the mysterious story of olaf jansen

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THE STORY OF OLAF

JANSENS VISITS to the CENTRE of the EARTH

Monday, September 17, 1907

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Part I Author's Foreword

I FEAR the seemingly incredible story which I am about to

relate will be regarded as the result of a distorted intellect

superinduced, possibly, by the glamour of unveiling a

marvelous mystery, rather than a truthful record of the

unparalleled experiences related by one Olaf Jansen, whose

eloquent madness so appealed to my imagination that all

thought of an analytical criticism has been effectually

dispelled.

Marco Polo will doubtless shift uneasily in his grave at the

strange story I am called upon to chronicle; a story as strange

as a Munchausen tale. It is also incongruous that I, a

disbeliever, should be the one to edit the story of Olaf Jansen,

whose name is now for the first time given to the world, yet

who must hereafter rank as one of the notables of earth.

I freely confess his statements admit of no rational analysis,

but have to do with the profound mystery concerning the

frozen North that for centuries has claimed the attention of

scientists and laymen alike.

However much they are at variance with the cosmographical

manuscripts of the past, these plain statements may be relied

upon as a record of the things Olaf Jansen claims to have seen

with his own eyes.

A hundred times I have asked myself whether it is possible

that the world's geography is incomplete, and that the startling

narrative of Olaf Jansen is predicated upon demonstrable

facts. The reader may be able to answer these queries to his

own satisfaction, however far the chronicler of this narrative

may be from having reached a conviction. Yet sometimes

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even I am at a loss to know whether I have been led away

from an abstract truth by the ignes fatui of a clever

superstition, or whether heretofore accepted facts are, after all,

founded upon falsity.

It may be that the true home of Apollo was not at Delphi, but

in that older earth-center of which Plato speaks, where he

says: "Apollo's real home is among the Hyperboreans, in a

land of perpetual life, where mythology tells us two doves

flying from the two opposite ends of the world met in this fair

region, the home of Apollo. Indeed, according to Hecataeus,

Leto, the mother of Apollo, was born on an island in the

Arctic Ocean far beyond the North Wind."

It is not my intention to attempt a discussion of the theogony

of the deities nor the cosmogony of the world. My simple duty

is to enlighten the world concerning a heretofore unknown

portion of the universe, as it was seen and described by the

old Norseman, Olaf Jansen.

Interest in northern research is international. Eleven nations

are engaged in, or have contributed to, the perilous work of

trying to solve Earth's one remaining cosmological mystery.

There is a saying, ancient as the hills, that "truth is stranger

than fiction," and in a most startling manner has this axiom

been brought home to me within the last fortnight.

It was just two o'clock in the morning when I was aroused

from a restful sleep by the vigorous ringing of my door-bell.

The untimely disturber proved to be a messenger bearing a

note, scrawled almost to the point of illegibility, from an old

Norseman by the name of Olaf Jansen. After much

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deciphering, I made out the writing, which simply said: "Am

ill unto death. Come." The call was imperative, and I lost no

time in making ready to comply.

Perhaps I may as well explain here that Olaf Jansen, a man

who quite recently celebrated his ninety-fifth birthday, has for

the last half-dozen years been living alone in an unpretentious

bungalow out Glendale way, a short distance from the

business district of Los Angeles, California.

It was less than two years ago, while out walking one

afternoon that I was attracted by Olaf Jansen's house and its

homelike surroundings, toward its owner and occupant, whom

I afterward came to know as a believer in the ancient worship

of Odin and Thor.

There was a gentleness in his face, and a kindly expression in

the keenly alert gray eyes of this man who had lived more

than four-score years and ten; and, withal, a sense of

loneliness that appealed to my sympathy. Slightly stooped,

and with his hands clasped behind him, he walked back and

forth with slow and measured tread, that day when first we

met. I can hardly say what particular motive impelled me to

pause in my walk and engage him in conversation. He seemed

pleased when I complimented him on the attractiveness of his

bungalow, and on the well-tended vines and flowers

clustering in profusion over its windows, roof and wide

piazza.

I soon discovered that my new acquaintance was no ordinary

person, but one profound and learned to a remarkable degree;

a man who, in the later years of his long life, had dug deeply

into books and become strong in the power of meditative

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silence.

I encouraged him to talk, and soon gathered that he had

resided only six or seven years in Southern California, but had

passed the dozen years prior in one of the middle Eastern

states. Before that he had been a fisherman off the coast of

Norway, in the region of the Lofoden Islands, from whence he

had made trips still farther north to Spitzbergen and even to

Franz Josef Land.

When I started to take my leave, he seemed reluctant to have

me go, and asked me to come again. Although at the time I

thought nothing of it, I remember now that he made a peculiar

remark as I extended my hand in leave-taking. "You will

come again?" he asked. "Yes, you will come again some day.

I am sure you will; and I shall show you my library and tell

you many things of which you have never dreamed, things so

wonderful that it may be you will not believe me."

I laughingly assured him that I would not only come again,

but would be ready to believe whatever he might choose to

tell me of his travels and adventures.

In the days that followed I became well acquainted with Olaf

Jansen, and, little by little, he told me his story, so marvelous,

that its very daring challenges reason and belief. The old

Norseman always expressed himself with so much earnestness

and sincerity that I became enthralled by his strange

narrations.

Then came the messenger's call that night, and within the hour

I was at Olaf Jansen's bungalow.

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He was very impatient at the long wait, although after being

summoned I had come immediately to his bedside.

"I must hasten," he exclaimed, while yet he held my hand in

greeting. "I have much to tell you that you know not, and I

will trust no one but you. I fully realize," he went on

hurriedly, "that I shall not survive the night. The time has

come to join my fathers in the great sleep."

I adjusted the pillows to make him more comfortable, and

assured him I was glad to be able to serve him in any way

possible, for I was beginning to realize the seriousness of his

condition.

The lateness of the hour, the stillness of the surroundings, the

uncanny feeling of being alone with the dying man, together

with his weird story, all combined to make my heart beat fast

and loud with a feeling for which I have no name. Indeed,

there were many times that night by the old Norseman's

couch, and there have been many times since, when a

sensation rather than a conviction took possession of my very

soul, and I seemed not only to believe in, but actually see, the

strange lands, the strange people and the strange world of

which he told, and to hear the mighty orchestral chorus of a

thousand lusty voices.

For over two hours he seemed endowed with almost

superhuman strength, talking rapidly, and to all appearances,

rationally. Finally he gave into my hands certain data,

drawings and crude maps. "These," said he in conclusion, "I

leave in your hands. If I can have your promise to give them

to the world, I shall die happy, because I desire that people

may know the truth, for then all mystery concerning the

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frozen Northland will be explained. There is no chance of

your suffering the fate I suffered. They will not put you in

irons, nor confine you in a mad-house, because you are not

telling your own story, but mine, and I, thanks to the gods,

Odin and Thor, will be in my grave, and so beyond the reach

of disbelievers who would persecute."

Without a thought of the far reaching results the promise

entailed, or foreseeing the many sleepless nights which the

obligation has since brought me, I gave my hand and with it a

pledge to discharge faithfully his dying wish.

As the sun rose over the peaks of the San Jacinto, far to the

eastward, the spirit of Olaf Jansen, the navigator, the explorer

and worshiper of Odin and Thor, the man whose experiences

and travels, as related, are without a parallel in all the world's

history, passed away, and I was left alone with the dead.

And now, after having paid the last sad rites to this strange

man from the Lofoden Islands, and the still farther

"Northward Ho!", the courageous explorer of frozen regions,

who in his declining years (after he had passed the four-score

mark) had sought an asylum of restful peace in sun-favored

California, I will undertake to make public his story.

But, first of all, let me indulge in one or two reflections:

Generation follows generation, and the traditions from the

misty past are handed down from sire to son, but for some

strange reason interest in the ice-locked unknown does not

abate with the receding years, either in the minds of the

ignorant or the tutored.

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With each new generation a restless impulse stirs the hearts of

men to capture the veiled citadel of the Arctic, the circle of

silence, the land of glaciers, cold wastes of waters and winds

that are strangely warm. Increasing interest is manifested in

the mountainous icebergs, and marvelous speculations are

indulged in concerning the earth's center of gravity, the cradle

of the tides, where the whales have their nurseries, where the

magnetic needle goes mad, where the Aurora Borealis

illumines the night, and where brave and courageous spirits of

every generation dare to venture and explore, defying the

dangers of the "Farthest North."

One of the ablest works of recent years is "Paradise Found, or

the Cradle of The Human Race at the North Pole," by William

F. Warren. In his carefully prepared volume, Mr. Warren

almost stubbed his toe against the real truth, but missed it

seemingly by only a hair's breadth, if the old Norseman's

revelation be true.

Dr. Orville Livingston Leech, scientist, in a recent article,

says:

"The possibilities of a land inside the earth were first brought

to my attention when I picked up a geode on the shores of the

Great Lakes. The geode is a spherical and apparently solid

stone, but when broken is found to be hollow and coated with

crystals. The earth is only a larger form of a geode, and the

law that created the geode in its hollow form undoubtedly

fashioned the earth in the same way."

In presenting the theme of this almost incredible story, as told

by Olaf Jansen, and supplemented by manuscript, maps and

crude drawings entrusted to me, a fitting introduction is found

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in the following quotation:

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and

the earth was without form and void."Dictionary definition

VOID can mean EMPTY or HOLLOW And also, "God created man in his own image." Therefore, even in things

material, man must be God-like, because he is created in the

likeness of the Father.

A man builds a house for himself and family. The porches or

verandas are all without, and are secondary. The building is

really constructed for the conveniences within.

Olaf Jansen makes the startling announcement through me, an

humble instrument, that in like manner, God created the earth

for the "within" -- that is to say, for its lands, seas, rivers,

mountains, forests and valleys, and for its other internal

conveniences, while the outside surface of the earth is merely

the veranda, the porch, where things grow by comparison but

sparsely, like the lichen on the mountain side, clinging

determinedly for bare existence.

Take an egg-shell, and from each end break out a piece as

large as the end of this pencil. Extract its contents, and then

you will have a perfect representation of Olaf Jansen's earth.

The distance from the inside surface to the outside surface,

according to him, is about three hundred miles. The center of

gravity is not in the center of the earth, but in the center of the

shell or crust; therefore, if the thickness of the earth's crust or

shell is three hundred miles, the center of gravity is one

hundred and fifty miles below the surface.

In their log-books Arctic explorers tell us of the dipping of the

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needle as the vessel sails in regions of the farthest north

known. In reality, they are at the curve; on the edge of the

shell, where gravity is geometrically increased, and while the

electric current seemingly dashes off into space toward the

phantom idea of the North Pole, yet this same electric current

drops again and continues its course southward along the

inside surface of the earth's crust.

In the appendix to his work, Captain Sabine gives an account

of experiments to determine the acceleration of the pendulum

in different latitudes. This appears to have resulted from the

joint labor of Peary and Sabine. He says: "The accidental

discovery that a pendulum on being removed from Paris to the

neighborhood of the equator increased its time of vibration,

gave the first step to our present knowledge that the polar axis

of the globe is less than the equatorial; that the force of

gravity at the surface of the earth increases progressively from

the equator toward the poles."

According to Olaf Jansen, in the beginning this old world of

ours was created solely for the "within" world, where are

located the four great rivers the Euphrates, the Pison, the Gihon and the Hiddekel. These same names of rivers, when

applied to streams on the "outside" surface of the earth, are

purely traditional from an antiquity beyond the memory of

man.

On the top of a high mountain, near the fountain-head of these

four rivers, Olaf Jansen, the Norseman, claims to have

discovered the long-lost "Garden of Eden," the veritable navel

of the earth, and to have spent over two years studying and

reconnoitering in this marvelous "within" land, exuberant with

stupendous plant life and abounding in giant animals; a land

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where the people live to be centuries old, after the order of

Methuselah and other Biblical characters; a region where one-

quarter of the "inner" surface is water and three-quarters land;

where there are large oceans and many rivers and lakes; where

the cities are superlative in construction and magnificence;

where modes of transportation are as far in advance of ours as

we with our boasted achievements are in advance of the

inhabitants of "darkest Africa."

The distance directly across the space from inner surface to

inner surface is about six hundred miles less than the

recognized diameter of the earth. In the identical center of this

vast vacuum is the seat of electricity a mammoth ball of dull red fire not startlingly brilliant, but surrounded by a white, mild, luminous cloud, giving out uniform warmth, and

held in its place in the center of this internal space by the

immutable law of gravitation. This electrical cloud is known

to the people "within" as the abode of "The Smoky God."

They believe it to be the throne of "The Most High."

Olaf Jansen reminded me of how, in the old college days, we

were all familiar with the laboratory demonstrations of

centrifugal motion, which clearly proved that, if the earth

were a solid, the rapidity of its revolution upon its axis would

tear it into a thousand fragments.

The old Norseman also maintained that from the farthest

points of land on the islands of Spitzbergen and Franz Josef

Land, flocks of geese may be seen annually flying still farther

northward, just as the sailors and explorers record in their log-

books. No scientist has yet been audacious enough to attempt

to explain, even to his own satisfaction, toward what lands

these winged fowls are guided by their subtle instinct.

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However, Olaf Jansen has given us a most reasonable

explanation.

The presence of the open sea in the Northland is also

explained. Olaf Jansen claims that the northern aperture,

intake or hole, so to speak, is about fourteen hundred miles

across. In connection with this, let us read what Explorer

Nansen writes, on page 288 of his book: "I have never had

such a splendid sail. On to the north, steadily north, with a

good wind, as fast as steam and sail can take us, an open sea

mile after mile, watch after watch, through these unknown

regions, always clearer and clearer of ice, one might almost

say: 'How long will it last?' The eye always turns to the

northward as one paces the bridge. It is gazing into the future.

But there is always the same dark sky ahead which means

open sea." Again, the Norwood Review of England, in its

issue of May 10, 1884, says: "We do not admit that there is

ice up to the Pole once inside the great ice barrier, a new world breaks upon the explorer, the climate is mild like that of

England, and, afterward, balmy as the Greek Isles."

Some of the rivers "within," Olaf Jansen claims, are larger

than our Mississippi and Amazon rivers combined, in point of

volume of water carried; indeed their greatness is occasioned

by their width and depth rather than their length, and it is at

the mouths of these mighty rivers, as they flow northward and

southward along the inside surface of the earth, that mammoth

icebergs are found, some of them fifteen and twenty miles

wide and from forty to one hundred miles in length.

Is it not strange that there has never been an iceberg

encountered either in the Arctic or Antarctic Ocean that is not

composed of fresh water? Modern scientists claim that

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freezing eliminates the salt, but Olaf Jansen claims differently.

Ancient Hindoo, Japanese and Chinese writings, as well as the

hieroglyphics of the extinct races of the North American

continent, all speak of the custom of sun-worshiping, and it is

possible, in the startling light of Olaf Jansen's revelations, that

the people of the inner world, lured away by glimpses of the

sun as it shone upon the inner surface of the earth, either from

the northern or the southern opening, became dissatisfied with

"The Smoky God," the great pillar or mother cloud of

electricity, and, weary of their continuously mild and pleasant

atmosphere, followed the brighter light, and were finally led

beyond the ice belt and scattered over the "outer" surface of

the earth, through Asia, Europe, North America and, later,

Africa, Australia and South America. 1

It is a notable fact that, as we approach the Equator, the

stature of the human race grows less. But the Patagonians of

South America are probably the only aborigines from the

center of the earth who came out through the aperture usually

designated as the South Pole, and they are called the giant

race.

Olaf Jansen avers that, in the beginning, the world was created

by the Great Architect of the Universe, so that man might

dwell upon its "inside" surface, which has ever since been the

habitation of the "chosen."

They who were driven out of the "Garden of Eden" brought

their traditional history with them.

The history of the people living "within" contains a narrative

suggesting the story of Noah and the ark with which we are

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familiar. He sailed away, as did Columbus, from a certain

port, to a strange land he had heard of far to the northward,

carrying with him all manner of beasts of the fields and fowls

of the air, but was never heard of afterward.

On the northern boundaries of Alaska, and still more

frequently on the Siberian coast, are found boneyards

containing tusks of ivory in quantities so great as to suggest

the burying-places of antiquity. From Olaf Jansen's account,

they have come from the great prolific animal life that

abounds in the fields and forests and on the banks of

numerous rivers of the Inner World. The materials were

caught in the ocean currents, or were carried on ice-floes, and

have accumulated like driftwood on the Siberian coast. This

has been going on for ages, and hence these mysterious bone-

yards.

On this subject William F. Warren, in his book already cited,

pages 297 and 298, says: "The Arctic rocks tell of a lost

Atlantis more wonderful than Plato's. The fossil ivory beds of

Siberia excel everything of the kind in the world. From the

days of Pliny, at least, they have constantly been undergoing

exploitation, and still they are the chief headquarters of

supply. The remains of mammoths are so abundant that, as

Gratacap says, 'the northern islands of Siberia seem built up of

crowded bones.' Another scientific writer, speaking of the

islands of New Siberia, northward of the mouth of the River

Lena, uses this language: 'Large quantities of ivory are dug

out of the ground every year. Indeed, some of the islands are

believed to be nothing but an accumulation of drift-timber and

the bodies of mammoths and other antediluvian animals

frozen together.' From this we may infer that, during the years

that have elapsed since the Russian conquest of Siberia, useful

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tusks from more than twenty thousand mammoths have been

collected."

But now for the story of Olaf Jansen. I give it in detail, as set

down by himself in manuscript, and woven into the tale, just

as he placed them, are certain quotations from recent works

on Arctic exploration, showing how carefully the old

Norseman compared with his own experiences those of other

voyagers to the frozen North. Thus wrote the disciple of Odin

and Thor:

1 The following quotation is significant; "It follows that man

issuing from a mother-region still undetermined but which a

number of considerations indicate to have been in the North,

has radiated in several directions; that his migrations have

been constantly from North to South." M. le Marquis G. de Saporta, in Popular Science Monthly, October, 1883, page

753.

The Smoky God

Monday, September 17, 1907

Part II Olaf Jansen's Story

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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

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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!

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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. 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

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gathered most of the books in my present library, though I brought

many choice volumes from Stockholm. 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 Christiansand, 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 a 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

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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 a sphinx, resisting the restless waves of a

fretful sea.

After many narrow escapes, we arrived at Spitzbergen 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. 2

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 far 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. 3

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. 4

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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." 5

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. 6

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

22

of drift-wood on the northern shore. Some of the trunks of the trees

were forty feet long and two feet in diameter. 7

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. 8

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. 9

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."

23

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,

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. 10

24

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

crossbeam. 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 ice-pack. 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 a perfect 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.

25

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, but 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.

2 It will be remembered that Andree started on his fatal balloon

voyage from the northwest coast of Spitzbergen.

3 Sir John Barrow, Bart., F.R.S., in his work entitled "Voyages of

26

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 Spitzbergen,

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."

4 Captain Kane, on page 299, quoting from Morton's Journal on

Monday, 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."

5 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 Illidskjalf, and when Odin is seated there upon his lofty throne

he sees over the whole world and discerns all the actions of men."

6 Hall writes, on page 288: "On the 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."

7 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."

27

8 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."

9 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?"

10 On 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."

28

OLAF Jansen

Part III Beyond the North Wind

I TRIED to forget my thirst by busying myself with

bringing up some food and an empty vessel from the

hold. Reaching over the side-rail, I filled the vessel with

water for the purpose of laving my hands and face. To

my astonishment, when the water came in contact with

my lips, I could taste no salt. I was startled by the

discovery. "Father!" I fairly gasped, "the water, the

water; it is fresh!" "What, Olaf?" exclaimed my father,

glancing hastily around. "Surely you are mistaken.

There is no land. You are going mad." "But taste it!" I

cried.

And thus we made the discovery that the water was

indeed fresh, absolutely so, without the least briny taste

29

or even the suspicion of a salty flavor.

We forthwith filled our two remaining water-casks, and

my father declared it was a heavenly dispensation of

mercy from the gods Odin and Thor.

We were almost beside ourselves with joy, but hunger

bade us end our enforced fast. Now that we had found

fresh water in the open sea, what might we not expect in

this strange latitude where ship had never before sailed

and the splash of an oar had never been heard? 11

We had scarcely appeased our hunger when a breeze

began filling the idle sails, and, glancing at the

compass, we found the northern point pressing hard

against the glass.

In response to my surprise, my father said, "I have

heard of this before; it is what they call the dipping of

the needle."

We loosened the compass and turned it at right angles

with the surface of the sea before its point would free

itself from the glass and point according to unmolested

attraction. It shifted uneasily, and seemed as unsteady

as a drunken man, but finally pointed a course.

Before this we thought the wind was carrying us north

by northwest, but, with the needle free, we discovered,

if it could be relied upon, that we were sailing slightly

30

north by northeast. Our course, however, was ever

tending northward. 12

The sea was serenely smooth, with hardly a choppy

wave, and the wind brisk and exhilarating. The sun's

rays, while striking us slant, furnished tranquil warmth.

And thus time wore on day after day, and we found

from the record in our logbook, we had been sailing

eleven days since the storm in the open sea.

By strictest economy, our food was holding out fairly

well, but beginning to run low. In the meantime, one of

our casks of water had been exhausted, and my father

said: "We will fill it again." But, to our dismay, we

found the water was now as salt as in the region of the

Lofoden Islands off the coast of Norway. This

necessitated our being extremely careful of the

remaining cask.

I found myself wanting to sleep much of the time;

whether it was the effect of the exciting experience of

sailing in unknown waters, or the relaxation from the

awful excitement incident to our adventure in a storm at

sea, or due to want of food, I could not say.

I frequently lay down on the bunker of our little sloop,

and looked far up into the blue dome of the sky; and,

notwithstanding the sun was shining far away in the

east, I always saw a single star overhead. For several

days, when I looked for this star, it was always there

31

directly above us.

It was now, according to our reckoning, about the first

of August. The sun was high in the heavens, and was so

bright that I could no longer see the one lone star that

attracted my attention a few days earlier.

One day about this time, my father startled me by

calling my attention to a novel sight far in front of us,

almost at the horizon. "It is a mock sun," exclaimed my

father. "I have read of them; it is called a reflection or

mirage. It will soon pass away."

But this dull-red, false sun, as we supposed it to be, did

not pass away for several hours; and while we were

unconscious of its emitting any rays of light, still there

was no time thereafter when we could not sweep the

horizon in front and locate the illumination of the so-

called false sun, during a period of at least twelve hours

out of every twenty-four.

Clouds and mists would at times almost, but never

entirely, hide its location. Gradually it seemed to climb

higher in the horizon of the uncertain purply sky as we

advanced.

It could hardly be said to resemble the sun, except in its

circular shape, and when not obscured by clouds or the

ocean mists, it had a hazy-red, bronzed appearance,

which would change to a white light like a luminous

32

cloud, as if reflecting some greater light beyond.

"We finally agreed in our discussion of this smoky

furnace-colored sun, that, whatever the cause of the

phenomenon, it was not a reflection of our sun, but a

planet of some sort a reality. 13

One day soon after this, I felt exceedingly drowsy, and

fell into a sound sleep. But it seemed that I was almost

immediately aroused by my father's vigorous shaking of

me by the shoulder and saying: "Olaf, awaken; there is

land in sight!"

I sprang to my feet, and oh! joy unspeakable! There, far

in the distance, yet directly in our path, were lands

jutting boldly into the sea. The shore-line stretched far

away to the right of us, as far as the eye could see, and

all along the sandy beach were waves breaking into

choppy foam, receding, then going forward again, ever

chanting in monotonous thunder tones the song of the

deep. The banks were covered with trees and

vegetation.

I cannot express my feeling of exultation at this

discovery. My father stood motionless, with his hand on

the tiller, looking straight ahead, pouring out his heart

in thankful prayer and thanksgiving to the gods Odin

and Thor.

In the meantime, a net which we found in the stowage

33

had been cast, and we caught a few fish that materially

added to our dwindling stock of provisions.

The compass, which we had fastened back in its place,

in fear of another storm, was still pointing due north,

and moving on its pivot, just as it had at Stockholm.

The dipping of the needle had ceased. What could this

mean? Then, too, our many days of sailing had certainly

carried us far past the North Pole. And yet the needle

continued to point north. We were sorely perplexed, for

surely our direction was now south. 14

We sailed for three days along the shoreline, then came

to the mouth of a fjord or river of immense size. It

seemed more like a great bay, and into this we turned

our fishing-craft, the direction being slightly northeast

of south. By the assistance of a fretful wind that came to

our aid about twelve hours out of every twenty-four, we

continued to make our way inland, into what afterward

proved to be a mighty river, and which we learned was

called by the inhabitants Hiddekel.

We continued our journey for ten days thereafter, and

found we had fortunately attained a distance inland

where ocean tides no longer affected the water, which

had become fresh.

The discovery came none too soon, for our remaining

cask of water was well-nigh exhausted. We lost no time

in replenishing our casks, and continued to sail farther

34

up the river when the wind was favorable.

Along the banks great forests miles in extent could be

seen stretching away on the shore-line. The trees were

of enormous size. We landed after anchoring near a

sandy beach, and waded ashore, and were rewarded by

finding a quantity of nuts that were very palatable and

satisfying to hunger, and a welcome change from the

monotony of our stock of provisions.

It was about the first of September, over five months,

we calculated, since our leave-taking from Stockholm.

Suddenly we were frightened almost out of our wits by

hearing in the far distance the singing of people. Very

soon thereafter we discovered a huge ship gliding down

the river directly toward us. Those aboard were singing

in one mighty chorus that, echoing from bank to bank,

sounded like a thousand voices, filling the whole

universe with quivering melody. The accompaniment

was played on stringed instruments not unlike our

harps.

35

It was a larger ship than any we had ever seen, and was

differently constructed.

At this particular time our sloop was becalmed, and not

far from the shore. The bank of the river, covered with

mammoth trees, rose up several hundred feet in

beautiful fashion. We seemed to be on the edge of some

primeval forest that doubtless stretched far inland.

The immense craft paused, and almost immediately a

boat was lowered and six men of gigantic stature rowed

to our little fishing-sloop. They spoke to us in a strange

language. We knew from their manner, however, that

they were not unfriendly. They talked a great deal

among themselves, and one of them laughed

immoderately, as though in finding us a queer discovery

had been made. One of them spied our compass, and it

36

seemed to interest them more than any other part of our

sloop.

Finally, the leader motioned as if to ask whether we

were willing to leave our craft to go on board their ship.

"What say you, my son?" asked my father. "They

cannot do any more than kill us."

"They seem to be kindly disposed," I replied, "although

what terrible giants! They must be the select six of the

kingdom's crack regiment. Just look at their great size."

"We may as well go willingly as be taken by force,"

said my father, smiling, "for they are certainly able to

capture us." Thereupon he made known, by signs, that

we were ready to accompany them.

Within a few minutes we were on board the ship, and

half an hour later our little fishing-craft had been lifted

bodily out of the water by a strange sort of hook and

tackle, and set on board as a curiosity.

There were several hundred people on board this, to us,

mammoth ship, which we discovered was called "The

Naz," meaning, as we afterward learned, "Pleasure," or

to give a more proper interpretation, "Pleasure

Excursion" ship.

If my father and I were curiously observed by the ship's

occupants, this strange race of giants offered us an

37

equal amount of wonderment.

There was not a single man aboard who would not have

measured fully twelve feet in height. They all wore full

beards, not particularly long, but seemingly short-

cropped. They had mild and beautiful faces,

exceedingly fair, with ruddy complexions. The hair and

beard of some were black, others sandy, and still others

yellow. The captain, as we designated the dignitary in

command of the great vessel, was fully a head taller

than any of his companions. The women averaged from

ten to eleven feet in height. Their features were

especially regular and refined, while their complexion

was of a most delicate tint heightened by a healthful

glow.

Both men and women seemed to possess that particular

ease of manner which we deem a sign of good breeding,

and, notwithstanding their huge statures, there was

nothing about them suggesting awkwardness. As I was

a lad in only my nineteenth year, I was doubtless looked

upon as a true Tom Thumb. My father's six feet three

did not lift the top of his head above the waist line of

these people.

Each one seemed to vie with the others in extending

courtesies and showing kindness to us, but all laughed

heartily, I remember, when they had to improvise chairs

for my father and myself to sit at table. They were

richly attired in a costume peculiar to themselves, and

38

very attractive. The men were clothed in handsomely

embroidered tunics of silk and satin and belted at the

waist. They wore knee-breeches and stockings of a fine

texture, while their feet were encased in sandals

adorned with gold buckles. We early discovered that

gold was one of the most common metals known, and

that it was used extensively in decoration.

Strange as it may seem, neither my father nor myself

felt the least bit of solicitude for our safety. "We have

come into our own," my father said to me. "This is the

fulfillment of the tradition told me by my father and my

father's father, and still back for many generations of

our race. This is, assuredly, the land beyond the North

Wind."

We seemed to make such an impression on the party

that we were given specially into the charge of one of

the men, Jules Galdea, and his wife, for the purpose of

being educated in their language; and we, on our part,

were just as eager to learn as they were to instruct.

At the captain's command, the vessel was swung

cleverly about, and began retracing its course up the

river. The machinery, while noiseless, was very

powerful.

The banks and trees on either side seemed to rush by.

The ship's speed, at times, surpassed that of any railroad

train on which I have ever ridden, even here in

39

America. It was wonderful.

In the meantime we had lost sight of the sun's rays, but

we found a radiance "within" emanating from the dull-

red sun which had already attracted our attention, now

giving out a white light seemingly from a cloud-bank

far away in front of us. It dispensed a greater light, I

should say, than two full moons

on the clearest night.

In twelve hours this cloud of whiteness would pass out

of sight as if eclipsed, and the twelve hours following

corresponded with our night. We early learned that

these strange people were worshipers of this great cloud

of night. It was "The Smoky God" of the "Inner World."

The ship was equipped with a mode of illumination

which I now presume was electricity, but neither my

father nor myself were sufficiently skilled in mechanics

to understand whence came the power to operate the

ship, or to maintain the soft beautiful lights that

answered the same purpose of our present methods of

lighting the streets of our cities, our houses and places

of business.

It must be remembered, the time of which I write was

the autumn of 1829, and we of the "outside" surface of

the earth knew nothing then, so to speak, of electricity.

40

The electrically surcharged condition of the air was a

constant vitalizer. I never felt better in my life than

during the two years my father and I sojourned on the

inside of the earth.

To resume my narrative of events; The ship on which

we were sailing came to a stop two days after we had

been taken on board. My father said as nearly as he

could judge, we were directly under Stockholm or

London. The city we had reached was called "Jehu,"

signifying a seaport town. The houses were large and

beautifully constructed, and quite uniform in

appearance, yet without sameness. The principal

occupation of the people appeared to be agriculture; the

hillsides were covered with vineyards, while the valleys

were devoted to the growing of grain.

I never saw such a display of gold. It was everywhere.

The door-casings were inlaid and the tables were

veneered with sheetings of gold. Domes of the public

buildings were of gold. It was used most generously in

the finishings of the great temples of music.

Vegetation grew in lavish exuberance, and fruit of all

kinds possessed the most delicate flavor. Clusters of

grapes four and five feet in length, each grape as large

as an orange, and apples larger than a man's head

typified the wonderful growth of all things on the

"inside" of the earth.

41

The great redwood trees of California would be

considered mere underbrush compared with the giant

forest trees extending for miles and miles in all

directions. In many directions along the foothills of the

mountains vast herds of cattle were seen during the last

day of our travel on the river.

"We heard much of a city called "Eden," but were kept

at "Jehu" for an entire year. By the end of that time we

had learned to speak fairly well the language of this

strange race of people. Our instructors, Jules Galdea

and his wife, exhibited a patience that was truly

commendable.

One day an envoy from the Ruler at "Eden" came to see

us, and for two whole days my father and myself were

put through a series of surprising questions. They

wished to know from whence we came, what sort of

people dwelt "without," what God we worshiped, our

religious beliefs, the mode of living in our strange land,

and a thousand other things.

The compass which we had brought with us attracted

especial attention. My father and I commented between

ourselves on the fact that the compass still pointed

north, although we now knew that we had sailed over

the curve or edge of the earth's aperture, and were far

along southward on the "inside" surface of the earth's

crust, which, according to my father's estimate and my

own, is about three hundred miles in thickness from the

42

"inside" to the "outside" surface. Relatively speaking, it

is no thicker than an egg-shell, so that there is almost as

much surface on the "inside" as on the "outside" of the

earth.

The great luminous cloud or ball of dull-red fire fiery-red in the mornings and evenings, and during the

day giving off a beautiful white light, "The Smoky

God," is seemingly suspended in the center of the great vacuum "within" the earth, and held to its place by

the immutable law of gravitation, or a repellant

atmospheric force, as the case may be. I refer to the

known power that draws or repels with equal force in

all directions.

The base of this electrical cloud or central luminary, the

seat of the gods, is dark and non-transparent, save for

innumerable small openings, seemingly in the bottom of

the great support or altar of the Deity, upon which "The

Smoky God" rests; and, the lights shining through these

many openings twinkle at night in all their splendor,

and seem to be stars, as natural as the stars we saw

shining when in our home at Stockholm, excepting that

they appear larger. "The Smoky God," therefore, with

each daily revolution of the earth, appears to come up in

the east and go down in the west, the same as does our

sun on the external surface. In reality, the people

"within" believe that "The Smoky God" is the throne of

their Jehovah, and is stationary. The effect of night and

day is, therefore, produced by the earth's daily rotation.

43

I have since discovered that the language of the people

of the Inner World is much like the Sanskrit.

After we had given an account of ourselves to the

emissaries from the central seat of government of the

inner continent, and my father had, in his crude way,

drawn maps, at their request, of the "outside" surface of

the earth, showing the divisions of land and water, and

giving the name of each of the continents, large islands

and the oceans, we were taken overland to the city of

"Eden," in a conveyance different from anything we

have in Europe or America. This vehicle was doubtless

some electrical contrivance. It was noiseless, and ran on

a single iron rail in perfect balance. The trip was made

at a very high rate of speed. We were carried up hills

and down dales, across valleys and again along the

sides of steep mountains, without any apparent attempt

having been made to level the earth as we do for

railroad tracks. The car seats were huge yet comfortable

affairs, and very high above the floor of the car. On the

top of each car were high geared fly wheels lying on

their sides, which were so automatically adjusted that,

as the speed of the car increased, the high speed of these

fly wheels geometrically increased. Jules Galdea

explained to us that these revolving fan-like wheels on

top of the cars destroyed atmospheric pressure, or what

is generally understood by the term gravitation, and

with this force thus destroyed or rendered nugatory the

car is as safe from falling to one side or the other from

44

the single rail track as if it were in a vacuum; the fly

wheels in their rapid revolutions destroying effectually

the so-called power of gravitation, or the force of

atmospheric pressure or whatever potent influence it

may be that causes all unsupported things to fall

downward to the earth's surface or to the nearest point

of resistance.

The surprise of my father and myself was indescribable

when, amid the regal magnificence of a spacious hall,

we were finally brought before the Great High Priest,

ruler over all the land. He was richly robed, and much

taller than those about him, and could not have been

less than fourteen or fifteen feet in height. The immense

room in which we were received seemed finished in

solid slabs of gold thickly studded with jewels, of

45

amazing brilliancy.

The city of "Eden" is located in what seems to be a

beautiful valley, yet, in fact, it is on the loftiest

mountain plateau of the Inner Continent, several

thousand feet higher than any portion of the

surrounding country. It is the most beautiful place I

have ever beheld in all my travels. In this elevated

garden all manner of fruits, vines, shrubs, trees, and

flowers grow in riotous profusion.

In this garden four rivers have their source in a mighty

artesian fountain. They divide and flow in four

directions. This place is called by the inhabitants the

"navel of the earth," or the beginning, "the cradle of the

human race." The names of the rivers are the Euphrates,

the Pison, the Gihon, and the Hiddekel. 17

The unexpected awaited us in this palace of beauty, in

the finding of our little fishing-craft. It had been

brought before the High Priest in perfect shape, just as

it had been taken from the waters that day when it was

loaded on board the ship by the people who discovered

us on the river more than a year before.

"We were given an audience of over two hours with this

great dignitary, who seemed kindly disposed and

considerate. He showed himself eagerly interested,

asking us numerous questions, and invariably regarding

things about which his emissaries had failed to inquire.

46

At the conclusion of the interview he inquired our

pleasure, asking us whether we wished to remain in his

country or if we preferred to return to the "outer" world,

providing it were possible to make a successful return

trip, across the frozen belt barriers that encircle both the

northern and southern openings of the earth.

My father replied: "It would please me and my son to

visit your country and see your people, your colleges

and palaces of music and art, your great fields, your

wonderful forests of timber; and after we have had this

pleasurable privilege, we should like to try to return to

our home on the 'outside' surface of the earth. This son

is my only child, and my good wife will be weary

awaiting our return."

"I fear you can never return," replied the Chief High

Priest, "because the way is a most hazardous one.

However, you shall visit the different countries with

Jules Galdea as your escort, and be accorded every

courtesy and kindness. Whenever you are ready to

attempt a return voyage, I assure you that your boat

which is here on exhibition shall be put in the waters of

the river Hiddekel at its mouth, and we will bid you

Jehovah-speed."

Thus terminated our only interview with the High Priest

or Ruler of the continent.

47

In vol. I, page 196, Nansen writes: "It is a peculiar

phenomenon, this dead water. We had at present a better opportunity of studying it than we desired. It

occurs where a surface layer of fresh water rests upon

the salt water of the sea, and this fresh water is carried

along with the ship gliding on the heavier sea beneath it

as if on a fixed foundation. The difference between the

two strata was in this case so great that while we had

drinking water on the surface, the water we got from

the bottom cock of the engine-room was far too salt to

be used for the boiler."

In volume II, pages 18 and 19, Nansen writes about the

inclination of the needle. Speaking of Johnson, his aide:

"One day it was November 24 he came in to supper a little after six o'clock, quite alarmed, and said:

'There has just been a singular inclination of the needle

in twenty-four degrees. And remarkably enough, its

northern extremity pointed to the east.'"

We again find in Peary's first voyage page 67, the following: "It had been observed that from the moment

they had entered Lancaster Sound, the motion of the

compass needle was very sluggish, and both this and its

deviation increased as they progressed to the westward,

and continued to do so in descending this inlet. Having

reached latitude 73 degrees, they witnessed for the first

time the curious phenomenon of the directive power of

48

the needle becoming so weak as to be completely

overcome by the attraction of the ship, so that the

needle might now be said to point to the north pole of

the ship."

Nansen, on page 394, says: "To-day another

noteworthy thing happened, which was that about mid-

day we saw the sun, or to be more correct, an image of

the sun, for it was only a mirage. A peculiar impression

was produced by the sight of that glowing fire lit just

above the outermost edge of the ice. According to the

enthusiastic descriptions given by many Arctic travelers

of the first appearance of this god of life after the long

winter night, the impression ought to be one of jubilant

excitement; but it was not so in my case. We had not

expected to see it for some days yet, so that my feeling

was rather one of pain, of disappointment that we must

have drifted farther south than we thought. So it was

with pleasure I soon discovered that it could not be the

sun itself. The mirage was at first a flattened-out,

glowing red, streak of fire on the horizon; later there

were two streaks, the one above the other, with a dark

space between; and from the maintop I could see four,

or even five, such horizontal lines directly over one

another, all of equal length, as if one could only

imagine a square, dull-red sun, with horizontal dark

streaks across it."

Peary's first voyage, pages 69 and 70, says: "On

reaching Sir Byam Martin's Island, the nearest to

49

Melville Island, the latitude of the place of observation

was 75 degrees - 09' - 23", and the longitude 103

degrees - 44' - 37"; the dip of the magnetic needle 88

degrees - 25' - 56" west in the longitude of 91 degrees -

48', where the last observations on the shore had been

made, to 165 degrees - 50' - 09", east, at their present

station, so thatwe had," says Peary, "in sailing over the

space included between these two meridians, crossed

immediately northward of the magnetic pole, and had

undoubtedly passed over one of those spots upon the

globe where the needle would have been found to vary

180 degrees, or in other words, where the North Pole

would have pointed to the south."

15 Asiatic Mythology, page 240, "Paradise found" from translation by Sayce, in a book called "Records of

the Past," we were told of a "dwelling" which "the gods

created for" the first human beings, a dwelling in which they "became great" and "increased in numbers,"

and the location of which is described in words exactly

corresponding to those of Iranian, Indian, Chinese,

Eddaic and Aztecan literature; namely, "in the center of

the earth." Warren.

16 "According to all procurable data, that spot at the

era of man's appearance upon the stage was in the now

lost 'Miocene continent,' which then surrounded the

Arctic Pole. That in that true, original Eden some of the

early generations of men attained to a stature and

longevity unequaled in any countries known to

50

postdiluvian history is by no means scientifically

incredible." Wm. F. Warren, "Paradise Found," p. 284.

17 "And the Lord God planted a garden, and out of the

ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is

pleasant to the sight and good for food." The Book of Genesis.

Part IV In the Under World

WE learned that the males do not marry before they are

from seventy-five to one hundred years old, and that the

age at which women enter wedlock is only a little less,

and that both men and women frequently live to be

from six to eight hundred years old, and in some

instances much older. 18

51

During the following year we visited many villages and

towns, prominent among them being the cities of Nigi,

Delfi, Hectea, and my father was called upon no less

than a half-dozen times to go over the maps which had

been made from the rough sketches he had originally

given of the divisions of land and water on the "outside"

surface of the earth.

I remember hearing my father remark that the giant race

of people in the land of "The Smoky God" had almost

as accurate an idea of the geography of the "outside"

surface of the earth as had the average college professor

in Stockholm.

In our travels we came to a forest of gigantic trees, near

the city of Delfi. Had the Bible said there were trees

towering over three hundred feet in height, and more

than thirty feet in diameter, growing in the Garden of

Eden, the Ingersolls, the Tom Paines and Voltaires

would doubtless have pronounced the statement a myth.

Yet this is the description of the California sequoia

gigantea; but these California giants pale into

insignificance when compared with the forest Goliaths

found in the "within" continent, where abound mighty

trees from eight hundred to one thousand feet in height,

and from one hundred to one hundred and twenty feet in

diameter; countless in numbers and forming forests

extending hundreds of miles back from the sea.

The people are exceedingly musical, and learned to a

52

remarkable degree in their arts and sciences, especially

geometry and astronomy. Their cities are equipped with

vast palaces of music, where not infrequently as many

as twenty-five thousand lusty voices of this giant race

swell forth in mighty choruses of the most sublime

symphonies.

The children are not supposed to attend institutions of

learning before they are twenty years old. Then their

school life begins and continues for thirty years, ten of

which are uniformly devoted by both sexes to the study

of music.

Their principal vocations are architecture, agriculture,

horticulture, the raising of vast herds of cattle, and the

building of conveyances peculiar to that country, for

travel on land and water. By some device which I

cannot explain, they hold communion with one another

between the most distant parts of their country, on air

currents.

All buildings are erected with special regard to strength,

durability, beauty and symmetry, and with a style of

architecture vastly more attractive to the eye than any I

have ever observed elsewhere.

About three-fourths of the "inner" surface of the earth is

land and about one-fourth water. There are numerous

rivers of tremendous size, some flowing in a northerly

direction and others southerly. Some of these rivers are

53

thirty miles in width, and it is out of these vast

waterways, at the extreme northern and southern parts

of the "inside" surface of the earth, in regions where

low temperatures are experienced, that fresh-water

icebergs are formed. They are then pushed out to sea

like huge tongues of ice, by the abnormal freshets of

turbulent waters that, twice every year, sweep

everything before them.

We saw innumerable specimens of bird-life no larger

than those encountered in the forests of Europe or

America. It is well known that during the last few years

whole species of birds have quit the earth. A writer in a

recent article on this subject says: 19

"Almost every year sees the final extinction of one or

more bird species. Out of fourteen varieties of birds

found a century since on a single island the West Indian island of St. Thomas eight have now to be numbered among the missing."

Is it not possible that these disappearing bird species

quit their habitation without, and find an asylum in the

"within world"?

Whether inland among the mountains, or along the

seashore, we found bird life prolific. When they spread

their great wings some of the birds appeared to measure

thirty feet from tip to tip. They are of great variety and

many colors. We were permitted to climb up on the

54

edge of a rock and examine a nest of eggs. There were

five in the nest, each of which was at least two feet in

length and fifteen inches in diameter.

After we had been in the city of Hectea about a week,

Professor Galdea took us to an inlet, where we saw

thousands of tortoises along the sandy shore. I hesitate

to state the size of these great creatures. They were

from twenty-five to thirty feet in length, from fifteen to

twenty feet in width and fully seven feet in height.

When one of them projected its head it had the

appearance of some hideous sea monster.

The strange conditions "within" are favorable not only

for vast meadows of luxuriant grasses, forests of giant

trees, and all manner of vegetable life, but wonderful

animal life as well.

One day we saw a great herd of elephants. There must

have been five hundred of these thunder-throated

monsters, with their restlessly waving trunks. They

were tearing huge boughs from the trees and trampling

smaller growth into dust like so much hazel-brush.

They would average over 100 feet in length and from

75 to 85 in height.

It seemed, as I gazed upon this wonderful herd of giant

elephants, that I was again living in the public library at

Stockholm, where I had spent much time studying the

wonders of the Miocene age. I was filled with mute

55

astonishment, and my father was speechless with awe.

He held my arm with a protecting grip, as if fearful

harm would overtake us. We were two atoms in this

great forest, and, fortunately, unobserved by this vast

herd of elephants as they drifted on and away, following

a leader as does a herd of sheep. They browsed from

growing herbage which they encountered as they

traveled, and now and again shook the firmament with

their deep bellowing. 20

There is a hazy mist that goes up from the land each

evening, and it invariably rains once every twenty-four

hours. This great moisture and the invigorating

electrical light and warmth account perhaps for the

luxuriant vegetation, while the highly charged electrical

air and the evenness of climatic conditions may have

much to do with the giant growth and longevity of all

animal life.

In places the level valleys stretched away for many

miles in every direction. "The Smoky God," in its clear

white light, looked calmly down. There was an

intoxication in the electrically surcharged air that

fanned the cheek as softly as a vanishing whisper.

Nature chanted a lullaby in the faint murmur of winds

whose breath was sweet with the fragrance of bud and

blossom.

After having spent considerably more than a year in

visiting several of the many cities of the "within" world

56

and a great deal of intervening country, and more than

two years had passed from the time we had been picked

up by the great excursion ship on the river, we decided

to cast our fortunes once more upon the sea, and

endeavor to regain the "outside" surface of the earth.

We made known our wishes, and they were reluctantly

but promptly followed. Our hosts gave my father, at his

request, various maps showing the entire "inside"

surface of the earth, its cities, oceans, seas, rivers, gulfs

and bays. They also generously offered to give us all

the bags of gold nuggets some of them as large as a goose's egg that we were willing to attempt to take with us in our little fishing-boat.

In due time we returned to Jehu, at which place we

spent one month in fixing up and overhauling our little

fishing sloop. After all was in readiness, the same ship

"Naz" that originally discovered us, took us on board

and sailed to the mouth of the river Hiddekel.

After our giant brothers had launched our little craft for

us, they were most cordially regretful at parting, and

evinced much solicitude for our safety. My father swore

by the Gods Odin and Thor that he would surely return

again within a year or two and pay them another visit.

And thus we bade them adieu. We made ready and

hoisted our sail, but there was little breeze. We were

becalmed within an hour after our giant friends had left

us and started on their return trip.

57

The winds were constantly blowing south, that is, they

were blowing from the northern opening of the earth

toward that which we knew to be south, but which,

according to our compass's pointing finger, was directly

north.

For three days we tried to sail, and to beat against the

wind, but to no avail. Whereupon my father said: "My

son, to return by the same route as we came in is

impossible at this time of year. I wonder why we did

not think of this before. We have been here almost two

and a half years; therefore, this is the season when the

sun is beginning to shine in at the southern opening of

the earth. The long cold night is on in the Spitzbergen

country."

"What shall we do?" I inquired.

"There is only one thing we can do," my father replied,

"and that is to go south." Accordingly, he turned the

craft about, gave it full reef, and started by the compass

north but, in fact, directly south. The wind was strong,

and we seemed to have struck a current that was

running with remarkable swiftness in the same

direction.

In just forty days we arrived at Delfi, a city we had

visited in company with our guides Jules Galdea and his

wife, near