ARKHANGELSK, January 10. /TASS/. Objects found at a polar expedition camp on the Alger Island, the Franz Josef Land Archipelago, were presented at the Russian Arctic National Park in Arkhangelsk. The park's chief of the historical and cultural heritage department, Evgeny Ermolov, told TASS those were artifacts from the base of Evlin Baldwin's Norwegian-American expedition of 1901-1902. The exposition featured the most advanced technologies of the late 19th - early 20th centuries that were used in expeditions to the high latitudes - from skis and sleds to "medicine for all diseases."

"The finds on the Alger Island come from the era of first discoverers. From the historical point of view, the Alger Island was sort of a "Klondike" in terms of the archaeological finds, because in 1901-1902 the Evlin Baldwin expedition was based there, an expedition to the North Pole, which turned out to be unsuccessful as it failed the goal, that is, they did not go to the North Pole, even did not make attempts to get there," the expert said. "They organized several food depots and left without using those depots, and this explains why that many items were preserved, that is, food, equipment, outfits of the polar explorers. The conditions on the island have favored a high degree of preservation and the big number of finds."

Baldwin's expedition came to Franz Josef Land in 1901. Their aim was to conquer the North Pole, and on the Alger Island they organized a base camp. The expedition was well equipped, it had more than 400 Siberian huskies, 15 Siberian ponies and more than 60 sleds. But they never made it to the pole, nor did they conduct any scientific research - experts believe that was due to disagreements between the expedition's Norwegian and American members. Anyway, the base on the Alger Island was perfectly organized and, the scientist noted, the studies of it have provided unique material about the technologies used in the early exploration of the Arctic. "They went there using the most advanced technologies of that time," the historian stressed.

From riding ponies to universal medicine

The Alger Island is in the archipelago's center and, unlike its many other islands, the coast there is not rocky and swampy, it is sandy, and many objects have been preserved as they were sunken in the sand. "Metal there corrodes quickly and collapses in the salty air, but organic matter - wood, leather, fabric - are preserved well. Take, for example, the glasses," he said pointing to the object. "It was an ordinary frame, though it had a plate with a slot, like the ones the Eskimos used, and then all this was installed into a fur mask. They used elastic bands to fix it on the head - this is know-how, an absolute mix of technologies, as it only may have been."

By the time of that expedition to Franz Josef Land, Baldwin was an experienced polar explorer and he was well aware of the so-called snow blindness and therefore, in addition to the improvised sunglasses, the expedition stocked up on an eye balm - archaeologists have found in the camp a few bottles with it. Another rare find is a corked bottle of glycosone. Back then, it was a medicine for all diseases. "There is a manual, literally a huge recipe book, how to use it: for stomach, headache, and nausea. That was a basic medicine, but to me it seems charlatanism, of course, for the most part of it, but back then it was a marketed product that sold well," the expert said. "Empty jars are available on the Internet. But jars with the content - it's, of course, a unique case. We dug out this jar from the sand, it was corked. That is, the content is absolutely authentic."

At the turn of the 20th century, polar explorers very actively combined different technologies. They used a bicycle kerosene lantern for lighting - it was the most compact lamp at that time. The lamps gave light while the people traveled on sleds, pulled by Siberian or Yakut ponies - small shaggy horses adapted to the harsh climate. It was quite an experiment. The national park presents a small yoke and a saddle through which the reins were passed to control the team. Some horses and dogs died in the expedition, but, to give Baldwin his due, he brought back most animals from the Arctic, which was rather untypical for polar expeditions of that time.

The explorers appreciated the experience of predecessors, for example, Norwegian skis and sleds, which Fridtjof Nansen had. Equally, they had own developments. Baldwin's expedition tried to use hydrogen-filled balloons to communicate with the mainland. They attached to the balloons cork buoys with brass capsules to send papers with texts about the expedition. Fair winds brought the balloons towards the mainland, and the travelers hoped someone would eventually catch them. "Only two were caught," the historian said. "A Norwegian found one only seven or eight years later, and the other one was found in 1930 in the Russkaya Harbor on Novaya Zemlya. Thus, that means of communication turned out to be absolutely ineffective, but still - it was an attempt."

Baldwin's expedition had a telephone connection between the camp and the ship. The cable was hanging above the ground on bamboo sticks. Russian scientists have found remains of the equipment, as well as spare rifle butts, shoes and canvas covers for them - the polar explorers made those covers when on the island. Later expeditions to Franz Josef Land used many objects of the kind. Though none of them made it to the North Pole, their contribution to the exploration of the archipelago and the Arctic studies cannot be overestimated. "When on the Alger, what surprised me most of all was the remains of an umbrella. Well, it does rain there, though normally the rains are horizontal, not vertical, but anyway we do have the umbrella remains."

Some of the items found on the Alger Island were exhibited, and others are kept at the park's storages.

About National Park

The Russian Arctic National Park is the northernmost protected natural area in Russia and Eurasia. The park unites the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago's Severny Island's northern part and the entire Franz Josef Land Archipelago.