ reached land from which messages could be sent and the whole world soon knew that the flag of Norway had been planted at the South Pole. And the whole world did honor to the brave men from the north who planted it there.

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BOOKS TO READ

While you are studying about Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, you will enjoy reading one or more of these books.

1. Aanrud, H., Lisbeth Longfrock. Ginn and Company: Boston.

A story of farm life in Norway long ago. Note.—A new translation of
this is published by the John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia,
under the title, Sidsel Longskirt and Solve Suntrap.

2. Asbjornsen, P. C., Fairy Tales from the Far North, Burt Publishing Company.

Stories that children of the far north read.

3. Aulaire, Ingri M. d’, and Aulaire, Edgar P. d’, Children of the Northlights. Viking Press: New York.

Stories of Lapp children with many beautiful illustrations.

4. Bay, J. C., Danish Fairy and Folk Tales. Harper and Brothers: New York.

More stories that children of the far north read.

5. Burglon, N., Children of the Soil. Doubleday, Doran and Company: Garden City, New York.

A story of Sweden, which tells of old Swedish customs.

6. Everson, F. M., and Everson, H., Coming of the Dragon Ships. E. P. Dutton and Company: New York.

Two Viking children, their adventures and everyday doings.

7. Falkberg, J., Broomstick and Snowflake. Macmillan Company: New York.

Fairy tales with one especially amusing story about a giant.

8. Hamsun, M. A., Norwegian Farm. Lippincott Company: Philadelphia.

Translated from the Norwegian—a picture of farm life of present-day
Norway and of the doings of a lively family of children.

9. Lagerlof, S. O. L., Wonderful Adventures of Nils. Doubleday, Doran and Company: Garden City, New York.

An interesting story by one of Sweden’s best story-tellers. Nils
flies over Sweden on the back of a goose. This book was written to
help in making geography interesting for Swedish children.

10. Lattimore, E. F., Seven Crowns. Harcourt, Brace and Company: New York.

A little girl visits her grandmother in Copenhagen and spends seven
crowns as she pleases.

11. Palm, A., Wanda and Greta at Broby Farm. Longmans, Green and Company: New York.

This is translated from the Swedish and tells what happened to two
little girls and their dog.

12. Scott, G., Kari. Doubleday, Doran and Company: Garden City, New York.

A story of a girl in Norway.

13. Schram, C. W., Olaf, Lofoten Fisherman. Longmans, Green and Company: New York.

Olaf lives in the Lofoten Islands and goes fishing.

14. Thorne-Thomsen, G., East O’ the Sun and West O’ the Moon. Row, Petersen and Company: Evanston, Ill.

A collection of Norwegian fairy and folk tales.

15. Zwilgmeyer, D., Johnny Blossom. Pilgrim Press: Boston.

A story of a little boy in Norway some years ago.

16. Zwilgmeyer, D., What Happened to Inger Johanne. Lothrop, Lee and Shepard: Boston.

An amusing story of the doings of a Norwegian girl.

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INDEX AND PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY

KEY TO PRONUNCIATION

ā as in māte
ă as in căt
â as in câre
ȧ as in ȧsk
ä as in färm

ē as in ēve
ĕ as in lĕt
ẽ as in hẽr
ī as in mīnd

ĭ as in ĭt
ō as in mōte
ŏ as in nŏt
ô as in ôr

ū as in mūte
ŭ as in cŭt
û as in bûrn
[=oo] as in f[=00]d
[)oo] as in f[)oo]t

* * * * *

American relations:
trade with, 9, 12, 37, 49, 94
travel in, 10, 30, 49, 90, 115, 117
Independence day in Denmark, 114-17
explorer at North Pole, 180
Scandinavian Foundation, 42
Danish Clubs, 115-16

Amundsen, Roald (äh´mŭn sen, rōld), 176-88

Andersen, Captain, 169-71

Andersen, Hans Christian, 4, 82-9

Antarctic (ȧnt´ärk´tĭk), 185, 186

Arctic Ocean (ärk´tĭk ō´shun), 11-12, 93

Atlantic Ocean, 22, 182

Baltic Sea, 98

bird roosts, 17-19

Bjornson, Bjornstjerne (Byûrn´sŭn, byûrnst´yūrn), 42

boy scouts, 104-6

Brok (brŏk), 156-9

buried treasures, 162-4, 177

cariole (kăr´ĭ ōl), 51

cattle, 27, 60-70, 73, 77-78

Christmas, 32, 108, 109, 110, 111

cities and towns:
Bergen (bĕr´gen), 90-96
Copenhagen (kō´pn hā´gen), 71, 143
Hammerfest (häm ẽr fĕst), 7, 11-14, 184
Odense (ō´thĕn sā), 82, 86
old Danish town, 78
Oslo (ōs´lō), 51, 136, 143, 162
Stockholm (stŏk´holm), 97-106, 146

clothing:
for high pastures, 67
explorers, 182-4
old costumes, 113, 150

coal, 9, 32

co-operation:
Danish plan, 79-81

Danish-American Club, 115-16

dragon boats, 163, 165, 175

eider ducks, 93

electricity:
in far north, 5
on farms, 59
power plants, 32
use of, 7, 11, 129

Ericsson, Leif (ĕr´ĭk sŭn, lēf), 4, 168

factories:
cheese making, 64-6, 79
creameries, 64-6, 78
cod-liver oil, 11, 25
electric power, 32
matches, 37
paper, 36-7

fairy tales:
far north, 26, 153

farms:
Danish co-operative, 79-81
Denmark, 71-81
drying grain, 57-58
fox farms, 56-7
“little farms,” 101
making hay, 53-4, 56
Norway, 51-9

fish:
cod, 20-5, 93
drying, 24-5
halibut, 93
herring, 16, 93
market, 93
shipping, 9

fishermen, 16, 20-5

fishing boats, 16, 17, 20-4

fishing towns, 16, 24

fjord (fyōrd):
cause of, 30-1
travel on, 51-3, 165

flags:
American, 9, 114, 117, 181, 187
Danish, 9
Norwegian, 134, 187-8
other lands, 9
Swedish, 138

food, 66, 75, 95-6, 108, 110

forests, 33
conservation, 37

Fram (främ), 180-8

giants:
fairy tale, 26, 32, 107, 111, 153, 158-61
nature’s, 27, 32

glaciers (glā shŭrz), 27-32, 73

gods, 153
Frey (frī), 153
Loki, or Loke (lō´kē), 153-61
Odin (ō´dĭn), 107, 111
Thor (thôr), 153-61
Tye (tī), 153
Wodin (w[=oo] dĭn, or ō´din), 153

government:
protection of fishermen, 24
providing land, 69-70, 101
Scandinavian union, 134
Norway’s separate government, 134-5

Gudbrand (g[=oo]d´brănd), 174-6

Gulf Stream, 12-13

high pastures, 60-70

Hjalmar (hyäl´mär), 176-8

Hjorvard (hyôr´värd), 172-3, 175

houses:
farm houses, 74-5
fisherman huts, 15-16
Lapp huts, 46-7
old houses, 147-50, 152, 167
saeter huts, 60-1
summer houses, 100-6, 139-42
Stockholm buildings, 103

Independence day:
Norwegian, 134
American in Denmark, 114-17

instruments for direction, 180

islands:
coast of Norway, 14-17
Denmark, 142
Stockholm, 97-8

Ivar (ī´vär), 172-8

Jotunheim (y[=oo] tŭn hīm), 26

knights, 4, 105-6

languages:
foreign, 10, 87, 143
in schools, 136-7

Lapland, 45

Lapps, 44-50

Lofoten (lō fō´ten), 20-5

logging, 33-6

mail delivery, 12, 59

Maypole, 1, 11-14

Mid-summer Eve, 111-114

milkmaids, 60-69

mountains:
carriers, 56
city in midst, 90, 92
high peaks, 26, 32, 52-3
how clothed, 38-42
moss, 44
streams, 34-6
walls, 17, 52-3

museums:
Amundsen’s equipment, 183
Andersen, 86-7
open-air, Oslo, 162-3
open-air, Norway and Sweden, 145-52

Nansen (nän´sĕn), 179-80

national anthem:
Norwegian, 133

northern seashores, 12

Norsk (nôrsk):
words, 136

North Cape, 11

North Pole, 179-80

North Sea, 90
Odense (ō´thĕn sā), 82, 86
Oseborg (ōs´bûrg), ship, 162
Oslo (ōs´lō), 51, 136, 144, 162

palace, 103, 104, 136

paper pulp, 36-7

pirates, 98, 168

plateau (pla to):
King Haaken VII’s (häw´kōhn), 186

quay (kē), 102-3

rainfall, 92

reindeer (rān´dēr), 1, 43-8, 68-9

saeter (sā tẽr), 60-70
Grotli (grōt´l[~i]), 68
huts, 60, 63-4
location of, 69-70

schools:
Danish, 71-2, 80-1, 142-4
Lapp, 47-9
libraries, 144
Norwegian, 132-7
studies, 131, 134
Swedish, 137-42
Viking education, 173-6

ships:
of different nations, 9
on northern seas, 12
passenger, 10

Sif (sĭf), 154-5, 157

Sigrlin (sĭgr´lĭn), 172, 175

South Pole, 181, 187-8

sports:
races, 141-2
sail-skating, 124-7
skating, 111, 127
skiing, 1, 111, 118-24, 181, 186
swimming, 102, 139-42
teaching of, 138

sun, 3, 5, 6, 7, 18, 182, 183

sunshine:
days without, 5, 13, 20
nights with, 7, 20

Thor (thôr), 153-61

travel:
automobile, 27, 53, 67
boats, 12, 14, 67, 73
dog sleds, 182, 186
on mountain roads, 62-3, 51, 67
railways, 12, 51, 97
cariole, 51
skis, 120-1, 181

trees:
birds’ Christmas, 109
birch, 15, 38
fir, 38, 108, 112
juniper, 38
most northern, 9
pine, 112
spruce, 108, 112

Viking (vī´kĭng or vīk´ĭng):
boats, 2, 163, 165, 174-6
boy, 172-8
custom of “name fastening,” 172-3
how named, 165
modern, 169-71
tales of, 165-9

waterfalls, 32

wind on flat lands, 125-6

windmills, 74

wood, uses of, 8, 36, 93-4, 103

woodcutters, 34

Yule-tide, 33, 107-11

Yule-tree, 1, 33, 108-9

End of Project Gutenberg's Near the Top of the World, by Nelle E. Moore