The latter was in fact the soul of the undertaking.  His ardor, his modesty, his evident ability with regard to all questions relative to the expedition, which he studied untiringly, soon acquired for him a most decided influence.  From the first he did not conceal the fact that it was his dream to take part in the enterprise, if only as a simple sailor, and that he had a supreme and personal interest in the matter.  This only gave the greater weight to the excellent suggestions which he made to the originators of the expedition, and he personally directed all the preparatory labors.

It was agreed that a second vessel should accompany the “Nordenskiold,” and that it should be like the “Vega,” a steamship.  Nordenskiold himself had demonstrated that the principal cause of the failure of previous attempts had been the employment of sailing vessels.  Arctic navigators, especially when on an exploring expedition, must not be dependent upon the wind, but must be able to force their way speedily through a difficult or perilous pass—­and above all, always be able to take the open sea, which it was often impossible to do with a sailing vessel.

This fundamental point having been established, it was decided also to cover the vessel with a lining of green oak, six inches thick, and to divide it into compartments, so that it would be better able to resist a blow from the ice.  They were also desirous that she should not draw too much water, and that all her arrangements should be so made as to enable her to carry a full supply of coal.  Among the offers which were made to the committee, was a vessel of one hundred and forty tons, which had been recently built at Bremen, and which had a crew of eighteen men, who could easily maneuver her.  She was a schooner, but while she carried her masts, she also was furnished with an engine of eighty horse-power.  One of her boilers was so arranged that it could burn oil or fat, which was easily procurable in the arctic regions, in case their coal should fail.  The schooner protected by its lining of oak, was further strengthened by transverse beams, so as to offer the greatest possible resistance to the pressure of the ice.  Lastly, the front of it was armed with a spur of steel, to enable it to break its way through a thick field of ice.  The vessel when placed on the stocks, was named the “Alaska,” on account of the direction which she was destined to take.  It had been decided that while the “Nordenskiold” should pursue the same route which the “Vega” had followed, that the second vessel should take an opposite direction around the world, and gain the Siberian Ocean, by the island of Alaska and Behring’s Straits.  The chances of meeting the Swedish expedition, or of discovering traces of her if she had perished would thus, they thought, be double, for while one vessel followed on her track, the other would, as it were, precede her.

Erik, who had been the originator of this plan, had often asked himself which of the vessels he had better join, and he had finally concluded to attach himself to the second.