The Smoky God ...................................................................................................................................................1

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

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 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

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

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

Interest in northern research is international. Eleven nations are engaged in, or have contributed to, the

There is a saying, ancient as the hills, that "truth is stranger than fiction," and in a most startling manner has

It was just two o'clock in the morning when I was aroused from a restful sleep by the vigorous ringing of my

doorbell. 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 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

Perhaps I may as well explain here that Olaf Jansen, a man who quite recently celebrated his ninetyfifth

birthday, has for the last halfdozen years been living alone in an unpretentious bungalow out Glendale way,

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

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 fourscore 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 welltended vines and flowers clustering in profusion over its windows, roof and wide

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

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

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

leavetaking. "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

I laughingly assured him that I would not only come again, but would be ready to believe whatever he might

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.

He was very impatient at the long wait, although after being summoned I had come immediately to his

"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.

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

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 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 madhouse, 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 farreaching 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

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 fourscore mark) had sought an asylum of restful peace in sunfavored California, I will undertake to

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 icelocked unknown does not abate with the receding years, either in

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.

"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

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 in the following

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void." And also,

"God created man in his own image." Therefore, even in things material, man must be Godlike, because he

A man builds a house for himself and family. The porches or verandas are all without, and are secondary. The

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

Take an eggshell, 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 logbooks Arctic explorers tell us of the dipping of the 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

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

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

On the top of a high mountain, near the fountainhead of these four rivers, Olaf Jansen, the Norseman, claims

to have discovered the longlost "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 where the people live to be centuries old, after the order of

Methuselah and other Biblical characters; a region where onequarter of the "inner" surface is water and

threequarters 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

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

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

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 logbooks. 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. However, Olaf

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

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

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 freezing eliminates the salt, but Olaf Jansen

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 sunworshiping, 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

[1 The following quotation is significant; "It follows that man issuing from a motherregion 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

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 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

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 buryingplaces 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 icefloes, and have accumulated like driftwood on the Siberian coast. This has been going on for

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 drifttimber 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 tusks from

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.

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

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

My father was a man fully six feet three in height, and weighed over fifteen stone, a typical Norseman of the

most rugged sort, and capable of more endurance than any other man I have ever known. He possessed the

gentleness of a woman in tender little ways, yet his determination and willpower were beyond description.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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 fishingbrig of my own. For twentyseven years thereafter I followed the sea as a fisherman, five

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

The memory of my long confinement with maniacs, and all the horrible anguish and sufferings are too vivid

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

For a dozen years my home was in Illinois, near Batavia, where I gathered most of the books in my present

library, though I brought many choice volumes from Stockholm. 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

figtree, 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

I well remember that we left Stockholm in our fishingsloop 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 fishingsloop with ivory, instead of cod, herring,

We put in at Hammerfest, latitude seventyone 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 drinkingwater, and then

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 fishingsloop could not possibly have threaded its way among the

labyrinth of icebergs or squeezed through the barely open channels. These monster bergs presented an

endless succession of crystal palaces, of massive cathedrals and fantastic mountain ranges, grim and

sentinellike, immovable as some towering cliff of solid rock, standing; silent as a sphinx, resisting the

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

[2 It will be remembered that Andree started on his fatal balloon voyage from the northwest coast of

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

Never, before or since, have I seen so many seafowl; they were so numerous that they hid the rocks on the

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 twentyfour 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

[3 Sir John Barrow, Bart., F.R.S., in his work entitled "Voyages of Discovery and Research Within the Arctic

Regions," says on page 57: "Mr. Beechey refers to what has frequently been found and noticed the

mildness of the temperature on the western coast of Spitzbergen, there being little or no sensation of cold,

though the thermometer might be only a few degrees above the freezingpoint. 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

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

[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

My father was an ardent believer in Odin and Thor, and had frequently told me they were gods who came

There was a tradition, my father explained, that still farther northward was a land more beautiful than any that

[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

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

[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."]

The sun was low in the horizon, as it was still the early summer. Indeed, we had almost four months of day

Our little fishingsloop sprang forward as if eager as ourselves for adventure. Within thirtysix 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

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

and explore for a day. This new land was destitute of timber, but we found a large accumulation of

driftwood on the northern shore. Some of the trunks of the trees were forty feet long and two feet in

[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 highwater 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 firewood, and for the first time in that valley, a bright, cheery campfire gave comfort to

After one day's exploration of the coast line of this island, we lifted anchor and turned our prow to the north

[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

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]

[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

We both frankly admitted that we were very hungry, and forthwith I prepared a substantial meal from our

wellstored larder. When we had partaken heartily of the repast, I told my father I believed I would sleep, as

I was beginning to feel quite drowsy. "Very well," he replied, "I will keep the watch."

I have no way to determine how long I slept; I only know that I was rudely awakened by a terrible

commotion of the sloop. To my surprise, I found my father sleeping soundly. I cried out lustily to him, and

starting up, he sprang quickly to his feet. Indeed, had he not instantly clutched the rail, he would certainly

A fierce snowstorm 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 steamcloud

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

[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

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

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

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 whitesprayed fury. There was no telling what instant we should be dashed against some drifting

icepack. The tremendous swells would heave us up to the very peaks of mountainous waves, then plunge us

down into the depths of the sea's trough as if our fishingsloop were a fragile shell. Gigantic whitecapped

This terrible nerveracking 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

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

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

He put up the sloop's sails as calmly as if casting a fishingnet, and then remarked that we were ready for a

On investigation we found less than onethird of our provisions remaining, while to our utter dismay, we

discovered that our watercasks had been swept overboard during the violent plungings of our boat.

Two of our watercasks 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

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 mistcovered,

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 greentinted sea, and above, the purple sky.

I TRIED to forget my thirst by busying myself with bringing up some food and an empty vessel from the

hold. Reaching over the siderail, 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

And thus we made the discovery that the water was indeed fresh, absolutely so, without the least briny taste

We forthwith filled our two remaining watercasks, and my father declared it was a heavenly dispensation of

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

[11 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 engineroom was far too salt to

We had scarcely appeased our hunger when a breeze began filling the idle sails, and, glancing at the compass,

In response to my surprise, my father said, "I have heard of this before; it is what they call the dipping of the

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

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 north by northeast. Our course, however, was ever

[12 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 twentyfour degrees. And remarkably

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 the needle becoming so weak as to be completely overcome by the attraction of the ship,

The sea was serenely smooth, with hardly a choppy wave, and the wind brisk and exhilarating. The sun's

rays, while striking us aslant, 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

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

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

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

But this dullred, 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 socalled false sun, during a period of at least twelve hours

Clouds and mists would at times almost, but never entirely, hide its location. Gradually it seemed to climb

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 hazyred, bronzed appearance, which would change to a white light like a luminous

"We finally agreed in our discussion of this smoky furnacecolored 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]

[13 Nansen, on page 394, says: "Today another noteworthy thing happened, which was that about midday

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 flattenedout, 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

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

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 shoreline 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

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

In the meantime, a net which we found in the stowage had been cast, and we caught a few fish that materially

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]

[14 Peary's first voyage, pages 69 and 70, says: "On reaching Sir Byam Martin's Island, the nearest to

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

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 fishingcraft, 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 twentyfour,

we continued to make our way inland, into what afterward proved to be a mighty river, and which we learned

We continued our journey for ten days thereafter, and found we had fortunately attained a distance inland

The discovery came none too soon, for our remaining cask of water was wellnigh exhausted. We lost no

time in replenishing our casks, and continued to sail farther up the river when the wind was favorable.

Along the banks great forests miles in extent could be seen stretching away on the shoreline. 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

It was about the first of September, over five months, we calculated, since our leavetaking 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

It was a larger ship than any we had ever seen, and was differently constructed.[15]

[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

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

The immense craft paused, and almost immediately a boat was lowered and six men of gigantic stature rowed

to our little fishingsloop. 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

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

"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 fishingcraft 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

If my father and I were curiously observed by the ship's occupants, this strange race of giants offered us an

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 shortcropped. 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

[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 postdiluvian

history is by no means scientifically incredible." Wm. F. Warren, "Paradise Found," p. 284.]

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 very attractive. The men were clothed in handsomely

embroidered tunics of silk and satin and belted at the waist. They wore kneebreeches 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

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,

At the captain's command, the vessel was swung cleverly about, and began retracing its course up the river.

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 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

dullred sun which had already attracted our attention, now giving out a white light seemingly from a

cloudbank far away in front of us. It dispensed a greater light, I should say, than two full moons on the

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

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

It must be remembered, the time of which I write was the autumn of 1829, and we of the "outside" surface of

The electrically surcharged condition of the air was a constant vitalizer. I never felt better in my life than

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

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

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

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

"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

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,

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

"inside" to the "outside" surface. Relatively speaking, it is no thicker than an eggshell, so that there is almost

The great luminous cloud or ball of dullred fire fieryred 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

The base of this electrical cloud or central luminary, the seat of the gods, is dark and nontransparent, 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.

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

fanlike 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 the single rail track as if it were in a vacuum; the fly wheels in their rapid revolutions

destroying effectually the socalled 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

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

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,

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]

[17 "And the Lord God planted a garden, and out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is

The unexpected awaited us in this palace of beauty, in the finding of our little fishingcraft. 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

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

"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

Thus terminated our only interview with the High Priest or Ruler of the continent.

WE learned that the males do not marry before they are from seventyfive 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

[18 Josephus says: "God prolonged the life of the patriarchs that preceded the deluge, both on account of their

virtues and to give them the opportunity of perfecting the sciences of geometry and astronomy, which they

had discovered; which they could not have done if they had not lived 600 years, because it is only after the

lapse of 600 years that the great year is accomplished." Flammarion, Astronomical Myths, Paris p. 26.]

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 halfdozen 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

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

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 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 twentyfive thousand lusty voices of this giant race swell forth in mighty choruses of the most

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

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

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 threefourths of the "inner" surface of the earth is land and about onefourth water. There are

numerous rivers of tremendous size, some flowing in a northerly direction and others southerly. Some of

these rivers are 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

freshwater 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 birdlife 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

[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

Is it not possible that these disappearing bird species quit their habitation without, and find an asylum in the

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 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 twentyfive 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

One day we saw a great herd of elephants. There must have been five hundred of these thunderthroated

monsters, with their restlessly waving trunks. They were tearing huge boughs from the trees and trampling

smaller growth into dust like so much hazelbrush. They would average over 100 feet in length and from 75

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

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

[20 "Moreover, there were a great number of elephants in the island: and there was provision for animals of

every kind. Also whatever fragrant things there are in the earth, whether roots or herbage, or woods, or

distilling drops of flowers or fruits, grew and thrived in that land." The Cratylus of Plato.]

There is a hazy mist that goes up from the land each evening, and it invariably rains once every twentyfour

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

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

After having spent considerably more than a year in visiting several of the many cities of the "within" world

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,

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 fishingboat.

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

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

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

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

"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

In just forty days we arrived at Delfi, a city we had visited in company with our guides Jules Galdea and his

wife, near the mouth of the Gihon river. Here we stopped for two days, and were most hospitably entertained

by the same people who had welcomed us on our former visit. We laid in some additional provisions and

On our outward trip we came through a narrow channel which appeared to be a separating body of water

between two considerable bodies of land. There was a beautiful beach to our right, and we decided to

reconnoiter. Casting anchor, we waded ashore to rest up for a day before continuing the outward hazardous

undertaking. We built a fire and threw on some sticks of dry driftwood. While my father was walking along

There was a mild, luminous light which my father said resulted from the sun shining in from the south

aperture of the earth. That night we slept soundly, and awakened the next morning as refreshed as if we had

After breakfast we started out on an inland tour of discovery, but had not gone far when we sighted some

They are flightless birds, but excellent swimmers and tremendous in size, with white breast, short wings,

black head, and long peaked bills. They stand fully nine feet high. They looked at us with little surprise, and

presently waddled, rather than walked, toward the water, and swam away in a northerly direction.[21]

[21 "The nights are never so dark at the Poles as in other regions, for the moon and stars seem to possess

twice as much light and effulgence. In addition, there is a continuous light, the varied shades and play of

The events that occurred during the following hundred or more days beggar description. We were on an open

and iceless sea. The month we reckoned to be November or December, and we knew the socalled South

Pole was turned toward the sun. Therefore, when passing out and away from the internal electrical light of

"The Smoky God" and its genial warmth, we would be met by the light and warmth of the sun, shining in

[22 "The fact that gives the phenomenon of the polar aurora its greatest importance is that the earth becomes

selfluminous; that, besides the light which as a planet is received from the central body, it shows a

There were times when our little craft, driven by wind that was continuous and persistent, shot through the

waters like an arrow. Indeed, had we encountered a hidden rock or obstacle, our little vessel would have been

At last we were conscious that the atmosphere was growing decidedly colder, and, a few days later, icebergs

were sighted far to the left. My father argued, and correctly, that the winds which filled our sails came from

the warm climate "within." The time of the year was certainly most auspicious for us to make our dash for the

"outside" world and attempt to scud our fishing sloop through open channels of the frozen zone which

We were soon amid the icepacks, and how our little craft got through. the narrow channels and escaped

being crushed I know not. The compass behaved in the same drunken and unreliable fashion in passing over

the southern curve or edge of the earth's shell as it had done on our inbound trip at the northern entrance. It

[23 Captain Sabine, on page 105 in "Voyages in the Arctic Regions," says: "The geographical determination

of the direction and intensity of the magnetic forces at different points of the earth's surface has been regarded

as an object worthy of especial research. To examine in different parts of the globe, the declination,

inclination and intensity of the magnetic force, and their periodical and secular variations, and mutual

relations and dependencies could be duly investigated only in fixed magnetical observatories."]

One day as I was lazily looking over the sloop's side into the clear waters, my father shouted: "Breakers

ahead!" Looking up, I saw through a lifting mist a white object that towered several hundred feet high,

completely shutting off our advance. We lowered sail immediately, and none too soon. In a moment we

found ourselves wedged between two monstrous icebergs. Each was crowding and grinding against its fellow

mountain of ice. They were like two gods of war contending for supremacy. We were greatly alarmed.

Indeed, we were between the lines of a battle royal; the sonorous thunder of the grinding ice was like the

continued volleys of artillery. Blocks of ice larger than a house were frequently lifted up a hundred feet by

the mighty force of lateral pressure; they would shudder and rock to and fro for a few seconds, then come

crashing down with a deafening roar, and disappear in the foaming waters. Thus, for more than two hours, the

It seemed as if the end had come. The ice pressure was terrific, and while we were not caught in the

dangerous part of the jam, and were safe for the time being, yet the heaving and rending of tons of ice as it

fell splashing here and there into the watery depths filled us with shaking fear.

Finally, to our great joy, the grinding of the ice ceased, and within a few hours the great mass slowly divided,

and, as if an act of Providence had been performed, right before us lay an open channel. Should we venture

with our little craft into this opening? If the pressure came on again, our little sloop as well as ourselves

would be crushed into nothingness. We decided to take the chance, and, accordingly, hoisted our sail to a

favoring breeze, and soon started out like a racehorse, running the gauntlet of this unknown narrow channel

FOR the next fortyfive days our time was employed in dodging icebergs and hunting channels; indeed, had

we not been favored with a strong south wind and a small boat, I doubt if this story could have ever been

At last, there came a morning when my father said: "My son, I think we are to see home. We are almost

However, there were a few icebergs that had floated far northward into the open water still ahead of us on

either side, stretching away for many miles. Directly in front of us, and by the compass, which had now

"What a wonderful story we have to tell to the people of Stockholm," continued my father, while a look of

pardonable elation lighted up his honest face. "And think of the gold nuggets stowed away in the hold!"

I spoke kind words of praise to my father, not alone for his fortitude and endurance, but also for his

courageous daring as a discoverer, and for having made the voyage that now promised a successful end. I was

While congratulating ourselves on the goodly supply of provisions and water we still had on hand, and on the

dangers we had escaped, we were startled by hearing a most terrific explosion, caused by the tearing apart of

a huge mountain of ice. It was a deafening roar like the firing of a thousand cannon. We were sailing at the

time with great speed, and happened to be near a monstrous iceberg which to all appearances was as

immovable as a rockbound island. It seemed, however, that the iceberg had split and was breaking apart,

whereupon the balance of the monster along which we were sailing was destroyed, and it began dipping from

us. My father quickly anticipated the danger before I realized its awful possibilities. The iceberg extended

down into the water many hundreds of feet, and, as it tipped over, the portion coming up out of the water

caught our fishingcraft like a lever on a fulcrum, and threw it into the air as if it had been a football.

Our boat fell back on the iceberg, that by this time had changed the side next to us for the top. My father was

still in the boat, having become entangled in the rigging, while I was thrown some twenty feet away.

I quickly scrambled to my feet and shouted to my father, who answered: "All is well." Just then a realization

dawned upon me. Horror upon horror! The blood froze in my veins. The iceberg was still in motion, and its

great weight and force in toppling over would cause it to submerge temporarily. I fully realized what a

sucking maelstrom it would produce amid the worlds of water on every side. They would rush into the

In this supreme moment of mental anguish, I remember glancing at our boat, which was lying on its side, and

wondering if it could possibly right itself, and if my father could escape. Was this the end of our struggles

and adventures? Was this death? All these questions flashed through my mind in the fraction of a second, and

a moment later I was engaged in a life and death struggle. The ponderous monolith of ice sank below the

surface, and the frigid waters gurgled around me in frenzied anger. I was in a saucer, with the waters pouring

When I partially recovered my senses, and roused from the swoon of a halfdrowned man, I found myself

wet, stiff, and almost frozen, lying on the iceberg. But there was no sign of my father or of our little fishing

sloop. The monster berg had recovered itself, and, with its new balance, lifted its head perhaps fifty feet

above the waves. The top of this island of ice was a plateau perhaps half an acre in extent.

I loved my father well, and was griefstricken at the awfulness of his death. I railed at fate, that I, too, had

not been permitted to sleep with him in the depths of the ocean. Finally, I climbed to my feet and looked

about me. The purpledomed sky above, the shoreless green ocean beneath, and only an occasional iceberg

discernible! My heart sank in hopeless despair. I cautiously picked my way across the berg toward the other

Dared I think it possible that my father still lived? It was but a ray of hope that flamed up in my heart. But the

anticipation warmed my blood in my veins and started it rushing like some rare stimulant through every fiber

I crept close to the precipitous side of the iceberg, and peered far down, hoping, still hoping. Then I made a

circle of the berg, scanning every foot of the way, and thus I kept going around and around. One part of my

brain was certainly becoming maniacal, while the other part, I believe, and do to this day, was perfectly

I was conscious of having made the circuit a dozen times, and while one part of my intelligence knew, in all

reason, there was not a vestige of hope, yet some strange fascinating aberration bewitched and compelled me

still to beguile myself with expectation. The other part of my brain seemed to tell me that while there was no

possibility of my father being alive, yet, if I quit making the circuitous pilgrimage, if I paused for a single

moment, it would be acknowledgment of defeat, and, should I do this, I felt that I should go mad. Thus, hour

after hour I walked around and around, afraid to stop and rest, yet physically powerless to continue much

longer. Oh! horror of horrors! to be cast away in this wide expanse of waters without food or drink, and only

a treacherous iceberg for an abiding place. My heart sank within me, and all semblance of hope was fading

Then the hand of the Deliverer was extended, and the deathlike stillness of a solitude rapidly becoming

unbearable was suddenly broken by the firing of a signalgun. I looked up in startled amazement, when, I

saw, less than a halfmile away, a whalingvessel bearing down toward me with her sail full set.

Evidently my continued activity on the iceberg had attracted their attention. On drawing near, they put out a

boat, and, descending cautiously to the water's edge, I was rescued, and a little later lifted on board the

I found it was a Scotch whaler, "The Arlington." She had cleared from Dundee in September, and started

immediately for the Antarctic, in search of whales. The captain, Angus MacPherson, seemed kindly disposed,

but in matters of discipline, as I soon learned, possessed of an iron will. When I attempted to tell him that I

had come from the "inside" of the earth, the captain and mate looked at each other, shook their heads, and

insisted on my being put in a bunk under strict surveillance of the ship's physician.

I was very weak for want of food, and had not slept for many hours. However, after a few days' rest, I got up

one morning and dressed myself without asking permission of the physician or anyone else, and told them

The captain sent for me and again questioned me concerning where I had come from, and how I came to be

alone on an iceberg in the far off Antarctic Ocean. I replied that I had just come from the "inside" of the

earth, and proceeded to tell him how my father and myself had gone in by way of Spitzbergen, and come out

by way of the South Pole country, whereupon I was put in irons. I afterward heard the captain tell the mate

that I was as crazy as a March hare, and that I must remain in confinement until I was rational enough to give

Finally, after much pleading and many promises, I was released from irons. I then and there decided to invent

some story that would satisfy the captain, and never again refer to my trip to the land of "The Smoky God," at

Within a fortnight I was permitted to go about and take my place as one of the seamen. A little later the

captain asked me for an explanation. I told him that my experience had been so horrible that I was fearful of

my memory, and begged him to permit me to leave the question unanswered until some time in the future. "I

think you are recovering considerably," he said, "but you are not sane yet by a good deal." "Permit me to do

such work as you may assign," I replied, "and if it does not compensate you sufficiently, I will pay you

On finally reaching Stockholm, as I have already related, I found that my good mother had gone to her

reward more than a year before. I have also told how, later, the treachery of a relative landed me in a

madhouse, where I remained for twentyeight years seemingly unending years and, still later, after my

release, how I returned to the life of a fisherman, following it sedulously for twentyseven years, then how I

came to America, and finally to Los Angeles, California. But all this can be of little interest to the reader.

Indeed, it seems to me the climax of my wonderful travels and strange adventures was reached when the

IN concluding this history of my adventures, I wish to state that I firmly believe science is yet in its infancy

concerning the cosmology of the earth. There is so much that is unaccounted for by the world's accepted

knowledge of today, and will ever remain so until the land of "The Smoky God" is known and recognized

It is the land from whence came the great logs of cedar that have been found by explorers in open waters far

over the northern edge of the earth's crust, and also the bodies of mammoths whose bones are found in vast

Northern explorers have done much. Sir John Franklin, De Haven Grinnell, Sir John Murray, Kane, Melville,

Hall, Nansen, Schwatka, Greely, Peary, Ross, Gerlache, Bernacchi, Andree, Amsden, Amundson and others

I firmly believe that Andree and his two brave companions, Strindberg and Fraenckell, who sailed away in

the balloon "Oreon" from the northwest coast of Spitzbergen on that Sunday afternoon of July 11, 1897, are

now in the "within" world, and doubtless are being entertained, as my father and myself were entertained by

Having, in my humble way, devoted years to these problems, I am well acquainted with the accepted

definitions of gravity, as well as the cause of the magnetic needle's attraction, and I am prepared to say that it

is my firm belief that the magnetic needle is influenced solely by electric currents which completely envelop

the earth like a garment, and that these electric currents in an endless circuit pass out of the southern end of

the earth's cylindrical opening, diffusing and spreading themselves over all the "outside" surface, and rushing

madly on in their course toward the North Pole. And while these currents seemingly dash off into space at the

earth's curve or edge, yet they drop again to the "inside" surface and continue their way southward along the

[24 "Mr. Lemstrom concluded that an electric discharge which could only be seen by means of the

spectroscope was taking place on the surface of the ground all around him, and that from a distance it would

appear as a faint display of Aurora, the phenomena of pale and flaming light which is some times seen on the

As to gravity, no one knows what it is, because it has not been determined whether it is atmospheric pressure

that causes the apple to fall, or whether, 150 miles below the surface of the earth, supposedly onehalf way

through the earth's crust, there exists some powerful loadstone attraction that draws it. Therefore, whether the

apple, when it leaves the limb of the tree, is drawn or impelled downward to the nearest point of resistance, is

Sir James Ross claimed to have discovered the magnetic pole at about seventyfour degrees latitude. This is

wrong the magnetic pole is exactly onehalf the distance through the earth's crust. Thus, if the earth's

crust is three hundred miles in thickness, which is the distance I estimate it to be, then the magnetic pole is

undoubtedly one hundred and fifty miles below the surface of the earth, it matters not where the test is made.

And at this particular point one hundred and fifty miles below the surface, gravity ceases, becomes

neutralized; and when we pass beyond that point on toward the "inside" surface of the earth, a reverse

attraction geometrically increases in power, until the other one hundred and fifty miles of distance is

Thus, if a hole were bored down through the earth's crust at London, Paris, New York, Chicago, or Los

Angeles, a distance of three hundred miles, it would connect the two surfaces. While the inertia and

momentum of a weight dropped in from the "outside" surface would carry it far past the magnetic center, yet,

before reaching the "inside" surface of the earth it would gradually diminish in speed, after passing the

halfway point, finally pause and immediately fall back toward the "outside" surface, and continue thus to

oscillate, like the swinging of a pendulum with the power removed, until it would finally rest at the magnetic

center, or at that particular point exactly onehalf the distance between the "outside" surface and the "inside"

The gyration of the earth in its daily act of whirling around in its spiral rotation at a rate greater than one

thousand miles every hour, or about seventeen miles per second makes of it a vast electrogenerating

body, a huge machine, a mighty prototype of the punymanmade dynamo, which, at best, is but a feeble

The valleys of this inner Atlantis Continent, bordering the upper waters of the farthest north are in season

covered with the most magnificent and luxuriant flowers. Not hundreds and thousands, but millions, of acres,

from which the pollen or blossoms are carried far away in almost every direction by the earth's spiral

gyrations and the agitation of the wind resulting therefrom, and it is these blossoms or pollen from the vast

floral meadows "within" that produce the colored snows of the Arctic regions that have so mystified the

[25 Kane, vol. I, page 44, says: "We passed the 'crimson cliffs' of Sir John Ross in the forenoon of August

5th. The patches of red snow from which they derive their name could be seen clearly at the distance of ten

La Chambre, in an account of Andree's balloon expedition, on page 144, says: "On the isle of Amsterdam the

snow is tinted with red for a considerable distance, and the savants are collecting it to examine it

microscopically. It presents, in fact, certain peculiarities; it is thought that it contains very small plants.

Beyond question, this new land "within" is the home, the cradle, of the human race, and viewed from the

standpoint of the discoveries made by us, must of necessity have a most important bearing on all physical,

paleontological, archaeological, philological and mythological theories of antiquity.

The same idea of going back to the land of mystery to the very beginning to the origin of man is

found in Egyptian traditions of the earlier terrestrial regions of the gods, heroes and men, from the historical

fragments of Manetho, fully verified by the historical records taken from the more recent excavations of

It is now one hour past midnight the new year of 1908 is here, and this is the third day thereof, and having

at last finished the record of my strange travels and adventures I wish given to the world, I am ready, and

even longing, for the peaceful rest which I am sure will follow life's trials and vicissitudes. I am old in years,

and ripe both with adventures and sorrows, yet rich with the few friends I have cemented to me in my

struggles to lead a just and upright life. Like a story that is wellnigh told, my life is ebbing away. The

presentiment is strong within me that I shall not live to see the rising of another sun. Thus do I conclude my

I FOUND much difficulty in deciphering and editing the manuscripts of Olaf Jansen. However, I have taken

the liberty of reconstructing only a very few expressions, and in doing this have in no way changed the spirit

or meaning. Otherwise, the original text has neither been added to nor taken from.

It is impossible for me to express my opinion as to the value or reliability of the wonderful statements made

by Olaf Jansen. The description here given of the strange lands and people visited by him, location of cities,

the names and directions of rivers, and other information herein combined, conform in every way to the

rough drawings given into my custody by this ancient Norseman, which drawings together with the

manuscript it is my intention at some later date to give to the Smithsonian Institution, to preserve for the

benefit of those interested in the mysteries of the "Farthest North" the frozen circle of silence. It is certain

there are many things in Vedic literature, in "Josephus," the "Odyssey," the "Iliad," Terrien de Lacouperie's

"Early History of Chinese Civilization," Flammarion's "Astronomical Myths," Lenormant's "Beginnings of

History," Hesiod's "Theogony," Sir John de Maundeville's writings, and Sayce's "Records of the Past," that,

to say the least, are strangely in harmony with the seemingly incredible text found in the yellow manuscript

of the old Norseman, Olaf Jansen, and now for the first time given to the world.