June 28th.—The balloon had now been inflated for more than five days; it had undergone a loss of gas which may be approximately estimated at 5,297 to 5,956 cubic feet, or a mean loss of 1,059 to 1,236 cubic feet every twenty-four hours. When the tests which we were making, and which were to be continued as far as the equator of the balloon, should be concluded, it would have become still more air-tight, and the balloon would then be in excellent condition.

The Lofoten left us this morning at six o’clock, firing off four salutes from her guns, and with reiterated cheering. From the top of the balloon I watched the evolutions of the graceful vessel as she described a parabola round the Svensksund; her flags were raised and lowered, and then the Lofoten rapidly glided away.

The work of looking for escapes was concluded on this day.

The cover for protecting the balloon from snow and rain was placed over the dome.

Andrée has finished adjusting the hoop to the car; the systems of pulleys, tackle, rigging attachments, etc., had all been most carefully prepared.

June 29th.—The hoop was then disconnected in order to be fastened to the rigging of the net. This operation being effected, we fixed on this hoop, horizontally, a bamboo pole; to this mast the sails, which already hung from the ropes, were to be fixed. A system of pulleys and tackle was arranged to effect the various manipulations required between the car and the hoop.

The three guide-ropes, weighing 1,984 lbs., were stretched from the shore to the hoop, and also eight other cables, each 76 yards long and weighing together 881 lbs. These latter, together with the guide-ropes, serve to prevent the balloon from coming too close to the earth, giving the effect of throwing out ballast to the extent of 881 lbs. more than the weight of the guide-ropes before the car could touch the ground. Under these conditions, the balloon will always keep its centre of gravity, even when exposed to a storm. The above-mentioned eight ropes serve another important purpose: they can be used to lengthen the guide-ropes in case it should be necessary to sacrifice those parts that fix into the ground at any time during the journey. Andrée can get rid of the lower part of the guide-ropes by a screw locked by a spring which connects this part with the rest of the hoop; a turn given from the top of the car is sufficient to start the spring and the screw. A second method consists of a dynamite explosive. This last method is preferable, for, in this case, only the part connected with the ground is lost.

The storing of the car was almost finished. A number of articles of all kinds were placed in it: scientific instruments, compasses, sextants, telescopes; photographic appliances and accessories; pharmaceutical preparations; culinary articles, lamps and electric batteries, arms, ammunition, etc., etc.; no space but what is utilised or is set apart for some particular purpose, and still a large space is left for a bed and some furs.

The provisions for the expedition were unpacked and exhibited in one of the rooms of Pike House. As was the case last year, they consisted of preserved foods and wines of all kinds. Dr. Lembke superintended their storage. They were packed in labelled pockets made of strong material, joined together and laid one over another so as to form one long bag; thirty-six similar bags containing 1,663 lbs. of food were attached to the top of the hoop by thirty-six suspending ropes.

Andrée is taking enough for four months only. He thinks this is sufficient, and that, if he should have to winter upon the ice, their arms will give them the opportunity of laying in a fresh stock of provisions. Pointing to his cartridges, he said, smiling, “There is some concentrated food.”

The various provisions left behind were carefully stored in Pike House; there was a great deal, enough to feed a large party for a whole year.

Twelve remaining ropes were hung with sledges, snow-shoes, a boat formed of a wooden framework that can be taken to pieces, and covered with a double covering of water-proofed material of the same nature as the envelope of the balloon. This very light boat measured six yards in length; it was a marvel of skilful construction.

Every one was surprised to see the quantity of things that could be stowed away in the rigging, without causing any confusion, and arranged over the platform of the hoop, within reach.

On the hoop itself, a number of articles were placed: picks, shovels, hatchets, anchors, a little windlass, buoys, etc. All these articles are of bronze or copper; the hatchets have a steel blade, set in copper. Andrée takes with him twelve despatch buoys, each consisting of a sphere of cork 7⅘ inches in diameter coated with a thick coat of paint, partly blue and partly yellow, and protected by a network of copper wire. At the bottom the buoy is weighted by a cone filled with lead, which gives it the appearance of a top; at the upper portion is a copper stopper inscribed with the words “Andrée’s Polar Expedition, 1896,” and a number. This stopper closes a cavity cut in the cork to receive a tube, in which will be enclosed documents or messages from the explorers. The buoy is surmounted by a spiral spring of copper supporting a little Swedish flag of thin metal.

The buoys will be thrown out at different points of the voyage of the balloon. A thirteenth, larger than the others, will be left at that point of the route that shall be the nearest to the geographical pole that can be reached by the balloon.

July 1st.—We then proceeded to estimate the ascending power of the balloon. It was calculated that it could carry 3,747 lbs. of ballast, including that part of the cordage intended to be used as ballast, and that it could keep up for a minimum period of thirty to thirty-five days. This period could be extended in case of need, by sacrificing the sails and other parts that had become useless, the car if necessary, and part of the guide-ropes, as the explorers could still take refuge on the hoop, to which was attached all their provisions and necessaries. In this manner nearly 1,763 lbs. of supplementary ballast could be obtained, which would increase the length of the voyage by twenty days.

The aeronauts could thus remain in the air for more than fifty days, and at the same time keep their food and the necessary apparatus and cordage. Thus their departure would take place under most promising conditions.

As to the point of landing, the chances seem to point most to Siberia, which offers a very large extent of land; next in order of probability comes Alaska, in North America. Andrée did not think that the balloon could be drawn towards Greenland, with its gigantic glaciers attaining to such great altitudes, as the surrounding lower strata of air cool rapidly by contact with this boundless frozen mass, and currents would be formed there that would radiate in all directions. Only the currents of the upper atmosphere would approach these regions; but the Andrée balloon always travels close to the earth, which is, moreover, another point in favour of its longevity. We need not fear, therefore, that the explorers will be lost in the glaciers of Greenland.

Variable winds may drive the balloon for several days over the ice-field and over the ocean, before it can meet with a spot favourable to its descent. We have already seen that it could keep up for more than fifty days; therefore, unless any serious accident or unforeseen delay occurs, there is every reason to hope that before this time the aeronauts will have set foot on some hospitable ground. If, owing to some unforeseen cause, they should be obliged to descend on the ice-field, they would have to return in the same way as Dr. Nansen.

He, after leaving his ship, the Fram, in company with Lieutenant Johannsen, remained for fifteen months on the ice-field with only three months’ provisions.

Andrée took with him thirty-two carrier pigeons. We expect that some will return to Dane’s Island, where they have stayed for more than a month, and that they will bring us news of our friends. But we fear that these messengers will never return to Sweden; from Spitzbergen alone, they would have to travel a distance of nearly 1,637 miles in order to find their dove-cot. Those set free at the Pole would therefore have to travel more than 2,188 miles, and over the greater part of the journey they would find neither shelter nor food. Such great distances have never before, to my knowledge, been traversed by carrier pigeons, and, probably, those belonging to the expedition will not leave the balloon where they are lodged and fed, or if they do leave it, it will be to lose themselves in the Arctic regions and there perish miserably.

Andrée told us, therefore, not to be uneasy if we received no news of him for a year, as he might descend at a spot from which communication with other countries would be difficult, which would oblige him to winter with the Lapps or Esquimaux, or in an uninhabited part, where he would be left to his own resources, and he would then not be able to return till the following year.