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Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole —^- signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmis d des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film6 A partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 6 6 Is -■^ U ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. (Tbc |)outb's |!lbr;un of Monbcrs anb "^bbcnhircs. JULES VERNE'S STARTLING STORIES. rricc One Shilling per volume in Picture Wrappers; cloth, cutjhtth, Is. GiL; cloth boards, 2,f. i. A Journey into the Interior of the Earth. By JCLF.S VEnNE. 2. The English at the North Pole. By Jules Verke. 3. The Ice Desert. By Jules Verne. 4. Five Weeks in a Balloon. By Jules Verne. 5. The Mysterious .')ocument. By Jules Verne. Other volumes in active jircjmration. LONDON: WARD, LOCK it TYLER, Warwick House, Paternoster Row, E.C. Piiflcr * TiuiiiiT Tlie Sclwooil rniitliig Wurkt. From^. aiul Luiulnii r Wintering in the Ice. let- World Adventures.'\ {Frontispiece. ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES: OR, 00na0cs unt) Crabcis in tin %xti\c Regions. F/iOM THE DISCOVERY OF ICELAND TO THE ENGLISH EXPEDITION OF 1875. EDITED BV JAMES MASON. •'!««««»- ~- ' \itispici:e. LONDON: WARD, LOCK, AND TYLER, WARWICK HOUSE, PATERNOSTER ROW. f '! I( ^ ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES; on, VOYAGES AND TRAVELS IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. FROM THE DISCOVERY OF ICELAND TO THE ENGLISH EXPEDITION OF 1875. EPITKD BY JAMES MASON. 3Loution : WARD, LOCK & TYLER, WARWICK HOUSE, PATERNOSTEE ROW, E.C Beeton's Boy's Own Library. COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS. The best set of voliuues for prizes, rewardB, or gifts to English lads. They have all been prepared by Mr. Reetou with a view to their litness in manly tone and handsome appearance for presents for youth, amongst whom they enjoy an unrivalled degree of popularity, whicli never iiags. Pt'WiJ/ 8ro, cloth (jilt, plain ednes, Ba.', (j'llt edgen, Gs, 1. Stories of the Wars. 2. A Boy's Adventures in the Barons' War. 3. Oressy and Poitiers. Edciab. 4. Runnymede and Lincoln Fair. 5. Wild Sports of the World. 7. Hubert Ellis. 8. Don Quixote. :500 Illustrations. 9. Gulliver's Travels. 10. Robinson Crusoe. New Edition. II. Silas the Conjuror. 14. Brave British Soldiers. 16. Zoological Recreation. 16. Wild Animals in Freedom and Captivity. 18. The World's Explorers. 19. The Man Among the Monkeys. LONDON: WARD, LOCK & TYLER, Warwick House, Patekn'Osteh Row, E.C. y PREFACE. For several hundred years the Arctic Regions have beeu explored by adventurous seamen, and have formed the scene of many brave deeds, hairbreadth escapes, patient efforts, wonderful successes, and not a few thrilling disasters. In the following work an account is given of all the remarkable expeditions made into the Polar World from the discovery of Iceland to the English Expedi- tion of 1875, the information regarding the latter being brought down to the latest date. It is a book which contains, in a more convenient form perhaps than any other, a record of the enter- prise of civilised man within the Arctic Circle. Wo may see in it how for ages men have faced the gloomy powers of cold and darkness in hopes to discover a navigable route to the gorgeous climes of India and China. Wo may read also of the search for Franklin, in which the best energies of our nation wore called forth; of the discovery of new lands and seas; of voyages in the interest of science; of mutinies and shipwrecks and starvation; and — sitting comfortably by our firesides — wo may cast a glance into that mysterious territory that lies between the known world and tho hitherto unvisitcd North Pole. Of our editorial labours it becomes us to speak with VI I'KEFACE. ir diffidence, and wc sliall rise to no bolder height than to hope that the reader may find we have taken pains to serve him. That part of our work which deals with Arctic voyages before 1818 is based on the carefully com- piled " Chronological History of Voyages into the Arctic Regions," by Sir John Barrow. After that date, wo have to acknowledge our obligations to various sources. We were for some time in doubt whether to classify the voyages and other expeditions, or to adopt a chronological order. The former plan was at last decided on, because it seemed the clearer and more interesting of the two. But we have added in the last chapter a Chronological Account of Arctic Ex- ploration, which may be found useful. A short description of the Arctic Regions — their geography, inhabitants, animals, and picturesque features — forms the introduction to the work, and a complete index will bo found at the end. So much for explanation : it only remains now to wish well to all readers into whoso hands our book may fall. / •i CONTENTS. Preface CHAPTER I. THE ARCTIC REGIONS. The Arctic Circle— Grccnlaiul— A Frozen Waste— Kindly Govern- ment—Imports and Exports— At Disco— Iceland— Spitzbcrgen — Scanty Vegetation— Jim Mayen— A Talc of Suffering- SmitL'si Sound— The Nortli-West Passage — A Desolate Coast— Nova Zembla — Our Chart— Tlio Revolving Year— Ice of all Kinds— The Iceblink — Icebergs — A Picturesque Scene — A Wandered Iceberg — In Dangf^r— Intense Cold— Frost-bites— A Tcrriblo Scourge 1-21 CHAPTER II. THE ARCTIC REGIOya {conlimud:. The Esquimaux— Their Appearance and Habits — A Favourable Ac- count — Whales and Whaling — A .successful Day's Sport — The Greenland Shark — The Sea-Unioorn — The Walrus — Cai)turing Walruses— The Scnl-A Weary Watch— Seal Oil— The Polar Bear— Prowling Ab^ nt — The Musk Ox— A Death Struggle — The Reindeer — The Esquimaux Dog— The Arctic Fox — The Birds of the Polar Regions— A North Polo Bird— Plants of the Far North — Mnmmoth Bones — Enormous Trees — Sledge Travelling 22-lU I CHAPTER III. ICELAND, GREENLAND, AND NEWEOUNDLAND. A Scandinavian Pirate discovers Iceland— The First Colonists — The Discovery of Greenland by Eric the Redhead — Exi)loration to the Westward— Religion and Literature amidst Frost and Fire — The Greenland Colonies — The Fate of the Eastern Colony- John Cabot discovers Newfoundland — Throe specimen -,ow- foundlanders — Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Expedition in lo83— Taking Possession in the Queen's Name — The Loss of a Scholar — A L'Mve End ll-l'J VI 11 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. TUE EXPLORATION OF GREENLAND. ' Admiral Liudeuau's Danisli Expedition of 1605 — The Natives of Greenland — A Homo for Criminals — A Second Danish Expedi- tion in 1C06— A Third Expedition in 1607— Mutiny at Sea— A Danish Expedition to Rediscover East Greenland in 1652 — Expeditions for the same Purpose in 1786-87 — The Interior of Greenland— Expeditions to Explore it in 1728, 1751, 1830 — Dr. Hayes' Expedition in 1860 — A vast Frozen Sahara— Running for Life — Dr. Rae's Expedition in 1860 — Dr. Robert Brown's Expedition in 1867 — A Successful Journey in 1870 by Professor Nordenskjold and Dr. Berggren — Remarkable Waterfalls — Ex- pedition by the Germania and Hansa in 1869-70 — The Sad End of the //aHsa— Christmas on an Ice-licld— In Great Danger — The Voyage of tho Germania 50-65 CHAPTER V. SEEKING FOR GOLD IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. Martin Frobisher — Fifteen Years' Solicitation — Frobisher's First Voyage in 1576 — Interviewing tho Natives — A " Pretty Policy " — Finding a Black Stone— It contains Gold — Frobisher's Second Voyage in 1577 — How tho Natives were Treated — A Cornish Trick — Cargoes of Black Stones — Tho Royal Commissioners' Report— Frobisher's Third Voyage in 1578— A proposed Colony — Surprising a Whale — Encountering tho Ice — Many Misfortunes — Tho Colony Scheme Abandoned — Homeward Bound — The Truth about the Black Stones— Frobisher's Future Career . 66-80 CHAPTER VI. DUTCH EXPLORATION IN THE ARCTIC SEAS. Dutch Enterprise Awakened— Tho Expedition of 1594— Three to Four Hundred Idols — Bright Hopes of a North-East Passage— An Adventure with a Bear — Various Discoveries — William Barentz's Second Voyage of 1595 — A great lean White Boar— A Reward promised for tho Discovery of a Passage to China — Barentz's Third Voyage of 1506— Boars and Red Gocse— Tho First Dis- covery of Spitzbcrgon -Wintering in Ice Haven— Christmas Day and Twelfth Night— Tho First Glimi)so of the Sun— Tho Death of Baren'./- Tlic llolurii Home iliul^uu's Expedition . Hi\)H CONTEXTS. IX CHAPTER VII. ARCTIC EXPLORATION BY SOUTHERN NATIONS. The Brothers Zeno — Cast Away in a Storm — A Courteous Chieftain — A Warlike Expedition — A Monastery and a Volcano — The Death of Nicolo Zeno — Founding a City — Historic Doubts — Christopher Columbus in the Northern Seas — Portuguese Ex- ploration — The Voyages of the Cortereals — The Spurious Voyage of Maldonado— Juan de Fuca's Expedition . . . 94-102 CHAPTER Vm. ENGLISH VOYAGES IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-EAST PASSAGE. Sebastian Cabot's Return to England— Sir Hugh Willoughby's Expedi- tiou of 1553 — Cabot's Instructions — The Sad End of Willoughby and his Crew — Richard Chancelor's Voyage— England's First Acquaintance with Russia — A Long Beard — Steven Burough's Voyage in 155G — A Monstrous Whale — Various Discoveries — Treating with the Czar — Ill-luck at Sea — Hudson's Voyage in 1608 — First Impressions of Nova Zembia — Wood and Flawcs' Voyage in 1G76— A Ship's Crew m Distress. . . 103-116 ir u 's d CHAPTER IX. ENGLISH VOYAGES IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. The Voyage of the Trinitie and the Minion in 1636— Oliver Daw- beuey's Story — The Frightened Natives— The Pains of Hunger— A Cannibal Scauum — Spoiling the French — Not Knowing One's own Son — John Davis's First Voyage in 1585 — The Land of Desolation — Music hath Charms— Various Discoveries — Davis's Second Voyage in 158(5 — The Natives of Cacenland— ^A Grum- bling Crew — Great Hopes of the Passage— The Return to Eng- land — Davis's Third Voyage in 1587 — His Opinion about the North-West Passage 117-128 CHAPTER X. ENGLISH VOYAGES IN SE.UtCH OF A NOKTHWEST PASSAGE I'Oiid'iii'od). A Piece uf Information —(icorgo Weymouth's Voyage in 1602— A Plot Mi^ounies— Knighfs Voyago ct I'litii -Knight i- Slnm l»y CONTENTS. the Natives— Henry Hudson's Last Voyage— Mutiny at Sea— The Last Loaf — Adrift in a Small Boat — Quarrelling among the Mutineers— Fighting with the Natives— In a Doleful Plight— The Return to England— Sir Thomas Button's Expedition in 1612— Wintering in Nelson's River— James Hall's Voyage of 1612— A Native Kills Hall— Captain Gibbons' Expedition in 1614 — " Gibbons his Hole "— Bylot and Baffin's Expedition of 1615— Bylot and Baffin's Second Expedition of 1616— Women's Islands —Homo at Last 129-117 CHAPTER XI. ENGLISH VOYAGES IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE [continued). Luke Fox's Expedition of 1631—" North-Wcst Fox "—A Good Store of Provisions — A Bristol Expedition — Poetical Reflections — Fox encounters Ico— A Native Burying-place — Entertained by Cap- tain James— A Friendly Criticism — Bearing up for Home — Captain James's Voyage of 1631 — Profound Ignorance — A Mir- aculous Deliverance — In Many Perils — Winter Quarters — Cold and Disease— Making for England — •' Lamentation, Weeping, and Great Mourning." 148-156 I CHAPTER XII. ENGLISH VOYAGES IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE (continued). Early Canadian History— A Frenchman's Proposals — Prince Rupert's Patronage — Captain Gillam's Expedition in 1668 — The Hudson's Bay Company's Charter — Without Tasto for Discovery — James Knight's Schemes — Looking for Gold and the North-West Passage — No News of Knight— A Search Expedition — The Fate of Knight and his Crew — An Exploring Expedition of 1737 — Cap- tain Middleton's Expedition of 1741— Hero and There— The Frozen Strait— Charges against Captain Middleton — A Reward Offered for the Discovery of the Passage — Moore and Smith's Expedition in 1746 — In Winter Quarters — The Effects of the Cold— Exploration in Spring— Captain Cook's Expedition in 1776-79— Captain Cook's Expedition continued by Captain Gierke — Lieutenant Pickersgill in the Arctic Seas in 1776 — Hugging the Shore — Lieutenant Walter Young's Expedition in 1777 157-178 COXTliNTS. XI CHAPTER Xin. ENGLISH rOYAGEH IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE {continued). Sii- Johu Ross's Voyage of 1818— The Arctic Highlanders— Red Snow — A Vision of Mountains — Disappointment and Discussion — Parry's first Expedition in 1819— Sir John Ross's Mountains Exploded — Winter Harbour in Melville Island — Preparations for Winter — Winter Amusements— Excursion across Melville Island — Attempts to go Westward — The Aurora Borealis — Supposed Site of the Magnetic Pole— Results of the Voyage. . 179-197 re )X P- r- Id CHAPTER XIV. ENGLISH VOYAGES IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WESi' PASSAGE (continued). Parry's Voyages — Preparations for a Second Voyage in 1821-23 — Its Objects — The Ships enter Frozen Strait — Duke of York's Bay Discovered — Frozen in at Winter Island — An Esquimaux Village — A Clever Woman — Esquimaux Map-drawing — The Ice Breaks and the Ships get Free — Navigation under Difficulties — Winter Quarters at Igloolik — Sawing a Canal in the Ice — Return Home —Parry Sets Sail on a Third Voyage, 1821— Wintering in Regent's Inlet — An Unfortunate Spring Season — The Furif Crushed in the Ice and Abandoned — Franklin's Expedition of 1815— In High Spirits— Asking a Whaler to Dine— The Last Sight of the Ships 198-215 CHAPTER XV. IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN. Alarm for Franklin's Safety— Volunteer Aid— Sir James C. Ross's Ex- pedition—Frozen Fast— Sir John Richardson's Expedition — Burying Stores — Arrival at Fort Confidence — Rae's Summer Expedition of 1819 — Captain Kellett's Exjiedition — State of Pub- lic Feeling — First Traces of the Missing Ships — Franklin's first Winter Quarters— The Three Graves— Mr. William Kennedy's Ex- pedition in 1851 — How to build Snow Huts — Sir Edward Bel- cher's Expedition of 1852 — Various Sledge Expeditions — Aban- doning the Resolute and Intrepid — The Return to England — The Resolute Adrift — An American Compliment— Dr. Rao'a Startling Information 21(}-236 Xil OONTKNTS. CHAPTER XVI. IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN (conlinucO). Dv. Kaue's Expedition — Starting from Boston in 1853 — Secure in Rensselaer Bay — Approaching Winter — Effectn of the Cold — Winter Amusements — The Poor Dogs — A Day's Doings — The Ice-House Observatory — Returning Spring — An Unfortimate Sledge Expedition — Almost Starved to Death — Various Sledge Expeditions— A Council of the Crew — The Second Winter — Seal Hunting— A Perilous Adventure — Abandoning the Brig — The Open Sea-way at Last — Shooting a Seal — Arriving at the Danish Settlements— The End of Dr. Kane .... 237-253 CHAPTER XVII. IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN (conlinucd). Tlio Fox Expedition under O'aptain M'Cliutock — Lady Franklin's In- structions — At Holsteinborg — Three Wrecked Vessels — A Marble Tablet on Beechey Island — A Tantalizing Sitimtiou — In Winter Quarters — Poor Sport — Search Expedition in the Spring — In- formation from the Natives — Relics of the Franklin Expedition — The Skeletons on the Shore— The Cairn at Point Victory — A Record Found — A Retreating Crew — The Boat and Two Skeletons Found — Returning to the Ships— Bound for England . 251-27 1 !2i II I CHAPTER XVin. IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN (ooutiiiufd), AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. The Enterprise and the Investigator leave England in 1850 — The two Ships part Company — The Investigator Meets the Plover — The Herald in Sight — " Land Ho 1 " — Parenthetical Paragraphs —Friendly Esciuimaux — Petty Thefts — Pardonable Fibs — Un- friendly Demonstrations — Fire-water — The Shivering Trick — The First Winter — AJSledge Journey — The North-West Passage Discovered — An Adventure for Captain McClure — Spring Navi- gation — Wintering in Mercy Bay— Short Commons— A Sledge Expedition to Winter Harbour — Captain McClure Leaves a Record there — The Record Found by Lieutenant Mecham of Sir E. Belcher's Squadron — Beware of Medicine Bottles— Lioutenaut Pirn Arrives at the Invettigator-X Joyful Welcome — Plans and Prospocts—A Medical Survey— Abivudouiug the Investigator — roNTKNTS. • • • xm Returu to Englaucl— Rewards ami Honours— Who DiscoveVeJ the North-West Passage — What became of Captain CoUinsou ami the Enterprise — The Pandora Expedition — Arctic Veterans — Death of Lady Franklin— Return of the Pixndova—A. Monument to Franklin 27o-.}0() CHAPTER XIX. OS THE WAT TO THE SOUTH I'OLE. Advice to Henry VIU.— Seeking Strange Regions — Henry Hudson's lirst Voyage in 1607 — Jonas Poole's Voyage in 1010— Lord Mul- grave's Expedition in 1773 — An Adventure with a Sea-horse— Captain Buchan's Expedition in 1818 — Parry's Attempt to Reach the Pole in 1827 — The Programme of the Excursion — The High- est Latitude ever Reached — Drifting Southwards — Some Consola- tion — Dr. Hayes' Expedition in 1800 — A DiiUcult Jouniey — The most Northerly known Land — The Voyage of the rolarU in 1871-73— A Chai>ter of Accident's -Picked up by a Whaler 301-317 CHAPTER XX. TUE MAGNETIC POLE DIUL'OVEHHU. Sir John Ross's Voyage of 1829-33 — A Favourable View of Creeuland — Wintering in Felix Harbour — A Short Life of Freedom — Reach- ing tlie Magnetic Pole — Scientific Observations — Hoisting the British Flag — Abandoning the J 'ictory—A Tedious Journey — At Somerset House— Hopes and Fears—" A Sail ! a Sail ! " — Tlie liiibella of Hull— Shower.'i of Honours— A Safe Service . 318-324 CHAPTER XXL ARCTIC EXPLOUATION ON TUE MAINLAND OF AMERICA. Ilearne's Expeelitiou of 1709-70— At the Coppermine River— The Massacre of the Esiiuimaux— Exploration of the Chain of Lakes Running from Lake Superior to the Polar Sea in 177') 78— Alex- ander Mackenzie's Exjtloration of the Mackenzie River in 1789 — Franklin and Richardson's Expedition of 1819 — A Long Winter Journey — Setting out from Fort Chopoweyan— Scarcity and Dis- content— Building Fort Enterprise— Back's Journey to Fort Chepeweyan— An Indian Beauty— Wolfish Tricks— At the Mouth of the Coppermine River — Sailing to Capo Turnagaiu — Terrible Privations— A Deserted Fort— A Cannibal Tale— The Resulta of the Journey -Finding Copper 325-344 XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXII. AnCTIC EXPLORATIO}i ON THE MAINLAND OF AMERICA (continued). Franklin and Richardson's Second Expedition — The Programme- On the Mackenzie River — Mud for Food— Romantic Scenery — The Squinters — Landing on Garry Island— Winter Quarters at Fort Franklin — Christmas Festivities — Franklin's Exploration of the Coast — A Singular Contest with the Esquimaux — A Prudent Return — Dr. Richardson's Exploration to the Eastward of the Mackenzie — Captain Lyon's Expedition — Captain Bcechey in the Blossom Frigate — Anecdote of Franklin — Back's Expedition n 1834 — Back's Expedition in 183G — Dcase and Simpson's Sun-ey in 1837-39 — Assassination of Simpson — Dr. Rae's Expedition of 1845-47 — Hunting and Fishing — Winter Sports under Difficul- ties—Exploration in the Spring .... 345-362 CHAPTER XXIII. MISCELLANEOUS VOYAGES. " Worshipful Francis Cherie's" Expedition in 1G03 — Cherry Island- Stephen Rennet's Expeditions of 1G03, 1G04, 1G05, and 160G— Wholesale Slaughter of Walruses — Hot Weather at Cherry Is- land — Teaching a Walrus — The Muscovy Company and Cherry Island — The First Whaling Voyage — Jonas Poole's Voyage in 1G12 — Baffin on a WliaUng Expedition in 1G13 — The English Lord it over other Nations — Other Whaling Voyages — Baffin on the Cost of Discovery — Jens Munk's Expedition in IGiy — In Winter Quarters — Seeing Three Suns— Cold, Famine, and Disease — The Return to Denmark — A Blow from a King's Cane — Munk's Death — Kotzcbuo's Expedition in 1815-18— A Mountain of Ice — The End of the Expedition — Swedish Arctic Exploration — Thorough Equipment — Captain Long's Discoveries in 18G7 — Sailing in the Sea of Kara in 1869 — A Commercial Polar Expedition in 1874 —The Swedish Expedition of 1875 .... 363-377 CHAPTER XXIV. THE AUSTRO-nVNGARIAN EXPEDITION OF 1872-71. The Object of the Expedition— Struggling against the Ice— Frozen up— Preparations for Winter — Farewell to the Sun — Polar Lights — Attempts to Get Free — Drifting about with the Ice— A Moun- tainous Country Discovered — The Second Winter — Sledge Expe- ditions — Francis Joseph's Land — A nearly Fatal Mishap — The Farthest Point Reached — Abandoning the Ships— Slow Progress --Lauded in Norway . 378 388 CONTENTS. Wf CHAPTER XXV. THE ENGLISH EXPEDITION OF 1875. The Enterprise of other Nations— Representations to the British Government— Government Resolves to Organize an Expedition- Reasons for Arctic Exploration — General Scientific Results — Magnetism and Physics — Ethnology — Polar Geology — Natural History — Botany — Migrations of Birds— The Best Route to the Pole— The History of Smith's Sound .... 389-403 CHAPTER XXVI. THE ENGLISH EXPEDITION OF 1875 (oontiin'cd). The Necessary Funds— A Speech from Mr. Hunt— The Chief Officers— The Crews — The Alert and the Discovery — Without and Within- Lowering Tackle— Collapsible Boats— Sledges and Sledging— The Crow's Nest — Arctic Lamps— Fuel— Preserved Coal — Wholesome Provisions — Amusement for Winter Evenings — The Arctic Museum — Miscellaneous Curiosities — How to Make Pemmi- can 404-427 CHAPTER XXVn. THE ENGLISH EXPEDITION OF 1875 (continued). A Farewell Banquet— Visit from the Prince of Wales— The Empress of the French Visits the Ships — The Day of Departure — Interest- ing Incidents — Telegram from the Queen — The Valorous — Tho Expedition at Plymouth— In Bantry Bay — A Private Letter — On the Voyage — News Received by the Valorous — Latest Intelli- gence 428-44:j CHAPTER XXVIII. .1 CHRONOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS. 444-454 Index . 455-4CO LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Wintering in the Ice Frontispiece Map of the Arctic Repions . 1 A Clear Niglit in tlie Polar Regions .... Of Esquimaux Race A Greenland Omaiak or Wo- man's Boat. Sledge Travelling . IToused for Winter . lu Winter Quarters ou au Ice- Floe Astonishing the Esquimaux . Floating Ice off Nova Zembla. In Nova Zembla A Nova ZemblaLandscape . Snals Slain by the Esquimaux 145 Travelling in the Hudson's Bay Territory Arctic Amusements An Esquimaux Snow Village . Sir John Franklin . The Erebus and Terror in Winter Quarters . .Toseph R. Bellot In Memory of Lieutenant Bellot Di-. Elisha Kent Kane IN'rishing of Cold . A Startling Discovery . The Distribution of Fresents . Abandoning the InvcMigator . ] )r. Hayes in Sight of the Polar Sea ..... Tlie Funeral of Captain Hall . 'A Sail! A Sail!" Shooting the Rapids of the Coppermine River A Singular Contest with the Esquimaux .... The Pilot of the Tegetlwff The Tegcthnff enclosed iu the Ice ' . ■ . . . . 379 Mnp of Francis Joseph's Land 385 13 22 2G 38 •10 Gl 08 83 yi 114 IGO 192 202 211 222 227 227 237 247 270 279 292 315 310 323 335 352 378 PAC,:. UpliillWork . . . . 4iv' Easy Work .... 4i> Captain Nares. . . . 40'^ A Collapsible Boat . . . 41u The Sledge bound for tho North Pole, and a Satellite, or Dog Sledge . . . -ll?! A Sleeping Tent for Eight Men, and a Tripod for an Ice-Saw .... 42l| The Departure of tho Alert and the Discovery . . 4;!':] Au Arctic Scene . . . 44' A Harpoon Gun and a Snow- shoe 44 TaIL-I'IECES— A Heavy Sledge for Short Distances . . . 4ii Prepared for the Cold . . 4;' An Arctic Canoe Paddle . (\'> Creature Comforts . . sn A Leathern and a Sealskin Mit !••; A Screen used in Shooting Seals .... 10-' An Ice-Drag . . .11(1 An Arctic Despatch Case . Vi^ A Sledge with Sail Unfurled 147 A Cork-soled Boot for Arctic Use 17^ An Arctic Voyager iu a Can- vas Suit . . . I'.iT An Ice-Boat on a Slo(l;,'i' . : A Knapsack and Pillow for Northern Voyagers . . 2:> .1 Eye Preservers . . . 2o.'i A Duffel Mit . . .1 Ice Anchors . . . ;il7j A Sou' -wester . . . 3-) A Duffel Sleeping Bag. . ^I'.'J An Empress's Present. . 4'i7f The End of the Day's Jourupv .... 4!!i s^s. for Short • • 4" bid , . 4,| 'atltlle . (i;, . Si.l Jalskin.Afit !(;;| Shooting . 10:' J . ]l(ii Case . 12.S Uu furled li:j 31' Arctic . l7>i a a Ciui- How for J^ . . 2;!. . 2;);i . 2711 . ;^i:f . .'iLMl t. . 4-2: Day's . 4iU ^ s The A1 vi; » ;j Tiih: ICE-WOULD ADVENTURES. CHAPTER I. THE ARCTIC REGIONS. The AncTic Circle— Greekland— A Frozen Waste— KiKPL-r Go- VKRNSIENT — IMPORTS AND EXPORTS — At DiSCO — ICELAND — SpXTZ- reroen- --Scanty Vegetation— Jan Mayen— A Tale of Scffeking —Smith's Sound— The North-West rASSAGE— A Desolate Coast —Nova Zemdla— Ouu Chart — Tue Eevolvinc. Year— Ice of all, Kinds -The Iceblink — Iceuergs— A Picturesque Scene—A Wandered Icerero— In Danger— Intense Cold— FBOSi-BiXEd — A Terrible Scourge. Tilt: Arctic Regions, strictly speaking, comprcheiul those portions of land and water which lie between the Arctic Circle and the North Pole. The Arctic Circle, we may add, is a circle drawn round the Pole at a distance from it of 23;^°. It is the parallel of latitude " at which we begin to find the sun at one time of the year not setting for mure or fewer days together, and at another time not rising for as many." Usually, however, a considerably wider signification is given to the term Arctic Regions, and it is popularly applied to all those districts within or near the Arctic Circle which are subject to extreme degrees of cold. It is held, for example, to include the south of Greenland and Davis's Strait, although both lie south of the Circle. Capo Farewell, indeed, the farthest south point of Greenland, is in the same latitude as the north of Scotland. We shall glance first of all at the principal geographical divisions of this realm of ice and snow, and afterwards give a short account of the various features of its seasons li AmoriJC REGI0MS ^- Franv iht. -^^ ADMJRALTV CHART OF <^P 1875 S)r ! Reference' M aurt,k Tiyido mo Z-3 ihu« FrartAlai^ Tt'ox'Jc _. ,_ M ' Uijttiirk nv commands of dvt I'atJit' Far dtj^mUhjed^ by LcuiyFranJdxJii m^KStarch vfllMS 'Etrvus a/iJ 'Jhrvr 1S67totS60, ouj(ward,tfach 1887. ... 1S56 honvewatxL , .... 1360 Xltjdift/ .— • — .- Atittruuv £xpedUu>ri/ 1872 -i- .... Ala^uiUcPoU ffuts I Jamt* (Zoirlo Saat 1329 »0 1 2 4^3 ^Izplorers -from/ 1818 30123.' BuAaw i818 (lavfrinq 1i2Q Ljvtt/. 'tSiC'4- Bof^mo'- fSZf-C- ZiddLon/. 1S$9 20 Gvgur *S4a e 7 BuhdreUcn/. . ■fS2S€7 B«ah^....i623 -t €7 Ba4t/ raaa 't-.tt- IfaoM^. fS37.S Svmpscn/ i83d-40 -floc^. 184-7 -a JUJletb 18SI-9 .Auatcrv 1SB0 Povny 1SS0 Htnruaj^ 1SS1 Z JnglcfvOdU 18SZ-8 CoOausartL.ISSO 1 Za4- '^hmxrab Osbam, .tSSO.t MOtcre, laso.t.ta TartjOv.....^. 1880 Otrtmooing^-.. i860 JkyMbcnn/.... 1860 Belcher ISSt-O JQmm/. 1868^8 JWtZuuoeJUWl 3 7.8.0 £tt^h/ Snveth/ 186t , -%^ iaoo-1 Sbldetv^ ^_. 1888-9 ^'^ fSffXl y^^fpreehtf :] mza.4-. t0f n'tlittmt msssaaaam »-:«p-?' V /iHRaii?*; -.lUfr sm.-^ ■ ICE -WORLD ADVENTURES. and tlio nature of its inhabitants, plants, and animals, together with such other information as the reader may find useful when ho comes — as he will shortly — to follow the career of adventurous arctic explorers. The most extensive of all arctic territories, and one of which we shall hear a good deal in the following pages, is Greenland. Greenland, as it appears on our maps, is a huge wedge of land hanging down from the North Pole. It stretches from Capo Farewell, its southern extremity, along the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans on the east, and Davis's Strait, Baffin's Bay, and Smith's Sound on the west. Its general form is roughly triangular. The shores on the western and part of the eastern sides have been more or less completely explored. Hardly any- where is there a straight or unbroken line of coast ; deep fiords intersect it at short intervals. These fiords run to a certain extent parallel with each other, often for great distances into the land. In some cases they are divided into numerous branches or tributary fiords. The fiords are more numerous on the west than on the east. Of the interior of Greenland very little is known. As the superficial area can hardly be less than 750,000 miles, explorers will at once sec that they have an extensive field for their future labours. So far as any definite know- ledge of the interior goes, we know almost as little to-day as was known when the country was first discovered, about nine hundred years ago. "True," says Dr. llobert Brown, "wo know that it is covered with an immense glacier expansion. But whether this glacier expansion i^' unbroken from cast to west we can only reason from analogy, and are not able to speak with the authority and confidence which actual observation gives." The reader will find a summary of the difl'erent attempts to examine this frozen land in our chapter on " The Exploration of Greenland." In the meantime we shall do no niuru than quote the THE ARCTIC REGIONS. o o nimals, er may I follow one of ages, IS ps, is a li Pole, iremity, ,st, and on the rn sides Lly any- t ; deep run to ir great divided 3 fiords n. As ) niiloH) :tcnsivo know- to-day 1, about at it is vlicthei' est "we speak rvatiou i flbrent )tcr on utc the impression produced on a party of English and Danes, "^^ho in 18G7 attempted to make their way over, the icy desert. Tliey started from the coast in 00° N. lat. ; but after going some distance were obliged to return, their sledges having been broken to pieces by the rough nature of the ground they had to traverse. One of the party thus describes the scene : " The whole interior of the country appears to be merely a frozen waste, overlain to the depth of many feet by a huge mcr de glace, extending, so far as yet known, over its entire extent from north to south — a sea of fresh-water ice, wherein no creature lives ; a death-like desert, with nought to relieve the eye, its silence enlivened by the sound or sight of no breatliing thing. This is the Inlajids iis of tho Danish colonists ; the outer strip, with its mossy valleys and ice- planed hills, is the well remembered Fastland, Dreary, doubtless, it is to eyes only schooled in the scenery of more southern lands ; but with its coveys of ptarmigans flying up at your feet with their whir, tho arctic fox barking its hue hue on the rocks, and the reindeer browsing in the glens covered with tho creeping bircli, the arctic willows, the cranberry, tho vacciniums, and the yellow poppies, it is a place of life compared with the cheerless waste lying beyond." The western shores of Greenland up to 73'' N. lat. are claimed by the Danes. "For trading purposes," remarks Sir J.copold i\['Clintock, " Greenland is monopolised by the Danish Government. Its Esquimaux and nuxed popu- lation amount to about 7uUU souls. About lUOO Dams reside constantly there for tho purpose of conducting the trade, which consists almost exclusively in the ex- change of Enropean goods for oil and the skins of seals, reindeer, and a few other animals. The Esquimaux are not subject to Danish laws, but, although proud of their nominal independence, they are sincerely attached to the Danes, and with abumlant reason, A JiUtheran ICE-WOPwLD ADVENTURES. v;- clor^ryinan, a doctor, and a schoolmaster, whose duty it is to give gratuitous instruction and relief, are paid by the Government, and attached to each district ; and when these improvident people are in distress, which not unfrequently happens during the long winters, provisions are issued to them free of cost. Spirits are strictly prohibited. All ot them have become Christians, and many can read and write." The exports of Greenland are whale and seal oil and cryolite, the skins of the seal, reindeer, and fox, and eider down. The imports are wheat, brandy, coffee, sugar, tobacco, and firewood. Disco is one of the principal of the islands on the Avcst coast. It lies in the bay of the same name, between latitude C9° and 70°. " Disco Island," says Dr. Hayes, in his "Land of Desolation," "is one of the most notable localities in Greenland. There is a legend that a mighty sorcerer dragged the island there from the south, and a remarkable hole in the rock is pointed out through which the evil genius rove his rope. On the south side of the island there is a low and rugged spur of granite rock, near a mile in length, which encloses as perfect a little harbour as can anywhere be found, and this the Danes have expressed in the name Gudliavfii (good haven), which they have given it. " The little town takes its name from the harbour, though better known by the English whalers' name of Lievcly, which is probably a corruption of ' lively;' for the town is the metropolis of North Greenland, and has been a general rcmU-dvous for whale and discovery ships from the beginning of the present century." Two hundred and fifty miles distant from the cast coast of Greenland, and separated from it by Denmark Strait, is Iceland. " Iceland," remarks one writer, " is in many respects one of the most interesting parts of the world. Its physical features arc very remarkable, and not less so its liistory and the character of its inhabilnnts. It consists THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 5 i^ti in great part of lofty mountains, many of which arc active volcanoes. Only certain level districts along the coasts, and a few dales, are habitable, or in any degree capable of cultivation, whilst even there scarcely a tree is to be seen, and the climate is unsuitable for grain. ** The interior of the island is almost entirely occupied with rugged tracts of naked lava and other volcanic pro- ducts, vast ice-fields in many places connecting its high mountain summits, among which arc prodigious glaciers, in some instances descending even to the coast. These glaciers, and the torrents that gush from them, render communication between one inhabited spot and another very difficult and dangerous." The subject of Iceland is a tempting one, l>ut we must not pursue it. In an early chapter we shall have to speak of its discovery and settlement. Meanwhile, wc pass on to the far north, where, to the east of Greenland, and lying between 77*^ and 80° N. lat,, lies Spitzbergeu. Spitzbergen is a group of islands lying three hundred miles north of Scandinavia, and three Imndrcd and twenty- five cast of Greenland. It consists of three largo and several small islands, and is calculated to contain about 30,000 English square miles. Nearly the whole of the surface is covered with eternal snow and ice. The whole of the west side is mountainous. For ten months of the year mercury freezes, and for the other two months the mercury is rarely more than 5° above the freezing point. About forty species of plants constitute the scanty vegetation of this inhospitable region. By dint of great dexterity they manage to spring up in the short summer and produce and ripen their seed. On the whole of Spitz- bergen there is not sustenance fur one human being. Keindeer, foxes, and bears, however, abound. The discovery of Spitzbergen took place in 16W. It was first arrived at bv Willinm Il;ir(>ntz, the Dutrh ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. explorer, -when on liis third voyage to discover the North- east Passage. Russia lays claim to it as a dependency on its European territories. Attempts liave been repeatedly made to form establish- ments upon Spitzbergen, for the purpose of reducing the whale blubber to oil on the spot, and of collecting tho skins of bears, foxes, and walruses ; but the individuals upon whom the experiments of colonization were made generally fell victims to that dreadful malady tho scurvy, ^vhich the climate of Spitzbergen seems particularly cal- culated to promote. The island of Jan Mayen, to the south-west of Spitzber- gen, in latitude 71°, is a dreary, uninhabited waste in tho midst of a frozen ocean. Flames and smoke have been seen to issue from the top of its highest mountain, called Beeren- berg. The Dutch attempted to form a settlement here as they did at Spitzbergen — it also would be very convenient, they thought, for whaling purposes ; but when winter was over, it was found that several of the colonists were dead, and the attempt was abandoned. Attempts at colonization in these inhospitable regions seem to have been quite the fashion at one time. They almost all had a like result. If tho reader has a tasto for tho horrible, let him read tho following account of a party of seven men who were landed in 1()43 upon Amsterdam Island, in latitude 79° 42' N. In ChurchiU's Collection we find the narrative of their sufferings drawn up from tho journal which was kept by ono of tho unfortunate beings who perished on this occasion. The early part of tho journal has been omitted, as containing nothing of interest, and wo tako notice first of the day on which the sun appeared for tho last time that season : for the last time these unfortunate beings were destined to behold it. This occurred on the 21st of October. From that date until the 21th of November wo hear of ■s THE AECTIC REGIONS. ■•,'■ I ■i; i I of no complaint ; bat they now began to feel the cflfect of the climate and of their unnatural mode of existence in the appearance of ihat disease which is so fatal in those climates. In anticipation of this complaint, they had provided a " scorbutic potion," of which they partook as soon as they noticed symptoms of the disease. It did not benefit them much, however, and one after another the party fell sick and took to their beds. On the 12th o- December, although total darkness reigned throughout the twenty-four hours, such of the party as could walk got out of bed and went in search of fresh food and vegetable diet. After an unsuccessful search they returned to their miserable dwelling to brood over their misfortunes. From day to day they watched anxiously for the ap- proach of some animal that would aflford them a fresh meal. On the 23rd of December their vigilance was repaid by the appearance of a bear. He came so near, that ho was wounded from the hut. The animal struggled hard, and at length broke away from the party, who had not much strength left for such encounters. The poor men were determined not to lose this opportunity, their last hope of obtaining a fresh meal : provided with lanterns, thoy pursued the animal with all the ardour of men whose life was at stake. But all was to no purpose ; the bear escaped, and they made their way back witli feelings more easily to bo imagined than described. Three weeks after this, death put an end to the sufferings of one of the party ; another died the following day ; a third expired two days after. The four who remained contrived to make coffins for their departed comrades, but they were too feeble to carry them out of the house. The daylight now began to dawn in the south about noon. As it increased, foxes came about tho hut, and the party were fortunate enough to kill one. They also saw many bears, but were too weak to pursue them. 8 ICE- WORLD ADVENTURES. I Their earthly career was now drawing to a close : debility heightened into cruel pain. In the last stage of their disease, while they yet retained their faculties, one of them penned the following affecting paragraph : — " Four of us that aro still alive lie flat upon the ground in our hut ; we think we could still feed were there but one among us that could stir out of our hut to get us some fuel, but nobody is able to stir for pain. We spend our time in constant prayer, to implore God's mercy to deliver us out of this misery, being ready whenever He pleases to call us. We are certainly not in a condition to live long without food or fire, and cannot assist one another in our mutual applications, but must every one bear his own burthen." In charity wo hope they did not long survive the time when these lines were penned. In the following summer their bodies were found by ships, which were purposely sent from Holland to inquire into their fate. Resuming our geographical survey, the reader will observe that between Greenland and the opposite coast of America lie Davis's Strait, and Baffin's Bay. To the north-east of Baffin's Bay is Smith's Sound, a channel which is supposed to open into the Polar Sea. To the west of Davis's Strait and Baffin's Bay is a confused mass of peninsuhas, islands, and winding passages. Amongst these lies the famous North-west Passage, so long sought for, and only discovered within our recollection. It is a passage or channel of water existing between Davis's Strait and Baffin's Bay on the east, and Behring's Strait on the west. The actual accomplishment of the North-west Passage is still to be effected, but that water communication exists is established both by the voyage of Sir John Franklin and that of Sir Robert Maclure. The former sealed the dis- covery with liis life, whilst the latter connected the com- munication by travelling over the ice-covered strait, and "^■■■^ THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 9 SO ns's lago rptarning to England by the strait be had not entered by. The tracks of these two discoverers are clearly delineated on our map. Westwards of the archipelago of islands the continental coast runs nearly on the parallel of 70° N. lat. It is a bare, monotonous coast. The chief rivers which intersect it arc tlie Coppermine and the Mackenzie. To tlie west of Behring's Strait, the north coast of Asia is remarkable for its containing the estuaries of some of the largest rivers on the globe. An extensive tiact bordering the ocean is composed of swamps and mossy flats covered with ice and snow for half the year. The greatest heat of summer reaches only two or three inches below the surface of the soil. For more than half tlie year the ocean is covered with ice for miles seaward, and even during the open season the sea is so hampered witli icebergs and floes that navigation is rendered extremely dangerous. To the north-west of the mouth of the Lena lies a group of islands of considerable extent, known as the Liakov Islands, or New Siberia. They are uninhabited, and as bar- ren as can be. Traces, however, have been found of former residents, and in the soil great numbers of bones and teeth of the mammoth and rhinoceros have been discovered. The island chain of Nova Zembla lies north-west from the mouth of the Obi, and it has been pointed out by one authority that it may be considered as an insular continua- tion of the Ural Mountains. The island farthest to the south is specially called Nova Zembla ; of the others the principal are Matthew's Land and Liitke's Land. They are wild, rocky, and desolate. The vegetation consists chiefly of moss, lichens, and a few shrubs. Nova Zembla is fre- quently visited by fishermen and hunters, as the coasts abound with whales and walruses, and the interior swarms with bears, reindeer, and foxes. It has, however, no per- niuncMit inhabitants. 10 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. a I Wo may add here a word in explanation of our chart of tlio circumpolar regions. Were we to take a globe, carefully cut the paper right round at the COth degree of north latitude, and spread it out flat, it would represent the portion of the globe we have illustrated. The centre will of course be the northern axis of the earth, the vertical line will be the meridian of Greenwich to the Pole, and the ISOth degree of east and west longitude on tho other side of the Pole; all the radiating lines are meridians of longitude (slightly dis- torted by the curvature of the earth), whilst the circular ones are parallels of latitude. The map shows conspicu- ously the unexplored polar region — the bald crown of the globe. This vast area, whoso icy silence has never been disturbed by civilized man, has only been penetrated in three direc- tions, as our map clearly shows : — first by Parry, who, on ;July 28rd, 1827, reached the parallel of 82° 45' N., in boats and sledges, over a broken and irregular sur- face of ice, and who, mounted on one of the highest hummocks, could see nothing but the same broken and irregular surface of ice to tho northern horizon ; second, by Hall, who reached the parallel of 82° 10' N., in the the Polar isy a gunboat of little less than 400 tons, on August oOtli, 1871, and still had open water to the north ; third, by the Austrian exj^edition, nuder Weyprecht and Payer who, although they could not get their ship tho Tegcthof up to the 80th parallel, managed with sledges to reach 82° 5' N. It will be seen that tho honour of attaining the highest latitude yet reached, the nearest point to the Pole, is due to our gallant countryman Sir Edward Parry, who reached a point but little more than 400 miles from the Pole, or about the distance between London and tho capital of Scotland. It will ho interestino' if we sketch the features of tlie THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 11 tlie on •th; and tho to d a revolving year within the arctic circle. After tlio con- tinued action of tlio sun has at last melted away the great body of ice, a short and dubious interval of warmth occurs. In the space of a few weeks, only visited by slanting and enfeebled rays, frost resumes his tremendous sway. It begins to snow as early as August, and tho whole ground is covered to tho depth of two or three feet before tho month of October. Along tho shores and tho bays tho fresh water poured from rivulets or drained from the thawiug: of former collections of snow becomes quickly converted into solid ice. As tho cold increases, the air deposits its moisture in tho form of a fog, which freezes into a fine gossamer netting or spicular icicles, dis- persed through the atmosphere, and extremely minute, that seem to pierce the skin. From the minute icicles cutting like lancets, the whalers call such a fog "tho barber." The hoar frost settles profusely, in fantastic clusters, on every prominence. Tho whole surface of tho sea steams like a lime-kiln — an appearance called the suioJcc- frost, caused, as in other instances of tho production of vapour, by tho water being still relatively warmer than the incumbent air. At length tho dispersion of the mist, and consequent clearness of tho atmosphere, announces that the upper stratum of the sea itself has become cooled to tho same standard ; a sheet of ice spreads quickly over tho smooth expanse, and often gains the thickness of an inch in a single night. The darkness of a prolonged winter now broods over the frozen region, unless the moon chance at times to obtrudo her rays, only to discover the horrors and wide desolation of the scene. As the frost continues to penetrate deeper, the rocks are heard at a distance to split with loud ex- plosions. The sleep of death seems to wrap up the scene in utter and oblivious ruin. At length the sun reappears above tho horizon ; but his languid beams rather betray the wide waste than bri^li^on 12 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. the prospect. Bj degrees, however, the farther progress of the frost is cliecked. As the sun acquu'es elevation, his power is greatly increased ; the snow gradually wastes away, the ice dissolves apace, and vast fragments of it, detached from the cliffs and undermined beneath, pre- cipitate themselves on the shores witli the noise and crash of thunder. The ocean is now unbound, and its icy dome broken up with tremendous rupture. The enormous fields of ice thus set afloat are by the vio- lence of winds and currents ogain dissevered and dispersed. Sometimes impelled in opposite directions, they approach and strike with a mutual shock, like the crash of worlds — sufficient, if opposed, to reduce to atoms in a moment the proudest monuments of human power. Before the end of June the shoals of ice in the arctic seas are commoidy divided, scattered, and dissipated ; but the atmosphere is then almost continually damp and loaded with vapour. At this season of the year a dense fog generally covers the surface of the sea, of a milder temper- ature indeed than the frost-smoke, yet produced by an in- version of the same cause. The lower stratum of air, as it successively touches the colder body of water, becomes chilled, and thence disposed to deposit its moisture. Such thick fogs, with mere gleams of clear weather, infesting the northern seas during the greater part of the summer, render their navigation extremely dangerous. In the course of the month of July the superficial water is at last brought to an equilibrium of temperature with the air, and the sun now shines out with a bright and dazzling radiance. For some days before the close of the summer, such excessive heat is accumulated in the bays and sheltered spots, that the tar and pitch are often melted, and run down the ships' sides. Through the fogs of the arctic regions appear mock suns and mock moons, and all the phenomena arising from refraction are exliibited on a large scale. Ships may progress ation, his y wastes its of it, ith, pre- id crash cj dome vio- the ispcrscd. ipproach vorlds — Qcnt tlio 10 arctic cd ; but L loaded nse fog temper- 7 an in- ir, as it lecomcs Such ifcsting immer, I water e witli bt and of tlie e bays often mock ^ from 3 may ,l — T— ^» — 1 A Clear Night in thk IV)lak Regions. Ice- World Adventures. ] \t\ii<: 13. THE Ai;CTIC REGIONS. ]'S {/'a^c 13. be seen as if upturned iu tlic air sailing past inverted ice- bergs. When the air is clear words sometimes fail to describe the loveliness of the polar sky — " The intense beauty of the arctic firmament," says Dr. Kane on one occasion, " can hardly be imagined. It looked close over our heads, with its stars magnified in glory, and the very planets twinkling so much as to baffle the observations of the astronomers. I h.ave trodden the deck when the life of earth seemed sus- pended — its movements, its sounds, its colouring, its companionship ; and as I looked on the radiant hemisphere circling above me, as if rendering worship to the centre of light, I have ejaculated in humility of spirit, ' Lord, what is man that Thou art mindful of him ? and then I have thought of the kindly world we have left, with its revolving sunlight and shadow, and the hearts which warmed us there, till I have lost myself in memories of those who arc not ; and they bore me back to the stars again." The most prominent feature of the arctic regions is that of the sea being encumbered with ice. This ice is of two sorts, marine and fresh- water. The whale-fishers enuniorato several varieties of salt- water ice. A very wide ex})ansc of it they call afuhJ, and one of smaller dimensions a /loe. When a field is dis- severed by a subaqueous or g round swell, it breaks into numerous pieces, seldom exceeding forty or fifty yai'ds in diameter, which, taken collectively, arc termed a 2^'icL\ This pack again, when of a broad shape, is called a i)a(i:/( ; and when much elongated, a stream. The packs of ico are crowded and heaped together by violent whids, but they again separate and spread asunder ill calm weather. Jf a ship can sail freely through the iloating pieces of ico it is called dri/t'tcc, and the ice itself is said to be loosi^ or oj^cii. When, from the eflect of abra- sion, the larger blocks of ice are crumbled into minute fi'aginenls, thi.s collectinn is (ernu'd Iriifi/i ,', ii'i' 14 ICE-WORLD' ADVENTURES. A portion of Ice rising above tlic common level is termed a hummocl; being produced by the squeezing of one piece over another. These hummocks or protuberances break the unifori -rface of the ice, and give it a most diversi- fied and ft stic appearance. They are numerous in the heavy packs, and along the edges of ice-fields, reaching sometimes to the height of thirty feet. The tenn sluilge is applied by the sailors to the soft and incoherent crystals "which the frost forms when it first attacks the rufiled surface of the ocean. As these increase they have some eficct, like oil, to still the secondary waves ; but they are prevented from coalescing into a continuous sheet by the agitation which still prevails, and they form small discs, rounded by continual attrition, and scarcely three inches in diameter, called inincalces. Sometimes these again unite into circular pieces, perhaps a foot thick, and many yards in circumference. The fields, .ind other collections of floating ice, arc often discovered at a great distance, by that singular appearance on the verge of the horizon which the Dutch seamen have termed ice-hlinlc. It is a stratum of lucid whiteness, oc- casioned evidently by the glare of light reflected ob- liquely from the surface of the ice against the opposite atmo- sphere. This shining streak, which looks always brightest in clear weather, indicates to the experienced navigator, twenty or thirty miles beyond the limit of direct vision, not only the size and shape, but even the quality of the ice. The blink from packs of ice appears of a pure white, while that which is occasioned by snow-fields has some tinge of yellow. The frcsli-watcr ice of the polar seas is derived from the glaciers, which flow out of almost every valley in these regions. These glaciers enter the sea, and plough their wny for some distance along the bottom till the action of tho water tilts up the end, which floats away in the shape of an iceberg. THE ARCTIC REGIONS. h of 10 SO 10 II Tlio mountains of hard and perfect ice known as icehcrf/s arc the gradual productions perhaps of many centuries. Along the western coast of Greenland, prolonged into Davis's Strait, they form an immense rampart, which presents to the mariner a sublime spectacle, resembling at a distance whole groups of churches, mantling castles, or fleets under sail. Every year, but especially in hot seasons, they arc partially detached from their seats, and whelmed in the deep sea. In Davis's Strait these icebergs appear the most frequently, and about Disco Day, where the soundings exceed 300 fathoms, masses of such enormous dimensions are met with, that the Dutch seamen compare them to cities, and often bestow on them the familiar names of Amsterdam or Haerlem. Tliey arc caiiied towards the Atlantic by the current, which generally flows from the north-cast, and after they reach the warmer water of the lower latitudes, they rapidly dissolve and finally disappear, probably in the space of a few months. Speaking of the great ice-fiord of Jakobshavn, wliioh ammally pours an immense number of icebergs into Disco bay, Dr. Robert Brown says: " When viewed out of danger, this noble assemblage of ice-palaces, hundreds in number, being seen in summer from the end of Jakobshavn Kirke, was a magnificent sight ; and the voyager might well in- dulge in somo poetic frenzy at the view. The noon-day heat had melted their sides, and the rays of the red evening sun glancing askance among them Avould conjure up fairy visions of cafitles of silver and cathedrals of gold floating in a sea of summer sunlight. Hero was the AValhalla ol" the sturdy Vikings ; hero the city of tlio sun-god Freyr ; Alrheim, with its elfin caves ; antl (ilitner, with its wnlls of gold and roofs of silver; Cinile, more brilliant than tlio sun ; Gladsheim, the celestial mount, where the bridge ol' the gods touches heaven. " Suddenly there is a swaying, a moving of the water, and our fairy palace falls iu pieces, gr with nu echo like 16 ICE-WOKLD ADVENTUllES, ' I a prolonged tliuuder peal it capsizes, sending the waves in breakers up to our very feet. Some of these icebergs arc of enormous size. Hayes calculated that one " stranded " in Baffin's Bay, in water nearly half-a-mile in depth, con- tained about 27,000,000,000 cubical feet of ice, and must have weighed not less than 2,000,000,000 tons." The following interesting description of icebergs which ho met with in the Atlantic is given by an anonymous writer : — *' One morning, earlier than the usual time of rising, the steward awakened us with news that icebergs were close at hand. This was charming intelligence, for so late in the season they are but rarely met with. We were all soon on deck, and for a worthy object. " One was a grand object, with two great domes, each as large as that of St. Paul's ; the lower part was like frosted silver. Where the heat of the sun had melted the surface and it had frozen again, in its gradual decay it had assumed all sorts of angular and fantastic shapes, reflecting from its green transparent mass thousands of prismatic colours, while below, the gentle swell dallied with its clifl-liko sides. "The action of the waves had worn away a great portion of tho base over the water into deep nooks and caves, destroying the balance of the mass. While wo were pass- ing, the crisis of this tedious process chanced to arrive; the huge white rock tottered for a moment, then fell into the calm sea with a sound like the roar of a thousand cannon, the spray rose to a great height into the air, and large waves rolled round, spreading their wide circles over the ocean, each ring diminishing till at length they sank to rest. When the spray had fallen again, the glittering domes had vanished, and a low long island of rough ice and snow lay on the surface of the water." Icebergs and floes or ice-fields are often laden with pieces of rock and masses of stones and detritus, which they have brought with them from the coasts where th(>y were '■^* THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 17 l-hkG f^ rtioii ■ 1 avcs, 1 ; the 1 tlio mou, ■;• 'avc3 1 !caii, • rest. had lay s 3CCS avo ere formed, and which they often transport to a great distanco towards the equator. It is the floes or fields of ice that are chiefly dangerous to the mariner. During the spring and summer they aro broken up and moved to and fro by the currents in hirgo pieces several miles in extent. The navigator, on his way northward, comes to a place where his passage is barred by one of those fields. By means of an ice-anchor he an- chors on to the edge until he perceives two fields separate, leaving a lead or lane of water. Into tliis lane ho pushes. But it may be, that, before ho is half way through, he sees the fields gradually closing again. He puts forth all his energies, by tracking the ship along the edge of the ice, or by pulling it ahead by boats, if in a calm. If he sees ho cannot get through in time, ho immediately sets all hands to cut a " dock " in the ice. This is done by means of ice- saws : a piece of ice representing a space in which the ship can lie comfortably is cut out of one of the fields. Tho ship is brought into tho dock, and when tho two fields come together she escapes being nipped. Should the navigators not be expert enough, nothing can save tho vessel. Arctic navigators, when going through dangerous places, are ever careful to provide against disaster. Casks of pro- visions and bags of clothing aro laid ready on deck, and should several vessels bo in company, they proceed in twos and threes, so that they may render each other assistance. Should a vessel have the misfortune to bo smashed, tho men on bora-d throw the provisions and other things which have been lying in readiness upon tho ice, and then them- selves escape upon tho^field. The ice opens again, and tho vessel sinks, but tho crew aro safe. So quickly docs what wo have described sometimes happen, that only a few minutes may elapso between tho time when tho ship was in safety and when she disappears beneath the waves. At other times, however, she naj remain buoyed up for 'S ICE-WOULD ADVENTURED. if several days, and even escape total wreck sliould the sliock not have been very severe. In the loDg and gloomy winters o£ tlic polar regions the cold assumes an intensity of which we who live at home at ease can form little conception. Mercurial thermometers often become useless, for when the mercury solidifies, it can sink no farther in tlio tube, and ceases to be a correct indicator. As a more available instrument, a spirit thermometer is then used, in which the place of mercury is supplied by rectified spirit of wine. With such thermometers, our arctic explorers have recorded degrees of cold far below the freezing point of mercury. V ,', Kane, the American arctic explorer, in his narrative of 'C" Grinncll Expedition in search of Franklin, records hav- h ^ ^^pcrienccd-42° on February 7th, 1851, that is 72° of frost, or 3° below the freezing point of mercury. On "Washington's birthday, February t22nd, the crew had a dramatic performance. The ship's thermometer outside was at - 40°; inside, the audience and actors, by aid of lungs, lamps, and hangings, got as high as - 30°, only G2° below the freezing point — perhaps the lowest atmospheric record of a theatrical representation. It was a strange thing altogether. The condensation was so excessive, that they could bnrcly see the performers, wlio walked in a cloud of vapour. Any extra vehemence of delivery was accom- panied by volumes of smoke. Their hands steamed. When an excited Thespian took off his coat, it smoked like a dish of potatoes. Dr. Kane records having experienced as low a temper- ature as - 53°, or 85° below the freezing-point ; but even this is surpassed in a register furnished by Sir Edwfird Belcher, who in January, 1854, with instruments of undoubted ac- cui'acy, endured for cighiy-fonr consecutive hours a temper- ature never once higher than - 50°. One night it sank to - 50j°; and on another occasion the degree of cold reached was - G2;l°, or 04^° below the freezing point. Reading such TITE ARCTIC REGIONS, 19 Imper- ii this |lclicr, )d ac- hipor- Ink to licliccl such statements excites our curiosity to know how such intense cokl can bo borne by the human frame. All the accounts obtainable tend to show that food, clothing, adivifi/, and cJiccrfuhicss, are the four chief requisites. Dr. Kane, who experienced more even than the usual share of sufferings attending these expeditions, tells many anecdotes relating to the cold. One of his crew put an icicle at - 28*^ into his mouth to crack it: one fragment stuck to his tongue, and two to his lips, each taking off a pieco of skin — hnrning it off, if one may be allowed to use tho word in an inverse sense. At - 2o° " the beard, eyebrows, eyelashes, and the downy pubescence of the cars, acquire a delicate, white, and perfectly enveloping cover of venerable hoar-frost. Tho moustache and under lip form pendulous beads of dangling ice. Put out your tongue, and it iu- Btantly freezes to this icy crusting, and a rapid effort and some hand-aid will be required to liberate it. Your chin has a trick of freezing to your upper jaw by the luting aid of your beard ; my eyes," adds Dr. Kano, " have often been so glued as to show that even a wink may be unsafe." In rcfereneo to the torpor produced by extreme cold Dr. Kane remarks : "Sleepiness is not the sensation. Have you ever received tho shocks of a magneto-electro machine, and had the peculiar benumbing sensation of * can't let go ' ex- tending up your elbow-joints ? Deprive this of its par- oxysmal character, subdue, but diffuse it over every part of the system, — and you have the so called pleasurabk^ feeling of incipient freezing." One day Dr. Kano walked himself into a comfortablo perspiration with tlie thermometer 70" below the freezing point. A breeze sprang up, and instnntly tlio sensation of cold was intense. Ilis beard, coated before with icicles, seemed to bristlo with increased stiflhess, and an unfor- tunate hole in tho back of his mitten "stung like a burn- ing coal." On tho next day, while walking, his beard and moustaeho bccamo ono solid mass of ice. " I in- i 20 ICE-WOnLD ADVENTURES. advertently," be says, "put out my tongue, and it instantly froze fast to my lip. This being nothing new, costing only a sharp pull and a bleeding afterwards, I put up my mittened hands to ' blow hot ' and thaw the unruly member from its imprisonment. Instead of succeeding, my mitten was itself a mass of ice in a moment ; it fastened on the upper side of my tongue, and flattened it out like a batter- cake between the two discs of a hot girdle. It required all my care with the bare hands to release it, and then not without laceration." It is commonly supposed that the cold increases as we go northward. This is a popular eiTor : the temperature of the arctic regions depends in a great measure on the currents and drift-ice. Sir Edward Parry remarks in reference to extremely low ^ temperatures : " Our bodies appeared to adapt tliemselves so readily to the climate, that the scale of our feelings, if I may so express it, was soon reduced to a lower standard than ordinary ; so that after being some days in a temper- ature of - 15° or - 20° it felt quite mild and comfortable when the thermometer rose to zero" — that is, when it was 32° below the freezing point. On one occasion, speaking of the cold having reached the degree of- 55°, he says: " Not the slightest inconvenience was suffered from exposure to the opcu air by a person well clothed, so long as the weather was perfectly calm ; but in walking against a very light air of wind, a smarting sensation was experienced all over the face, accompanied by a pain in the middle of the forehead which soon became rather severe." Englishmen, as a rule, bear up better against intense cold than ngainst intense heat, one great reason being that the air is in such circumstances less tainted with the seeds of disease. They are then more lively and cheerful, feeling themselves necessitated to active and athletic exertion, and become, consequently, better able to combat the adverse influences of a low degree of temperature. '■.ai i„ THE ARCTIC REGIO\>;. 21 Frostbites will bo often found allndcd to by the reader of the subsequent pages as among the unpleasant accidents of arctic travel. A frost-bite is caused by cold depressing the vitality of a part or the whole of the body. The frost- bitten part is at first blue and pufty in appearance, in con- sequence of the current of blood through it being sus- pended. Should the cold continue it becomes pallid. At first there is a painful tingling, which gives place to numb- ness and insensibility, and lastly to actual death or morti- fication. The treatment of frost-bite consists in coaxing back by degrees the vitality of the part. This is best done by friction, at first with snow, and then with water at an or- dinary temperature, no heat being applied for some time. As the cold subsides, the painful tingling returns; then comes heat and redness. In a little while the latter will be above the natural standard, and if not moderated the part will inflame and perhaps mortify. As we are speaking of one of the bodily derangements to which arctic voyagers are liable, we may as well dispose here of another, and that is the terrible scourge of scurvy. This is caused by the want for a considerable time, of fresh succulent vegetables. It is an old disease, and its ravages, especially on board ship, used to be appalling. It is believed that more seamen used to perish from scurvy alone than from all other causes combined, whether sick- ness, tempest, or battle. Whole crews were prostrated by this scourge, as in the well-known case of Lord Anson's memorable voyage. The way to effect a cure is to administer lemon-juice or fresh fruits and vegetables. Since the introduction of lemon-juice, cases of scurvy have become more and more uncommon. It was made an essential element of nautical diet in 1705. CHAPTER IT. THE AIWTIC JiEaiOXS ((Witlnnrd). The EsQuniArx — TirEin AriTARAxcn and Hauits — A FAVOuRAr.ri: Account — Whalks and Whalinci — A succESSFUii Day's Spout — The Greenland Shark — The Sea-Unicorn — The Walrus — Capturing Walruses — The Seal — A Weary AVatch — Seal Oil — The Polar Bear — Prowling Arout — The J.Iusk Ox — A Death Struggle — The Heindeer — The Esquimaux Dog — The Arctic Fox — The Birds of the Polar Eegions — A North-Pole Bird — Plants of the Far North — Mammoth Bones —Enormous Trees — Sledge Travelling. One would tliink that tlio inliospitablc arctic regions were not likely to sec any of the human race save as passing visitors. There are sonic, however, who make it their home. These are the Esquimaux or Eskimo. They inhabit the coasts of the American seas, bnys, and islands north of latitude G0° N. — from the cast coast of Greenland in longi- tude 20^ E., to Bchring's Strait, in longitude lCr° W. On the Asiatic side of Bchring's Strait they are also met with. Their numbers altogether are few, but they are certainly as wide-spread a nation as any in the world. According to one authority they occupy not less than 5400 miles of coast, without including the inlets of the sea. The meaning of the name Esquimaux is, " caters of raw flesh." This is not what they call themselves : they speak of themselves as " Inuit," or " people." The Scandinavians of the tenth century who did not deal in compliments, called them " Skrcellingar " or " wretches." The name given to them by the seamen of the Hudson's Bays hips was "Scymos" or " Suckemos," appellations, says Richard- son, *' evidently derived from the vociferous cries of Scymo or Tcymo with which the poor people greet the arrival of the ships." Of Esquimaux Race. Ice- World Adventures?^ \_Page 22. TUE ARCTIC REGIOXS. 23 Tho stature of the Esquimaux is somewliat diminutive. They arc broad-sliouldcrcd, and wlien sitting in tlieir boats look tall and muscular; but wlicn standing on sliore they lose some of their height from tho shortness of their lower extremities. As to tho complexion of the Esquimaux, it is difficult to say anything definite. Some report it to be brown, but Sir John Richardson describes it as nearly white, when relieved of the smoke and dirt with wluch it is usually jncrusted. " The young men," says the same authority, *' have little beard, but some of the old ones have a toler- able show of long grey hairs on the upper lip and chin. The Esquimaux ben d, however, is in no instance so dense as a European one." The little villages in which they reside on their long lines of coast usually contain five or six families each. The business of tl men is hunting; domestic drudgery falls to the lot of the women. The household labour of the latter is not much, perhaps, after all ; it consists chiefly in pre- paring tho food, of which both ,oxes consume an enormous quantity. Almost all that is eaten is animal food, the hunters making considerable havoc amongst reindeer, seals, walruses, geese and other birds, and various kinds of fish. When whales aro plentiful, August and September are given up by the Esquimaux to their capture. When any aro caught there are great manifestations of joy. It is from the whale blubber that the oil for the long -winter months is made. The habits of the Esquimaux are filthy and revolting to European tastes. A great part of their food is consumed •without any attempt at cooking it, and tho blood of newly- slaughtered animals is drunk as the greatest possible deli- cacy. In summer, those who can afibrd it live in tents ; but in winter all equally huddle together in snow huts, the atmosphere of which, from the offal with which they are 21 ICE-WORLD ADVLNfURES. stored aud the filthy oil used for illumination, is neither describable nor to be readily imagined. In all fairness to the Esquimaux, however, we must add a decidedly favourable account of them given by Admiml Sherard Osborn. " The Esquimaux," ho says, — speaking of some of whom he had had personal e-«'pf^r'ence, — " appeared all comfort- able and well-to-dj, well clad, cleanly, and fat. Most ot them had moved for a while into their summer lodges, which consist of little else than a sealskin tent, clumsily supported with sticks. They were more than sufficiently warm, and the number of souls inhabiting one of these lodges appeared only to be limited by the circle of friends and connections forming a family. " The winter abode — formed almost underground — appeared decide-^; well adapted to afford warmth and some degree of pure ventilation in so severe a climate, where fuel can bo spared only for culinary purposes, and I was glad to see that, although necessity obliges those Esquimaux to cat of the oil and flesh of the seal, yet, when they could procure it, they seemed fully alive to the gas- tronomic pleasures of a good wholesome meal of fish, birds' eggs, bread, sugar, tea, and cofTec. " Their canoes are perfect models of beauty and light- ness ; in no part of the world do wo see them excelled in speed and portability — two very important qualities in the craft of a savage — and in ornamental workmanship the skill of both men and women is tasicfully displayed. " The clothing of the Greenland Esquimaux is vastly superior to anything wo could produce, both in lightness of material and wind and water qualities — the material, seal and deer skin and entrails, manufactured by the women ; their needles of Danish manufacture; their thread the sinews of animals. " Every one has heard of the horrors of an Esquimaux existence — sucking blubber instead of roast beef, oil their THE ARC lie REQIONS. 25 usual beverage, and a seal their hounc houch\ tlic long gloomy winter spent in pestiferous hovels, lighted and warmed with whale-oil lamps ; the narrow gallery for an entrance, along which the occupant creeps for ingress or egress. This, and much more, has been told us ; yet, now that I have seen it all, the Esquimaux home, the Esqui- mau x's mode of living, and the Esquimaux himself, I see nothing so horrible in one or the other. " The whaler from bonnie Scotland or busy Hull, fresh from the recollections of his land and homo, no doubt shudders at the comparative misery and barbarity of these poor people ; but those who have seen the degraded Bush- men of South Africa, the miserable Patauies of Malayia, the Fucgians of our southern hemisphere, and remember the comparative blessings afibrded by climate to these melancholy specimens of the human family, will, I think, exclaim with mo, that the Esquimaux of Greenland arc as superior to them in mental capacity, manual dexterity, physical enterprise, and social virtues, as the Englishman is to the Esquimaux. "The strongest symptoms perceptible in the Green- landers of the advantage of the religious instruction atlbrded by the Moravian missionaries is in the respect they show for the marriage-tie, and strong all'ection for ti eir children. The missionary with this race appears to have had few difliculties to contend with — naturally gentle, and without any strong superstitious prejudices, they received without resistance the simple creed of reformed religion which he has spread amongst them." "The Esquimaux," says Dr. Latham, "is the only family common to the Old and New World ; an impoitant fact in itself, and one made more important still by the Escjuimaux localities being the only localities where the two continents come into proximity." The principal production of the Arctic Ocean is the whale. The great Greenland whale iss the one most sought •9 2G ICE-WOPJ.D ADYEXTURES. for by tlic "whalers of BaflTin's Bay, for besides belug com- moner tlian its big brother the spermaceti whale, it yields a much greater amount of oil, though that of a spermaceti whale, as its name implies, is mixed "with the substance called spermaceti, and is therefore the more valuable. The razorback whalo is much larger than the great Greenland whale, but is a very powerful monster, so much so that the arctic hunters, as a rule, fight shy of it. There are various other kinds of whale of a smaller descip- tion, among which avc may mention the broad-nosed whale, tlio beaked whale, and the tinner, wliic^ are sometimes found off Norway and Shetland ; but as they do not yield much oil, they arc not thought worth the killing. The white whale is so shy an animal that it can seldom be hilled with cither a rifle ball or harpoon, and is thcj'eforo generally captured by means of a net. At that part ot Bafiiu's Bay, however, where the Clay Eiver runs in and greatly discolours the water, giving it a thick muddy ap- pearance, great success is said to attend the white whale llshing in the autumn, when these animals migrate south- wards, having been north evidently to breed, as they return accompanied by numbers of young "calves." As whales live on sea blubber, they are generally found in the green water. In winter they go south, but where is unknown. The Esquimaux mode of whaling is very primitive. ''An omaiak," says ouo writer, " or woman's boat, is manned by femaU'S, having as harpooner a chosen man of the tribe ; attending on this craft arc a number of hojacliS, or single- man canoes. " The harpooner singUvs out a fish, and drives into its ilesh his weapon, to which is attached, by means of a wal- rus-hido thong, an inflated sealskin. The wounded fish, hampered by the inflated skin, and forced to rise to breathe in a small urea of water, is then incessantly harassed by tho men in the kayacks with weapons of a similar descrip- tion, a number of which, when attached to tho whale, bafllt' 'An A CJREENLAND OMAIAK OR W'OMANS BOAT. /((•- 1 1 01 Id AdventuresP^ \Pit^c a6. THE ARCTIC KEGIOXS. 27 its cfTorhs to escape and wear out its strengtli, until, iu the course of a day, the whale dies from sliccr exhaustion and loss of blood. " The harpooner, after a successful day's sport, is a very great personage, and invariably decorated with the Esqui- maux order of the Blue Ribbon ; that is, he has a blue lino drawn across his face over the bridge of his nose. This is the highest honour known to the heroes of Cape Bathurst ; but to it is attached also the happy privilege of the deco- rated individual being allowed to take unto himself a second wife. Great orgies occur upon such occasions ; and, .if .all tales bo true, it is to be feared that morality is at rather a low ebb in these latitudes." The mode of capturing the whale by the whaling ships, which every year frequent these high latitudes, has been so often described, that we may well be excused from entering upon it. There is indeed no essential diiTerenco between the way in which the capture of whales is prosecuted by the rudest tribes and that followed by the most civilized nations. In its simplest form the harpoon is an iron spear about live feet long, with a much flattened point, having sharp cutting edges and two large flattened barbs. Many modi- fications have been introduced, the most important, perhaps, being the gun harpoon, of which we have given a represen- tation in one of our engravings. The Greenland shark is an interesting creature, which, Avhen full grown, attains a length of about fourteen feet. It tapers suddenly at the tail, and the fins are very small. Its favourite occupation is to bite and annoy whales. JOven when a whale has been killed a shark often makes its appearance whilst the men arc engaged in cutting off the blubber. It will scoop out one great lump after another from the whale, and will return to its repast after being severely wounded. The Esquimaux are iu the habit of catching sharks both 28 ICE-WORLD ADVENTUUE3. 1 1 I Avith ijcts, baited with salt moat, and with a hook and line. They are hunted for the sake of the oil which is expressed from their livers, and for a substance very much Hke sper- maceti wliich is obtained under pressure from their flesh. Sir Leopold M'Clintock says the Esquimaux assert that the shark is insensible to pain, and tliat Petersen, who was his interpreter in the voyage of the Fox, related how he had plunged a long knife into the head of one which was feed- ing on a white whale entangled in his not, but that the brute continued its repast notwithstanding. As Sir Leopold remarks, it must be remembered that the brain of a shark is extremely small compared with the size of its huge head, and he says that he himself has seen bullets fired through them with very little apparent effect ; but that if these creatures can feel, the devices practised upon them by the Esquimaux must be cruel indeed. The dogs of the hunters arc not allowed to eat either the skin or the head, the former being very rough, and the latter producing giddi- ness and sickness. Narwhals, or sea-unicorns, so called from the horn which projects from the upper jaw, arc seen in great numbers in Baffin's Bay during certain seasons, especially just before they begin to travel northwards in March. Their flesh is considered a great luxury by the Esquimaux, as also is the skin, which acts as an anti-scorbutic. The object of the horn is a disputed topic ; for while its point is too blunt for offence, it is well polished for about four inches, and the rest usually covered with slime and seaweed, so that it is conjectured that it must be employed cither to root up food from the bottom of the sea, or else to drive out small fish from the clefts and fissures of broken ice, where they take refuge when pursued. The walrus, morse, or sea-horse, is another inhabitant of the arctic seas. It has been very accurately and amus- ingly described 'by Do Veer, an early writer of northern voyages. THE ARCTIC RF:GI0NS. 20 "The sea-horse," he says, "is a wonderful strong mon- ster of the sea, much bigger than an ox, which keeps con- tinually in the seas, having a skin like a sea-calf or seal, with very short hair, mouthed like a lion ; and many times they lie upon the ice. They are hardly killed unless you strike them just upon the forehead. It hath two feet, but no ears, and commonly it hath two young ones at a time. And when the fishermen chance to find them on a flake of ice with their young ones, she castethher young ones before her into the water, and then takes them in her arms, and so plungeth up an_ down with them. And when she will revenge herself upon the boats, or make resistance against them, then she casts her young ones from her again, and with all her force gocth toward the boat. Whereby our men were once in no small danger, for that the sea-horse had almost stricken her teeth into the stern of their boat, thinking to overthrow it, but by means of the great cries that the men made she was afraid, and swam away again, and took her young ones again in her arms. They have tAvo teeth sticking out of their mouth, one on each side, each being about half an ell long, and are esteemed to be as good as any ivory or elephant's teeth." The capture of walruses is one of the chief pursuits of the natives of Greenland during the winter months. These animals, though able to take in a sufficient quan- tity of air to last them for a considerable time, still have to come up occasionally to breathe, and it is this circumstance of which the hunter takes advantage. The walrus only rises at the edge of the floe in open water, and is hunted with spears, to which are attached lines carrying inflated sealskins, intended for the double purpose of impeding the animal in diving, and of preventing the loss of the spear. The Esquimaux are so very venturesome in hunting this animal, that they will even go out on floating pieces of ice after it. We come now to speak of the seal. The common seal 80 V ' ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. is found in groat numbers in tlio northern parts of the Atlantic and in tbo Arctic Ocean. It is from three to five feet long", and is clothed with a yellowish fur, variously spotted and marked with brown. It is usually seen in small herds. The Esquimaux mode of hunting the seal is very curious. The seal, when it can find an open piece of water, will burrow up through the ice to get to the air, making a small hole on the surface of much the same size and appearance as a molehill. The manner of taking them requires a con- siderable amount of patience and endurance, for when a hunter hears a seal at work under the ice, he first builds a snow wall, some four feet high, to protect him from the wind, and then sitting down to leeward of it proceeds to wait for the seal to reach the surface — a weary watch, which sometimes extends to twelve hours. When by the seal's blowing the hunter knows that it is close to the surface of the ice, he takes his spear in both hands and drives it down into the animal with all his might, having previously fastened the rope attached to it round his body. He has only then to cut away the thin ice all round to get the carcase out. Another way of kill- ing seals is by approaching them under cover of a small white screen, mounted on a little sledge, which is pushed by the sportsman before him. In this manner they can bo approached within easy distance ; but of course, as in this case, they must be either in the water or upon the surface of the ice, and as during the depth of winter there is little open water likely to be found near the ships, this plan will not bo practicable then. In shooting them with a riilo care must be taken to hit them in the head, as otherwise they will escape under tho ice if only wounded in the body. The Esquimaux practise numerous devices to attract seals ; such as scraping tho ice, so as to produce a similar noise to that made by the seal with its flippers, and placing one end of a pole in tlie water nnd putting their months THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 31 close to tlic otlicr end, and making noises in imitation of those made by the animals themselves. "When they are in good condition and shot instantaneously they -will float but this depends upon their feeding-ground. On one occasion, when some specially fine seals had been shot by Sir Leopold M'Clintock'd party, they dredged the bottom, and found shell-fish and star-fish, and on another occasion the bellies of some splendid seals were found full of shrimps. Although the flesh of the female seal is good to eat all the year round, during INIarch that of the male is very fetid, having a disagreeable flavour like garlic, which impregnates the whole body to such an extent, that even the liisquimaux, who do not generally appear to bo very choice in their food, cannot quite manage to relish it. The oil of seals is very valuable for dressing jute and vegetable fibre, which is used largely to mauufixcturo vari- ous kinds of domestic goods. The seal oil from Jan Mayen alone is worth about c£2o0,000 a year. The number of vessels engaged in the seal fishery is accurately known. From Norway there are 27, of which 12 are steamers. There are 20 steamers and a few sailiiiij vessels from England ; 5 steamers from Germany ; 2 from Sweden ; and one sailing vessel from Holland. In all there are GO vessels, on board of which Norway alone has 2000 men. So much for seals ; now we shall speak of bears. The arctic bear, or polar bear, is distinctly characterized amongst bears by his flat head and comparatively long neck. His fur is smooth and white. He is the only sort of bear of strictly marine habits, never being found far from the sea. His haunts are tlio northern shores of Asia and America, Spitzbcrgon, etc., where he pursues seals both in the water and upon the ice, and preys upon fish and birds. " I cannot," says Sir Leopold ]\['Clintock, " let slip this opportunity of saying a few last \vords about our old acquaintance the polar bear. 32 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. J " When wo find him roaming over fields of drifting ice more than a hundred miles from land, we are filled with wonder; when there is no ice, we find him swimming off to our ships two, three, or more leagues, and we are scarcely less astonished. Arctic blue-books contain the official diaries of more than an hundred sledge-journeys, and in these the ubiquitous bear is constantly mentioned. " It is only when wounded or pressed by extreme hunger that the polar bear becomes fiero: as a rule he endeavours to avoid both men and dogs ; therefore our plan was to lie down and remain quite still ; the bear would then cautiously approach, sheltering himself from view as long as possible. Polar bears, hares, and foxes sometimes stand erect to reconnoitre, and I once shot a bear in this attitude ; had I hesitated for a second or two, he would have completed his survey of us, and would probably have cautiously and safoly retreated as he had advanced, by keeping behind hummocks of ice. In all our adventures with bears not previously acquainted with man, we found them to be in- quisitive, timid except when hungry, and somewhat stupid, although in the capture of their prey they display a degree of instinct almost akin to reason ; their endurance of cold, hunger, and fatigue, and their acute sense of smell, are quite extraordinary. They are perpetually roaming over the ice across the direction of the wind, scenting out the breathing holes of the seals. More than one officer records seeing the bear scrape away the snow, and enlarge the breathing hole of a seal with his claws, or break the ice by jumping up into the air and alighting with his whole weight on his fore-paws ; and, when sufficiently enlarged, he would lie down beside the hole, and patiently watch for the doomed seal to pop up — almost between the paws of his wily enemy. These seal holes enlarged by bears have frequently been noticed." The musk ox, from a natural history point of view, is a sort of connecting link between the ox and the sheep. It THE ARf'TIC REGIOXS. S'l is found in the most northern parts of America, enduring the winter even of Melville Island and Banks's Land. It is partially migratory in its habits. Its flesh is much prized by the Esquimaux, though it retains much of the strong musky odour which characterizes the living auinial. It is by no means a cowardly creature. A very exciting account of the shooting of two musk bulls on one occasion is given by one arctic explorer. " We saw and shot," ho says, " two very large musk- bulls, ... I shall never forget the death-struggle of one of these noble animals ; a Spanish bull-fight gives no idea of it, and even the slaughter of the bear is tame in comparison. This animal was shot through the lungs, and blood gushed from its nostrils upon the snow. As it stood fiercely watching us, prepared, yet unable to charge, its small but fixed glaring eyes were almost concealed by masses of shaggy hair, and its whole frame was fearfully convulsed with agony ; the tremulous motion was com- municated to its enormous covering of tangled wool and hair ; even the coarse thick mane seemed to rise indignant, and slowdy waved from side to side. It seemed as if the very fury of its passion was pent up within it for one final — a revengeful — charge. There was no roaring — the majestic beast was dumb ; but the wild gleam of savage fire which shot from its eyes, and its menacing attitude, was far more terrible than the most hideous bcIlow\ Wo watched in silence, for time was doing our work, nor did we venture to lower our guns until, its strength becoming exhausted, it reeled and fell." There are few animals of the arctic regions more popu- lar than the reindeer. It is by far the most valuable and important of all the species of deer, and the only one which has been thoroughly domesticated and brought into service by man. In appearance the reindeer is rather a heavy-looking animal. It has comparatively short and stout limbs. The D 34 ICE-WOELD ADVENTURES. ii i tail is very short, and the neck is carried almost straight forward. Both sexes have large horns. These it is said to use to remove the snow from the lichens, which form a great part of its winter food. To the Laplander the reindeer constitutes the most valu- able item of his possessions. Many Laplanders own herds of two thousand and upwards. The flesh is excellent, and so is the milk, which is much in demand. The reindeer is also extremely valuable as a beast of draught, for which purpose he is harnessed to sledges. It can keep up a speed of nine or ten miles an hour for a long time, and can easily draw about two hundred j)oundsin addition to the sledge. In North America it is merely an object of chase, valued for its flesh, fat, and hide. The flesh and fat are not only eaten in a fresh state, but made into pemmican. The Esquimaux dog is an animal to be met with exten- sively in the most northern regions of North America and eastern Asia. It is large and strong. Its hair is long and rather curling ; the tail is very bushy and much curved over the back ; the ears are short and pointed, and the general aspect is rather wolfish. The colour is generally black and white, brown and white, or dingy white. The Esquimaux dogs are much used for drawing sledges. They arc not only sagacious, but docile and patient. The arctic fox is a much smaller creature than the common fox. Its colour in winter is pur least in very cold climates ; in summer it is nish or bluish tinge. Its flesh has been s mi< en , arctic voyagers. Their relish for it wa^ lo don u begotten of a keen appetite and the dread of starvatioi perhaps if they let it alone. There are hares also in the polar regions. They are entirely white in winter, and brownish grey in summe^ They are considerably larger than the common hare, au( spend the whole year in the cold desolate regions of IMelvillc Tslanu and such-like uncomforlablo liaunts. f M THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 85 - ■ Tlio polar regions are tlio native haunt of many geese, ducks, and aquatic birds. The Canadian goose is the only North American member of that genus which breeds beyond the arctic circle, and many bands even of them travel as far as G8°, while the barnacle, brent, laughing- goose, and snow-goose go to the extreme north to breed. Ptarmigans and dovekics may be said to bo constant residents in the highest latitudes; but the bulk of both those species go southwards for their winter food, though a few dovekies linger behind in the open pools of the polar sea. The raven and snowy owl are the only birds of prey which find food within the arctic circle in the winter time. There is another class of birds which it would be un- pardonable to omit mentioning in connection with the polar regions. This is the knot — the Traiga Canutus of ornithologists. The knot is something halfway between a snipe and plover. Like many otlier kinds of birds belong- ing to the same group, the colour of its plumage varies most wonderfully according to the season of the year. In summer it is of a bright brick red ; in winter it is of a sober ashy grey. Professor Newton has given a very in- teresting account of its movements, and from them drawn an inference regarding the climate of the hitherto un- reached district round the North Pole. This fact warrants our giving an amount of space to the knot quite out of pro- portion with its size. " The knot," he says, "comes to this country in vast flocks in spring, and after remn.ining on our coasts for about a fortnight, can be traced proceeding gradually northward till it takes its departure. People who have been in Iceland and Greenland have duly noted its appearance in those countries ; but in neither of them is it known to tarry longer than with us — the summer it would there have to endure is not to its liking ; and as we know that it takes no other direction, it must move farther north. We then lose sight of it for some weeks. The older naturalists used to imngino it had been found breeding 30 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. in all manner of countries, but the naturalists of the present day agree in believing that wo know nothing of its nidifi- cation. Towards the end of summer back it comes in still larger flocks than before, and both old birds and young haunt our coasts till November ; if the season be a very open one, some may stay later ; but our winter, as a rule, is too much for it, and away it goes southward, and very far southwards, too, till the following spring. What has been said of the knot in the United Kingdom is equally true of it on the eastern shores of the United States. There it appears in the same aburulauce, and at the same seasons as with us, and its movements seem to bo regulated by the sams causes. " Hence we may fairly infer that the lands visited by the knot in the middle of summer are less sterile than Iceland or Greenland, or it would hardly pass over those countries, which are known to oe the breeding places of swarms of water birds, to resort to regions worse off as regards supply of food. But the supply of food must depend chiefly on the climate. The inference necessarily is that, beyond the northern tracts already explored there is a region which enjoys in summer a climate more genial than they possess. It would be easy to summon more instances from the same group of birds, tending to show that beyond a zone where a rigorous summer reigns there may be a region endued with a comparatively favourable climate." The total number of plants that grow in the arctic regions is comparatively trifling. In the short summer, however, there is a wonderful profusion of flowers to be seen in the chinks of the rocks. It may be remarked, by the woy, that arctic plants as a rule have their flowers larger than one would expect, judging from the size of the leaves and stems. Speaking of tho existing flora of Greenland, Dr. Hooker has pointed out that it possesses features of unusual interest. It consists of some three huudrod kinda THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 37 1 of flowcrlug plants, besides a very large number of mosses, algce, licbens, etc. A botanist who visited Greenland not many years ago found no fewer than 129 species of flower- ing plants and ferns within the circuit of Disco Bay alone, besides more than 200 species of the lower orders (sea- weed, lichens, j-nosses, and suchlike). It is said that within the arctic circle there have been found altogether over eight hundred different species of flowering plants and ferns. "Within the greater part of this northern territory there are no trees. In Greenland the largest species found are the dwarf birch, juniper, and willow, creeping along the ground. In Siberia, the tree-limit, it has been observed, *' extends much farther north than in America, trees being found even in 70° N. lat., though in the same parallel — the shores of Davis's Strait — the whole country is bare of anything approaching to a tree, the largest plant of the kind, the dwarf birch (Betula ncuia), not exceeding the size of a soup plate." On the side of cast Siberia the Arctic Ocean produces a remarkable article of trafEc. Here are found in greatest abundance the bones of the mammoth. Spring after spring the alluvial banks of the lakes and rivers crumbling under the thaw, give up as it were, their dead ; while the islands lying off the Yana, and even the depths of the sea itself teem with these mysterious memorials of antiquity. The American half of the Arctic Ocean cannot boast of fossil ivory, but it can show something still more difficult to bo explained. In latitude 71° 25', and latitude 70"^ 15' re- spectively. Captain !McClure and Lieutenant ^[ecliam found large deposits of trees of considerable size, and to all ap- pearance indigenous. Writing of Banks's Island, Captain McClure has the following passage ; — *' From the summit of these hills, Avhich arc three hundred feet high, to their base, abundance of wood is to bo found ; and in many places layers of trees arc visible, some protruding twelve 1 1 38 ICE-YvOELD ADVENTtJUES. or fourteen feet, and so firm that several people may jump on them without their breaking. The largest trunk yet found measured one foot seven inches in diameter, equiva- lent in girth to about five feet.'' Again Captain McClurc says : "I entered a ravine some miles in length, and found the north side of it, for a depth of forty feet, composed of one mass of wood." Writing of Prince Patrick Island, Lieutenant Mechamhas the following passage : "Discovered buried in the cast bank of the ravine, and protruding about eight feet, a tree of considerable size. Daring the after- noon I found several others of a similar kind : circumference of first and second tree seen three feet ; of another two feet ten inches. From the perfect state of the bark and the distance of tho trees from the sea, there can bo but little doubt that they grew originally in this country. I sawed one through ; it appeared very closcgrained, and was so immensely heavy, that wo could carry but little of it away." AVe shall close this chapter by a few remarks on travel- ling in the polar regions. Sledge travelling has been brought to a high state of perfection, and for its improve- ment of late years we are chiefly indebted to Sir Leopold M'Clintock. From a paper read by that eminent arctic explorer before tho Royal Geographical Society, wo have drawn tho following information. "Whorcns all other geographical discoveries are performed either by land or by water, inotlern arctic exploration into tho higher regions of the frigid zone is prosecuted indepen- dently of either, and the ice, which arrests tho progress of the ship, forms tho highway for the sledge. " In early arctic voyaging, tho ship alono was relied upon for penetrating into unknown seas. In the second and third voyages of Parry, and the second voyago of Sir John lloES, sledging Avas commenced, and a number of short journeys Avero made, mainly by tho assistance of the Esquimaux, whoso methods were closely observed and ■ ■■■■«-..■ -_.^.^__ T'lliiiliiinBiiii THE ARCTIC REGIONS. more or less Imitated, But seamen had not yet famlliaviscd themselves with the idea that it -was quite possible for well equipped Europeans, not only to exist, but to travel in an arctic climate as well as the Esquimaux themselves ; and it was not until the Franklin searching expeditions were sent out, between IS-iS and 1854-, and a motive far stronger than that of geographical discovery was supplied, that men seriously reflected upon the possibility of any extensive ex- ploration on foot. " Sledge travelling is limited to the spring months. It cannot be commenced until there is sulficient daylight ; it cannot be continued after the summer thaw has denuded the land of snow, or rendered the sea ice unsafe, therefore it can seldom be prosecuted with advantage before the month of April or later than June. It was under the direction of the late Admiral Sir John Ross, the distin- guished commander of the antarctic expeditions from 1818 to 1831', that the arctic sledges and tents were made in 1848 ; and these designs, with comparatively slight modi- fications, have continued in favour in all subsequent expe- ditions. " The sledge which experience has proved to be the most suitable is a large runner sledge. The runners are ratlier broad — three inches^— and they stand high, carrying the baggage about a foot over the ice. An average-sized sledge is three feet wide and ten feet long, and is drawn by seven men. It is constructed with only just as much strength as is absolutely necessary, since every pound of weight saved in wood and iron enables so much more of provisions to bo carried. It must be borne in mind that arctic work is not merely marching, but that a sledge, often heavily laden, has to be dragged the entire distance. Tho clothing of the men is a subject of diQlculty and im- portance, and must be suited to tho tomporaturo under which they travel. " In the Government searching expeditions suihcient 40 ICE-WOR[,D ADVENTURES. experience of sledging with dogs was gained to prove their value. During the spring of 1854 their only team of dogs was kept constantly at work, and without counting occa- sional short trips, they accomplished in sixty days' travel- ling 1,830 miles, affording an average rate of thirty miles, — their sledge, on the whole, being lightly laden. In the spring of 1859 there were sent out from the Fox three divisions of search, each consisting of six men and six or seven dogs. Each division accomplished about 1,000 miles of distance, and men and dogs worked h.armoniously together for the lengthened period of nearly eighty days. Dogs are most useful when despatch is required, or when the temperature is so low that it is undesirable to expose more men than is absolutely necessary." To sledging we arc indebted for almost all modern arctic achievements. To it we may confidently look as a means of escape when neither ships nor boats can avail. " It is now a comparatively easy matter," says Sir Leopold M'Clintock, "to start with six or eight men, and six or seven weeks' provisions, and to travel some six hundred miles across snowy wastes and frozen seas, from which no sus- tenance can be obtained. There is now no known position, however remote, that a well equipped crew could not effect their escape from by their own unaided eirorts." A UliAVV aLKDUi: 1011 bUor.T Dlbl'ANClL.S. CHAPTER I LI. ICELAND, GREENLAND, AND NEWFOUNDLAND. A Scandinavian Pirate discovers Iceland — The First Colonists— The Discovery of Greenland by Eric the Redhead — Explora- tion TO TUE Westward — Religion and Literature amidst Frost AND Fire — The Greenland Colonies — The Fate of the East- ern Colony — John Cabot discovers Newfoundland — Three specimen Newfoundlanders— Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Expedi- tion IN 1583— Taking Possession in the Queen's Name — The Loss of a Scholar — A Brave End. A Scandinavian pirate was on his way to the Faroe Islands in the year 861, when an easterly gale arose and lasted for several days. It drove him so far to the westward that he fell in with an island utterly unknown to him. From the great quantity of snow on the mountains he gave it the name of Snowland. Three years afterwards, a Swede called Gardar Suafl\u'- son undertook a voyage to this newly discovered island. He spent the winter there, and on his return home the following year gave such a glowing description of its fair woods and fertile soil, that one Flokko, or Flocke, wu.s induced to try his fortune also on Snowland for a winter. As fogs were frequent in these northern seas, and the mariner's compass was then unknown, Flokko carried one — or as some say four — ravens with him. By letting these loose in the midst of the ocean he ascertained the direction of the land he was in search of. He appears to have been of a discontented disposition, for whilst some of his com- panions found Snowland quite a pleasant island to winter in, he carried home a very uninviting account of it. From the severity of the weather, and the quantities of drift-ico which filled the northern hays, ho changed its name to Iceland, which it ever after retained. 42 ICE-WOELD ADVENTUllES. No attempt was made towards a regular establishment on Iceland till tlic year 874', when one Ingolf, and his friend Leif, or Hiorleif, dissatisfied with the arbitrary rule of Harold Harfagre, king of the Norwegians, determined to abandon their country, and seek an asylum in Iceland. On approaching the islanl, Ingolf, conformably with an ancient superstition of his country, threw a wooden door overboard, determining to make his first landing on that part of the coast to which the gods should direct this floating guide ; but the current having carried it away out of sight, ho landed ia a fiord or gulf on the southern part of the island. The report of their arrival having reached Norway, a number of families, taking with them their cattle, furniture, and implements of husbandry, embarked for this new colony, with a view to establishing their future residence there. It is mentioned as a fact in the Iceland annals, whoso authenticity has rarely been called in question, that these early Norwegian colonists were fully persuaded that the island had been inhabited before their coming there; as wooden crosses, bells, and even books, were found near the shore, such as were then in use ia Britain and Ireland. The distance is so short from Ireland, that it is not im- probable that some of its fishermen might have been driven thither, and left behind them these relics of Christianity, or some of the Norman pirates, after plundering Ireland, may have directed their course to the westward, and left there these articles of their booty. Towards the close of the 10th century, a man of the name of Thorwald, being obliged to fly on account of a murder, set sail for Iceland. His son, Eric the Redliead, having also been guilty of murder and many irregularities, soon followed. The latter set out from thence on an ex- pedition to the westward in 082, and fell in with that part of the cast coast of Greenland called Hcrjolf s Ness, and ICELA^'D, GREENLAND, AND NEWFOUNDLAND. 43 standing to tlic southward entered a large inlet, which was called by him, or after him, Eric's Sound. He passed the winter on a pleasant island in this sound, explored the coast in the following year, and in the third year returned to Iceland ; and l)y a lively description and the most lavish praises of its green and pleasant meadows, and the abund- ance of fine fish on the coast, ho induced a number of settlers to accompany him to this newly discovered coun- try, to which, in comparison of its appearance with Iceland, he gave the name of Greenland. " It was a green land, a fair country, greener than Iceland," he loudly proclaimed in alehouse and market place. " The fact is," remarks one writer, "in his own small way this banished Icelandic viking -was a * promoter ' of a joint-stock company lor colonization, and knew as well as anybody within the city of London or elsewhere what was in a name. ' For,' quoth he, ' if the land have a good name, it will cause many to go thither.' " This was not, however, if tradition is to bo credited, the first discovery of Greenland : it is said to have been discovered about the close of the ninth century by an Ice- landei' named Gunbiorn, who called it Huidsaerk, or "White Shirt," from its snowy appearance. The Norwegians and Normans flocked in great numbers to Iceland, and a regular trade began between the colonists and the mother country. About the year 1001, one of the colonists, Herjolf, and his son Biorn, were on a trading voyage. Their ships were separated by a storm. Biorn was driven to Norway, and there he soon afterwards learned that his father had gone to Greenland. He there- fore set sail and proceeded westwards, intending to join him, but being driven by a storm a great way to the soutli- west, he discovered, by chance, a fine plain country well clothed with wood, The relation which he gave of this new discovery, on his return to Iceland, inflamed the ambition of Leif, the son of 44 ICE-WOELD ADVENTURES. M Eric, who had founded the colony on the coast of Green- land. He immediately equipped a proper vessel, and taking with him his friend Biorn, they proceeded together in quest of the newly discovered land. On approaching the coast they observed a barren and rocky island, which they therefore named Hell el and ; and to the low sandy shore beyond it, which was covered with wood, they gave the name of MarJdand. Two days after this they fell in with a new coast of land, to the northward of which they observed a large island. They ascended a river, the banks of which were covered with shrubs, bear- ing fruits of a most agreeable and delicious flavour. The temperature of the air felt soft and mild to the Greenland adventurers ; the soil appeared to be fertile, and the river abounded with fish, and particularly with excellent salmon. On proceeding upwards, they discovered that the river issued from a lake, near which they resolved to pass the winter. On their return, they mentioned, among other things, that, on the shortest day, the sun was visible above the horizon eight hours ; and that a German, who was one of the crew, had met with wild grapes. The latter fact induced them to call the island Vinland. Whether we are to consider Vinland as Labrador or Newfoundland is a matter of little importance, as the Scan- dinavians do not appear to have made any progress in the colonization of cither country. These northern hordes, however, flourished with great rapidity on Iceland, in spite of its barren soil and rigorous climate. Religion and literature even took deep root where every luxury and frequently the common necessaries of life were wanting. The genius of native poetry survived amidst eternal ice and snows. The want of shady groves and verdant meadows, of purling streams and gentle zephyrs, was amply supplied by the more sublime and awful objects of nature, — storms and tempests, earthquakes and volcanoes, sponts of liquid fire and of boiling water, volumes of smoke and steam and ICELAND, GREENLAND, AND NEWFOUNDLAND. 45 aslies darkening the air and enveloping the wliolo island, were the terrific visitors of this vltima tlmhi of the inhabitable world. " The scalds or bards," says Pennant, " retained their fire in the inhospitable climate of Iceland as vigorously as when they attended on their chieftains to the mild air of Spain or Sicily, and sang their valiant deeds." The Greenland colonies were less fortunate. On the east and the west coasts the ancient Scandinavians had established colonies. That on the west had progressively in- creased until it could boast of four parishes, containing one hundred villages ; but being engaged in perpetual hostility with the native tribes, in possession of this territory and of the neighbouring islands, to whom they gave the name of Skroelings, but who have since been known by that of Esquimaux, the colony on that side would appear to have been ultimately destroyed by these hostile natives. The ruins of their edifices were still visible in 1721. The fate of the eastern colony was, if possible, still more deplorable. From its first settlement by Eric the Redhead in 983 to its most flourishing period it had steadily in- creased in population, and by the latest accounts consisted of twelve parishes, one hundred and ninety villages, a bishop's see, and two convents. About 140G a stream of ice fixed itself to the coast, and rendered access impossible, and from that period no inter- course whatever was held with the unfortunate colonists. In the middle of the sixteenth century an Icelandic bishop, when on his way to Norway, happened to be driven by a storm near the east coast of Greenland : he got so near as to be able to distinguish the inhabitants driving their cattle in the fields. A favourable wind, however, springing up, the worthy bishop soon left Greenland far behind. There has been much dispute about the situation and ultimate fate of this eastern colony. According to some they perished by the black death in the fifteenth century. 46 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. a fact which it would be hard to harmonize with the state- ment of the Icelandic bishop just mentioned. But, at this time of day the subject is hardly worth arguing about. Time went on, and wo arrive at the close of the 15th century, when John Cabota or Cabot, a citizen of Venice, came over to England with his son Sebastian, then a boy (besides two other sons), and settled in Bristol. Being a skilful pilot and intrepid navigator, Henry VII., disappointed in the hope of engaging Columbus, through the misfortunes of his brother Bartholomew, encouraged Cabot to make discoveries by granting him a patent, in virtue of which he had leave to go in search of unknown lands, and to conquer and settle them ; the king reserving to himself one fifth part of the profits. The patent bears date the r)th March, 149G, being the eleventh year of Henry's reign, and is granted to him by name, and to his three sons, Lewis, Sebastian, and Sancius. Tliere is a sad disagreement in the date of the voyage in which Newfoundland is supposed to have been dis- covered ; and there is no possible way of reconciling the various accounts collected by Hakluyt, and which amount to no less a number than six, but by supposing John Cabot to have made one voyage, at least, previous to the date of the patent, and some time between that and the date of the return of Columbus. The father and son jointly, in their first voyage, dis- covered Newfoundland, to which they gave the name of Prima Vista, "the first seen." They describe the natives as being clothed in skins of beasts, and using, as arms, bows and arrows, clubs and pikes. They saw bears and largo deer, caught plenty of seals, fine salmon, and soles above a yard in length ; but the fish in greatest abundance was a sort called by the natives haccallaos. The Cabots brought homo three of the natives of Newfoundland. *' These savages were clothed in beasts skins and did cat raw flesh, and spake such speech as no I ICELAND, GREENLAND, AND NEWFOUNDLAND. !0 o man could understand them ; and in their demeanour like to brute beasts whom the king kept a time after." In the reign of good Queen Bess Sir Humphrey Gilbert obtained letters patent, dated 1578, authorising him to un- dertake western discoveries and to possess lands unsettled by Christian princes or their subjects. Ho set out in lo8;> to take possession of tlio northern parts of America and Newfoundland. The fleet consisted of five ships, in which were embarked about two hundred and sixty men, in- cluding shipwrights, masons, smiths and carpenters, besides "mincrall men and refiners;" and, " for the solaco of our people," says Mr. Haies, who described the voyage, "and allurement of the savages, we were provided of musicko in good varietie; not omitting the least toyes, as morris dancers, hobby horsses, and Maylike conceits, to delight the savage people, whom we intended to winnc by all fairc meanes possible." This little fleet left Cawsand Bay on the 11th of June. On entering the harbour of St. John's, the general and his people were entertained with great profusion by the English merchants, who carried them to a place called the (jardoi ; but the writer of the voyage observes, that nothing appeared but " nature itselfe without art :" plenty of roses and raspberries were found growing wild in every place. Here in presence of the English traders and many assembled foreigners, possession was taken, in the queen's name, of the harbour and two hundred leagues around it every way. Several parcels of land were granted to different persons ; but, it seems, "tlie general was most curious in the search of metals, commanding the mineral- man, especially, to be diligent." This mineral-man was a Saxon, honest and religious, named Daniel. He brought to Sir Humphrey what he called silver ore, but the general would neither have it tried nor spoken about till they got to sea, for a very good reason — "the Portugals, Biscains, and Frenchmen were not far off"." [S T( " K -WO K 1,1) AD V H NT U il Ki^ . li! I Sir H.impliroy now set sail, in his sranll frigate, the Squirrel: it was a miserable bark of ten tons. With him lie took two other ships, the DeJ'ujIit and the Goldoi Iliinh'., and all three proceeded on a voyage of discovery to the southward. Misfortune was not far oil'. The Dd'njld, with all the valuables on board, was wrecked among the flats and sands near Sabh? Island, when only twelve men escaped in a boat out of more than a hundred souls. Amongst those who were lost was a learned Hun- garian, who bad embarked on the voyage in hopes to pick up curious tales and things " worthy of remembrance," and also the honest and religious Daniel " the Saxon, refiner and disijoverer of inestimable riches." It is not said that Sir Humphrey Gilbert mourned over the loss of the scholar, but that of the miner and the oro was a sore blow to him. On the strength of his having discovered a silver mine ho had reckoned on borrowing £10,000 from the queen for his next voyage. The hopes of riches was a sure moans of winning the support of tho good (^)ueen Bess. After this disaster, Sir Humphrey determined on pro- ceeding in his little bark to England along with tho Gohhni lliiide. The Squirrel was wholly unlit for such a voyage, and Sir Humphrey v>'as entreated not to venture in her, but to take his passage on board the Golden Ilinde. " No," said tho bravo man ; " I will not forsake my littio company going homeward, wiDi whom I have passed so many stornies and perils." On tlio 0th of September, liaving passed the Azores, Sir Humphrey's frigjito was observed to bo nearly ovorwhebned by a great sea ; but she recovered tho stroke of the waves, and immediately afterwards the general was observed by those in tho Ilinde sitting abaft, with a book in his hand, calling out, " Courage, my lads ! we are as near to heaven by Bca as by land!" The same night this littio bark and all within her were swallowed lip by the sea, and no more heard of. ICKLAND; OUEKNLAND, ANli NEWFOUNDLAND. •to > i Thus perished this bravo and adventurous gentleman. It has been said that lie >yas chiefly induced to continue in the Squirrel, and adhere to the fatal resolution of not quitting her, in consequence of a maliulous report that ■was spread abroad, and had reached his cars, that ho ■was afraid of tlic sea. But it is not probable that a man of such undaunted courage and vigour of intellect would trouble himself about such idle talk. n;i.i..r.Ei> FOR im: coi.n. \ I "I, rtlll ciiArTi<:u iv. THE EXPLORATION OF GBEENLAND. AuillRAL LiN'itENAU'S DaKISII EXPEDITION OF TOO.'— TlIE NATIVES 01' Gheenland — A Hoxii: i-oii Ciujiinals — A Second Danisu Ex- pedition IN ino6 — A Third Expedition in 1G07 — Mutiny at Sea — A Danish Expedition to Ekdiscover East Greenland IN 1G52 — Exri'DiTioNS I'ou the sahe Purpose in 1780-87 — The Interior oe Greenland — Expeditions to Explore it in 1728, 1751, 1830— Die. Hayes' Expedition in 1800— A vast Fkozen Sahara — IlcNNixa rou Live — Dr. Eae's Expedition in 1800— Du. llop.Ejvr Brown's Expedition in 1807 — A Successful Journey in 18/0 by Professor Nordenskjold and Dr. Bero- cren— Remarkable Wateufalls — Expedition by the Gi:iiM.\.\r.i AND JTa.ssa in 1809-70 — The Sad End of the II.ixsa — Christ- mas ON A.>r IcE-j'iJiLD — In Great Danger- The ^'oYAGE of the GlItM.iXU. TiiH Diini,-;]i nation, Avliich luig'lit hv suppcsccl to bj llio most interested in proscciitii-g discoveries in the arctic soas along tin* two coasts of GrcenUuid, saw the repeated enterprises of the English iii those waters v-ith iiidiflerence. Housed, however, at length to a sense of '.e importance of nortliern discovery, the King of Denmark caused an expe- dition to bo fitted out for the exploring of Gireenland. It consisted of two Bhij)s and a pinnace. One of the sliips, called tho Erui^t, was commanded by John Cunningham, a hJcottish gentleman in the service of the king; on board of her was James 1 lall, an Englishman, acthig as principal jiilot. T\w other .ship was the Lioii^ cummanded by a Dane. Tho pinnace was under the commanil of John Knight, an jMiglishman. Tho whole expedition was placed under tho orders of Admiral Ciodske Jjindenan. Tluy sailetl from Copenhagen on the 2nd of May, lOOo. Ou the ^Uth they hiiv-' the s 'ut h point of Greenland, which, out of couii)limeut TIIIJ EXPLORATION OP GREENLAND. 61 % to Luo King of Denmark, they luimccl Cape C'liristian avoid tliG ice -wliicli encompassed tlio shore they stood to the ^vcstward, and fell in "svith "mighty islands of ice, being- very high, like huge mountains," making a hideous and wonderful noiso ; and on one of them was observed "a huge rocke stone, of the weight of three hundred pounds or thereabouts." Findincr nothino: but ico and ioo' 4o' they were surrounded by " mighty banks of ico," and got clear with great dilh- culty. At last they came in sight of Greenland, about ten leagues to the south of Quoea Anne's Capo, the Frost on the preceding day being separated from the Lion and the CriUijIoii'cr. They put into Cunningham's Fiord, where, it seems, they had found a silver mine the year before, of which ore thoy had sworn to his majesty to bring home a suflieient quan- tity ; accordingly " they all landed to see the silver myne, whore," says Hall, "it was decreed that we should take in as much thereof as we could." This, in fact, appears to have been tlio grand object of the extensive equipment fur- nished by the King of Denmark; it was the discovery of gold and silver that actuated the framors of an expedition on a scale unnecessarily largo for the purposes of scientific discovery ; for in fact no search nor even mention is made either of a North-west Passage or of Greenland explor- ation. They rowed in their boats up the sound, pnssing " many green and pleasant islands," and after some days came to the mouth of a river, which they named, after the pilot of i\\oE(ifih\ Fos river. On the bank of this river was nitii- uted the winter village of the natives, consisling of alout f'-rty liouses " builded with whales' (wnes, the b.iUves being of whales' ribbes ; the tops were covered with earth, and they had eertaino vaults or srilers under the earth f'ouro square, about two yards dcrpi; in the giiuuid." In tho burying place they observed the bodies wrapped in seal ^■i 5t ICE-WORLD ADVENTDREP. F^ins, "and stones laid in a manner of a cofiin ov^ci* them." Jlcve ilicy seized five natives to carry with tbera to Don- mark. Tlicy learned from their new cajitives that tlie country was named Secamunga, and that the great king, who lived in the interior, was carried upon men's shoulders. It was now the lOtli of August ; the weather began to be very stormy. They resolved to return to tlio southward, and after a long passage arrived in Copenhagen Roads on the 4th of October. This fruitless expedition it seems was followed up by another the next year, equally fruitless. It consisted of two ships, the command of which was entrusted to a Danish captain of the name of Karsten llichardiseu, a uativc of liolstcin, who engaged some sailors from Norway nnd Iceland ; but they proceeded no farther than Cape Farewell. The Danish chronicle says they turned because of mountains of ice obstructing their passage ; but Hall gives a more probable reason. ITo says tliat the Danisli crew mutinied for fear tho honour of their discoveries would be attributed to an English pilot they had on board, and forced tho ship 2, Frederick III., King of Denmark, commamled Captain Dancll to under- take an expedition to rediscover East Greenland. He set sail from Copenhagen on the 8th of May, with two vessels, and proceeded to the north of Iceland. Then taking a westerly course, ho perceived tho coast of Greenland on tho '2nd of June, at the distance of about thirty miles, in latitude <>4° 50' ; but could not approach nearer on account of tho ice. In the N.F., at about three miles' distance, they saw two small i.slands, wliich they named Hvidsolcn and Maatelos Skib. On tho -h they again saw land, which was very high, and appeared to be covered with ice. This land was about tiiirty-two miles from them ; they sailed among some little I THE KXPLORATION OF GREENLAND. i.>0 i I I! \ islands ; the ice extended from tlio coast eighteen or twenty miles into the sea. On the Otli of June they saw five small islands in latitude G5°. The most northerly capo they saw, in 05° 80', received the name of the Capo of King Frederick. They coasted along the land running to the south-west, but could not anywhere penetrate the ice, -whicli was not strong enough to support them had they wished to walk on it towards the land. At last they doubled Capo Farewell, and sailed along the western coast of Greenland, remaining: on that coast till the IGth of July. On the IStli of July they repassed Capo Farewell, and on the 2Grdof July, in latitude 01", they saw a bay between two high mountains, and would have entered it if the night had not pvevonted them. For several days following they continued to see land, which they approached within four or five miles, but they had o means of reach- ing it on account of the ico. They were obliged at length to give up their endeavours to approach it, and return to Denmark. Captain Danell set sail again from Copenhagen on the lOth of April, 1(353, went to the north of Iceland as far as latitude 70^, beyond that of the island Jan Mayon, and then took the direction of S.W. and W.S.W., and on the 13tU of June, in latitude Gi°, saw something blue in the horizon, which ho conjectured to bo Capo King Frederick. On tho lOtli of June, ho saw Ilcrjolfsucs, in Greenland, in latitude (l-i\ but the ico was twenty- four or twenty-five miles from the coast, lie coasted along as far as Capo Farewell, but always at tho distance of forty-five or fifty miles from tho land, on account of tho masses of ice ; and repaired to tho v/esterii coast of Greenland, from whence he returned to Denmark. Wo now pass over upwards of a hundred and thirty years, and come to another Danish expedition in tho year 1780. I I: i ': 56 ICE-WORLD ADVRNTUfiKS. The King of Denmark, at the recommendation of Bisliop Egede ^^on of the missionary Hans Egedo, who had taken him, when a child, into Greenland), fitted out an expedition in this year for the purpose of re- discovering the eastern coast of Greenland. The command of the expedition was given to Captain Lowenorn. The bishop was persuaded that the long lost colony on this coast* would be found to exist, or to have existed, in about the same parallel of lati- tude with the central part of the western coast of Iceland. The ship, Grco Ernst Hchcinmchnami, of 240 tons burden, sually employed on the whale fishery, was engaged by government for this expedition. There was also attached to her a small vessel of GO tons, which was placed under the command of Lieutenant Egede, the son of the bishop. These vessels were to pass the winter in Iceland, in order to resume their research the following summer, in case they should not succeed the first year. The two vessels set sail from Copenhagen on the 2nd of May, 178C), and arrived at Iceland on the IGth of the same month. They sailed westward, and soon their struggles with the ice began. To make a long story short, our explorers completely failed in attaining their object. Ad- miral Lowenorn returned to Denmark with his ship, and Lieutenant Egede made a second attempt that year. With his little vessel he set sail from the port of Havne- fiord, in Iceland, on the 8th of August, 178('>; met for many days enormous masses of floating ice, and discovered land on the IGth of August, in latitude ih)° 2 1' 17', longitude 33° 10', at the distance of sixty or seventy miles ; and approached it within thirty miles. The ice was of great depth between him and the land, but he could find no opening to push through it ; ho hove the lead in vain — no bottom was to be found. Ho perceived a narrow space of clear water lying between the ice and the land. The land was very high, with pointed rocky summits, apparently of i i ] TOE EX'PLO RATION OK (IREENUND. 57 greater elevation than the mountains of Norway ; and they wore covered with snow and ice ; but through the telescope they could discover pointed peaks lower down, which were not covered with snow. On the 2<)tli they again discovered land, when in lati- tude (5 1.° 58' 53", longitude 3 L° 31-', at the distance of about six and thirty miles ; but all the coast was beset with ice, which it was impossible to penetrate. The land was very high, with pointed rocks covered with snow and ice. Through the telescope they perceived clefts in the rocks, and they thought they could see moss growing in some places. There were numbers of seals on the ice-islands, gulls, and various species of sea-birds. Egcdo coasted on along the land towards the south, and though the air was very clear, they could perceive neither men, houses, nor animals, though they were sufficiently near the land to see them had there been any. On the 21st he still continued to see land ; but the ice drove him from it, and in order that he might not be closed in, ho thought it prudent to stand out into the open sea. The following day they had a terrible storm, by which the vessel was much damaged, and on the 22nd of September they regained the port of llavnefiord in Iceland, after being tossed about in all dii"ectIons for some weeks. Here Lieutenant Egede resolved to pass the winter. In the spring he resumed his labours. On the 18tli of iNFny, 1787, he approached the ice as close as was possible, in order to get a near view of the cast coast of Greenland. He was then about thirty miles from the nearest land, and forty miles from the most northern part of it. They saw no- thing but rocks, very high, pointed, and in most parts covered with ice and snow, presenting a most dreai-y and miserable spectacle. On the change of the current, the ice began to come down afresh from the north, which forced them to make sail for Iceland, where they arrived on the 2Hth of ^May. 68 ICE-WOPtLD ADVENTURES. 1^ if I \ On tho 8tli of Juno Lieutenant Egnde set sail a second time; but meeting -witli nothing but mountains of ice, which it "vvas impossible to pass, or to find any opening to admit the vessel towards the land beyond the ice, ho put back into Iceland, after an unsuccessful attempt of three weeks. On the 14th of July and the 2.')th of August ho again endeavoured to pass through the ice, and to push on towards the coast of Greenland; but meeting con- tinually with impenetrable ice, which prevented him even from seeing the land, he was at last forced to abandon the undertaking altogether, and to return to Denmark. These expeditions which we have enumerated were all directed towards the exploration of the Greenland coast. We have now to speak of various attempts made to pene- trate into the interior of the land. Of the mysterious, ice- bound nature of that i;iterior wo have already said some- thing. * The first attempt to ponctratc the interior of Greenland seems to have been that of ^lajor Ocean and Captain Landorff, in 172S. These gallant .Danish officers proposed what, says Dr. Robert Brown, " appears to us almost too ludicrous and madcap a scheme to bo seriously related ; namely, to ride on horseback across the country from the west to the east coast ! Evidently they knew nothing before starting of tho nature o£ the road. That their expedition failed is not surprising. In 1751 an enterprising attempt was made to pass through, the interior by Lars Dalager, an adventurous trader. On tho 2nd of September, accompanied by a Greenlander, tho Greenlander's daughter, and three other natives, he set out on his expedition from a bay on tho south of tho iceblink. They tied in a bundle their bag of provisions and their furs to sleep in, and gave the pack to the girl to carry. The rest of the party each took a little skin kayak, or Greenland boat, on his head — for some * Pec p. 3. THE EXPLOUATIOX OF OREEXLAND. 50 \ 'dS; I ■water had to bo crossed at first — and a musket on his slionldcr, and so marched along. The first half-mile Avas by a brook-side, and was level and easy walking ; after that they had a high and rnggcd rock to cross, and frequently fell down with their boats on their heads. But wc need not narrate all the particulars of their Journey. At four o'clock on the 5tli, we find them on a high rock on the borders of the iceblink. Hitherto they had been travelling over the ground bordering the great interior vicr Jo glace, or over some defluent glaciers. Now, an extensive prospect burst upon their view on all sides, shrlking them with wonder, particularly when the vast fields of ice were seen stretching across the country in the east coast, bounded by mountains whose tops were covered with snow like those on which they stood. The adventurers stayed till evening on the mountain- side and then, descending a little way, lay down to rest. Lars Dalager was so agitated by what he had seen, as well as chilled by the bleak air, that he could not sleep. The next morning they shot a reindeer, and Dalager was glad to take a draught of its warm blood, and to join the Green- landers in demolishing a raw hauncli of venison, for they had no fire. Up to this time he had avoided raAV meat, and contented himself with bread and cheese. The enterprising trader would fain liave g07ie on farther ; but when he looked at the condition of his party, ho saw that it would be prudent to return. Each had taken two pairs of Esquimaux boots with him, but they were now worn to tatters, and the girl, who had lost her tools, was nnable to repair them. '^^Phey therefore made the best of their way back to the tents which they had left. In 1830 wo have another expedition to record, that ot Kielsen. Kielsen was a whale-fishing assistant at Ilolsten- boi'g, in tho Inspectorate of South Greenland, situated at the mouth of a laru-e fiord. On the 1st of ]\Iarch he set out with tlirec sledges, and by midday of the Gth came to IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I Van 25 22 20 1.8 " 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" _ ► v] <^ /. O: <^/ i^^ ^: // .!> ■> 7 /(^ Photographic Sciences Corporation d ^^ V ^^ :\ ^v <^ 6^ 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WCBSTER.N Y 14SS0 (716) S73-4S03 W.r 00 ICE-WCRLD APVRNTnTTRR. a considerably extended plain. Here the land sloped in- wards, and now tlicy saw at their feet the huge extended mass of the great interior ice. They now quickly ran over small hills, lakes, and streams, until they came to a mod- erately large lako at tho end of the inland ice, which was the limit of their journey. After an atlempt to climb tho ice, Kielsen returned, and had a most troublesome time of it. On this expedition ho penetrated into the interior eighfy miles in a straight line from Ilolstenborg. In 18(50, Dr. Hayes, of the American schooner Uuifeil Sfi(tt'.'<, made a voyage to Smith's Sound, to which we have referred elsewhere. One of tho minor excursions which ho took while his vessel lay in winter quarters, was into tho interior of Greenland. It was one of the most sncccssful of tho attempts which have been made to peuetrato tho inland ice, as well as tho most northerly of them. They hud a difTicult journey, and one night the cold was so intense that all tho party had to quit the shelter of their 'ont and run about on tho ico to save themselves from getting benumbed. At last they reached an altitude of 5000 feet above tho sea, seventy miles from the coast. They were now in tho midst of a vast frozen Sahara, immeasurable to human e3'0 Neither hill nor dale was anywhere in view. Tlioy had completely sunk tho strip of land which lies between tho lunr do ghicc and tho sea ; and no ohject met tho eyo but their feeble tent, which bent with tho storm. *' Fitfitl clouds swept over tho face of the full-orbed moon, which, de- .sccnding towards the horizon, glimmered through the drift- ing snow that whirled out of the illimitable distance, and scudded over tho icy plains ; to the eye in undulating lines of downy softness — to the tlesh in showers of piercing darts." The storm now made them run for life to a point :J0<)0 feet lower, where the wind was less severe and tho tem- perature 1:2° higher. They now returned to their ship, tho latter part of the jonnK^y being wholly l)y moonlight. k THE EXTLOUATION OF GREENLAND. Gl III IfStjU, Ur. Julia Uiie, already laiuuus us an ui'ctic traveller, made an excursion towards the interior, but he never reached the inland ice. His party was stopped by a heavy fall of snow. Towards the end of July, 1807, Dr. Robert Brown and ^Ir. Edward Wympcr made an attempt to penetrate this icy waste with dog-sledges. " The season," says Dr. Brown, " was too late, and our attempt was impeded by various circumstances. Accordingly we were only enabled to proceed for a short distance, when, by the breaking down of our sledges, wo were forced to return." In 1870 the most successful journey ever made on the inland ice was accomplished by Professor Nordenskjold and Dr. Borggren, an accomplished botanist. Perhaps the most interesting and, to the reader, novel portion of their journey is thus described by the professor : " At a short distance from our turning point we came to a copious, deep, and broad river," — it was the month of July, and so warm enough for i-ivers to run, — " llowing rapidly between its blue banks of ice, which were here not discoloured by any gravel, and which could not be crossed without a bridge. As it cut oil" our return, vm were, at iirst, some- what disconcerted; but we soon concluded that, as on our journey out wo had not passed any stream of such large dimensions, it must at no gi'eat distance, disappear under the ice. Wo therefore proceeded along its bunks in the direction of the current, and, before long, a distant roar imlieated that our conjecture was right. The whole im- mense mass of water here rushed down a perpendicular cleft into the depths below. " Wo observed another smaller, but nevertheless very remarkable waterfall the next day, while examining, after our mid-day rest, the neighbourhood around ns with a telescope. We saw, in fact, a pillar of stcum rising from the ice at some distance from our resting-place, and, as the spot wus not fur out of our wuy, we steered our tourao by H 02 tCE-WOULD ADVENTURES. it, ill tlio liopo ol'meoiiiig — judging from the height of tho misty pillar — a waterfall still greater tlian that jasfc de- scribed. AVe were mistaken ; only a smaller, tliongh, never- thcle.ss, tolerably copious river rushed down from the azuro cliffs to a depth from which no splashes rebounded to the mouth of the fall; but there arose instead from another smaller hole in the ico, in the intermediate vicinity, an intermittent jet of water mixed with air, which, carried hither and thither by the wind, wetted tho surrounding cliffs with its spray. Wo had then hero, in tho midst of tho desert of inland ice, a fountain, as far as we could ludgo from descriptions, very like tho geysers, which in Iceland are produced by volcanic heat. Wc have now recorded the chief attempts which have been made to pcnetrato the interior of Greenland, and como to speak of a very recent exploration of tho cast coast, accomplished by tho Germans, who on this occasion en- tered the lists of arctic discovery for tho first time. Wo refer to tho expedition of the Getinanla and llansa in I8U ill' ho it ll.S. IJll )ii '< piii'Luro, wliicli iuuk pUico froui JJivmeiluivcu, vn the IMh of June, 18»;9. Ou the Otli of July they sighted Jan Ma3't;n Island ; and on the loth of the same month arrived at the edge of the ico on the Greenlavid coast, in latitude 71'^ '17', where they experienced dense fogs. On the 20th of July a mistake was made in a signal, and in consequence the two vessels parted company, never to meet again. We shall first follow the adventures of the unlucky ILiiisa. On the 28th of July those on board the ILnisd saw the coast of Greenland, in latitude 73^ ; but it was impossible to approach it on account of the ice. On the l-lth of August the ship was hemmed in on all sides, and the temperature fell to It)'^ Fah. On the 2nd of September she Avas again free, and proceeded for twenty miles in a north-west direction. It was her last sailing trip. She got blocked firmly between two promontories of a largo ice-field, and on the 11th was completely frozen in. It bccamo obvious towards the end of the month, that the winter must bo passed where the ship was fixed, and the prospect before the explorers was dismal in the ex- treme. They had the good sense, however, to look their difficulties in the face, and to prepare for the worst. The boats were got on tho ico with provisions for each, and a house was built of stones and snow. On the 18th and llHh, the .ship was much pressed bv the ice, and was lifted Bcventecn feet at the bow. As thero was a strong pro- bability of her breaking up, everything was removed from her that couUl be. Then she sprang a leak, and after a hopeless attempt at pum[)ing her out, tho masts wero cut away, and tho Jlioit^n became a wreck and went down, Tho ice-field on which tho shipwrecked mariners wero encamped drifted southwards. They aj)proached tho land at times, and Liverpool Coast was seen. While thus drift- ing at tho mercy of tho wind and currents, tho amenity of the crew to discipline was, under tho circumstances, (it ICE-WOKLD ADVENTUKLS. praiscwurtliy. Tlioy were not without their amusements here is Christmas Day : — " In the cafto-nooii, Avhilst wc went for a -svalk, the steersman put up the Christmas tree, and on our return tlie lonelv coal-hut shono with Avoutlerful brij^htness. Keeping Christmas on a Greenland ioc-floo ! Made of pine-wood and birch-broom, the tree was artistically put together. For the lights, Dr. Laube had saved some wax candles. Paper-chains and home-baked ginger-bread were not wanting. ... If this be the last Christmas wc arc to see, it was at least briglit enough. If, however, we were destined for a happy return home, the next Avill be a brighter one : may God grant it ! " The joy did not last long : here is what happened a few days later, on the 11th of January: — " Suddenly we heard * Water on the floe close by ! ' The floe surrounding us split up ; a heavy sea arose. Our field again began to break on all sides. On the spot between our house and the piled-up store of wood, which was about tweniy-llve paces distant, there suddenly opened a large gap. Washed by the powerful waves, it seemed as if the piece broken off was about to fall upon us, and ai the same time we felt the rising and falling of our now greatly i nluced floe. All seemed lost. From our split-up icefieh all the firewood was drifting into the ragitig sea. And ift like manner wo had nearly lost our boat JlisrmiirJ,- ; even the whale-boat was obliged to be brought into the middle of the fioe. The largo boat being too heavy to handle, we were obliged to give it up entirely. All this in a temperature of !)t\^ . . , It was a miracle that just that i)art of the fioe on which we stood should, from its soundness, keep together. Our floe, now only 150 feet in diameter, was the 135 to lo feet nucleus of the formerly extensive field to which wo hud entrusted our preservation." February, March, and April passed away, and on the Tth of May they quitted their icy prison w ith the three boats, iciits :, tlio [•cturn itness. icle of ily put ic Avax 1 WCl'O las wo 'cr, "Nvo ill be Ji I Ji few 3 heard .ling us 'gun to iukI the c paces hetl by cen oil' It the All rewood iner wo ilc-boat The obliged of Dr. iloo on )gether. in to !•> we hud tho 7th r boats, lei le In Winter Quakteks on an Ici:-Floi:. /. •- ( Vorid Atfvc'iifttrcs.] \_/',i,if<'' 64- THK KXI'I.O RATION OF GIIEEXLAXD. Go » . and on the -llli of June landed on Illuidlok, Avliicli tlicy left on the outli. Journeys were made in all directions, and in one of these Lieutenant Payer discovered a magnificent fiord, in latitude 73^, to which the name of "Kaiser Franz Joseph's Fiord " was given. The Gcrmania left Greeidand on the ITth of August, ISrO, and after some diflieuUy in getting clear of the coast, on the 11th of the following month arrived safely at Bremcrhaven. AN ARCTIC CANOE PADDLE. CHAPTER V. SEEKING FOR GOLD IN THE AUCTIG REGIONS. Mahtik Frobtsher — Fifteen Years' Solicitation — Frobibher's First Voyage in 157G — Interviewing the Natives — A " Prettt Polict" — Finding a Black Stone — It contains Gold — Fro- bisher's Second Votage in 1577 — How the Natives were Treated — A Cornish Trick — Cargoes of Black Stones — The Royal Commissioners' Report — Frobisher's Third Voyage in 1578 — A proposed Colony — Surprising a Whale — Encountering THE Ice — Many Misfortunes — The Colony Scheme Abandoned — Homeward Bound — The Truth about the Black Stones— Frobisher's Future Career. The interesting voyages of "wliicli •wo have now to give particulars were not set on foot witli a view to dis- cover gold, though they were continued with that object. They were originally started to discover the North- west Passage. Karly in the reign of Elizabeth the idea was revived that a passage to China might be found round the northern coast of America. One of the most noble and daring men of his age conceived that such a j>assago might be discovered, and was willing to undergo the hardships and peril of the venture. This was Martin I'robisher, an officer who afterwards distinguished himself by naval exploits in every quarter of the globe, but who earned his early fame by contending with the snows and tempests of the northern seas. He resolved to attempt the Xorth-west Passage, and cither to return with a verifica- tion of his suppositions, or not to return at all. But though he had both the inclination and the ability for the enterprise, ho lacked the means for carrying it out. For fifteen years ho solicited the merchants of London to grant him a ship. They saw no reasonable prospect of profit, BO they declined. Frobishcr at last submitted his J il SEEKING FOR GOLD IN THE AKCTIC rEOIOXS. C7 it. Ito lof is J plans to some officers of the court of Queen Elizabeth. Fortunately they engaged the attention and met ?\'itli the support of Dudley, Earl of Warwick, and, as Ilakluyt says, "by little and little Frobisher, with no small expense and pain, brought his cause to somo perfection, and had drawn together so many adventurers, and such sums of money, as might well defray a reasonable charge to furnish himself to sea withal." We now find Martin Frobisher in command of two small vessels, one of twenty tons and the other of twenty- five tons burden, and a pinnace of ten tons, all loaded with twelve months' provisions, and ready to set forth on his voyage. His little barks, or rather boats, seem ill-adapted for sailing arctic seas ; but, as one wi'iter has pointed out, such vessels are better calculated for threading their way through channels obstructed by ice, and even for with- standing somewhat rough shocks from it, than larger and more unwieldy fabrics. The two larger vessels, the Gahricl and the Michael, left London on the Tth of June, 1570. On passing Greenwich, where Queen Elizabeth was then staying, they fired their guns in compliment to her mnjcsty. The queen answered the salute by appearing at the windows of her palace, cheering and waving her hand, and Secretary Walsinghnm went on board, wished Frobisher success, aud exhorted the crew to good order and obedience. When they had proceeded on their voyage a considerable distance north-west of England, the crew of the Michael lost heart. They turned their faces homewards, and carried back to England most gloomy forebodings as to the pro- bable fato of their comrades. But Frobisher was not a man to bo daunted : one of his masts was sprung, and another had gone overboard, but ho proceeded onwards, feeling confident, to use his own words, "that the sea at length must needs have an ending, and that some land should have a beginning that way." OS lCi;-\V(jl;I.D ADVliNTL'ULS. Tliore scorns ronson to believe, so far as liis tle?ci-iption can now be understood, that tlio first land Frobisher saw was the southern point of Greenland, and that he thence crossed the entrance of wliat was afterwards called Davis's Strait, towards the northern part of Labrador. He caught sight of two headlands, divided by a bay or strait, wliicli he named Frobishcr's Straits, wliilc he called the southern headland after Queen Klizabcth. On the 21st of July ho entered the Straits, and sailed along it for about fifty leagues, having a mainland on cither side. To sliow how confused were the ideas entertained at that time respecting the relative ])osition of Asia and America, it may be men- tioned that Frobisher fancied the shore on his right hand to bo Asia, and that on the left America ! lie landed, and found signs of fire on the ground. A neighbouring hill was then climbed: from the top Fro- bisher saw a number of small objects lloating in the sea at a distance. At first ho thought them to bo porpoises or seals, but, on a nearer view, they proved to be small leathern boats filled with men. The natives caught sight of the boat in Avhich he camo on shore, and tried to capture it : their attempt, however, was defeated. Frobisher afterwards succeeded in coming to a friendly understanding with them. They brought ealmon and raw meat, and gave seal-skin dresses, bear- skins, and such like articles, in exchange for bells, looking- glasses, and trinkets, " and to show their agility they tried many masteries upon the ropes of the ship, after our mariners' fashion, and appeared to bo very strong of their arms and nimblo of their bodies." But their friendship was only a pretence. Five of the English crew went on shore one day, and were captured in their boat, and never heard of more. In this way the commander was deprived of his only boat, and of some of his crew, whom he could ill spare. Jle now brgnn to think of returning to Knghind. It f ight tiiig. It ASTUNISIIINC; TUU EsgL'IMAUX. he- I Vol Id .liii', llllllTS. J [l\i!ie 68. SEi:KI\a FOR GOLD IN THE ARCTIC KHOIOXi?. GO occurred to him tlint it would be as well to take one of the natives " as a token that lie had been to this spot. There- fore, to deceive the deceivers, ho wroughl a pretty policy." This " pretty policy " was to rinj^ a small hand-bell within sight and hearing of the natives on tho shore, and to intimate by gestures that he would give it in a present to any one who came for it in a canoe. The natives were wary, and would not at ftrst place themselves within his reach. The temptation, however, was great ; for a hand- bell was not seen in that region every day. One man ventured to approach the ship. "When he came near, Frobisher seized him by the arms, a')d dragged him on board. The poor fellow is said to have bitten his tongue through out of sheer vexation, but he was brought to England as an arctic curiosity, and he died soon after- wards. Some time previous to this incident, while sailing up tho Straits, Frobisher had sent some of his men on shore with orders to bring him whatever articles, living or dead, they might find, as a token of taking possession of the country in tho queen's name. Some of the crew brought flowers, some grass ; and one man brought a piece of bluck stone, not unlike coal, but so heavy as to appear like a metal. The articles were laid aside, and the last named — the black stone — came to have a remarkable clTect at a subsequent period. Frobisher returned homewards, and arrived in England on tho 2nd of October. All parties received him with much attention, as one who had visited regions never before seen by Europeans. I'^verybody he knew asked for some token of his adventures, and at last ho had nothing left to give but fragments of the black stone. The wife of one of tho ** merchant adventurers," who had helped to fit out the expedition, happened one day to throw a [)iece of this stone into the fire, and after rcniaining there some timo it was found to hnvo accpiired a golden. <;lilt('iMng appear- '0 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. m; I, 1 aucc. Curiosity v^aa excited : it was sent to a refiner in London, and ho pronounced that it contained a small portion of pure gold. Need we tell what followed ? Tho idea at once took root in every one's mind that the black Btonc was an ore of gold ; that tho newly found country might, indeed some said must, contain abundance of it ; and that boundless riches were at the command of those who would undertake the fitting out of another expedition. A new voy.?ge was very soon planned, the proposed object being rather tho searching for the precious ore than the discovery of new lands. On tho 2Gth of May, 1577, Frobisher set sail from Black wall on his second expedition, having under his command one of the royal ships, of two hundred tons burden, called the Aydc, together with two fimaller vessels, tho Gahricl and tho Michael, fitly appointed with men, munition, and provisions for ono year's service. "With him ho had about forty gentlemen and soldiers, and a hundred seamen. They left England, and proceeded to tho coast of Greenland in safety, where they thought it, not unnaturally, "a marvellous thing to behold of what great bigness and depth some islands of ice be here, somo Bcventy, somo eighty fathomo under water, besides that which is above, seeming islands more than half a mile in circuit." Tho ships crossed from Greenland to Frobisher's Straits, They encountered a storm on tho wny, but it did not do much dnmnge, and they sailed slowly between tho two shores. On the Sth of July Frobisher landed on tho northern shor \ taking with him a compniiy of goldfiiulers, to search for tho precious oro which had brought them so fiir from home; "but he could not get in all that land a piece so lai'go as a walnut, where the first was found." They there- fore proceeded to somo other parts, and were moro successful, for they managed to collect a considerable (quantity. On the following day Frobisher, accompanied by all I SEEKING FOR GOLD IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 71 LlO m ^ 1 11 the gentlemen on board and a party of soldiers, went again on shore to reconnoitre the country, and make further discoveries. Some of the party were left in charge of the boats, -while others proceeded inland, where they erected a column of large stones in honour of their worthy patrons at home. When returning to the boats, they espied some of the natives, who made signals as if desirous of a conference. Frobisher sent two of his men on one side, and held up two fingers as a signal that the natives should do likewise. The four men thus met, and established a kind of treaty of commerce ; thus concluded : " they do use to lay down of their merchandize upon the ground so much as they mean to part withal, and so looking that tho other partio with whom they make trade should doe the like, they themselves doe depart, and then if they doe like of their mart they come again, and take in exchange the other merchandize; otherwise, if they like not, they take theii' own and depart." Frobisher and his party wont towards his ships, bu*. previously laid a plan which, to say the least of it, was somewhat injudicious. It was, to lay hold of two of tho natives, take them forcibly on board, give trinkets and toys to one of them, whom they would then send back on shore, and retain tho other as interpreter. Frobisher and one of his officers took upon themselves to put tho plan into execution. Having engaged two of tho natives in a con- ference, they suddenly seized them : tho ground, however, was slippery with snow, nnd the natives speedily got out or the hands of their captors. They ran to a hollow in the rocks, where their bows and arrows Avere hidden, and soon commenced a serious attack. Frobisher was shot in tho back with an arrow, and would probably have lost his lifo had he not soon reached the spot where his soldiers wcri? placed to guard the boats. The two natives now ran away ; but a Cornishman who was in tho boat, and who was a lirst-rato wrestler, rau after them, and overtaking 72 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. n one, " showed bis companion such a Cornish trick, that he made his sides ache against the ground for a month after ; and so being stayed, he was taken alive and brought away, but the other escaped." A storm had in the meantime arisen which greatly endangered the ships, and the adventurers could not go on board that night. They made a shift to pass the night on shore, and the following day they reached their vessels in safety. Two or three days afterwards, they went on shore at another place, and lighted a fire. The goklfinders then essayed some of the ore which had been taken, and found it to contain a portion of the pi'ccious metal. Some of the gentlemen attached to the expedition begged Frobishcr to allow them to travel thirty or forty leagues inland, as a means of making additional dis- coveries ; but he, considering " the greedie desire which our country hath to a present savour and return of gaine," resolved to postpone discovery, and direct his energies to the collecting of as much ore as possible. The principal members of the party, therefore, went on shore from time to time, travelling from place to place in search of ore, and taking with them the captive native as a sort of interpreter or guide. "When they had reached about thirty lengues up the Straits, they came to a place where abundance of the ore was to be seen ; and Frobishcr determined to gather the bulk of his load there. Every man of the party, from the captain downwards, set his hand to work and gathered the black stones ; and a message was then sent to bring up the ships to that point. On one part of the shore the adventurers met with some huts, which seem to have been very much like the Esquimaux huts of our own day. During the absence of Frobishcr some of the crew of the Ayde had been on shore, and had seen sundry articles belonging to their five poor countrymen who had been captured the year before. This BEEKINO FOR GOLD IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 73 10 10 10 10 of vo, or lis led soon afterwards to a conflict with a party of natives which ended in tho death of several. In a few days, while tho miners were still engaged in digging ore, a large party of natives appeared, as if to claim one who had been captured in tho recent skir- mish. Frobishcr by means of signs required from them the restitution of the five men who had been laid hold of tho preceding year, promising in return not only to release his captives but to make them presents. Tho natives answered by signs that tho men were still living and should be delivered up, and intimated that the captain should write a letter to them, " for they knew well the use wo have of writing." It seems that this show of friend- ship on the part of tho natives was insincere : tho five Englishmen were never more heard of. The year was now far advanced, so Frobishcr thought it advisable to return home. His own vessel was loaded with about two hundred tons of ore, with which ho set sail. The other ships of the expedition were separated by violent storms, but all had the good fortune to arrive with their cargoes of black stones safely in England. The queen received Frobishcr with high honours, and gave tho name of Mt'ta Incognita to the newly-discovered country. Her majesty was overjoyed to find that the matter of tho gold ore promised great riclies and profit, and that tho hope of tho passage to China by this last voyage was greatly increased. A commission was appointed by her majesty to in- vestigate the merits of the adventure, both as regards tho value of the ore and tho ])robability of finding a passage to India and China by tho new route. What tho real value of the oro was wo have not now tho means of ascertaining, but the commissioners reported that in both its features tho adventure was one of national iiiijiortanco and worthy of extensive encouragement. A third expcdilion was now planned on a liberal sfale. 74 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. It comprised fifteen ships, having on board, besides ofEcere, seamen, and miners, one hundred persons who wcro to form a colony in the new country. The colonists, it was intended, were to keep three of the ships, and the remain- ing twelve were to return laden with ore. A portable house or fort, built of timber, was stowed away on board one of the ships as a future dwelling for the colonists, of whom some were mariners, some soldiers, some miners, and a few officers who wcro to take a general charge of affairs. Frobisher was placed in command of the expedition, and many gentlemen of fortune, attracted by the honour and excitement of the undertaking, cast in their lot with hira. The queen expressed her approbation of the enterprise by presenting a chain of gold to Frobisher before ho set sail. Written instructions were delivered by the commander to the captain of every ship ; and the whole fleet started from Harwich on the 31st of May, lo78. They reached tho coast of Greenland in safety. Some of tho party landed and took possession of tho country in tho name of tho queen. A few simple Grccnlanders were living in tents not far from tho shore. When they saw the strangers they " fled fearfully away (supposing there had been no other world but theirs), and wcro much amazed at so strange a sight, and creatures of human shape so far in apparel, complexion, and other things, different from themselves." Tho visitors brought away some dogs, and left bells, looking-glass, toys, etc. An adventure befel one of tho ships as tho fleet passed onward towards Frobisher's Straits. It struck a whalo with such force as to bring tho vessel completely to a stand, whilst tho surprised sea-monster, making a " great and ugly noyso " descended into the water to a great depth. On reaching the Straits they found, contrary to tho experience of tho preceding year, tl'at tho entrance was I SEEKING FOR GOLD IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 75 completely frozen up. Tho ships came repeatedly in con- tact with largo masses of ice, and after having forced a passage between, were often placed in tho utmost peril in attempting to rejoin their companions. Indeed, two of the ships were lost sight of altogether for the space of twenty days. One ship of a hundred tons burden, while tracking her way between two masses of ice, was crushed and sunk, the crew having just time to escape. On board this vessel was, unfortunately, part of tho timber fort or house destined for the colonists. While tho remai.'ing vessels of tho fleet were lying hemmed in with ice on every side at the entrance of Frobisher's Straits, a violent storm arose from the south- east. Additional quantities of ico were forced into tho Straits from the open sea, forming a kind of wall behind he ships, whereby their chance of regaining open water was much diminished. Some of tho ships were anchored to masses of ice as a means of security, others were strengthened at tho sides by every possible means, so as to enable them to resist tho force of the moving masses. While some of the men wero actively engaged in making the besl practicable defence against tho impending danger, " otliers, some of more mild spirit, sought to save their souls by devout prayer and meditation to the Almighty, tliinking indeed by no other nicanes possible than by a divine miracle to havo their deliverance." All tho ships, excepting four, were thus hemmed in amongst the ice during a terrible storm. The four vessels in tho enjoyment of freedom wore somewhat to seaward of the others, and were enabled by the incessant labours of the crews and at imminent peril, to extricate themselves from tho ice, and to pass out from tho Straits to tho open sen, where they " bcganno anew to sorrow and fcarc for their fellowes' safeties." Tlie wind chancrcd to tho north-west on tho following I ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. daj, and had the eficcfc of driving the ice from the Straits, and thus by degrees liberating the imprisoned ships. The whole fleet once more assembled together, and the weary mariners began to repair the damage which their ships had sustained : some strengthened the sides, others set up new top-masts ; some repaired their sails and ropes, and a few others occupied themselves in stopping leaks. After a short sojourn in a sheltered bay, until the ico had been blown or carried out of the Straits, the undaunted adventurers again made an attempt to enter. On this occasion they met difficulties of another kind. The fog became so dense that they could neither distinctly see when or how they were approaching land. The snow also had so changed the form of certain landmarks which had guided Frobisher in his former voyage, that a distressing doubt hung over all their conclusions as to their real position. Frobisher sent boats to all the ships in succession, asking the candid opinion of the several captains as to where they were, for the absence of the sun prevented their ascertaining the latitude. Christopher Hall, James Beare, and other experienced mariners, who commnndcd the other vessels, gave it as their opinion that the fleet had been drifted by a strong current to a part of the coast never before seen by any of the crews. During the fog some of the ships became ngain separated from the rest, and were so pressed upon by the ico that the men began to think about how they might best provide for their preservation. " Some hoped to save themselves on chests, and some determined to tie tho hatches of the ship together and to binde themselves with their furniture fast thereunto ; and so to bo towed with tho ship-boat ashore, which otherwise could not receive half of their company ; by which means, if happily they had arrived, they should either have perished for lack of food to eat, or else should themselves have been eaten of those ravenous, blootlie, and man-eating people." •SEEKING I'OU GOLD IN THE ARCTIC KEGIONS. icy of of The principal part of the fleet proceeded up a strait which was quite new to our navigators. From it they found a passage into Frobisher'a Straits, and they then came to the natural conclusion that what they had formerly termed the mainland of America was only an island. This fact added a little to their discoveries, but it was a small return for the perils they had undergone, and the valuable time they bad already spent. The various ships of the fleet gradually reassembled, and Frobisher was now desirous of passing up the Straits called by his name, to reach the harbour where it was proposed to leave the party of colonists, and to load his ships with ore. But a terrible check was given to all hia plans. The passage was so blocked up with ico that it was utterly impossible to reach the harbour. Now the men began to get disheartened, and murmurs were heard against the plans of the admiral. Some proposed to find another harbour on the coast where they could repair their ships and rest awhile ; others began to mutiny, and to say that it was as good to bo hanged at home as to be lost amidst the ice. But Frobisher, witl\. undaunted resolution, determined not to forego an attempt in which his honour and fame were at stake. He again led his fleet into tlio Straits, and, as it happened, into the teeth of another mis- fortune. A terrible storm arose from the south-cast. During the tempest, although it was the month of July, there fell a considerable quantity of snow, " which did so wet through our poor mariners' clothes, that he that had five or six shifts of apparcll had scarce one dry thread to his back, which kind of cold and wetness, together with the over-labouring of the poor men amidst the ico, bred no small sickness amongst the fleet." With characteristic energy Frobisher proceeded onwards, threading his way through the narrow openings which occurred among the masses of ice. His own ship took the lead, in onlcr that his men might see that he was willing 78 ICE-WOLLD ADVENTURES. to boar tbo brunt of danger and difficulty. After immense exertion, most of the vessels arrived at the harbour in Frobisher's Straits. The admiral now called to his council Captains Fenton, Yorkc, Carew, and Philpot, to consider the best means of obtaining tho ore for which so many perils had been undergone, and of planting tho proposed colony. All tho miners on board tho ships which had arrived — there were five vessels still absent — were sent on shore, and immediately began to dig ore, in which task they wero aided by some of the gentlemen and soldiers belonging to tho expedition. Tho next thing was to land all the woodwork for the proposed erection. It was found, how- ever, that not only had a portion of it been lost, as wo have told, in the ship which had sunk, but other portions had been used for repairing and strengthening the ships during the frequent storms. It was also discovered, on ex- amining the provisions, that the proposed allowance for tho colonists, viz., one year's provisions for one hundred men, could not be spared from the fleet. Captain Fenton then bravely oflored to remain there for a year with sixty men. Upon this the carpenters were asked how long it would take to build the requisite habi- tation for sixty colonists. The answer was eight or nine weeks. This decided the matter : the fleet could not ven- ture to remain in these parts more than four weeks, so tho intended colonial settlement had to be abandoned for that year. All the captains signed a declaration to that effect, which was to bo presented to Queen Elizabeth on their return, to explain why the colonization had not been effected. In tho meantime the ships which had been missing wero struggling against the ice, in vain endeavours to pass up the Straits. Tho crews sufTered so many hardships, that the captains and masters met together and had a conference what was to be done. It was clear that many of the ^ I I I 1 1 1 ftEEKlNO FOR GOLD IN THE AUCTIC REGIONS. 79 seamen wished to return to England at once, and regretted they had ever left it. An agreement was made to assist each other in further endeavours, but one of the pilots failed to abide by it ; he turned his vessel homewards, and left the others to their fate. Captain Best, of tho ship Annie Frances, caused a pinnace to bo prepared, and manfully resolved to venture in it up the straits in hopes of reaching the harbour where Frobisher and the rest of the fleet were supposed now to be. With a crow of twenty persons he set sail in the pinnace. It was a frail boat ; " tho carpenter who made it said ho would not adventure himself therein for five hundred pounds, for tho boat hung together only by the strength of the nails, and lacked some of the principal knees and timbers." It spite of this, it was guided safely throngli the ice to the harbour where tho fleet lay ; and when Best and his companions were recognized by the others, " thero was a sudden and joyful outshoot, with great flinging up of caps and a brave volley of shot to welcome one another." A few days after this, Best's ship was sent for, and was fortunately .able to join tho others in the harbour. Though tho idea of colonization that year had been abandoned, the carpenters erected a small house on shoro to ascertain whether, by the following year — when they hoped to return — it had survived the rough wintry climate. Frobisher deposited near it a few bells, knives, looking- glasses, pictures, whistles, and other trinkets for tho natives, with a view to win those "brutish and uncivil people" to welcome them on any subsequent visit. He also caused corn, pease, and other grain to be sown as a resource for the next year. Tho season was now far advanced. Dark fogs, snow, and storms indicated appvoaching winter. The drink, too, for tho ships' companies had been so lessened by tho leakage of tho barrels, that it was evident a speedy return to England was necessary. "With great reluctance tho 60 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. couiiniiuJer gave orders to prepare for the homeward voyage. He loaded such of the ships as wore conveniently at hand with ore resembling, or apparently resembling, that by which such high hopes had been excited ; and then set sail. The difficulties encountered by the crews in extricating their vessels from the masses of ice were incessant and perilous ; but all the ships, with the exccpt- tion of the one that had sunk, succeeded in reaching England during the month of September, with a loss in all of about forty persons. Thus ended Frobisher's third voyage, and thus ended the attempts to send such expensive expeditions to this new found country. The ore was ascertained, on more careful and steady examination, to bo scarcely worth the trouble of bringing home, and altogether inadequate to defray the expenses of the voyage. It seems likely that the first specimens really did contain a small portion of gold, but that afterwards too little discrimination was exercised in the collection of specimens. No one could doubt the energy and skill of Frobisher, but his last voyage was looked upon as a total failure ; and he appears himself for a time to have fallen into unmerited neglect. Before letting him pass from our narrative, we may mention that in 1585 he served with Sir Francis Drake in the West Indies ; and that three years later he commanded one of the largest ships of the fleet which de- feated the Spanish Armada. His gallant conduct on that trying occasion procured him the honour of knighthood. He was killed in battle in the year 1591'. fi I cheature comforts. 4 CHAPTER VI. DUTCH EXPLOBATION IN THE ARCTIC SEAS. DuTcu Enterprise Awakened — Tue Expedition of 159.1 — Three to Four Hundred Idols — BRiani Hopes of a Nortii-East Passage — An Adventure with a Bear — Various Discoveries — William Barentz's Second Voyage of 1595 — A urevt lean White Bear — A Beward promised for tue Discovery of a Passage to China — P.ARENTz's Third Voyage of 159G — Bears and Bed Geese — The First Discovery ofSpitzbergkn — Winieuino in Ice Haven — Christmas Day and Twelfth Night — The First Glimpse of THK Sun — The Death of Barkntz — The Bet urn Home — Hudson's Expedition. No sooner had the Low Coantrios been delivered from the yoke of Spain, than Dutch capital began to find its ^vay into foreign channels, and a spirit of enterprise to infuse itself into the commercial pursuits of this industrious nation. Desirous of participating with other maritime powers of Europe in the trade of the East, it was obvious that a passage ■which would lead by the north to India and China would be to them, of all others, the most advan- tageous. "With a view to the discovery of such a passage, the United Provinces in 159i sent out an expedition, con- sisting of four ships, whereof two were furnished by the city of Amsterdam, one by Zealand, and one by Enkhuyscn. The first, called the Messenger, was commanded by Barentz; the name of the Zealand ship was the Swan, under tho command of Cornelison, who was also appointed admiral ; and the last was tho Mercury, commanded by Ysbrants. The ships from Zealand and Enkhuysen sailed together on the oth of June, reached Kilduyn in Lapland on tho 2ord, passed Kolgoyon on the 3rd of July, and soon fell in with much ice and numerous seals. They continued their course to the east, and found the weather, about the middle 82 ICE-WOKLD ABVENTUUES. : *■ :i ! of July, as warm as in Holland during tliG dog days. Tlio musquitocs 'wcro exceeding troublesome. As tlioy approached ilio island and strait of Waygatz or "Waigatz, tlicy encountered great quantities of driftwood, heaped up as if by art. Some of it consisted of largo trees which had been torn up by the roots. The island looked charming, being covered with verdure, and adorned with a multitude of wild flowers. Passing round its southern coast the voyagers saw from three to four hundi^ed idols — images of men, women, and children — with their faces turned towards the cast. On passing the strait they continued their course to tho eastward, but met with considerable opposition from tho ice. They stood on to the eastward until they came into a sea nearly free from ice. At this time they were not more than forty leagues fiom Waigatz Strait, and the mainland to the soLiLliward was in sight, trending apparently to tho Bouth-cast. These circumstances gave them such confident hopes of an open passage to China, that instead of following up tlio actual discovery of it, they agreed to turn back, in order to bo the first to convey the happy tidings to Holland. They accordingly made the best of their way home, Avhich they reached on the 2Gth of September. Barentz, in the 3Icsscn'jer, after crossing tho White Sea, stood to the north-eastward, and having made the west coast of Nova Zembla on tho 4th of July, proceeded along it to the northward. Ho next passed Admiral's Island, Capo Negro, and William's Island, on tlio shores of which wero found much driftwood and a host of sea-horses. An adventure with a bear enlivened the visit to William's Island. It was a tremendous white monster, of wonderful strength. The sailors wounded her with a musket ball, and then tried to get her into tho boat by means of a rope. Tho bear, however, needed no assistance in order to coi' o on board, and had very nearly succeeded in beconn'ng mistress of the situation, and driving all the people into tho I" m N > O Z O u u I— I o H < O Si >3 DUT("1I EXPLORATION IN TRC ARCTIC PEAS. S3 00 < n S b) N < > O b u. O u o H < O J 5S ss ■V. ^3 fur end of tlic l)oat, \Ylien luckily the rope cntauglcd hcv ■witli tliG rudder, and checked her career. One of the crc^v then summoned up all liis courage, emboldened by hvv helpless situation, and stepping aft put her to death -with a half- pike. From William's Island tlicy sailed in a northerly direc- iion, and came to an extensive field of ice, about latitude' 77^ -5'. Returning to the southward they named the nearest point of Nova Zcmbla in sight Ice Point, and here they found certain stones that glistened liko gold, which on that account they named gold-stones. Farther south they gave tho name of Orange to certain islands, on the shore of one of Avhieh they saw about two hundred sea- horses basking in tho sun. They attacked them with hatchets, cuttlc-axes (cutlasses), and pikes, without being able to kill one of them, but had recourse to the cruel expe- dient of striking some of the teeth out of their mouths. Tho ice now came floating down in such quantities, and tho weather was so misty, cold, and tempestuous, that the crew first began to murmur, and then refused to proceed any farther. Accordingly, on the 1st of August, Barentz consented to return to tho southward, by tho same way as they had come. In coasting along, a largo inlet was discovered, which Barentz judged to be the jjlaco "vvhcro Oliver Brunei* had been before, called Costino Sarca. They landed farther south on Sion's Point, where they perceived some Europeans nmst have been, for they there found six sacks of I'ye-meal, a cross, a heap oC stones, and a largo camion shot, and three houses built of wood, near which stood five or six coflins beside graves with dead men's bones, the coHhis being filled with stones. Tliry also discovered the wreck of a llussian ship with a keel forty feet long. To t'.iis " fuiro haven " they gave the name of ]\teal Harbour, out of puro gr.ititude for tlu? relief it had atl'orded them. * An Euirliijluunn, <<[ \vhy Uic Uut.h. T 81 rri:-\voi;i,D ADVRXTrRi:.^. ! .1 I I I! n I On tlic 15tli they arrived at tlic two islands called Mat- floe and Delgoy, and there they met the Zealand and Knkhuysen ships, which had repassed Waigatz Strait, on their return, the same day. From them they learned that the latter had been as far eastward, according to their conjecture, as the river Obi; "that they were not far from Cape Tabin, which is the point of Tartary that reached toward the kingdom of Cathaia, and that south-east from ^V'aigatz they had discovered a small island, to which they gave the name of Staaten Island, and that there they found many stones that were of christall mountayne, being a kind of diamond." From hence the throe ships set sail together, and arrived in the Texel on the IGth of September. Prince Maurice and the St.'ites General of the United Provinces entertained the most sanguine hopes, from the report of the two ships from Zealand and Enkhuysen in [)articalar, of an eastern passage to China. They accord- i'.igly caused a fleet of seven ships to bo fitted out for tho now expedition. Six of tiiem were laden with dillerent kinds of wares, merchandise, and money, and factors wero appointed to dis})ose of the said wares. William Bare.itz was constituted pilot-mnjor. The seventh vessel was a small pinnace, which, on reaching Capo Tabin, was to ])roceed to examine tho remainder of tho passage, and bring back a report. These immense preparations were rendered useless. Tho expedition was far too long of setting sail ; it did not reach Nova Zembla till tho ITth of August, a period of the vear at which it oii of the men were lying together, ''a great 1 'an whiti; bear came sudilenly stealing out, and caught one of them fast by the neck, who, not knowing what it was thai. took him by the neck, cried out and sayd, 'Who is thai that pulls mo so by the neck?' wherewith tho other, that ]ay not farrc from hin^, lifted up his head to see who ii was, and perceiving it to bo a monstrous bear, cried out and sayd, ' Oh mate! it is a bear I' and therewith pre- sently rose up and ran awny." The bear instantly bit in suniUu' tho head of tlie man ln' hiul caught, "and suckt out his blood;" and on being attacked by about twenty pcopl(\ some with pikes, and others with muskets, she turned furiously upon tho parly, seized upon one of them, whom she tore in pieces, and all the rest ran away. Tho people on board, perceiving what liad ha])i)ene(l, landed, and about thirty nuule an attack on this furious animal. Tho purser shot her in the lu-ad between the eyes, which did not make her let go her ludd of the dead man, but sh(« liftetl up her head with the dead man in Iut mouth; on perceivimr. however, Ihal she b/traii lu .stagger, the i)ui'S('r and a Seotehmau du-w out their cutlasses, and M i •-t I r >MMMa0ip"^«^P^SMMm 5 I r- r\\ so ICE-WORLD ALYEXTUnES. stnick liov witli such force, tliat both "vvcnpons broke; Ktill she held fast licr prov, till one AVilliam Cevscu felled her to the grovnid bj striking with all his might with his mus- ket upon her snout, -when they contrived to despatch her by cutting her throat. Finding it impossible, on account of the great quantity of ice, to make any progress in the Tai'tarian sea, and " tho •weather being mistic, melancholy, and snowie," they drove with the current back again through tho strait, and on the 15th of September tho whole fleet took their departure from "Waigatz. On the 20th they entered Wardhuys, from whence they sailed again on the lOtli of October, and on the 18th of November arrived in the j\raes. This unlucky voyage, for -which such great preparation had been made, seems to have cooled the enthusiasm of tho States General for the discovery of a North-cast Passage. They did not quite retire from the field, however. A pro- clamation was issued, promising a rew^ard to any one who would accomplish a voyage to China by this route. Tho prospect of a reward stirred up the merchants of Amsterdam. They fitted out two ships, one of which was commanded by Jacob Van ITeemskerke, the chief pilot being William Barentz. The master of the other ship was Cornelis liyp. Tho expedition sailed from Amsterdam on tho 10th of May, 159G. On the 1st of June they had no night, and three days after they saw a strange sight in tho heavens. It was two parhelia, or mock suns. *' On each side of tho sun there was another sun, and two rainbows, that passed clean through tho three suns, and then two rainbows more, tho ono compassing round about the suns, and tlic other cross through tho great rundle; tho great rundlo stand- ing with tho uttermost point elevated above tho horizon 28*." On tho 5th they fell in with tho first ice: it was in fleecy, detached pieces, and some of ihc crew, being iniagi- f UCTCII EXPLOKATION IN TIIH ARCTIC SThVS. 87 1 I 111 native, took it for wlilte swans. Ontlie 7tli tlicy were in la- titude 74°, sailing tlirougU the ico " as if between two lands." On the 0th they arrived at Bear Island — afterwards called Cherry Island— and hero they killed a bear, whoso skin measured twelve feet in length. On the 19th they found by observation that they had reached latitude 80° 11', at which time they had much land to the eastward. On this coast they killed another bear, though it fought hard to save its skin, which was thirteen feet long. On a small island they found multitudes of cgf^a of certain red geese : the parent birds, when driven away, cried, .7?o/, rot, rot.* "These geese," says Do Veer, tho author of the Dutch account of the voyage, "were of a perfect red colour, such as come into Holland about Wei- ringen, and every year are there taken in abundance, but till this time it was never known that they hatched their eggs : so that some men have taken upon them to write that they sit upon trees in Scotland that hang over the water, and such eggs as fall from them down into tho water become young geese, and swim there out of tho water ; but those that fall upon tho land burst in sunder and are lost." This fable of the barnacles is thus, in tho opinion of Dc Veer, for the first time refuted, and, he con- tinues, " it is not to be wondered at that no man could tell where they breed their cggf^, for that no man that ever wee knew had ever been under 80°: nor that land under 80* was never set down in any card, much Icsse the red gecso that breed therein." This is, unquestionably, the first dis- covery of Spilzbcrgcn. Do Veer does not exactly slate that (hey were unable to proceed higher to the northward, though a good deal of ico appeared around them. 13y their latitude, it would seem they were off Amsterdam Island, on which is that famous foreland, since so well known to whalers under tho name of Hakluyt's Headland. From hence they steered soutli- * That is, nal, red, ml ss ICE-WOKLD ALVKNTLlii:?. it* I I l|ii ■west to avoid tliG ice, and on the 1st of July were agaia opposite to Bear Lsland. Here tlio ships mutually agreed to part company, Jan Cornelis being of opinion tliat lio should find a passage to the eastward of that land which lay under 80°, and accordingly returned to the northward ; while Jacob Yan Heemskerke, or rather his pilot Bai'entz, deeming it more likely to find the passage to the eastward in a lower parallel, steered for Waigatz Strait. The latter vessel, after a long passage, occasioned by bad weather, contrary winds, and much floating ice, reached the coast of Nova Zembla on the 17th of July, about liomsbay. She then stood to the northward, as near to the land as the ice would permit. It was not before the Gth of August that they succeeded in doubling Point Nassau ; and the wand being from the east, they were glad to make the shij) fast to a mass of ice thirty-six fathoms under water, and sixteen fathoms above it ; this iceberg is stated to have suddenly been rent in pieces, " for with ono great cracke it burst into fouro hundred pieces at the least." Besides this mass, the sea was covered with flako ice and various other icebergs, but none quite so largo. In vain they struggled to get to the eastward ; the wind blew strong from that quarter, bringing with it immense patches of ice. Finding all their attempts inefTectual, they were at length reluctantly compelled to return; the ship, indeed, was generally beset in the ice, and, while drifting with it, the rudder was broken in pieces, the boat crushed flat between the ice, and they expected every moment that a similar fate would befall the ship. It was now evident that every hope was cut off, not only from the possibility of proceeding farther to the eastward, but also of reaching "Waigatz by the eastern coast of Nova Zembla ; they there- fore attempted to get back by the way they had come. On the 2r)th, with great exertion, they had so far succeeded as to reach the western side of Ico Haven ; but it had nearly been to them a fatal success: " for in this dismal spot," DUTCH EXPLORATION IN TIIH AKCTIC SEAS. 80 IS 111 h sajs Do Veer, " wo -vvcrc forced, iu great poveriy, misery, and grief, to Stay all that -winter." The prevailing nortli-easterly winds brought pi'odigious quantities of ice into the bay, and the ship was so damaged that the crew could hardly hope to see her afloat again. They determined to abandon her, and prepare for passing the cheerless months of winter. Fortunately they found, at no grcp.t distance, enough driftwood not only to build a capacious house, but to serve for fuel. But just when ho could least be spared the carpenter died, and the houso had to be put together by very unskilful hands. The journal of the proceedings of these poor people, six- teen in number, during " this cold, comfortless, dark, and dreadful winter," is intensely and painfully interesting. No murmur escaped them, and such a spirit of true piety and resignation to Divine will breathes through the wholo narrative, that one cannot read the simple tale of their sufferings without the deepest emotion. On the 4th of November the last feeble rays of the sun left them, and from that time the cold increased until it became so intense as to bo nearly beyond endurance. Tiio wine and beer saved out of the ship froze, except a small portion of each which was not drinkable. ]3y means ot large fires of wood, by placing heated stones to their feet, and using double clothing and fox-skin caps, they were just able (o keep themselves from being fro/en. It was a dreadful task to go out in search of driftwood, and to haul it on a sled over ico and snow, and sometimes in such piercing weather as to take the skin off their hands and faces. Tiicy once had resource to coals on board tho vessel, but the fire made with these had nearly suffocated tlic whole party. Their clock soon became frozen, and it was then necessary for some of them, by turns, constantly to watch the hour-glass, that they might not mistake tho time. Being frequently attacked by bears, wiiicli assaulted their 00 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. wooden hut, and opposed tlicm wLcncvci' tlicy stirred abroad, tlicy found means to kill several of tlieso ferocious animals, and used their fat for their lamps ; from a single bear they extracted about a hundred pounds of grease. Finding the liver of this animal palatable food, they ate heartily of it, but it made them all sick ; and three of tho party were so ill in consequence that the skin came ofT their bodies from head to foot. It deserves to bo remarked that •when tho sun disap- peared the bears immediately took leave of them ; and iheir place was speedily supplied by white foxes, which came in great abundance, and served them both as food and clothing, their flesh tasting like that of rabbits. By setting traps on the roof of their house they caught abun- dance of these useful animals ; but immediately after the re-appearance of the sun the foxes took .their departure and the bears again renewed their visits. When tho 19th of December arrived these unhappy men began to receive consolation at the thought that half the total absence of the aun had now been got over. l^Iiscr- able as their situation was, and to all appearance perfectly hopeless, they could even jest and make themselves merry. " On Christmas Day," says De Veer, *' it was foul weather, with a north-west wind, and yet though it was foul weather we heard the foxes run over our house, where- with some of our men said it was an ill sign ; and while we sat disputing why it should be an ill sign, some of our men made answer that it was an ill sign because we could not take them to put them into the pot to roast them, for that had been a very good sign for us." And after labour- ing hard all the day of the 5th of January in digging away the snow that had for several days blocked up their door, and cleaned out their hut, " wo remembered ourselves," says tho narrator, " that it was Twelfth Even, and then wo prayed our Master that we might be merry that night, and said that wo were content to spend some of the wine that itiiTCcl 3ci0U3 single grease, cy ate of the Bf their disap- . ; and which LS food s. By t abun- 'tcr the parturo py men lalf the ]\Iiscr- icrfcctly meny. as foul I it was >, where- id while e of our ,ve could hem, for ' labour- ug away eir door, rselves," then wo ight, and vine that w M ;! ii li;: I' "^ I i J < i .J i n 1 "^ w w * ; N ■1 <• > ^. O ■t^ S5 "^ H •^ ^ DUTCU LXl'LOKATION IN THE AKCTIC SEAS. 01 .4 < n N ^ iiiglit wliieli ^YC Imd spared, andwliich was our shave every second day, and whereof for certain days wc had nob drunk ; and so that nic^ht wc made merry and drnnk to the three kiii<^s, and therewith we had the pound of meal whereof wo made pancakes with oil, and every man a white biscuit, which wc sopped in wine : and so supposing that wo were in our own country and amongst our friends, it comforted us as well as if wc had made a great banquet in our own house ; and wc also made tickets, and our gunner was king of Nova Zembla, which is at least two liundred miles long, and llctli between two seas." The raptures felt by these unhappy men at the first blush of the s m may easily be conceived. This joyful event was first announced to them about the IGth of J.inuary, when tliey saw " a certain redness in the sky." On the 24th " the edge of the sun " was seen, and on the 2rth they saw the sun " in his full roundness." The accuracy of the Dutch journalist respecting the re- appearance of the sun has been called in question by most philosophers and astronomers who have adverted to this account, but it has also had its defenders. It is not im- probable that after the freezing of the clock, and in the darkness of a long night, they might have lost some time, and extraordinary circumstances of atmospheric refraction must also be taken into account. Under ordinary circum- stances of refraction the appearance of the sun would seem to have been premature by seven or eight days. The bears returned with the light of the sun, and, refreshed by their long sleep, were more troublesome than ever. The cold became more intense as the days length- ened, the frost more severe, and the snow more frequent, so that it was the month of June before they could set about repairing their two boats, and fitting thcra for a long voyage from their dreary place of residence. To repair the ship was out of the question, as she was complete'y bilged and still fast in the ice. u . !' > ICK-WORLD aijvi:niuui: On llic l:{tli of tliat month cverjtliing was in readiness for their departure ; previous to which a statement was drawn ap in writing by Barentz, and left in the wooden liousc, containing their names, detailing their late mis- fortunes and what had befallen them in that "wretched abode ; after which, committing themselves to the will and mercy of God, thoy left their Icy Haven in the two open boats, with a view to return the way they had come, along the western shores of Nova Zembla. They had not pro- ceeded far, however, before a misfortune befel them which overwhelmed them all with grief and despair. Poor Barentz, in whom all their confidence had rested, died on the 20th of June ; being ill when they left their house, ho and another of the name of Claes Adrianson, had been obliged to bo taken to the boats on a sledge. On being told that Adrianson was so sick that ho could not live, William Barentz spake and said, "I tliinkc I shal not live long after him." He then said to Do Veer, " ' Gerrit, give me some drinkc ;' and he had no sooner drunkc but he was taken with so sodain a qualmc that he turned his eyes in his head and died." The same day Adrianson died also. There arc numerous instances on record of extraordinary voyages being performed in rough and tempestuous seas in open boats, with tho most scanty supply of provisions and water, but instances arc rare where fifteen persons, in two open boats, had to pass over a frozen ocean more than eleven hundred miles, " in the ice, over tho ice, and through tho sea," exposed to all the dangers of being one timo overwhelmed by tho waves, at another of being crushed to atoms by the whirling of largo masses of ice, and to tho constant attack of ferocious bears, enduring for upwarda of forty days severe cold, fatigue, famine, and disease. But, excepting the two who died, and who entered tho boats in a state of sickness and debilit}--, tho rest arrived in good healtli and spirits at Coh, where tliey had the satis- I'uction of meeting with their old friend and companion DUTCFI KXI'LORATION IX TllK ARCTIC S1':A?. 0;) XI tiino Ito tho firda aso. tlio (I ill iitis- iiioii Jan Cornelius Rjp, who had dcsei'Led them to go to tho northward the year before. Ho now took thorn on board liis ship, and on the 2'Jth of October they all arrived safely in the Maes, to the great joy of their friends, who had given them up for lost. To what extent of northern latitude Cornelius Ryp had proceeded the preceding year, or what adventures he met with, or discoveries he made, is nowhere stated ; but as ho set out with the intention of sailing along tho eastern side of the land thoy had before coasted, to 80° of latitude, it is probable that he circumnavigated Spitzbergen, in which case ho must have reached 81° N. lat. The Dutch seem to have had enough for a little while of arctic exploration. The celebrated Hudson, however, was employed by them on a voyage of discovery in tho begin- ning of the seventeenth century. The written account of his expedition, which has come down to us, is very long and very uninteresting. One can hardly make out from it what Hudson's principal object was in undertaking it. He firsi doubled the North Cape, as if going in quest of a North-east Passage ; but presently, -^yithout any reason being assigned, turned back to the westward, passing tho Faroe Islands, and proceeded to Newfoundland ; from thence he directed his course down the coast of America, as far as Charlestown, then back again to Cape Cod ; and finally discovered Hudson's lliver, which he entered, and on the banks of which tho Dutch afterwards founded a Bcttlement. fi'M i V' t >nu , A- J •'^'T^U'JV^'-^^- ▲ LUIXUBU AND A ROALbllKN MIX. CIIAPT""" VII. ARCTIC EXPLOriATIOl T SOUTHEEN NATIONS. The Brothers Zexo — Cast away in a Storm — A Courteous Cuief- TAiN — A Warlike Expkdition — A Monastery and a Volcano — • The Death of Nicolo Zeno — Founding a City — Historic Doubts — CnRISTOPHEU COLUMRUS IN THE NORTHERN SeAS — PORTUGUESE Exploration — The Voyages of the Cortereals — The Spurious Voyage or Mildonado — Juan de Fuca's Expkdition. The cxtracrdmary adventures of two brothers Nicolo anil Antonio of Venice, in tlic northern seas, at the close of the fourteenth century, were first published in 1558. They are stated to have been drawn up from the letters sent by Antonio Zeno to his eldest brother Carlo, and delivered to Marcolini for publication by a descendant of the Zone family, who laments the imperfect state into which they had fallen, by his ignorance of their importance at a timo when he was incapable of exercising a judgment on their contents, and by his carelessly and tlioughtlessly dcstroy- iner some of them. From this circumstanco it Is evident that great allow- ances must bo made for what may appear to bo inaccurate or mysterious ; but tlie relation, as we havo it in its mutilated state, contains so much curious and correct description, and so many interesting discoveries, that it must always maintain its ground as one of tho most important in tho history of early navigation. From this relation, it appears that Nicolo, being desirous of seeing foreign countries, fitted out a ship at his own expense, and passed tho Straits of Gibraltar, intending to visit Fngland and the Low Countries. On tho vtjyagc a violent storm arose, and his vessel was oast away on the coast of a largo island called Frisland. llio and In's crow were violently attacked by tho T ARCTIC EXPLORATION LY SOUTHERN NATIONS. 95 o\v- 01' atcil vion, •nys tho tear.s I'iiita JjOW his illcd tho natives, but they were saved from dcstructiou by the kindly interference of a chieftain of the name of Zichnini. Nicoh) at once placed himself and his people under Zichmni's protection. The Frisland chieftain was eager after maritime glory, and seeing that Nicolo was possessed of good sense and was cxpei'ienced in sea affairs, ho engaged him in an expedition to the westward. The fleet consisted of thirteen vessels. They took possession of several islands, and not without fighting, during whii.'h tho Venetians dit)tinguished themselves by their valour. On returning to Frislaiul, Nicolo was made captain of Zichmni's fleet, and ho was so well pleased with tho honours bestowed on him, that he wrote to his brother Antonio to join him. Antonio therefore fitted out a ship and proceeded thither. Nicolo in tho meantime was again sent out on an expedition against Estland, which is situated between Frisland and Norway. After this ho attacked and plundered seven other islands, on ouo of which he built a fort. In tho following year, having fitted out three ships, ho set sail in July towards the north, and arrived in " Engroueland," where ho found a monastery of predicant friars, dedicated to Saint Thomas, and situated close to a mountain, which threw out flames liko Vesuvius and Etna. Thero was besides in this place a fountain of hot water, Avith which the church of the monastery and the chambers of tho friars were heated, and which was also brou<'ht into the kitchen so boiling hot, that no other fiio was made use of for dressing their victuals ; and by putting their bread into brass kettles without water, it became Ijaked as well ns if it had been in a heated oven. The friars had also little gardens, covered over during winter, which being watered witli this Avater were defended against tho snow and cold, which, in those parts, by reason of their situation so ncnv tho Pule, is most severe; and hy these means tho Ho ICE-WORLU ADVEXTUKES. I I 't friars produced fluwcrs and fruits, and herbs of various sorts, just as well as in more temperate countries ; so that the rude and savage people of those parts, seeing these supernatural effects, considered the friars as gods, and brought them presents of chickens, flesh, and other articles, and held them in the greatest awe and respect. When the frosts and snows were severe, the friars heated their houses in this manner, and tempered the heat and cold at pleasure. Their buildings ^yere made of stones thrown out like burning cinders from the mountain. By throwing water on these stones they became excellen j white lime : when cold and not dissolved with water, the friars shaped them with iron tools and used them in their buildings. The winter is said to last for nine months. The friais ate wild fowl and fish, which frequented the neighbour- liood on account of the hot spring. They kept vast num- bers of people in employment, building, catching sea-fowl and fish, and doing a thousand other things connected with the monastery. The boats of the fishermen are described as being like a weaver's shuttle in shape, and made of the skins and bones of fish. This curious account of Greenland is given by Nicolo to his brother Carlo. It appears that dui*ing his residence at this monastery, beinp, unused to such severity of weather, Nicolo fell sick, and died shortly after his return into Frisland. On the death of Nicolo, his brother Antonio succeeded to his property. He wished to return to his own country ; but all his entreaties with Zichmni were unavailing ; for Ziehmni " had determined to make himself lord of the sea." At this time one of his fishermen returned to Fris- land, after an absence of six and twenty years, and gave an account of his having been driven by a violent storm upon an island called Estotiland, about a thousand miles to tho westward of Frisland. llo related that the island was well peopled ; that a man L ARCTIC EXPLOKATION BY SOUTHERN NATIONS. 07 was brought to him who had likewise been shipwrecked, and who spoke Latin ; tliat the island was nearly as large as Iceland, and more fertile, the people ingenious and skilled as artisans ; that the prince had Latin books, but did not understated them; that they had gold, and all manner of metals ; that they raised corn, made beer, ti'aded with Greenland, from whence they procured furs, brim- stone, and pitch ; that their buildings were made of stone ; that they had extensive woods, of which they built ships, and traded with a country to the southward called Drogio. Ziehmui, having heard this strange relation, which was confirmed by the crew who had come to Frisland with the fisherman, determined to set out with a great number of ships and men in search of these countries. Antonio Zeno nccompi^nicd him on this expedition. As they proceeded to the ^Yestward, the first point they fell in with was called Icaria, and beyond this they came to another country, whoso temperature is said to have been inexpressibly mild and pleasant. To the haven in which they anchored they gave the name of Trin. In the interior were great multitudes of people, half wild, liiding themselves in caverns, of small stature, and very timid. Ziehmui, finding this place to have a wholesome and pure air, a fruitful soil, and fair rivers, was so de- lighted that ho determined to take possession and build a city. But his people began to murmur, and to express a desire to return, upon which he sent away Antonio to conduct back to Frisland all those who were unwilling to stay. They sailed for the space of twenty days to the eastward without seeing any land ; then south-east for five days, when they perceived the island of Neome, and, taking in fresh provisions, in three days more reached Fri.shind. " What followed after the letter containing this intelli- gence," observes the narrator, " I know not ;" but from a piece of nnother letter of Antonio, it would np]V';ir that u ^ 98 ICE-WORLD ADYENTURE3. Ziclimni built a tower near the harbour on the island which lie had discovered. The more the narrative of the two Zcnos has been scrutinized, the stronger has the internal evidence appeared in favour of its general veracity. The great difficulty, how- ever, among geographers was that of assigning a proper .'sition to the island of Frisland; a name which occurs in Mic life of Christopher Columbus, and is placed by Fro- bislier as the southern extremity of Greenland. Ortelius maintained that it was a certain part of the coast of North Amrr-ca; Delislo and some others supposed that Buss .oiajvl, to the south of Iceland, Avas the remains of Fris- lor. d . ...di had been swallowed up by an earthquake; and others U'T^ir cut the matter short by considering the t,:;' '"on?e of ' \i:\d, and even the whole voyage of the two Zcnos, as a n-.ac : 3ut M. Buaclie and M. Eggcrs have gone far to prove the truth of the narrative on two different grounds ; the former having shown that the geographical position of Frisland corresponds with the cluster of tho Feroe Islands : and tho latter that the names given by Zeno correspond pretty nearly with tho modern names of those islands. Tho cxtraordhiary discoveries of tho rortuguese in the 15th century, but that of all others which opened tliem a route to India round the Cape of Good Hope, aroused tho cupidity of some, and tho curiosity of all, of the nations of Europe. They also excited that sj)irit of enterprise in Eng- land, which, though it might sometimes languisli, was never wholly extinguished, and which, indeed, is not likely ever to bo extinguished so long as any part, however obscure or remote, of tho globe we inhabit remains to bo dis- covered. The Italians were the most skilful navigators of those days ; and among the foreigners who had engaged in the Portuguese service was a Genoese by birth, namcMl Ciirls- tavol Colon or ChriiiLophur Columbus, wlio. nl Iho taidy age; \ ARCTIC EXPLORATION BY EOUTUERN NATIONS. 99 of fourteen, had betaken himself to a seafaring life, and had made considerable proj^'ress in geometry, cosmography'-, and astronomy. His first voyage, after leaving the Mediter- ranean, appears to have been into the northern seas, in which it is stated, in a memorandum -written by himself, that he had visited Iceland, witli -svhich a considerable trade •svas then carried on, particularly by the northern nations, and among others by England. It is even said that ho pro- cocded bi'vond this island, and advanced several dos-rces ■vvithin the polar circle, but on ^vhat service and for what purpose does not appear. It would have been satisfactory to know whether it was a mere trading voyage, or a voyago of discovery, that led this celebrated navigator into those inhospitable regions ; but there is little reason to hope that any further information ^Yill ever bo obtained on this head. The Portuguese, not content with having discovered a route to India by sailing round the tempestuous extremity of Africa, soon after engaged In an equally dangerous enterprise, — that of finding a route to India and the Spice Islands, by sailing westward round the northern extremity of America. This bold undercaking was reserved for tlio Cortcreals, the enlightened disciples of the school of Sagres. The first navigator of the name of Cortercal who engaged in this enterprise, was John Vaz Costa Cortercal, a gentleman of the household of the Infanta r-)on Fernando — who, accom- panied by Alvaro Martens Jlornen, explored the norihern Bcas, by order of King Alfonso the Fifth, and came upon the Terra do ]3aoealhaos (the land of cod-fish), afterwards called Newfoundland. The date of this voyage appears to Lavo been 14»!;» or IIGI ; but, like many other facts iu those early days, it is a little uncertain. No ono seems to have attempteil on the part of Portugal to explore those seas nivigated by John Vaz Cortercal until the t imc of his son Gasj ar Cortercal. T^ 100 ICE-WORLD ADVENTUKES. The two ships which had been prepared for this voyage sailed from Lisbon in the summer of 1500. They reached the Azores or Western Islands, and then steered till they discovered land to the northward, to which they gave the name of Terra Verde — that is, Greenland. In the first collection of voyages which is known to have been published in Europe — printed in Viceuza, by Fran- cazano Montaboldo — there is a letter describing the details of the voyage of Cortereal, as told by himself on his re- turn. From this authority it appears that, having employed nearly a year in this voyage, he discovered between west and northwest a continent until then unknoT.'n to the rest of the world ; that ho ran along the coast upwards of eight hundred miles ; that according to his conjecture this land lay near a region formerly approached by the Venetians, almost at the North Pole ; and that he was unable to proceed farther on account of the great mountains of ice which encumbered the sea, and the continued snows which fell from the sky. The letter further relates that Cortereal brought fifty- seven of the natives in his vessels ; it extols the country on account of the timber which it produces, the abundance of fish upon its coasts, and speaks also of the inhabitants, who, it says, were robust and laborious. This great country discovered by Cortereal is evi- dently that which at present is known under the name of Labrador. As Caspar Cortereal Avas fully persuaded that a north- west passage to India might bo found, and that its dis- covery would be honourable to himself and highly advan- tageous to his country, he made preparations for a second expedition, to which he had no difficulty in obtaining the king's consent; and he sailed accompanied by the anxious prayers and hopes of his countrymen, from the port of Lis- bon, on the 15th of Mav, 1501, with two vessels. ARCTIC EXPLORATION DY SOUTHERN NATIONS. 101 I The voyago is said to have been prosperous until tliey reached Terra Verde; but hero ho was separated bj bad ■u'cather from his consort, who, after having long searched and waited for him in vain, returned to Lisbon, with the tidings of what had happened. !Michael Cortereal, grand door-keeper of the king Don Manuel, saw himself thus deprived of a brother whom ho deai'ly loved. He determined to set out himself in search of him, and sailed with three vessels from Lisbon on the 10th of ^fay, 1502. They reached the coast, and discovered many rivers and openings, and each vessel entered a separate one with tha understanding that they should all meet at a certain point on the 20th of August. The appointed day arrived ; two of the vessels met, but Miguel de Cortereal never appeared. Nothing was ever heard of him. AVhcn these two vessels returned to Lisbon with the melancholy news of the loss of this second Cortereal, there remained yet a third brother, Vasco Eanes, master of the household, and one of the privy council of King Don ^Manuel, who immediately prepared to set out in search of his lost brothers ; but no entreaty, no influence, could ob- tain the king's consent, who constantly replied that in this undertaking he had already lost two of his most faithful servants and valued friends, and was resolved at least to preserve the third ; ho very readily, however, granted leave for other vessels being prepared and despatched on this search, but they also returned without any intelligence of the unfortunate navigators. Notwithstanding those disasters, the voyages were pro- ductive of great advantages to Portugal ; they led to the establishment of a settlement on Newfoundland and to the prosecution of very extensive fisheries. ]3ut when Portugal passed under the dominion of Spain, her com- merce languished and her marine was destroyed, from the combined efFect of domestic oppression and foreign 'i- !■!■ 1 102 icE-'^'onLD advextlt.es. war, and her connectioQ with Newfouncllancl soon cumo lo an end. "Wc como now to a spnrlous voyage, that of Maldonado, a Spanish navigator, in 1588, The journal of this voyage is a bold piece of geographical imposture. It professes to give an account of an expedition in which Maldonado effected a passage by the north-west from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back again the following year. The state- ments are on the whole very circumstantial, but they are likely to deceive no one who knows anything of tho subject. When it was written the voyage of Maldonado might have been considered a joke ; at best it was a very ponderous one. In 1592 a real Spanish expedition took place under tho command of Juan dc Fuca. He was despatched to discover the supposed Strait of Anian. According to his own ac- count he followed the coast till he found an opening. Up this ho sailed in various directions for twenty days ; when, finding it to be so ^vidc for twenty or thirty leagues within the strait as to make him su|)pose that it really would afford that passage of which he was in search, ho thought he had discharged his duty and so returned. A SCREEN USED IN SHOOTING SEALS. i fe CHAPTER VIII. ENGLISH VOYAGES IX SEABCU OF A NORTH- EAST PASSAGE. Sebastian Cabot's Heturn to EngIjAxd— Sin Hran WiLLorcncT's ExPEDiTiox OF 1553 — Cabot's iN-srnucTioKS— The Sad End of "WlLLOCGHEY AKD HIS CbEW — RiCIIARD ChAXCELOR'S VoYAGE — England's Fibst Acquaintance with Russia — A Long Beard — Steven Burougii's Voyage in 1550 — A Monstrous "Wiui.e — Various Discoveries — Treating with the Czar — Ill-luck at Sea — Hudson's Voyage in 1008 — First Impressions of Nova Zembla — Wood and Flawe's Voyage in 1070 — A Ship's Crew in Distress. During the first half of tho sixlccntli ccntnvy tlic atten- tion of the merchants of England engaged in foreign trade seems to have been confined to a somewhat narrow sphere. But the return of Sebastian Cabot, — to wlioso discovery of Newfoundland wo have already alludqd on page 4G, — and the knowledge of his great enterprises in tho service of Spain, infused into the minds of the merchants of our country a spirit of enlarged adventure. Tho reputation of this able navigator was so firmly established on his return, that, in addition to the liberal pension granted to him by Edward VI., he was constituted Grand Pilot of England, and " governour of the mysterie and corapanie of the mar- chants adventurers for the discoveric of regions, dominions, islands, and places unknowen." It was at his suggestion that a voyage was undertaken in the year lo53 for the discovery of a North-east Passage to China ; and the ordinances and instructions drawn up by him on this occasion are such as to do him infinite honour, not only for the chaste stylo in which they are written, but also for the liberal and enlightened sentiments which run throughout this early performance. 10]. ICE-WORLD ALVKNTURFS. ! ' i ! ; Tlie ships fittctl out for ilic expedition of discovery wcro the Uona Espemnza, admiral of the fleet, of the burden of 120 tons, having with licr a pinnace boat; the ^(?".roY^ Jionaveniure, of ICO tons ; and the Bona Confidcntla, of DO tons. On board the first was Sir Hujjh "VVillousrhb captain-general of the fleet ; the command of the second was given to Richard Chancelor, Steven Burough being master ; and Cornelius Durfoorth was master on board the third. The number of persons in the first ship was thirtj-five, including f;ix merchants ; in the second fiftv, including two merchants :, and in the third twenty-eight, including three merchants. This expedition excited the most lively interest both in the court and in the capital. So sanguine were the promoters of the voyage of their actually reaching the Indian seas, that they caused the ships to be sheathed with lead, r i protection against the worms which it was understood destructive of wooden sheathing in the Indian climate. Cabot's instructions did not relate to the scientific part of the voyage alone, but took cognisance of the minutest details of discipline. Thus one clause directs : " That no blaspheming of God, or detestable swearing, be used in any ship, nor communication of ribaldry, filthy tales, or ungodly talk be sufiered in the company of any ship ; neither dicing, tabling, carding, or other devilish games to be frequented, whereby ensue, not only poverty to the players, but also strife, variance, brawling, fighting, and often times murder, to the destruction of the parties and provoking of God's wrath and sword of vengeance." Prayers too were to be read morning and evening on board each ship either by the chaplain or master. All acts were prohibited which had a tendency to a breach of discipline, and the instructions on this point were no doubt; highly necessary in an ago when naval subordina- tion was but imperfectly established. Questions connected with the steering of the ship were to be decided by a I \^ ly SEAECn OF A XORTH-EAST PASSAGE. lO.J ») 1: council of twelve, tlio captain liavinj;^ a doublo voto. A tlailj rocorcl of the course of navigation was ordered to bo taken, togetlior -svith celestial observations, tlic aspect of the lands along -wliich they sailed, and every interesting occurrence. The masters of the difTercnt ships wcro to meet weekly, compare their records, and enter the result in a common ledger. Various directions •were drawn up for adjusting weekly accounts, keeping the cook-room and other parts of the ship clean, and preventing liquor from being spilled upon them. The mariners were instructed to treat the natives of countries which they visited with consideration, gentleness, and courtesy, and without any "disdain, laughing, or con- tempt." All fair means mvovc to be used for alluring them on board, where they were to be clothed and well-treated, and it was hinted that it would be well to intoxicate them in order to get at their secrets. The sailors' uniforms were to bo used only on particular occasions, when it was desirable to show them off *' in good array for the advancement and honour ^1 the voynge." The mariners were told not to be afraid wlien they saw the natives of anyplace dressed in lions' and bears' skins, with long bows and arrows, as this formidable appearance was often assumed merely to inspire terror. They were also instructed that there were persons armed with bows, who swam naked, in various seas, havens, and rivers, " desirous of the bodies of men, wliich they covet for meat ; and against whom it was necessary to keep diligent watch night and day." It has been conjectured that some con- fused rumours of the shark and alligator had an influence in suggesting this strange advice. Cabot's instructions conclude by assuring the explorers of their great likelihood of succeeding in their enterprise, adducing the examples of the Spaniards and Portuguese, who had, to the great wealth of their nations, discovered mm \ !' lOG ICE-WORLD ADVEXTUPwES. lands in places previously considered uniuliabitablo ''foi' extremities of heats and colds, and yet, ■VN'lien tried, found most rich, ■well-peopled, temperate, and so commodious that all Europe hath not the like." From the account of tho voyage, written by Clement Adams, " schoolemaster to tho Queene's henshmen," it would appear that several persons of p-reat experience were candidates for the command, but that Sir Hugh Willough- by, a valiant gentleman and -well born, wns preferred before all others, "both by reason of his goodly personage (for ho was of tall stature) as also for his singular skill in the ser- vices of warre." On the day appointed for the sailing of the expedition from RatclifFe, which was the 20th of May, "they saluted their acquaintence, one his wife, another his children, and another his kinsfolkes, and another his friends deercr than his kinsfolkes ; " after which the ships dropped down to Greenwich, where the court then was. The great ships were towed down by tho boats, " the niarriners being all apparelled in watchet orslcie-coloured cloth. Tho courtiers came running out, and the common people flockt together, standing vei'y thicko upon the shoare ; the Privio Consel, they lookt out at the windowes of tho court, and tho rest ranno up to the toppcs o£ the towers ; the shippcs herc- iipon discharge their ordinance, and shoot oil* their pieces after the manor of warre, and of the sea, insomuch that tho tops of tho hills sounded therewith." Tho result of this voyage, which held out riueh fair promises, was most disastrous to tho gallant Sir Hugh Willoughby and his brave associates. Tho Bona Espcra)ir,a and tlie Botta Coufulentia separated From Richard Clianceior's vessel, and cast anchor in a bay near tlio mouth of a river now called by the Russians tho Varsina. At lirst AVilloughby merely intended to wait there for a favourable wind to pursue his voynge. Ex- treme cold weather, however, set in, and ho made up his I ' IN SLAnCII or A NORTH-EAST PASSAGE. 107 mind to ■winter there. This wo learn from tlic last entry al, written about the bcp^inninf? of October, in in ■win ]ourn win er words : — his the foil " Thus remaining in this haven the space of a week, and seeing the year far spent, and also very evil weather, — as frost, snow, hail, as though it had been the deep of winter, — we thought best to winter there. Wherefore we set out three men south-south-west, to search if they could find people, who went three days' journey, but could find none ; after that we sent other three westward four days' journey, which also returned without finding people ; then sent wo three men south-east three days' journey, who in like sort returned without finding of people, or any similitude of habitation." At that time the English had no idea of the severity of a northern winter ; and consequently the discovery ships w'ero unprovided with the means of guarding ngainst it. The crews of the two ships, six merchants, two surgeons, and Sir Hugh Wiiloughby — in all about seventy men — were frozen to death.* The commander of the expedition and some others wero alive in January, 1551', — we learn as mucli by a signature of Willougliby attached to his will, — and thoy may have been rejoiced by a glimpse of the sun at niidd;iy: but what a scene of hoi"'or il shone upon ! Tho poet Thomson hiis pathetically lamented tho fate of the unhappy explorers: — •'Miserable thoy! Who hero cutauglcil iu tho gathering ice, Take their List look of tho dosccndiug sun ; "NYhilo, full of death, aiul Iutco \Yith tenfold frost, The long, long uight, iiicumbent o'er their heads, Falls horrible 1 Such was tho Briton's fato, As with first prow (what have not Britons dnrcd?) llo for tho Passage sought, attempted siuco So much iu vaiu, and seexaing to bo shut By jealous nntnro with eternal bar. • About tho Bamo timo Sir Hugh "Willoughby'a yraud-mcco and many of his relations perished on tho BcaQ'old. m I '■ I ' 108 ICE-WORLD ADVENTUL'ES. In these foil regions, in Arzina caught, And to the stony deep his idle ship Immediate sealed, he with his hapless crew, Each full exerted at his several task, Froze into statues ; to the cordage glued The sailor, and the pilot to the helm." In the spring of 1555 some Laplanders found Willongli- bj's ships uninjured, with their crews still frozen. The news being conveyed to the czar he ordered them to be brought to the Dwina, and their cargoes preserved under seal for the benefit of the English owners. It is strange that about such an illustrious character as Sir Hugh Willoughby very little information has been pre served. A portrait of him used to be at Woolaton, in Not- tinghamshire. It was a full length, in very large breeches, as was the fashion in his day. Sir Hugh was represented by the artist as of a very meagre appearance, and the ser- vant who acted as showman about the mansion used to say that he was painted just as he had been found starved. A better fortune attended Master Richard Cliancclor, in the Edward Bonavcntiirc, who succeeded in reaching Ward- huys, in Norway, the appointed rrndo::vous of the little squadron. Here he waited seven days, looking in vain for his consorts, and was preparing to depart, when meeting with "certaino Scottishmen " they earnestly attempted to dissuade him from the further prosecution of the voyage, magnifying the danger and using every effort to prevent his proceeding ; but he was not to be discouraged, and resolutely determined " either to bring that to pass whigh was intended, or else to die the death." Accordingly, on setting out again, " he held on his course towards that unknown part of the world, and sailed so far that he came at last to the place where he found no night at all, but a continual light and brightness of the sun shining clearly upon the huge and mighty sea." At length ho entered into a very great bay, and seeing a fishing-boat, IN SEAKCH OP A NORTH-EAST PASSAGE. 100 inquired of the people " what country it was, and what people, and of what manner of living they were ; " but the men seeing the large ship were greatly alarmed and fled. At last, however, they were overtaken, and immediately fell on their knees, offering to kiss Master Chancelor's feet. The report being spread abroad of the arrival of a strange people, " of singular gentleness and courtesy," the inhabi- tants brought them presents ot' provisions, and entered readily and fearlessly into trade with them. Our navigators now learned that the name of the country was Russia or Muscovy, and that of their king Juan Vasil- ovich, who " ruled and goveimed far and wide in tlioso places." Negotiation speedily commenced, the result of which was a journey, undertaken by Master Chancelor, of nearly fifteen hundred miles, to a city called Moscow, where ho was well received ; and to his discreet and able representations England is indebted for the firm found- ation of that commerce with Russia, which has continued almost without interruption ever since. The first interview with the czar was extremely curious. The adventurers were received with every mark of distinc- tion, and were invited to a splendid entertainment at which the czar and all his nobles were present. The display of gold and silver, jewels, and rich robes, quite astonished the English travellers. The emperor treated them haughtily, but Chancelor, like a true-born Englishman, saluted him only in the manner of the court at home. On the second visit the czar condescended to bo more familiar. "The prince," wo are told, "culled them to his table to receive each a cuj) from his hand to drink, and took into his hand Master George Killingwortli's beard, which reached over the table, and pleasantly delivered it to the metropolitan, who, seeming to bless it, said in Russ, ' This is God's gift ; ' as indeed at that time it was not only thick, broad, and yellow coloured, but in length five feet and two inches of assize." no ICE-WORLD ADVENTDRE3. I Shortly after this, Chancelor was sent with a proper escort to Archangel, with a letter from the czar addressed to Edward VI. He sailed from thence the following spring, and arrived safely in England. The return of Chancelor, with a letter from the Czar Vasilovitch addressed to King Edward, and the prospect of vast profits which this extensive empire held forth, were considered to have amply compensated for the melan- choly fate of Sir Hugh Willonglihy, the supposed loss ot the two ships, and the failure of the expedition in its main object. Philip and Mary, who Lad succeeded Edward VI., very readily granted a new charter " to the community of merchant adventurers," and made Sebastian Cabot go- vernor thereof as long as he lived. Chancelor, Killing- worth, and Richard Gray were appointed commissioners to treat with the Czar of Muscovy concerning the commercial privileges which ho might be ])lcased to grant to the newly chartered company. The Edward Bonavcnturc and tho Philip and Marij conveyed the commissioners to Arch- angel. Erom Archangel they were escorted to Moscow, where they were well received, and managed, wo are told, to make their expedition profitable. But though commerce was tho immediate object of this second expedition, it was not tho only one. By an article of their instructions, tho adventurers were particularly directed to " use all ways and means possible to learn how men may pass from llussia, eitlier by land or by sea, to Cathaia " (China). And so anxious was tho company to follow up the attempt at finding a North-east Passage to tho Indian seas, that, without waiting tho result of Chancelor's Bccoud voyage, it was determined to fit out a small vessel tho next year, 1550, to make discoveries by sea to tho eastward. Steven Burro we, or Burough, was appointed to command tho Scrchthrij't pinnace, fitted out for this purpose. They left Oravesend on tho 29th of April ; on tho 2onl of "NFny passed tho North Capo, so uamod ou tho first voyage, ^- ^ IN SEARCH or A NORTn-EAST PASSAGE. Ill and on the 9th of Jane entered the river Cola, and de- termined its latitude to be 05° 48' N. One of tlie numerous Russian vessels called "lodias," under the orders of one Gabriel, being bound for Petchora, led the way for the Sercltthn'jt with great attention and civility until they came to that river, •which they reached on the 15tli of July. In proceeding to the eastward, they fell in with much ice, in which they were enclosed before they were aware of it, and *' which was a feareful sight to see." In latitude 70" 15' they again encountered heaps of ice. On the 25tli they met with an object which seems to have inspired greater terror even than the ice. It was the first whale that our navigators bad met with, and the im- pression it made on the crew is rather amusing. " On St. James his day, bolting to the wiudewardcs, wo had tho latitude at nooii in seventy degrees twentio minutes. Tho sai)ie day, at a south-west sunne, there was a monstrous whale aboord of us, so neere to our sido that we might have thrust a swordc or any other weapon in him, which we durst not doe for fcare hee should have overthrowen our shippe ; and then I called my cofnpany together, and all of us shoutcil, and with tho cry that we made ho departed from us ; there was as much above water of his backo as tho bredth of our pinnace, and at his falling downo he made such a terrible noise in the water, that a man would greatly have marvelled, except ho had known tho cause of it ; but, God bo thanked, wc wero quietly delivered of him." Tho same day they came to an island which they named James's Island. Here they met with a Russian who had seen them at Cola, and who told them that the land ahead of them was called Nova Zenibla, or tho New Land. On tho 31st thoy reached tho island oC Waigatz. ] fere they had intercourse with several Russian;-!, and learned from them that the jir(>plc who lived in the great islan 1 wero I 112 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. i called Samoyedes, and that they had no houses but tents made of deer's skins. On landing, they saw a heap of Samoyedes' idols ; there were at least three hundred of them, shaped like men, women, and children, " very grossly wrought, and the eyes and mouth of sundry of them were bloody." Some are described as being very uuartistic, and nothing better than "an old stick with two or three notches." They remained near this place till the 23rd of August, for the very good reason that they could not get farther eastward on account of unfavourable winds, thick weather, and abundance of ice. On the 10th of September tlioy arrived at Colmagro, where they remained for tbe winter. In 1557 Burough returned to England, and was after- wards made comptroller of the royal navy. We return now to conclude the tale of the commissioners sent to treat with the czar. The monarch appointed an ambassador and orator to represent him at the court of liondon. The ambassador embarked at Archangel on the 20th of July, 155G, on board the Edward Bonavc)itun\ under the direction of Richard Chancelor, grand pilot. The leading ship was accompanied by three others, the Bona Syemnza, the Fli'dli) and Mary, and the Confidcntia. It was a disastrous voyage they made homeward. Tho Confidcntia was wrecked on tho coast of Norway, and all hands perished. The Bona Spcranza wintered at Dron- theira, and went to tho bottom when on her way to Eng- land, and the Edward Bonavoiturc, after being four months at sea, came into Pitsligo 13ay, on the east coast of Scot- land, on tlie loth of November, 1550, and was there wrecked, when, with great difliculty, the ambassador and a few of his attendants were saved ; but Richard Chance- lor, tlie grand pilot, and most of tho crew were drowned. Wo are told by the writer of this unfortunate voyage, that " the whole masse and bodio of tho goods laden in her was by the rude and ravenous p.-ntph^ of the oounti'v Oicie- 11 IN SEAUCII OF A NOKTII-EAST PASSAGK. 11:3 unto adjoining, rifled, spoylcd, and carried away, to tlie manifest loss and utter destruction of all the lading of the said ship." The ambassador was conducted to London in great pomp, and the connection between the two nations was from tliat time drawn closer every year. Having failed in his first voyage, noticed in another chapter, to find a passage to the Indies by the North Pole, Hudson was directed in 1G08 to try his success in tho discovery of a North-east Passage to the East Indies. His crew, on this voyage, consisted of fourteen men. On tho 22nd of April he dropped down the river, and on the 3rd of June sighted the North „ape. In 75" 29' Hudsoa first fell in with the ice and attempted to pass through it, but found it so thick and firm after proceeding four or five leagues, that it "\7as thought prudent to return, -which was effected with a few rubs of the ship against tho ice. From the 9th to the loth of June little progress was made on account of the ice and fog. On the latter day two of the crew saw a mermaid with a tail which was like " the tayle of a porposse, and speckled like a macrell." About the end of June they arrived^it NovaZembla, and landed there. They found -whalebone and deer's horns, and the party brought on board two dozen fowls and some eggs. The sea was full of morses, -whales, and seals. Finding little hope of a passage bctsveen New Land (Spitzbcrgen) and Nova Zemblii, "my purpose," says Hudson, "was by the Waygats to passe by the mouth of tho river Ob, and to double that way the North Capo of Tartaria, or to give reason wherefore it will not be." The (|uantity of morses, however, induced him to hope that they might defray tho charge of the voyage ; in the meantime a, party was sent up a largo river flowing from the north- eastward, to see if a passage could not be found that way into a more easterly sea ; but having traced it to one fathom in depth they returned. ''Generally," says Hudson, "all the land uf Nova 1 -'^ •J 1 1. ICE- Vr R LD AL V KN i' IJ K E 3 . V r1| , Zcmbla (liai yet ^yco liavc i^ccn is to a ninn's cjc a pk'iisaiit land; iimcli inaiii lil'jli land witli no snow on it, lookiii!:if in some })]act'.s grccno, and dcerc* feeding thereon; and tlie liilis are pai-lly covered with snow and partly bare." lie adds, " It is no marvel! that there is so much ice in tho fc;ea toward the Pule, so many sounds ant rivers being in the lands of Nova Zenibla and New Land to ingcnder it ; besides the coasts of Pechora, Ivussia, and Greenland, with Lappia, as by proofes I findo by my travell in these parts ; by moancs of wdiich ice I suppose there will be no navigable passage this way." lie therefore stood to tho westward, " being out of liopc to find passage by the north- east," and on the 2Gth of August arrived at home again. Tho question of a North-eastern Passage was revived in 1670. It has generally happened, in this country, that some individual, more sanguine than the rest of the com- munity, has, by his superior knowledge, greater exertions, or more constant perseverance, succeeded in bringing about a project which in less vigorous or pertinacious hands would have been sutrered to die away. Captain John Wood appears to havo been a man of this stamp ; he was known as an active and experienced seaman, who had accomjianied Sir John Narborough on his voyage through the Straits of ^Magellan ; and ho now stood for- wai'd as tho warm advocate for the practicability of sailing by the northward or the north-eastward to tho Indian seas and China, — an opinion which he supported in a memorial to the king, assigning seven distinct reasons and threo arguments for tho existence of such a passage. His reasons and arguments, along with a map of the polar regions, were presented to his majesty and tho Duko of York. At a meeting of tho Board of Admiralty, at which the king, as usual in those days, was present, it was ordered that tho t^2^ccdn'ell should be ap]n'opriatcd to this * Hudson is the only navigator -who meutioiis deer on Nova Zcmbla ; and he ^vas probably niistakou. H Iplplp ^ Ui < u (/I a y o 5^, ■^ IN SEARCH or A NORTH-EAST PASSAGE. 115 service, and the command of her given to Captain AVood. And as all voyages of discovery are liable to accidents, the Duke of York, with several noblemen and gentlemen, purchased a pink of 120 tons, called the Prosperous, to accompany the SpccdiceU. To this pink Captain William FJawes -was appointed as commander. Both ships were well equipped for the occasion, victualled for sixteen months, and supplied with such commodities as were likely to turn to the best account on the coast of Tartary and Japan. The two ships sailed from the Xore on the 28tli of May, 1G7G, and seem to have doubled the North Cape about tho 19th of June, but the journal of Captain AVood is so meagre, that if it were not for liis supposed latitude and his situation " according to judgment," it would be difficult even to guess at his track. Making their way for some distance through floating ice, they came in sight of the west coast of Nova Zcmbla ; that happened on the 2Gth of June. On the 29th they met with a catastrophe. On wearing the Speedwell to avoid tho ice, she struck on a ledge of rock under water. Tho Prosperous pink was near at hand, but at the moment she could not lend the least assistance. The crew had scarcely succeeded in landing the bread and the carpenter's tools, to rebuild the long-boat in the event of tho Prosperous being kept by tho ice from approaching them, when tho Speedwell went to pieces, and tho fog prevented them from seeing their consort. All the crew, however, got safely on shore, except two who were drowned in the pinnace, and all tho bread, powder, and provisions then in that boat were spoiled or lost. After the ship had gone to pieces* this loss was amply repaid, as several casks of flour, butter, beef, and pork were driven on shore, with spars and other articles, sufficient for making tents and for fuel. No human inhabitants made their appearance, but a great white bear seized hold of the gunner, who, by giving I I N 11(3 ICE-WoRLD ADVENTUJIKS. immediate alarm, was saved from Lis jaws. The bear was quickly killed. They remained on shore nine days, in a situation of the greatest anxiety, and but ill provided with provisions, jimmunition, and clothing; and without seeing anything of the Prosprruus on account of the foggy weather. At the end of this period it was proposed to set out by land towards "Waigatz, in the hope of meeting with some Kussiau vessel to transport them to the continent ; but, to their unspeakable joy, they espied the Fros])croiis on the 8th of July, on which they made a great fire to point out their situation ; and on the same day the whole got safely on board that ship. It is not difficult to foresee what would have been the consequences to the whole party had they proceeded, for the boat could not carry above thirty men, and there were sixty-six in all. *' This," AVood observes, " occasioned no small discontent among us, every one challenging the same right with the others ; all I could do in this exigency was to let the brandy-bottlo go round, which kept them always fox'd, till the 8th July (the nineth day after wo had been on shore) Captain Flawes came so seasonably to our relief." From this time the journal is continued by Captain Flawcs ; but as it contains only strictly nautical informa- tion, wc may pass it by. "With Wood's failure," says a learned writer, "seems (o have closed the long list of unfortunate northern r- lions in that century; and the discovery, if noi iil' despaired of, by being so often missed, cc; lui ly years to be sought foi." 1 i AN ICE-DPAci. fl CHAPTER IX. ENGLISH VOYAGES IN SEARCH OF A NORTH- WEST PASSAGE. The Voyage of the T/h.yitie and iu\: Mimos in 1o.'5G— Oliver Daw- beney's Story — Tjik FiiaiiixENED Natives — The Pains of Hunger — A Cannibal Seaman— Spoiling the French— Not Knowing One's own Son — John Davis'.s First Voyage in 1585 — The Land of Desol^vtion — Music hath Charms— Various Dis- coveries— Davis's Second Voyage in 158G — The Natives of Greenland— A Grumrling Crew — Great Hopes of the Passage — The Return to England — Davis's Third Voyage in 1587 — His Opinion about the North-West Passage. The earliest discoveries in tlic arctic seas were the result of accident or of a spirit of adventure. At last, however, came a time, as we have already seen, when those northern waters were ploughed by mariners impelled by an earnest .spirit of enterprise directed to a different end. Tliis end was the discovery of a short way by sea to the rich and attractive regions of India and China. "We have to speak hero of the attempts made to discover the passage by sailing to the westward, and the first voj-age we shall notice is that of the Trinitie and the Minion, in 1530. This voyage was under the charge of iMaster Iloro, of London, " a man of goodly stature, and of groat courage, and given to the studio of cosmographie." Assisted by the king's favour, several gentlemen accom- panied him in a voyage of discovery to the north-west parts of America. Many of them were of the Inns of Court and of Chancery; "and divers others of good worship, desirous to see the strange things of the world. The whole number that went in the two tall ships were about six- score persons, whereof thirty were gentlemen, which were 118 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. all mustered in •\Aarlike maner at Gravesend, and after tlio receiving of the sacrament they embarked themselves in the end of Aprill, 153G." After a tedious passage of two months they reached Capo Breton in safety ; and shaping a course from thence to the north-east came to Penguin Island, "very full of rocks and stones, whereon they went and found it full of great foules, white and gray, as big as geese, and they saw infinite numbers of their egges." These birds they skinned, and found to be good and nourishing meat, and the great store of bears, both black and white, was no mean resource, and, as we are told, not at all bad food. Mr. Oliver Dawbeney, merchant of London, who was one of the adventurers on board the Mhiio)i, told Ilakluyt the following curious circumstances relating to this early voyage. " After their arrival in Newfoundland, and having been there certain days at anchor, and not having yet seen any of the natural jicople of the country, the said Dawbeney, walking one day on the hatches spied a boat with savages of those parts rowing down the bay towards them to gazo upon the ship and our people ; and, taking view of their coming aloofe, ho called to such as were under the hatches, and willed them to como up if they would see the natural people of the country, that they had so long and so much desired to sec. Whereupon they came up and took view of the savages rowing towards them and their ship, and upon the view they manned out a ship-boat to meet them and to tako them. But they, spying our shipboat making towards them, returned with main force, and lied into an island that lay up in the bay or river there, and our men pursued them into the island, and the savages fled and escaped ; but our men found a fire and the side of a bear on a wooden spit left at the same by tho savages that wero fled. *' There, in the same place, they found a boot of leatlicr IN SEARCH OP A NOIJTII-WEST PASSAGE. 110 garnlslied ou the outward side of the calf witli certain brave trailes, as it were of raw silk, and found a certain great warm mitten. And, these carried with them, they returned to their ship, not linding the savages, nor seeing an^'thing else besides the soil and the things growing in the same, which chiefly were store of fir and pine trees. "And further the said Mr. ])awbcuey told him, that lying there they grew into great want of victuals, and that there they found small relief, more than that they had from the nest of an osprey, that brought hourly to her young great plenty of divers sorts of fishes. But such was the famine that increased among them from day to day that they were forced to seek to reheve themselves of raw herbs and roots that they sought on the main ; but the famino increasing, and the relief of herbs being to little purpose to satisfy their insatiable hunger, in the liehls and deserts here and there, a fellow killed his mate while ho stooped to take up a root for his I'clief, and cutting out pieces of liis body whom he had murdered, broiled the same ou tho coals and greedily devoured them. " 13y this means the company decreased, and the ofTicers knew not what had become of them ; and it fortuned that one of tho company, driven with hunger to seek abroad for relief, found out in tho fields the savour of broiled Hesh, and fell out with ono for that ho would sufler him and his fellows to starve, enjoying plenty as ho thought ; and this matter growing to cruel speeches, he that had the broiled moat burst out into these words : ' If thou wouldest needs know, the broiled meat J. had was a picco of such a man's flesh.' " Tho report of this brought to the ship, tho captaiii found what became of those that were missincr, and Ava-; persuaded that some of them were neither devoured with wild beasts, nor yet destroyed with savages ; find hereupon ho stood up and made a notable cratiou, containing how mnch these dealings olTei'ded tho Almidity, and vouched 120 ICE-WOKLD ADVENTURES. I I the Scriptures from first to last what God had, in cases of distress, done for them that called upon Him; and told them that the power of tho Almighty was there no less than in all former times it had been. And added that if it had not pleased God to help them in that distress, it would have been better to have perished in body, and to have lived everlastingly, than to have relieved for a poor time their mortal body, and to be condemned everlastingly, both body and soul, to the unquenchable fire of hell. And thus having ended to that efl'eci, he began to exhort to repent- ance, and besought all the company to pray that it might please God to look upon their present miserable state, and for His own mercy to relieve the same. " The famine increasing, and tho inconvenience of the men that were missing being found, they agreed among themselves, rather than all should perish, to cast lots who should be killed ; but such was the mercy of God, that tho same night there arrived a French ship in that port, well furnished with victuals, and such Avas the policy of tho English that they became masters of tho same, and chang- ing ships and victualling, then they sot sail to come into England. " In their journey they were so far northwards, that they saw mighty islands of ice in the summer season, on which were hawks and other fowls to rest themselves, being weary of flying over-far from tho main. They saw also certain great white fowls with red bills and red legs, some- what bigger than herons, which they supposed to be storks. " They arrived at St. Ives in Cornwall about tho end of October; from thence they dei)arted unto a certain castle belonging to Sir John Luttrell, where M. Thomas JJuts, and M. Uastall, and other gentlemen of the voyage, were; very friendly entertained ; after that they came to tho Karl of Hath iit IJatli, and thence to Bristol, so to London. " M. Huts was so changed in tho voyage; with Imngor •>' I : iUi. IN SEARCH OP A NORTH-WEST PAS SAGE. 121 and misery, that Sir William his father, and my Lady his mother, knew him not to be their son, until they found a secret mark, which was a wart upon one of his knees, as he told mo, Richard Hakluyt of Oxford, himself; to whom I rode 200 miles to learn the whole truth of this voyage from his own mouth, as being the only man now alive that was in this discovery. " Certain months after, those Frenchmen carnc into England, and made complaint to King Henry VIII. ; the king, causing the matter to be examined, and iinding tlu; great distress of his subjects were the cause of dealing so with the French, was so moved with pity, that he punished not his own subjects, but of his own purse made full and royal recompense nnto the French. " In this distress of famine, the English did somewhat relieve their vital spirits by drinking at the springs the fresh water out of certain wooden cups, out of which they had drunk their aqua comjwsila before." In the order of tinio wo now arrive at the voyages of Frobisher, but these we have already discussed in the rhnpter " Seeking for Gold in the Arctic Regions." They were far more expeditions in search of wealth than for the prosecution of geographical research. After the return of the last of them, the merchants of London and of the west country felt satisfied of the likelihood of the discovery of the North-west Passage, and were sure that former adven- tures had been diverted from their main purpose by objects foreign to the origitial design, and resolved on a new expe- dition, whoso sole motive should bo that of discovery. Mr. .lohn Davis, of Sandridgc^ in Devonshire, received the ap- pointment of captain and chief pilot of this new ent(>rprise. Two small barks, one called the StoisJilm', and the other named tho }[ooiishhit\ wore put under his orders. In the lifst were twenty- three persons, of whom four were musi- cians ; and in the latter nineteen. They left Dartniuulh on tlie Tth of ilune, IviSo, and nn i; ;:i r 122 ICE-WOKLD ADVENTURES. I h the lOth of July were among the ice on the western side uf Greenland, where they heard " a mighty great roaring of the sea," which, on a closer examination in the boats, they found to proceed from the " rowling together of islands of ice." The next day, as they proceeded to the northward, the fog cleared away, and they perceived a rocky and mountainous land, in form of a sugar loaf, appearing as if above the cloads. The top was covered with snow, and the shore beset with ice a full league into the sea ; and the whole surrounding aspect presented so " true a pattern of desolation," that Davis gave to it the name of "the Land of Desolation." Finding it impossible to reach the shore near this spot on account of the ice, Davis determined to return to the southward. In standing along the coast he observed driftwood floating about daily, and the Moonsliiiie picked up a tree " sixty feet long and fourteen handfuls about, having the rootc upon it." The air was like April weather in Eng- land. It was cold only when the wind blew from the land or the ice ; when it came over the open sea " it ^Yas very hote." From this coast they stood off again to the north-west- ward for four days, when they saw land in latitude G-J" 15'. It was an archipelago of islands, "among which were many faire sounds and good roads for shipping;" to that in which they anchored Davis gave the name of Gilbert's Sound. A multitude of n{ *ves approached in their canoes, on which the musicians began to play and the sailors to dance and make token of friendship. The simple and harmless natives soon understood their meaning, and were so de- lighted with their treatment and the music, that they Hocked round them in vast numbers, not less than thirty-seven of their boats being at one time alcnig side the small barks. The Fiulors shook hands wiih them, niul won so far on llu'ir jToud will, that they obtained from the "salvages" IN SEAECH OF A NORTH-'WEST PASSAGE. 123 ?( (m ■N\'hatevcr tliey wished — canoes, clothing, bows, spears, and many other articles. "They are very tractable people,'" Bays the narrator of the voyage, " void of craft or double- dealing, and easio to be brought to any civilitio or good order ; but we judged them to be idolaters and to worshi[i the sun." Driftwood was found on these islands in great abun- dance. The cliffs are described as being made of the same ore as Frobisher brought home from Meta Incognita. On the rocks our adventurers found a red fruit growing ; it was "sweet and full of red juice, and the ripe ones were like corintLs." Davis stood farther to the north-west, and on the Gth of August land was discovered in latitude 00° 40', the sea there being quite free from ice. The barks cast anchor under the shelter of a mountain whose cliffs shone like gold ; the voyagers christened it Mount Kalcigh. They gave names to a few other features in the landscape and then went asliorc. They were welcomed by "four white bears of a monstrous bigness," and one of these bears was killed. On the 8th of August they sailed' southward, and on the 11th came to the next southerly capo of the land they had coasted. They called it tbc Cape of God's ^Icrcy, " as being the place of our first entrance for the discovery.'" Keeping this land to the northward, they sailed west and Iiad a fine open passage from twenty to thirty leagues in width, entirely free from ice. The water was of the very colour of the ocean, and hopes rose high that they were on the eve of finding out the passnge. They sailed on for sixty leagues, and a cluster of inlands was then observed right ahead of tliciu. The weather now became thick and fuggy, and the wind settled down to blow from the south-east. Day after day passed wilhout a sign of amendment, and at the end of six days Davis determined on returning homewards. The homeward voyiige commenced near tlio end of August, and tho ill «t I 121 ICE- WOK LD ADVENTURES. ships arrived safely in Dartmouth on the 30th of Septem- ber. The important discovery of a free and open passage to the westward between Frobisher's Archipelago and the land now called Cumberland Island, and the great num- ber of whales, seals, deer-skins, and other articles which had been freely offered by the natives to the crews of the ships, excited lively hopes at home for the extension both of traflic and discovery. The merchants of Exeter and other parts of the west of England contributed a large trad- ing vessel of a hundred and twenty tons, called the Mermaid^ to accompany Davis's little squadron on a second voyage. The fleet which Davis now had at command consisted of the SunsJdue, the Mooonshine, and a pinnace of ten tons named the Nurih Slar. On the 7th of May, 1580, they left Dartmouth, and on tho 15th of June made the land about Cape Farewell ; coasted the west side of Greenland, and there had much intercourse with the natives. The civility of the people induced the adventurers to examine the rivers and creeks which ran up into the main land. They found the surface much tho same as that of the moor and waste grounds of England. The natives are described as "of good stature, and in body propor- tioned, with small slender hands and feet, with broad visages and small eyes, wide mouths, tho most part un- bearded, great lips, and close toothed." They are repre- sented as being idolaters, having great store of images, which they wear about them and in their boats. They are said to bo witches, and to practise many kinds of enchant- ment ; they arc strong and nimble, fond of leaping and wrestling, in which tbey beat the best of tho crew, who were Avest-country wrestlers. They discovered, however, in a little time that these Greeuhinders were both very thievish and very mis- chievous, cutting their cnblcs and stealing cvcrylhing IK SHAKCII 01' A NOUTH-WKST TASSAGK. 12o they cuukl lay their hands ou. They arc said to livo mostly on fish, which they cat raw ; to drink salt -water, and to eat grass and ice as luxuries. On the irth of July our navigators were all alarmed afc the appearance of "a most mighty and strange quantity of ycc in one intire masse, so biggc as that wc knew not the limits thereof." Its size and sh.ipo and height arc stated by the writer of the voyage to be so " incredible to be re- ported in trueth," that he declines speaking more of it, lest he should not be believed. They coasted this ico till the oOtli of July, which occasioned such extreme cold that all their shrouds, ropes, and sails were frozen, and the air was loaded with a thick fog. The men grew sick and wished to return, and advised their captain, " through his over boldness, not to leave their widows and fatherless cliildren to give him bitter curses." lie therefore thought of ordering the Mermaid to remain where she was, in readiness to return homewards, while with the Moonsldnc he should proceed round the ice. lie discovered land in latitude 00' 33', longitude 70' from the meridian of London, " voyd of trout»le, without snow or ice." This land turned out (o be a group of islands. The Aveather was found to bo very hot ; and they were much troubled with a fly " which is called musky to, for they did sting grievously." After leaving the Mermaid they sailed west fifty leagues and discovered land in latitude 00"^ 19'. Turning to the south they fell in with land north-west from them ; it was a promontory in latitude Oo°, having no land on the south. " Hero," says Davis, " we had great hope of a thorough passage." They continued to the southward, sailing among many islands, and afterwards along the coast from latitude 0^ to o( . On the '2Sth of August (hey came to the ontranco of a tempting harbour, which they explored for ten leagues; it had line woods on either side, On the Ith of Soptombcr. 126 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. :i being in latitude 54°, Davis says, '• ho liad a perfect hope of tlic passage, finding a mighty great sea passing between two lands west." The savages on this part of the coast of Labrador -were troublesome, and killed two of the men of the expedition. But though so sanguine about the discovery of tho North-west Passage, Davis had now to abandon his enter- prise for that year. Tho weather became stormy and tem- pestuous. Ho gave orders therefore on the 11th of Sep- tember to turn the ship's head homewards, and ho and his crew arrived safely in England in the beginning of October. It should bo remarked that in all this voyage Davis was entirely alone in his little bark the Moonshine. On his arri- val off Cape Farewell he had ordered the Sunshine and tho North Star to look for a passage northward between Green- land and Iceland, as far as latitude S(f, if not interrupted by land. On the 12th of June these two vessels put into a harbour in Iceland, and there they remained for four days. Then steering north-west, they came on tho Crd of July between two firm islands of ice. This made them turn about. They sailed along tho coast of Greenland, and along a continued field of ice, and arrived on tho ITth at the Land of Desolation, Gilbert Sound, at which they soon arrived, was tho appointed rendezvous. They remained there till the 31st, but their consort failed to appear, so they departed for England. On the ord of September they encountered a great storm. The two vessels parted company, and on tho 0th of October tho Sunshine arrived safely at Radcliffe. As for the North Star, she was never heard of more. Certainly there was not much of an encouraging nature about tho second voyage of Davis. But the bold navigator had as much spirit as ever, and was quite ready to start on Q third voyage in the following year. "I have now," he said, "experience of much, of tho 1;., Si IX SEAHCn OF A NOr.Tn-"^'T!:ST rASSAGE. 127 no rill- wo .^t part of thoworkl, and have brought tlio passage to that likeliliood, as tliat I am assured it must be in one of four phiccs, or else not at all." This time also ho had tho command of three vessels, the Eli::aleth, the Suiishine, and the Ilelrivt. The start -was made on the 10th of May, 1587, from Dartmouth. On tho 11th of June they came in siirht of mountains covered "svith snow. On the 2-lth they had reached latitude (\^^ 10', and saw great store of whales. On the oOth they had clear -weather and found by observation that they were in 72° 12', and that the variation of the compass was 28^ W. The land along which they had been running, and which Avas tho west coast of Ga-ccnland, they named the London Coast. At this high latitude, finding the sea all open to the westward and to tho northward, and the wind shifting to the northward, they left that part of the shore, which they called Hope Sanderson, and shaping their course west, ran forty leagues in that direction without meeting with any land. On tho 2nd of July, however, they foil in with .a "mightio bank of ice" to tho westward, among which they were hampered for eleven or twelve days. They then determined to get near the shore and wait five or six days for the breaking-up of the ico ; but they found the water too deep to come to an anchor, and either from " some fault in the barke or the set of some current," they were driven six points out of their course, and on tho 10th were abreast of Mount Raleigh ; from hence they stood sixty leagues up tho strait discovered in tho first voyage, now called Cumberland Strait, and anchored among tho islands at tho bottom of the gulf, to which they gave tho name of tho I'larl of Cum- berland's Isles. They stood out from theso islands to tho south-cast. Passing a headland, which they called Warwick's Fore- land, and crossing a great gulf, they fell in on the 1st of August with tho southernmost cape of tho gulf, to which they gave the name of Capo Chidloy, in 6P 10' lat. 128 JCE-WOKLD ADVEXTUKES. I !i Tliu strait tlicixfovc wLicli l^ears the name of Hudson on all tlic charts was in fact discovered by Davis, but that in which he sailed to the highest point of northern latitude was very properly stamped with his name. On Lord Darcie's Island they saw five deer, which took immediately to the sea on their landing ; one of them is stated to have been " as bigge as a good, prcty cow, and one very fat, their feet as biggc as oxc feet." From henco they shaped their course for England, where they arrived on the IStli of September, 1587. Davis, on his arrival at Dartmouth, wrote thus to a friend : — " I have bene in 73*^, finding the see all open, and forty leagues betweene Land and land. The passage is most probable, the execution casie, as at my coming you shall fully kuowe." In spite of his confidently expressed opinion, Davis could not prevail upon the merchant adventurers to con- tinue their support. His zeal for northern discovery however continued unabated, and eight years after his return from his third voyage, we find him publishing a little treatise addressed to the " lords of her majesty's most honourable privy council," in which he gives a brief but comprehensive narrative of his own three expeditions. He adds many ingenious arguments for the existence of a North-west Passage, and shows the great advantages which England would derive from its discovery. After his northern voyage, Davis sailed several times to the East Indies in the service of the Dutch. Some of these voyages have been published, and they prove him to have been a man of keen observation, great sagacity, and sound common sense. Of the date of his death nothing is known. AN ARCTIC DESPATCn CAPE. CHAPTER X. [th r E27GLISE VOYAGES m SEARCH OF A NOJITIT- WEST PASSAGE {continued). A PincE OF IsFonMATioN — Gkof.ge WEYMorTn's Voyage ix 10O2 — A Plot Miscauries — Kxioni's Voyage of IGOG — KKicnx is Slain BY THE Natives — HE\nY Hudson-' s Last Voyage — Mutiny at Sea— Tini Last Loaf — Adp.ift in a Small Boat— Quaruellino AMONO the Mutineers — Fighting with the Natives— In a Doleful Plight — The Eeturn to England — Siu Thomas Button's Expedition in 1G12 — Wintering in Nelson's Kivkr — James Hall's Voyage of 1012— A Native Kills PLvll — Captain Gideon's Expejition in 1014 — " Gidbons nis Hole" — Bylot and Baffin's Expedition of IClo — Bylot and Baffin's Second Expedition of IGIG — Women's Islands — Home at Last. Several years now passed away -without any new attempt being made to discover a nearer passage by tlie north to India and China. The English, however, coukl not see with indifference a lucrative commerce carried on with tlio eastern world by the Spaniards and Portuguese without endeavouring to enjoy a shai^e of it. The several attempt.s to engage in that commerce by a shorter route than those of the Cape of Good Hope or Capo Horn having failed, the merchants of London determined to try their for- tune by the former of these known passages. Their object, however, was not so much to open up a legiti- mate trade with the natives as to obtain wealth by the cheaper and more expeditious mode of plundering tlio Portuguese. With this design three ships set sail in 1591 for the East Indies. The voyage proved most disastrous. One of the captains, however, whoso vessel was lost on her return, sent home, or is supposed to have sent homo, a piece of information which gave a new .stimulus to another K 130 ICE-\\OELD ADVENTURES, ,il discovery. In a postscript to one of his letters he says : " The passage to the Indies is in the north-west of America in 02" 80' north." This postscript was at the time believed to bo genuine, l)ut it has since been sup- posed to be an interpolation. It seemed, however, to revive the hopes of the mercantile part of the nation; and in 1G02 the merchants of the Muscovy and Turkey Companies fitted out, at their joint expense, an expedition intended solely for the discovery of a North-west Passage to China. It consisted of two fly- boats, the one named the Liscovcrij, tlie other called the GodsjJced — the two carrying five-and-thirty men and boys, and victualled for eighteen months. The command of the expedition was entrusted to Captain George Weymouth, who, for the better success of the voyage, as he tells us, was provided with " a great traveller and learned minister, one master John Cart- wright." They departed from RadcliiTe on the 2nd of May, 1G02. On the 18th of June they fell in with the first island of ice, stretching to the northward beyond the reach of sight ; and on the same day saw the south part of GJreenland. In standing to the westward the sea was perfectly smooth, but the water so black, "and as thicke as puddle," that they conceived it to be very shallow. On heaving the lead, however, " they could fetch no ground with one Imndred and twenty fathoms." On the 28th they saw land in latitude G2° 30', which they thought to be the land of America, but it was only Warwick's Foreland on Resolution Island. In proceeding to the westward they passed several banks of ice, and again fell in v,^ith black water, occasioned probably by the soil which the icebergs frequently bring away in their disruption from the land. Again they supposed that they discovered America in latitude 03° 33', but they could not approach it on account of the vast quantity of ice which t IN SEARCH OP A NOI^TII-WEST PASSAGE. 131 encircled the sliore. Proceeding to the north-west tliey passed four islands of ice " of a Lugo bigncsse." The fog then became so thick that they could not seo two ships' lengths from them. It is represented to havo frozen as fast as it fell, in the middle of July, and the stiffness of the ropes and sails made them useless. On the J 9th of this month tho crews conspired together, while tho captain was asleep, to bear up for England, and keep him confined to his cabin ; but ho discovered the plot in time to prevent it. He had tho resolution to punish the ringleaders most severely, and only remitted a part of tho punishment at tho intercession of Master Cartwright tho preacher and of tho master. Being near to an island of ice, tho boats were sent to load some of it for fresh water, but as they were breaking some of it off, " tho great island of ice gave a mighty crack two or three times, as though it had been a thunder clap ; and presently the island began to overthrow, which was like to have sunk both our boats." Tho whole account of Weymouth's proceedings is so confused that little can bo drawn from it, except that ho was among the islands to the northward of Hudson's Strait, and probably those of Cape Chidley. On the 5th of August ho arrived at Dartmouth. His voyage had been a complete failure. He had reached no higher than latitude G3^ 53' : " He neither discovered," says Luke Fox, " nor named anything more than Davis, nor was ho so far north ; nor can I conceive he hath added any tiling more to this design ; yet these two, Davis and he, did, I conceive, light Hudson into his Straits." In 160G, "tho worshipful Companies of Muscovy and the East India T^Ierchants " fitted out a small bark of forty tons for the discovery of the North-west Passage. It was called the TIopcwcU, and was placed under the command of John Knight, who had previously sailed in thc-;e liiuli latitudes. : n I ( « 1 t I, i ■I I :■ 132 ICE-WORLD ADVENTDPES. Knight left Gravesend on the 18th of April, 1606, and after a long and tedious passage, on the 18th of Juno descried the coast of Labrador. Here a northerly gale came on, which brought down such vast quantities of ice, that the little birk, being surrounded with it, lost her rudiler, and Kuiglit fijuud it expedient to haul her close into tho bottom of a cove, in order to save the clothes and other articles bolougiiig to tho crew, tho ship's stores and the provisions. Kniglit then, wnth the mate and four others, went on shore well armed, to endeavour to find out some more convenient place +"or repairing the damage which their ship had sustained. On landing, Knight, the mate, and his brother, with one of the crew, went up towards tho highest part of the island, leaving two of the people to take care of the boat. These men waited in vain for their return from ten in the morning till eleven at night. Tho next dny a party well armed went in search of their nafortunato captain and his companions, but they were unablo to reaoh the is...nd on account of the ice. No tidings were heird of tho little party, and it was then concluded that they had been intercepted and slain by the savngo natives, as these people came down after- Avards and attacked tho remainder of the crew with great ferocity, shooting their arrows and pursuing them in all directions. Thoy had very large bt)ats, full of men, and tho narrator thus describus their appearance : " As far as wo could judge, they bo very little people, tawny co- loured, thin, and no beards, and flat noses, and man-eaters." Tho adventurers now set about repairing their vessel. The damage, however, was almost past repair ; on getting to sea, out of tho ice, they had to keep the pumps con- stantly going. They steered with a rapid current in their favour for Newfoundlaiul, and after much sullVu-ing and fatigiu.' arrived at homo, casting anchor in Dartmouth harboui". IN SEARCH OV A NORTH-WEST PA^SAGK. 133 CO- 4 I Onco more tbo attention of the English ^vas turned to the north-west. Some patriotic people, thoroughly persuaded of the existence of a passage, fitted out a vessel at their own expense, and gave the command of her to Henry Hudson. Of this voyage, which terminated so fatally to the brave commander, we have only a meagi'e account, at least of that part of it which is directly connected with the doings of Hudson himself. There is enough of it, however, to show that he passed through the strait which bears h.s n^xnie into an inland sea, improperly called a bay, which is also called after him. The ship appropriated for the service was the Discovmj, of 55 tons, victualled, as it would appear, for six months. She left England on the 17th of April, IGIO, and on the 0th of June arrived ofi' the entrance to Frobisher's Straits ; but, on account of the ice and contrary winds, was com- pelled to sail to the westward for nearly a month. On tho Gtli of July she reached some rocks and islands, which Hudson named tho Isles of God's ^'^orcies. Ho then saw more land in latitude G0° 2V, to whioh he gave tho name of Hold with Hope. On tho 2nd August they had sight of a fair headland, to which was given the name of Salisbury's Eoreland ; and sailing from thence they at last found themselves at the mouth of a great strait. This strait is fornujd by tho north-west point of Labrador, which was named by Hudson Ca[)o Wolsterdiolm, and a cluster of islanels to the north- westward of it, tho nearest headland of which ho named Capo DiiTges. From hence the land was found to tend to tho southward, and a largt> sea opened out : — hero Hudson's brief remarks end, and tho account of the re- nuiining f>art of this unfortunati^ voyage is given by one Abacuk Pricket, on whose narrative very little depoudcnco ought, perhaps, to bo placed. Such as it is, however, it furuis oa au awful example of u f ■I; 'It i 11 i J i 131. ICE-WOKLD ADVENTURES. the wrctcliod condition to which mutiny and disobcdicnco to lawful command on board ship at sea never fail to bring the unhappy men who arc guilty of these crimes. Pricket says that Hudson, being beset with ice, and almost despairing whether ho should ever get free from it, brought out his card, and showed the ship's company that he had entered the strait a hundred leagues farther than any Englishman had been before, and therefore left it to their choice whether they v/erc to proceed. On this some were of one mind and some of another, some wishing them- selves at home, and some not caring where they were if once out of the ice ; but, he adds, " there were some who then spake words whicli were remembered a great while after." The first appearance of the mutiny is stated to have been produced by Hudson displacing the mate and boatswain, *' for words spoken when in the ice," and appointing others. Proceeding to the south they entered a bay on ]\Iichaelina3 Day, and gave it that name, and here it would se jm the discontent was increased by the master insistinj on weigh- ing anclior while the rest were desirous of remaining there. Having spent three months "iu a labyrinth without end," they at length found a place on vho 1st of November, where they hauled the ship aground, and on the 10th were frozen in. About the middle of the month John "^Yilliams, the gunner, tlied; on wliich occasion Pricket Cj.voulates, " God pardon the master's uncharitable dealing with this man!" And now we are let into Abacuk's story of tho conspiracy. Henry Hudson had to.keu into his house In London a young man called Greene, well connected but an abandoned profligate. Hudson carried lilm to sea " because ho could write well," and likely enough, also from tho humane motive of saving him from ruin. Greene was not long on board when he quarrelled with tlio surgeon and others of tho crew. Pricket speaks favourably of hia manhood, '* but for i'oli;3'ion iio would say he wna clean paper. J LV SEARCH OF A NORTIT-WKST PAS.^AGE. loo I whcrcuu lie iniLi-lit wv'do Avliat ho would." Havlnij; thus got rid of every religions feeling, it followed of course that no moral tic coiild bind bim, and lie soon began to conspire ao'ainst his benefactor. The provisions growing short increased the discontent of the crew. They caught Avhat birds they could, and when the birds failed them had to bo content ^vith moss and frogs. AVhcn the ico broke up they caught lish, but the supply did. not last long. Hudson nov/ made 'preparations for leaving the Ijay in which they had passed the ^vinter. Before his depar- ture he served out all the bread remaining, being a pound to each man for about a fortnight, " and ho wept when ho gave it unto them." There were five cheeses on board, which were also divided, and which aflbrded three pounds and a half for seven days. After this scanty allotment of provisions, they stood to the northward, and on the lJ-!th of Juno fell in with ice, and on the 21st, being still in ice, Wilson the boatswain and Grrecne came to Pricket, who was lying lame in his cabin, and UAd him that they and their mates metmt to turn the master and all the sick into iho boat, and Icavo them to shift for themselves. They added that they had not eaten anything for three days, and wore therefore resolved " either to mend or end, and what they had begun they would go through with or die." i'rieket says, of course, that he tried to dissuade them from this horrid design, but that Greene bade him hold Iiisi tongue, for he knew the worst, and would rather be hanged at homo than starved abroad. Presently five or six others came to Pricket's cabin, and the following oath was administered to each of the con- spirators : " You shall swear truth to God, yinir prince, and country; you shall do nothing but to the glory of God and the good of the action in hand, and harm to no man ;" and EO it very soon apprnred, for on Hudson's coniing out of I ,)>" Vi i! r ■^ li I \i i in 13G ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. liis cabin, tliey seized and bound his arms behind him ; aud on his asking them what they meant, they told him he should know when he was in the boat. The boat was accordingly hauled alongside, "and the poor sick and lame men were called upon to get them out of their cabins into the shallop." Immediately the captain, his son, and seven others were driven into the boat ; and a fowling piece, some powder and shot, a few pikes, an iron pot, a little meal, and some other articles, were thrown in at the same time. The mutineers then cut the tow-rope and let her go adrift among the ice, where she was left with these unfor- tunate men in a situation which cannot bo contemplated without horror and a feeling of deep indignation at the brutal perpetrators of this most atrocious act ; and most of all, at the base ingratitude of the wretch who had been fed, clothed, and rescued from ruin by Hudson. As soon as the boat was out of sight. Pricket says Greene came tc him and told him that it was the will of the ship's company that he (Pricket) should go up into the master's cabin, and take charge of it, which, after some reluctance, he tells us he did. The first dispute among the people was, which way they they should steer, one being for standing to the norih- west, and another to i 138 TCE-WORLD ADVENTURES. at least no furtlier inquiry seems to have been made iulo the most inhuman and atrocious act that had been com- mitted. Pricket, it is true, had disposed of the principal mutineers, and no doubt himself and those few ^vho returned home made it out that they ■svcre compelled to enter into the conspiracy or at least to remain neutral. The moral character of Abacuk Pricket and of Robert Bylot apparently did not sufler much in the eyes of tlio merchant-adventurers, Wc find, at least, that both wero engaged to proceed on the same voyage the following year, under the command of Captain (afterwards Sir Thomas) Button, a man of very considerable talent. The two ships fitted out for this new voyage were the Resolution and the Discovery ; the former of which -was commanded by Sir Thomas, the latter by Captain Ingram. Sir Thomas Button had with him besides, on this voyage of discovery, a relation of the name of Gibbons, and one Captain llawkridgo, both volunteers and men of reputed skill and experience. The two ships, being in all respects ready for sea, and victualled for eighteen months, took their parturo early in May, 1G12. The reasons assigned for this voyage were the opcnijig of Hudson's Strait into a great western sea, and the report in Pricket's jouiiial of Hudson's ship having been lloaied off a rock near Cape Diggcs by a liujh tile flow- ing from the ii'CstivarJ. On arriving ofi' the strait, Button stood directly to the "westward for Diggcs' Island, whero liG remained a week, engnged in fitting up a pinnace "which had been brought out in pieces from England. Ho then proceeded westward, passing a largo island ■which in some charts is called Smithampton Island, and to which ho gave the name of Carey's Swan's Nest. Then ho fell in with more land, this time on the main coast of America, in latitude GO^ 40' ; he called it by the appropriate name of Hopes C ockcd. A storm came on, and the two ships stood to the fjoutli- IN SEARCH OF A NOETn-WEST PASSAGE. 139 of ato ward down Hudson's Bay, and on tlio lotli of August entered the mouth of a river in latitude 57° 10' wliicli was named by Button Nelson's River, so called from the master of his ship, whom he had the misfortune to lose, and who was interred at this place. The season being far advanced, and Button seeing it would be expedient to winter here rather than in a more northerly latitude, his first care was to secure the two ships against the wind and tides and the floating ice. Many of the pRoplc died from the severe cold, though tlie river was not frozen over till the IGtli of February. The weather however was frequently mild, and Button took advantage of it by employing his people on shore in killing game. The quantity of partridges was so abundant and so easily procured, that they are said to have taken and con- sumed no les3 than eighteen hundred dozen. Hj also contrived, like a Aviso commander, to keep the crew employed during their confinement to the ship, well know- ing that the best way of preventing men from murmuring discontent, and secret conspiracies, was to divert their minds from dwelling on their own unpleasant situation. To the inferior officers he put questions concerning the route of their Jate navigation, and engaged them in com- paring each other's observations as to the courses they had run, the set of the tides, the latitiides of the places they had touched at; and apparently consulting them what they fcihould do, and what course they should take, on the ap- proach of spring. Every man in the ship by these means felt himself of some importance, and took an interest in tho further i)roseeution of tlio voyag>\ The ice broke up from Nelson's River on tho 21st of April, but they did not quit their winter anchorage till two months aftcrwant., when they stood to tho northward exploring tho eastern coast of America, comformably with Hubert's idea, as high along tho land of Soutliarapton Island aa Co°. Proceeding again to tho southward Button HI , i fr fi 140 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. fell in with somo islands and headlands to which he gave names. Then ^e passed Cape Chidley, and in sixteen days reached England in the autumn of 1G13. Sir Thomas Button was thus, we have seen, the first who reached the eastern coast of America on the western side of Hudson's Bay and discovered Nelson's River, so long the scene of the principal settlement of the Hudson's Bay Company. In the same year that Sir Thomas Button sailed from England James Hall also made a voyage, with two small vessels called the Patience and HearVs Ease, fitted out by a new set of merchant-adventurers of London. It proved fatal to the persevering commander of this expedition, who was mortally wounded by the dart of an Esquimaux on the coast of Greenland. The little that is known of this voyage appears to have been written by William Baffin. The fix'st harbour in which Hall appears to have lain was Cockin's Sound, in Greenland, and on an island there he made his observations. From Cockin's Sound they proceeded towards the river, " where the supposed myne should be " — from which expression it may bo conjectured that the object of the present voyage was as much the discovery of gold as of the North-west Passage. The weather being stormy, they put into Ramclsford on the 21st of July ; and here about forty of the savages came down to barter with them. "At which time our master, James Hall, being in the boate, a savage, with his dart, strooke him a deadly wound upon the right side, which our surgeon did thinke did peerce his liver. We all mused that he should strike him, and offer no harme to any of the rest. . . . All that day ho lay very sore pained, looking for death every houre ; and on Thursday the three and twentieth, about eight of the clocko in the morning, he dyed, being very penitent for all his former offences." IN flEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 141 At I, a tlie his :){rer lay- on the all Having buried the master, they proceeded to the north- ward and entered Cunningham's river, where they " found divers places where the Danes had digged." They got there a kind of shining stone, which, when their gold- smith, James Carliles, had tried, it was found of no value, having no metal at all in it. After the muj-der of Hall none of the natives would come to trade with them, so they made up their minds to return home. On the lOth of August they set sail, and on the 17th of September arrived at Hull. The -eason assigned for Sir Thomas Button not follow- ing up the attempt to discover the Passage, of the existence of which ho was so sanguine, is the death of his patron Prince Henry, during his absence on the first voyage. The Discovery, however, which had accompanied the lie- solntion, was again fitted out and victualled for twelve months, and the command cf her was given in 1G14 to Captain Gibbons, the relation and friend of Sir Thomas Button. The high character given by Sir Thomas to this officer as a seaman had raised great expectations from this voyage. }3ut they were woefully disappointed. Captain Gibbons ventured into Hudson's Strait, but before going far fell in with the ice. The weather also was boisterous, cold, and foggy. He turned back. Some arc of opinion that ho never reached the strait at all, but was driven by the southern current and the floating ice down the coast of Labrador. Bo that as it may, ho took refuge in a bay in which he remained five months, completely blocked up by the ice. To this haven his ship's company are said to have given in derision the name of " Gthhons his Ilole.^* Escaj^ing at length, with some considerable damage to the ship, poor Gibbons made the best of his way home. Tliis utter failuro did not discourage the adventurous merchants from following up the prosecution of disc(JVories in the north-west. They again fitted out the Discovery for i 42 ICE- WORLD ADVENTURES. a fourth voyage towards this quarter. Robert Byleth or Bjlot, who had been employed under Hudson, Button, and Gibbons, was now appointed master ; and William Baffin, by whom the account of the voyage is written, was his mate and associate. The crew consisted of fourteen men and two boys. With these slender means they left the Thames on tho IGth of A pril, 1G15, and saw Greenland on the east side of Cape Farewell on tho Gth of May, from which time to the 17th, in proceeding westerly, they were much hampered with ice, and, on that day in particular, passed many great islands of ice, some of which are stated to have been more than two handred feet high above the water. On the 27th they saw Resolution Island. On the 31st tlicy came in sight of Button's Isles, and the next day stood across and got into a good liarbour on the north-west side of Resolution Island. Standing to the northward they came to a cluster of islands in Lumley's Inlet, to which they gave the name of Savage Islands; why, is not very clear, because though they observed on some of them many tents and canoes and dogs, they saw no people. On ascending a hill, however, they discovered a largo boat on the water with fourteen people in it, "Among the tents I found," says Bafiin, "a little baggo in which was a company of little images of men ; one the image of a woman with a child at her backe, all the which I brought away." The dogs, to the amount of thirty-five or forty, were most of them muzzled, and are described as a sort of "mungrele mastifFes, being of a brinded blackc colour, looking almost like wolves." These dogs draw their sleds over the ice. In the narrow passages between these islands the ship was frequently stuck fast in the ice, which sometimes en- tirely choked up the straits. The ice at length opened, and the ship made its escape. IN SEARCH OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE, 113 ;so 11- 10. They next approaclicd Salisbury Island, a littlo to tlio northward of which was a group, to which they gave the name of Mill Islands, from the grinding of one mass of ice against the other. In the narrow sounds made by these islands the ship was often in the utmost danger; "but God," says Baffin, " who is stronger than either ice or stream, preserved us and our ship from harm." They continued slowly advancing to the north-west, and finding the ilood coming down from the northward, they were " put in great comfort and hope of a passage in this place." They called a neighbouring headland Capo Comfort. "But this our sudden comfort," says Baffin, "was as soon quelled ; " for having passed the capo the land was observed to stretch away to the north-eastward, and the farther they proceeded north the shoaler was the water, and the more the sea was pestered with ice. Having, therefore, reached latitude G5° 20' and longitude 8(i^ 10' W., the master concluded they were in a great bay, " and so tacked and turned the shippes head homewards, without any farther search." Coasting the land to the southward, they fell in with a number of morses, and called the point opposite Sea- horse Point ; and passed Nottingham Isle, near which they remained till the 27th of July, observing the set of the tide, the time of highwater, etc., and taking in ballast. From thence they proceeded between Salisbury and Not- tingham Islands. The master, however, was not quite satisfied in giving up the point so soon, and stood back again to Sca-hor.so Point ; but the trending of the land gave no hopes of a pas- sage that way, and they again stood to the south-eastward to Digges' Islands, where they killed about seventy fowls, which are called willocks ; and it is observed tliey might have killed many thousands, these birds frequenting those islands in incredible multitudes. On the 5th of v> ^% -> V] <^ /i ^ /. -c*» .-■^ .%:*^^''» .»^' ^,v o 7 /A IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ;- Ilia ■'■ 111132 2.5 I.I 2.2 *" IIIIM lllll 1.8 Photographic Sciences Corpordtion 1.25 1.4 1.6 - -• 6" - ► 33 WIST MAIN STRICT WEBSTER, NY I4SB0 (716) 873-4503 ^4f 4p i r I lU ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. August they passed Resolution Island, and on the 7th of September came to anchor in Plymouth Sound; all the crew living, having only three or four sick, all of •whom speedily recovered. The little bark the Discovery was now to make a fifth voyage in search of the North-west Passage. It was fitted out by the same adventurers as before, and Robert Bylot was again appointed master, and William Baffin pilot. Both master and pilot got clear, distinct, and brief in- structions : — " For your course you must make all possible haste to the Cape Desolation ; and from thence you, William Baffin, as pilot, keep along the coast of Greenland, and up Fretum Davis, until you come toward the height of eighty degrees, if the land will give you leave. Then, for fear of inbaying, by keeping too northerly a course, shape your course west and southerly, so far as you shall think it convenient, till you come to the latitude of sixty degrees ; then direct your coui'se to fall with the land of Ycdzo, about that height, leaving your farther sailing southward to your own discre- tion, according as the time of the year .ind winds will give you leave, although our desires be, if your voyage prove so prosperous that you may have the year before you, that you go so far southerly as that you may touch the north part of Japan, from whence, or from Yedzo, if you can so compass it witliout danger, we would have you to bring home one of tho men of the country ; and so God blessing you with all expedition to make your return homo again." On the 2Gth of March, IGIG, the Discovery^ with seventeen persons on board, set sail from Gravcsend. When tliey reached Greenland they proceeded north, without obstruct- tion, and anchored in a fair sound near the London Const of Davis. Tho natives all ran away, leaving their dogs be- hind them. They reached Hope Sanderson tho extreme point of Davis's progress, on tho 30th of May, and fell in with much IN SEARCH OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 145 in 1^ < B a n C/3 < 5J ico. On the 1st of Juno clear water was entered, but tlic wind being contrary tbey put in among a cluster of islands. On seeing the ship the natives fled. Somo women, however, both old and young, hid behind the rocks, and were dis- covered by our voyagers. One of tho old women was guessed to bo little less than fourscore. To this group they gave tho name of Women's Islands. The inhabitants are described as very poor, living on seal's flesh, which they cat raw, and clothing therasolves with skins. Tho faces of tho women were marked with black streaks. They seemed to worship the sun, pointing con- stantly to it and stroking their breasts, and calling out at the same time Il^out ! The men and dogs arc buried in the same manner, each having a heap of stones piled over them. Departing from hence they stood away to tho northward, between the ice and tho land, till they came to the latitude of 7-1° 4', when they found themselves much pestered with the ice ; and hero they dropped anchor. They then tried to make their way to the westward, but the ico was too firm to let them pass ; and therefore they returned to somo islands in latitude 73° 45' to wait till tho ice (which they observed to melt very fast) should disappear. During their stay at this place somo forty of tho natives carao in their boats and exchanged seal's skins, sea-morse tooth, and unicorn's horns, for small pieces of iron, glass beads, and suchlike. To this place they gave the namo of Horn Sound. On tho 18th, on perceiving that much of the ico had already wasted, they proceeded northerly ; but tho weatlior was extremely cold with much snow, and Dallln says, it froze so hard, "that on midsummer day our shrowds, ruapes, and sailes were so frozen that wo could scarce handle them." By tho Ist of July, being then in latitude 75° 40', thoy Imd got into an open sea, '• which," said iKiflni, " anew revived Uie hope of a passage." 11<) lOi:-\V01iLD ADVENTURES. Oil tlic Itli, the AveaLlicr being stormy, tlicy found iliomselvcs embayed in a largo sound, in which they saw so many wlialcs iliat tlioy named it AVhale Sound. J3ctwceu two great sounds was an ishand, wliicli they called llakluyt's Island, and the latter sound Sir Thomas Smith s Sound, which runneth to the north of 7S\ "and is admirable in one respect, because in it is the greatest variation in the compasso of any part of the Avorld known ; for, by divers good observations, I found it to be above five points or fifty-six degrees varied to the westward." The wind being favourable, they stood to the south-west- ward, in an open sea, and with a stift'galo of wind, till thu loth, when it became calm and foggy. The boat was sent on shore, but it soon returned on account of the bad weather ; no people were to be seen, but there were numbers of sca-morscs among the ice. Standing on to the westward they entered another great sound, which they called Sir James Lancaster's Sound. Here their hope of passage "began to be less every d{iy." At last, says IJailin, " seeing that wee had made an end of our discovery, and the year being t». o I'arre spent to gou for the bottomc of the bay to search for drest fmues,* therefoi'o wco determined to goe for the coast of Groneland to sec if we could get some refreshing for our men." Their crew, it seems, were very sickly ; one had died, and threo were laid up in their hammocks. They therefore stood for the shore, and anchored in a place called Cockin Sound in latitude CV' 45'. Here on a little island they found abundance of scurvy grass, which they boiled in beer, and mixing it with sorrel and orpen, both very plentiful, made good salads. The men in the course of eight or nine days were perfectly recovered. They also received, after continuing a few days, " salmon pciile " from the nativea. It ia also stated, that in thia sound * Whalcboue. IN SEAUOir OP A NORTII-WESr I'ASSAOH. in '• wore sir.ili ''-i-cat ijcalcs of salmon swimminor to and fn>, tliat it is muck to bo arimiivd." Tlioy left this bay on tlic Oili o£ August, and on tlic :i')tli of the iiamo niontli canio in sight of tho coast of Ireland, and on tho oOth anchored safely in Dover Uoad, "for the >vhich," says BafVui, "and all other His blosslng.-i, tho Lord make us thankful.'' This voyage, which ought to have boon, and intlood may tjtill be, considered as one of the most interesting and ini- ]iortant, either before or since, is the most vague and unsatis- factory of all. leir ireo for ill Irvy Vrel ncn red. l\ou md A SLEDQE WITH SAIL UNFfULLD. CHAPTER XI. EXGLISII VOYAGES IX SEARCH OF A XOUTIT' WEST PASSAGE (contimicd). Luke Fox's Expedition op 1G31— " NoiiTn-WEST Fox " — A Good Stoiih or Provisions — A Bristol Expedition — Poetical Ke- FLECTIONS — Fox ENCOUNTERS ICE — A NATIVE BURYINO-PLACE — Entertained iiy Captain James — A Friendly Criticism — Bear- iNo UP FOR Home — Captain James' Voyage oe 1031 — Profound loNORANCE — A Miraculous Deliverance — In many Perils — Winter Quarters — Cold and Disease— Making for England — " Lamentation, Weeping, and Great Mourning." After tlic voyage of BafTin and Bylot in lOlO, spoken of in the end of the previous chapter, the spirit of English adventure Languished, so far as the North-west Passage was concerned, for several years. The revival of an at- tempt to discover it is due to Captain Luke Fox, who, by his own account, had continued with unabated zeal to urge a new expedition for exploring the arctic seas; which, ho says, "he had been itching after ever since 1000, when ho wished to have gone as mate to John Knight." He suc- ceeded at length, in 1031, in persuading Mr. Henry Briggs and Sir John Brooke to petition Chai'les I., for the loan of one of his ships, and for his countenance of the voyage, who, wo are told, "graciously accepted and granted both." Fox says he was allowed to choose his own ship, and that he pitched on a pinnace of the burden of 80 tons, which was named the Charles, manned with twenty men and two boys, victualled for eighteen months, and well fitted in every respect. The narrative of the voyage is written by Fox himself, who affectedly assumes the name of the North-west Fo.v. He was a keen, shrowd Yorkshiroman, and evidently a man IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 149 cn of ngUsli issngo an at- lio, by urge cli, lie 11 cn ho e suc- riggs c loan oyage, ,oth." x\ that which lid two ted in limsclf, U For. a man of considerable talent, but conceited beyond measure ; and the stylo of his journal is so uncouth, and the jargon so obscure and comical, as in many jilaces to be scarcely in- telligible. "Gentle reader," ho thus begins, "expect not hccre any flourishing phrases or eloquent tearmcs ; for this child of mine, begot in the north-west cold clime (where they breed no schoUcrs), is not able to digest the sweet milkie of Rethorick," etc. Ho leaves England, however, highly satisfied both with himself and with his equipment. " I was victualled," says ho, " compleatly for eighteen moncths ; but whether the baker, brewei*, butcher, and others were masters of their arts or professions or no, I know not ; but this I am sure of, I had excellent fat beefe, strong becre, good whoaten bread, good Iscland ling, butter and cheese of the best, admirable sacko and aqua-vita3, pease, oatmealo, whcat- meale, oyle, sjjice, sugar, fruit, and rice ; with chyrurgerie, as sirrups, juleps, condits, trechissis, antidotes, balsoms, gummes, unguents, implaisters, oyles, potions, suppositors, and purging pills," th of August fell in with Captain James, on hoard whoso ship ho went and "was well entertained and feasted." For this, however, ho makes hut a scurvy "kind of re* turn, speaking thus slightingly of his brother navigator : "The gentleman (meaning James) could discourse of art, of observations, calculations, and the like, and showed nie many instruments, so that I did perceive him to be a prac- titioner in the mathcmaties ; but when I found that he was no seaman, 1 did blame those very much who had counselled him to make choice of that ship for a voyage of sucli im- portance, for to endure two winters in, as he must have done if ho had any such intent, before he could come about Jloiia Si)Ci'an::a home. Our discourse had been to small purpose if we had not pryed into the errors of our pre- decessors, (and being demanded) I did not think much for his keeping out his flag; for my ambition was nioro cthcrial, and my thoughts not so aycrie, so to set my sight towards the sky, bnt when I either called to God or mado celestial observation ; to this was' replied that ho was going to the I'hnperor of Japan with letters from his majesty, and that if it were a ship of his majesty's, of 40 pieces ordnance, he could not strike his flag. Keep it up then, quoth I ; but you are out of the great way to Jap.an, for this is not it ; " — and a great deal more of such stnfF. Fox, having coasted a considerable time towards tho bottom part of Hudson's T?ay to no purpose, again directed his course to tho northward on the 'I th of September, naming the cape] ho last parted from Wolstcuholmc's Ultimum Vale ;" ''for that I do believe Sir John Wolstenholme will not lay out any more monies in search of this bay." On the 8th ho had advanced on the land on which is Carey's Swan's Nest, and observes that *' every night here arc peh't- danccrs, and red fire flashes in the air most fearful to bo hold." 102 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. After some further exploration, on the 25th of September ho begun to think that they had made but a "8cur\ io voyage of it," and that the best they could do was to bear up home- wards. Accordingly ho made sail out of Hudson's Strait, and arrived in the Downs on the 31st of October, with all his men recovered and sound, " not having lost one man or boy, nor any manner of tackling, having been forth near six months : all glory bo to God." Fox complains that he got no reward for his trouble ; iii fact, the result of the voyage evidently disappointed those who had been instrumental in promoting it. Ho however stoutly maintained tho probability of a North-west Passage. Captaiii James was furnished with similar credentials from Charles I. to those which had been given to Fox. Ho left Bristol in iho Maria, of seventy tons, on the 3rd of May, 1031, passed Capo Farewell on the 9th of June, and saw Resolution Island, not, however, before ho had many fields and islands of mountainous ico to encounter, with a black looking sea, a continual mist or fog, which is described as " thick, heavy, and stinking ;" and the air so piercing as to affect tho compass and cause a sluggish and impeded motion in the magnetic needle. In endeavouring to push through Hudson's Strait, tho ship was almost continually beset with ice, and sometimes driven about at the mercy of the tides and currents. To add to their dis- tress in this situation, tho sails were frozen stiff and tho rigging hanging with ico. If Fox was conceited in consequence of tho knowledge he had acquired from studying tho voyages of his pre- decessors, James seems to have been more culpably con- ceited in his total ignorance of all that had been done before him; he not only appears to have been wholly unacquainted with tho narratives of preceding voyagers, but purposely, as he tells us, refused to take with him any person who had previously been employed in a voyage of norlhoru discovery or on tho Spitsbergen lishery. Tho IN SEAKCII OF A NOUTII-WEST PASSAGK. lo3 consequence of this was, that as soon as they found tlicmsulvcn surrounded with ice, they were wholly ifjnorant how to manage the ship, and their want of experience not only alarmed them, but had nearly proved fatal to tho sliip and Jill on board ; for, in endeavouring to avoid Iho the ice, tho ship settled upon a sharp rock, and the tide, then ebbing, left her hanging by tho middle, and she fell over to such a degree that they could not remain in her. "Having now done," says James, "to the best of our understandings, but to little purpose, wo went all upon a piece of ico and fell to prayer, beseeching God to bo merciful unto lis." Tho flowing tide brought tho ship upright and floated her ofl"; " then was our sorrow turned to joy, and we all fell on our knees, praisuig God for His mercy in so miraculous a deliverance." The ice, however, continued to increase to such an extent on all sides, that they wero unable to see from tho mast-head the space of an aero of open sea ; but a change of wind dispersed it, and after many difliculties and dangers, and much wailing, they reached Salisbury Island on the 5th of July, and on the l'5th, still much pestered with ico and imagining " a thousand times that the ship had been beaten to pieces," they got between Nottingham and Digges' Islands. It would be tedious as well as useless to follow Captain James in his slow progress to tho souili-wcstward in Hudson's Bay. From his own utter ignorance, and that of all hands on board, of the manuci of conducting a ship among ico, she was almost constantly beset, and frequently remained unmovablo with all her sails spread. It was not to be wondered, therefore, that the people began to Hmrmur and to fancy that they were likely to pass the winter in the midst of fields of ico and snow. On tho 29th they fell in with the Charles, under tho command of Fox, as we have already told. Shortly after a tremendous gale of wind, accompanied with snow and 1 M \ \\ 151. ICE-WORLD ADVENTUKES. hai], put tbcm in tlio utmost peril : the waves broke over tlio ship, and no one ever expected to set foot again on shore. On tlic 12tli of Scptcmhcr, liowever, they contrived to run the ship aground among tlio rocks on the coast of America, in about latitude o-2},°, and thinking that she had now got her "death's wound," threw into the boat some carpenter's tools, a barrel of bread, a barrel of powder, some muskets, matches, fishing-hooks, and other materials, which they sent a.-;horc, "to prolong a miserable life a few days." The vessel drove off the rocks to their astonishment, and was found not to bo very much injured after all. After countless perils, they carao to an island on tho 2nd of October, which was called by James tho Earl of Uanby's Island, but now is generally known as Charlton Island, lying in latitude about -52^. Some tinio was spent in determining what to do, and in exploring the island. The sick men wished for a hovel on tho shore, which was accordingly built and covered with a mainsail. The island seemed at first only to produce a few deer, but on winter setting in many black f(jxes made their appearance. One day the gunner's-mato went out to look for the latter animals ; in crossing a frozen pond tho ico broke, and ho was seen no more. ]3eCore tho end of November everything was covered with frost and snoAV, and the ship appeared to bo one great mass of ice. On tho 22nd tho gunner died, " an lionest and a stout-hearted man." His leg had been am])utated, and notwithstanding tho constant flro kept burning in his cabin, " his plasters would frcc7,e at his wound and his bottlo of sack at his head." The constant danger to which tho ship was exposed from various sources induced tho crew to abandon lier and remove all their provisions to tho land. This was done on the 2(tth of November, and it is stated that when they joined their sick comrades on shore, " they could not IN PKAKCir or A NOIJTII-WEST PASSAriE. 1 r.r, cred ono " an been kept bis )OSCll her was Ivlien not- know US uor wo them, l)y our habits and voices, so frozen we were — faces, hair, and apparel." A dismal account is c^iven of their noses, cheeks, and fingers being frozen as white as paper, and of lilisters being raised as large as wal- nuts, I'lio well which they had dug froze up, and meU^d snow-water was pronounced to bo very unwholesome, either to driidc or to dress victuals; '' it made us so short- l)reath'd that wc were scarce able to speak" — "all our suck, vinegar, oil, and everything else that was lit[uid, was now frozen as hard as a piece of wood, and wo cut it with a hatchet; our house was all froxien in tho inside, and it froze hard within a yard oE the fireside" — and all this hap- pened before the middle of December, and in a latitude not thirty miles to tho northward of that of London. In tho month of January, .lames determined the latitude of his winter ([uartcrs to be -M ' .52', and ascribes the great diderence between this and a former observation to the elfeets of refraction. As a proof of it, the disc of the sun, Avhen near the horizon, appeared to bo twice as long as it was broad; and by observations it was found that, owing to the refractive power of tho atmosphere, the sun roso full twenty minutes before and set twenty minutes after tho regular time. On two nights, in particular, ho observed more stars in the lirmamcut, by two-thirds, than ho had ever seen before. In February the scurvy began to make its ap])earanco among the crow, exhibiting tho usual RymjUoms of Aveak- ness, swelled legs, sore mouths, black, turgid gums, and teeth loose in tho jaw. As tho spring advanced tho cold increased; and it is remarked that the people found it "more mortifying cold to wado througli the water in the b(>ginning of .lune, when the sea was full of ice, than in Decend)cr, when it was encreasing." it does not seem to have occurred to Caplain James that this feeling was not occasioned by a greater degree of absolute cold, but by loG ICE- WORLD ADVENTURES. J : II the greater difference between the temperature of the air and that of ice- water in Juno than in December. Towards the middle of April they began to clear away the ice out of their ship, and to see what could be made of her. In the hold they found some beer and wine which had not been frozen, and which was a great comfort to the sick, whose condition is described as being most deplorable. The death of tho carpenter was a great interruption to their proceedings, but they contrived to supply his place by one or two who could handle a tool. At length, on the 1st of July, all was ready for a start ; tho ship's colours were hoisted on the poop and in the maintop, and tho following day they made sail ; but such was the captain's predilection for tho shore and shoal water, that even at this advanced season of the year, and in the low latitude of 52°, the ship " did so strike against the ice, that her fore part would crack again, and make our cook and others run up all amazed and think the ship had been beaten all to pieces." Captain James, indeed, contrived, in tho whole of hia northern passage, to bo hampered with ice daily and almost hourly. On tho 24th of August he saw Nottingham Island, where tho whole sea was covered with ice. Two days afterwards he asked his officers for their advice as to how ho should proceed, and they gave in writing their unanimous opinion that ho should return homewards. This opinion he adopted, and on tho 23rd of October arrived in Bristol Roads. Captain James's history of his voyage may bo called a book of " lamentation, and weeping, and great mourn- ing." With regard to discovery, he contributed nothing to what former navigators had effected ; yet ho boldly asserts the improbability of a North-west Passage, for reasons which ho might just as well have assigned before his voyage, and bo have spared himself and his people the sufferings they underwent at Clmrltou Island, CHAPTER XII. ENGLISH VOYAGES IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE (cant In ned). E.viiLY Canadian IIisTonv — A Frenchman's PnorosALS — rniNCK Rupert's Patronage— Captain Giixam's Expedition in 1<5(j8 — The Hudson's Bay Company's Charter — Without Taste for Discovery— James Knight's Schemes — Looking for Gold and THE Xorth-West Passage — No News of Knight — A Search Ex- pedition — The Fate ok Knight and his Crew — An Exploring Expedition of IT^JT— Captain Middleton's Expedition or 1711 — Here and Tlere — The Frozen Strait — Charges against Captain Middleton— A Reward Offered for the Discovery ok THE Passage — Moor and Smith's Expedition in 171G — In Winter Quarters — The Effects of the Cold — Exploration in Spring — Captain Cook's Expedition in 177G-79 — Captain Cook's Ex- pedition continued ry Captain Clarke — Lieutenant Pickebs- gill in the Arctic Seas in 1770 — Hugging the Shore — Lieu- tenant Walter YouNci's Expedition in 1777. Nearly forty years elapsed after the voyage just described •without any attempt being made for the discovery of a passage into tlic south seas, either by tlic north-east or the north-west. This is a strong proof of the light in which the voyages of Fox and James were considered. All further attempts were looked upon as hopeless. It would appear, however, that a voyage had been undertaken to Hudson's JJay in the intermediate time, from New lOng- land, cither for the purpose of fishing or discovering. 1'lie French, after possessing themselves of Canada, crossed over the land to the shores of Hudson's Bay. Among the first of those explorers was one M. de Gros- selicz, a bold and enterprising man, who, seeing the advan- tage that might bo derived to the French settlements iu North America by possessing themselves of the ports and harbours of Hudson's Bay, prevailed on Bome of his 158 ICE-WOPJJJ ADVE^'TUltES. ;i couutryiuon at (Quebec to lit out a sLip for the pui'po.-.c ul' examining the coasts of that bay, in which he proceeded himself. Having landed late in the season on the western side of the bay, near to Nelson River, some of his people returned with an account of their having discovered an I'Jnglish settlement ; upon which he proposed to attack and, if possible, to take possession of it; but, on approaching the spot, a solitary hut only was discovered, in which were half a dozen miserable wretches on the point of perisliing from disease and famine. These unhappy men told Gros- selicz they were part of the crew of a ship from ]3ostoii, who had b?en sent on shore to look out for a proper place for the ship to which they belonged to lie in safety during the winter, and that while on this service the ship had been driven away with the ice, by a storm, from her anchorage, and had never returned. Having explored the country bordering un Nelson River, Urosscliez departed for Canada, leaving his nephew (Miouart with live men to Avinter there ; but some disngrec- ineiit arising between him and his employers, lie .sent over his brother-in-law to France, to lay before the government a representation of the advantages which might be derived Ironi an establishment on the coast of JIudson's liiiy. The l)i'oject, however, was treated as visionary ; but so strongly convinceil was Grosselicz of its great utility, that he set out himself for Paris, where he met with no better success than his brother-in-law had done, The only reason assigned for this indiUerence of the French government to form any establishment on the .shores of Hudson's Ray is the dismal account given of the climate in Captain James's narrative, which deterred them from entertaining such a project. Mv. ^Montague was at this time the English minister at Paris. Hearing of the proposal of Grosselicz, and its rejection by the French government, ho sent for him to explain his views; they appeared so satisfactory to him, IX sEAliCII OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 150 Icr ita to that bo gave liim a letter to Priiiec Rupert, Nvitli 'svhieli he came over to EngUxud. Hero he met with a dillereut re- ception from that of- his conntiymcn; ho Avas iuimcdiately engaged to go out iu one of his majesty's sliips, Avhieh was taken up for the voyage, not merely to form a settlement, but also to prosecute the oft attempted passage to China by the north-west. Captain Zacchaviah Gillani was appointed to carry out the Frenchman to Hudson's Bay, and to make discoveries to the northward. Ho sailed in the summer of 1008, and is'said to have proceeded as far north up Davis's Strait as T^ ^ 5^, but nothing appears on recortl to justify such an asser- tion. On his return into Hudson's Bay, he entered Rupert's River on the '2Vth. of September, and prepared to pass the winter there. The river was not frozen over before the Vth of December; and though considerably to the northward of Charlion Island, where James wintered, no complaint is made by Gilhnau of the severity or long continuance of the cold ; which, on the contrary, is said t'O have ceased in the month of April. At this place Captain Gillatn hiid the foundation of the lirst Britisli settlement by building u small stone fort, to which he gave the name of Fort Charles. I'rince Rupert had not contented himself with mei'ely j)a- tronising the voyage of Gillman. He obtained a charter from King Charles in lOG'J, granted in favour of himsell' and several other adventurers, for having, at their own cost and charges, undertaken an expedition to Hudson's Ijay. This document conferred on them, exclusively, all the lauds and territories in Hudson's Bay, together with all the trade thereof. It was an extraordinary charter of sweeping l)rivi leges, and it formed the commencement of the cele- brated Hudson's Bay Company. The body of gentlemen and merchants thus incorporated soon proved to be a body without spirit, as far as discovery 160 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. >• went, though discovery -was tho chief plea on which tho charter had been granted. Their whole attention was turned to tho establishment of forts and factories, and to the extension of their trade with the Indians, from whom they procured their most valuable furs for articles of very trifling cost. In this prosperous state of affairs the North-west Passage seems to have been entirely forgotten, not only by the adventurers Avho had obtained their exclusive charter under this pretext, but also by the nation at largo ; at least no- thing more appears to have been heard on the subject for more than half a century. In the beginning of the eiglitcenth century James Knight, governor of the Hudson's liay factory on Nelson River, learned from the Indiana that some distance to tho northward, and on the banks of a navigable river or inlet, there was a rich mine of native copper. On the strength of this information ho came over to England to solicit the Company to fit out two vessels, and send them, under his command, to discover this rich mine ; but the company, for certain reasonsp which were construed unfavourably to the liberal views of the directors, refused to comply with the proposal of their governor. Knight, however, did not give up his point. He plainly told them that they were obliged by their charter to mako discoveries, as well as to extend their trade ; that they were particularly required to search for a North-west Pas- sago through the Straits of Anian to tho south sea ; and that if they still refused to send him on a voyage of discovery, he should lay his application before the ministers of the crown ; and for this purpose lie actually waited on one of the secretaries of state. When the company perceived him thus resolutely bent on his project, and that his " troublesome zeal," as Robson calls it, •' might actually bring on an enquiry into tho legality of their charter," they thought it necessary to Tkavklling in the Hudson's Bay Tbkkitory. /cc- World Aiiveiifiircs.] {^Page i6o. IN SEAKCn OP A NORTH-WEST TASSAOE. IGl comply, and fitted out a ship and sloop called the Albany and Discovery f the former commanded by Captain George Barlow, and the latter by Captain David Vaughan ; Mr. Knight being, however, entrusted with the solo direction of the expedition. Perhaps they had the less scruple in Bending Knight as, by Robson's account, he must have been nearly eighty years of age when he undertook this voyage. Of the success of the expedition Knight was so con- fident, that he had strong chests made, bound with iron, to hold the gold and copper which ho expected to find. This was probably the single object that occupied his mind ; the North-west Passage and the Straits of Anian were thrown out with no other view than to urge the company, and to point out to them the necessity of doing something which might wear the appearance, at least, of satisfying the con- ditions of their charter. Knight was accordingly, by his instructions, directed " to depart from Gravesend on the intended voyage, by God's permission, to find out the straits of Anian, in order to discover gold and other valuable commodities to tho northward." Neither of his ships ever returned or were heard of, and it was concluded they had been lost among the ice, or shut up in some creek or strait from which they had no means of returning ; and as the Hudson's Bay Company had sent out the two vessels, they could not do otherwise than de- spatch another to look for tho unfortunate crews. Tho Whalelone was accordingly ordered to proceed on this service. The person appointed to command her was John Scroggs, of whose proceedings nothing was ever published, except a brief abstract. This abstract informs us that Scroggs, in the course of the voyage, got news of a rich copper mine in an uncertain locality, and saw many whales ; but it does not mention a syllable of any search being made for the unfortunate crews ^ 162 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. of the two ships. To all appearance, they never troubled their heads about whether they were alive, or had been destroyed by the natives, or had perished from cold and hunger. It was not till the year 17G7 that the most unequivocal proofs were discovered of their melancholy fate. In that year, as some of the boats employed on tho company's whale fishery, near iMarble Island, stood in close to the shore, they discovered a new and commodious harbour near the east end of it, at the head of which were found guns, anchors, cables, bricks, a smith's anvil, and several other articles, which, from their weight or uselessness, had not been removed from their original place by the natives. The remains of a house, and the hulls or rather bottoms of the two ships were also discovered under water ; and sonio of their guns and the figure-head of one of tho ships were sent home to England. The following account, given by Hearne, points out the misery to which these poor people must have been reduced on this desolate island : — " In the summer of 17G9, while wo were prosecuting the fishery, we saw several Esquimaux at this new harbour, and perceiving one or two of them greatly advanced in years, our curiosity was excited to ask them some questions concerning the above ship and sloop, which we were the better enabled to do by the assistance of an Esquimaux who was then in the company's service as a linguist and annually sailed in one of their vessels in that character. The account which we received from them was full, clear, and unreserved, and tho sum of it was to tho following purport. " When the vessels arrived at this place (Marble Island), it was very late in the fall, and in getting them into the harbour the largest received much damage, but on being fairly in, the English began to build a house, their number at that time seeming to be about fifty. As soon as the ioo permitted, in the following summer, 1720, the Esquimaux IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 1G3 bled been and irocal tliat any's the • near guns, otlier id not atives. oms of 1 sonio s were ven by people ing tlio ^avbour, iiced in Lcstions lore the luimaux list and laracter. jl, clear, lllowiug [sland), ito the being limmber the ice luimaux paid them another visit, by -^N-hich time the number of English was very greatly reduced, and those that wore living seemed very unhealthy. According to the account given by the Esquimaux, they v/ero then busily employed, but about what they could not easily desci'ibe — probably in lengthening the longboat ; for at a little distance from the house there was now lying a great quantity of oak chips, which had been made most assuredly by carpenters. "A sickness and famine occasioned such havoc amongst the English, that by the setting in of the second winter their number was reduced to twenty. That winter, 1720, some of the Esquimaux took up their abode on the opposite side of the harbour to that on which the English had built their houses, and frequently supplied them with such pro- visions as they had, which chiefly consisted of whale's blubber, and seal's flesh, and train oil. When the spring advanced, the Esquimaux went to the continent, and on their visiting Marble Island again, in the summer of 1721, they found only five of the English alive ; and those were in such distress for provisions, that they eagerly eat the seal's flesh and whale's blubber quite raw as they purchased it from the natives. This disordered them so much that three of them died in a few days, and the other two, though very weak, made a shift to bury them. " Those two survived many clays after the rest, and frequently went to the top of an adjacent rock and earnestly looked to the south and cast, as if in expectation of some vessels coming to their relief. After continuing there a considerable time together, and nothing appearing in sight, they sat down close together and wept bitterly. " At length one of the two died, and the other's strength was so far exhausted that he fell down and died also in attempting to dig a grave for his companion. The skulls and other large bones of those two men are now lying above ground close to the house. The longest liver was, according to the Esquimaux account, always employed 164 ICE-WOBLD ADVENTURES. in working iron into implements for them; probably he was the armourer or smith." Some time after Knight's unfortunate expedition, a gentleman of the name of Dobbs having listened to tho reports of different discoverers became persuaded that de- cisive proof was in existence of a passage into the great western ocean. By dint of persuasion and importunity he prevailed on tho Hudson's Bay Company to send out two small vessels for the purpose of examining the eastern coast of the Welcome to the northward of their settlements. These ships set sail in 1737. No account of their proceed- ings appears ever to have been published. They aro supposed to have reached only to about 02^° of northern lititude, confirming, however, the reports made by former expeditions as to the set of the tides from the northward, which had raised hopes of a passage. Mr. Dobbs was far from satisfied with what they did, and wrote very indignantly of the Hudson's Bay Company doing their best to prevent rather than encourage dis' covery. It was rather singular that, after expressing so strong an opinion against the company, he should have entered into a correspondence with a Captain Middleton, who had for many years been in their service, and who, as would appear, was not disposed to go against their interests. The facts, however, which he obtained from this gentleman confirmed his former opinions, and rendered in his mind the existence of a passage into tho Pacific quite conclusive. On the strength of these facts he prevailed on tho Lords of the Admiralty to appropriate a ship of the navy for tho pur- poses of discovery, and to give the command of her to Captain Middleton. The Furnace bomb and the Discovery pink were put under his orders, the latter being com- manded by Mr. William Moor. Middleton left England in 1741, and passed the winter in Churchill River, in latitude !j8° 5. They fell in with ice on the 27th of the following month, and shortly after with abundance of driftwood. Next they passed the Revolution and Savage Islands, at the latter of which they had some communica- tion with the Esquimaux. On the 2nd of August they doubled Capo Digges, and on the 11th made the land on the west side of the Welcome, in latitude G4° N. From thence they sailed to Marble Island, and finding the flood-tide come down the coast from the northward had great hopes of a passage. The season, however, was far advanced, and it was resolved to make for Port Nelson as a suitable place to winter in. On the way the Dodds ran aground near Five-fathom Hole, about seven miles from Fort York. A beacon had been erected as a landmark, but it had been cut down by order of the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, though " he very well knew," says Mr. Ellis, " who we were." This was not all ; the governor ordered them on no account to come nearer the factory without producing a proper authority from the Government ov the Hudson's Bay Company. No attention was paid to this threat. The Dodds got off, and both ships proceeded up Hayes River, and moored in a creek about two miles above Fort York. The crew immediately began digging holes in the ground, in which to bury their wine and beer. They also built log-huts to protect themselves from the severity of the cold, frost, and snow, — "troublesome enough," says jNIr. Ellis, "but not seeming to merit the terrible reports given of these winters by some authors;" alluding no doubt to the exaggerated statements of Cnptain James. By the 1st of November they were all comfortably hutted ; but on the 2nd the frost was so severe that they could not keep tho ink from freezing at the fire ; the unburiod bottled beer was frozen solid near tho fire ; and tho cold ! 5 170 TCE-WORLD ADVENTURES. increased to such a degree, that it was thought prudent to remove the whole of the seamen out of the ships into the log huts. It seems, however, that the severity of cold is seldom felt above four or five days in a month, and generally about the full and change of the moon ; at which times the wind is usually from the north-west, and very tempestuous ; but at other times, though there is a hard frost, Mr. Ellis says it is pleasant enough ; the winds being variable and moderate, and the weather favourable for shooting or catching animals in traps, chiefly rabbits and partridges, which they procured in vast quantities. By constant exercise, when the weather would admit of it, and by burning good fires of wood, and by stopping up all crevices they appear to have sufiered very little from the effects of cold ; and wc hear of none of those wait- ings with which James's doleful narrative — of which we have already spoken — is filled, at a place, too, full five leagues farther to the southward on the same coast. Mr. Ellis observes, that the difference was so great between the cold without and the heated huts within, that persons on entering the latter frequently fainted, and remained apparently lifeless for some time ; that if a door or window was but opened, the cold air rushed in with great fury, and turned the vapour inclosed within the hut into a snow shower. The alternate freezing and thawing of the juices of the logs caused them to split with a noise little inferior to the report of a musket. Spirits of wine did not freeze into ice, but became of the consistence of oil. The different kinds of game which they procured between November and April kept easily in a frozen state for any length of time without the use of salt. When any part of the human body was frozen, it became hard and white like ice, but by rubbing the part with a warm hand it went off in a blister ; if left alone the part mortified. Extreme cold ) same effect as extreme appeared pretty nearly IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 171 lieat, and required nearly tlic same treatment : of the absolute degree of cold Mr. Ellis cannot speak, as tlioy took out but one thermometer, wliicli was broken before they reached the ice. It was the 2nd of June before the winter finally took leave of them, and enabled them to get the vessels ready for dropping down to the mouth of the river ; and it was not till the 24th that they succeeded in passing the shoals ; they then stood to the northward for the purpose of discovery. To the northward of Churchill they had a sea clear of ice. They proceeded to the northward as far as G5° 5' in tho Welcome, where they found the flood tide coming from the northward. This direction of the tide, and their nearness to Wager Strait, concerning which there had been so warm a dispute between Mr. Dodds and Captain Middleton, determined tho two captains of the Dodds and California to enter upon an examination of it. The entrance of this inlet is formed by Cape Montague on tho north and Capo Dodds on the south. About five leagues within it tho width is contracted to about five miles, where the tide rushes with so much impetuosity, that Mr. Ellis says it seems like a sluice ; beyond this it again opens out, and forms several good harbours and safe anchoring ground- At one hundred and fifty miles from the entrance tho colour of the water was found to be perfectly bright and its taste very salt. At this place a fall or rapid extended across the strait. The boats, however, passed it without difficulty, and found the depth on the far side so great that they could get no bottom with 140 fathoms of lino. Tho water at tho surface was fresh, but on sinking an empty bottle to a depth of thirty fathoms it came up full of water as salt as any in the Atlantic. Soon after this tho water suddenly shoaled, and it waa discovered that tho inlet terminated in two unnavigablo i I 172 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. < k rivers, one of wliich flowed from a large luko. Thus eniled uU hopes of passage by Wager Strait. It was now proposed to examine another opening to the northward, and which appears to have been Captain Mid- dleton's frozen strait^ or entrance into what is now called Hepulso Bay. There was a difference of opinion however between the commanders and among the officers as to whether, consistently with their instructions, they could proceed with their work of exploration. Evidently most of the party were indisposed towards any further research. They urged the advanced season of the year, though it was only the 7th of August, and the winter seldom sets in till the beginning or middle of October. After this nothing was done nor even attempted ; and a council being held, it was determined to bear up without further delay for England, which was accordingly put in execution ; and on the 29th of August they reached tho western entrance of Hudson's Strait, with very pleasant warm weather, which lasted till tho 3rd of September; and, after stopping some time at the Orkneys, arrived safely in Yarmouth Roads on the Idth of October, after an absence of one year, four months, and seventeen days. *' Thus," says Mr. Ellis, " ended a voyage of very great expectation, not only here, but throughout the greatest part of Europe." The hopes of opening a navigable communication be- tween tho Pacific and tho Atlantic oceans by a northerly course were not abandoned by the failure of Lord Mul- grave in 1773, of which the reader will find a notice in our chapter on, "Tho Way to tho North Pole." Another voyage was ordered to be undertaken for that purpose, and Captain James Cook, who had twice circumnavigated tho globe, was appointed to command it. On this occasion the plan of discovery which had hitherto been followed was re- versed, and instead of attempting to pass from the Atlan- tic to the Pacific, it was now intended to try it from the IN SEARCH OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 173 latter ocean into the former. The two ships ^tted out for this purpose were the Ecsolution and the Discovery; the former of which was under the immediate command of Captain Cook, the latter of Captain Clerke. It has been mentioned, that a reward of £20.000 was held out to ships belonging to any British subjects which should make the passage : but it excluded the sovereign's own ships ; the reward was moreovx>r confined to such ships as should discover a passage through Hudson's Bay. The act was therefore, on the present occasion, amended, and so framed as to include his majesty's ships, and to appropriate the reward for the discovery of " any northern passage" for vessels by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans ; and it also promised the sum of five thousand pounds to any ship that should approach to within one degree of the North Pole. On the 12th of July, 1776, the Resolution sailed from Plymouth Sound, leaving instructions for the Discovery to join her at the Cape of Good Hope ; and after various dis- coveries in the southern hemisphere, the Pacific, and the two coasts of Asia and America, with which everybody is well acquainted, the two ships entered Behring's Strait on the 9th of August, 1779, and anchored near a point of land to which Captain Cook gave the name of Cape Prince of Wales : ho afterwards ascertained it to be the western extremity of the whole continent of America. Some elevations like stages and others like huts were seen on this part of the coast, and they thought also that some people were visible. They stood over to the westward, and entered a bay on the east coast of Asia, at the licad of which was a village and some people. On landing they saw thirty or forty men, each armed with a spontoon, and a bow and arrows, drawn up on a rising ground. As the people of the ships drew near, three of the natives came down to the shore, took (ft' tin ir c.ips, and made low bows. 174 ICE-WOELD ADVENTURES. An excbange of presents followed : those received by Captain Cook were two foxskins and a couple of sea-horse teeth. In spite of these courtesies the natives were very cautious, and seemed ready to mako use of their spears. They exchanged their arrows for trifling articles, but nothing could induce them to part with a spear or a bow. They differed in their persons and features entirely from the natives of north-west America : the latter being low of stature, with round faces and high check-bones, whereas the former had long visages and were stout and well made ; they had their ears bored, and some had glass beads hanging from them, but no lip ornaments like the Ameri- cans. They had numerous dogs, probably used to draw their sledges, of which several appeared in one of the huts; but Captain Cook thought that they might also constitute a part of their food, as several were observed lying dead which had been killed that morning. Captain Cook discovered the coast of these people to extend many degrees farther to the east than the position assigned to it in the maps of that day. Ho thus as- certained distinctly the breadth of the strait that separates Asia from America ; for though Behring had sailed through it before, he had not descried the latter continent, and consequently remained ignorant of the importance of his discoveries. Our navigators now pushed forward into the Northern Ocean. They soon fell in with ice, which gave them reason to suspect the impossibility of continuing their voyage much farther. At length, on the 18th of August, when after repeated struggles they had attained the latitude of 70^ 44', they saw the ice before them extending as far as the eye could reach, forming a compact wall of about six feet high. It was covered with a multitude of walruses or sea-horses, which though coarse food, were preferred by the seamen to salt provisions. " The season," says Ciiptuiji Cook, " was now so far IN SEAECH OF A NORTH-WEST .PASSAGE. 175 advanced, and the time when tlie frost is expected to set in so near at liand, that I did not think it consistent with prudence to make any further attempt to find a passage into the Atlantic this year in any direction, so little was the prospect of succeeding." Accordingly, on the 30th of August, he stood to the southward, resolved to employ the winter in completing his survey of the Sandwich Islands. There the celebrated navigator lost his life. Captain Gierke now became commanding officer, and Lieutenant Gore was appointed commander of the Dis- cover!/. OnthelSthof Mai'ch, 1770, they left the Sandwich Islands, and stood to the northward, by the way of Kamts- chatka, to follow up the discovery of a passage. He touched at the harbour of St. Peter and St. Paul in Awatska Bay, where he was treated by the Russians with unbounded hospitality. Then, passing Behring's Strait a second time, he penetrated as far as 70° 33' N., where the same obstacle which had prevented the progress of the Bhips the preceding year forbad him to advance any farther. Ho met here with a firm barrier of ice, seven leagues farther to the south than that which had stopped the progress of Captain Cook. The impossibility of a passage by the north was now thought to be sufiiciently proved, and it was resolved to proceed homewards ; the chief purpose of the expedition having been thus answered. " I will not," says Captain King, the writer of the voy- age, " endeavour to conceal the joy that brightened the countenance of every individual, as soon as Captain Clcrko's resolutions were made known. "We were all heartily sick of a navigation full of danger, and in which the utmost perseverance had not been repaid with the smallest pro- bability of success. We therefore turned our faces toward home, after an absence of three years, with a delight and satisfaction which, notwithstanding the tedious voyage wo bad still to make, and the immense distance we had to \\ 176 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. run, were as freely entertained, and perhaps as fully en- joyed, as if we had been already in sight of the Land's End." To give facility to the success of Captain Cook's exped- ition, in the event of his reaching Baffin's Bay, Lieutenant Pickersgill was directed to proceed to Davis's Strait in his majesty's armed brig the Lion, for the protection of the British whalefishers ; and that being accomplished, to continue up the strait into Baffin's Bay, and explore the coasts thereof, taking care to leave it in time to secure his return to England in the fall of the year. Pickersgill was not instructed to attempt the passage ; the object of sending him into Baffin's Bay being merely to obtain such information as might be useful the following year to tho vessel which was intended to be sent out to look for Captain Cook, about the time he might be expected to approach the eastern side of America in the event of success. The Lio7i left Deptford on the 25 th of May, 1776; and on the 7th of July saw Cape Farewell, near which, on the follow- ing day, he was set fast in a field of ice ; " the land at the same time forming one of the most romantic scenes that can be described, being very high and rugged, presenting to the eye mountainous rocks and spires of almost every shape, intermixed with patches of snow, which contrasted finely with the deep blue of the mountains, affording the most pleasing sensations, and at the same time exhibiting either grandeur or horror as the sun shone forth, or as it was cloudy." Among the field-ice were several lofty islands, on one of which was much earthy matter, many feet deep, and pieces of rock several hundred pounds' weight each, with gravelly streams of fresh water pouring down its sides. The whole mass was drifting to the south\rard. Pickersgill in proceeding to the northward seems to have kept as close to the shore as the ice and the rocks would permit. At last he anchored the Lion in a place which he called Mosquito Cove, from the swarms of this inject, bred, IN SEARCH OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 177 us lie supposes, in the pools of snow-water among the rocks. The latitude of this place was found to be G4^ 5G' 20" N., longitude 51° 53' 30' W. Here he had some com- munication with the natives, who are described as well- behaved, diffident, and honest. On leaving this place Lieutenant Pickersgill continued standing as close along the shore as he could, but on tho 3rd of August he iuado up his mind that this mode of navigation was a mistake. " As I design to discover sea," he says, " and not land, I shall direct my way mid- channel.^' He did so ; but the very next day all his resolution forsook him and he took the gloomiest possible view of the state of his vessel, the health of his men, and the size of tho neighbouring icebergs. He stood on as far as 08° 10', and then turned. Creeping along the shore as usual among the rocks and islands and fields of ice, he reached Cape Farewell on the 24th of August. On the 4th of September he ran into Porcupine Harbour, on the coast of Labrador. Here he remained till the 2rth, and on the 29th his journal breaks off thus, — " Being now taken ill, which illness continued for almost all the passage, and as nothing material occurred during it, I hope their lordships will excuse the short remainder until I give my general thoughts upon tho voyage and the hopes of a passage." It does not appear, however, that their lord- ships gave him any further trouble on either subject : thoy superseded him in the command of the Lion, not deeming him a proper person to be sent out on a similar voyage tho following year. The Lion was again fitted out under tho command of Lieutenant Walter Young. He sailed from the Norc on tho 23rd of March, 1777, and the whole journal of his voyage is as meagre as if it had been the record of the most ordinary expedition. He reached 72° 45', and then turned ; tho multitude of ice-bergs being to all appearance the reason of his not advancing farther. Tho talents of Young, II 178 ICE-WORLB ADVENTURES. as it afterwards appeared, were more adajitcd to contributo to the glory of a victory,* as commander of a linc-of- battle ship, than to add to geographical discoveries by en- countering mountains of ico and exploring unknown coasts. * Ho died in the West Iiulios, when captain of the Sandwich, bearing the flag of Sir George liodney, m May, 1781. A CORKED-SOLED BOOT TOR ARCTIC USE. CHAPTER XIII. ENGLISH VOYAGES IN SE.UICII OF A NORTH- WEST PASSAGE (continued). Sin John Ross's Voyage of 1818— The Arctic Highlakders— Red Snow — A Vision of Mountains — Disaitointment and Discus- sion — Parry's first Expedition in 1819 — Sir John Ross'3 Mountains Exploded — Winter Harbour in Melville Island — Preparations for Winter — Winter Amusements — Excur- sion ACROSS Melville Island — Attempts to go Westward — The Aurora Bori:.vlis— Supposed Site of the Magnetic Pole — Results of the Voyage. When the war which terminated in the battle of Water- loo was at an end, and the British Government had time to employ some portion of its marine in the labours of peace, ifc was determined to send an expedition to Baffin's Bay, in the hope that the examination of the shores of that great Bea might detect the long-wished-for North-Wcst Passage. For this purpose the Isabella dnd the Alexandra were fitted out and placed nnder the command of Captain, after- wards Sir John Ross, an officer well experienced in the navigation of northern seas. The Alexander was com- manded by Lieutenant Parry, a young officer whose name afterwards became honourably associated with north- western discovery. The ships put to sea on the 18th of April, 1818, On their arrival on the western coast of Greenland they l^found the ice abundant ; and the governor of one of the Danish settle- ments told them that for some years he had found that the winters were growiug more and more severe. From ob- servations made at the island of Waigatz it appeared that this coast was erroneously laid down in all the charts ; the error in longitude in those of the Admiralty amounting to more than 6°. 5 I ' 180 ICE-WOULD ADVENTUKE3. In latltudo 7o° 54', when the sliips liad passed what AVaS hitherto deemed the inhabited part of Greenland, a party of Esquimaux were seen approaching the vessels over the ice. With some difficulty they were brought to a parley with the strangers. Though separated from the Greenlanders by a distance not exceeding two degrees, these people were still ignorant that there were any human inhabitants on the earth besides themselves. They could hardly be brought to touch the English, whom they regarded at first as supernatural beings. One of them addressed the ship with much solemnity : " Who are you ? whence came you ? is it from the sun or the moon ? " This people, who from their ignorance of the canoe, might be inferred to want some of the arts and comforts of other Esquimaux tribes, yet had the singular advantage of being acquainted with iron, of which they had contrived to fashion themselves knives. They explained that they found this valuable metal in a mountain composed entirely of it, and that breaking off small fragments they hammered them with stones. From the appearance of the metal, and its analysis, it has been conjectured to be meteoric iron, and the iron mountain in- timated by the natives has perhaps no other existence than what it owes to the error of the interpreter, and it is to bo understood merely as a large mass. To this tribe, the ugliest of the Esquimaux race, Captain Ross gave the nanio of Arctic Highlanders. A little farther on our voyagers saw cliffs covered with snow of a deep red colour : when thawed it looked liko muddy port wine. Red snow had been often seen before, and observed by skilful naturalists in the Alps and Pyrenees, but how it got that colour had been never satisfactorily ex- plained. Red snow from Bafliu's Bay was brought home and submitted to the examination of naturalists and chemists ; some pronounced that tho colouring matter was of an animal, others of a vegetable nature. Tho gucstiou seoms » IN SEARCH 01 A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 181 now decided in favour of the latter opinion, an extremely minute lichen being supposed to vegetate even on the snow. Captain Ross, though an experienced commander, appears to have been deficient in the confident hope and ardour which are requisite qualifications in those who conduct voyages of discovery. He seems to have felt little interest in the solution of geographical problems, and his indiffer- ence towards the object of the expedition frustrated its intentions. He passed by AVolstenholm Sound and Whale Sonne?, and never even deigned to examine them; the great inlet on the northern coast of Baffin's Bay which Baffin named Sir Thomas Smith's Sound was passed at so great a distance as to bo barely discernible. But the carelessness with which ho examined those interesting shores was not the only fault of which Captain Ross was guilty. He interposed his private views when inquiry ought to have decided the question, and pronounced those inlets to bo only bays, the terminations of which he asserted, on his single authority, to be visible. On descending the western shore of Baffin's Bay, towards the south a great change was obseVved, the sea was clear of ice, and extremely deep ; its temperature was increased, the land was high, and the mountains, in general, wero free from snow. A noble inlet, nearly fifty miles wide, with high land on both sides, now offered itself to view. As we havo arrived now at tho truly extraordinary period of this voyage, we may as well quote from tho official account. " A u'/ust 28///. During the night we had snow and tliick rain, and at ono time were in great clanger, but we carried Bail eastward, in which direction clear water was discovered at daylight. At three wo succeeded in getting completely clear of ice, and once more found ourselves in the open sea. Tho thick rain continued until 5 a.m., when it giMduiiUy ceased, being succeeded by cloudy weatljor and very little wind. At noon we liad an indiff'crent observation, and 182 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. made several tacks to weather the ice, but made very little way. " Between three and four the weather cleared up, and gave us a view of the land, wldcli consisted of moimtahis, being the highest ive had yet seen. This' ^. could not be approached nearer than five leagues, en jount of the packed ice ; but, on the other hand, from south to north, nothing but clear water was to be seen, the ice seeming to have been packed into the bottom of Baffin's Bay by the southerly gales. The ships continued to beat along the coast in a direction nearly on the meridian, and we proceeded slowly to the southward. " The mountains from Capo Cunningham, towards the Bouth, now appeared to bo only partially covered with snow, and oven at the very tops of them black rocks were plainly seen. Their sides, as they appeared from tho sea, were almost clear of snow ; and for this short distance the country appeared as habitable as that part of tho opposite coast which we found to bo actually inhabited. " A2(gust SOth. Tho weather being still thick and cloudy, we continued to steer so as to gain the middle of tho open- ing, making about a south by west course ; but the wind was high and variable, and not much progress was made. About four wo had a shower of rain, and soon afterwards tho fog cleared away a little, and we saw two icebergs at a considerable distance ; wo then altered our course in tho manner most likely to answer for getting to tho westward, and carried all sail. " About ten we saw the land which formed tho northern side of tho openings extending from west to north in a chain of high mountains covered with snow. Soon after- wards the south side of this opening was discovered, ex- tending from S.W. to S.E., forming also a chain of very high mountains. In tho space between west and south- west there appeared a yellow sky, but no land was seen, nor was there any ice on tlio water, excepting a fo^Y ice- ^ IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 183 bergs ; the opening, therefore, took the appearance of a channel, the entrance of which was judged to be forty-five miles wide. Having had good observation for time and a meridian altitude of the sun, the latitude and. longitude were accurately determined, and at the same time tho bearings of the land were taken and registered. Divine service was performed, and in the afternoon, the wind having obliged us to stand to the south side, we had an excellent view of the most magnijlccnt chaiii of inoHntai)is v-hich I had ever hcheld. " These mountains, which take their rise from the sea at Cape Byam Martin on the cast, and from a low plain near Catherine's Bay on the west, terminate in sharp lofty peaks ; and tho rocks which form them being, on one side or the other, and often on every side, too perpendicular for the snow to rest upon, they are distinctly seen above it, displaying very remarkable forms. In one place, nearly between Capo Fanshawe and Elizabeth's Baj, two rocks resembling human figures of a gigantic size, in a sitting posture, were seen on tho highest peak ; and as it was con- siderably above the clouds, their appearance was both extra- ordinary and interesting. *' The snow appeared to be deep in the valleys of the interior, but the ravines next the sea were only partly filled with it, and the precipices near the foot of i\\c mountains were perfectly bare. Tho low and level ti'uct of land, which has already been described as forming Catherine's B.-iy, was perfectly clear of snow, and was to all appearance tho most liabi table situation on the coast. " The rest of the day was spent in beating to tho west- ward. All sail was carried, and every advantage taken of the changes in the direction and strength of the wind. As tho evening closed tho wind died away; tho weather bc- camo mild and warm, tho water much smoother, and tlie atmos]ihcro char and serene. " During this day nuu'li interest had been excited on 184 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. board by the appearance of the strait ; the general opinion, however, was that it was only an inlet. The land was partially seen extending across ; the yellow sky was per- ceptible ; and as we advanced the temperature of the water began to increase. The mast-head and crow's-nest were crowded with those who were most anxious, but nothing was finally decided upon at the setting of the Bun. " Soon after midnight the v/ind began to shift, and the fihip came gradually up, enabling us to stand directly up the bay. I therefore made all sail, and left the Alexander considerably astern. At a little befoie four o'clock a.m. the land was seen at the bottom of the inlet by the officers of the watch ; but, before I got up upon deck, a space of about seven degrees of the compass was obscured by the fog. The land which I then saw was a high ridge of mountains, extending directly across the bottom of the inlet. This chain appeared extremely high in the centre, and those towards the north had at times the appearance of islands, being insulated by the fog at their bases. Although a passage in this direction appeared hopeless, I determined to explore it completely, as the wind was favourable, and therefore continued all sail. I sounded, and found six hundred and seventy-four fathoms, with a soft muddy bottom. " Mr. Beverly, who was the most sanguine, went up to the crow's-nest, and at twelve reported to me that before it became thick, he had seen the land across the bay, except for a very short space. Although all hope was given up, even by the most sanguine, that a passage existed, and the weather continued thick, I determined to stand higher up, and put into any harbour I might discover, for the purpose of making magnetical observations. " About one, the Ahwandcr being nearly out of sight to the eastward, wo hove to for half an hour, to let her come up a little ; and at half-past one, sho being within six or ! i IN SEARCH OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 185 seven miles of us, v^e again made all sail, I intended to have sounded during that interval, but found the north-east swell so much increased, and the drift so great, that it was impracticable. "At about half-past two (when I went off deck to dinner) there were some hopes of its clearing, and I left orders to bo called on the re-appearance of land or ice a-head. At three the officer of the watch, who had just been relieved, reported, on his coming into the cabin, that there was some appearance of its clearing at the bottom of the bay. I immediately anchored, went on deck, and soon after it com- pletely cleared for about ten minutes, when I disilncthj saw the land round the hottom of the hay, forming a chain (f mountains connected luith those which extended along the north and south side. This land appeared to be at the distance of eight leagues. The north corner, which was the last I made out, was a deep inlet ; and as it answered exactly to the latitude given by Baffin of Lancaster Sound, I have no doubt it was the same, and considered it a remarkable instance of the accuracy of that able navigator. " At a quarter past three, the weather again became thick and unsettled, and being now perfectly satisfied that there was no passage in this direction, nor any harbour into which I could enter, I tackod to join the Alexander, which was at the distance of eight miles." One who was on board the other vessel says, " At this time their distance from the northern shore was estimated at seven or eight leagues, and from tlie southern six or seven. But the sanguine hopes and high expectations excited by this promising appearance of things wore but of short duration ; for about three o'clock in the afternoon the Isabella iaclccd, much to the surprise of all on hoard the Alexander, as they could not see anything like latid at tho bottom of the inlet, nor was tho weather calculated at tho time for seeing any object at a great distance, being sonie- wliat hnzy. Wlien she tacked, the hahvlla wns tlirco miles 186 ICri -WORLD ADVENTURES. ahead of the Alexander^ so that, considering the state of the weather, and a part of the additional distance, more allow- ance is to be made for his not seeing the land at all. Ocular demonstration would certainly have been very satis- factory to them on a point in which they were so much wi .' -ited, but it is not on this circumstance that the error of Captain Ross's judgment is based. Tiie opinion ho formed of the certainty of land at the bottom of the inlet, or, according to Baffin's statement, the sound, were at direct ' ; rianco with that which Lieutenant Parry had foi icj. : < 1 it was certainly most galling and mortifying to thf^b ui'.„, '.' to see himself thwarted in the prosecution of great d'sii^-n ^y the erroneous judgment of his com- rr.anJ V." Proceeaiug, ulV a- ' \ s extraordinary vision of mountains, to the southward. Captain Ross sailed along a coast of which but little was known. But he continued to exhibit the utmost indifference to add to the stock of geographical knowledge. The ships hold their course at such a distance from the land, that the shore was seen but imperfectly and never examined. On the 1st of October they had reached the entrance of Cumberland Strait, where much still remained to bo done by a commander panting for discovery ; but Captain Ross directed his course homeward, and arrived in England without any accident. The failure of Captain Ross did not dishearten the ad- vocates of a North-west Passage ; it added now particulars in favour of their views. It coufirmed the authenticity of Baffin's third voyage ; for the old charts of Baffin's Bay, which had evidently been derived from tliat navigator, approached too near truth to bo the works of imagination. It even proved the existence of those numerous inlets to- wards the west which Baffiu had thought fit to call sounds. Tho great depth of the sea in these inlets, and the high temperature of the water, showed that they were some- thing more than mere guKs. IN SEARCH or A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 187 Government felt the force of these arguments, and fitted out two ships, the Hcda bomb, and the Grq)er gunboat, to recommence the examination of these northern seas. Lieutenant Parry, who had sailed with Captain Ross, and who dissented from him as ^YQ have seen as to the imprac- ticability of the North-west Passage, was appointed to command the expedition. The ships set sail on the 5th of May, 1810, and on the 15th of June Cape Farewell was seen at a distance of over forty leagues. The next day they fell in with a stream of ice and several icebergs. As they advanced northw^ards up Davis's Strait and Baffin's Bay, the ice on the westward presented a con- tinuous barrier, through which it was found impossible to force a way. After many ineffectual attempts the ships reached the latitude of 73°, when Captain Parry, being unwilling to pass the latitude of Sir James Lancaster's Sound, resolved to make another effort to penetrate the ice. He succeeded in doing this, but it took him seven days, the ships having to be worked through an accumulation of ico about eighty miles in breadth. As soon as the western side of this barrier was gained, our navigators were greeted by some favourable appear- ances. The sea was deep; indeed they could find no bottom with three hundred and ten fathoms of line ; and the swell of the ocean was also perceptible. The tempera- ture of the water had risen about' six degrees, and there was no ice. They found themselves also in a great resort of whales : over eighty largo ones were counted in the course of a single day. On the Gist of July our navigators visited the spot in Possession Bay where a landing had been effected tho preceding year. They found tlie flag-staff whicli had been erected still standing, and traces of footmarks were still strongly marked in some places. Evidently very little snow or sleet had fallen since tho last visit. 188 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. I The explorers were now about to enter that great inlet or sound to which their instructions had principally directed their attention. The hope of finding a North-west passage rested chiefly on their success in this part of their mission. They crowded all sail, while a fresh breeze carried them rapidly to the westward. "It is more easy to imagine than describe," says Cap- tain Parry, "the almost breathless anxiety which was now visible in every countenance, while, as the breeze increased to a fresh gale, we ran quickly up the sound. The mast- heads were crowded by ofl&cers and men during the whole afternoon, and an unconcerned observer, if any could have been unconcerned on such an occasion, would have been amused by the eagerness with which the various reports from the crow's-nest were received ; all, however, favour- able to our most sanguine hopes." Before night they had passed the limits explored in the last voyage, and yet could discern no land in the direction of their progress. They had reached the longitude of 83° 12' ; and the two shores of the passage, as far as could be seen, were observed to continue full fifty miles asunder. The expedition proceeded onwards to the westward. The sea was deep, had the colour of the ocean, and was quite free from ice, whilst a long swell rolled from the south and east. Our navigators were in high spirits : they began to flatter themselves that they had actnally reached the polar sea. But their joy soon received a check ; they discovered land ahead. It proved to be only a small island, but ice Iny between it and the northern shore, and they could not pass that way to the west. To the south a broad inlet, ten leagues wide, seemed deserving of being explored. They entered it, expecting to find a clearer channel to the westward. They had hitherto observed that, from the moment they had entered Sir James Lancaster's sound, the sluggish movement of the compnss-carcl, and the irregnlarity occasioned by the at- IN SEARCH OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 189 traction of the ship's iron, had uniformly increased as they sailed westward ; but in descending this inlet the compass actually lost the power of motion, and they saw for tho first time " the curious phenomenon of the directive power of the needle becoming so weak as to bo completely over- come by the attraction of tho ship; so that the needle might now be properly said to point to the north pole of the ship." The inlet in which they were proceeding opened out as they advanced southward ; and as the western side con- tinually receded towards the south-west, their hopes of reaching the open sea in that direction increased; but where the land seemed to terminate in that direction a barrier of ice prevented the farther progress of the ships ; however, no land was seen which could induce our navi- gators to doubt the practicability of proceeding much farther to the south-west, whenever openings in the ice would permit it. The ships had proceeded down this inlet about 120 miles from its mouth. On their return to Barrow's Strait, as they named the great inlet of which Lancaster Sound is the mouth, the sea, which a few days before had been covered with ice, was now perfectly free. They continued therefore to advance to the westward, though not very rapidly, owing to the lightness of the winds. On the 22nd, in longitude 021°, an opening, eight leagues in width, was seen to the north. In looking up this inlet, which was named Wellington Channel, neither land nor ice could be seen from the masthead. The appearance of this opening, as it convinced the navigators that they were among islands, intersected by numerous channels, en- couraged their hopes that they had actually reached the polar sea. They advanced a little farther, and their difficulties in- creased. The passage was studded with small islands, tho water was shoal, the ice was troublesome, and tho fogs 190 iCE-WOPwLD ADVENTURES. were frequent, They still, however, proceeded westward along the shore of a large island named Bathurst Island. A party landed here, and found the remains of some Es- quimaux habitations. In many spots recent traces of tho rein-deer and musk-ox were seen. The magnetic observa- tions made here, compared with those made in Prince Regent's Inlet, *' led to tho conclusion," says Captain Sabine, '"that we had, in sailing over tho space included between those two meridians, crossed immediately to the northward of the magnetic pole, and had undoubtedly passed over one of those spots upon tho globe where the needle would have been found to vary 180° ; or, in other words, where its north pole would have pointed due south. This spot would, in all probability, at this time be some- where not far from the meridian of 100° west of Green- wich." As the explorers proceeded towards the west, to tho farthest extremity of another large island, which they named Melville Island, the difiBculties which they had to encounter from ice and foggy weather increased. On the 4th of September, however, they succeeded in passing the meridian of 110° west longitude, by which they became entitled to the first sum in the scale of rewards ofiered by parliament, namely, £5000. A projecting point of land in this place was named from the circumstance Bounty Cape. A good roadstead was discovered not far from this point ; it was named the Bay of the Ilccla and Griper. Here the ensigns and pendants were hoisted, " and it created in us," says Captain Parry, "no ordinary feelings of pleasure to see the British flag waving for the first time in these regions, which had been hitherto considered beyond the limits of the habitable world." The winter was now fast setting in. The new ice was forming, and it was with difficulty that the ships were forced through it to Winter Harbour, at the head of the . TN SEARCn OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 101 Bay of tlio Hccla and Griper. It took tlircc days to cut a canal -witli saws, the average thickness of the ice being seven inclies, and the whole length of the canal nearly two miles and a third. As soon as the sliips were fairly moored in their winter quarters the men hailed the event with three loud cheers. Preparations were now made to meet the severities of a long and dreary winter of eight or nine months, during three of which they were to be debarred from tho cheering light of the sun. All the heavy stores were removed on shore, so as to leave the decks clear for ventilation and exercise. The ships were roofed entirely over with thick wadding-tilts, such as arc used for covering wagons. The snow was banked up against them without, while stoves and ovens were provided for their warmth within. But, notwithstanding these precautions, it was found that the vapour generated within the ships, instead of dissipating itself as is usual in a temperate climate, condensed upon the beams and sides in such a degree as to keep them constantly wet ; and as this inconvenience could be only partially removed by a current of, heated air, it was found expedient to allow the frozen vapour to settle on the sides of the ship internally in a solid plate of ice. On their first arrival in Winter Harbour parties were sent out to hunt, and found abundance of grouse and rein- deer. Before the end of October, however, these animals had all migrated from Melville Island, and foxes and wolves alone remained through the winter. During the severe season no bears were caught sight of, and one solitary seal was all that appeared. The sporting feats of the crew were not without their danger ; some of tho men who neglected the uecessaiy precautions were severely frostbitten, and tlie torpor and suspensicu of the mental faculties produced by extreme cold, and resembling the effects of intoxication, were often perceptible in tho hunting parties. 192 ICE-WORLD ADVENTCKE3. The greatest danger to be apprehended in the situation in whieh our navigators were placed was the liability to depression of spirits, from the want of bodily exercise, tlio absence of light, and the gloomy monotony of external objects. It is well known that mental depression T»re- disposcs to scurvy ; while cheerfulness, on the other , fortifies the bodily constitution and mitigates the incon- veniences which cannot bo got rid of. To amuse the men Captain Parry and his officers got up a play, the first performance taking place on the Gth of November, the day on which the sun sank below the horizon not to rise again for three tedious months. The sailors were delighted with the performance, and characteristically tes- tified their approbation by three hearty cheers. The active minds of the officers needed more strenuous employment : they engaged in the composition of a Christmas piece, in which reference was made to the situation of the ship? d the service on which they were engaged. They als' tribnted to a weekly newspaper, entitled The North Georgia Gazette and Winter Chronicle. Captain Sabine was the editor of this paper. It consisted of twenty-one numbers, and was printed on the return of the expedition. Tho dramatic performances proved particularly successful in exhilarating the men, and also aff'ordcd them employment in fitting up the theatre. They were, therefore, repeated once every fortnight during the dark season. Notwithstanding the intense cold and the darkness, tho officers generally rambled a little on shore every day. They experienced no inconvenience, although the ther- mometer was from 30° to 50° below zero, provided there was no wind ; but the least breath of air stirring made the cold intolerable, even when the thermometer was above zero. But these walks afforded no amusement ; the dreary sameness of the scene, tho torpid stillness and death-like silence, were calculated to inspire no feelings but those of melancholy. the Iday. thcr- Ibere lado )0V0 ;ary ■like to of Arctic Amusements. lU' Worli Adventures?^ [jP./uf 192. i IN SEARCH OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 103 . In this way tho shortest day arrived, or rather, the middle of the long night. A little before and after noon on that day there was as much light as to enable them to read small print held towards tho southern horizon, and to walk comfortably for two hours. During tho month of January the thermometer generally ranged from 30° to 40° below zero. The scurvy now made its appearance in one instance, in the crew of the Ilecla ; and for some time its obstinacy caused not a little alarm. The liberal use of antiscorbutics, however, at length subdued it. Nothing contributed moro to its cure than a daily supply of fresh mustard and cress, which Captain Parry contrived to raise in his cabin, in boxes filled with earth, and placed near tho stove-pipe. Though colourless for want of light, these herbs had as pungent a flavour as if they had grown in the open air. The oflicers still continued to walk on shore, though, as the thermometer in tho open air sank at times to 50° below zero, they under- went a transition in passing from the open air to the cabin of from 80° to 100°, and in some instances 120° of temper- ature. On the 7th of February the full orb of the sun was visible above the hor.zon ; this was the signal for making a show of preparations to leave this gloomy abode, though the officers were well aware that many tedious months must elapse before they could bo free from their icy prison. The monti' of February was by far the coldest part of tho arctic winter. On tho 15th the thermometer descended to 55°, and remained for fifteen hours not higher than 54° below zero. " We amused ourselves," says Captain Parry, " in freezing some mere ry during the continuance of this cold weather, and by beating it out in an anvil previously reduced to tho temperature of tlie atmosphere. It did not appear to be very malleable in this state, usually breaking after two or three blows from the hammer." On tho 24th tho observatory constructed on shore was discovered to be on lire. All hands instantly set to work 194 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. to oxtinguisli the flames by heaping snow upon them ; tho thermometer at this time was 46° below zero, or 7G° below the freezing point. The men's faces at the fire presented a singular spectacle; almost every nose and cheek was frostbitten, and became quite white in five minutes after being exposed to the weather; so that the medical men, with some others 'appointed to assist them, were obliged to go constantly round while the men were working at the lire, and rub with snow tho parts affected in order to restore animation." Captain Sabine's servant, in his anxiety to save tho dipping needle from the observatory, ran out without his gloves. His fingers in consequence were so comple' ly frozen, that his hands being plunged into a basin of cold water, the surf\ice was immediately covered with a cake of ice from the intensity of the cold they communicated to it ; but animation could not bo restored, and it was found necessary in this case to resort to amputation. As the cold relaxed, the ice which had for some time lined the ship's sides began to melt, and about the 8th of March it became necessary to scrape off this coating. "It will scarcely bo credited," says Captain Parry, " that wo this day (8th of jMarch) removed above one hundred bucketfuls of ice, each containing from five to six gallons, being the accumulation which had taken place in an interval of less tlian four weeks ; and this immense quantity was the produce chiefly of tho men's breath and of tho steam of their victuals during meals." The middle of April arrived without any perceptible thaw ; but on tho 30th tho temperature of tho atmosphere underwent a remarkable change, tho thcrmojnetcr rising to the freezing point, or as in this case it might bo termed more properly, the thawing point, behig the first time it had been so high for eight months. To tho men this appeared a summer temperature ; and the authority of tho ofllccrs had to be interposed to prevent them from throwing IN SEARCH OP A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 105 t Is T aside their winter clothing. Animation now began to spread through the surrounding scene. The first ptarmigan made its appearance on the 12 th of May, and tlie day after were seen the tracks of reindeer and musk-oxen bending their course to the north. Thus tlieir migration takes place in the first fine weather after the return of constant daylight. These symptoms and intima- tions of their approaching liberation were viewed with delight by our navigators ; but a shower of rain which fell on the 2lth of May created in them even feelings of surprise. "Wo Mcro so unaccustomed," says Captain Parry, " to see water naturally in a fluid state at all, and much less to see it fiiU from the heavens, that such an occurrence became a matter of considerable curiosity, and I believe every person on board hastened on deck to witness so interesting as well as novel a phenomenon." On the 1st of Juno Captain Parry with some of his offi- cers commenced an excursion into the interior of Melvillo Island. They reached its northern extremity Avithout per- ceiving any land farther to the northward or the westward. On returning from this journey, which occupied fifteen days, they found the vegetation round Winter Harbour shoot- ing forth Avith wonderful vigour, and the ice was covered with innumerablo pools of water. The purple flower of a species of saxifrage imparted beauty and gaiety to a scene hitherto dreary in the extreme. By the middle of July the thermometer stood as high as 5G° to 00° ; and at length, on the first day of August, the ships were able to cilect their escape from Winter Ilai-- bour; but the immense quantity of floating ico with which the strait was beset rendered their progress extremely difficult. They had to face dangers wliich ships less strong, or men less resolute, vigilant, and skilful could not havo escaped from. They still struggled to proceed towards the west, but all their eilbrts Avero of no avail to g(>t beyond the south-west extremify of ^Melville Island 106 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. and on the IGth of August the attempt was given up as impracticable. The farthest point which the expedition reached in the polar sea was in latitude 74° 20' 2o'', and longitude 113° 46' 43'^ On leaving Sir James Lancaster's Sound, the ships stood southward along the western shore of Baffin's Bay, with the view of surveying a coast but little known, and imper- fectly seen in the former expeditions. It was found to be indented with numerous deep bays or inlets ; in one of these, about the latitude 70° 22', a tribe of Esquimaux was meet with, of whom Captain Parry says, " Upon the whole, these people may bo considered as in possession of every necessary of life, as well as most of the comforts and conveniences which can bo enjoyed in so rude a state of society." On the 2Gth of September the ice was seen for the last time, and about the middle of November the ships arrived in the Thames. The crews returned with unimpaired health, after an absence of nearly eighteen months from their native land. Besides the great additions to our geographical know- ledge made by this expedition, it procured a copious stock of materials for scientific investigation. The magnetic phenomena observed, and those resulting from extreme cold, were highly curious and important. During tho winter months in those regions, such is the extreme dryness of the atmosphere that no snow whatever falls, nor does a cloud, indeed, ever appear in tho heavens. What- ever moisture might exist in the air floats about in minute .w near Capo Krusenstcn'n, the sea, as far as the eye could n ach, was one dense close })aek, with not a lane of water perceptible. On the night of tho 2Gth of Augusta severe frost covered tho sea and j^onds with young ice, and glued tliO Uocs iuiuiovably together. 1 'regress with the IN SEARCH OP FRANKLIN. 219 \y 1(1 \{) Iv i."« boats could now only be accomplisliod by dragging them ovor tlio floes when the surface was sufficiently smooth, by cutting tlirough tongues of ice, and by carrying them bodily over flats and points of land. One morning threo hours of sevcro labour only advanced them a hundred yard.s. When about a dozen miles from Capo Krusenstcrn, one boat with her cargo had to bo left on a rocky ])ro- jcctlon. From the cnpo 'tself nothing was to be seen ))ut ice in firmly cojnpacted fiocp, and the .sorrowful conclusion was forced on Sir John llichardsou that his sca-voyago was at an end. l']ast of Cape Piiriy, says he, only six weeks of summer can be reckoned on. All struggled forward, how- ever, to Capo Ilearne, and as from this point the sea was covered with floes, and new ice formed rapidly, the abandon- ment of the other boats became inevitable. Preparations were now set about for a march to Fort Confidence, at the northern extremity of Great Bear Lake. Facknges were now made up, each mnn taking with him ])ro visions for thirteen days. Six pieces of [)emmican and a ])oat mngazine of powder were buried under a clilf. Tho tents were left standing near the boats, and a few useful articles, as hatchets and cooking utensils, were deposited in them for tho use of tho Fsquimaux. On the Ik'd of September, after solemn prayers, iu which all appeared to join with deep earnest ness, they started. At the end of the day's march .some scraps of driftwood were collected for a fire to cook their supper. Then tlu^y selected tho best sleeping places they could find among blocks of basalt, and passed, though tlio weather continued euld, "a pretty comfortable night." In this way Sir John and liis men journeyed on for twelve days, reaching Fort C'Uifideuce on the 1 ■"•ih of September. " Wo were happy," says our explorer, " to find iMr. Hell and his people well, and the building much further fidvaneed than wc had expected. \lv had built an ample ;■ ■mm !, i;i iii'fi 220 ICE-WORLD ADVENTUKES. storc-houso, two houses for the men, and a dwelling-house for the oflficers, consisting* of a hall, three sleeping apart- ments, and store-closet, Mr, Bell and Mr. Rao quartered themselves with Bruce in the store-room, and I took possessioii of my sleeping-room, which was put temporarily in order. I could there enjoy tlic luxury of a fire while I was preparing my despatches for the Admiralty and writing my domestic letters." The main business of the expedition was now at an end. The men were sent home; and on the 7th. of May, 1810, Richardson and Bell commenced their journey southwards, leaving Rae, as the Lest qualified, to make another effort to reach Wollaston Land from Cape Krusenstcrn in the summer with a boat's crow of six men. Richardson landed at Liverpool on the Gth of November, 1810 ; he had been absent nineteen months. Rae's summer expedition of 1810 turned out a failure. On the 80th of July he arrived at Cape Krusenstcrn from Fort Confidence, and found the channel so choked with ice that it was impossible to get a boat througli it. He waited at tlio cape, Avatching the channel for an opening till the 23rd cf August, when, the sea being completely closed by compacted floes, he reluctantly returned by the Coppermine River to his winter quarters. The boats left the prcvicus year had been much damaged by the Esquimaux in ordei* to get at the copperwork, but the tents were uniiijui'od, and the cache of pemmican and annnunition remained un- touchea. And now to speak of the third expedition. Whilst Rae was "watching with anxious eye the ice-choked sea from Capo Krusenstcrn, Captaui Kellett. iu the llenihl, was discovering land in the polar s^a far north of Behring's Strait, and Pullen, in the bnats of the Ploccr, was navijial- ing the coast from ley Cape to the Mackenzie. But n(.'thing, alas ! was heard or seen of our missing ex- ])lorcrs. ICO no us Cl' nncl ias <^ s ai- Inl IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN. ool All this was discouraging cnougli, but the AJmiralty resolved that the search should bo renewed, and on a more extended scale. And with their endeavours the sympathy of the whole country went hand in hand. " The public mind," said a writer in the Qnartcrhj lieviciv at the time, " is made up that the fote of the missing ships shall be determined, if human energy can determine it ; and the resolve is as wise as generous. To our navy, under God, we owe our greatness and safety; and in sending forth our gallant seamen on hazardous enteriiriscs, we are bound by every possible obligation to inspire them with a full confidence that they are under the eye and guardianship of their country, and that its resources will be exerted to the utmost in their behalf. The pecuniary cost of the search is not to be regarded in comparison with its object ; and it is better for a thousand lives to bo imperilled in the discharge of duty than for one to be sacrificed through neglect. It would exhaust the reader's patience were we to follow the fortunes of all the expeditions that were sent out. A brief statement of them will be found in the chronological account of the varioi-.s arctic voyages, given in another part of this work. Wo hasten on, and in a paragraph will pass over the weary months of anxiety endured by the public whilst diligent search was made over the polar seas. The first traces of the missing ships were discovered by Captain Ommanney in the Ansistancc, at Cape Kilcy, ou the t2l3rd of August. He found sundry pieces of rng, bono, and broken bottles, and also the mark of live tent places. This capo is situated at the eastern entrance of Wellington Channel; about three miles west of it rises the bold abrupt coast of Beeehey Island ; and between the shore of this isle and the mianhmd lies a bay to which extraordinary interest is now attached. On it,>, coast were ob.;ei'Vcd numerous 8le(lgp-track>', and .-tt Cnpo Spencer, Ti; ! I r< hk:-^ =85= 222 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. about ten miles from Capo Riley, up Wellington Channel, the party discovered the ground place of a tciit, the floor being neatly paved -with small smooth stones. Around the tent a number of birds' bones, as well as remnants of meat-canisters, induced the explorers to imagine that it had been inhabited for some time as a shooting station, and a look-out place, for which latter purpose it was admirably chosen, commanding as it did a good view of Barrow's Strait and Wellington Channel. Some sledge tracks led northward for about twenty miles, but the trail ceased south of Cape Bowden, and au empty bottle and a piece of newspaper were the last things found. The results of examining Bcechey Island we must give in the words of Lieutenant Osborn : '• A long point of land," he snys, " slopes gradually from the southern blulTa of this now deeply interesting island until it almost con- nects itself with the land of North Devon, forming on either side of it two good and commodious bays. On this slope a multitude of preserved meat tins were strewed about ; and near them, and un the ridgo of the slope, a carefully constructed cairn was discovered. It consisted of layers of iUtcd tins, liiled with gravel, and placed to form a firm and solid ibundation. LJeyond this, and along the northern shore of Becclicy Island, the following traces were then quickly discovered: the embankment of a house, with carpenters' and armourers' working places, washing- tubs, coal-bags, jiieces of old clothing, rope ; and lastly, the graves of three of the crew of the J..'r< I'us and Terroy — bearing date of the winter of 18-i-5-4G. Wc Ihcroforc uow Ii'i'l Hficcrfii.hicd llic lirst winter quarters of Sir JoJni ^ranJcfin.'' A very full description of the spot is given by j'-'dwin do ilavc-n, commander of an American expedition fitted out by Mr. Grir; .11, — for the Anicricnns also were diligent in Bearching for our lost countrymen. lanncl, le floor well as ■oi'S to 10 as a I latter it did a UL'l . twenty and au b tilings isfc give point o[ n LlnlTs osfc cun- ning on On this strewed slope, a insisted aced to d along r traces house, ashing- lastly, ,'(.'/■;■(■')' — iorc now i'r Joli n hvin do Itcd out I'tMit in Thr "Erehus" and "Tlrrok" in Winter Quarters. /(■r- U 'orli Adventures. ] {.P'^i^e 222. , IIB '-< i \ \k I I IN SEARCir OF FRAXKLIX, 0)Q •• On tlic 22nd of August, 1850," lie tolls up, '' wo found Barrow Strait to tlic westward ono mass of heavy and closely packed ice, extending close to the coast of North Somerset. At noon on the 25th, off Capo Ililcy, landed to examine a cairn erected in a conspicuous position. It was a record of H.M.S. Assistance, erected the day before. Wo also found some fragments of painted wood and preserved meat tins, and connected therewith the object of our search. These were clear indications of its being the camping gronnd of a civilized traveller or hunting party, "On ^^0 2Gth, with a tight breeze, wc passed Bcechey Island, iiiid ran through a narrow bed to the north. Immediately above Point Innis the ice of Wellington Channel was fixed and unbroken from shore to shore, and had every indication of having so remained for at least three years. It was generally about eight feet thick, and the sharp angular hummocks, peculiar to recently formed ice, had been rounded down to gentle hillocks by the action of the weather for several seasons. I'arther pro- gress to the north was out o'' the question. To the west, however, along the edge of the fixed ice, a lead presented itself with a freshening wind from south-cast. Wo ran inio it. but half way across the channel our headway was arrested by the closing ice. A few miles beyond this, two of the English vessels (one a steamer) were dangerously beset. I deemed it prudent to return to Point Innis, under the leo of which the vessels might hold on in security until a favourable change shouM take place. "The weather becoming more favourable, wc retraced our steps as far as IJecchey Island, in order to make more minute investigations in tint qunrtrT. The vessels were made fast to the land ioc, on the north-west side of the island, on the 2rth of August. The schooner J'ch'y, Captain Sir John Ross, R.N., and the squadron under Captain Penny, joined us at this point. Consulting with these gentlemen, joint search was instituted along the I: £>£. 1' I(,'i:-\VOKLD ADVENTURES. ;i * adjacent shores, in all directions. In a sliort time one of Captain Penny's men returned, and reported that ho had discovered several graves. On examination his report proved to be correct. Three well-made graves were found with painted head-boards of wood, the inscriptions on which were as follows : — I. " Sacred to the Memory of Wm. Br.une, Pi.M., Her ^Majesty's ship Erebus, died April H, 1810, aged .'52 years. 'Choose yc this day whom ye will serve.' — Jo«h. xxiv. lo. II. " Sacred to the Memory of John Haiitwell, A, 13., Her Majesty's ship Erebus, died January 4th, 1810, aged 25 years. ' Thus saith the •Lord of Hosts, Consider your ways.' — Hag. i. 7. III. " Sacred to the Memory of John ToimiNGXox, who departed this life, Jan. 1, a.d,, IBIG, on board Her Majesty's ship Terror, aged 20." " Near the graves were also other unmistakable evi- dences of the missing expedition having passed its first winter liei'e. They consisted of innumerable scraps of old rope and canvas, the blocks on which stood the armourer's anvil, with many pieces of coal and iron around it, the outlines of several tents or houses, sup- posed to have been one side of the observatory, and erections for sheltering the mechanics. The chips and shavings of the carpenter still remained. A short dis- tance from this was found a large number of preserved meat tins, all having the same label as those found at Point Innis. From all these indications the inference could not fail to be arrived at, that the Tlrehus and Terror had made this their first winter quarters after leaving England. The spot was admirably chosen for the security of the ships, as well as for their early escape the following season. Everything, too, went to prove that, up to this jioint the expedition was well organised, und tluit the vessels had not received any material injur}-, l-^arly on rt 1*0 IS ing ling tliis [the on IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIX. 225 the morning of the 28tli of August, Her Britannic "Majesty's ship Resolutr, Captain Austin, with her steam tender, ar- rived from the eastward. Renewed efforts were made by all parties to discover some written notice which Sir John Franklin ought to have deposited at this place in some con- spicuous position. A cairn of stones, erected on the highest part of the island, was discovered. A most thorough search with crow and picks was instituted at and about it, in the presence of all hands. Tliis search was continued for several days, but not the slightest vestige of a record could be found. The graves were not opened nor dist urbed. " After some days we reached Griffith Island, passing the southern part of whicli the English searchiiig-vessels were descried made fast to the ice a few miles distant. The western lead closing at this point, we were compelled to make fast also. The ice here was so very unfavour- able for making farther progress, and the season was so fur advanced, that it became necessary to take future movements into serious consideration. A consultation was had with Mr. Griffins, and after reviewing care- fully all the circumstances attending our position, it was judged that we had not gained a point ftom which wo could commence operations in the season of 1851 with decided advantages. Therefore, agreeably to my instruc- tions, I felt it imperative to extricate the vessels from the ice, and return to the United States." On the 2Uth. the spot was visited by Osborn. " It needed not," he says, "a d;irk wintry sky or a gloomy day to throw a sombre shade around my feelings, as I landed on Bcechey Island, and looked down u])on the bay, on whoso bosom had ridden Her ^Majesty's ships Erehus iuid Terror. There was a sickening anxiety of the heart as one iuvoluutarily clutched at every relic they of Franklin's expedition had left behind, in the vain hope that some clue as to the route they had taken hence might be found. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) / ^ y. y, ^ !.0 I.I 1.25 If 1^ 1^ >^ lil^ III 2.2 12.0 |<0 1.8 1.4 III 1.6 sm. V] V A y /A Photographic Sciences Corporation ,-\ s ^^ <> [V 4^ ^ <* o^ ^:<. 33 WEST MAIN STRUT WIBSTIRNY M580 (716) 873-4503 '^ '^' 226 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. " From the cairn to the long and curving beach, from the frozen surface of the bay to the tops of the distant cliffs, the eye involuntarily but keenly sought for some- thing more than had yet been found. " But, no : as sharp eyes, as anxious hearts, had already been there; and I was obliged to be content with the information, -which my observation proved to bo true, that the search had been close and careful, but that nothing was to be found in the shape of written record. " On the eastern slope of the ridge of Becchcy Island a remnant of a garden (for remnant it now only was, having been dug up in the search) told an interesting tale : its ncatly-shapcd oval outline, the border carefully formed of moss, lichen, poppies, and anemones, transplanted from some more genial part of this dreary region, contrived still to show symptoms of vitality ; but the seeds which doubtless they had sown in the garden had decayed Jiway. A few hundred yards lower down a mound, the foundation of a storehouse, was next to be seen. " It consisted of an exterior and interior embankment, into which, from the remnants left, we saw that oak and elm scantling had been stuck as props to the roofing. In one part of the enclosed spaco some coal sacks were found, and in another part numerous wood-shavings proved the ship's artificers to have been working here. The generally received opinion as to the object of this storehouse was that Franklin had constructed it to shelter a portion of those supembundant provisions and stores with which it was well known his decks were lumbered on leaving AVhale Fish Island. " Nearer to the beach a heap of cinders and scraps of iron showed the armourer's working- place ; and along an old watercourse, now chained up by frost, several tubs, constructed of the ends of salt-meat casks, left no doubt ns to the washing- places of the men of Franklin's squadron. Uiippening to cross a level piece of ground which i.s )\t rom tanfc )iiie- ;ady tho that ling 1(1 a nng its iof rom vecl licli raj. tion ent, and In rid, tho xlly ivas L of 1 ifc ing J of an lbs, b as •on . I BELLQT joii-pii i\i:m; Lieutenant DtvAissEAu otiAMAMHE imperiale CHIVALIER OE LA jLeCION DHONNtUR. Ntv^..fAM5 it in Mars ig26^~ .>.VHO TWICE SERVtp AiAVOLUNTEtn ■■ , ,pll TPtXIT PART COMME VOlONTAIRE. IN THE EXfEDlTlOftS SlMflpKaM EJtjIlllLiiMb - A DEUX exPtOITiONi AnGL^I^ES TO THEARHTIC WCIONS IN'liJEAMiH ENVOVEES OA N S lES_ RECIOHJ AflCTIOUES OF jm. JOHN •fXANB^.m ■ ' ANP WHO WHEN UNDER THE COMMAND )F c^^pT H iN&LWttiD of:H(1S phceni'x ALA ntCMERCHE DE 31^ Io'hn FflMiULlN . ET <)Ui PLACE ious LEj D^anats DU X.\f. N I INCLEriElD COMMANDANT ItPHtNIX klNHAPPlLY fmSiO ^MQNOSrthE■;ltt: ^ P'tlXlT MALHEu^tUSEftNT lOAMSUlCiAUS ■ 0'N.THt If- AUtuniSUs, LE, la AOUT \liS tl f^DNUMEMT A E1MUV£ A 4A Htlflf^likfAIV- llt:A%*13 ^ESiOA^fT E»i;.f HanAJ'!' !' 1* ,V>!)i' >y.'.'-r order, :v." Dk. Elisha Kknt Kane. let' World Advent II re^.'\ IPage 237. CHAPTER XVI. ^/ ^^r^ ^ 237. IN SEARCn OF FBANKLIN (continued). Dr. Kan'e's Expedition — Stahtino from Boston in 1853 — Sf.curk in Hensselaer Bay — ArpROAcniNo Winter— Effects of the Coi.n — Winter Amusements — Tue Poor Doos — A Dav's Dotnos — The Ice-House Observatory — Returnino Spring — An Unfortunate Sledge Expedition — Almost Starved to Death — Various Sledor Expeditions — A Council of the Crew — Tue Second Winter — Seal Hunting — A Perilous Adventure — Abandoning tiif. Brig — The Open Sea-way at Last — Shooting a Seal — Arriving at THE Danish Settlements — Tue End of Dr. Kane OxE of the most celebrated of arctic explorers is Dr. Elislia Kent Kane. His career of discovery commenced in 1850, wlien Lo acted as surgeon, naturalist, and historian to the first Grinnell expedition. In 1853 ho was again sent out, this time as commander of a second Grinnell expedition. With this most interesting voyage wo have at present to deal. It was in December, 1852, that Dr. Kane received special orders from the secretary of the United States Navy " to conduct an expedition to tho arctic seas in search of Sir John Franklin." "I had been engaged," says Dr. Kane in tho delightful book in which ho afterwards gave tho narrative of his adventures, *' under Lieutenant Do Haven, in tho Grinntll expedition, which sailed from the United States in 1850 on tho samo errand; and I had occupied myself for somo months after our return in maturing the schemo of a renewed effort to rescue tho missing party, or at least to resolve tho mystery of its fate." " Mr. Grinnell, with a liberality altogether characteristic, had i)laced the Advance, in which I sailed before, at my 1 ■ ■ 238 ICE- WORLD ADVENTURES. disposal for the cruise ; and Mr, Peabody, of London, tlio generous representative of many American sympathisers, had proffered his aid largely toward her outfit. The Geographical Society of New York, the Smithsonian In- stitution, the American Philosophical Society — I name them here in the order in which they announced their contributions — and a number of scientific associations and friends of science besides, had come forward to help mo and by their aid I managed to secure a better outfit for purposes of observation than would otherwise have been possible to a party so limited in numbers and absorbed in other objects." In point of dramatic interest few of the arctic expeditions can rival this one of Dr. Kane's. Weak in body, but vi- gorous in spirit, T)r. Kane started from Boston in 1853, in the Adcancc, with a crew of seventeen oQicers and men, to ■which two Greenlanders were afterwards added. His plan was to pass up Baffin's Bay to its most northern attainable point, and thence pressing on towards the Pole, as far as could be reached by boats or sledges, to examine the coast- lines for vestiges of Franklin. After struggling with storms and icebergs, he passed on the 7th of August, 1853, the rocky portals of Smith's Sound. Then followed many narrow escapes from shipwreck ; but at last the Advaiice was secured in Rensselaer Bay, from which she was destined never to get free. In Dr. Kane's diary wo have a vivid account of the first winter he spent in this haven, in latitude 78° 38', almost as far north as the most northern extremity of Spitzbergen, and in a much more rigorous climate. '' Si'ptemhcr 10; 14° Pah. The birds have left. The sea-swallows, which abounded when we first reached here, and even the young burgomasters that lingered after then), have all taken their departure for the south. The long ' night in which no man can work ' is close at hand ; in another month wc shall lose the sun. Astronomically, ho IN SEARCH OP FRANKLIN. 230 should disappear on Oct. 21, if our horizon were free ; but it is obstructed by a mountain ridge, and making allowance for refraction, -svo cannot count on seeing him after the 10th. " Srptemhcr 11. The long staring day, which has clung to us for more than two months, to the exclusion of the stirs, has begun to intermit its brightness. Even Aklc- bai'an, the red eye of the bull, flared out into familiar recollection as early as ten o'clock ; and the heavens, though still somewhat reddened by the gaudy tints of midnight, gave us Capella and Arcturus, and even that lesser light of homo memories, the polar star. Stretching my neck to look uncomfortably at the indication of our exti'cmo northernness, it was hard to realize that he was not directly overhead ; and it made me sigh as 1 measured the few degrees of distance that separated our zenith from the Polo over which ho hung. " Octuher 28. The moon has reached her greatest northern declination, of about 2o° 35'. She is a glorious object sweeping around the heavens ; at the lowest part of her curve she is still 14° above but ar fuel mean as I brown ovcr- tcr for o burn mnddy Lve not cs left, t from ggard ttle of nd an arctic day ngo a man more rapidly and liarsbly than a year anywhere else in all this weary world." So cold did it become, that it was found almost im- possible to continue the magnetic observations in an ob- servatory which had been erected on Fern Island. The mean temperature could not be kept up to the freezing point, and it was no uncommon thing to find the platform on which the observer stood fully 2(P below zero. The severe duties connected with this ice-houso observatory arc thus referred to by the doctor : — *' Imagine it a term-day, a magnetic term-day. The observer, if he were only at home, would be the ' observed of all observers.' Ho is clad in a pair of sealskin pants, a dogskin cap, a reindeer jumper, and walrus boots. Ho sits upon a box that once held a transit. A stove, glowing with at least a bucketful of anthracite, represents pictorially a heating apparatus, and reduces the thermometer as near us may be to ten degrees below zero. One hand holds a chronometer, and it is left bare to warm it; the other luxuriates in a foxskin mitten. The right hand and the left hand take it ' watch and watch about.' As one burns with cold, the chronometer shifts to the other, and the mitten takes its place. Perched on a pedestal of frozen gravel is a magnetometer ; stretching out from it a telescope ; and bending down to this an abject human eye. Every six minutes said eye takes cognisance of a finely divided arc, and notes the result in a cold memorandum book. This process continues for twenty-four hours, two sets of eyes taking it by turns ; and wlicn twenty-four hours are over, term-day is over too." At last the terrible winter drew to a clo.sc. On February iilst Dr. Kane writes, "Wc have had the sun for some days silvering the ice between tlio headlands of the bay ; and to-day, towards noon, I started out to bo the first of my party to welcome him back. It was the longest walk and toughest climb I have had sinco our imprisonmcntj 2 It ICE-WORLD ADVENTLUi:.S. and scurvy and debility Lave made mc * short o' wind.' Uut I managed to attain my object. I saw him onco more, and upon a projecting crag nestled in the sunshine. It was like bathing in perfumed water." Now came the time for undertaking the sledge journeys on which the success of the expedition mainly depended. Of nine magnificent Newfoundlanders and thirty-five Esquimaux dogs originally possessed by Kano six only survived. Some new purchases, however, were made from the Esquimaux who visited the ships. The first of the expeditions organized fur the purpose of making a depot of provisions in advance set out on the 'JOth of March. " I saw the depot party ofi' yesterday," Dr. Kano writes on the 21st. " They gave the usual three cheers, with three for myself. I gave them the whole of my brother's great wedding-cake and my last two bottles of port, and they pulled the sledge they were harnessed to famously. But I was not satisfied. I could see it was hard work ; and besides, they were without the boat, or enough extra pemmican to make their deposit of importance. I followed them therefore, and found that they encamped at 8 p.m. only five miles from the brig. When I overtook them I said nothing to discourage them, and gave no new orders for the morning ; but after laughing at good Ohleseu's rueful face, and listening to all Petersen's assurances that the cold, and nothing but the cold, retarded his Greenland sledge, and that no sledge of any other construction could have moved at all through - 40*^ snow, I quickly bade them good night, leaving all hands under their buffalo- rubes. " Once returned to the brig, all my tired remainder-men were summoned. A largo sledge with broad runners, which I had built somewhat after the neat Admiralty model sent mo by Sir Francis Beaufort, was taken down, scraped, ])olishcd, lashed, and fitted out with rne-raddics (shoulder- IM SEARCEI OF FIJANKI.IN'. 21." belts) ; tho linos arranf^ed to draw as nearly as possible in a lino with tlio centre of gravity. Wo made an entire cover of canvas, with snugly adjusted fastenings; and by one in morning we had our discarded excess of pemmican and tho boat once more in stowage. " Off we went to tho camp of the sleepers. It was very cold, but a thoroughly arctic night. The snow just tinged with the crimson stratus above the sun, which, equinoctial as it was, glared beneath tho northern horizon like a smoking furnace. Wo found the tent of the party by tho beai'ings of the stranded bergs. Quietly and steadily wo hauled away their Esquimaux sledge, and placed her cargo upon tho 'Faith.' Five men were then rue-raddicd to tho tracklinos, and, with tho whispered word, ' Now, boys, when ;Mr. Brooks gives his third snore, off with you !' off they wont, and tho ' Faith ' after them as free and nimble as a volunteer. Tho trial was a triunqih ; wo awakened the sleepers with three cheers ; and giving them a second good-bye returned to the brig, carrying the dishonoured vehicle along with us. And now, bating mishaps past anticipation, I shall have a depot for Yny long trip." IR fortune awaited tho party who had tluis started. They had been absent about a week when one night, about midnight, those on board tho brig wore amazed by tho return of three of tho absentees, Sontag, Ohlesen, and Petersen. They were swollen and haggard, and hardly able to speak. In broken syllables they told a dreadful tale. They had left their companions, Brooks, Baker, Wilson, and Pierre, lying frozen and disabled on the ice. Whore were they ? They could not tell ; somewhere in among the hummocks to tho north and east. Irish Tom had remained to take care of the others whilst they had pushed on for help. Kane started off at once. The rescue party consisted of ten men, including Dr. Kane, almost all of whom would in ordinary circumstances have been placed on the sick-list. & iti ■ fi 246 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. The thermometer stood at 70" below freezing poiut. After sixteen hours' travel they lost their way. Dr. Kane knew that the lost men must Le somewhere within a radius of forty miles from where they stood, but there was nothing to indicate the point of the compass towards which they should direct their steps. Kane pushed ahead of his party, and from a little eminence saw a long level floe, which ho thought might attract the eye of weary men in circumstances like their own. Here he gave orders to pitch the tent, abandon the sledge, and disperse on foot. The thermometer had now ^ fallen to 40° below zero, and a sharp breeze was blowing from the north-west, so that it was absolutely impossible to keep themselves from freezing except by unremitting and vigorous exercise. • The men spread themselves in all directions. *' But though all obeyed heartily," says Kane, " some painful impress of solitary danger, or perhaps it may have been the varying configuration of the ice-field, kept them closing up continually into a single group. The strange manner in which some of us were affected I now attribute as much to shattered nerves as to the direct influence of the cold. Men like McGary and Bonsall, who had stood out our severest marches, were seized with trembling fits and short breath ; and in spite of all my efforts to keep up an example of sound bearing, I fainted twice on the snow. " Wo had been nearly eighteen hours out without water or food when a new hope cheered us. I think it was Hans, our Esquimaux hunter, who thought he saw a broad sledge track. The drift had nearly effaced it, and wo were some of us doubtful at first whether it was 'not one of those accidental rifts Avhich the gales make in the surface snow. But as we traced it on the deep snow among the hummocks, we were led to footsteps; and following these with religious care, we at last came in Bight of a small American flag fluttering from a hummock, %♦ ■!■ Perishing of Cold. Ice World Adventures, [Ptige 247. IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN. 247 V/ftf 247. and, lower down, a little masonic banner hanging from a tent-pole, hardly above the drift. It was the camp of our disabled comrades. Wo reached it after an unbroken march of twenty-one hours." Dr. Kano was not the first to reach the tent, but when he came to it, lie found the men silently ranged in file on eitlier side of it. With a kindness and delicacy of feeling that would scarcely have been expected, they signified a wish that he would enter first. He crawled in, and received a joyful welcome from the four ])oor fellows, who lay stretched on their backs. *' They had expected him ; they were sure he would come," they said. The tent was too small to admit all the party. Half of the -worn out men had to keep themselves from being literally frozen to death, for the thermometer was 75° below zero, by walking up and down outside whilst the others slept. Each party rested for two hours, and then thoy prepared for the homeward march — a journey of fifty hours. The sick men were rolled up in furs, and lashed on a sledge. Then, after repeating a short prayer, they started for the ship. Before reaching it they had a terrible journey. They arrived at last in such a state of mental and bodily prostr;!- tion, that they were quite delirious, and moved about like men in a dream. A few days after Kano wrote in his journal, "The rescued men are not out of danger, but their gratitude is very touching. Pray God that they mny live !" They did survive with one exception — JelTersou Baker died of lockjaw. On the 25th of April, 185-d', Dr. Kane started on his fir.^t exploring expedition. "This was," he says, ''to bo th.> crowning expedition of the campaign, to altain the uUlmn tJiidc of the Greenland shore, measure the waste that lay between it and the unknown west, and seek round the farthest circle of the ice for an outlet to the mysterious channels beyond." The strength of the men had been so 248 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. much reduced that one could hardly La^o expected the journey to be a great success. It was carried on however with unflagging energy in the face of inconceivable difficulties. The depth and softness of the snow almost stopped them at one point; then at another they found that the bears had destroyed their store of provisions ; and last, and worst of all, signs of scurvy began to be seen in the explorers. Dr. Kane's left foot became frozen, and he grew so unwell as to be quite delirious. Ho was strapped on the sledge and dragged along, and on returning to the brig was carried on board nearly insensible, and so swollen from scurvy as to be hardly recognisable. Other sledge journeys followed, one commanded by Dr. Hayes and another by Morton. Tlio latter proceeded as far north as latitude 81° 22' N., and discovered au open ocean entirely free from ice. The short summer was wearing on, and as far as the eye could reach the ice remained inflexibly solid. There seemed little chance of the brig getting free that year. Dt*. Kane made up his mind to stand by the vessel, but ho left his crew to decide for themselves. Ho summoned a council, directed the roll to bo called, and each man to answer for himself. In response eight out of the seventeen survivors of the party resolved to remain. The others left the brig on the 28th of August, hoping to make their way to the South Greenland scttlemcnt.s, and with a written assurance that should they bo compelled to return they would receive a brother's welcome. One of the men returned a few days afterwards ; but weary months went by before the rest were driven back to their old homo in llonsscllaer Harbour. Dr. Kane and those who stuck by him now began active preparations for the long cold night. IMie energetic loader had carefully studied the Esquimaux, and made up his mind that their form of habitations, without their unthrift and filth, were the safest and best that could be adopted, IN SEARCH OP FRANKLIN. 249 *' The deck," says our writer, " was well padded with moss and turf, and downbelov/ a space some eighteen feet square — the apartment of all uses — was enclosed and packed from floor to ceiling with inner walls of tbe same non-conducting material. The floor itself, after having been carefully caulked, was covered with manilla oakum a couple of inches deep, and a canvas carpet. The entrance was from the hold, by a low, moss-lined tunnel, with as many doors and curtains to close it up as ingenuity could devise. Largo banks of snow wore also thrown up along the brig's sides to keep off" the cold wind." Amongst other occupations followed by the crew at this time was that of seal-hunting, raid the risks which were sometimes run in pursuit of it may be seen from the following extract. Dr. Kane and his Esquimaux hiin^jcr were on their dog-sledge travelling on the floes. " Hans sung out at the top of his voice, * Pusoy ! puseymut ! seal ! seal ! ' At the same instant the dogs bounded forward and as I looked up I saw crowds of grey netsik — the rough or hispid seal of the whalers — disporting in an open sea of water. "I had hardly welcomed the sight when I saw that we had passed upon a new belt of ice that was obviously unsafe. To the right and left and front was one great expanse of snow-flowered ice. The nearest solid floe was a mere lump, which stood like an island in the white level. To turn was impossible; we had to keep up our gait. We urged on the dogs with whip and voice, the ine rolling like leather beneath the sledge runners. It was more than a mile to the lump of solid ice. Four gave the poor beasts their utmost speed, and our voices were soon hushed in silence. *' The suspense, unrelieved by action or eflort, was in- tolerable. Wo knew that there was no remedy but to reach the floe, and that everything depended on our dogp, 250 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. and our dogs alone. A moment's check would plunge the whole concern in the rapid tideway. No presence of mind or resource, bodily or mcubal, could avail us. This de- sperate race against fate could not last. The rolling of the toagh salt-water ice terrified our dogs, and when within fifty paces of the floe they paused. The left liand runner went through ; our leader ' Toodlamick ' followed, and in one second the entire left of the sledge was submerged. My first thought was to liberate the dogs. I leant forward to cut poor Tood's traces, and the next minute was swimming in a little circle of pasty ice and water alongside him. Hans, dear good fellow, drew near to help me, uttering piteous expressions in broken English ; but I ordered him to throw himself on his belly with his hands and legs extended, and to make for the island by cogging himself forward with his jack- knife. In the meantime — a mere instant — I was flounder- ing about with sledge, dogs, and lino in confused puddle around mo. " I succeeded in" cutting poor Tood's linos and letting him scramble to the ice, for the poor fellow was drowning me with his piteous caresses, and made my way for the sledge ; but I found it would not buoy me, and that I had no resource but to try the circumference of the holo. Around this I paddled faithfully, the miserable ice always yielding when my hopes of a lodgment were greatest. During this process I enlarged my circle of operations to a very uncomfortable diameter, and Avas beginning to feel weaker at every eflbrt. Hans meanwhile had reached the firm ice, and was on his knees, like a good Moravian, praying incoherently in English and Esquimaux. At every fresh crushing of the ice he would ejaculate ' God ! ' and when I recommenced my paddling ho recommenced his prayers. " I was nearly gone. My knife had been lost in cutting out tho dogs ; and a spare one which I carried in my IN SEARCH OP FRANKLIN. 251 trousers pocket was so enveloped in tho wet skins that I could not reach it. I owed my extrication at last to a newly-broken team dog, who was still fast to the sledge, and in struggling carried one of tho runners chock against tho edge of the circle. All my previous efforts to use the sledge as a bridge had failed, for it broke through, to tho much greater injury of the ice. I felt it was a last chance. I threw myself on my back, so as to lessen as much as possible my weight, and placed tho nape of my neck against the rim or edge of the ice ; and then with caution slowly bent my leg, and placing the ball of my moccasined foot against the sledge, I pressed steadily against the runner, listening to the half-yielding crush of tho ice beneath. " Presently I felt that my head was pillowed by the ice, and that my wet fur jumper was sliding up tho surface. Next came my shoulders : they were fairly on. One more decided push and I was launched on tho ice and safe. I reached the ice-floe, and was frictioned by Hans with frightful zeal. We saved all tho dogs, but the sledge, kayack, tent, guns, snow-shoes,' and everything besides were left behind. They arc likely to remain frozen fast in the sledge till we can come and cut them out." On tho 12th of December tho party which had aban- doned the ship returned, and was received in a most cordial and affectionate manner. They had failed to penetrate to the south. Their sufferings had been severe from the cold, want of food, and the fatigues of their march among the hummocks. The winter passed at last. With March came an in- crease of trouble. Every man on board was tainted with scurvy, and there were seldom more than three ablo to attend on the sick. It was now absolutely necessary to abandon tho ship. On tho 20th of May, 1855, tho crew quitted the brig and made for the open water to the south, dragging their ^!^ 252 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. % I boats after them on sledges. In the soft light of Sunday evening, Jane 17th, they stood beside the open sea-way. But fifty-six days had still to pass before they could reach Upernavik. Neither storms nor drift-ice rendered this part of the expedition dangerous ; but our explorers had to contend with famine, and their boats were so unsea- worthy as to require constant baling to keep them afloat. Their strength had decreased to an alarming degree, and the rowing and baling became every hour more difficult. Providentially, just at this crisis of their fortunes they came on a seal which was seemingly asleep on a small patch of ice. *' But," writes Kane, " he was not asleep, for ho raised his head when we were almost within rifle-shot ; and to this day I can remember the hard, careworn, almost despairing expression of the men's thin faces as they saw him move; their lives depended on his capture. The seal coiled himself for a plunge. At that instant, simul- taneously with the crack of our rifle, he relaxed his long lengtli on the ice, and at the very brink of the water his head fell helpless on one side. " I would have ordered another shot, but no discipline could ha^'^e controlled the men. With a wild yell, each vociferating according to his own impulse, they urged their boats upon the floes. A crowd of hands seized the seal, and bore him up to safer ice. The men seemed half crazy. I had not realized how much we were reduced by famine. Tliey ran over the floe, crying and laughing and brandish- ing their knives. It was not five minutes before every man was sucking his bloody fingers or mouthing long strips of raw blubber. Not an ounce of this seal was lost." A few days after this they neared the Danish settle- ments, and arrived there in safety about the beginning of August. After the absence of thirty months. Dr. Kane returned on the 11th of October, 185.5. to New York, where ho was IN SEARCH OF FKAXKUN. 253 received with eatliuslasm. Well-dcservcd lionours wore paid to him on both sides of tlie Atlantic; but his health was completely broken down by the trials and privations lie had undergone. He died at Havannah on the IGth of February, 1857, in the thirty-scventh year of his a-e KVE I'liESEUVKllti. CHAPTER XVET. JxY SEARCH OF FRANKLIN (continue J). The Fox Expedition undeb Captaik M'Cmntock — Lady Franklin's Instructions — At Holsteinborg — Trhee Wrecked Vessels — A Marble Tablet on Beechey Island — A Tantalizing Situa- tion — In Winter Quarters — Poor Sport— Search Expedition in the Spring— Information from the Natives — Relics of the Franklin Expedition — The Skeletons on the Suore — The Cairn at I'oint Victory— A Record Found — A Retreatin(j Crew — The Boat and Two Skeletons Found— Returning to the Ships — Bound for England. ArPER all that had been told was done, public interest iu Franklin's unhappy expedition was not satisfied. No certain information, it was said, had been obtained of the fate of the greater number of the men belonging to the two ships. Government, however, declined sending out any more exploring parties to the polar seas. But Lady Fvanklin did not rest. By her own strenuous exertions, and those of her scientific friends, the steam-yacht Fo.v, of 177 tons, was purchased and sent out under the command of Captain M'Clintock. "Lady Franklin," said Sir Roderick Murchison some time afterwards, " has indeed well shown what a devoted and true-hearted Englishwoman can accomplish. The moment that relics of the expedition commanded by her husband were brought home, in 1851, by Rae, and that she heard of the account given to him by the Esquimaux of a large party of Englishmen having been seen, strug- gling with difficulties, on the ice near the mouth of tho Back or Great Fish River, she resolved to spend all her available means in an exploration of the limited area, to IN SEARCH OF TRANKLIN. 255 which the search must henceforward be necessainly re- stricted. Lady Franklin was highly gratified when she obtained the willing services of Captain M'Clintock to command the yacht Fou', which she had purchased." It was on the last day of June, 1857, that Lady Franklin went on board the Fox to bid farewell to the explorers and wish them God-speed. Her instructions, in a letter to Captain M'Clintock, were brief and to the purpose. " As to the objects of the expedition and their relative importance," she writes, " I am sure you know that the rescue of any possible survivor of the E rebus or Terror would bo to me, as it would bo to you, the noblest result of our efforts. For this object I wish every other to be subordinate ; and next to it in importance is the recovery of the unspeakably precious documents of the expedition, public and private, and the personal relics of my dear husband and his companions. And lastly, I trust it may be in your power to confirm, directly or infercntially, the claims of my husband's expedition to the earliest discovery of the passage, which, if Dr. Rae's report be true (and the Government of our country has accepted and rewarded it as such), these martyrs in a noble cause achieved at their last extremity, after five long years of labour and suffering, if not at an earlier period." The small settlement of Holsteinborg was reached on the 28tli of April, 1850, and such scanty supplies were obtained as the place afforded. On the 8th of May the voyage was recommenced ; Melville Bay was entered early in June, and our explorers crossed to Cape York by the 26th. There some natives were communicated with ; they immediately recognised Mr. Petersen, Captain M'Clintock's interpreter, formerly known to thcni in the Grinnell expedition under Dr. Kane. On the 12th of July they communicated with the Cape Warrender natives, near Cape Horsburgh ; they had not 250 iCE-WORLD ADVENTUKES. seen any ships since the visit of the Plicenix in 185ni, nor had any wrecks ever drifted upon their shores. It was not until the 2rth of July that they reached Pond Inlet, owing to a most unusual prevalence of ice in the northern portion of Baffin's Bay, which rendered their progress since leaving Holsteinborg one of unceasing struggle. '* Without steam power," says the commander of the expedition, " we could have done nothing." At Pond Inlet only one old woman and a boy were found, but they served to pilot them up the inlet for twenty-five miles, when they arrived at their village. For about a week they were in constant and most interesting communication with these friendly people. Briefly, the information obtained from them was, that nothing what- ever respecting the Franklin expedition had come to their knowledge, nor had any wrecks within the last twenty or thirty years reached their shores. The remains of three wrecked ships were known to them ; two of those appear to have been the whalers Dexterity and Aurora, wrecked in August, 1821, some seventy or eighty miles southward of Pond Inlet. The third vessel, now almost buried in the sand, lies a few miles cast of Cape Hay. This people communicate over- land every winter with the tribes at Igloolik ; they all knew of Parry's ships having wintered there in 1822-3, and had heard of Dr. Rae's visit to Repulse Bay. They spoke of Dr. Bae and his party as living in tents, and within snow-houses, smoking pipes, and shooting reindeer. Within Pond Inlet it appears that the ice decays away every year, but so long as any remains whales abound. Several large whales were seen by the crew of the Fo.c, and they found in possession of the natives a considerable quantity of whalebone and many narwhals' horns, which they were anxious to barter for knives, files, saws, rifles, and wool. Leaving Pond Inlet on the Gth of August, our explorers IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN. 257 reached Beechey Island on the lltli, and landed a handsome marble tablet, sent on board for this pnrposo by Lady Tranklin, bearing an appropriate inscription to the memory of our lost countrymen in the Erchiis and Torror. The provisions and stores seemed in perfect order, but a small boat had been much damaged from having been turned over and rolled along the beach by a storm. The roof of the house received some necessary repairs. Having embarked some coals and stores they stood in need of, and touched at Capo Hotham on the IGth, they sailed down Peel Strait for twenty-five miles on tlio 17th. Findiuji the remainder of this channel covered with unbroken ice, Captain M'Clintock determined to make for Bellot Strait on the 10th of August, examine into supplies remainn at Port Leopold, and leave there a whaleboat which hrvl been brought away from Cape Hotham for the purpose, so as to aid them in their retreat, should they bo obliged eventually to abandon the Fox. Prince Regent Inlet was unusually free from ice, and littlo of interest was seen during their run down to Brentford }3ay, which they reached on the 20th of August. Bellot Strait, which communicates with the western sea, a^eragvs one mile in width by seventeen or eighteen miles in length. At this time it was filled with drift-ice, but as the season advanced it became perfectly clear; its shores were in many places faced with lofty granite cliffs, and some l f tho adjacent hills rose to 1 GOO feet; the tides were very strong, running six or seven knots at the springs. On the Gth of September they passed through Bellot Strait without obstruction, and secured the ship to fixed ice across its western outlet. From hence, until the 27th, when Captain M'Clintock deemed it necessary to retreat into winter quarters, they constantly watched the move- ments of the ico in the western sea or channel. In mid- channel it was broken up and drifting about ; gradually tho proportion of water increased, until at length the ice I I I 258 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. which intervened was reduced to tlirco or four miles in width. But this was held last by numerous islets, and withstood the violence of the autumn gales. It was tantalizing beyond description thus to watch from day to day the free water which they could not reach, and which washed the rocky shore a few miles to the southward. During the autumn attempts were made to carry dopots of provisions towards tho magnetic pole ; but these almost entirely failed in consequence of tho disruption of the ice to the southward. Lieutenant Ilobson returned with tho sledge parties in November, after much suITering from severe weather, and immediate peril on one occasion. Tho ico on which they had encamped had become detached from the shore, and drifted off to leeward with them. Tho wintering position of tho Fox was at tho east entrance to Bellot Strait, in a snug harbour, which tho explorers named Port Kennedy. Although vegetation was tolerably abundant, and two Esquimaux hunters, Mr. Peter- sen, and several other sportsmen Avcre constantly on tho alert, yet the resources of tho country during eleven months and a half only yielded eight reindeer, two bears, eighteen seals, and a few waterfowl and ptarmigan. Tho winter was unusually cold and stormy. It was partly spent in making arrangements for carrying out tlio intended plan of search. Captain M'Clintock felt it to be his duty to visit personally Marshal Island, and in so doing he proposed to complete tho circuit of King William Island. To Lieutenant Hobson was allotted tho search of the western slio'x of Boothia to tho magnetic polo, and from Gateshead Island westward to Wynniatt's farthest. Cap- tain Allan Young, then acting as sailing-master, was to traco the shore of Princo of Wales Land from Lieutenant Browne's fiirthest, and also to examine the coast from Bellot Strait norllnvards to Sir James T?oss's farthest. li^arly spring journeys were commenced on tho 17th of n" IN SEARCH OP FRANKLIN. ^50 February, 1859, by Captain M'Clintock and Captain Young. Captain Young carried his depot across to Prince of "Wales Land, whilst Captain M'Clintock went south- ward, in the hope of communicating with the Esquimaux, and obtaining such information as might lead at once to the object of their search. Captain M'Clintock was accompanied by Mr. Petersen, the interpreter, and Alexander Thomson, the quartermas- ter. They had with them two sledges drawn by dogs. On the 28th of February they had the good fortune to fall in with a small party of natives, and were subsequently visited by about forty- five individuals. For four days they remained in communication with tnem, obtained many relics, and the information that several years ago a ship was crushed by the ice off the north shore of King William's Island, but that all her people landed safely, and went away to the Great Fish lliver, "whero they died. This tribe was well supplied with wood, obtained, they said, from a boat left by the white men on the Great River. Captain M'Clintock and his, party returned to their vessel, after twcnty-fivo days' absence, in good health, though somewhat reduced by sharp marching and Iho nnusually severe weather to Avhich they had been ex- posed. For several days after starting the mcrcui y had continued frozen. The 2nd of April was the date when the long projected spring journeys faii'ly began. Lieutenant Ilobson ac>'oni- panied Captain M'CHutouk as far as Capo Victoria ; each of them had a sledge drawn by four men, and an auxiliary sledgo drawn by six dogs. This was all the force they could muster. Beforo separating they saw two Esquimaux families living out upon the ico in snow huts. From tliem they learned that a second ship had been seen off King William Island, and that she drifted ashore in the fall of the same m .1 ' I 260 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. year. From this ship they had obtained a vast deal of ■wood aud iron. Captain M'Clintock gave Lieutenant Ilobson directions to search *^- the wreck, and to follow tip any traces he might fin( )on King William Island. Accom|Huued by his own party and Mr. Petersen, Captain M'Clintock marched along the east shore of King WilHam Island, occasionally passing deserted snow huts, but with- out meeting natives, till the 8tli of May, when, off Capo Norton, they arrived at a snow village containing about thirty inhabitants. These gathered about our explorers without the slightest appearance of fear or shyness, al- though none of them had ever seen living white peo])lo before. They were most willing to communicate all their knowledge and barter all their goods, and would havo stolen everything had they not been very closely watched. Many more relics of our countrymen were obtained. Cap- tain M'Clintock could not carry away all he might havo purchased. The natives pointed to the inlet he had crossed the day before, and told him that one day's march up it, and thence four days overland, brought them to the Avreck. None of these people had been there since 18.") 7-8, at which time they said but little remained, their countrymen havin«2 carried away almost everything. Mo&t of this information was received from an intelligent old woman; she f^•uid it Avas in the fall of the year that the ship was forced ashore ; many of the white men dropped by t'lo wny as they went towards the Great River; but this was only known to them in the winter following, when their bodies were discovered. They all assured our explorers tliat they would find natives ui)on the south shore, at the Great liivcr, and some few at the wreck ; but unft)rtunately this was not the case. Only one family was met with off Point IJooth, and none at Montreal Island or any place subsequently visited. Point Ogle, Moulreul Ishmd, aud IJarrow Island weio IN SEAECH OF FRANKLIN. 2G1 Roarchecl without fintling anything except a fow scraps of copper and iron in an Esquimaux liiding-placo. ]lccrossing the strait to King William Island, they con- tinued the examination of its southern shore. "Wo wero now," says M'Clintoek, "upon the shore along which the retreating crews must have marched. ^ly sledges, of course, travelled upon the Bca-ico close along the shore, and although the depth of snow which covered the beach deprived us of almost every hope, yet wo kept a very sharp look-out for traces, nor wero wo unsuccessful. Shortly after midnight of the 25th of iMay, when slowly walking along a gravel ridge near the beach, which the Avind kept partially bare of snow, I camo upon a human skeleton, partly exposed, with hero and there a few fragments of clothing appearing through the snow. Tho skeleton — now perfectly bleached — was lying upon its face, tho limbs and smaller bones either dissevered or gnawed away by small animals. " A most careful examination of tho spot was of course made, tho snow removed, and every scrap of cloth gathered up. A pocket-book afforded strong grounds for hope tliat some information might be subsequently obtained respect- ing tho unfortunate owner and tho calamitous march of the lost c^'ew, but at tho time it was frozen hard. The substance of that which "wo gleaned upon the spot may thus bo summed up : — " This victim was a young man, slightly built, and per- haps above tho common licight ; tho dress appeared to ))e that of a steward or olliccr's servant, the loose bow-knot in which his ncckhandkcrchicf was tied not being used l)y seamen or ofTicers. In every particular tlio dress con- hrraed our conjectures as to his rank or ofTico in tho la(o expedition — the bluo jacket with slashed sleeves find braided edging, and tho pilot cloth greatcoat with ])lain covered buttons. Wo found also a clothes-brush near, and a horn pocket-comb. This i)oor man seems to ha\e 262 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. selected tho bare ridgo top, as afFording the least tire- some walking, and to have fallen on his face in the posi- tion in which wo found him. It was a melancholy truth the old woman spoke when she said, ' They fell down and died as they walked along.' " This discovery was made about ten miles eastward of Capo Ilcrschel. On reaching Capo Herschel next day, they examined Simpson's Cairn, or rather what remained of it. It was only four feet high, and the central stones had been re- moved as if by men seeking something within it. Captain M'Clintock's impression was, that records were deposited there by the retreating crews, and subsequently removed by tho natives. We turn now to Lieutenant Ilobson's expedition. After parting from Captain M'Clintock at Cape Victoria on tho 28th of April, Hobson made for Cape Felix. A short distance westward of it ho found a very largo cairn, and close to it throo small tents, with blankets, old clothes, and other relics of a shooting or a magnetic station. But although the cairn was dug under, and a trench dug all round it at a distance of ten feet, no record was discovered. A piece of blank paper folded up was found in tho cairn, and two broken bottles, which may porhaps havo contained records, lay beside it, among somo stones which had fallen from off the top. The most in- teresting of tho articles discovered here, including a boat's ensign, were brought away by Mr. Hobson. About two miles farther to tho S.W. a small cairn was found, but neither records nor relics wero obtained. About tlirco miles north of Point Victory a second small cairn was ex- amined, but only a broken pickaxe and an empty cauister wero found. On tho Cth of May Lieutenant Hobson pitched his tent beside a largo cairn upon Point Victory. Lying among somo loose stones which had fallen from the top of this cairn was found a small tin case containing a record. IN SEAECn OF FRANKLIN. 2G3 " Upon it," says Captain M'Clintock, " was written, apparently by Lieutenant Gore, as follows •. — r II.M. ships Urdus and Terror win- '28tliofMay,18i7.5 tcred in the ico in lat. TO^'Oo N., (long. 98^23' W. 'Having wintei'ed in 1840-17 at Beecliey Island, in lat. 74°4.3'28''N., long. 91°39'15''W., after having ascended Wellington Channel to lat. 77°, and returned by the west side of Cornwallis Island. ' Sir John Franklin commanding the expedition. 'All well. ' Party consisting of two oflQcors and six men left the ships on Monday, 24th oMay, 1847. (Signed) 'Wm. Gore, Lieutenant. CuAS. F. Des V(eux, Mate.' " There is an error in the above document, namely, that i\ic TJrchiis and Terror wintered at Beechey Island in 184G- 47 : the correct dates should have been 1845-4G ; a glanco at the date at the top and bottom of the record proves this, but in all other respects the tale is told in as few words as possible of their wonderful success np to that day, May, 1847. "Wo find that, after the last intelligence of Sir John Franklin was received by us (bearing date of July, 1845) from the whalers in Melvillo Bay, his expedition passed on to Lancaster Sound and entered Wellington Channel, of which the southern entrance had been discovered by Sir l]dward Parry in ISIO. The Erchiis alid Terror sailed up that strait for one hundred and fifty miles, and reached in tho autumn of 1815 the same latitude as was attained eight years Bubsequ.ently by II.M.S. Assi'stanco and Pioneer. . . . Having accomplished this, they returned southward from latitude 77° north, which is at the head of Wellington Channel, and re-entered Barrow's Strait by a new channel between Bathurst and Cornwallis Island." Thus in his first season Franklin had accomplished more ■I ! ,!;i » ,1 201 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. than almost any previous navigator ; and it must have bocn with clieerful feelings and bright anticipations that the crews went into winter-quarters at Beech ey Island in 1845- 46. The results attained were the exploration of Welling- ton and Queen's Channels, and the addition to our charts of extensive lands on either hand. " In 184G they proceeded to the south-west, and event- ually reached within twelve miles of the north extreme of King William's Land, when their progress was arrested by the approaching winter of 1846-47. That winter seems to have passed without any serious loss of life ; and when in the spring Lieutenant Gore leaves with a party Tor some special purpose, and very probably to correct the unknown coast-lino of King William's Land, between "'.■^ifc Victory and Capo Herschcl, those on board the Erolms and Terror were all well, and the gallant Franklin still commanded. " But, alas ! round the margin of the paper upon which Lieutenant Goro in 1847 wrote those words of hope and promise, another hand had subsequently written the follow- ing words : — " * April 25, 1848. H.M. ships Terror and Erchus were deserted on the 22nd April, five leagues N.N.W. of this, having been beset since 12th September, 1840. The officers and crews, consisting of 105 souls, under the com- mand of Captain F. R. M. Crozicr, lauded hero in lat. ()9° 37' 42 " N., long. 98'' 41' W. Sir John Franklin died on the 11th Juno, 1847 ; antl the total loss by death in the ex- pedition has been to this date nine officers and fifteen men. 'F. R. M. Chozieu, (Signed.) James Fitzjajies, Captain JIM.S. Erchus.' Captain and senior officer. And start (on) to-morrow, 26th, for Back's Fish River. "This marginal information was evidently written by IN SEARCn OF FRANKMN. 205 Captain Fitzjames, excepting only tlio note stating when and where they were going, which was added by Cai)tain Crozier. " There is some additional marginal information relative to the transfer of the document to its present position (namely the site of Sir James Ross's pillar), from a spot four miles to the northward, near Point Victory, where it had been originally deposited by the late Commander Gore. The little word late shows that ho too, within a twelve- month, had passed away. "In the short space of twelve months how mournful had become the history of Franklin's expedition ; how changed from the cheerful ' all well ' of Graham Gore ! The spring of 18 i7 found them within ninety miles of the known sea, off the coast of America; and to men who had already in two seasons sailed over 500 miles of previously unexplored waters, how confident must they have felt that that forthcoming navigable season of 1817 would soo their ships pass over so short an intervening space ! It was ruled otherwise. Within a month after Lieutenant Gore placed the record on PoiYit Victory, the much loved leader of the expedition. Sir John Franklin, was dead ; and the following spring found Captain Crozier, upon whom the command had devolved, at King William's Land, endeavouring to save his starving men, 105 souls in all, from a terrible death, by retreating to the Hudson's Bay territory up the Back or Great Fish Iliver." So sad a tale was never told in fewer words. There is something deeply touching in their extreme simplicitj-, and they show in the strongest manner that both the leaders of this retreating party were actualod by the loftiest sense of duty, and met with calmness and decision tho fearful alternative of a last bold struggle for life, rather than perish without elfort on board their ships ; for we well know that the Erebus and Terrcr were only provisioned up to July, 1848. !■!! 2GG ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. A second record deposited also by Lieutenant Gfore, in May, 1847, was also found a few miles soutlnvard upon tlio noutli side of Back Bay, but it alTordcd no additional in- formation. It was a duplicate of tlie Point Victory record, and sbows that Gore and Des Vceux merely left tlicm under cairns, without adding further particulars at the time of depositing: their attention was probably directed to a more important matter, the completion of their discovery of the North-west Passage. This record had not been opened by the retreating crews in 1848 ; when found by Hobson, it was soldered up as when taken from the ship on the 24th of May, 1847. "It is remarkable that both these papers state the ships to have wintered in 184G-7 at Beechey Island ! So obvious a mistake would hardly have been made had any import- ance been attached to these documents. They were soldered up in thin tin cylinders, having been filled up prior to the departure of the travellers ; consequently, the day upon which they were deposited was not filled in. But already tho papers were much damaged by rust — a very few more years ^vould have rendered them wholly illegible. " When the record left at Point Victory was opened, to ndd thereto the supplemental information which gives it its chief value, Captain Fitzjames (as may bo concluded ])y ilio colour of the ink) filled in the date, 28th of May, when tho record was originally deposited. Tho cylinder con- taining this record had not been soldered up again; I suppose they had not tho means of doing so ; it was found on the ground amongst a few loose stones which had evi- dently fallen along with it from tho top of the cairn. Hob- son removed every stone of this cairn down to tho ground, and rebuilt it. " Brief as these records are, we must needs bo content with them : they are perfect models of official brevity. No log-book could bo more provokingly concise. Yet, that amj record at all should bo deposited after the abandonment IN SEARCH OF FRANKLTN. 207 of the ships, docs not secra to have boon at first intended, and wo shoukl feel the more thankful to Captains Crozier and Fitzjames, to whom we are indehted for the invaluable •supplement, and our gratitude ought to bo all the more sincere when we remember that the ink had to bo thair'al, and that writing in a tent during an April day ill the arctic regions is bj no means an easy task. " Before moving forward from that known position, however, they seem to have reflected upon the importance of leaving there information as to their route. They must have felt that their countrymen were seeking and would seek for them, until some clue was obtained ; and that such definite points as Simpson's cairn at Capo Ilerschel and James Ross's cairn at Point Victory (between which lay the only unexplored portion of the North-west Passage) would be examined as instinctively as McCluro and Kellett made for the well-known sandstone rock-beacon at Melville Island, to seek and to deposit information. This is the only explanation I can ofier of their having sent to Sir Janiea Ross's pillar in 181:7, and of their taking such pains in 181S to seek out the exact position where it stood, there to erect a cairn five or six feet high, and place their record in it. " A great quantity and variety of things lay strewed about the cairn, such as even in their three days' march froni the ships the retreating crews found it impossible to carry farther. Amongst these were four heavy sets of boat's cooking stoves, pickaxes, shovels, iron hoops, old canvas, a largo single block, about four feet uf a copper lightning conductor, long pieces of hollow brass curtain rods, a small case of selected medicines containing about twenty-four phials, the contents in a wonderful state of preservation ; a dip circle by Robinson, with two needles, bar magnets, and light horizontal needle, all complete, the whole weigh- ing only nine pounds ; and even a small sextant, engraved with the name of ' Frederic Hornby,' lying beside the cairn without its case. The coloured eye-sliades of the sextant 2G8 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. had been taken out, otherwise it was perfect ; the movaljle screws, and such parts as come in contact with the obser- ver's hands, were neatly covered with thin leather, to pre- vent frost-bite in severe weather. " Tho clothing left by the retreating crews of the Erebus and Terror formed a huge heap four feet high ; every article was searched, but the pockets were empty, and not one of all these articles was marked, — indeed sailors' warm clothing seldom is. Two canteens, the pro- perty of marines, were found, one marked ' 88 C°. Wm. Hedges,' and tho other ' 89 C°. AVm. Heather.' A small pannikin made out of a two-pound prescrved-meat tin had scratched on it ' W. Mark.' " These abandoned superfluities afford tho saddest and most convincing proof that here — on this spot — our doomed and scurvy-stricken countrymen calmly prepared themselves to struggle manfully for life." Wo have given these exhaustive quotations regarding the discovery made by Lieutenant Hobson, from a sense of its importance. The Franklin mystery was now solved, as satisfactorily as it is ever likely to be. Lieutenant Hobson continued his search until within a few days' march of Cape Herschel without finding any trace of the wreck or of natives. He left full information of his important discoveries for Captain M'Clintock, so that when returning northward by the west shore of King William Island, he had tho advantage of knowing what had already been found. Soon after leaving Capo Herschel Captain M'Clintock found tho traces of natives become less numerous and less recent, and after rounding tho west point of the island they ceased altogether. The western extremity of King William's Island was reached on the 29th of May. Captain M'Clintock named it after Captain Crozicr, the gallant loader of the "Forlorn Hope" of which Hobson had just gained tidings. IN SEARCH OP FRANKLIN. 200 "From Capo Crozicr," says Captain M'Clintock, "tho coastline was found to turn sharply away to the eastward ; and early in the morning of the 30th of May wo encamped alongside a large boat — another painful relic which Hobson had found and examined a few days before, as his note left here informed me; but ho had failed to discover record, journal, pocket-book, or memorandum of any description. "A vast quantity of tattered clothing was lying in her, and this we first examined. Not a single article bore the name of its former owner. Tho boat was cleared out and carefully swept, that nothing miglit escape us. Tho snow was then removed from about her, but nothing whatever was found. " This boat measured twenty-eight feet long, and seven feet three inches wide ; she was built with a view to light- ness and light draught of water, and evidently equipped with the utmost care for the ascent of the Great Fish River. She had neither oars nor rudder, paddles supplying their place; and as a large remnant of light canvas, commonly known as No. 8, was found, and also a small block for reeving a sheet through, I suppose she had been provided with a sail. A sloping canvas roof, or rain-awning, had also formed part of the equipment. She was fitted with a weather cloth nine inches high, battened down all round the gunwale, and supported by twenty-four iron stanchions, so placed as to serve likewise for rowing-tholes. There was a deep-sea sounding lino, fifty fathoms long, near her, us well as an ice grapnel ; this lino must have been intended for river work as a track-lino. She had been originally ' carvel ' built ; but for tho purpose of reducing weight very thin fir planks had been substituted for the seven upper streaks, and put on ' clincher ' fashion. " The only markings about the boat were cut in upon her stern ; besides giving her length, they indicated that she was built by contract, numbered GI, and received into "Woolwich dockyard in April, 18 1-, the fourth figure to the m ■ 27u ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. ^t i: ^ right hand was lost, as the stern had been reduced as mnch as possible to lessen her weight ; from this cause part of the Roman numerals indicating her length were also lost. " In the boat there was that which transfixed us with awe — portions of two human skeleto One was that of a Blight young person ; the other of a jarge, strongly made, middle-aged man. The former was found in the bows of the boat, but in too disturbed a state to enable Hobson to juflgc whether the sufferer had died there ; large and power- ful animals, probably wolves, had destroyed much of this skeleton, which may have been that of an officer. Near it we found the fragment of a pair of worked slippers, of which I give the pattern, as they may be identified. The lines were white, with a black margin ; the spaces white, red, and yellow. They had originally been eleven inches long, lined with calf-skin with the ' ''"r left on, and the edges bound with red silk ribbon. 'des these slippers there were a pair of small strong shooi^ug half-boots. " The other skeleton was in a somewhat more perfect state ; it lay across the boat, under the after-thwart, and was enveloped with cloths and furs. This would seem to have been the survivor of the two men whose remains were lying in the boat. Close beside it were found five watches ; and there were two double-barrelled guns — one barrel in each loaded and cocked — standing muzzle upwards against the boat's side. It may be imagined with what deep in- terest these sad relics were scrutinised, and how anxiously every fragment of clothing was turned over in search of pockets or pocket-books, journals, or even names. Five or six small books were found, all of them scriptural or de- votional works, except the 'Vicar of Wakefield.* '" Amongst an amazing quantity of clothing there were seven or eight pairs of boots of various kinds — cloth winter boots, sea boots, heavy ankle boots, and strong shoes. I noted that there were silk handkerchiefs — black, white, and soap, sponge, tooth-brush, and hair- combs; figured- -towels, fi( i I A Startling Discoveky, Ice- World Advc>ititrci.\ \Piigc 270. ] ! IN SEAUcn or franklin. 271 macintosli gun-cover, marked outside with paint A 12, and lined witli black cloth. Besides these articles wo found twine, nails, saws, files, bristles, wax-ends, sail-makers' palms, powder, bullets, shot, cartridges, wads, leather cart- ridge-case, knives — clasp and dinner ones — needle and thread cases, slow-match, several bayonet scabbards cut down into knife-sheaths, two rolls of sheet lead, and, in short, a quantity of articles of one description and another truly astonishing in variety, and such as, for the most part, modern sledge-travellers in these regions would consider a mere accumulation of dead weight, of little use, and very likely to break down the strength of the sledge-crews. " The only provisions we could find were tea and choco- late ; of the former little remained, but there were nenrlj^ forty pounds of the latter. These articles alone could never support life in such a climate, and we found neither biscuit nor meat of any kind. " In the after-part of tho boat wo found eleven large spoons, eleven forks, and four tea-spoons, all of silver. Of these twenty-six pieces of plate, eight bore Sir John Frank- lin's crest, the remainder had tho crests or initials of nine different officers, with the exception of a single fork, which was not marked ; of these nine officers, five belonged to the Urdus — Gore, Lo Ycsconto, Fairholme, Couch, and Good- sir. Tln'ce others belonged to the Tfrror — Crozier (a tea- spoon only), Hornby, and Thomas. I do not know to whom tho three articles with an owl engraved on them belonged, nor who was tho owner of the unmarked fork ; but of tho owners of those wo can identify the mnjority be- longed to the Th'chui^. " Of the many men, probably twenty or thirty, who wore attached to this boat, it seems most strango that the re- mains of only two individuals wcro found, nor were there any graves upon tho neighbouring flat land ; indeed, bearing in mind the season at which theso poor follows loft thcii- ships, it should bo remembered that tho soil was then frozen n ' is 272 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. liard as rock, and tlio labour of quarrying a grave very great indeed. " I was astonished to find that the sledge was directed to the N.E., exactly for the next point of land for which we ourselves were travelling ! " Tlie position of this abandoned boat is about fifty miles — as a sledge would travel — from Point Victory, and there- fore sixty-five miles from the position of the ships ; also it is seventy miles from the skeleton of the steward, and 150 miles from Montreal Island ; it is, moreover, in the depth of a wide bay, where by crossing over ten or twelve miles of vei'y low land a great saving of distance would be effect- ed, the route by the coast-lino being about forty miles. " A little reflection led me to sai.rffy my own mind, at least, that this boat was returning to the ships. In no other way can I account for two men having been left in her, than by supposing the party were unable to drag the boat farther, and that these two men, not being able to keep pace with their shipmates, were therefore left by them, supplied with such provisions as could bo spared, to last them till the return of the others from the ships with a fresh stock. "I need hardly say that throughout the whole of my journey along the shores of King William's Land, we all kept a most vigilant look-out for any appearance of the stranded ship spoken of by the natives ; but our search for her was utterly fruitless! " On the 5th of June Captain M'Clintock reached Point Victory without having found anything further. The cloth- ing and other articles there were again examined for docu- ments, note-books, etc., without success. A record was placed in the cairn, and another buried ten feet duo north from it. " When continuing my homeward march," says Captain M'Clintock, " and as nearly as I could judge 2 i or 2 'J miles to the north of Point Victory, I siiw a few stones placed in ll IN SEARCH OP FRANKLIN. 27:] Hue, as if across the head of a tenting-place, to afl'ord some shelter ; here it was, I think, that Lieutenant Gore deposited the record in May, 1847, which was found in 1848 by Lieu- tenant Irving, and finally deposited at Point Victory. Some scraps of tin vessels were lying about ; but whether they had been left by Sir James Ross's party in May, 1830, or by the Franklin Expedition in 1847 or 1848, is uncertain. " Hero ended my own search for further traces of our lost countrymen. Hobson found two other cairns, and many relics between this position and Cape Felix. From each place where any trace was discovered the most inter- estiug of the relics were taken away." Captain M'Clintock reached the ship on the 10th of Juno, five days after Lieutenant Hobson. On the 28th of June Captain Young and his party re- turned, having completed their portion of the search, by which the insularity of Priuco of Wales Land was deter- mined, and the coast lino intervening between the extremes points reached by Lieutenants Osborn and Browne were discovered ; also between Bellut Strait and Sir James Ross's farthest in 1841), at Foui' River Bay. Fearing that his provisions might not last out the requi- site period. Captain Young had sent back four of his men, and for forty days journeyed on through fogs and gales with but ono man and the dogs, building a snow hut each night; but few men could stand so long a continuance of labour and privation, and its effecfc upon Captain Young was painfully evident. Lieutenant Hobson was unable to stand without assist- ance upon his return on board; ho was not in good houltli when ho commenced his long journey, and tho sudden severe exposure brought on a serious attack of scurvy ; yet ho also most ably c'()ni})loted his work : aiul such facts clearly evince tho uullinching s])irit Avith which the object of the voyage was pursued. •r 274 IGE-WORLD ADVENTURES. Oar explorers were now at length all on board again. As there were some slight cases of scurvy, all the treasured resources of Burton ale, lemon juice, and fresh animal food were put into requisition, so that in a comparatively short time all were restored to sound health. During their sojourn in Port Kennedy they were twice called upon to follow a shipmate to the grave. Mr. George Brands, engineer, died of apoplexy on the Cth of November, 1858 ; he had been out deer shooting several hours that day, and appeared in excellent health. On the 14th of June, 1850, Thomas Blackwell, ship's steward, died of scurvy; this man had served in two of the former searching expeditions. The summer proved a warm one. Captain M'Clintock was able to start upon his homeward voyage on the 0th of August, and although the loss of the engine-driver in 1857, and of the engineer in 1858, left him with only two stokers, yet with their assistance, he was able to control the engines and steam the ship np to Fury Point. "For six days they lay there closely beset, when a change of wind removing tlio ice, the voyage was continued almost without interruption to Godliavn, in Disco, where they arrived on the 27tli of August, and were received with great kindness by Mr. Olick, inspector of North Greenland, and the local authorities. The two Esquimaux dog-drivers were now discharged, and on the 1st of Seiitembcr our successful discoverers sailed for England, where they arrived on the last day of the month. A DUl'l'KL aiix. CHAPTER XVIII. cd, lilcd ilio IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN (continued), AND TEE DIS- COVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. TUR ExTF.RPmHE AXD THE IsrESTia.lTOll LEAVE EXGLAKD IK 1850 — The two Ships part Cojipany — Tub I.westiuatoh Meets the Plover — The He/iald ix Sight — "Land Ho I" — PARENTUETicAii Paragraphs— FniE\DL\ Esquimaux — Petty Thefts — Pardonable Fids — Unfriendly Demonstrations — Fire-water — The Shiver- ing Trick — The First Winter — A Sledge Journey — The North-West Passage Discovered — An Adventure for Captain McClure — Spring Navigation — Wintering in Mercy Bay — Short Commons— A Sledge Expedition to Winter Harbour — Captain McClure Leaves a Record there — The Hecord Found BY Lieutenant Meciiam of Sir E. Belcher's Squadron — Beware op Medicine Bottles—Lieutenant Pim Arrives at thb IsVESTKIATOli — A JoYFUL WeLCO.ME — PlANS AND PROSPECTS — A Medical Survey — Abandoning the I.vri:,sr/«.wm— A Monu- ment TO Franklin. In any narrative clearness is not always secured "by ad- licriug to the order of time. For tins reason wo now tako up tlio rcmarkablo voyage of Sir Robert McClure, which ended in tho discovery of the long-sought North-west Passage. Tho arctic discovery squadron of Sir J(jhn Ross was no sooner returned from its perilous operations of 1818 and 1810, than Government determined to re-equip tho vessels, that they might resume tho search after Franklin by way of Behriiig's Strait. On tho 10th of January, 1850, tho Enterpi-ige and In- vestujator set sail from tho Thames. On board tho Enter- jprtVc was Captain Richard Collinson, senior oilicer and 2/G I C i:- WOK LD ADV KNTU R KS. leader of the expedition. Commander ilobert Le Mesurier McClure was iu command of the Investiyator. Tbcy left Portsmouth on the 20th of the month, with a fair and fresh wind. The two vessels soon parted eomimnj, but after rounding Cape Forward the luvediijator found the Untojmse at anchor in Fortescue Bay. The two ships during all the voyage had seldom been sixty miles apart, and they had crossed the equator within thirty-five miles of each other without meeting. Such are the not unusual accidents on the highway of the sea. On the 19th of April the two ships again parted company during a gale, and they never met again. For the present we shall follow the fortunes of the Tnucstigator. The equator was passed going northwards, on the 15th of June. At the end of the month they ran through the western isles of the Sandwich group, and anchored, gladly enough, on the 1st of July, outside the reefs of Honolulu harbour. Here additional stores were obtained, and abundant supplies of fruit and vegetables were purchased. On the 4th of July the explorers were ready for the polar voyage. They sailed away and made rapid progress, crossing the arctic circle on the 29th of July. Soon after they fell in with the Fluvcr, depot ship, then commanded by Commander !Moore. On the 31st of July the vessel was prepared fo»' falling in with the ice : the crow's-nest was elevated to the mast- head ; whale-lines and anchors were placed at hand, ready for heaving or tracking the ship through loose ice ; and ice- chisels, saws, ladders, and all the many articles of equip- ment peculiar to arctic service were placed on deck. The Uerald, Captain Kellett, now hove in sight. This ship went cruising about Behring's Strait in the hope of falling in with the squadron of Sir John Franklin, should either of his ships have accomplished the passage from the IN SEAKCIT OP FRANKLIN. 277 Atlantic to the Pacific. The Herald likewise was useful in adding materially to our geographical knowledge of this neighbourhood. Captain Kellett had the preceding year made an important discovery of an extensive land north and-north-west of Behring's Strait. In his despatches to li^ngland he thus tells of the discovery : — " At 9.40 on the 14th of August," he says, " the exciting report of ' Land ho ! ' was made from the mastheads, and both were soon crowded. " In running a course along the pack towai'ds our first discovery, a small group of islands Avas reported on our port bear , a considerable distance within the outer margin of the ice. " The pack here was not so close as I found it before. Lanes of water might be seen. Still more distant than this '/roup a very extensive and high land ivas reported^ which I had been watching for some time, whilst anxiously awaiting a report from some one else. There was a fine clear atmo- sphere, except in the direction of this extended land, where the clouds rolled in numerous immense masses, occasionally leaving the lofty peaks uncapped, where could bo distinctly seen columns, pillars, and very broken peaks, characteristic of the higher headlands in this sea. . . . " From the time land was reported until we hove-to under it 'A'O ran fifty miles directly for it. At first avo could not see that the pack joined it, but as wo approached the island we found the pack to rest on the island, and to extend from it as far as the eye could reach to the east- south-east. . " We left the ship with two boats. The ship kept off and on outside the thickest part of the loose ice, through which the boats were obliged to bo very careful in picking their way, on the S.E. side, Avhere I thought I might have as- cended. Wc reached the island, and found running on it a heavy sea; the first lioutenant, however, landed, having l)!ick 'd his boiii in until lu' could p<'t foothold, wiilio'.it 278 ICE-WOKLD ADVENTURES. f swimming, and then jumped overboard. I followed liis example. We hoisted the union jack, and took possession in the name of her most gracious majesty Queen Victoria. " The extent we had to walk over was not more than thirty feet. . . . With the time we could spare, and our materials, the island was perfectly inaccessible to us. This was a great disappointment, as from its summit, which is elevated above the sea 1400 feet, much could have been seen, and all doubt set aside. . . . "It becomes a nervous thing to report a discovery of land in these regions without actually landing on it, but as far as a man can be certain, who has one hundred and thirty pair of eyes to assist Mm, and all agreeing, I am certain we discovered an extensive land. I think these peaks arc a continuation of the range of mountains seen by the natives of Cape Jakan, coast of Asia, and mentioned by Baron Wrangel." The preceding paragraphs have been parenthetical. Wo return to the Investigator, still in company with the Herald. It was now a question whether the Invcstigatur should wait for the appearance of the Enterprise or go on alone. It was decided to do the latter. The two ships parted company. The Investigator had not proceeded far on her way when Captain Kellett signalled, " Had you better not wait forty-eight hours ? " The reply was characteristic. " Inqwrtajit duty ! Cannot. Ujioning own responsihllitij.''^ On the 2nd of August the first ice was met with, and immense herds of walruses were seen basking upon the loose masses. At midnight on the 5th of the month our explorers rounded the north-west extremity of the Amer- ican continent, and " began their progress towards the east- ward, and towards honie.^* On the 8th of August, when close to Point Pitt, about 120 miles east of Point Barrow, the mastei', Mr. Court, was sent on shore to erect a cairn. IIo fell in with three ; The Distribution of Presents. Ice World Adventures!\ [Page 279. IN SEARCH OF FlUNKLIN. 279 iPage 279. Esquimaux, and communication v/as readily established Avitli tlicm. Tlicy formed portion of a potty tribe resident in the neighbourhood, who also proved friendly. '• This tribe," says Osborn, "were a stalwart set, but the men had hideously disfigured themselves by labrets in the lower lip, most of them having two apertures on either side of the mouth half an inch wide, into which those dis- gusting ornaments were thrust. The women might have been good looking, according to the standard of thorough- bred Mongolian beauty, and some were perceptibly tatooed about the chin, but it was barely perceptible, any more it must be added, than the natural colour of their faces from an accumulation of dirt. General obesity prevailed in this arctic family, and they seemed to be in possession of stores of meat, as they offered to supply it for barter if the ships would wait. Thieving, performed in the most artless manner, though not altogether without skill, ap- peared their principal accomplishment. Whilst Captain ]\[cClure was on one occasion serving out some tobacco as a present, he felt a hand in his trousers' pocket, and on looking down found a native actually, while receiving with one hand, picking his pocket with the other." The lavestijator continued working along the coast, so close to the land as to allow the natives to be constantly visiting the ship, and to ensure a close and careful search for any signs of Franklin's crews having passed. Knives and other articles were distributed amongst the natives, and every care was taken to leave sure signs of the ship having passed that way. "The name of the ship was stamped upon the knives,'' Bays Osborn, " and cut with a diamond upon the looking- glasses that wore given away ; and Captain McCluro, by way of preventing the people from obliterating the name from the knife-blades by sharpening or polishing them, told them that the letters there engraved would be a charm to make the hunters fortunate as long as they remained — one 280 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. of Dr. Paley's justifiable fibs, that in such a case every one will allow to have been pardonable." A party of natives one day succeeded in obtaining an interview with the Investigator by hanging out the rather original ensign of a pair of sealskin trousers from the top of a pole. After exchanging the usual signs of peace, by holding up hands on either side, and by a general chorus of Timouli ! or Peace, the more affectionate salutation of rubbing noses was gone through, and cheerfully too, for these Esquimaux, wonderful to state, happened to b^^ this time pleasantly clean. Through the aid of Mr. Mierching a Moravian missionary, who accompanied the ships in the cliaracter of interpreter, the natives informed the Investi- gators that they had never before seen a European ; and i hey promised to take care of any who should ever come that way. These people barter their furs with the natives westward of them for Russian products ; but, remote as they are, few articles ever reach them, for even a knife was an object of the greatest possible delight and wonder. Their summer residence and hunting-grounds were on the sterile islands lying off the coast ; their winter lodges were a short dis- tance inland upon the main. On the 14th of August the Investigator had reached 148° 17' W., and the navigation became very difficult. On the 24tli some native huts w-ere observed near Point War- ren. Captain McClure landed, bn( Imj ocption by the Esquimaux was anything but f- When confidence wr st( 1, our explorers learned through the intt. reter t .o thid tribe was at war with its neighbours, and had no communication with the Indians of the Mackenzie River. " When asked why they did not trade with the v ite men np the big river, the reply was, they had given ^^ Indians a water which had killed a great many of then. d made others foolish, and they did not want to have an^ >l' it ! IX SEARCH OP FRANKLIN. 281 "From this tribe Captain McCluvc heard of two boats having been to Capo Warren from the westward, and having returned again; and lie was for some time rather puzzled at a story they told him, of a white man having been killed and buried in this neighbourhood. To the inquiry of when it had taken place, all that could bo learned was, that * it might have been last year, or perhaps when the narrator was a child ! ' an Esquimaux mode of dealing with dates not a little perplexing. "This story evidently referred to the death and burial of a man near this place, in one of Sir John Richardson's early journeys from the Mackenzie to the Coppermine River. Captain McClure, not having been supplied with all modern books of arctic discovery, was not aware of this circum- stance. " Althongli the natives offered to show where this body was interred, it was not until next day that circumstances admitted of an examination being made in the locality pointed out ; and then it was without any success, although the ruined remains of a couple of drift-wood huts, so well described by Sir John Richardson in his journey through Prince Rupert's Land, were there to excite curiosity and afford grounds for conjecture." The Investigators reached Cape Bathurst on the olst of August. Here the Esquimaux were very numerous. They were busily engaged in whaling. A humorous incident happened here which is worth repeating. " A constant exchange of garments went on between the seamen and officers on the one side, and the natives on the other ; but one Esquimaux, more knowing than the rest, hit npon an ingenious plan to obtain clothing without giving a quid pro quo. He went to several individuals of the Investigator'' s company, commencing with the com- mander, and pretended to bo suffering from excessive cold. His teeth chattered, and his whole frame shook so, that compassion was immediately aroused, and a Gnernscr frock ■2S-2 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURED. given liim ; then ho felt better ; but watching an oppor- tunity, the roguo would slip it off, stow it away in his knyack, and then return to obtain a fresh one. At last, hoAvever, an old quartermaster, who had been watching him with some degree of amusement, flew into a passion at the fellow trying the same trick on with him, called him * a Jb/t',' and threatened to knock his head off, accompanying his threat with a demonstration from a large horny fist which the Esquimaux undcrL'tood better than the profuse volley of adjectives that rolled out at the same time over the quartermaster's quid." The Livestiijator left Capo Bathurst and pushed ahead. On the 4tli of September fires were observed on shore whicli proved to be volcanoes. The 11th of the month brought with it the first signs of approaching winter. The vessel was made fast to a floe. On the 15th the ice began to drive towards Barrow's Strait. On the IGt^^. of September our explorers still made slow progress in the same direction, and on the 17th September, 1850, reached their most advanced position, in latitude To" 10' N., and longitude 117° 10' W., about Ihirfi/ iiilles from tlio waters of that series of straits which, under the names of ^[elville, Barrow, and Lancaster, communicate with Baffin's 13ay. " At this tantalising distance the ship ceased to drift, and the ice appeared to have renclied a point beyond which some unknown cause Avould not allow it to proceed. The licavy pack of lylelvillo Strait ice lying across the head of tiio channel was supposed to be the reason of the ice of Prince of Wales Strait ceasing to move on to the north-cast; and the impassible nature of the pack in the same direction in the following year confirmed this hypothesis." Captain McClure decided to run the risk of wintering in the pack. The ship drifted about for some time exposed to great peril ; baton September the oOlh it became r->tation- ary, in latitude 72° 50' N., and longitude 117° 55' \V. The palo sun now swept across the sky in a daily diminishing IN SEAllCH OF rilANKLlN. 283 a arc, and bis rays had ceased to impart warmth. The hous- ing was spread over the ship, and everything was made secure for the winter. " Every evening, after work was over, the after part of the lower deck was converted into a temporary stage, on which the ' clever dogs ' of the crew performed, danced, sang, or recited, for the amusement of those who were less accomplished ; and the roars of laughter and lighthcarted jokes passing among them bore good evidence that neither nips, frostbites, nor hairbreadth escapes preyed upon -the spirits of any of the audience." Preparations were now made to despatch a sledge expe- dition to the northward to reach Barrow Strait, and assure themselves of the existence of a North-west Passage. On the 21st of October Captain McCkire sot out with a sledgu manned by six men, and commanded by the active and in- defatigable master Mr. Court. The ship was left in charge of Lieutenant Ilaswell. The journey was a comfortless one. At tlio close of tlic first day the captain and his men had a truly frugal meal : a pint of tepid water apiece, into which a little oatmeal was thrown. Their suppe?' on the following day consisted of one pint of melted snow and a piece of frozi'ii pennnican. On tht) 23rd great didicalties were encountered. 'J'lu' autumnal snow had accumulated heavily on tlio surface of tho young ice-fields and weighed tliem down, causing tlio sea water to flow tlirougli suiliciently to make the nnder part of the snow almost as tenacious as clay. Tlie men were greatly tormented by thirst, but every handful of snow which they thrust into their mouths augmented rather than assuaged their suderings. The snow contained more or less of the salt of tho sea water. "About noon one of tho best men of tho party became exhausted, and two others were frost-bitten. Captain McCluro then stopped to give them the noon-day meal of water niul frozen ponimican, but the latter they did 2S1. ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. not tasto, for thirst had quite overcome hunger. When they had drunk all the allowance of water that the day's fuel would thaw, they again trudged on un^^il dark, when the tent was pitched, and their rough meal and rougher hcd prepared." The morning of the 26th of October, 1850, was fine and cloudless. With feelings which it would be difficult ade- quately to describe. Captain McClurc and his party started before sunrise to obtain from an adjacent hill a view of that sea which connected their discoveries with those of Sir Edward Parry. The hill, which they named Mount Observation, was six Imndred feet above the sea level. They reached the top, and then awaited with impatience the increase of light which would reveal the long sought for North-west Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. " As the sun rose," says Lieutenant Osborn, " the pano- rama slowly unveiled itself. First the land called after II.R.H. Prince Albert showed out on an easterly bearing, !iud from a point, since called after the late Sir Robert Peel, it evidently turned away to the east, and formed the n(jrthern entrance to the channel upon that side. " The coast of Banks Land, on which the party stood, terminated at a low point about twelve miles farther on, thus forming a part of, and connecting itself with, that land, the loom of which had been so correctly reported and so well placed on our charts by Sir Edward Parry's I'xpedition, thirty-three years before. Away to the north, and across to the entrance of Prince of Wales Strait, ley tlie frozen waters of Barrow, or, as it is now called, Mel- ville Strait, and raised as our explorers were at an altitude of six hundred feet above its level, the eyesight embraced a distance which precluded the possibility of any land lying in that direction between them and Melville Island. "The Noi'th'V'Cst Faasiyijc was discovered. All doubt as to the existeneoof a wiitei' comnumicatiou bdwecn the two ■ IN .SKAKCII HI- l'i;\NKLIX. 28.''> oceans was removed ; and it now only remained for Cap- tain McClurc, Ills oilicers, and men, to perfect tlio work by traversing the few thousand miles of known ground between tliem and their homes." Our explorers encamped that night on Cape Lord John llussell. A mimic bontirc was kindled in commemoration of the discovery, and an extra glass of grog was served out by the leader. Just at the end of the roturn journey Captain McClure had an adventure which might have terminated seriously. On the 30tli of October, being certain that ho knew tho position of the Livestiijatur, ho k'ft the sledge, intending to push on so as to have a warm meal ready for his party on their arrival. When six miles from the ship a heavy mist overtook him, and night came on. He struggled on awhile, falling heavily and repeatedly on the broken ice. " I now," ho says, " climbed on a mass of squeezed-u[) ice, in the hope of seeing my party, should they pass near, or of attracting the attention of some one on board the vessel ])y firing my fowling-piece. Unfortunately, I hail no other ammunition than what it was loaded with ; for 1 had fancied, when I left the sledge, that the two charges in the gun would be all I should be likely to require. After waiting for an hour patiently, I was rejoiced to see through tho mist the glare of a blue light, evidently burnt in (lie direction in which I had left the sledge. I immediately fired to denote my position, but my firo waa evidently un- observed, and, both barrels being discharged, I was unabU- to repeat tho signal. My only hope now rested upon the ship answering; but nothing was to bo seen, and although I onco moro saw, at a greater distance, the glare of auothi r blue light from the sledge, there seemed no probability of my having any other shelter for the night than that the floo allbrded. "Two hours elapsed. I endeavoured to see the face of my pockot-corapass by tho light <>f a solitary Ineifer mnlfli I II i 286 ICE- WORLD ADVENTURES. \\i which happened to be in my pocket ; hut in this hope I was cruelly disappointed, for it fizzed and went out, leav- ing me in total darkness. It was now half- past eight ; there were eleven hours of night before me, a temperaturo 15° below zero, bears prowling about, and I with an un- loaded gun in my hands. The sledge-party might, however, reach the ship, and, finding I had not arrived, search would be made and help be sent ; so I walked to and fro upon my hummock until I suppose it must have been eleven o'clock, v» hen that hoi^e fled likewise. " Descending from the top of the slab of ice on which I had clambered, I found under its Ice a famous bed of soft dry snow, and, thoroughly tired, I threw myself upon it and slept perhaps three hours, when, upon opening my eyes, I found that the mist had cleared away, and that the stars and aui'ora borealis were shining in all the splendour of an arctic night. Although unable to see the islands or the ship, I wandered about tlio ice in different directions until daylight, when I found I had passed the Investirjator four miles." A few hours after Captain McClurc's arrival on board, the sledge party reached the Investigator^ and great was tho joy of all tho crew at the glorious news they brought. It may give some idea to the uninitiated in sledge travel- ling of tho severe nature of the duty, if wo quote tho fol- lowing extract from Captain McClurc's journal : — " The weight brought back to the ship was 793 pounds, being 100 more than when we started. This was occa- sioi 1 by the accumulation of ice upon furs, tent, blankets, and sledge, in consequence of the vapour thrown off by our bodies and cooking apparatus. And, strange as it may seem, the whole consumption of food during nine days among eight men, independently of chocolate and spirits, amounted to but eighteen poumls of pemmican, thirty-ono pounds of biscuits, and two pounds of oatmeal ; a con- sumption ahuosi incredible, and only to bo accounted for TN SEAUCH OP FEANKLIN. 287 by tlio crew being every night too exhausted, aftci* their clay's exertion, to care for anything else but water; but this article was not to be obtained except by thawing it." The winter of 1850-51 fortunately did not prove very severe, and the spring found all on board ready for spring service. Various sledging parties were sent out, but no traces of the passage of ships or of civilized man appeared in any direction. Lieutenant HaswcU fell in with Esqui- maux, but obtained no information from them; Lieutenant Cresswell coasted three sides of Baring's Land, but equally without success as to the main object of their voyage. On the 14th of July, 1871, the Livcstujator was once more afloat, and recommenced, her battle with the elements in the endeavour to shape a north-easterly course, and force her way ' ^:o Barrow's Straits. Till the IGth of August tlio struggle was continued, with varied, success, when the vessel drifted with the ice for fifteen miles to the south- west, whilst the pack could bo seen extending in one unbroken line to the eastward. Under theso circum- stances, although twenty-five miles only ffoni tho entrance to Barrow's Strait, Captain McCluro relinguished tho at- tempt, and resolved upon trymg it from tho uorth-west by circumnavigating Baring's Land. Ill this ho unfortunately failed, after a perilous struggle with tho ice. After a series of marvellous escapes tho ship was run into a well-sheltered spot on the 29th of Sep- tember. There our explorers cast anchor, giving to this harbour of refuge tho descriptive name of Mercy Bay. Newly escaped from imminent danger, ]\Ierey Bay was a welcome resting place, but the reality of their condition soon forced itself upon tliem. Tiiey had reached, by tlie ellbrts of a whole seiisou, only a position ratlier north of tho one occupied the preceding winter ! They had been almost two years from l]ngliind, and their pi'ovisions had been calculated for little more than throe years. Under these circumstances, Captain ^McClure decided (o 288 ICE-WOKLD ADVKNTUHKS. I 1 put the whole ship's company upon two-thirds of the then navy allowance, since that period considerably r'ncreased. On these painful details, it is, however, unnecessary to dilate ; and a pretty good idea of the scanty fare all were on may be conceived from the following description of the mode in which the gun-room ofFiccrs lived : — "Their stock was all finished; they were all on ship's allowance like the men, and, like them, adopted the system of each in turn being cook or carver for the mess. The carver's share consisted in getting the last portion out of the eight into which the food had to be divided — a method which insured, we need hardly say, the utmost impartiality on the part of the carver, the other members helping them- selves to their shares before him. The rations for the dav were given out every morning ; and each ate it, at his own discretion or inclination, at either breakfast or dinner. They had, in fact, but one meal per diem ; for the break- fast, if it deserved the name, consisted of a cup of the weakest cocoa and a small portion of the small allowance of bread; the rest of the bread, and half a pound of salt meat, containing a good proportion of bono, with just enough preserved vegetable to swear by, constituted the other meal. There was a cup of weak tea in the evening ; but few were able to save anything to eat with it." This meagre allowance was only raised on two special occasions. On the anniversaiy of tho discovery of the North-west Passage an abundant repast was spread for all ; and again on Christmas Day, after enjoying a plentiful dinner, they toasted their niends at home. As spring advanced there was very little inducement for travelling parties; they could only go over again the ground surveyed the year before. They had no strength now to throw away. Hunting, however, was much en- gaged in. It was equally beneficial both for health and spirits, and led to many adventures. A veteran sergeant of marines, for example, was attacked by musk bulls. IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN. 280 After firing away all his ammunition, and even tlic '' worm" of his gun, he despatched his last adversary by firing tho ramrod through his head. One officer, on another occa- sion, was neai'ly surrounded by wolves ; and another, hav- ing lost his reckoning in an impenetrable fog, found his way back to the ship by no other token than tho direction of the wind blowing on his cheek. One journey, however, was undertaken, and it was of such importance that Captain McClure himself commanded the party. Its destination was Winter Harbour, Melville Island, where Captain Parry had wintered in 1810-20, Here he hoped to meet with information, if not assistance, from England. The explorers reached Winter Harbour on the 28tli of April, and found neither vessel nor provisions nor news there. Disappointed, but not desponding, they left at Winter Harbour a record of their doings, and returned to tho In- vestigator. All that season the ship stuck fast, and by the 24th of August the lead of water had closed, and all hope of get- ting free for another year was at an end. Wo must now ask the reader to turn back to the account of Sir Edward Belcher's expedition, which left England in the spring of 1852, to rescue tho Livcsti'jator as well as the Enterprise. He will there see that two of the ships of that expedition — tho Ei'solufe, Captain Kolictt, and tho Intrepid, Commander M'CIintock — proceeded, about tho close of August, towards Melville Island. (Sec page 228.) At tho end of Septembei* a sledge party from Captain Kellett's ship, arrived at AVintcr Harbour. Lieutenant Mecham, who commanded it, happened to inspect more narrowly than usual a famous mass of sandstone, on which Parry had caused his ship's name to bo engraved. Ho could scarcely believe his eyes when ho discovered a docu- ment on tho top telling of tho discovery of the North-wast Passage and tho position of tho Livi'ufi'jnfnr. 200 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. All on board Captain Kcllett's squadron waited im- patiently for tlio spring of 1853, wlicn it would bo possible to send a sledge party to tlie successful ship. Lieutenant Bedford Pirn was told off for tho agreeable duty of com- municating witli Captain McCluro. In the meantime gloom was settling down upon our brave adventurers in the Investigator. Preparations had been made for tho abandonment of tho ship by tho most weakly of tho crew. The sledges wcro ready, and the slender store of provisions was packed. Just then the first death on board since leaving England took place. " It was occasioned," says Osborn, "by the thoughtlessness of tho poor fellow himself, who, by way of a joke, went into the surgery and drank off the washings of several medicine bottles." All on board, of course, were in the lowest pos- sible spirits. Tho 0th of April dawnoh And hero wo shall quoto from Captain McClure's journal: — " While walking near tho shiji, in conversation with tho first lieutenant upon tho subject of digging tho grave for tho man who died yesterday, and discussing how wo could cut a grave in the ground whilst it was so hardly frozen — a subject naturally sad and depressing — we perceived a figure walking rapidly towards us from the rough ice at the entrance of the bay. From his pace and gestures wo both naturally supposed at first that ho was some one of our party pursued by a bear, but as we approached him doubts arose as to who it could bo. Ho was certainly un- like any of our men ; but recollecting that it was possible some one might be trying a new travelling dress, prepara- tory to the departure of our sledges, and certain that no one elsG was near, we continued to advance. When within about two hundred yards of us, this strange figure threw up his arms, and made gesticulations resembling those made by Esquimaux, besides shouting, at tho top of his voice, words which, from the wind and tho intense excite- IN SEARCH OF FKANKMX. 201 mcnt of tlio moment, sounded like a wild screech ; and this brouL^'lit us both fiiirly to a standstill. The stranger came quietly on, and wo saw that his face was as black as ebony, and really at the moment wc might bo pardoned for •\vouderiug whether ho was a denizen of this or the other world ; and had ho but given us a glimpse of a tail or a cloven hoof wo should assuredly hav^c taken to our legs ; as it was we gallantly stood our ground, and had the skies fallen upon us we could hardly have been more astonished than when the dark-faced stranger called out, — • "'I'm Lieutenant Pim, late of the Uendd, and now in the Eesolafo. Captain Kellett is in her at Dealey Island I ' " To rush at and shake him by the hand was the first impulse, for the heart was too full for the tongue to speak. The announcement of relief being close at hand, when none was supposed to bo even within the arctic circle, was too sudden, unexpected, and joyous for our minds to comprehend it all at once. The news llew^ with lightnino* rapidity, the ship was all in commotion; the sick, forgetful of their maladies, leaped from their hammocks ; the arti- ficers dropped their tools, aud tlio lower deck was cleared of men : for all rushed for tho hatchway to be assured tliat a stranger was actually among them, aud that his tale was true. Despondency fled tho ship, and Lieutenant Pini received a welcome which ho will never forget." A short time after Lieutenant Pirn's dog-sledgc with two men arrived, and long and eager were the questionings which ensued. Captain ^IcClure deciacd on going at onco to see Captain Kellett, " and luakiiig arrangements with liiin for having all his sickly liands sent to Dealey Lslautl, and thence home, whilst ho endeavoured to carry tho Invest t(jatui' back to England, by waiting in her through another summer and winter, that of 18-jo-54, before abandoning her and retreating to Melville Island." Captain Kellett, as senior oITicer, decided tliat a medical survey of tho crew of tho Investigator should take ])Iaco ^M2 ^ %.' ^ ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. before any definite arrangement was made. The survcy was fatal to the hopes of the resolute leader. The ship bad, therefore, to be abandoned. " Their last duty, and that a painful one, was to erect a neat tablet over the graves of their three shipmates who had died in the Bay of Mercy " — for two had been struck down since the sailor who died of a joke ; " and that done, on tlie 3rd of June, 1853, the Invest ifjator^s crew hoisted the colours to the mast-head of their dear, gallant bark, and turned their backs upon her as sorrowfully as they would have done on an old, well-tried friend in his extremity." Tlic Investigators reached the licsohdc and the Intrc];)'ul on the 17tli of June. Their troubles were not at an end. But for the abandonment of these ships, and the extra- ordinary conclusion of Sir Edward Belcher's expedition, the reader must refer to Chapter xv. On the 28th of September, ISol, the Investigators landed in England. A court-martial went through the usual form of inquiring into the loss of H.M.S. Investigator, and most honourably acquitted Captain McClure, his officers, and men from any blame on her account, and added the highest encomiums upon the gallantry and zeal exhibited by all ; yet, in a public point of view, the ship's company generally felt that few honours were awarded to them in comparison with the sufferings they had so nobly borne. Captain McClure was shortly afterwards knighted by the queen. On the meeting of parliament, a select committee of the House of Commons met, to consider the reward due to those who had discovered and achieved the North-west Passage. " But," saj a Sherard Osborn, " in the interim between he arrival of Captain McClure in England and the meeting of parliament, news had arrived that Dr. Rae had obtained certain information of a party from Franklin's missing squadron liaving passed the intervening unknown , I ' m n Abandoning the "Investigator." /ce- World Adventures.'] [Page 292. IN SEAUCII OF FRANICLIX. 203 space which lay between Barrow Strait and the coast of North America. The duty of the committee became a somewhat more responsible one, in so far as it had to award the priority of discovery to Franklin or McCIurc, before the papers of the former came to hand. ** Lady Franklin, in a most able and touching letter, called the earnest attention of the honourable committee to the impossibility of arriving at any certain decision in the absence of all evidence as to Franklin's claim to the priority; and they therefore qualified the award by stating, very justly, that Captain Sir Robert McClure, in H.M.S. Investigator, had discovered a North-west Passage, and successfully carried his followers from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean by that route, exhibiting himself an ex- ample of unflinching perseverance, courage, and zeal, which his officers and men nobly followed, and, to use the words of the honourable committee, * that they per- formed deeds of heroism which, though not accom.panied by the excitement and the glory of the battle-field, yet rival, in bravery and devotion to duty, the highest and most successful achievements of war ! ' Accordingly a reward of £10,000 was grantc'd to the officers and crew of H.M.S. Investigator, as a token of national approbation, and acting npon a suggestion thrown out by the honour- able committee, all this gallant ship's company eventually received from their Queen a medal, which they will as- suredly treasure far more than any pecuniary reward." " Franklin," says the same w^riter, *' and his hundred and forty followers were the forlorn hope of the North- west Passage. By the sacrifice of their lives they have secured to us their countrymen an honour that perhaps might otherwise never have been won ; for it was in seek- ing for them that Captain McClure and his gallant officers and crew succeeded, for the first time in the annals of the world, in passing from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. In the eloquent words o*" Lord Stanley and Sir Edward Wk m vm II r 291 ICE-WORLU ADV ENT U RES. w Pariy, when addressing Captain Crcsswcll, "wlio first brought the intclh'gcnco to England in 1853 : ' It was a trinmph. that would not bo valued the less h-^dily because it was not stained by bloodshed; a triumph which was not embittered by any single painful or melancholy re- miniscence ; a triumpli not over man but over nature ; a triumph which inflicts no injury, and which humiliates no enemy ; a triumi)h not for this age alone, but for posterity — not for England only, but for mankind.' " Tlic Nortii-west Passage would never have been dis- covered but for the devotion of Franklin, his officers, and men ; they each volunteered for that duty, and they fell in the porformanco of it. The party from the Urchiis and Terror which perished, it appears, at the mouth of the Great Fish River, must have gone down some channel from the neighbourhood of Capes Walker or Bunny in Barrow's Strait, and thus have fallen in adding the great link which connects the known coasts ot the Parry Archipclngo with that of the American continent. They did not, liko the Investigators, aehie^'e the passnge by actually passing from ocean to ocean ; but it is perfectly possible that at the very moment when Ca})tain McClurc stood on the northern coast of Banks' Land, and assured himself of a water-communication between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, some lonely survivors of Franklin's ex- pedition may have been watching from King William's Land, that known highwny to Behring's Strait, ^,•hich Deaso and Simpson had traversed many years before — a pathway upon whoso entrance they yielded up their gallant spirits. Cnptain McCluro av.d his followers can well alfin'd to surrender cheerfully to the illnstrinus dead that share of the honour reaped which is their due ; and the friends Avho mourn the loss of those who perished in gallantly endeavouring to perform what the luvesiUjainr so ha])pily cfTected, may still point to the chart of tho polar regions, and say, * til monumcnluin rcquo-is^ circums^i'cc .'' " IN SEARCH OP ^^A^'KLr^^ 205 It will bo observed by tlic reader that tlionj^li tlic pro- blem of the passage was solved, Sir Robert McClurc did not find it navigable. But that it is some years open is undoubted, as one may conclude from the drift timber from the Pacific, and the whales with harpoons stuck in them in the Sea of Okhotsk, which have been found in Davis's Strait. But that the passage will prove of the slightest value to the world, few, for long before its discovery, ever believed. AYo turn now briefly to notice ^he career of Captain Collinson in the EnlcrprlsG after she parted from the In- vcstijator, as we noticed several pages back,* on the llHli of April, 1850. She reached the latitude of Icy Capo as late as the 22nd of September, having made a long and circuitous passage from the Sandwich Islands. The pack ice was fallen in witli there. Winter was evidently closing in, rnd the pro- fipect of rounding Capo Barrow that year wajj at an cud. In obedience, therrforc, to the strict injunctif)ns contained in his orders, not to winter in the pack, Captain Collinson bore up for a v,\ .mcr climate, so as to have his crew and ship ready to resume their labours in the season of 1851. Winter passed away, and on the 10th of July, IS^l, we find Captain Collinson so far on his way as to be leaving I'ort Clarence in Behring's Strait. He doubled Point Burrow on the 2Gth, and passed the month of the ^[ackcnzic Ivivcr on the 8th of August. On the 2()th they caught sight of Capo Parry, and Cape Erebus was discovered to the north- ward. "Hauling up close to the land," writes Collinson, " wo entered a strait on the 2Hth, in which on the follow- ing day two islets were seen ; on landing I found a whale- boat and di'pot of provisions, Avith a notice of Commander McClurc's, dated 15th June, 1851." At last our expkn-ers were frozen in at a spot on Prince Albert's Land, near tlie entrance of Prince of Wales i I ii .' ': 29(3 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. Strait. When spring came, slcdgc-cxploration was pro- ceeded with, and some important discoveries were made. It was late in the season before the Enterprise got free, and after a short and perilous navigation she was frozen up again. Early in the spring of I800 the east coast of Victoria Land was explored. Failing to find any traces worth mentioning of the Franklin expedition, Captain Collinson now thought it prudent to make good his retreat from the polar regions. In August, 1853, the head of the Enterprise was turned towards Behring's Strait. But she was destined to spend another winter in the ice. The winter of 1853-5-i was passed in Camden Bay. When she got free, the Enterprise sailed via IIong-Kong for England. !i' We now pass over an interval of many years, and arrive at the year 1875, when a new Franklin expedition w\t.s set on foot. The announcement of it was made just about the time whm the Alert and the Discovcrij were setting forth on their voyage of exploration towards the North Pole, as wo have told in our concluding chapters. It was said that the expense of this new expedition was borne by Lady Franklin and Mr. Gordon Bennett, of the jVtv/; York Herald. The first object of the expedition was to discover more relics of Sir John Frai ''in and his party; the second, if possible to get through the North-west Pas- sage ; bottmical and marine research were also to form a prominent part of the explorers' mission. The expedition consisted of the Pandoraf under the command of Captain Allan Young, who had already distinguished himself in the polar seas ; ho served with Admiral Sir Leopold M'Clin- tock on board the Fo,i^. The Pandora was a smart-looking vessel of 120 tons burden, which had for many years served as a d.spatch boat in the navy. She was purchased from the Admiralty for special service in the arctic seas. A thorough over- i IN SEAPvCII or FRANKLIN. 297 hauling was given her before she started. Every holt an'l rope was replaced, the masts, three in number, wero newly spliced, and the yards shortened and re-sailed. The usual commander's cabin was divided for the ac- commodation of Captain Allan Youn^ and Lieutenant Lillingston. In each cabin a well-stocked library was placed, and on tlic walls photographs and landscapes. Amongst the other articles put on board were a quantity of scientific instruments and books sent down from London, and an organ which has a somewhat remarkable history. In one of the early Franklin search expeditions, this organ, a gift of the late Prince Consort, was first taken away to an arctic latitude ; since that time it has done duty in four other arctic expeditions, including the voyage of the Fox. A silver plate was fixed upon it telling of its adventures, and its musical properties were renovated at a largo out- lay by Captain Young for this expedition. Outside the captain's cabin, the mess-room of the Fandora was situ- ated, and from the four sides of this chamber were con- structed cabins for the members of the scientific staff. Everything that could bo thought of as likely to secure the comfort of the crew and the success of the expedition was sent on board. Six strong boats, two whaleboats, snider rifies for seal-hunting, an ico condenser, and the now orthodox crow's-nest, were among her most noticeable fittinf^s. The vessel carried thirty-two souls all told. Amongst tliat number were included, besides Captain Allan Young, the following ollieers : — Lieutenant Lillingston and Dr. Horner, M. R.C.S., — the latter went iiot only as medical ofilcer, but also as meteorologist ; he took a prominent part in the anibulanco service of the Franco-German war, — Lit'utenant Pirie, of our navy, and Lieutenant IJaynan, of the Dutch navy. The last-named went out as a scientific ofilcer. Ho is known to] havo won some dislinction in the Acheon War. T >-'ri t 208 ICE-WOULD ADVKNTUllfJS. The oldest man on the Pandora ^vas Tom Flovonco, captain of the hold, who had been nineteen years " in the business." This veteran of over threescore ^A'inters carried with him a silver watch, having inscribed upon it words showing it was the gift of Lady Franklin for services rendered by him in searching for her gallant husband. He was sent out in the randnra at Lady Franklin's request. There were two quartermasters in the Vandora, Myles and Timson, both of whom had served for many years in tho royal navy; tho ship steward was Mr. Edwards, the chief engineer ISiv. Ball, and tho principal harpooncr was a man named Randerson, who had over and over again taken duty in whale ships. Probably tho most acclimatised arctic voyager, however, was the cook, Shulton, who had been twenty- seven years away in tho polar seas. The most remarkable man among tho petty officers was "Esquimaux Joe," who sailed with Hall in the Vo- hm's expedition, lie had been specially brought over from America to act as interpreter on board the Pandora. Tn appearance he was more like a native of China than of auy other part of the world. To quote the Tt'ords of one of In's comrades, "he knew nine languages; was in England twenty-two years ago ; was nowabout thirty-six years of age; and was now sufl'oriug from a cold which he did not expect to got rid of until he fouiid himself in tho cold regions." The course marked out for the Pandora was plain enough at starting. Slio was to proceed to ]?!,^co, and in expecta- tion of licr arriving before tlic Alerl and Discovcrji had sailed for tho north, sho carried letters and papers for their ci'cws. Jf they lad taken their diparturo, it was intended that tho Pand'ira was to take the bags Avith her j^nd run to Cape Yoik on tho other side of ^lelvillo I3ay. Thence sho was to proceed to Cart-y Islands, rather more than midway between Melville Bay and Smith's Sound, and in about 77° N. latitude. On this island no " poot oflico" or cairn IN SEARCH OF FRANKLIN. 200 ll a- n\ if a 1'. ut A lias existed for many years. Here they \vcro to "deposit" the mails for the arctic expedition, iu the liopo that they Avoukl be found as the Alert and Discovery returned from the north. After this the Tandora's course -would depend entirely on circumstances. Slioukl slic get through the passage, she might return home by way of China or the west coast of America. The Fandora left Southampton on the 2r>th of June, looking "exceedingly neat and trim." She carried with lier no fewer than a thousand letters and newspapers for the Alert and D/6'COi'cr//, and three hundred for the Valorous. The same night Captain Young cast anchor in Ports- mouth Harbour. It was somewhat out of his course, but he could not leave England without bidding adieu to an old commander and friend in the person of Sir Leopold ]\rClintoek. At four o'clock in the afternoon of the 'JOth the Pandora left Portsmouth, without any sort of demon- stration save the vigorous cheering of the crews of half a dozen men-of-waL- and the youngsters of a training ship. Connected with the departure of this expeditioii there was a tinge of melancholy.' For some time, and with a good deal of interest, the event had been anticipated by Lady Franklin, wlio had hoped that by residing at JJourne- mouth she would bo within easy access of Southampton, and thus bo able to watch the fitting-out and witness iho departure of the .ship. She, however, lell seriously ill. The deepest sympathy with the noble-minded lady was expressed by the Pandora\^ crow as the accounts of her condition were conveyed to them just before sailing. On the I'Sdi of the following month Lady Franhlin breathed her last. She had long sunerod I'lvm failing health, and the last ycars'o'! her life were passed iu almo.^t complete retirement. The voyngei* in starting for the arctic seas never knows but that some unforesi'on obstacle may bar Iii.s progress and prevent ibo accomplishment of lii.i mission. It was just so 300 ICE-WORLD ADVENTUKES. with the Tandora. She reached Disco in safety, and, fol- lowing the ti'aclc of the Alert and the Discovery, proceeded to the Carey Islands. She then sailed away west npon a fresh attempt to achieve the North-west Passage. The vessel wound its way through Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait, till the celebrated Peel Straits were reached. It was the region explored on foot by Captain Young, when with the Fox, in I80O, he wintered at Bellot Strait. The hopes of the party were great. One linndred and twenty miles sailing due south would bring the vessel to King William's Land, when the course would be easy work. But here once more a brave crew were doomed to dis- appointment. A solid belt of ice was encountered. The Pandora could proceed no farther. It was most tantalizing. Only this belt of ice prevented the accomplishment of the passage. As far as the eye could reach there was no break anywhere. Captain Young might have wintered there, but he rightly conjectured that the course would not bo closed behind him if he made good speed, so he retraced his steps, resolv- ing to attiempt the passage another season. On his return voyage he found despatches from Captain Nares of the AUrt and IJiscucery at Carey Islands, giving good news of the proia'css of the North Pule expedition. The Tandora arrived at Spithcad on Saturday, the IGth of October. Shortly after the death of Lady Franklin and during the absence of Captain Young, a monument was uncovered in AVcstminster Abbey to the memory of Sir John Franklin. It had been erected at the expense of his devoted widow and bore these lines by the poet-laureate : — " Xot here: tho wliito north has thy bones ; uulI thou, TToroic sailor smil, Art ini-:~inf.; on thine happier voyngo now Toward no earthly pole." CHAPTER XIX. ON THE WAY TO THE NOliTII POLE. Advice to Henry VIII. — Seeking Stiunge Regions — Henry Hcdson's riRST Voyage in 1G07— Jonas Poole's Voyage in Kilo — Lord Mulgrave's Expedition in 177iJ — Ax Adventure with a Sea-horse — Cai-tain Bcciian's Exi'Edition in 1818 — Takrv's Attempt to Beach the 1'ole in 1827 — The Programme of the Excursion — The Highest Latitude ever IIeached — Drifting Southwards — Some Consolation — Dr. Hayes' Expedition in 18G0— A Difficult Journey — The most Northerly known Land — The Voyage of the Pola/us in 1871-73— A Chapter or Acci- dents— Picked UP DY A Whaler. The spirit of discovery and foreign enterprise burst forth ift England in the reign of Henry VHI., and flourished in full vigour under the fostei ig hand of EHzabeth. The first arctic enterprise undertaken solely by Englishmen, of which wo have any rccoyd, was at the suggestion of Robert Thorne, of Bristol, who i j said to have exhorted Henry VHL, " with very weighty and substantial reasons, to set forth a discoverio even to the North Pole," which voyage, as would appear from the Chronicles of Hall and Grafton, actually took place; for they inform us that " King Henry VIII. sent two faire ships well manned and victualled, having in them divers cunning men, to seek strange regions, iiud so i\wy set forth out of the Thames the 2Uth day of Mny, ii. the 10th ycerc of his raigne, which was the yero of our Lord 1527." Hakluyt took great pains to discover wlio theso cunning men were, but all he could learn was that one of the ships was called tho Duuiinus Vubisciiiii, antl that a canon of St. Paul's, in London, a great mathematician and wealthy man, went therein Iiinisclf in person; that having snil(Hl very far 302 ICE-WOULD ADVENTURES. nortli-wGstward, one of tlio ships was cast away on ontcr- ini^ into a dangerous gulf, about; tlio great opening between tlio nortli parts of Newfoundland and Meta In- cognita or Greenland, and the otlior returned home about the beginning of October: "and this," says Uakliiyt, "is all that I can hitherto learno or Undo out of this voyage, by reason of the great negligence of the writers of those times, who should have used more care in preserving of the memories of the worthy acts of our nation." No schemes having the North Polo in view were venti- lated again till the beginning of the seventeenth century. Tho unfortunate end of Captain Knight's voyage, in 1600, to discover a North-west Passage* did not in tho least discourage tho merchants of London ; they were as intent as ever on finding out a nearer route to Japan and Cliiua. Hitherto neither the north-east nor the south-west had held out much hope of success, and it was now resolved to try a new route and steer a course towards tho Nortli Polo. For this enterprise they selected Henry Hudson, an experienced and intrepid seaman, well skilled in the theory as well as practice of navigation, and in the use of nautical instruments. It deserves to bo remarked that ho is tho Pu'st of tho northern navigators who made observations on the inclination or dip of tho magnetic needle. This adventurous navigator, with ten men and a boy, in a small bark, whoso namo and tonnage have not been left on record, set sail from Gravcsend on the 1st of May, 1G07. On tho loth of Juno Hudson fell in with land ahead and some ice ; the weather became io'^gy, and tho sails and shrouds wero frozen. Tho land was high, and tho upper part covered with snow; but being several days without an observation, Hudson was doubtful whether it was an island or part of Greenland. It was evidently that jutting part of tho cast coast of Greenland whicli lies to the north- ward of Iceland. * Sec pago ICl, ct scq. ON THE WAY TO THE NORTH VOLT.. o 03 ul id nt-' On the 22nd ho was, by observation, in latitude 72'^ 38' N., and on tlio woatlicr clearing up, ho found himself about twelve loag'iics from the land. " It was a niayne higli land, nothing at all covered with snow ; and the north part of that maync high land was very high mountaynes, but we could see no snow on them." This land lying in latitude 73^ he named Hold with Hope. From this part of the cast coast of Greenland ho steered away north-cast, hoping to fall in with Xewland, as the Dutch called Spitzbcrgen. lie arrived at it on the 27th, and found plenty of ice in the neighbourhood. After sailing for some distance up a deep fiord or firth, where it was so cold that the shrouds and sails were frozen, the navigators betook themselves again to the ocean. They passed through much ice and drift-wood, and saw plenty of seals, and some bears. One of the latter was killed, and many of the crow were sick, we arc told, through eating its flesh unsalted. Hudson originally intended to pass round the sonthcrn extremity of Spitzbergen ; but the wind being south and coming into a green sea, which he states to be always freest of ice, whereas a Hue sea is always most postered with it, he stood to the north, and in 80"^ 23' saw the land to the southward. The ship entered a deep bay or sound, at the bottom of which the mate and boatswain went on shore, whore they found a pair of morses' teeth, whale bones, deer's horns, and the footmarks of other beasts ; tlu>y also mob with much drift-wood and streams of fresh water. " Hero they found it hot on shore, and drank water to cool their thirst, which they also commended." On the 31st of July, being in want of all manner of necessaries, tho weather thick and foggy, and the season being too far advanced to make furtlier discovery that ycixv, Hudson bore up in his little bark for his return home, and passing Bear or Cherry Island, arrived safely in tho Thames on the loth of tScptembcr. I 304 ICE-WOKLD ADVENTUHE?. M In IGIO, in consequence of the ^^[u.scovy Company liaving taken possession of Clicny Island, the ship Amitir, of seventy tons, -was fitted out for a voyage of discov- ery to bo made towards the North Pole, either for trade or a passage that way. Jonas Poole, who had commanded on former arctic voyages, was appointed master. He passed the North Cape on the 2nd of May, *' after many storms, much cold, and extreme frosts." He stood on to the north, the ship receiving many a knock from the ice on the way, and came in sight of Spitzbergen. The boat was sent on shore, and as a deer's horn was found on the beach, they named the bay Horn Sound. Leaving this part of the coast, Poole stood first to the westward, then to the northward, and in latitude 77° 20' found the weather on the 17th of May " very warme and farre temperater " than at the North Capo at the same period of the year. On the lOtli, however, he says, "it was very thick fogges, with wind, frost, and snow, and cold, that I tliinke they did strive here which of them should have the superioritic." In 78° 37' ho named the headland of a small island Fair Foreland ; and hero he assures himself " that a passage may be as soone attayned this way, by the Pole, as any unknowne way whatsoever, by reason the sun doth give a great heat in this climate ; and the ice that freezeth hero is nothing so huge as I have seen in 73 degrees." On a small island he killed a great number of deer, and gave to the bay the name of Deer Sound ; afior this they slew several bears, and a multitude of the walrus or sea- horse. " The tenth day," he goes on to say, " I went on shoore and slue five deercs, with tlio which and them that I slue before, I have lengthened out my victuals, blessed bo the Creator of the world, which hath not made any part thereof in value." The farthest latitude reached in this voyage was 79° 50', and to the land he met with there Poole gave the name of Gurncrd's Nose. In this quarter he met with and killed ' ige lo', of led ON TIIK WAY TO THE XOUTII TOLIi. 30; several deer ; tlicy were In fine condition, having two and three inches of fat upon them. Towards the end of -Fnly Poole stood to the south, In- tending to call at Cherry Lslanil, bat the ice was so thickly packed that he gave up tlic attempt, and proceeded home- wards, arriving in London on the last day in August. Little was said after this about the North Polo for more than a hundred and fifty years. About 1770 the Royal Society came to the resolution of applying to the Earl of Sandwich, then first Lord of the Admiralty, to obtain his majesty's sanction for an expedition to be fitted out for the purpose of trying how far navigation might bo practicable towards the North Pole. This expedition his majesty directed should bo immediately undertaken, " with every encouragement that could countenance such an entci'priso, and every assistance that could contribute to its success." Two ships, the liaceliorsc and the Carcass, bombs, as being the strongest, were fixed upon as the most proper for the purpose ; the former having on board a complement of ninety men, and the latter eighty, with an additional num- ber of officers. The command of the expedition was given to the Hon. Captain Constantino John Phipps (afterwards Lord Mulgrave), who embarked in the Uaceliorse. The two ships sailed from the Norc on the 10th of June, 1773. On the 27th they had an observation of the sun at midnight, which gave the latitude to bo 7-1'^ 2(3'; and in tlio evening of that day they reached the latitude of the south part of Spltzbergen with a fair wind, without an increase of cold, and without any appearance of ice or sight of land. A piece of drift-wood, which was fir, was picked up, and found not to be worm-eaten. On the 20 th thi!y stood in with the land, which was formed " by high, barren, black rocks, without the least marks of vegetation, In many places bare and polntecl, in other parts covered with snow, appear- ing even above the clouds ; the valleys between the high cliffs wero filled with snow or ice. This prospect would have 'iff 1 I V IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I •- IIIIIM 25 itt nil 2.2 2.0 1.8 1-25 1.4 1 1.6 „ 6" ► Photographic Sciences Corporation £: 4? iV «- ^\ %< 73 WCST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^^^ (/j i 80(> ice-woklD adventures. suggested the idea of perpetual winter, had not the mild- ness of the weather, the smooth -water, bright sunshine, and constant daylight, given a cheerfulness and novelty to the whole of this striking and romantic scene." On the 5th of July they fell in witli the main body of the ice, along which they worked their vv'ay to ascertain whether it joined to the land of Spitzbergen, or was so detached as to afford an opportunity of passing in the cast- ward. But the pilots and officers thought it impracticable to proceed in that direction, and so with great difficulty they worked their way through the looser parts of the ice towards the north-west. On the morning of the 0th the ice was found to bo quite fast to the west, being then in longitude 2° 2' E. by their reckoning, which was the farthest to the westward of Spitz- bergen they over got on the voyage. Captain Phipps now stood over to the eastward, and on the loth came to anchor in Vogelsang ; a good roadstead near a remarkable point Ctiiled Cloven Cliff, which is " a bare rock, so called from tho top of it resembling a cloven hoof, which appearance it lias always worn, having been named by some of tlie iirst Dutch navigators who freciuented these seas. This rock, being entirely detached from the other mountains, and joined to the rest of the island by a low isthmus, preserves in all situations the same form, and being perpendicular is never disguised by snow." At length, after much beating about, we find our naviga- tors at the mouth of AVaigatz Strait, where some of tho ( 'fficers landed on a low island. They came upon several largo lir trees lying on the shore, sixteen or eighteen feet abovo Ihe level of the sea ; some of them, seventy feet in length, had been torn up by the roots, others had been cut down by an axe and notched for twelve-feet lengths ; this timber was no ways decayed, or the strokes of the hatchet in the least effaced. The beaeli was formed of old timber, tand, and wLalc-boucs. The middle of this island was covered with 1. llho Irgo |)0V0 rill, II l)y hvas least laud ,itli I . . 0^ THE WAY TO THE NOnill POLE. ;u7 moss, scurvy j^rass. sorrel, aiul a few rauuneuluscs then in flower. Two rciudecr were feeding' on tlio moss, one of wliicli tbey killed, antl they found it fut and of high flavour. On the return of the officers they wounded a sea-horse, which dived immediately and brought up with it a number of others. They all joined in an attack upon the boat, wrested an oar from one of the men, and were with dilli- culty prevented from staving or oversetting the boat. On the oUth of July the weather was exceedingly lino and mild and unusually clear. " The scene," says Captain riiipps, " was beautiful and picturcquc ; the two ships becalmed in a large bay, with three apparent openings between the islands that formed it, but everywhere sur- rounded with ice as far as we could see, with some streams of water; not a breath of air; the water perfectly smooth; the sea covered with ice, low and even, except a few broken pieces near the edges; the pools of water in the middle of the pieces were frozen over with young ice." Tho ships were now beset in the ice; and the pilots, being much farther than they had ever been, and the season advancing, were alarmed at their situation. On the 1st of August the ice began to press in fast; there was not tho smallest opening. The latitude was 80^ o7' ; longitudo 19° 0' lo'' K. At last, however, after much trouble, tlicy managed to work the ships to tho westward, and on tho lUth, the wind springing up to tho N.N.E,, forced thcni through a great deal of very heavy ice and into open water. The following day they reached Amsterdam Islintl, tho westernmost point of which is llaklnyt's Headland. They anchored the same day in Fair Haven. On tho 19th they weighed anchor and again stood out to sea. Tho season was now so far advanced that fogs and gales might every day bi' oxpeeled. This induced Captain Phipps to turn his face homewards, oud on the lloth of September ho arrived at tho Nore. Combinod with Cnptaiii lloss's expedition in Iblt^, iu 308 1CE-W01{LD ADVENTUKES. search of the Nortli-wcst Passage, an expedition was sent out under the command of Captain Buchan, witli a vieAV of pushing direct to the Pole and passing across it to India. It was argued by the supporters of this undertaking that the failures of Hudson, I'otherlj, and Phipps had arisen in consequence of their being entangled in the bays of Spitz- bergen ; that the production of ice takes place chiefly in the neighbourhood of land, and that if they only kept in the midst of the ocean navigators would find an open Bca. The expedition consisted of the DorotJira, Captain B jchan, and the Trent, Commander Lieutenant, afterwards Sir John Franklin. It set sail early in the season of 1818, and came in sight of Cherry Island on the 2rth of May. Innumerable diilicultics were encountered, and the expe- dition was battling with the ice to the north-west of the wintry archipelago of Spitzbergen when, on the 30th of July, a sudden gale arose. Captain Buchan was compelled, as the only chance of safety, to " take the ice," that is, to thrust the ships into any opening in the moving masses that could bo perceived. In this very hazardous operation the Dorothea received so much injury that she was very neai sinking. She therefore turned homewards as soon as tho storm subsided, and the Trent, ol course, accompanied her. Tho next attempt to reach the North Polo was made in 1827, and by no other than the great arctic explorer Sir Kdward Parry. When disappointed, in 18'21:-2o, in his sanguine expecta- tions of a North-west Passnge, Parry did not abandon at once his scheme of northern discovery. It appeared to him possible to arrive at the North Pole by employing light- boats and sledges, which might be alternately employed, according as compact fields of ice or open sea interposed in his route. A plan deemed feasible by such men as Parry, Franklin, and Scorcsby, necessarily commanded attentive conaideration. The Hoyal Society reuommeudcd I ON TlfE \YAY TO TIIR NOHTH rOLR. 501) „ it to the Admiralty, who fitted out the Ilecla .or the expe- dition, and placed licr under the command of Captuin Parry. Captain Parry was supplied most amply with whatever could promote the success of this daring expedition and secure every means of comfort compatible with its nature. Two boats, or wagons, intended for either sailing or drawing, were constructed in such a way as to combine the greatest possible strength and lightness. They were formed of a succession of thin planks of tough and pliant timber, with layers of felt and waterproof canvas inter- posed, and were found to combine strength and buoyancy in a degree which fitted them admirably for the hard work to which they were called. An ample stock was provided of flannel shirts, frocks, drawers, comforters, and thick fur suits to sleep in. The provisions consisted of biscuit, pemmican, cocoa powder, and a small allotment of the strongest rum. The fuel consisted exclusively of spirits of wine. The start was made from the Thames on the 2.">th of March, 1827. Captain Parry touched at Ilammerfest, in Norway, and arrived on the 12th of !May at llackluyt':-! Headland, near the north-western extremity of Spitzber- gen. lie expected to have found a commodious harbour here, but it was blocked up by an impassable barrie..* of ice. There was nothing for .t but to beat along the coast of Spitzbergen in search of a station where the ship could bo placed in safety, and might certainly be found on the return of the boats. A whole month, tlie best part of the season, was consumed in this way. At length a satisfactory lodgment was ellected in Hecla Cove, at the bottom of a bay laid down in the Dutch maps under the name of Trcwrenberg. On the 21st of June the adventurers, after the usual salutation of three cheers, got into their boats, and made direct for the great body of the northern ice, which tli«>y 310 ICE'WORLD ADVENTURES. entered on tlio 23rd. Tlio details of ihia perilous and dreary journey over ocean and ice, and in a sphere beyond that of habitable existence, are few but striking. "Our plan of travelling," says Captain Parry, "being nearly the same throughout the excursion after wo liad first entered upon the ice, I may at once give some account of our mode of proceeding. It -was my intention to travel wholly at night, and to rest by day, there being, of course, constant daylight in these regions during the summer season. The advantages of this plan, which was occa- sionally deranged by circumstances, consisted first in our avoiding the intense and oppressive glare from the snow during the time of the sun's greatest altitude, so as to pre- vent, in some degree, the painful inflammation of the eyes, called snow blindness, which is common in all snowy countries. We also thus enjoyed greater warmth during tho hours of rest, and had a better chance of drying our clothes, besides which no small advantage was derived from the snow being harder at night for travelling. This travelling by night and sleeping by day so completely inverted the natural order of things, that it was ditlieult to persuade ourselves of the reality. Even the ofliccrs and myself, who were all furnished with pocket chro- nometers, could not always bear in mind at what part ol tho twenty- four hours we had arrived ; and there were several of the men who declared, and I believo truly, that they never had been able to distinguish night from day during the whole excursion. "When we rose in tho evening, we commenced our day by prayers; after which wo took off our fur sleeping dresses and put on those for travelling. Wo made a point of always putting on the same stockings and boots for travelling in, whether they had been dried during the day or not ; and I believe it was only in five or six instances at tho most, that they were not either still wet or hard frozen. This indeeti, was of no consequence beyond tho discomfort T t T ON THE WAY TO THE NORTH I'OLE. 311 t of first putting them on in this state, as thoy were sure to bo thoroughly wet in a quarter of an liour after commenc- ing our journey ; while, on the other hand, it was of vital iraportanco to keep dry things for sleeping in. " Bein;]: 'riofcred ' for travelling, wo breakfasted on warm cocoa and biscuit : and after stowing tho things in tho boats and on tho sledges, so as to secure tliem as much as possible from wet, wo set off on our day's journey, and usually travelled from five to fivo and a half hours, then stopped for an hour to dine, and then travelled four or even six hours, according to circumstances. " After this wo halted for tho night, as wo called it, though it was usually early in tho morning, selecting tho largest surface of ico wo happened to bo near for hauling tho boats on in order to avoid tho danircr of its brcakint; up, and coming into contact with other masses, and also to prevent drift as much as possible. Tho boats wero placed close alongside each other, with their sterns to tho wind, tho snow or wet cleared out of them, and tho sails, Kupportod by tho bamboo masts and throo paddles, placed over them as awnings, an enlranco being left at the bow. Every man then immediately put on dry stockings and fur boots, after which wo set about tho necessary repairs of boats, sledges, or clothes ; and after serving the provisions for tho succeeding da}', wo went to supper. Most of tho officers and men then smoked their pipes, which served to dry boats and awnings very much, and usually raised tho tempcraturo of our lodgings 10° or lo". This pa>'t of tho twenty-four liours was often a time, and tho ou^y one, of real enjoyment to us ; the men told all their stories, and fought all their battles over again, and tho labours of tho day, unsuccessful as they too often were, were forgotten. We concluded our day with prayers ; and having put on our fur dresses, lay down to sleep with a degree of comfort which, perhaps, few persons would imagine possible under such circumstances. .312 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. "As soon as wc arrived at the end of a floo, or came to any difficult place, we mounted one of the highest hum- mocks of ico (many of which were from fifteen to twenty- five feet above the sea) in order to obtain a better view around us ; and nothing could well exceed the dreariness which such a view presented. Tho eye wearied itself in vain to find an object but ice or sky to rest upon ; and even tho latter was often hidden to view by tho dense and dismal fogs which so generally prevailed. For want of variety, tho most trifling circumstance engaged a more than ordinary share of our attention ; a passing gale, or a mass of ice of unusual form, became objects which our situation and circumstances magnified into ridiculous im- portance ; and wc have since often smiled to remember tho eager interest with which wo regarded many insignifi- cant occurrences. It may well be imagined then how cheering it was to turn from this scene of inanimate desolation to our two little boats in the distance, to see tho moving figures of our men winding with their sledges am.ong tho hummocks, and to hear once more the sound of human voices breaking the stillness of this icy wilder- ness." In this painful struggle against the most formidable of the elements, every individual of the party seems to have displayed all that zeal and perseverance which was to be expected from British seamen in an enterprise the success of which would have been so glorious to them. The result, however, did not correspond either with the amount of the means prepared, or the vigour and spirit with which thoy were employed. On the 22nd of July they advanced seventeen miles, the greatest distance they had been able to eflect in one day. But they then saw that the numerous delays they had encountered were sufficient to destroy all hopes of being able to reach the Pole, which was still five hundred miles distant. They had advanced as far as latitude 82^ 40', i ON THE WAY TO THE XunTH I'OF.K. .» 1 n I and now limited their ambition to reaching tho parallel of 83° ; but just at the time when the state of the ice seemed favourable to their progress, the wind shifted to the north, and drifted them in the opposite direction. When with great labour they had travelled ten or twelve miles over tho ice, observations showed that they were four miles to tho south of the position which they had occupied on the 22nd, so that tho drifting of tho snow-fields bad carried them fourteen miles to the southward. It was obviously vain under these circumstances to per- sist any longer. Our voyagers returned, therefore, and arrived at the ship in Ilecla Cove on the 21st of August, after being two months on the ice, com})letely foiled in their attempt to reach the Pole, and obliged to rest satis- fied with the humblo consolation that they had, perhaps, penetrated about a degree farther to the north than any previous expedition of complete authenticity. This was tho last of Parry's arctic expeditions. After this he proceeded to New South "Wales, where from 1&2\} to 18oi ho occupied tho position of resident commissioner of the Australian Agricultuifd Company. In IX'oT ho was appointed to organize tho mail packet service, then trans- ferred to tho Admiralty. Next ho filled tho post of captain superintendent of the lloyal Naval Hospital at Ilaslar, and finally ho was made governor of Greenwich Hospital. Ho died at Ems, in tho summer of 1855. Within tho last few years the project of reaching the Pole has been again revived. " It has been supposed that after passing through the barrier of northern ice infringing on Spitzbergcn, the explorer would enter a compara- tively iceless sea, and have little difficulty in sailing to tho Pole, or until thi>y reached tlie land-ico surrounding it, ir that geographical point is composed of lanil. The barrier of ice always encountered by ships in about 80° N. is held to bo tho ice which has drifted south in the summer and autumn from the Pole. In support of this, attention is ! 314 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. called to the open water seen by various whalers and otlici' navigators to the northward." In 1800, the American explorer Dr. Ilayos, who had accompanied Kane, made np his mind to complete the survey of Kennedy's Channel, and if possible to push on to the Pole itself. Ho set out on board the schooner United States. After several narrow escapes from ice-fields and icebergs, ho was at last obliged to tako up his winter quarters at Port Foulko, on the Greenland coast, twenty miles to the south of Rensselaer Harbour. As the explorers had an abundant supply of fresh meat, the winter passed without their suffering from the scurvy. Most of the dogs, how- ever, on which Dr. Hayes had relied for his sledge expedi- tions in the spring, perished from an epidemic which had proved fatal to the teams of Dr. Kane. Fortunately somo fresh dogs were procured from the friendly Esquimaux, and early in April, 1801, Dr. Hayes left tlio schooner to plungo into the depths of the icy wilderness. Having previously learned that an advance along the Greenland shore was quite impossible, ho re- solved to cross the Sound, and try his fortune along the coast of Grinnell Land. His own words will best impart an idea of the difficulties he encountered : — " By winding to the right and left, and by occasionally retracing our steps, wo managed to get over the first few miles without much embarassment, but farther on the track was rough, past description. I can compare it to nothing but a promiscuous accumulation of rocks piled up over a vast plain in great heaps and endless ridges The interstices between these closely accumulated ice masses aro filled up, to somo extent, with drifted snow. The reader will readily imagine the rest. He will see the sledges winding through the tangled wilderness, tho men and dogs pulling and pushing up their respective loads. He will seo them clambering over the very summit of lofty il otlici' 10 had to tho isli on loouer ibcrgs, ;ers at to tho 1(1 an ithout how- cpcdi- \i had 1 tlio lajcs 5 icy 'anco 3 ro- ?tho ipart tally few tho ; to iled qca ico o\v. tho len ds. Hy 1 Dk. Hayes in Sight of the Polar Sea. Ice World Advcntures.\ [Page 315. I 315- ON THE WAY TO THE NOKTII POLE. ridgos, and again descending on the other side, the sledgo often plunging over a precipice, sometimes capsizing and frequently breaking. Tlio snow-drifts arc sotnctinies a help and sometimes a hindrance. Their surface is uni- formly hard, but not always firm to the foot. Tho crust frequently gives way, and iu a most tiresome and provok- ing manner. It will not quite bear the weight, and tho f(jot sinks at the very moment -when the oth'-r is lifted. But, worse than this, tho chasms between the hummocks are frequently bridged over with snow iu such a manner as to leave a considerable space at the boUom quite un- filled; and at tho very moment when all looks promi' ing, down sinks one man to his middle, another to the neck, another is buried out of sight ; the sledge gives Avay, and to extricate the whole from this unhappy predicament is probably tho labour of hours. It would bo diOicult to imagine any kind of labour more disheartening, or which would sooner sap tho energies of l)utli men and ani- mals.' 1} It is no wonder that after thus toiling on for twenty-five days tliey were not even half-way across the sound, and that they were all broken down by their labours. But the bravo leader of the party was determined not to abandon his enterprise whilst the faintest chance of success remained. He sent the main party back to the schooner, and continued to plunge into the hummocks. Fourteen days of almost superhuman exertion passed by At last tho sound was crossed ! A scarcely less toilsome journey now began along tho coast : it was prosecuted with untiring energy till Dr. Hayes, on the 18th of Miiy, reached i\\o border of a deep bay, whcro farther progress to the north was stopped by cracks arid rotten ice. llight before him, on tho opposite side of the firth, rose ]\[ount Parry, the lofty peak first seen by ^Eorton in 18.">1', from tho shores of Washington Land; and, farther on, a noble headland, Cfipe Union — then the most northern known land upon the :310 ICK-WORLD ADVENTURES. globe — stood in faint outline against the dark sky of tlio open sea. On the lOtli of July, Hayes' ship, the Unitetl States, broke out of the ice, and finding that to attempt further exploration in such a craft might lead to a repetition of Kane's disaster, or worse, her head was turned towards homo, where our explorers arrived Avithout much inci- dent. Wo come now to the voyage of the American vessel the Polaris, under the guidance of Captain Hall. It proceeded on the glorious path of Kane and Hayes, and was enabled to penetrate into regions which baffled all the effoi'ts of these illustrious discoverers. "After leaving Tessiusak," (73' 80' N. lat.), says Dr. Hartwig, " the most northern Danish settlement in Green- land, on August 21th, 1871, the Polaris reached the en- trance of Smith's Sound on August 27th, and rapidly ad- vanced through seas which Kane and Hayes had found blocked with ice. "On August 28th Captain Hall landed on Grinnell Land, passed 80° N. lat., sailed through Kennedy Chamicl and the newly discovered Robeson Channel, and proceeded on September 3rd as far as 82^ IG', the highest latitude ever yet attained by a ship. From an eminence at this extreme point of their journey Grinnell Land was seen extending towards the north to about latitude 81'' (the eye of civilized man has never yet plunged deeper into the arctic regions) ; numerous herds of musk oxen, as well as traces of inhabi- tants, were met with, and the climate was decidedly milder than some degrees farther to the south. Thus, step by step, each new expedition through Smith's Sound has brought us nearer to the Pole, and warrants the belief that its discovery is not a visionary hope, but an object fully within the reach of man. " Tho Americans wintered in 81° 88' N. lat., where Ciiptain Hall died on November 8th, 1871. Their return /« ^ori,^^,,„,,Jj^ ^'""^'^^ or CAPTA,N Hall. [^'^i'^316. H ' ON THE WAY TO THE NORTH i'OLE. 317 voyage through Smith's Sound in the following year is full of dramatic interest. " On October loth, 1872, the vessel was found to be so seriously damaged that it was determined to land the pro- visions on. Northumberland Island, 7'(° 20' N. lat. "While this was going on, and half the crew were on the ice, the vessel broke from her moorings, and was speedily carried away out of hail and sight. Nineteen persons were thus left on an ico floe, which drifted them through Baffin's Bay and Davis's Straits, along the coast of Labrador, to 53° 1' N. lat., near Newfoundland, where they were rescued by a steam whaler. Tigress, on April 30th, 1873. During six months and a half they had been exposed to all the rigours of an arctic winter on a slowly floating ice-raft ; and perhaps more wonderful still, after this unexampled journey of 15G0 nautical miles, they all returned to the United States in perfect health. " The fate of the party in the Polaris was but little better. Forced to beach the ship on the first shore they reached, they spent the winter in huts roughly constructed out of the ship's timbers. Obliged to set out on their voyage homeward in two frail boats, they proceeded with many delays to Melville Bay, where they were beset with ico ; and here, after enduring the most fearful hardships, they were picked up on June 23rd by the Scotch whaler Bavcnscralij, which at the completion of her voyage brought them into Dundee, on the 19th of September." For the English expedition of 1875 bound for the North Pole, the reader must refer to a future chapter. ICE ANCnOBS. CHAPTER XX. THE MAGNETIC VOLE DISCOVERED. biu John Boss's Voyage of ,1829-33— A Favourable View ok Greenlakd — Wintering in Felix Harbour — A Short Life of Freedom — IlEAcniNG the Magnetic Pole — Scientific Obser- vations — Hoisting the British Flag — Abandoning the Victoih' — A Tedious Journey — At Somerset House — Hopes and Fears — " A Sail ! a Sail ! " — The Isabella of Hull— Showers of Honours— A Safe Service. Ten years after Captain Jolin Iloss'ti first unsuccessful voyage, — of whicli wo have given an account -when speak- ing of English voyages in search of a North-west Passage, — that veteran seaman once more entered the field of arctic exploration. lie was desirous, no doubt, to obliter- ate the recollection of former failure by some worthy ncliicvemcnt. By the munificence of Sir Felix Booth, Bart., the expedition was fitted out, A small Liverpool steamer, the Victory, was bought, and the start from Eng- land was made on the 23rd of May, 1829. Captain John Ross was accompanied by his nephew. Commander James Ross, afterwards Sir James Ross, who was not only a skil- ful seaman, but an able naturalist. It was he who, by hia well executed sledge journey, made the chief discoveries of the expedition. In the early part of the voyage various untoward circumstances befel our explorers, including the loss of their topmast. At last, however, they reached Holstein- borg on the west coast of Greenland. Holsteinborg at the time — it was at the close of July — presented a very inviting aspect. " The island itself," says Sir John Ross, " was a far finer object than our former experience, at an earlier and THE MAGNETIC POLE DISCOVERED. 310 perhaps in a worse season, had given us reason to expect on this icy coast, and reminded us in a lively manner of the far fairer lands wo had quitted not long before, and the summer -which wo believed -we had left behind. Every practicable part of tho surface, even the smallest spot, which was not a precipice or a sea rock, was covered with verdure ; while a profusion of wild plants, now in fall and luxurious blossom, rendered that a summer- garden which we had expected to find, as we had often dono before, a chaos of rugged rocks rnd cold snow. It was, in truth, a green land, as far as our present situation was concerned : and that green tho more striking from the long absence of all but sea and sky, and the desolation of ice and rocks, which if we did not see at the moment, wo knew full well lay all around us, as wo had amply witnessed it on former occasions." On tho 10th of August tho F/c^oj'// entered Prince Regent's Inlet, and on the 13tli reached the spot where Parry, on his third voyage, had been compelled to abandon tho Fimj, The ship had been swept away, but her stores and provi- sions on land were untouched,' and tho latter were in as good condition as need bo. Capo Parry was reached on the 15th of August. Fogs and drift-ice greatly hindered our explorers, but they moved slowly on, and by about tho middle of September our geographical knowledge was enriched by the addition of some 500 miles of newly discovered coast. Winter now approached, and the Victory took refuge in Felix Harbour. The steam engine was voted a nuisance and thrown overboard, Jind all necessary preparations were made for spending the cold season as comfortably as possible. During the following spiing Commander Jiiuies Ross set out on a sledge journey which led to the discovery of King William's Sound and King William's Land. On Septem- ber 17th, after twdvo months' imprisonment in tho ice, the 320 ICE-WOULD ADVENTUKE3. Victory got free ; but her freedom did not last long. After a hard struggle against currents and drift-ice she again froze fast on the 27th of the same month, only three miles in advance of her former position. In the next spring James Ross extended the circle of his sledge expeditions, and succeeded in planting the British flag on the site of the Magnetic Pole. "After a rapid march," says Commander Ross, "we reached the calculated place at eight in the morning of the first of June. I believe I must leave it to others to imagine the elation of mind with which wo found ourselves now at length arrived at this great object of our ambition. " The land at this place is very low near the coast, but it rises into ridges of fifty or sixty feet high about a mile inland. We could have wished that a place so important had possessed more of mark or i ote. It was scarcely cen- surable to regret that there was not a mountain to indicate a spot to which so much of interest must ever be attached ; and I could even have pardoned any one among us who had been so romantic or absurd as to expect that the Mag- netic Polo was an object as conspicuous and mysterious as the fabled mountain of Sinbad — that it was even a moun- tain of iron, or a magnet as big as Mont Blanc." Tho necessary observations were at once commenced, and were continued throughout the whole of that and the follow- ing day. Tho most conspicuous results may be stated as follows. The place of the observatory was as near the Magnetic Pole as the limited means possessed by Commander Ross enabled him to determine. The amount of tho dip, as indicated by his dipping needle, was 89° 50', being thus within ono minute of tho vertical : while the proximity at least of tho pole, if not its actual existence where they stood, was further confirmed by the action, or rather by tho total inaction, of tho several horizontal needles then in his possession. Theso were suspended in the most delicate manner possible, but there was not ono which showed tho TUB MAGNETIC POLE DISCOVERED. 321 slightest effort to move from tbc position in wliicli it was placed ; a fact which every reader must know to be ono which proves that the centre of attraction lay at a very small horizontal distance, if any. "As soon as I had satisfied my mind on the subject," says Sir James Ross, "I made known to the party this gratifying result of all our joint labours; and it was then, amidst mutual congratulations, we fixed the British flag on tho spot, and took possession of the North Magnetic Pole and its adjoining territory in tho name of Great Britain and William the Fourth. "VVe had abundance of materials for building in tho fragments of limestone that covered tho beach, and we therefore erected a cairn of some magnitude, under which wo buried a canister containing a record of tho interesting event, only regretting that we had not tho means of constructing a pyramid of more importance, and of strength sufficient to withstand the assaults of time and of tho Esquimaux. Had it been a pyramid as large as Cheops, I am not quite sure that it would have done more than satisfy our ambition under the feelings of that exciting day. The latitude of the spot was 70° 5' 37"; longitude, 16° 40' 45" W." It is to be observed that the site of tho Magnetic Polo is not invariably fixed to one spot, as was thought at tho time of this discovery, but shifts from place to place within the glacial zone. On the 28th of August, 1831, tho Vicfori/ escaped into open water. In a month she had advanced only four miles, and she was then frozen up again on tho 27th of September. There seemed no chance of extricating her when the next summer came round, so it was resolved to abandon her, and travel over the ice to Fury Beach, and to make use of tho boats' provision and stores lying there, in order to reach Davis's Straits. On the 29th of May, 1832, tho Vidonfs colours were nailed to the masthead, as the last friendly Kcrvico the}' Y u22 ICE-WOKLD ADVENTURES. could render to Ler. Then tbe officers and crew took leave of the unfortunate little vessel. "It was the first ship," says Ross, " that I had ever been obliged to abandon, after serving in thirty-six, during a period of forty-two years. It -was like the last parting with an old friend, and I did not pass the point where she ceased to bo visible, without stopping to take a sketch of this melancholy desert, rendered more melancholy by the solitary, abandoned, helpless home of our past years, fixed in immovable ice, till time should perform on her his usual work." Our explorers set out on their tedious journey, travelling on foot and dragging on sledges the needful amount of provisions. When the party reached the north-east end of North Somerset, they built a canvas house there, dignified by the name of Somerset House, and remained there till the 1st of August fitting up the boats. By that day a considerable extent of open sea "was visible. They launched their boats, and, with much difficulty, reached the north of the inlet by the end of the month. Hero they met with disappointment. After several attempts to run along Barrow's Strait, tho ice obliged them to haul their boats on shore, and pitch their tents. They waited till the third week of September ; but the ice still barred the way, and it was unanimously resolved to fall back on the stores at Somerset House, and spend a fourth long winter within the arctic circle. Somerset House was reached on tho 7th of October. Preparations for w'inter were made ; a snow wall was built round tho house, the roof was strengthened with spars and covered with snow, whilst an additional stove was set up. Scurvy now made its appearance, and several men perished. Tho situation of the survivors was of the gloomiest. At last another season came round, and they set forth on what might prove their last struggle to reach home. On the 17th of August they found, to their unspeakable ii ' 1 i A Sail ! A Sail 1" Ice World Adventures^ {Page 323. THE MAGNETIC POLE DISCOVERED. n 323. (Icliglit, that the ^vi(lc expanse of Barrow's Strait was open to navigation. They pushed on with renewed spirits, and on the niglit of the 'J.jth rested in a harbour on the eastern bhore of Navy Board Inlet. At four o'cloek on the following morning they were roused from sleep by the look-out man announcing a sail, which, viewed through a glass, proved to bo a ship. All were presently in motion, and their hopes and fears were variously expressed. But they were detained by calms and light, shifting airs ; and a breeze springing up, the vessel made sail with a rapidity which left them hopelessly be- hind. About ten, however, they descried another, which seemed at first to be lying-to, but she bore up under all sail, and appeared to be fast leaving them. Happily a calm ensued, and by hard rowing they approached so near that their signals were perceived, when she was seen to heave-to and lower a boat, Avhich made directly towards them. On his arrival, the mate in command asked if they were in distress and had lost their vessel, proffering his aid. He stated, in answer to their questions, that he belonged to the Isahella, of Hull, once commanded by Captain Ross, now by Captain Humphreys. On being told that Captain Ross stood before him, his brain was much puzzled, as ho declared the captain must be under a mistake, as ho had certainly been dead two years. Ho was soon, hoM'Over, satisfied of the truth of the intelligence, and returned to the ship with the astounding news. The yards of the ship were at onco manned, and the voyagers were hailed on their return to life and civilisation with three hearty cheers. Every man was hungry, and had to be fed ; all Were ragged, and had to be clothed ; there was not one to whom washing was not indispensable, nor one whom his beard did not deprive of all English semblance. It was washing, eating, drinking, shaving — all intermingled. As soon as the first excitement was over, they retired to rest, 32A ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. and HO long had they been without a roof or a bed, that few could sleep. The IsahcUa, strangely enough, had been the vessel in which Sir John Ross had made his first voyage to the arctic seas. She was now a private whaler. In pursuit of her calling the IsahcUa remained some time longer in Baffin's Bay ; so our arctic discoverers did not reach England till the 15th of October, 1833. They were received as men risen from the dead. Showers of orders, medals, and diplomas were rained down upon Ross ; he received the honour of knighthood, and was granted £5000 by parliament, as a remuneration for his pecuniary outlay and privations. The freedoms of the cities of London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Hull were also presented to him. After the discovery of the exact position of the Magnetic Pole by Sir James Ross in 1831-1833 arctic exploration may be said to have paused for a time ; but it is worthy of remark that, during the fifteen years, 1818-1833, it had been actively pursued by seamen and travellers with the then imperfect means at command, no loss of life had occurred, although there had been occasionally more than two hundred men at a time employed upon these expeditions. A SOU'-WESTER. CHAPTER XXI. ABCTJC EXPLORATION 02^ THE MAINLAND OF AMERICA. Hearn'e's Expedition op 17G9-70 — At the Coppermine River — The Massacre of the Esquimaux — Exploration of the Chain OP Lakes Running from Lake Superior to the Polar Ska IN 1775-78 — Alexander Mackenzie's Exploration op the Mackenzie River in 1789 — Franklin and Richardson's Ex- pedition OP 1819 — A Long Winter Journey — Setting out FROM Fort Chepeweyan — Scarcity and Discontent — Building Fort Enterprise — Back's Journey to Fort Chepeweyan — An IxDLAN Beauty — Wolfish Tricks— At the Mouth of the Coppermine River — Sailing to Cape Turnagain — Terrible Privations— A Deserted Fort— A Cannidal Tale — The Re- sults OF THE Journey — Finding Copper. I\ a previous cliaptor (Chap, xii.) -wo have spoken of some of the attempts in the way of exploration mado by the Hudson's Bay Company. We now resume the subject, and have to tell that in 17 GO this great trading company undertook to make discoveries to the northward by land, partly to look for a largo river on which a copper- mine was said to be, and partly to obtain geographical information. A Mr. Hcarne was selected to conduct tho expedition. He started from Fort Prince of Wales on the Gth of November, 17G0, crossed the Seal River, and travelled over barren ground. The weather beginning to be excessively cold, all his provisions expended, and no supply to be had, the chief of th^ Indians who accompanied him wishing to return, and ultimately leaving him, he was obliged to re- trace his steps, after reaching no farther than latitude C4°, and arrived at the factory on the 11th of December. 32G ICE-WOELD ADVENTURES. On the 23rd of February, 1770, ho set out a second time, accompanied by three northern and two'southern Indians. They continued to proceed slowly to tho northward and westward, living on what the country afforded, which was sometimes most abundant and at others nothing at all — or, as Hearne says, "either all feasting or all famine ; sometimes we had too much, seldom just enough ; frequently too little, and o:*''^<^n none at all. It will bo only necessary to say, that wo have fasted many times two whole days and nights, twice upwards of three days, and once near seven days, during which wo tasted not a mouthful of any thing, except a few cranberries, water, scraps of old leather, and burnt bones." Towards tho end of July his guide intimated to him that it was too late that year to think of reaching the Copper- mino River, and proposed spending the winter among a tribe of Indians where they then were, between the G3rd and Glth degrees of latitude; but on the 11th of August, when making an observation for tho latitude, a sudden gust of wind blew down the quadrant, and the instrument was rendered useless. This misfortune made Mr. Hearne resolve to return to the fort, and ho arrived at tho point from which he started on the t25tli of November. On tho 7th of December ho set out for the third time to explore tho northern parts of North America, and par- ticularly to discover tho situation of tho copper mine. On tho 1st of July ho reached a i^lace called Congecathawha- chaga, which is not only remarkable on account of tho length of tlio name, but as being the only spot on this long journey at which any observation was made for tho latitude. On the 13th of the same month he reached the Copper- mine River, and on the 15th commenced his survey of it. Tho Indians who accompanied him were in a state of per- petual hostility with the Esquimaux inhabiting the lower part of tho river. They now prepared to attack tho i EXPLORATION ON THE MAINLAND OF AMEKICA. 327 cr- it. cr- :cv Esquimaux in tlicir tents, to ^Yllicll tlicy approacliccl on tlie 17tb al)out one o'clock in tlio morning. All tlio poor un- suspecting creatures lay quiet in their tents wlien lao Indians ruslied forth from their ambuscade and fell upon them. Then began a bloody massacre ; Hearno all tlio while standing idi/ in the rear. The little horde consisted Oi about twenty persons, men, women, and children, and they were put to death in a most barbarous manner. Another small tribe of Esquimaux escaped the brutal fury of the Indians. The savages, however, '■ threw all tho tents and tent poles into the river, destroyed a vast quantity of dried salmon, musk-oxen flesh, and other pro- visions ; broko all the stone kettles; and, in fact, did all tho mischief they possibly could to distress tho poor creatures they could not murder, and who were standing as tho woeful spectators of their great or perhaps irrepar- able loss." After this piece of wantonness "'.\'0 sat down," Hearno says, " and made a good meal of fresh salmon." lie adds, " it was then about five o'clock in tho morning of the 17th, tho sea being in sight- from the north- west-by- west to tho north-east, about eight miles distant ; I therefore set instantly about commencing my survey, and pursued it to the mouth of the river, which I found all the way so full of shoals and falls that it was not navigable for a boat, and that it emptied itself into tho sea over a ridgo or bar." Tho tide, ho says, was then out ; but ho judged from tho marks on the cdgo of tho ico that it flowed about twelve or fourteen feet ; that, the tide being out, tho water in tho river was perfectly ',:rcsh ; but ho continues, " I am certain of its being the sea, or some branch of it, by tho quantity of whalebone and seals' skins which the Esquimaux had at their tents, and also by the number of seals which I saw on the ice." Ho says moreover, that at the mouth of tho river " the sea is full of islands and shoals " as far as he could sec with tho a?si!«tancc of a good p 'ket tcloscopo. 323 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. Previous to the year 1775 the great chain of lakes which runs towards the north-west from Lake Superior to the Polar Sea, and forms the great receptacle of the waters from the Rocky Mountains, was still wholly un- known. In that year Mr. Joseph Frobisher, a gentleman engaged in the fur-trade, undertook to penetrate into the country yet unexplored to the westward ; and he succeeded in advancing a considerable distance on the Missinipi or Churchill River, where he procured as many furs as his canoes could cai'ry. In this perilous expedition ho sustained all the hardships incident to a journey through a wild and savage country, where his subsistence depended upon what the wood and waters produced. These difficulties however did not discourage him from returning the following year, when ho was equally suc- cessful. His brother then succeeded in reaching Lake do la Croix, still farther to the west. In 1778 Mr. Pond followed the track of Mr. Frobisher, and proceeding still farther, at length arrived at Athabasca, a country hitherto unknown but from Indian reports. The traders having thus reached that chain of internal lakes which affords an almost con- tinuous navigation from tho Canadian lakes to the sea, began to proceed much more rapidly in their discoveries ; and it was not long before they received intelligence of a great river flowing to tho northward. To explore this river, to which ho has given his name, Alexander Mackenzie set out on the 3rd of June, 1789. He commenced his journey from Fort Chepeweyan, on the south side of tho Lake of the Hills, attended by a party of Canadians and some Indians, one of whom had been with Hearne. In descending tho river, when in latitude 07'^ 45', he learned from tho tribe of Indians called tho Dcguihee-DuieeSf or Quarrelers, that the distance overland to the sea was not great, and that to the westward it was still shorter. EXf'LOKATlON ON THE MAINLAND OP AMEIUCA. 320 !h( ,mo. '4 vna On the 12tli of July thcj entered a lake as it appeared, though no land -was seen ahead, but the water was shallow and covered with ice. " At a few leagues from the mouth of the river, my people," says Mackenzie, " could not, at this time, refrain from expressions of real concern that they were obliged to return without reaching the sea." From this it appears that the author was at first disposed to doubt that ho had actually reached the ocean. Soon after, however, ho observed a rising of the water, which, as the wind was moderate, was believed by all to proceed from the tide. Ho ascertained this rise to be about eighteen inches. It is possible that the freshness of the water may have caused him some embarrassment ; but after he saw several whales sporting among the ice, ho was at length disposed to believe that ho had actually reached the sea. He determined the latitude of the island on which they encamped, and which ho named "Whale Island, to be 00° 11'. The expedition returned without any accident to Fort Chepewoyau, on the 12th of September, 1780. The nar- rative he gave on his return, like the report of Hearne, was long regarded with mistrust, and his assertion that he had reached the sea was generally discredited. But the results of later expeditions have fully vindicated the character of Alexander Mackenzie. While Captain Parry, in the year 1810, was employed in exploring a passage from Baffin's Bay to the Pacific, another expedition was despatched overland to ascertain the true position of tho Coppermine River, and the Avindinga of tho shore to tho eastward of it. This measure, which had apparently no great difiicultics, seemed to promise eminent advantage to geographical science, and, it was thought, might prove serviceable to the intrepid navigator employed to tho northward. Lieutenant Franklin (after- wards Sir John Franklin) was selected to command this cxpcditiim. He was accompanied by Dr. llichardson, a 330 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. gentleman well skilled in natural lilstoiy, Mr. ITootl, and Mr., afterwards Sir George, ]3ack, two midshipmen, and two English seamen. Captain Franklin and his companions embarked in the end of May, 1819, and arrived safely at York Factory, on the shores of Hudson's Bay, on the 30th of August. Preparations for their long and difficult journey were immediately commenced, and the information which the local experience of the fur-traders could supply was eagerly collected. Ou the 5th of September the journey commenced from Fort York, and on the 22nd of October our travellers arrived at Cumberland House, a distance of GOO miles. Notwithstanding the lateness of the season. Captain Franklin resolved to push forward to Fort Chepevveyan, near the western extremity of Athabasca Lake, so that ho might personally superintend the preparations for the journey of the ensuing summer. He accordingly set out with Mr. Back on the 18th of January, and arrived at the fort on the 2Gth of March. Thus he performed a journey of 857 miles in the very depth of winter; the thermometer frequently sinking to forty, and sometimes more than fifty, degrees below zero. When the rivers, which form tho chief communications through these extensive countries, are frozen up, the traders have recourse to sledges drawn by dogs, in which they can proceed at the rate of fifteen miles a day. They sleep in tho open air, though the thermometer should bo many degrees below tho freezing point; their dogs sleeping round them to receive and communicate heat. In these journeys tho severity of the cold is not so much dreaded as tho danger of perishing for want of food. When violent snowstorms arise tho travellers often lose their way, and aro sometimes driven to tho sad necessity of killing their dogs for food. As soon as spring began to appear. Dr. Richardson and Mr. Hood set forward to join their companions at . EXPLORATION ON THE MAINLAND OF AMERICA. 331 »\? tir lof }n it Forfc Chcpcwcyan. Tho appearance of spring in tlicso climates is exhilarating and cncliantiug beyond what can bo conceived in countries Avhcro nature never invests herself during eight months together in tho snowy garb of winter. Tho thaw is hardly begun, when tho trees aro clothed with foliage, and tho whole vegetable world comes forth with a luxuriance no less astonishing than agreeable. But at the same timo clouds of mosquitoes and tho stinging sand-fly are so active and troublesome, that the traveller who suffers from them is disposed to give the preference to the winter journey, when ho has to cndiiro an intense cold, lying unsheltered on the snow. The whole party were now assembled at Fort Cliene- wcyan. On tho 18th of July, 1820, they set forward on their journey, with hopes that before the good seaf^on should expire they might bo ablo to establish themselves comfortably at tho mouth of the Coppermine River. Tho following spring they intended to devote to the examina- tion of the coast to tho eastward. But the usual difliculties that accompany extensive journeys in these regions wero experienced, and, unfortunately, to a degree that was not anticipated. Tho rapids of tho rivers, the shallows of the lakes, and numerous portages, impeded the progress of our travellers, who suflered also unhappily from scarcity of provisions; an embarrassment from whlcli, it may bo supposed, a little calculation and forethought might havo relieved them. As soon as scarcity was felt, discontent made its ap- pearance among the Canadian boatmen ; and the cordiality which ought to subsist among all engaged in so hazardous an enterprise was immediately at an end. New ico ap- peared on the small pools about tho 2Uth of August, and geeso were observed Hying to tho southward ; an un- etpiivocal sign of tho approach of winter. The Canadian hunters declared that it was impossible to proceed, and Lieutenant Franklin was consequently obliged to forego 332 ICE-WORLD ADVENTUKES. 4 >■% ] his iutcnfcion of reaching the Coppermine River this sea- son. The party prepared to settle for the wiutcr on the spot which they had now reached; it was about 550 miles distant from Chepeweyan. On a rising ground near the bank of a river named Winter River, tlio Canadians constructed a house, to which they gave the name of Fort Enterprise. Trees, cliiefly pines, grew round the river and the adjoining lake. Fort Enterprise is situated in latitude G4° 28', longitude 113" G'. Here is Dr. Richardson's description of the place : — "Wo have managed," ho says, "notwithstanding the diminutive size of the trees, to construct a stately dwelling. It is fifty feet long, and twenty-four wide, and consists of three bedrooms and a common hall. AV^e have besides a large kitchen behind, a storehouse on one wing, and a house for twenty men on the other. If to this you add a few Indian lodges scattered in the foreground you may picture to yourself Fort Enterprise, and conclude that it makes a very respectable appearance. " The buildings are framed of logs, and plastered on the outside and inside with clay. With the latter material also the roof is covered and the chimneys constructed- The windows are closed with thin parchment made of reindeer skin, and our chairs and tables are formed by the hatchet and knife — tools which the Canadians use with great dexterity." As soon as our explorers and their retinue were estab- lished in wiuter quarters, all hands were employed in laying in a stock of provisions, and in providing from the flesh of reindeer that preparation of pounded meat known iu North America by the name of pcramican. At first they had prospects of plenty ; reindeer were numerous, not fewer than 2,000 having been seen in one day ; and before they migrated to the south about a hundred and oiglity were taken and converted into dried meat. But this EXPLORATION ON THE MAINLAND OF AMERICA. 333 ab- in the wn irst not lore lliis apparently largo stock, with tho addition of fish from the neighbouring lake and river, was barely sulTicieiit for the consumption of the party and of tho train of Indians who crowded round tho fort when winter set in to livo upon the charity of the whites. Moreover tho ammunition was expended, and tho packages of blankets, tobacco, and other necessary articles had not yet arrived from tho southward. In consequence of these circumstances, Mr. Back, with some Canadian and Indian attendants, set out on tho 18th of October to return to Chepcweyan, and by this extra- ordinary exertion he relieved tho expedition from an embarrassment which would probably have prevented its proceeding in tho following summer. Tho journey was performed wholly on foot, and in tho middle of winter, and tho sufferings which ho endured are thus briefly summed up in his own words : " I had the pleasure of meeting my friends, all in good health, after an absence of nearly five months, during which time I travelled llOi miles in snow-shoes, and had no other covering at night in the woods than a blanket and deerskin, with tho thermometer frequently at 40° and once at 57'" below zero, and sometimes passing two or three days without tasting food." To estimate the courngc of a man who voluntarily undertook such a journey, it must bo taken into account that walking in snow-shoes occasions tho most dreadful sufferings to the inexperienced. " Tho pain of this mode of travelling," as Sir John Franklin says, " can bo but faintly imagined by a person who tliinks upon the incon- venience of marching with a weight of between two and three i)Ounds constantly attached to galled feet and swell- ing ankles." Those who remained at Fort Enterprise experienced nearly as much inconvenience from the severity of the cold. It is remarkable that tho cold felt hero in December, exceeded, at one time, by three degrees that experienced by Parry in Melville Island, which is situated nine degrees I 331 ICE-WORLD ADVENTCRES. nearer to the Pole. During these intense cokls the atmosphere was generally calm, and the -wooclcutters and others were able to pursue their ordinary occupations without using any extraordinary precautions. Those who perish from cold in this country generally owe their de- struction to the circumstance of being overtaken in an unsheltered place by a storm of wind, which as it rapidly extracts the heat from the body, seems to add to the intensity of the cold, and soon proves fatal. The trees round Fort Enterprise were frozen to their very centres, and became as hard as stones ; some of the axes were daily broken, and by the end of December only one was left that was fit for felling trees. Two Esquimaux interpreters from Hudson's Bay ac- companied ^Ir. Back to Fort Enterprise. Immediately on their arrival they commenced the construction of a snow house, which they maintained to be more comfortable and warm than the wooden one already erected. They built themselves a dome about twelve feet in diameter, and eight feet high, which from the purity of the materials employed in its construction, and the translucency of its walls, had within a very agreeable appearance. During the dreary winter months the officers employed themselves in drawing and writing their journals. They also found some amusement in studying the character of their Indian followers. The old chief of the Coppermine Indians had a daughter, who was considered the greatest beauty in the whole tribe. She was so much the object of contest among her countrymen, that although under sixteen years of age she had successively belonged to two hus- bands. Mr. Hood drew her portrait, much to the annoy- ance of her aged mother, who was exceedingly afraid, she said, that her daughter's beauty would induce the great chief who resided in England to send for the original after seeing the likeness. It was the 14th of June, 1821, before the ice was sulU- ly Shooting the Rapids of the Coppermine River. Ice- World Adventures, j [j^'V 335- • EXl'LORATION ON THE MAINLAND OF AMERICA. 335 335- cicntly broken up in tbc Coppermine River to allow of its being navigated by canoes. Tbcir stoek of provisions was now nearly cxbaustctl, and it was evident tbat tlie party in tbe prosecution of tlieir journey would liavc to depend for subsistence, in a great measure, on tbc exertions of tbo Imnters. But tbc worst of it was, tbat tbe bunters sbowed S3^mptomg oic" insubordination as often as tbcy were re- minded of tbe importance of tbeir labours. Tbc rocky cbanncl of tbc Coppermine River presented many difficulties in tbo way of navigation ; but tbc grassy plain on eitber side abounded witb game, particularly witb tbc musk ox, of wbicb a great number were killed. Tbcsc animals arc usually followed by wolves, wbo bunt in packs, and of wbicb our travellers relate some anecdotes indicat- ing an extraordinary degree of sagacity. Tbe wolves, beinfT nnablo to bunt down tbo moose and reindeer, bavo recourse to a stratagem to drive tbem over precipitous cliffs. "Wbilc tbo deer arc quietly grazing, tiic wolves assemble in great numbers, and forming a crescent, creep slowly towards tbc lierd, so as, not to alarm tbem mucb at first, but wben tbcy perceive tbat tbcy bavo fairly bemmcd in tbc unsuspecting creatures, and cut off tbcir retreat across tbc plain, tbey move more quickly, and, witb bideous yells, terrify tbeir prey, and urge tbem to fligbt by tbo only open way, wbicb is tbat towards tbo precipice ; ap- pearing to know tbat wben tbc bcrd is at full speed it is easily driven over tbo cliff", tbc rearmost urging on tboso tbat arc before. Tbe wolves tben descend at tbeir leisure, and feast on tbc mangled carcasses." This stratagem was once attempted on Dr. Ricbardson. AV^bilc sitting, ono evening, on tbc edge of a precipice above tbc Coi)pcrmino River, bo perceived nine wbitc wolves creeping towards bim in a crescent ; be advanced boldly, and tbey allowed bim to pass ; but a poor deer, bemmcd in at tbc same time, was sbortly afterwards driven over tbe precipice. On tbc IStb of July, our travellers arrived at tbc mouth 336 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. of tlic Coppcrmino, and here tlio Indians, terrified at tlio thoughts of meeting the Esquimaux, with which nation they carry on implacable warfare, finally dctci'mined to re- turn. Mr. Wentzcl, a clerk of the North-west Company, went wich them, with instructions from Franklin to lay in a stock of provisions at Fort Enterprise, and to make other arrangements which accidents and the necessities of the ex- pedition might require. The Canadians, though amused at the first view of the sea, were terrified at the thought of launching on it. It required much pains to prevent them from sinking into a state of utter despondency. The cheerfulness of John Hep'jurn, the English seaman, who was delighted with a view of the element to which ho had been so long accus- tomed, had a better effect on them than the exhortations of their commander. The fears of the Canadians were certainly excusable ; it required all the hardihood and intrepid resolution of British seamen to embark at so late a season, on so perilous an en- terprise. On the 21st of July, twenty people, of whom fifteen had never seen salt water, launched on the Polar Sea in two frail bark canoes, with provisions for only fifteen days, and a voyage before them of indefinite extent. The sea was found to be open, with little or no ice. The tide was scarcely perceptible, but from the position of the drift-wood along the shore Lieutenant Franklin concluded that the current ran to the eastward. The farthest point to which our adventurous navigator proceeded was Cape Turnagain, in latitude 08^-°. This point on the east, with Capo Barrow on the west, formed the opening of a deep gulf, that ran southward as far as the arctic circle. This gulf Franklin named George the Fourth's Coronation Gulf. It is studded with numerous islands, indented with sounds affording excellent harbours with good anchorage, all of them supplied with small rivers of fresh water, abound- ing with salmon, trout, and other fish. , EXPLOKATION ON TTIK MAINLAND OF AMERICA. •J')/ lis ilf. ids of id- Franklin, finding it absolutely necessary to return, and his stock of provisions being exhausted before ho reached Hood's river, at the bottom of Coronation CJulf, determined to proceed np this river as far as it was navigable, and then to strike across the country in a direct lino to Fort Enterprise, instead of retracing his course, as ho had ori- ginally intended, to the Coppermine River. But a cascade, 250 feet high, in Hood's river, soon put a stop to their navigation. They were obliged to prepare for a laud jour- ney, to reduce their canoes to more portable dimensions, and to abandon part of their luggage. On the fifth day of their journey on foot, wlien they were at a considerable distance from the river, they were sur- prised by a heavy fall of snow, the harbinger of winter. Their distresses now increased daily ; they had to struggle in boisterous weather through snow two feet deep, and over a barren country, which scarcely produced a shrub for fuel. Tho sun being hid, they had no opportunity of making celestial observations, so that, to increase their anxiety, they were reduced to tho necessity of guessing their way through a country totally unknown. During a journey of three weeks all the fresh meat that could be procured amounted to only five days' consumption. The only addi- tional resource was trqio Jo roche, a species of lichen that grows on tho rocks ; and this unpalatable weed was so scanty, that some days passed without a meal at all. Tho strength and spirits of tho Canadians sank rapidly from fatigue and waiit of food. Despair made them reckless of consequences, and owing to their inattention tlic canoes were both dashed to pieces, although our travellers were aware that they should have to cross the Coppermine River. On tho 26 th of September they arrived on the banks of this river. Tho weather had become mild, a few small deer had been killed, and a delusive ray of hope shone on our weary travellers. They were now, however, without the means of crossing the river wliich lay between tlicm m 338 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. and tlio placo of their destination. No trees conld "bo found to make a raft ; faggots of dried -svillows bound to- gether were unmanagcablo ^-ithout poles or oars. "About this time," says Franklin, " Dr. Richardson, prompted by a desire of relieving his suffering companions, proposed to swim across the stream with a line and to haul a raft over. lie launched into the stream with the line round his middle, but when he had got a short distance from the bank his arms liccamc benumbed with cold, and ho lost the power of moving them ; still he persevered, and, turning on his back, had nearly gained the opposite bank, when his legs also became powerless, and to our infinite alarm wo beheld him sink. Wo instantly hauled upon the lino, and ho came ngain upon the surface, and was gradually drawn ashore in an almost lifeless state. Being rolled up in blankets, ho was placed before a good firo of willows, and fortunately was just able to speak sufficiently to give some slight dii'cc- tions respecting the manner of treating him. lie recovered strength gradually, and, by tho blessing of God, was en- abled in tho course of a few hours to converse, and by the evening was sufficiently recovered to remove into the tent. Wo then regretted to learn that the skin of his wholo left side was deprived of feeling, in consequence of exposure to too great heat. Ho did not perfectly recover the sensation of that side until the following summer. I cannot describe what every ono felt at beholding tho skeleton which the doctor's debilitated frame exhibited. When ho stripped, tho Canadians simultaneously exclaimed, 'Ah, quo nous sommes maigres ! ' " Franklin adds: "I have omitted to mention that when ho was about to step into tho water ho put his foot on a dagger, which cut him to tho bono ; but this misfortune could not stop tho execution of his generous undertaking." At length a kind of basket was constructed, largo enough to hold ono person, and covered with n few fragments of canvas that remained. In this frail machine the party EXPLORATION ON THE MAINLAND OF AMERICA. ooO ngll louts \\vty crossed tlio river one "by one. About eiglit flnjs of fmo weatlicr had been lost in this place for want of canoes. The last stage of the journey turned out to bo by far the most calamitous of the whole. It was now the -Itli of Oc- tober; the weather, which liad been unusually mild while the party lingered on the eastern bank of the Copporraine, now increased in severity. The ground was covered with snow; Fort llnterpriso was forty miles off; not a morsel of food remained ; and the whole party were miserably re- duced in strength by toil, anxiety, and i')rivation. Mr. Back and three Canadians hastened forward in the hope of meeting a baud of Indian hunters in the neigh- bourhood of Fort Enterprise. A few days afterwards, Franklin and seven of the party proceeded onward, leaving Dr. Richardson and j\[r. Hood to take care of those who wei'O unable to continue the march. Fort l*]nterpriso was but twenty-four miles off when this separation took place. Four of those who set out witli Franklin left him in tho course of his journey, being unable to proceed. Of these, !Michel, an Iroquois, alone returned to Dr. llichardson's party ; the other three were heard of no more. Franklin reached tho fort on tho 11th, exhausted, having tasted no food for fivo days. What was his dismay when he found tho place without an inhabitant, with no provisions, no trace of a living animal, and tho ground deeply covered with snow, lie endeavoured to set out in quest of the Indians, that ho might proceed to tho relief of Dr. Richardson and his party; but his strength was now utterly gone, and ho was obliged to return tlio next day to his dreary and desolate abode. Eighteen days passed over him in this miserable condi- tion, with no other food than tho bones and skins of tho deer which had been consunud tho preceding winter boiled down into a kind of soup. On the 20th of Oclober Dr. Richardson and John Jlepburn made their appearance, bub without tho rcat of tho party. Each was shocked nt 310 ICE-WORLT) ADVENTURKS. the emaciated appearance and sepulchral voice of the other, not being aware that he was himself as much a picture of misery. Dr. Richardson had now «" ■ melancholy tale to relate. For the first two days his p- - had nothing whatever to eat. On the third day Mit.iv,i arrived with a hare and partridge, which aflbrdcd each a small morsel. Then an- other day passed without food. On the 11th Michel of- fered them some flesh, which he said was part of a wolf. They afterwards became convinced that it was the flesh of one of the unfortunate men who had left Captain Frank- lin's party to return to Dr. Richardson. Michel grew daily more insolent and shy, and it was strongly suspected that ho had a hidden supply of meat for his own use. " On the 20th," says Dr. Richardson, " Michel lingered about the fire under the pretence of clean- ing his gun. After we had read the Morning Service, I went about noon to gather some tnpc do rocJic, leaving Mr. Hood sitting before the tent at the fireside, arguing with Michel ; Hepburn was employed cutting down a tree at a short distance from the tent, being desirous of accumulat- ing Ji quantity of firewood before he loft us. "A short time after I went out I heard the report of a gun, and about ten minutes afterwards ITepburn called to me in a voice of great alarm to come directly. When I arrived I found poor Hood lying lifeless ot the fireside, a ball having apparently entered his forehead. I was at first horror-struck with the idea that in a fit of despondency ho had hurried himself into the presence of his Almighty Judge by an act of his own hand ; but the conduct of Michel soon gave rise to other thoughts, and excited suspi- cions, which were confirmed when, upon examining the body, I discovered that the shot had entered the back part of the head, and passed out at the forehead, and that the muzzle of the gun had been applied so close as to set firo t ) the nightcap behind. The gun, which was of the longest EXTLOKATION ON THIJ MAINLAND OF AMERICA. oil kind sui^plied to the Indians, could not have been placed in a position to inflict such a wound except by a second per- son. Upon inquiring from Michel how it happened, ho re- plied that Mr. Hood had sent him into the tent for the short gun, and that during his absence the long gun had gone off, he did not know whether bj accident or not. He held the short gun in his hand at the time ho was speaking to me. " Hepburn afterwards informed mo, that previous to the report of the gun Mr. Hood and Michel were speaking to each other in an elevated, angry tone ; that Mr. Hood, being seated at the fireside, was hid from him by interven- ing willows, but that on hearing the report he looked up, and saw Michel rising up from before the tent door, and just behind where Mr. Hood was seated, then going into the tent. Thinking the gun had been discharged for the purpose of cleaning it, ho did not go to the fire at first, and when Michel called to him that Mr. Hood was dead, a considerable time had elapsed. I did not daro accuse him openly, but saw he would not leave Hepburn and me to- gether. On the morning of the 23rd, having determined to proceed to the fort, wo set out with our last remnant of food, a piece of poor Hood's singed buffalo robe. Hop- burn and ^Michel each carried a gun, and I a pistol." ^Michel now became more mistrustful and outrageous than ever. "Our united strength," says Dr. Richardson, "was far inferior to his; and besides his gun ho was armed with two pistols, an Indian bayonet, and a knife. In the after- noon, coming to a rock on which there was some Iripe do roche he halted, and said ho would gather it whilst wo went on, and that ho would soon overtake us. Hepburn and I were now left together for the tirst time since Mr. Hood's death, and he acquainted me with several material circumstances which ho had observed of Michel's be- haviour, and which ec^iillrmcd mo in the opinion that thero 312 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. iRI ■vvas no safety for us except in his death, and ho offered to be tho instrument of it. I determined, however, as I was thoroughly convinced of the necessity of such a dreadful act, to take the -whole responsibility upon myself, and immediately upon Michel's coming up, I put an end to his life by shooting him through the head with a pistol. Had my own life alone been threatened, I would not have pur- chased it by such a measure ; but I considered myself as intrusted with tho protection of Hepburn — a man who, by his humane attentions and devotedncsg, had so endeared himself to mo, that I felt more anxioty for his safety than uiy own. ]\richel had gathered no trii^c do rochc, and it was evident to us that ho had halted for the purpose of putting his gun in order, with the intention of attacking us, peHiajis while we were in tho act of encamping." On the evening of tho 29tli they came in sight of tlio fort, and at first felt inexpressible pleasure when they saw the smoke issuing from tho chimney. The absence of any footsteps in the snow filled them with dismal fore- bodings ; and these wore realized, when on entering the house, they saw tho wretehodness that reigned there. Two days after the arrival of Dr. liiciiardson two of i1io Indians who accompanied Franklin died of want. Tho only remaining man a')'i Franklin himself were so reduced that a few hours would in all likelihood have terminated their existence. Dr. Richardson and Hepburn also felt them- selves rnpidly declining, when on the 7th. of November three Indians, sent by Mr. Back, brought the long ex- pected relief. The Indians cleaned the house, and attended the famished travellers with a kindness which could not have been exceeded in the most civilized communities. When tho party gained a Utile strength, they left tlic fort, autl in'oceded to tho nearest of the company's posts, where they met with their companion, to whose resolution and ])hysieal strength the expedition owed its early success and its ultimate safety. EXPLORATION ON THE MAINLAND OP AMERICA, 313 The results of thi.3 journey, whicli, inclutling the naviga- tion along the coast, extended to 5500 miles, -svcrc of the great- est importance to geography. The country traversed afl'ord- ed little opportunity for the description of scenery ; the same general character seems to pervade all these northern regions. AVe find everywhere rivers and chains of lakes intersecting the whole country, with monotonous forests of pines, bordered by bircli and willow, gradually dwindling until they at length totally disappear in about latitude Gb"". The officers of the expedition had many opportunities during their residence at Fort Enterprise of studying the phenomena, electrical, magnetic, and atmospheric, that accompany the aurora borealis. Tliis meteor, it appears, is more frequent and vivid in the neiglibourhood of the arctic circle than in more northern latitudes. It was concluded from a vast number of experiments, that ilio magnetic needle was affected by the aurora under certain circumstances, particularly when the flashes appeared to bo between the clouds and the eartli. The observations of the officers also led them to conclude that the aurora, instead of being beyond the region of the atmosphere, is rarely at a height exceeding six or seven miles. Its beams wero seen frequently to dart between the clouds, and it was evidently affected ])y the wind. One of the fiir- traders told i\[r. Hood that ho once saw the coruscations of the aurora borealis so vivid and low, that the Canadians fell on their faces and began to pray and cry, fearing they should bo killed, and that ho threw away his gun and juiife that they might not attract the Hashes; for they were within two feet of the earth. Hitting along with incredible swiftness, and moving parallel to the surface, lie likewise affirmed that they made a loud rustling noise, like tlio waving of a flag in a strong breeze. Tin's noise made by the Hashes of the aurora borealis has been called in question. Tho Siberians affirm that it is sometimes so loud, that their dogs, terrified Ity it, lie down and refuse to draw the I 3i4 I ,E-W011LD ADVENTUKKS. I i ! sledges. The officers of the expedition never heard the noise themselves, nor were they able to collect any infor- mation respecting it which could establish it on a better foundation than mere vulgar report. In travelling through the valleys which intersect the (' ^ ,Gr Mountains, Dr. Richardson picked up some plates of native copper, various ores of the same metal, and trap rock associated with it. The Indians dig wherever they observe the prehnito lying on the soil, experience having ta^T^l i. iLiem that the largest pieces of copper are found in itrf. ne'-^^u'^oarhood. They report that copper is to be found in ev'vy r.art of this range which they have examined, for thii^v or fort^ . I't < to the north-west, and that the Esqui- maux ttis< "OFo.. . the mountains to search for that metal. Some ice chisei& at.:,. :; foot in length and half an inch in diameter, formed of pure copper, were afterwards found among the Esquimaux. Thus ended this remarkable expedition. Sherard Osboin truly says: "Franklin's narrative is a tale which should be in the hearts of those sailors of England who desire to emulate the deeds and fame of such men as himself and his followers. It is an iliad in prose, and replete with pictures of rare devotion to tho most ennobling of causes — the advancement of human knowledge. A generous and chivalrous spirit breathes through every page, and sheds a lustre, not only on every act of tho leader, but likewise on those who were his comrades and friends in many sad hours of need and danger. Those terrible marches ; the laborious explorations of the regions around tho mouth of tho Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers ; the long bitter starvation of tho winter ; the murder of Ilood ; tho dcsl ruction of the assassin and cannibal ; the intrepid cfTort of Richardson to swim across the freezing Coppermine to save his comrades ; Back's fearful winter journey to bring succour to his chief : — are all tales which should be household words by every English fireside." f n CHAPTER XXII. ARCTIC EXPLORATION- ON THE MAINLAND OF AMERICA {continued). FUAXKLIN AND EiCHARDSON'S SeCOND EXPEDITION — TlIE PROcnAMME — On the Mackenzie Riveu — Mcd fob Food — Romantic Scenery — The Squinters — Landing on Garry Island — "Winter Qlartei;s AT Fort Franklin — Christmas Festivities — Franklin's Ex- tloration of the Coi,8T — A SiNorLAR Contest with the Esquimaux — A Prudent Return — Dr. IIichardson's Explora- tion to the Eastward of the Mackenzie — Captain Lyon's Expedition — Captain Beechey in the Blossom Frigate — Anec- dote OF Franklin — Back's Expedition in 1831 — Back's Expe- dition IN 18;]G— Dease and Simpson's Survey in 18;57-i5'.) — Assassination of Simpson — Dr. Rae's Expedition of l8lo-17 — Hunting and Fishing — Winter Sports under Difficulties — Exploration in the Spring. The sufferings endured in the last expedition did not deter the samo intrepid individuals from repeating tlio attempt to explore the shores ol the polar seas. Towards the close of 1823 Government made known its intention of sending out another expedition under Captain Parry to try to find the passage to the west through Regent's Inlet. At the same time Franklin proposed to survey the coast westward from Mackenzie River. His offer was accepted, and it was expected that experience dearly purchased would instruct him to obviate all risk of encountering privations like those of the last voyage. Orders were immediately forwarded to the agents of the Hudson's Bay Company to prepare a supply of provisions. At the requisite stations boats were constructed, combining in the highest possible degree the qualities of strength and lightness ; and these were forwarded with the baggage and stores to proceed into the interior from JFudson's Bay. Captain Franklin, Dr. Richard:ion, Mr. Back, and Mr. ii 1" ^1: I i\ .IE { % I ] ■^"li. 3i(3 ICE-WOELD ADVENTURES. \ '^ Kendal procccdccl by way of New York. Their instruc- tions directed them to form tlicir winter establishment in the neighbourhood of the Great Bear Lake, and in the spring of 182G to proceed down the Mackenzie. At the mouth of the river the travellers were to separate ; Captain Franklin and Mr. Back were to go westward and try to reach Kotzebue's Inlet, where they might expect to meet the Blossom frigate, commanded by Captain Beechey. Dr. Ilichardson and Mr. Kendal were, at the same time, to pro- ceed towards the east, so as to examine the coast between the Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers. The officers proceeding by New York, Niagara, and Luke Superior overtook the boats in Mctliyo River on the 20th of June, 1825. This spot is in latitude 50" JO', longilndo 1U8° 55', and almost at the head of the waters that flow eastward into Hudson's Bay. The officers had travelled 2800 miles and the boats 1200 before they met together. Once embarked on the Mackenzie our travellers had an easy navigation. In many parts of the country which they had crossed between Isle do la Crosse and the ]\Iackenzio their view was impeded by the smoke of woods on fire. Whether these conflagrations arose from desiijn on the part of the Indians, or from their negligence in scattering the embers from their fires, could not bo learned with cer- tainty. In latitude 02'^ stands Fort Simpson, at the confluence of the ^Mackenzie and the River of the Mountains, de- scending from the west. By this river the traders pro- cure provisions, and among other articles potatoes in abundance, the cultivation of which has been advanta- geously introduced into this remote region. The Mackenzie, hitherto half a mile or a mile in width, spreads below Fort Simpson into a majestic stream two miles broad. Our travellers were now at no great distance from the Crcat Bear Lake, and as fivo or six weeks of the good sea- son still remained, it was resolved that Caplain Franklin r K^. EXPLORATION ON THE MAINLAND OF AMERICA. 3'17 and Mr. Kendal should descend tlio invcr to tlio sea, and survey its mouth, byw'hich thej might considerably abridge the operations of the ensuing summer. Dr. Richardson, at the same time, ■was to examine the east side of the Great Bear Lake, while Mr. Back was directed to superintend the preparations for "wintering. The entrance to the Bear Lake River is distinguished by a very remarkable mountain, whoso summit displays a variety of insulated peaks, crowded in the most irregular manner. It is composed of limestone, and from the lower cliffs which front the river a dark, bituminous liquid oozes out. The stream which descends from the Bear Lake is remarkably pure and limpid, while the waters of the ^Mac* kenzie are white and turbid. A few miles above the Bear Lake River, and near its mouth, the banks of the Macken- zie contain much coal, which was on fire in 1825, as it had been observed by Mackenzie, in his voyage to tho sea ; its smell was very disagreeable. On subsequent trial at the winter quarters on Great Bear Lake this coal was found to emit but very little heat, and to be tot;illy unfit for the blacksmith's use. Thc^ banks likewise contained layers of unctuous mud, which the Indians in tho neigh- bourhood use occasionally as food during seasons of famine, and even at other times chew as an amusement. It has a milky taste, and the flavour is not disagreeable. Our travellers used it to whiten the walls of their dwelling, for which purpose it apcared well adapted. The scenery of the Mackenzie below ]3ear Lake River in in many places highly romantic. In one ])laec, called by tho traders tho Ramparts, the river, varying in breadth from 400 to 800 yards, runs ftn* seven miles through a defile, the walls of which are sometimes loO feet high. Several streams trickling over the clilf wear the rock into a turreted shape, whiln numerous cavernous openings, occa- sionally assuming the form of Gothic {irchitecture, give the cliffs tho character of an ancient cathedral. U ii '.'■ ■iS , 1 ■ y :3l.s ICI^-WOKM) ADVENTUUES. fi Oil tho 10th of August Captain Franklin arrived at Fort Good Hope, the lowest of the company's establishments. This abode of civilized man, whom the love of gain in- duces to brave the inclemency of those rigorous climates, is situated in latitude 07° 28' 21", and longitude 130° 51' o8''. The fort was established for the purpose of carrying on trade with the tribe of Indians called Loucheux or Squinters, an appellation which Captain Franklin was dis- posed to interpret sharp-sighted. " They are," he says, "a good-looking people, resembling the Esquimaux in manner and general appearance, but not in their eyes, which are prominent and full." They resembled that nation also in their custom of perforating the septum of the nose, through which they thrust pieces of bone or strings of shells, which they purchase from the Esquimaux. On approaching the sea Captain Franklin experienced no difficulty but what arose from the number of channels and branches into which the river divides itself. The banks as well as the islands arc entirely alluvial, supporting willows at the lower part and spruce trees at the summits. Two days' voyage through tlicsc channels brought our travellers within sight of the ocean. Tho water was still quite fresh, and continued so until rowing towards an island at a distance, they entirely lost sight of the eastern shore. A line of strong ripple marked tho termination of the fresh water, that on the seaward side being brackish ; and in tlieir farther progress of three miles to the island they had the indescribable pleasure of finding tho water decidedly salt. Tho sea to the northward appeared quite free from ice ; numerous seals and whales, black and white, were seen sporting on its surface. The island on which Captain Franklin landed, and which ho named Garry Island, is about live miles long by two broad, and seems to be a mass of frozen mud, with an ap- pearance of vegetable mould in some places exposed to the sun. Here the union flag was hoisted, and Captain Frank- J 'liite. KXI'LOHATION OX TITK MAINLAND OF AMERICA. .•M9 liii placed a letter with an account of his proceedings at tho foot of the flag-stafl', in case that Captain Parry, on enter- ing the Polar Sea, might approach that island. Another letter of the same purport, enclosed in a waterproof box, was sent adrift with the same intention. Tho rise of the tide observed here was only three inches, and the position of Garry Island was ascertained to bo latitude G[)'^ 2U', and longitude 135^ -U'. Mackenzie erred but little in the latitude assigned to tlio mouth of this river; and indeed, Captain Fraidclin fully vindicates him from the imputations thrown on his veracity for asserting that ho had readied the sea without having ascertained that the water was salt. " It is probable," says Captain Franklin, " that even had the sea been free from ice at tho time of his visit, he could not have gone far enough to prove its saltness, though the boundless horizon, the occurrence of a tide, and tho sight of porpoises and whales, naturally induced him to say that ho had arrived at the ocean. Tho survey of tho Mackenzie made on this ex- pedition difTcrs very little in its outline from those of its discoverer, whose careful correctness we have often occasion to adniiro." The examination of the mouth of this great river being thus happily effected, the explorers commenced their return. The river had fallen considerably, and the dilliculty of ascending the rapids was consequently increased. It deserves to be noticed that towards tho end of August our travellers found tho weather almost inconveniently warm. Tho thermometer in the shade stood at OG^, and at rO^ when exposed to the sun. On the same day the refrac- tion of the atmosphere, which had been observed to be un- usually great towards tho mouth of tho ^lackcnzie, Avas particularly powerful. Tho mountains were distorted into tho most extraordinary shape, and even tho banks of the river at a little distance appeared to have such an elevation that they could hardly be recognised. 1 'I V 1 . « . ' 350 ICE-WORLD ADVENTDRE8. On tho 5th of September Franklin and his party arrived at tho winter residence on Great Bear Lake, to which tho officers in his absence had given the name of Fort Franklin. Dr. Richardson had previously returned, having con ^ '^od his examination of tho north-eastern shore of th .iko where it approaches nearest to tho Coppermine River. He fixed also upon tho place to which tho eastern expedition should direct their steps on their return from tho Copper- mine River the following season. The establishment at Fort Franklin was composed of several comfortable dwellings jilaced on a dry sandy bank, about twenty-five feet above tho lake. Towards the north a ridge of hills of moclerato elevation bounded the prospect, and afibrded some shelter in that direction. Tho south- western arm of the Bear Lake, here about four miles wide, opened towards the south. At a littlo distance fr the fort wero trees in abundance, chiefly black and white . ^ ^ce and larch, some of which were fifty feet high. The num- ber of persons assembled at the fort amounted to fifty, in- cluding Canadian and Indian hunters, with their wives and children. When tho winter set in tho officers amused themselves in drawing and writing their journals. A school also was established to occupy the men. When tho migrating birds had wholly disappeared tho view abroad became extremely dreary. On the 11th of October a great fall of snow took place, and with this began the amusements and occupations of a northern winter. General pleasure was felt when it was first announced that the ground was sufficiently covered with snow to allow travelling in dog-slcdges. The festivi- ties of Christmas wero duly observed, and a dance was given at which were present sixty persons, forming a motley assemblage of Englishmen, Scotch Highlanders conversing in Gaelic, French Canadians, Esquimaux, and Indians of four diffijrent tribes. In February some fears began to be entertained of want EXPLORATION ON THE MAINLAND OP AMERICA. 'Mj\ want of food. The stock of dried mc.it was expended, and tlic fisliin;^ lines were unproductive. Tlio men were placed on short allowance. This distress, however, did not last long ; a moose deer was killed, which cost six days in hunt- ing, the fisheries improved immediately after, and supplies arrived from the company's stations. In April warm weather commenced, though the ground was still covered with snow ; Dr. Richardson and Mr. Kendal completed the survey of the Great Bear Lake while the men at the fort were employed in building a large boat. On the 22nd of June the whole party embarked to fnlfd the great object of the expedition. The weather was now warm, the thermometer standing at 71" in the shade. On the 4th of July they reached the fork or point where the principal mouths of the ^Mackenzie separate to run east and west. This point thoy therefore named Point Separation. Our travellers divided into two parties, to proceed, accord- ing to their instruction ;, one towards the cast the other to the west. " By six in the morning of the 4th of July," says Franklin, " the boats were all laden and ready for Lieparture ; it was impossible not to be struck with the difference between our present complete state of equipment and that in which wo had embarked on our former disastrous voyage. Instead of a frail bark-canoe and a scanty supply of food, wo were now about to commence the sea voyage in excellent boats, stored with three months' provisions. At Dr. Richardson's desire the western party embarked first ; ho and his companions saluted us with three hearty cheers, which were warmly returned ; and as wo were passing round the point that was to hide them from our view wo perceived them also embarking." Captain Franklin's party had hardly cleared the mouth of the river and gained the sea, when they entered a wide bay, on the shores of which they perceived a boat of Esquimaux. These soon came off to the boats in such sl;< 352 -,vj, ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. crowtl.s, that our voyagers, after counting scvcnty-tbroc gave np tlio task in despair. Augustus, the Esquimaux interpreter, informed tbem tliat the strangers had no object in visiting that coast but to carry on trade. At this news they testified the most extravagant joy ; but the traffic carried on with them on this occasion rather tempted their cupidity than gratified their desires. The boats wero aground thoui^h a mile from the shore, and were surrounded by nearly three hundred Esquimaux. These, at first importunate and clamorous, became at length so emboldened as to attempt to steal from the boats. When detected and resisted, they grew furious, and seemed to be concerting measures for a simul- taneous attack. They flourished their knives, and tried to gain possession of the boats. For several hours this singular contest continued, and terminated at length without the loss of blood on either side ; the English having preserved their tempers so as to refrain from using firearms, while the Esquimaux, nn- willing to hurt the strangers, aimed solely at becoming masters of their property. After the boats had escaped this danger, Augustus landed, and harangued the people on the impropriety of their conduct. They welcomed him Avith songs and dances, which he was surprised to find were the same as those practised on similar occasions in his own country. The boats now proceeded along the coast, with a fair wind in a west-north-west direction. They had not, how- ever, proceeded many miles when their progress was inter- rupted by a sheet of ice, fastened to the shore and extend- ing to seaward as far as the eye could reach. Thoy found that they had just arrived in time to sec the breaking up of the ice. Hero a party of Esquimaux soon made their appearance. They wero an inofleusivo tribe, and jumped for joy when Augustus explained to them the advantages to bo derived ^w ity-tlircc ccl tbcm coast but ;lio most them on gratified nilo from hundred lamorous, to steal ley grew ' a simul- l tried to lued, and on either so as to aux, un- becoming A-uguslus priety of I dances, as thoso til a fair lot, liow- as inter- extend- oy found iig up of icarance. oy when ^ derived A Singular Contest with the Esquimaux. /ce- World A dventure t. ] [/'''^tf 35a. s ii' I 1;: ij; ^1 ■' i!| •I. t I i EXPLORATION ON THE MAINLAND OP AMERICA. 353 from an intercourse -witli white people, to whom tlicy wcro now introduced for the first time. When awls and fishing- hooks were offered to them as presents, they stuck them in the septum of the nose as ornaments. These people had also holes pierced on either side of the under lip in which were placed circular pieces of ivory, with a largo blue bead in the centre, like the xiatives on some parts of the north-west coast of America. The men were taller and stouter than any tribes of Esquimaux hitherto seen on the eastern coast, and their cheek-bones were less project- ing : but they had the general characteristic of their nation, the small eye and broad nose. They informed our travellers that, as soon as the wind should blow strongly from the land, the ice might be ex- peeted to bo removed from the shore, so as to open a pas- sago for boats, and that it would remain in the offing till the reappearance of the stars. Farther to the westward, they continued, tho ico often adhered to tho land through- out the summer ; and when it did break away, it was carried but a short distance to seaward, and was brought back when- ever a strong wind blew on the coast. If there were any channels in those parts, they were unsafe for boats, as the ice was continually tossing about. Tho natives expressed their wonder that tho white men were not provided, like themselves, with sledges and dogs to travel over the land whenever these interruptions should occur. Their homos were built of drift-wood, which is found along this shore in abundance, brought by the current from the cast. Sonu; pine trees wero found thirty-six feet long and seven in girth. As soon as the breaking up of tho ice allowed Franklin and his party to embark, they struggled, not without difli- culty and danger, to reach an island, which was named by them after tho philosopher Uorschol. Hero again they met with Esquimaux, who wero provided in some measure with knives and otlier implements of irun. When asked how A A m i i 354 ICE-^YORLD ADVENTUKES. tTiey had procured tliem, tliey replied that they received them chiefly from a tribe of Esquimaux who reside a great distance to the west, and to whom they send their young men every spring with furs, sealskins, and oil, to trade in these articles. Some Indians also descend a river that enters the Polar Sea nearly opposite Hcrschel Island, and carry on a similar traffic. These people supposed that the Indians and the Esquimaux with whom they traded ob- tained the goods from Kahloonacht, or white people who dwell far to the west. Thus it appears that Russian manufactures arc distributed among the Esquimaux to the east of the Mackenzie. The shallowness of the shore, the great quantity of broken ice, and the thick fogs, greatly impeded the pro- gress of the party, wlio now began to despair of being able to effectuate the object of their mission. A largo river flowing into the sea near the meridian of 1'1'1° which separates the British and the Russian territories, was named the Claronco River. Here a box containing a royal medal was deposited, and the union jack being hoisted was saluted with three cheers. Farther on another river was discovered, and named the Canning River. The water opposite to it was fresh three miles out to sea. The fogs now came on so thick as to compel the voyagers to draw their boats on shore, and wait till the weather should clear up, so as to allow them to pursue their intri- cate navigation through the ice. This delay completely dissipated the hopes of ultimate success. It was now the IGth of August, and they had only reached half-way to Icy Capo. Winter was rapidly advancing, and the tem- perature of noon was rarely above 37°. Franklin resolved therefore to return immediately, rather than expose the lives ol; his followers in a hopeless enterprise. The last observation, made in Return Reef was in latitude 70° 2G', loiioitudo 148° 52'. On the last day of the ni'.nth the boats reached Carry KXPLORATiON ON TUE MAINLAND OP AMEHIOA. •J J) Island, and afterwards entered a fine river, which v/as supposed to bo one of tho mouths of tho Mackenzie ; nor was tho mistake discovered until the voyagers had ad- vanced so fur as to have mountains on the eastward. This river, which Franklin named Peel River, was from a quarter to half a mile in width. Its banks, like those of the Mackenzie, were well clothed with poplar, birch, and willow. They arrived at Fort Franklin on tho 21st of September, having accomplished in three montlis a voyage of '2048 miles. The extent of shore which they had traced to the westward of tho Mackenzie was 374 miles; and in this whole length there was not a single harbour in which a ship could find shelter. The progress of Dr. Richardson's party to tho eastward was attended with much less difficulty. Ho was, perhaps, favoured by tlio current which runs to the eastward, and had a bolder shore, with deeper water, and consequently less impeded with ice. Ho also had something to appre- hend from the overwhelming numbers and turbulent man- ners of tho Esquimaux ; but ho' found them an intelligent and by no means ferocious people ; so that when treated mildly and firmly, they laid aside every appearance of liostility. On one occasion they attempted to seize tho boats, but at the sight of firearms desisted, and parted from tlie English, exclaiming, " Friendship is good ! " Dr. Richardson received froDi the Indians and Esquimaux an account of a great lake extending about 150 miles from oast to AY est at no great distance from the sliore, and about 110 from north to south. It was reported full of islands. Dr. Richardson's party followed the shores of two cx- tensivo bays, respectively named Liverpool and Franklin IJays. Tho eastern shore of tho latter, as it ran a long way to tho northward, caused them some anxiety ; but ou rounding Capo Parry they again saw tho coast tending to the south and cast as far as tho eye could reach. As they I t, ; ^1 ICE-WOKLD ADVENTURES. npproaclicd the cstuavy of the Coppermine River, land ■was descried to the north, which filled them with apprehen- sions, lest, joining with the continent of America it might bar their farther progress. But as they advanced tlicj found that the land to the northward was unconnected with the main shore, from which it was separated by a channel from twelve to twenty miles in width. This island, the coast of which, apparently continuous, was observed for above a hundred miles, received the name of Wollaston Land. On the 7th of August the boats had advanced so far in Coi'onation Gulf as to join the survey now made to that of the former expedition. The length of coast examined between the Mackenzie and Coppermine Rivers was 902 miles. The success which had hitherto attended the eastern detachment continued to the end ; and on the Isi of September they reached Fort Franklin without an ac- cident. In order to complete as far as possible the survey of the northern shores of the American continent. Government sent two expeditions to co-operate with those of Captain Franklin and Dr. Richardson. On the 10th of June, 1821, (■nptain Lyon sailed from Jhiglaud in the G'n'2>tr with in- structions to winter in Rei)ulso l^ay, and in the ensuing' spring to cross from the head of tliat bay to the northern shore of the American continent, which ho was to survev westward, bo that his survey joiiunl to that of Dr. Richard- son might complete a knowledge of liic shores of the Polar Sea, from their nearest accessible point to the mouth of tho Mackenzie Rivei'. The whole voyiige of Captain Lyon was a continued struggle with bad weather, lli' arrived late in Sir Thomas Rowe's Wvlcoinc, in which, from the state of tho sea, encumbered with ice, and adverse winds, he was unable to advance. After losing all his anchors he had to relinguish the undertaking and return home. \ EXPhOUATION ON THE MAINLAND OF AMERICA. u.j7 Captain Becchcy also, in llic Blossom frigate, was ordered to winter in Kotzebue's Inlet, and in the summer of 1820 to endeavour to find a passage eastward, round Icy Cape, so as to meet tlie expedition of Captain Franklin. The bliip, however, was prevented by ice from doubling Icy Cape ; but Mr. Elson, the master, was sent in the barge to prosecnto the voyage as far as possible to the cast. On the 22ud of August he arrived at a low sandy point, on which the ice had grounded ; and as a compact field of ice extended northward as far as the eye could reach, ISEr. Elson was obliged to relinqui h all thoughts of proceeding farther. This point lies in latitude 71^ 23' oO", and longitude 1-jP 21', and is 120 miles beyond Icy Cape. The coast examined by Mr, Elson was flat, abounding in lakes and rivers, and thickly inhabited by Esquimaux, whose winter habitations are close to the beach. The point from which Franklin commenced his return to the Mackenzie on the 18th of August is only IGO mUes from the point reached by Mr. Elson fonr days later. Had he been aware that by persevering in his exertions for a few days he might have reached his friends, it is possible that a knowledge of the circumstance might have induced him, through all hazards, to continue his exertions. There is an interesting personal circumstance connected with this expedition of Franklin's. Wiicn he k-ft England ill order to prosecute it, his first wife was lying at the point of death; indeed she expired the day after his de- parture. " With heroic fortitude she urged him to set out on the very day appointed, entreating him, as he valued her peace and his own glory, not to delay a moment on her account. His feelings may be imagined when he raised on Carry Island a silk flag, which she had made and given him as a parting gift, with the instruction that he was only to hoist it on reaching the Polar Sea." Wo come now to the year 183J3, when great anxiety hail been excited in Jilnglund, by the prolonged absence of Sir 358 ICE-WOKLD ADVENTURES. John Ross's expedition. Commander Back volunteered to go for a third time to the northern shore of America with a party for Ross's relief. Before he reached his destination, however, he got tidings of the safety of the explorers ; his energies therefore found employment in tracing to the sea that current which is now known as Back's River. In 183G Commander Back was sent out again, in the Terror, with orders to reach, if possible, Wager River, or Repulse Bay, and there, leaving the ship, to cross the in- tervening land to Regent's Inlet ; while another detachment of the crew were to travel north to the Fury and Hecla Strait, and a third to proceed along the American coast to Back's River and Capo Turnngain. All, or as much at least as was possible of this work, was to be accomplished that year, and Commander Back was specially instructed on no account to fail in returning home that same season. "It is curious," says one writer, "to see how those orders were, from unavoidable circumstances, disobeyed in every particular. The Terror was involved among the ice before she reached the entrance of Frozen Strait ; and not only was her farther progress stayed, but she was com- pelled perforce to winter in the pack. The ice gradually accumulated under and around the vessel, till it was raised high above the sea level, and long after the rest of the floe had broken up the Terror remained, helplessly elevated upon an ice-cradle, which carried her hither and thither at the mercy of the wind and tide, and did not disperse till the lltli of July, when the vessel proved so 'crazed, broken, and leaky,' that the voyage home was far from being the least anxious part of the expedition." The survey of the North American coast was further prosecuted in 1887-1830 by Dcasc and Simpson, two officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, who did good service in the cause of geographical knowledge. In 1837 they descended the Mackenzie to the sea, and surveyed in the month of July that part of the northeru coast of America EXPLORATION ON THE MAINLAND OF AMERICA. ooO ■\vliicli had been left unexamined by Franklin and Elson in 1825, from Return Reef to Capo Barrow, After -wintering at Fort Confidence on Great Rear Lake, the next season was employed in descendin;^ tlio Copper- mine River and tracing nearly a hundred and forty miles of new coast beyond Cape Tiirnagain, the limit of Franklin's survey in 1821. In 1839 Simpson explored the wliolo coast beyond Capo Turnagain as fur as Castor and Pollux River, on the eastern side of tlie huge arm of the sea which receives the waters of the Great Fish River. On his return voyage he traced sixty miles of the south coast of King William's Island, and a considerable part of the high bold shores of Victoria Land, and reached Fort Confidence on the 2 tth of September, after one of the longest and most successful voynges ever performed in the polar waters. He had traversed over IGOO miles of sea. "Unfortunately," says Dr. Ilartwig, "ho was not des- tined to reap the rewards of his labonr, for in the following year, while travelling from the Red River to the i\[issis- sippi, where he intended to embark for England, ho was assassinated by his Indian guides; and thus died, in the thirty-sixth year of his age, one of the best men that have ever served the cause of science in the frozen north." The last mainland expedition we shall notice here is l!i;it of Dr. Rae, in 18 IG. It is a fine example of how mucli may be done with very limited nieau:^. On the 15th cil' July he started from Fort Churchill, :n the west side of Hudson's Bay, with twelve men and two boats. On arriv- ing at the head of Repulse Bay ho made his way to tli<> sea, crossing the isthmus which separated him from Boothiji Gulf, a distance of forty miles. It was now, however, the first week of August, and heavy rain set in, rendering progress impossible. So he rccrossed the isthmus and joined the party he had left at liojmlsc Bay, determined to have no farther sui viy till the 3G0 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. spring, and to employ tlie rest of tlic open season in making the best provision he could for the winter. His stores had been calculated for only four months' con- sumption ; ho was entirely destitute of fuel ; the natives would promise him no supplies ; he knew nothing of the resources of the country, and the head of the bay had the character of being one of the most dreary and inhospitable of polar coasts. But Hac was used to hardships, and had confidence in his own ability as a sportsman. He selected a sheltered site for his winter dwelling, near the river, on the northern shore leading to the lakes, and liero established his fishing stations. Some of his men were sent out to bring in stones for building his house, others to set nets, to hunt deer, and to gather fuel. The walls of the house were built two feet thick, the stones being cemented with mud and clay. Squares of glass were fixed in three small apertures. Timber was unknown in this bleak region, so he used the oars and masts of his boats for rafters, stretching over them oilcloth and skins for a roofing. A water-tight door was made of deer-skins, nailed over a framework of wood. The interior of the house, which was to serve for twelve persons during eight winter months, was only twenty feet long by fourteen wide. Yet in these narrow dimensions Ilae found room for a great part of his stores, and by a partition of oilcloth secured separate quarters for himself, where he worked his observations and kept his journal. The hunting and fishing proved very successful. Fuel, however, ^Yas badly wanted. Withered moss, heather, and such-like were collected, and after being dried piled in stacks. As the season advanced our explorer built two observatories of snow; one for a dip circle, and the other for a horizontally suspended needle, to test the action of the aurora. Snow-houses were also built for the dogs and for stores, etc., etc., and all wcro connected by passages cut under the frozen snow. KXI'LORATION ON THE MAINLAND OF AJIKRICA. IJOl Early in January the tlicrmometer sank 70° bclorv tlic freezing point; and even indoors it was commonly below zero. " This," says Rae, " would not have been unplea- sant where there was a firo to warm the hands and feet, or ov^en room to move about ; but where there was neither the one nor the other, some degrees more heat would have been preferable." Their food was so short, that they could afford themselves but one meal a day, and were obliged to discontinue the comfort of a cup of tea. Being sbort of oil also, and darkness and cold together being intolerable, they had no resource but to pass about fourteen Lours out of the twenty-four in bed. When they went to bed their blankets sparkled with lioar-frost. Rae's own waistcoat became so stiff that he had mucli ado to button it. When ho went to open his books, he found that the leaves were fist frozen together. The damp from the walls had got into them before the frost set in. In spite of discomfort the men enjoyed excellent health. They even made light of their sufferings. When one poor fellow got his knee frozen in bed, he was sorry that it became known, as the laugh was turned against him for his effeminacy. On Christmas Day they all had "an excellent dinner of venison and phim-pudding," and on the 1st of January *' capital fat venison steaks, and current-dumplings." A small supply of brandy was served out to drink to absent friends; and, on the whole, Kac thinks "a happier party could not have been found in America, large as it is." By the commencement of ]\[arch deer began to migrate to the north, and during this month Rae got sledges finished and all preparations made for his spring survey. On the ord of April the thermometer rose above zero for the first tune since the 12th of December. On the 4th he set out, taking with him three of his men and two Esquimaux ; his luggage and provisions being stowed in two sledges, each drawn by four dogs, lie took no tent, as he found it more f 1 1 ' 1 ). 1 '*' 1 I 1 / i] i 1 lii 1 IE 1 362 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. convenient to builcT snow-lionses. Those ho built on his onward journey served on his way back. In these houses storm and cold were unfelt. On one occasion when there was a stiff fall, with the thermometer 21° below zero, he says, " We were as snug and comfortable in our snow-house as if we had been lotlf?cd in the best house in Enfjland." In this journey he surveyed the whole western shore of the sea until he reached the farthest discovery of Ross to the south. In a second journey, made the same spring, he traversed the eastern coast till he reached Cape Crozier; from hence he could observe the line of coast some miles farther to the north, leaving, as he reckoned, not more than ten miles of shore to be observed up to the mouth of the Fury and Hecla Strait ; the shortness of his provisions would, however, allow him to go no farther. His thorough ex- ploration of the shores of Committee Bay connects the dis- coveries of Parry on the one side with those of Ross on the otlier. The ice broke up late in 1817, and it was not till the 12th of August that the boats were launched In open water. Rae safely arrived at York Factory on the Gtli of Sept em- ber. The good health and high condition of the wholi.' party excited unqualified admiration. " By George ! " ex- claimed a stout corporal in charge of the sappers am! miners destined to accompany Richardson In h' ' ' voyage in search of Franklin, " I never saw siicl' men." A DUFFEL SLEEPIKO DAO. * i CHAPTER XXIII. MISCELLANEOUS VOYAGES, •' WoRSiiipiTL FhaxcisJ Cherie's" Expedition' in ir»03 — CiiERnv Island — Stephen Benxet's Expeditions op 1(303, IGOl, 1G05, AND 160G — Wholesale Slat-giiteii of Walruses — Hot Weather AT Cherry Island — Teachino a Walrt-s — The Mcscovy Com- pany AND Cherry Island — The First Whaling Voyagi: — Jonas Poole's Voyage in 1G12 — Baffin on a Whaling Expedition in 1G18 — The English Lord it over other Nations — Other Whaling Voyages— Baffin on the Cost of Discovery — Jens Mcnk's Expedition in 1G19 — In Winter Quarters — Seeincs Three Suns — Cold, Famine, and Disease — The Eeturn to Denmark — A Blow from a King's Cane — Munk's Death — Kotzebue's Expedition in 1815-18 — A Mountain of Ice — The End of the Expedition — Swedish Arctic Explora- tion — Thorough Equipment — Captain Long's Discoveries in 18G7 — Sailing in the Sea of K\ra in 18G9 — A Commercial Polar Expedition in 1871 — The Swedish Expedition of 187u. The various voyages whicli uerc in early days made into the arctic seas, for the purpose of discovering a passage to the Indies, not only laid the foundation of an extensive and advantageous commerce -with Russia (see p. 100, ct scy.), but gave rise to the regular establishment of the fisheries of Newfoundland, of Davis's Strait, and of Spitzbcrgen. So early as the year 1(')03 the "worshipful Francis Chcric " fitted out a ship, called the Grace, of fifty tons, whereof Stephen Bennet was master, with instructions to visit Cola in the first place, in order to dispose of her cargo, and take in such other goods as Lapland might afford ; and after that "to proceed on some discovery." For the latter purpose Rennet left the river of Cola on the Gth of August. On the 17th of August he fell in with an island, on which his people landed. They found nothing but two foxes, one white, the other black, a piece of lead, and a i I 1 1 3Gt ICE-WORLD ADVENTUliKS. fragment of a morse's tooth. Being too late in the year to attempt anything farther to tlic north, ho stood from this island to the westward, continuing in the same parallel till he had an observation, by which he determined the latitude of the island to be 74:° 30'. This island had been dis- covered by Barentz many years before, and named by him Bear Island ; Bennct now renamed it Cherry Island, and the second name seems to have taken hold of popular fancy more strongly than the first. In the following year Bennet proceeded on the same voyage in the God Speed, of sixty tons, belonging to Mr. John Welden. They left Wardhuys on the Gth of July, and on the 8th arrived at Cherry Island, where they landed. On one part of the island they found a great many walruses. Out of a thousand, however, they managed to kill only fifteen. They filled a hogshead with the loose tccHi lying on the islam"", and after viewing the Avon dors of the place, and killing some more walruses, they set sail homewards, and arrived in the Thames on the 15tli uf October, IGuJs The next year Mr. Welden, the owner of the ship, with ]Jennet as master, made another voyage to Cherry Island. Being now more expert in killing the morses, they not only took their teeth but boiled their blubber into oil. They also discovered a mine of lead ore, and brought away about thirty pounds of it in weight. Again in 1(306 Bennet proceeded in the same ship, accompanied by a pinnace of twenty tons. They arrived ulf the island on the 3rd of July, but the ice not having broken up from the shores, the morse had not landed. On the 13th the ice began to disperse and the morses to land. A party, properly equipped, Avent on shore ; and k'o well had they improved in the work of destruction, that " before six hours were ended wee had slayne about seven or eight hundred boasts." By the 20th ihvy had taken on board twenty-two tuns of oil and three hogsheads of teeth. MISCELLANEOUS VOYACRS. 305 hesIJcs wliicli they liacl slain two largo bears. Tlicy left tlio island on tlio 20th of July, ami oil the loth of Aiir^ust arrived in the Tliatnos, In lf'»OS Mr. Welden again proceeded in his shij) to Lapland and Cherry Island. At the latter ho arrived on the 18th of June, slew two bears on shore, and per- ceived great store of sea morses. On the 21st and 22nd the weather is stated to have been calm and clear, and as hot as it is commonly felt at that time of the year in England ; " for the pitch did runnc downe the ship's sides ; and that side of tho masts that was to the sunne-ward was so hot that the tarro did fryo out of it, as though it had boyled." At tho bottom of a cove, on the south side of tho inland, they slew about nine hundred or a thousand morses in less than seven hours; and such was tho quantity of these animals killed, that by the 9th they had taken in thirty-on(» tuns of oil, one hogshead, ono barrel, and one tierco of morses' teeth, besides four hundred loose teeth. There was also a second ship here called the Dragon, belonging to a brewer of St. Catherine's. They took on boai'd a couplo of young morses, male and female ; tho female died on the passage, but the male was brought home alive and carried to the court, " where the king and many honourable ' personages beheld it with admiration, for tho strangenesse of tho same, the liki; whereof had never before beeno seeno alivo in England. Xot long after it fell sick and died. As tho beast in shape; is very strange, so it is of strange docilitio, and apt to be taught, as by good experience wo ofien proved." Another voyage to this island was undertaken in IGOO, which is chietly remarkable on account of formal possession being taken of Cherry Island in tho name of tho Muscovy Com})iiny. On this expeiliti'Ui there was an extraordinary numl)er of bears seen and slain, not to speak of foxes. 'IMic Mnsro\ V (V)in]>ujiy s(>nt out (h(> foMowing yrvir a 366 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. large ship of 150 tons, of wliicli Stephen Bennet was master, and Thomas Edge factor, " for the killing of the whale ;" and as this appears to have been the first voyage undertaken expressly for that purpose, it is stated that " they had bin at the charge of procurmg of sixe men of Saint John do Luz accustomed to that function." The next year, 1G12, the same company of merchants sent out two ships, the Whcde and the SeaJiorsCy under Jonas Poole. On their arrival at Cherry Island they found a ship from Holland, in which one Alan Salowes, an Englishman, was pilot. This was not the first Dutch ship employed on the whale fishery. Erom Cherry Island Poole proceeded to Spitzbergcn, where ho again met with Alan Salowes, who told him that his Dutch employer had " broke his neck down a cliff." Hero Poole also encountered ouo Thomas llktarma- duke, of Hull, in a ship called the Hopewdl^ which soon left them and stood to the northward. " This ship," Poole says, " as wo were afterward informed, discovered as far as 82°," two degrees beyond Ilakluyt's Headland. TJiis is the highest degree of latitude mentioned in any creditable account to which any ship had yet proceeded. Poole's voyage is chiefly curious on account of the rapid progress which a})pcars to have been made in the art of killing whales by the help of the Biscnyans. No fewer than thirteen whales were taken by Poole's ship alone, besides many others by a vessel from London, by another from Hull, and by one from Biscay, having au English pilot on board. . In the year 1G13 the same company sent out six ships and a pinnace to fish on the coast of Spitzbergcn, in one of which was the celebrated navigator William Bafiin. So rapidly had the fame of tho fishery spread over tho maritime nations of Europe, that no less than eight Spaniards, two Datcluuuu, four Eronchmon from Dunkirk, besides Bume Biscayaus, wore this vcar assembled iscayi year MISCELLANEOUS VOYAGES. 3G7 in the sea of Spitzbergeu ; oue of tlio ships of Biscay being seven hundred tons, and others from two to three hundred tons. " The first," says Baffin, " wc expected would, have fought with us, but they submitted themselves unto the generall." The English having taken possession of the whole country in the name of his majesty, prohibited all the others from fishing, and sent them away, excepting thoso to whom they were pleased to grant leave to remain. On the Gth of September all the ships arrived safely in the Thames, w'ith a good store of oil and bone. This successful voyage induced the company to send out in IGl-i ton ships and two pinnaces, besides the Tliouiasinc, intended for discoveries, under the oi-dcrs of Robert Fotherby. Baffin was likewise on this voyage ; bat the relation of it is glv^on by I'otherby, and contains nothing deserving of particular notice. IJeing much ham- pered with ice, tlie ship intended for discovery got very little beyond tlio north-eastern extremity of Spitzbergeu. Baffin was again, in 1G15, sent on northern discovery in the pinnace called the liiclLanl, of twenty tons, but got no farther north than llakluyt's Headland. Wo find Baffin in favour of combined ciforts in the way of discovery; ho thought that "JGloO to £200 at most" might profitably bo risked by his London supporters " till some farther discovery bo made of the said seas and lands adjacent." A littlo pinnace with a crew of ten men was, lie thought, quite sufficient for the purpose. For several years al'ter this the whale fishing proved successful, till at length the Unteh fairly drove tho English from this lucrative branch of trade. Tho discoveries of Hudson and Baffin in the bos:Inninrr of the seventeenth century roused the Danes to exert them- selves. In the year 10l*J Christian IV. caused two ships to bo fitted out on a voyage of discovery, tho command of llicm being given to an experienced seaman of the name of Jeud .Munk. The vessels, it would seem, were chiefly manned •:)(j8 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. with English sailors, Munk left Elsinorc on the 18th of May, and on the 20th of June made Cape Farewell, and endeavoured to stand up Davis's Strait, with the intention, as it would seem, of pursuing the track of Baffin and Bylot ; but he found his vessels so perpetually hampered with ice, that he returned along the coast to the southern extremity, from whence he passed through Hudson's Strait. Ho made the coast of America in 03° 20', when meeting with much ice ho was compelled to seek for shelter in an opening in the land, which ho called Munk's Winter Harbour. To the surrounding country he gave the name of Now Denmark. The year being far advanced, for he h?,d entered tho harbour on the 7th of September, Munk re- solved to winter there. Ho built huts for himself and his people, and then began to explore the country, which luckily airorded a plentiful supply of white bears, white foxes, hares, and partridges. On tho 27th of November three distinct suns appeared in tho heavens, and on the 21th of January they saw two, equally distinct. On the 18th of the preceding December there was an eclipse of the moon, and the same night this luminary was environed by a transparent circle, within which was a cross, cutting through the centre of the moon, and ({uartering it ; this phenomenon was regarded as tho harbinger of those misfortunes which soon bcfel them, Tho frost set in with such severity that the wine, brandy, and beer, were ^tirely frozen, and the casks burst with tho intense cold. T! scurvy began to make its appear- ance among tho crews of tho two vessels, consisting of forty-eight persons in the one, and sixteen in the other.* Tho spring of the year brought with it no relief to their misery. Their bread and provisions were exhausted, and nouG of them had strength enough to take any of tlio * In IV Danish ^rs. it is said that tlio disease was mostly occasioned by tho almost uurestraiuod uso of spirituous liquors, which arc known to bo particularly dcstructivo iu u cold climate. — Banvt*. }aiSCELLANEOUS VOYAGES. 309 ducks, goose, partridges, and other fowl which camo around them in infinite multitudes. Thoy were reduced to a most helpless and deplorable state, and the mortality became almost general. Towards the beginning of the month of May, 1G'20, those who had survived had the misery of knowing that the wliole of their provisions were consumed, and that famine was now added to disease. They had no strength left to pursue the animals which surrounded them. Munk himself, reduced to the last extremity, remained alone in a little hut in so hopeless and desponding a state, as to expect nothing but death. At length, however, jn-essed by hunger, he had the resolution to crawl out of his hovel and iu(|uire into tlio fate of his unhappy com- panions; he found only two alive, all the rest having perished. These three men encouraged each other to make an attempt to procure some species of food ; they scratched away the snow and found some plants and roots, which they eagerly devoured. By degrees they were able to take lish in the river, as the ice disappeared, and birds, and other animals. They now thought cHT getting home, and for this purpose equipped the little vessel from the stores in the largo one; they repassed Hudson's Strait, and after a stormy passage, in which the ship was almost abandoned to herself, arrived safely in a port of Norway on the 2oth of September. They were received in Denmark as men risen from the grave ; and the recital of their adventures and suiTcrings created a general sympathy in their favour. Such indeed ;i[)pears to have been the interest excited by these new discoveries that Munk, notwithstanding his suH'erings, once more proposed to make the attempt to discover a North- west Passage. A subscription was set on foot for that pni'pose, and everything was made ready for his departure. Oil tnking leave of (he court, the conversation turned on llie misfortunes of his former enterprise, and the king, iu u It ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. admonlsliing Lim to be more cautious than in his last voyage, seemed to ascribe the loss of his people to some mismanagement. ]\Iunk felt this reproof deeply, and answered in a way less respectful than that to which the royal ear had been accustomed, and the king, out of temper, struck him with his cane. The indignity thus sustained by the unfortunate navigator was never to be effaced, and ho is said to have taken to his bed and died a few days afterwards of a broken heart. The long period of warfare which closed in 1815 with the battle of Waterloo suspended all attempts at northern discovery. No sooner, however, did the European world begin to feel the blessings of peace than the spirit of dis- covery revived. Expeditions were sent forth to every quarter of the globe. It is to the honour of a Russian nobleman of largo fortune that at his own cost ho fitted out a ship for the purpose of ascertaining -whether the sea on the northern coast of America afforded a navigable passage between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans ; that nobleman was Count lloraanzoff. The vessel prepared for this undertaking Avas called the liuricJi, and Lieutenant Kotzebue, son of the cele- brated writer of that name, was appointed to command her. Sho was of small tonnage, and manned with twenty-tAvo men, officers included, a surgeon and botanist. Kotzebue's instructions were to proceed round Cape Horn, and make the best of his Avay to the north-west coast of America, pass Behring's Strait, and endeavour to find some bay or inlet on the American side to lay up his vessel in safety, while, with a certain number of his crcAV, he should penetrate tho American continent by land ; first to tho northward, to ascertain if Icy Cape was an island, and then to tho cast- ward, keeping the hyperborean sea on their left, and carry- ing with them light skin boats or laiJarSf to enable them to pass such lakes or rivers as might intervene. Having passed Capo Priucc of Wales early iu August, oasi- MISCELLANEOUS VOYAGES. o71 ^ LlgUbt, without any obstruction from ice, an opening was observed in the lino of tlio American coast, in latitude about 07i° to 68"^. Into this inlet the Bnrich entered. Across the mouth was a small island, the shores of which were covered with driftwood ; and among it were observed trees of an enormous size. Tho tide regularly ebbed and flowed through the passages on each side of the island. Within tho entrance, the great bay or inlet spread out to the north and south, and had several coves or sounds on each shore. Its extent to the eastward was not determined, but the llnrkh pro- ceeded as far in thrift direction as the meridian of IGO'^. Tho shores of this great inlet, and more particularly the northern one, were well peopled with Indians of a large size ; tho men were armed with bows, arrows, and spears. They wore skin clothing and leather boots, neatly made and ornamented; their huts were comfortable, and sunk deep into tho earth ; their furniture and implements neatly made ; they had sledges drawn apparently by dogs, though the skulls and skins o£ reindeer indicated the presence o£ that animal in the country. The desm-iption given by Lieutenant Kotzebue of these people corresponds almost exactly with tliat of the Tschutski by Cook on tho opposite continent, with whom they some- times trade and arc sometimes at war. From these Indians Lieutenant Kotzebue learned that at the bottom of tho inlet there was a strait througli which was a passage into the great sea, and that it took nine days " rowing with one of their boats to reach this sea." This Kotzebue concluded to be the great Northern Ocean. At tho bottom of the cove on the northern shore of the inlet was an extensive perpendiciilav clilF, apparently of chalk, of tho height of six or seven hundred feet, the summit being entirely covered with vegetation. iJetweeu the foot of this cliif and the shore was a strip of land, five or six hundred feet wide, covered with plants of the wame kind as those on the summit. But tho extraordinary 372 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. feature remains to be told : when our travellers approaclio J this extensive cliff, tlicy found that it was actually a mountain of solid ice, down the sides of which the water was trickling by the heat of the sun. At the foot of the cliff several elephants' teeth were picked up, similar to those which have been found in such immense quantities in Siberia and the island of the Tartarian Sea. These teeth Kotzebue concluded to have fallen out of the mass of ice as its surface melted, though no other part of the animal was discovered by him. There was, how- ever, a most oppressive and disagreeable smell of animal matter, not unlike that of burnt bones, so that one hurried to escape from the neighbourhood of those parts of the mountain where the water was trickling down. Our navigators managed to scramble to^tho summit, and to make a collection of the plants that grew upon it. The stratum of soil which covered it was not deep, and the lieutenant describes it as being of a calcareous nature, 'l.^he slip of land at the foot of the mountain was probably formed of the soil and plants which had fallen down from the summit as the ice melted. Except this mountain of ice, there was no appearance of ice or snow on the land or the water in this part of America. The weather continued clear and mild, and even warm, though on the opposite coast of Asia at the same period it was cold and foggy. There was in fact such a great differ- ence between the temperature of the two continents, on the two sides of the strait, that, in standiug across, it was like passing instantaneously from summer to winter, and the contrary. This happened about the end of August, at which time a fair and open passage appeared to lie on the American side, as far to the northward as the eye could roach ; whereas on the Asiatic side the ice seemed to bo fixed to the shore, and its outer edge to extend in the direction of north-east, which was precisely that of the current. MISCELIANEOra VOYAGES. 373 h Tho season being too far advanced citlicr to attempt to carry tho Ruriclc round Icj Cape, or to prosecute the land journey to the eastward, and fearing if he remained longer in the great inlet the entrance might be closed up with ice, ho thought the most prudent step ho could take would bo that of proceeding to winter and refit in California, and early in tho following spring to renew tho attempt to penetrate into the Interior of America. He accordingly set out again early in March, called at the Sandwich Islands, and reached tho Aleutian Islands in June, where the liuricJc suffered much from a violent galo of wind, in which Lieutenant Kotzcbuc unfortunately had his breast-bone broken. This accident threw him into snch a state of ill health, that after persevering till they reached Eivoogiena or Gierke's Island, at tho mouth of Behring's Strait, tho surgeon declared that nothing but a warmer climate would save liis life. Ho was thus re- luctantly compelled to return with his littlo bark, and to make tho best of his way homo round tho Capo of Good Hope. It is greatly to the credit of Lieutenant Kotzebuo, that after a voyage of three years, in every variety of climate, ho brought back again every man of his littlo crew, with tho exception of one who embarked in a sickly state. Tho Swedes had never done anything in tho way of arctic exploration till I808. In this year they resolved thoroughly to explore the group of islands known as Spltz- bergen. Spltzbcrgcn had long been visited by civilized mankind, and was very familiar to whalers. About three hundred years ago tho Dutch erected a blubber-boiling vil- lage, called Smcorenberg, on tho shores of ono of tho bays which then abounded In whales. The whales have now lied tho coast, and with tho cxccptlor of some Norwegian and Russian walrus-hunters, who winter on tho island, it is now but littlo frequented. la 1858 Professor Otto Terrell cxphrol the western 374 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. shores of Spitzbcrgcn, and hardly a year has passed with- out thoroughly equipped expeditions, with largo stalTs of scientific men, either exploring these islands, or endeavour- ing to penetrate to the north from thorn as a basis. "In 18G1," says an able writer, "an expedition, consist- ing of two vessels, visited tho western and northern shores. The result of their researches was a topographical map of the island, and the measurement of an arc of tho meridian, besides many valuable natural history collections. In 1801' an expedition, also at the public expense, explored tho southern portion, under tho direction of Professor Norden- skjold. In 1808 still another expedition went to the north at public expense, tho funds being collected in a few days in Gothenberg. To show how thoroughly it was equipped, it may bo mentioned that two geologists, three zoologists, two botanists, four physicists, a physician, besides naval officers, a conservator, and six dredgers, accompanied it. On this occasion they reached the latitude of 81° 42', but found none of tho rumoured open water which is said to exist in tho north. No one has ever yet reached so far as Parry; but, unlike Parry, they have added by their scientific researches to tho sum of human knowledge, and the mere failure of the topographical aims of the expedition is there- fore the less noticed. They were truly geographical expe- ditions, not mere attempts to lengthen a streak on a map. During 1872-7;^ Nordenskjold again attempted to reach tlic high north, but without any very marked success. Tho result of these Swedish expeditions is, that tho scientific history of Spitzbcrgcn is probably more accurately known than that of many portions of Sweden itself. They were models of what a geographical exploration should be ; not ' Hamlet ' with Hamlet's i^art omitted — scientific expedi- tions without science." In 1807 a mountainous country of considerable extent was discovered by Captain Long, in tho Polar Sea, beyond the Straits of Cehrinfr. ' MISCELLANEOUS VOYAaES. 375 ,. I Bchring's Strait, on tho far western Bido of tlio Ameri- can continent, Lad been little disturbed since Collinson and McCluro sailed through its portals in search of Franklin, and by means of which tho latter officer had the good for- tune to sail right along tlio northern shores of America, and discover tho North-west Passage. Tho year 18G7 proved a remarkably open season. Captain Long and other Ameri- can whalers sailed north in search of their gigantic game to about latitude 70^, where they were stopped by tho ice. In front of thorn lay what seemed part of a new arctic con- tinent ; but though they coasted along it they failed, on account of tho ice, to reached the wished-for shores. They could see peaks and what seemed to be volcanoes, and from certain signs believed that it was inhabited. " This land has been called Wrangell's Land, and is be- lieved to have been the land seen by Baron Wrangell from Capo Jakan on the Siberian coast, from which it is distant about seventy miles. Tho natives declare that it can bo seen on clear days, and that Siberians have started over tho ice in tho winter in their dog- sledges to reach it, but have never returned. Long before Wrangell's day, viz., in 1G15, Deshneif, a Cossack, sighted this mysterious arctic conti- nent, regarding the nature of which wo may long remain ignorant. Perhaps, as Dr. Petermann thinks, it may be an extension of Greenland over the Pole. Be tliat as it may, it is a strange thought that if inhabited it may never bo seen again for generations — that tho fur-clad inhabitants may even now bo talking of the strange bird-like monsters which were seen so many snows ago moving along its shores, and that after a long period, when the tale has lapsed into the condition of a myth, the mysterious beings may again mako their appearauco with their wonders of wood and iron, knives, and the black powder which kills tho white bear, the seal, and tho walrus." In 1800 tho generally inaccessible Sea of Kara was so free from ico that Captain Carlson and Captain Palliser 376 ICE-WOrjLD ADVENTURES. •wcro able to navigato it as far as tlio mouths of the Obi. This was a feat which it was said had only been porformod once before. The year 1874; witnessed also another expedition to the north polar regions. " It had more of a commercial object," says tliGAthcnceum, "than its predecessors, but it was never- theless as much a polar expedition as those that sailed under Buchan, Parry, and otliers, and endeavoured to discover a North-west Passage as a short road to Cathay and the east." In May, 1874, 'Mr. Wiggins, an enthusiastic advocate and volunteer for polar exploration, chartered the Diana, a steam-yacht, for a voyage to the polar regions, the object of which was to ascertain the possibility of commercial intercourse between Europe and Central Asia by the Kara Sea, and of opening up a market for the great mineral wealth believed to exist in those regions. When the Diana arrived at Hammerfest, Captain Wig- gins was warned by the Norwegians that he could not hope to enter the Kara Sea ; but having chartered his vessel, the British commander was not to be turned back by a repoit or an opinion, however well founded. He persevered, and reached Waigatz Strait on the 2Gth of June, in which there was but little ice. On the east coast of Samoycde Land there was neither ice nor snow, the land being covered with moss and flowers, and having the appearance of a newly- mown lawn. At Latko Island the vessel was detained by ice for throe weeks, and she then steamed up the Gulf of Mutanicr (Mudely Gulf). On the 1st of August the Diana was od' the Gulf of Obi. White Island, to tho westward of the gulf, was found considerably out of position. On crossing tlie entrance to the gulf, the expedition discovered a sand island nearly level with the water, and the water generally was very shallow. Strong currents were also experienced. As tho Diana was only victualled for the season. Captain Wiggins decided to make the best of liis way to tho ,^ i MISCELLANEOUS VOYAGES. 111-7 0/ / ,• •U'cst side of Nova Zembla, with a view of assisting iho Austrian expedition, and on the 30th of August was at Kostin, and not finding or hearing anj thing of the Ad mini I Ti'fjethoff, he left Kostin, and reached Ilamnierfcst just an hour before the arrival of the Austrian explorers. Captain Wiggins finally arrived at Dundee, the port from which lio had sailed, on the 2(*»th of September. Alluding to this voyage, and to the purpose which it had in view, a writer in the Athenmum remarks that, "although Captain Wiggins has, in a measure, failed in his attempt, the conclusion is not to be drawn that because in one sea- son the ice and weather bar the passage to the desired po- sition, another is to be the same ; " and it is well known that the season of 1874' was unusually severe in the north. In 187o Sweden again sent out an arctic expedition, of which the leading spirit was the learned Professor Nor- dcnskjijld, whose name has already appeared in our narra- tive {see pp. 01, 374, etc.). The exploring ship, the PriJceii, left Tromso on the 8th of Juno, and arrived at Nova Zembla on tho 22nd. At .the end of June our voyagers sailed through Gregor Sound into Kara Sound. On the 8th of August they landed on the north-west coast of Yalmal. On the beach they found traces of men. They came across an altar built of a heap of bones, in tho centre of which were raised two roughly hewn idols, that had been smeared with blood over tho eyes and mouth. Close by w^re discovered a fireplace and a heap of reindeer bones, apparently the remains of a sacrificial banquet. They afterwards sailed to tho north, until in latitude 75° 30' N. they were stopped by the ice. They then made for the Yenesei. Tho Fruven was sent back to Norway, and Professor Nordenskjold with some companions returned home by Siberia. The expedition was considered a great success, as no government expedition, either from England, Holland, or JUissia, has got so far as tho mouth of the Yenesei. li i I ' ■■■■I CHAPTER XXIV. THE AUSTROJWKGABIAN EXPEDITION OF 1872-7i. Tj[n ClJJKCT OF TUE EXPEDITIOK — STRUOOLIKa AGAIKST THE ICE — FnozEN ur — PuErARATiOKS FOR Winter — Farewell to the Sun — Polar Light'-! — Attempts to Get Free — Drifting about WITH THE Ice — A Mountainous Country Discovered — The Second Winter— Sledge Expeditions — Francis Joseph's Land — A nearly Fatal Mishap — The Farthest Point Reached — Abandoning the Ship — Slow Progress — Landed in Norway. Tins chapter is to bo devoted to the most interesting and important Austro-llungarian expedition of 1872-71'. A grapliic account of tLis expedition -vvas given in a paper by Lientenant Payer, read before the lloyal Geographical So- ciety, on the 10th of Novcl \er, 1874'. From it wo draw the following narrative. The object, it may bo mentioned, by way of commencement, of the expedition, was not to search for tlio unknown country which a preliminary expedition,* undertaken in 1871, had made it likely would bo found to tho north of Nova Zcmbla, but to discover a Xorth-east Passage. Tho expedition failed to find out tho North-cast Passage, and tho unknown country referred to was discovered instead. Tho TL'(jctlioj}\ a screw steamer of 800 tons, left Brcmcr- liaven on tho loth of Juno, 1872, furnished -with stoi'cs and provisions enough to last for about three years. Includiug Captain Carlson, tho ■well-known Norwegian navigator, who joined tho expedition at Tromso, in tho capacity of icc-mato and harjiooner, tho crow numbered twenty-four ■^ In this jirclimiuary cxjictlition, Lioutcnant WcjiHTcht ami I\I« Payor oiabarkod iu a buiall bailing vobscl of only 10 luu.'j mcaHuro- luout, and oxtcusivuly explored tho aoa between Spitisbergeu aud Nova Zeml'la. TLoy actually readied the very Li;;U latitude ctf 7'.» N. ^^ I THK I'lLOT UK THE " TegKTHOK F ." Ice- WorUi Adventure'.. \ iP.ige 378. i i I ii a, ; 1 ( ^fl i ' IB IB 1 HUB H^B |H I u a 2 a u O I-) u z O 5 . THE AUSTRO-niTNaARUN EXrEHITION. 870 men all told, amongst wliom wcro sixteen Dalmatian sea- men. The course taken was towards the north-east, and in a few days tlio sliips doubled tlio North Capo, and on the •2:>th of July, in 7^iP 30' N. lat., and 18' E. long., the cx- [)lorer3 reached the edge of the packed ice, the unexpected southern jiosition of which they had. every right to look upon as a had omen. Masses of ice seriously iuterupted their progress. Large floes, separated by navigable laues of water, were rarely met with, but there were immense quantities oC broken fragments. Early in August the ship was actually beset for a few days, and unable to riove. Subsequently, liowever, liberty was regained, and in latitude 75° N. open water was reached, cxtendinLC alono* the coast of Nova Zem1)la. The crew fought their way along the coast, passed, througli a second barrier of ice, and reached open wiiter r;c!;ain in the latitude of William Island. When a little south of that island they were overtaken by the yacht fxhjoDif in which Count Wilczek had cfFected a difficult pnssage from Spitzbergon, in order to establish a depot for their use near Cape Nassau. The two vessels kept company as fixr as the low Barentz Islands, where compact masses of ice, driven by south- westerly winds towards the coast, barred all progress for a week. Only on Ino 21st of August, tho ico having exhl- l)itcd symptoDis of breaking up, they separated, and tho 7V.'^c//^;//' steamed slowly away to the north. Ihit their hopes were vain. Night found them encom- passed ])y ico on all sides — encompassed for two long and dreary years. Cheerless and barren of all hope tho first year lay before them, for they weie no longer \liscoverer,s, but doomed to remain !is helpless prisoners on a floe of iloatiug ice. The unusually severe frost of tho autumn of 1^!72 soon sollilidod (lie surrounding frngnienis of ico, and nfiihcr 'if i ; I 380 ICE-WOKLD ADVENTURES. sawing nor blasting could effect, their release. At tlio mercy of the winds they drifted towards the north- cast. Their position was now suflQciently miserable, but on the 13th of October it became gloomy in the extreme. On that day tho lethargy in which everything around had so long been buried suddenly gave way to active commotion, and tlienceforth they were exposed to the fearful pre? urc of tho ice. Many a time they wore summoned to save them- selves in case of the vessel foundering, and all this in tho midst of a polar night, and without knowing whither to turn for safety. Tho vessel, however, bravely withstood tho pressure, though the floe upon which it was fixed hnd been uplifted by others which had forced their ^Yay under it, thus raising her aft, and causing her to lean over on tho larboard side. Preparations for passing tho wanter had been made by this time. Tho deck was covered with snow, an awning was spread from tho mainmast forward, and a rampart of ice was fixed round the ship. Special care was taken to keep the crew employed. Watches were set regularly, ex- ercise was taken, and school kept. On Sundays the mem- lun's of the oxpeditioii met for u single but impressive divine service under tho awning, when (ho Bible was read in Italian by the light of a train-oil lamp. Meteorological observations were made regularly, tho observers relieving each other every two hours. Tho un- certainty of their position rendered it necessary to keep a watch constantly on deck, and tho plcasankst duty of tho watch was to announce tho approach of ice-bears, whoso flesh formed a most important addition to tho diet of tho crow. Tho sanitary condition of tho men during tho first winter left much to bo desired. Scurvy and affections of tho lungs rnado their appearance, in spite of every precaution, the former partly on account of tho occasional congelation of iho damp covering tho c^abiu walls, and partly owing to TUE AUSTIIO'IIUNOAUIAN EXI'KDITION. 'SS[ mental depression brought on by their critical position, and which only disappeared when their prospects became more liopeful, and the summer's work kept every one fully occu- pied. The small stock of wine was reserved for the use of the sick. The rest contented themselves with a daily allow- ance of artificial wiuo prepared on board from glycerine, sugar, meat extract, tartaric acid, alcohol, and M'ater. A small plank, suspended over the stove, supplied every week a little cress and cabbage for the scorbutic. The dogs, seven in all at that time, wore lodged on deck in boxes filled with straw. They were fed at first with dried horse flesh, and subsequently on the flesh of seals and beai's. On the 28th of October the sun disappeared below the horizon, not to rise again for lu9 days. All the birds had left, and for weeks it was next to impossible to leave the ship. Tho polar night was rarely of that indescribable clearness which has been noticed on land, and as ^'ieutenant Payer says he has himself seen on tho coast of Greenland. Fine snow fell almost continuously. " A hut of coal," says Lieutenant Payer, "had been built on tho ice to serve as an asylum in case of the vessels being lost ; but it was destroyed by a movement of tho ice on Christmas eve, and wo considered ourselves fortunate in being permitted to spend Christmas day itself in undisturbed tranquillity, occupied with the thoughts of home. " Tho first day of tho new year brought with it no pro- .s[)ect of an early release. We were still drifting towards the north-cast, and even imagined that we might be curried to tho coast of Siberia. Fate, however, had ordained other- wise; for after we had ci^ossed tho 7'Svd degree of longitude tho wind shifted, and thenceforth, helpless as before, we drifted to tho north-west. " On February lt)th the sun again made its appearance abovo tho horizon. The cold conti-iued to bo severe; but this cold is borne easily, as the cabin allords ready i it-ans I, ■I ■ * f»-1 }■:■ 1 »r 382 ICE-WOltLD ADVEXTUEES. for wnrmiiig oneself, and consequently several of onr men only reluctantly put on tlieir fur clotlies wlicn ordered on deck. " TIio polar lights in tlicir inellable beauty illumined tlio lieavens during tlic whole of the winter, but diminished in frequency as the days grew longer. They generally appeared in the south, and only rarely was more than one corona seen in the same night. After the beginning of September they were the only excitement which wc received from without. Like mighty streams they rushed over the firmament, some- times from west to east, at others in a contrary direction ; and the corona vanished as rapidly as it appeared. They were most intense between eight and ten in the evening, and their appearance was never attended by noise. ^lag- nificent lights were generally forerunners of bad weather. " In the summer of 1873 our hopes of an early disruption of the floe, and consequent liberation revived. Our hopes were based upon the evaporation of the ice, caused by the powerful effect of the sun, and upon its destruction by wind and waves, but not upon its melting in a sea the surface temperature of which never was above freezing point. The progressive conversion of the surface ice into sludge was witnessed by us from day to day, the cliffs and walls of ico crumbling away and evaporating until nearly the whole surrounding sea was covered Avith a thick chaotic layer of sludge. " Wc made frcsli efforts to regain onr libcrt}'; but our floo, which had attained a thickness of forty feet in conse- quence of other floes forcing themselves underneath, ren- dered all our attempts futile. The centre of our vessel and the uplifted part abaft remained immovably fixed upon the Hoc. Our hopes that the ice would break up grew less and less every day, though the familiar grating sound which proceeds from ice giving way was lieard frequently, and dark streaks on the horizon pointed to the existence of open lissurcs. We had already resigned ourselves to the ncccs- I ■»— THE AUSTRO-IIUNGARIAN EXPEDITION, 083 slty of being obliged to pass a second winter, as inactive and perilous as the firfi, when the state of affairs all of a sudden underwent a change in our favour," The explorers were drifted within sights of land on the olst of August. Towards the end of October they ap- proached an island lying outside the main mass of land. They made their way to it. " An island more desolate," says Lieutenant Payer, " than that which wo had reached can hardly be imagined, for snow and ice covered its frozen and (l''bris-covered slopes. But to us it was of such in-ipor. tance that the name of Count "Wilczek, the originator of our expedition, was conferred upon it. "During the first half of October," our narrator con- tinues, " wx still suffered seriously from the pressure of tlio ice. Our floe was shivered into fragments, and it almost appeared as if the anxious days through which wo had passed were about to return. In expectation of an unfor- tunate issue wx took the same measures of precaution which wc had taken during the preceding winter, and were ready to leave the ship at a moment's notice. Fortune, however, did not again forsake us, and we were permitted to pass the second polar night without suffering the horrors of the first. There occurred no further pressure from the ice, and our harbourless vessel fixed to its lloe, and surrounded for the first lime bv icebergs, remained immovable, close within the outer edge of the land-icc, and at a distance of three miles from the nearest coast. "In January the cold set in again exceedingly severe, and tho mercury remained frozen for more than a week. The snow became as hard as pumico, and its surface gran- ular. The petroleum in the glass lamps under the awning froze, the lamps went out, and even our cognac was changed into a solid mass. " TJie visits of bears were as frcqu iit then as they had been at other seasons of the year; they can)C clofc up to the ship, and were killed by regular volleys fired from deck. t]S i ICI2- WOULD ADVEN'TUlUld. The bcai'3 hero arc certainly much less ferocion.s iJiau those ■\vo met witli in Eastern (Ircenland, where they not unfre- qnently attacked us, and on one occasion even carried one of the crew out of the ship. Here they generally took to flight as soon as wc raado our appearance. With respect to the disputed question whether bears pass the winter in a dormant state or not, wo observed that amongst the greater number sliot by ns during two winters there was not a single fi-male, and during our second sledge expedi- tion, in tho spring of 18ri, wo even discovered a tunnel- shaped winter-hole in a snow-cone, lying at tho foot of a cliir, which was inhabiteil by a female bear and her cubs. A portion of ihe flesh of sixty-seven ice-bears which we lulled, amounting altogether to 12,000 lbs., proved to bo iho most eflicient renied}' against the scurvy, from which several of our men wTre again sulVering." In the beginning of ]\Iai'ch tho exi)lorer3 resolved to make an examination of the country, on the shore of which they lay, by means of sledge expeditions. They found it far poorer than Greenland, Spitzbergen, or Nova Zcmbla, and excepting in the antarctic regions, no country exists which is poorer in every respect. The general physiog- nomy of the llora (but not that of the species) resembled that met wdth in the Alps at an altitude of l»,000 or 10,000 foot. Tho season during which they visited tho country was certainly that in which vegetable life hrst puts forth its a})poarancc, and most of tho slopes were still covered with snow ; but oven tho most favoured spots near tho sea level, which wero no longer cc7ored with snow, were unable to induce them to arrive at a diifercnt conclusion. On level spots they scarcely met with anything but poor and solitary bunches of grass, a few species of saxifrage, and silriio acauJis. Dense carpels of mosses ami lichen were more abundant, but most abundant of all Avas a lichen, tho win- terly umbilicaria arcHca. Drift-wood, mostly of an old date, was met with . o ^\ 7 e //, RiotogTdphic Sciences Corpordtion 4(^ iV 4^ ^,x. % \^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY )4S80 (7161 872-4S03 T\^ r^ 9) ■17 ^ A \ I'RANz Joseph Land. /c€- World Adventiires.'l [Page 385. THE AUSTHO-HUXOAIJIAN EXI'EDITION'. 385 f lit 8i -W Si 85. small quantities. They once saw, lying only a tritio higher than the water-line, the trunk of a larch, about a foot thick and some ten feet in length. The drift-wood, like their vessel, had probably been carried to these latitudes by the winds — in all likelihood from Siberia — and not by cur- rents. The country, as might be supposed, had no human inhabitant, and in its southern district scarcely animals, excepting ice-bears, were met with. Many portions of it were extremely beautiful, though it boro throughout the impress of arctic rigidity. The explorers called the whole of the country discovered by them Francis Joseph's Land, after his majesty the Em- peror of Austria. On their second sledge expedition some of the party met with an adventure which had nearly proved fatal to them. They were crossing a glacier, and after a laborious journey along its terminal cliff had succeeded in gaining the sur- face. But they had not gone a hundred paces when an immense crevasse swallowed up dogs, men, and sledge. Fortunately Lieutenant Payer escaped the fate of the rest by cutting through his harness. Ho was unable to do any- thing single-handed, but ho had a reserve party about twelve miles distant. He ran back, and quickly returned with them. By means of long ropes, men, dogs, and sledge were raised to the surface, when no one was found to bo seriously injured. The journey of which this incident formed a part proved to bo of singular interest. Not long after leaving the glacier our discoverers witnessed a most striking change in the appearance of nature. A water-sky of a dusky colour made its appearance in the north ; foul yellow vapours col- lected below tho sun ; the tompcraturo rose ; the ground under their feet became soft ; and the snow-drifts broke under them with a rumbling noise. Tlioy had previously noticed the flight of birds from the north, — here ihey found the rocks covered with auks and divris, They rose before CO 38G ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. thom in immense swarms, and filled the air with the noise of their vehement whirring, for breeding time had arrived. Traces of bears, hares, and foxes were met with cverj- wherc, and seals reposed sluggishly on the ice. They reached a cape called by them Cape Auk ; it resem- bled a gigantic aviary. Next they came to the two lonely rocky towers of the Cape of Columns. Ht'ro they first found open water extending along the coast. *' The distant world," says Lieutenant Payer, " was sub- lime in its beauty. From a height wo looked down upon the dark sheet of open water, dotted with iceber[;s, like so many pearls. Heavy clouds hung in the sky, through which penetrated glowing rays of the sun, causing the water to sparkle, and above was reflected the imago of another sun, but of a paler hue. " At an apparently immense height the ico-mouutains of Crown Prince Rudolf Land, bathed in a roseate hue, stood out clearly visible through the rolling mists." After having reached 82° 5' N., the explorers halted. At this, the farthest point reached by them, they planted the Austro-IIungarian banner, and deposited a document stat- ing that they had been there, for the benefit of any adven- turers who might afterwards pass that way. Then they turned back towards their vessel, which lay some IGU miles to the south. A third sledge journey was devoted to an exploration of an extensive island, to which the name of M'Clintock Island was given. When about forty miles to the Avest of the ship our discoverers ascended a high mountain, from which they surveyed the country as far as about longitude 4()° E . Tt v/ns mountainous in character, and one peak was about ."•000 feet in height. When this journey was over, preparations were made for abandoning the ship and attempting to make their way homewards. The exciting conclusion of the interesting ptory is thus given by Lieutenant Payer : — I ' THE AITSTRO-HUNGARIAN KXPEDITION. 387 " On the 2otli of Muj, in the oveuiiij^, tlio flags were nailed to the mast — an aftecting scene for all of us, and wo started on our return home. Our equipment was of the simplest, for circumstances forbade auythirg a])proaching to luxury, and in addition to the clothes he wore on his back the personal property of each meml)er of the expedi- tion was limited to a blanket to sleep in. " The provisions, ammunition, etc., for three or four months were packed in three, subsequently four boats, placed on sleighs and in three largo sledges, each weighing about 17\i cwts. Only the two strongest of our dogs were alive at that time; but oven this small contingent proved to be of great service, for they pulled nine \o ten cwts. be- tween them. " Tiie deep snow which was encountered on first starting compelled us to travel as many as five times over certain distances, for it required the united strength of our whole party to drag a single sledge or boat. Having reached the end of the land-ice we had to clamber with our boats and sledges from floe to floe, and sometimes to cross narrow fissures in the ice. Persistent southerly winds, moreover, destroyed the little progress wo made, fur they drove the ice, upon the surface of which wo wero travelling, to the north; and after two months of incessant labour wo were not more than eight miles from the ship. It almost ap- peared to us as if our struggle vith the ice would end in a defeat, which would compel us to remain a third winter in our ship, uuchcered by a ray of hope. " The ice around us was closely packed, and on several occasions wo were obliged to lie (luietly with our boats upon a floe of ice for an entire week, until it shoultl please some channel to open. Xortherly winds set in at length, on the 15th of July, which dispersed the ice to some extent; con- tinuous rains reduced its dimensions, and by almost super- human exertions we were advanced ten miles in the course of ns in;\tiy drtys. We were fully convinced by this time i; ']8S ICK-WORLD ADVENTURES. that no vessel could have succeeded in that year to rrarh the hmd discovered by us. " On the 7th of August we observed for the first time a swell coming from the south, an indication of the prox- imity of open water. This revived our fading hopes, which fell anew when we again became ice-bound for the space of five dcays; but on the 14th of August we reached the edge of the pack in latitude 77° 10' N., and our safety seemed thus to bo secured. " Here we were reluctantly forced to abandon our sledges and to kill our dogs, who had been our faithful companions and assistants in times of need, for our boats were hardly largo enough to hold ourselves and baggage, besides which we were v.ithout any water and provisions for their main- tenance. " Our final salvation is due entirely to finding the edge of the pack ice in so high a latitude. F.avoured by the wind, we crossed the open sea in the direction of Nova Zembla, and followed the coast of that island towards the south. On the ISth of August we for the first time placed our feet upon icrra Jinna, near the Admiralty Peninsula; and on the evening of the 2-ltli — t (at is, after a passage of ninety-six days — we found ourselves in the Bay of Downes (latitude 72° 40'), on board the Russian steamer Nicolai, Captain Fcodor yoronin,who received us with that hearti- ness which distinguishes the Russian people. " A speedy passage brought us to Vardo, and at three o'clock in the afternoon of the 8rd of September, 1874, we stepped upon the hospitable soil of Norway, full of that satisfaction which an escape from a position of danger and doubt brings with it." ' ' CHAPTEFl XXV. THE EXGLTSir EKPlWrnOX OF 1875. T li-, Enteiu'iusf. of otiieb N.vtio::s — RKi'uiiSENTATioNa TO Tin: British Government — GovEUNMr.NT Uf.solves to Organize an ExPEiiiTioN — Reasons fob Arctic Exi'loration — General Scientific Results — Magnetism \nd Piiysics — Ethnology — Polar Geology— Natural Historv— Botany — Migrations of Birds— The Best Route to the Pole— The History or Smith's Sound. (J.v the solution of the fate of Franklin's expedition in 1850, Great Britain withdrew from the field of aretio re- search. Other nations, however, in this did not follow her example. America, Sweden, Germany, and Austria, from time to time since 1859 have tried to reach the North Pole. Their efforts we have already considered, and the reader will do well to trace the extent of their exploration on the chart of the polar regions inserted in our work. He will find that America has devoted all her efforts to approaching the North Pole by way of Smith's Sound, at the head of Baffin's Bay. Germany has attacked the Polo by way of the eastern shore of Greenland. Sweden has exerted herself between Spitzbcrgen and Nova Zembla, and the Austrian explorers who left Norway in 1872 reached the latitude of 82^ by sledge journeys. Whilst foreign nations were thus active i)i the polar world tlie scientific societies of Great Britaii^ never lost sight of the subject. They felt that for many reasons, of some of which we shall speak immediately, another ex- pedition should be sent out by this country. Deputations interviewed the Government of the day; the claims of science were strongly pressed. On the 12th of October, 1871, wc find Sir Henry Rawlinson, as President 390 ICE-WORLD ADVKNTURE3. of the Royal Geogriiphical Society, writinj^ to Mr. Disraeli, drawing attention to the success of the Austrian Polar Expedition which had just returned, and urging that if the views of Her Majesty's Government were favourable to such an expedition, arrangements should be promptly made so as to admit of its sailing in the spring of 1875. To cut a long story short, Mr. Disraeli as head of the Government answered Sir H. Rawlinson's letter on tho 1 7th of November : " Her Majesty's Government," he said, *'have had under consideration the representations made by you on behalf of the Council of the Royal Geographical Society, the Council of the Royal Society, the British Association, and other eminent scientific bodies, in favour of a renewed expedition, under the conduct of Govern- ment, to explore the region of the North Pole ; and I have the honour to inform you that, having carefully weighed the reasons set forth in support of such an expedition, tho scientific advantages to be derived from it, its chances of success, as well as the importance of cncournging that spirit of maritime enterprise which has ever distinguished the English people. Her Majesty's Government have deter- mined to lose no time in organising a suitable expedition for the purposes in view." This was a memorable act in ^Mr. Disraeli's ofiicial career. The support of the Government was now guaran- teed to an cxi)cdition to explore tho unknown regions round tho North Pole. But it may be asked. What is tho good of sending out ships, and spending money, and risk- ing men, on such an errand ? In answer to this we must refer at some length to a paper addressed to the Prime Minister, enumerating the desirable objects to be attained by renewed arctic exploration. It was a memorandum drawn up by the Arctic Committee of the Royal Geogra- phical Society. This interesting document stated that the results of scientific importance to be derived from an examination I THE KNGLI.SII KXlKUITloV. :VM of the immense unknown area round the North Pole, are as numerous as the region to bo explored is extensive. U may be shown that no such extent of unknown area, in any part of the -world, ever failed to yield results of practical as well as of purely scientilic value ; and it may safely be urged that as it is mathematically certain that the area exists, it is impossible that its examination can fail to add largely to the sum of human knowledge. It is also necessary to bear in mind that the polar area is, in many most important respects, of an altogether special character; aflbrding exclusive opportunities for observing the condition of the earth's surface, and the physical phenomena there to be seen, under certain extreme and singular circumstances, which are due to the relation of this area to the position of the axis of revolution of the terrestrial spheroid, and which have to be considered not only with reference to the present time, but to the earth's past history. It may be, therefore, received as certain that discoveries will be made in all branches of science, the exact nature of which cannot be anticipated. But there arc also numerous objects, that have been stated and enumerated by the presidents and oflicers of the several scientific societies, the attainment of which make it desirable to despatch an arctic expedition of discovery. The additional objects are enumerated in the memoran- dum at great length. In geography it is pointed out that ii geographical problem of great importance and interest would be solved by completing the circuit of Cireenland. Hundreds of miles of coast-line yet remain to be discovered, and the northern part of Greenland is still utterly unknown. For fear of being tedious we shall not follow the me- morandum in its observations on the important results which are likely to be obtained in the sciences of hydro- graphy, geodesy, and meteorology. Under the head of magnetism and physics it stated that the extension of research into the phenomena of magnetism and atmospheric I' I ol>2 ICK-WOKLD A DV KXTL' RKS. electncity, in the vicinity of the Poles, will necessarily be of much scientific importance ; and generally, so fur as tho conditions of the climate and the means of an exploring expedition will permit, investigations in all branches of physics in the proximity of the Pole — where so many of the forces of nature operate in an extreme degree, either of excess or defect — will surely be followed by the acquisition of knowledge, which can only be obtained in those ex- ceptional localities. The study of the aurora, which is among the most strik- ing phenomena visible on our planet, is almost impossible in low latitudes ; while the advance of spectrum analysis has given the means of determining the chemical elements involved, so that all that seems required here is the means of applying this description of observation ; and this can only be got near the Pole. The separation of the terrestrial lines from the truly solar ones in the solar spectrum, as seen from the earth's surface, is another important desideratum, inquiry into which can only be well pursued in high latitudes, where the path of the sun at low altitudes above the horizon gives opportunities for the necessary observations not to be secured elsewhere. Not the least valuable discoveries of the polar expedi- tion it may confidently be expected will be those made in the science of ethnology, and respecting the distance to which the migrations of tribes of human beings have been extended in the direction of tho Pole. It is a very remarkable fact that human remains have been met with in every part of tho arctic regions. No corner of them to which explorers have reached, however dreary and inhospitable it may be, is without these vestiges. Thus ruined huts and fox-traps were found along tho whole extent of the Parry Islands, which are all now uninhabited : Scoresby saw recent vestige tan Id at every point of the wild coast of East Greenland ( niK KN'il.I^K i;Xl'Kl>lllt>N, 1 oil which he huuled ; Chiveriu«^ uuLiuilly uiL-t with two t'uiailies at tlie farthest northern point that he reached on the east shore ; Kane fouinl the runi\cr of a sledge on the beech, beyond the Humbolt r^laeier. Men have penetrated, ill remote times, to every part of those distant arctic rc- i,nons which have since been reached with so much labour and difficulty by modern explorers ; and there is eveiy reason to believe that isolated tribes — certainly their re- mains — will bo found within the still unknown polar regions. Such tribes will have bjen absolutely isolated for centuries from every other branch of the human family. As they arc unacquainted with the use of metals, their implements must be exclusively of bone, drift-wood, and stone; and here alone can the condition of man be realized and studied, under circumstances analogous to those which surrounded those early races which have often excited our curiosity. The denizens of the Pole, like the men who used the flint implements of Abbeville, are living in a glacial country, and in a "stone age." Researches into the habits and mode of life of these hyperboreans, will, therefore, be of great importance to the sciences of geology nd ethnology. With respect to the advantage to be derived from the study of polar geology, we arc told that from the important part extreme cold has of late years been found to have played in the last geological, or glacial period, it would bo of much value to have exact observations of the edects j)roduced on the rocks l)y the intense cold of the northern regions ; to ascertain the extent, height, and range of tho glaciers : and to note their elfects on the surface of the countr}', and on the different classes of rocks. Again, it would be interesting to determine the extent of the river floods, and the depth of the channels they have excavated in the arctic regions. A more complete investigation of the geology of tho arctic regions is extremely desirable, both for its scientitic ! . ;{0l- ICE-WOI.'LU ALtVKMOKK.S. iniportaucc and the value of its practical ivailts. The existence of carboniferous, Jurassic, and miocene rocks is known, but much is needed to be done to obtain complete collections of their organic remains. The existence of a true paloeozoic coal formation has been determined, but we require to know its extent and composition. The mineralogy of the Greenland continent is also im- portant, and the discovery of new veins of cryolite and other valuable minerals is not improbable. Classes ot meteoric iron have been recently discovered by the Swedish expedition, extending for a distance of not less than 2(^0 miles ; these require further study, and to have their position determined. "With regard to the spccilic results in natural history which may be expected from the expedition, they are numerous and important. It is now known that the Arctic Ocean teems with life, and that of the more minute organised beings the multitude of kinds is prodigious ; these play a most important part, not only in the economy of organic nature, but in the formation of sedimeniary deposits, which in future geological periods will become incoriiorated with these rock-formations, whose structure has only lately been explained by the joint labours of zoologists and geologists. The kinds of these animals, the relations they bear to one another, and to the larger animals (such as whales, seals, etc., towards whose food they so largely contribute) ; the conditions under which they live, the depths they in- habit, their changes of form, etc., at dillorent seasons ot the year, and at diil'erent stages of their lives; and, lastly, their distribution according to geographical areas, warm and cold currents, etc., arc all subjects of which very little is known. In connection with this subject, and indeed inseparable from it, is a similar inquiry into the conditions of life of the microscopic vegetables with which the polar seas THE KXGLl.-^FI KXrHniTIOX. i]\K to ales, to); iu- s ot stlv, anil •ttlu equally swarm, ami which l)oth form the food of tho microscopic animals and contributo to the sedimentary deposits the siliceous coatinpf of their cells. The^o siliceous coats firo indestructibl(% and bein^:^ of irregular geometric forms, and the difiercnt kinds having diifcrently and exquisitely sculptured surfaces, may be recognisuil wherever found, and at idl future epochs of our globe. A knowledge of the species inhabiting the Arctic Ocean would throw great light on investigations into the age of tho rocks of our own island, and on the late changes of the climate of tin; northern hemisphere. With regard to tho fish, mollusca, echinodermata. corals, sponges, etc., of the arctic zones, those of Clrceidand alone have been explored with anything aproaching to satisfac- tory results. A knowledge of their habits and habitats is most desiderated, as are good specimens for our museums. More important still would bo anatomical and physiolo- gical investigations and observations on those animals under their natural conditions. In botany very much remains to be done ; not perhaps in the discovery of new kinds, but in tracing the distribu- tion of tho.so already known in connection with the existing currents, and with the clfects of tho cold and warm epochs of the world's late history. It is well made out that the arctic flora comprises three floras; namely, the Scandi- navian, American, and Asiatic: but it has only of late years been shown that these floras do not bear that relat ion to the geographical areas they vospcctively inhabit which the existing relations of land and sea would lead us to suppose: thus, the "West Clrcenland flora is European, and not American ; the Spitzbergen flora contains American j)lants found neither in Greenland nor in Scandinavia ; and other anomalies have been traced which indicate recent changes in the physical geograjjhy of the polar land. Again, in the department of zoology, Professor Newton has drawn attention to the interesting (juestions with re- n :J!m; lOK-wui;i-D advi:nt:;i{i:s. i^ard io the migrations of birds. The shores of the British islands, and of many other countries in the northern hemisphere, arc annually, for a longer or shorter period, frequented by a countless multitude of birds, which, there is every reason to believe, resort in summer to very high northern latitudes, for purposes the most important ; and since they continue the practice year after year, they must find the migration conducive to their advantage. There must be some water which is not alwaj-.s frozen ; secondly, there must bo some land on wLich they may set their feet; and thirdly, there must bo plenty of food, supplied either by the water or by the land, or by both, for their nouri.sbraent and that of their progeny. A very good case it will thus bo seen was made out fur undertaking a new expedition. The ((ucstion which came now to be considered was, what was the best route to be selected for making one's way to the North Pole. Several distinguished arctic oflicers,* who were mem- bers of the Geographical Council, and who had carefully considered the evidence accumulated since 1805 in a special committee, were unanitnousl}- of o])inion that the route by Smith's Sound was the one which should be adopted with a view to exploring the greatest extent of coast-line, ?ind of thus securing the most valuable scientific results. They recommended the Smith's Sound route for the following reasons : — " That it gave a certainty of exploring a previously un- known area of considerable extent. " That it yielded the best prospect of most valuable dis- coveries in various branches of science. " That, from the continuity of the land of Greenland and the arctic archipelago southward from the 8i!nd parallel to the open sea in liaflin's Bay and Davis's Strait, it promised * Sir (tcorgo Back, Admiral Collinson, Aihuiral Ommannoy, AJ- niinil lUolinrds, Sir Lcopolil M'Clintock, Admiral Shorard Ortborn, Mr. Fiudlay, Mr. CkincutH Murkbam. TIIK KXGLISH KXrKDITTOX. '.\\)7 roasonablc security for a safe retreat for the erews of an exploring expedition, should their ships bo unable to be extricated from an advanced position." These opinions were strengthened by the report of the crew of the PoJariK, which ship, as wc have told elsewhere, safely navigated up Smith's Sound 250 miles beyond the point reached by Dr. Hayes's schooner in 18G1, and traced the land on either hand as far as 82^ IfV N. She subse- quently returned, and although a portion of her crew were separated from her, and took to an icefield in 77" N., they drifted under the influence of the polar stream down to a point in Labrador (where they were picked up), a distance of 1400 miles. This is the fifth occasion on which the polar current through Smith's Sound and HafTin's Bay has drifted ves.sols into the Atlantic ; proving that the opening called Smith's Sound is a channel with a constant current flowing southward from the unknown area. The boat's crew from the l^olaria reported open water at their farthest jioint to the north, in 82° 10' N., a milder climate than has been found in more southern positions, and that terrestrial animal life , abounded near their winter quarters, in 81° 38' N., including musk oxen — a point the importance of which cannot be overrated. Lieutenant Payer, of the Austro-Hungarian Expedition, speaks greatly in favour of this route. " The success," ho says, " of an expedition sent out to attain the highest possible latitude depends largely upon the route selected. The j)lanof penetrating through Smith'.s Sound, which has been advocated in England, appears to ofler most advantages. The theoretical reasons adduced in favour of this route are seconded niost powerfully by the fact that a very high latitude has been reached hero on repeated occasions. If an expedition should suc- ceed in reaching a winter harbour in a latitude as high as that reached by the last American expedition, it would then be in position, by means of extensive sledgo 1 1 I 398 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. journeys along the coast, to reach a latitude in the course of spring, the attainment of which would be attended by far greater difficulties along any other route." After Government, in November, 1874, had consented to organize a suitable expedition, the Lords of the Admiralty appointed a committee of experienced officers who had served in the polar regions to consider various points con- nected with it. Among others they discussed the route, and they came to the same conclusion as the authorities before mentioned. The way by Smith's Sound appeared to them by far the preferable, and that for the following reasons : — *' Its southern entrance, in the latitude of 78°, has been found free from ice by the several vessels which have visited it since 18.52 ; of late years the sound has been pene- trated for a considerable distance by American exploring expeditions, notably by Hall, who reached and wintered beyond the 81st parallel without much difficulty, and the vessels comprising these expeditions were far inferior in power and equipment to those which will compose the present. *' Smith's Sound is known to have a continuous coast-line on either side up to the parallel of about 82°, the highest point yet reached, with comparatively well determined points, where records of the progress of the expedition could bo deposited and depots of provisions placed, if necessary. There are likewise the Danish settlements on the west side of Greenland to fall back upon by oats sliould the expedition be hard pushed, and the steam whalers frequent a high latitude in Baffin's Bay every summer. " This route, moreover, offers the best, indeed the only promise of a c )ntiuuous coast-line stretching far north- wards, and upon this fact the prosjiect of reaching the Pole by travelling parties mainly depends. It is the only route, so far as our knowledge extends, where the operation of nu !i h THR ENGLISH FA'EDITION. J399 * h expedition can be confined within such limits that succour would be reasonably certain of reaching it. " Finally, animal life ha? been found to exist to a con- siderable extent in the highest latitude yet reached up Smith's Sound, an advantage which cannot be over estimated as regards the health and comfort of the crews ; and, as a matter of fact, Esquimaux are found up to tlio entrance of Smith's Sound who appear to have a knowledge of regions to the northward ; and it is possible that some of their race may be found to exist in a higher latitude than has yet been attained." The entrance to Smith's Sound was discovered, so long ago as IGIG, by the old English navigator, William Baffin, who named the channel after Sir Thomas Smith, the first chair- man of the East India Company, and a great patron of the "North-west Passage to India." A very instructive book, "The Threshold of the Unknown Region," was published in 1873 by Mr. Clements Markham, C.B., Secretary to the Royal Geographical Society, who served in 18.51 on board the Assistance, in search of Sir John Franklin. In it the following remarks are made as to the Smith's Sound route to the North Pole. We give them here as supplementary to the observations just quoted of the Admiralty Arctic Com- mittee. " Let us now turn to the Smith's Sound route, by which the vast extent of coast-line on each side of Kennedy Channel and the ocean which bounds it must be examined. Humanly speaking, the ' north water ' and the entrance to Smith's Sound can always bo reached — twenty-one out of twenty- three expeditions having successfully overcome the ice obstructions in Melville Bay. The same success now annually attends the steam-whalers. Under the most un- fiivourable circumstances, therefore, by this route, a position can certainly bo reached near the entrance to Smith's Sound, whence most important discoveries can bo made. " Two well-equipped vessels could, during the spring, send i^ 40O KH-WORLD ADVKA'TURES. out at least two extended sledge-travelling parties, besides depot parties, which could explore many hundreds of miles of the unknown region in different directions. The ex- tended parties might each be absent 105 days from the ships, and would travel over 1200 miles of ground. This is what M'Clintock did in 1853, and a new expedition might have two M'Clintocks in the field at least. A single extended sledge party could take sixty days' provisions and travel over GOO miles. This single sledge, by means of depots and five auxiliary sledges, can be pushed forward to a distance of about 400 miles from the ship. With an expedition consisting of 1-0 officers and men, two extcndid exploring parties could be despatched in each travelling season ; and 1('>00 miles of land would thus bo thoroughly explored, much of which would be new. " The exploration of fifty miles of coast by a sledge party is worth more to science than the discovery of five hundred miles by a ship. In the one case the coast is accurately laid down, and its fauna, flora, geology, ethnology, and physical features, arc fully ascertained; in the other, a coast is seen, and inaccurately marked by a dotted line on a chart, and that is all. Take for example the shores of the Parry Islands. Parry sailed along them, from Welling- ton Channel to Byam ^Lirtin Island, in 1810, without land- ing, and showed them on the chart by dotted lines. For the next thirty-two years that was all that was known about them. In 1851 sledge parties belonging to Captain Austin's expedition travelled along the same shores. The results were not dotted lines. They were a correctly sur- veyed coast; physical features properly noted and de- lineated ; the collection of a valuable series of silurian fossils ; of a flora which, though meagre, was of consider- able scientific interest; of a fauna, and of numerous ethnological specimens, throwing light upon the ancient migrations of man. The two methods of exploring will not bear compailsoTi. lio lis Uphill Wokk. Easy Work. he- World Adventures.'] f I'a^e 400. THE ENGLISH EXPEDITION. '101 " But there is cvciy reason to expect that a wcll-coni- iiuindcd expedition will bo able to proceed a considerable distance up Kennedy Channel and Robeson Strait, and so attain a position -whence far more extensive discoveries may bo achieved. It is true that, in I800, a wretchedly equipped little schooner, the Adcaitcc, of 120 tons, and seventeen men, was stopped by the ice near the entrance of Smith's Sound; buD she was wholly unsulted for such navigation, and had not the advantage of steam power. On the other hand, Captain Inglefield, in 18o2, found the sea open in Smith's Sound, and was convinced that it was navigable; in 18G8 Captain Adams ascended a high cape at the entrance, and also found the sea open far to the north. Dr. Hayes also, in 18(30, in another unsuitable little steamer of 133 tons, was not stopped by the ice, but by a gale of wind and a heavy sea. The vessel was unfit for the work. In 1871, Captain Hall, in the rohiris, sailed up Kennedy Channel without any check or obstruction, to latitude 82^ IG' min. X., the farthest northern point that has ever been reached by a ship in any direction. *' If we turn to other straits leading from the head of Baffin's Bay, wo shall find that analogy confirms and strengthens the personal observation of Inglefield, Hayes, Adams, and Hall. Pond's Bay leads into Eclipse Sound, and thence, by a strait, through Navy Board Inlet, into Barrow's Strait; and these intricate channels were success- fully navigated in 1872. Lancaster Sound and Bar- row's Strait arc almost always open for some distance ; and on two occasions vessels have sailed up them for several hundred miles, as far as ^lelvillo Island. Jones Sound wa.s also navigated for a considerable distance by Captain Lee, in 1848, without any check." (These inlets are situated west of Baffin's Bay, surrounding North Devon and sepa- rating it from North Somerset and Byam Martin Island.) "There is, therefore," ^Ir. Clements Markham goes on to observe, " every reason to expect that in an ordinarily J' D 402 ICE-WORLD ADVENTUEKS. II i^ favoui'ablc season the waters of Smltli's Sound and Kennedy Channel will be as navigable as those of Lancaster Sound and Barrow's Strait. An expedition should consist of two Dundee steam-whalers. One would be stationed near the entrance of Smith's Sound, so as to preclude all possibility of danger to the more advanced party in the improbable event of their vessel being lost. The other would press forward beyond Cape Parry of Hayes " (this is to be distinguished from another Cape Parry, which is situated below the en- trance to Smith's Channel) " and possibly winter in latitude 83° or 81° N., or perhaps even still nearer to the Pole. From such a position advanced travelling parties could reach the North Pole, or explore the whole of the northern coasts of Greenland, or of Grinnell Land. The distance from Cape Parry to the North Pole and back is 0G8 miles — a distance which has frequently been exceeded by arctic sledge parties belonging to the expeditions in search of Franklin. A sledge party led by M'Clintock walked 1210 miles in a hundred and five days ; !Mccham went over 1157 miles. The work of these travelling parties would be rendered comparatively easy if the land trends far to the north. As regards the land in that direction, the crew of the Volar'ni, in latitude 82° 1(1' N., found both the coasts of Greenland and of Grinnell Land stretching away to the north as far as the eye could reach. But there are also other reasons for the conclusion that the land, either on one or the other side of Robeson Strait, or on both, extends far towards the North Pole. The current flowing down the east coast of Greenland has been observed by Dr. Forchhanmier to be composed, not of polar water, Init of Atlantic water. A strong current flows through the channels between the Parry Islands and down BaflBn's Bay. If Greenland or Grinnell Land, it matters not which, extended no farther to the northward than Cape Constitu- tion of Kane, this current would also sweep round Green- laud, and flow down its eastern shore. Observation has shown tl'ut this is not the case; and hence it mav be inferred I ?r > le h. 1 THE ENGLISH EXPEDITION. 'JU:J that it is prevented from doing so by the land extending far tou'ard.s the North Pole on those meridians. Numerous geodetical, magnetic, and meteorological observations could be made. The ships could also avail themselves of recent ex- perience obtained in dredging the sea-bottom, of which no- thing whatever is known in Baffin's Bay and Smith's Sound." The above considerations, in the judgment of Mr. Clements ^farkham, offer convincing proofs that the route by Smith's Sound is the best road across the threshold of the unknown region. Even in an unfavourable season, by this route IGOO miles of previously unknown country would be dis- covered and thoroughly explored; and valuable observ^ations and collections would be made in every department of science, la a favourable season the North Polo might be reached; the northern coast of Greenlaml and Griunell Laud might be explored ; the geology, llora, fauna, and ethnology might be investigated ; and a vast addition might be made to the sum of human knowledge. " The enterprise," he further remarks, "though feasible and devoid of undue risk, is one of vast proportions. It is one which, while requiring all the highest qualities of our seamen to conduct successfully, and involving dangers and hardships to individuals, such as it is the pride of our naval men to laugh at aud overcome, is yet absolutely free from a chance of any such catastrophe as overtook Sir John Franklin and his gallant crews. By stationing a vessel at the entrance to Smith's Sound all such rJsk for the advanced party will bo avoided. There is great abundance of excel- lent animal food up Smith's Sound. The climate is excep- tionally healthy ; and though the officers and men who volunteer for this arduous service will bo exposed to individual dangers and privations, which will test their high qualities to the utmost, there is no more chance of a disaster to the whole expedition, and far less danger of sickness, than on any other station frequentcil by the ships uf our navy." CHAPTER XXVI. I THE EXGLISri EXPEDITION OF 187.J {continued). The Nkcessary Funds— A SrKECii inoM Mr. Hunt — The Cuilf OrFicEiis — The Chews — The Ai.r.nr and the I)iscort:nr — WrniouT AND Within — Lowering Tackle— Collapsible Boats — Sledgks and Sledging — The Crow's Nest— Arctic Lamps — Fuel — Preserved Coal — Wholesome Provisions — Amusements lOR Winter Evenings— The Arctic Museum — Miscellaneous Curiosities — How to Make Pemmican. LiirLE can bo clone without money, so In tlio House of Commons on tlic oth of INIarcli avc find ]\Ir. AVard Hunt proposing a vote of £08,020 on behalf of the new arctic expedition. His speech is sufficiently interesting for us to give it nearly in full. The house had gone into committee of supply on the supplementary naval estimates, -when Mr. W. Hunt said, "It is my duty to ask the sanction of the committee to an estimate for the purposes of equipping and fitting out an arctic expedition, which is to sail in the course of the month of May. Tlie sum asked for is £08,020. The great burden of the expenditure will fall on the current year, but there is appended to the estimate a further sum of £1(>,000 for the next financial year; and for future years, while the expedition is out, there Avill be an additional sum of £13,000. In addition to all this, there is a contingent possibility of about ^£'50,000 being required in case of its being thought necessary or desirable to send out a relief ship in consequence of the expedition not returning as soon as expected. " The inception of the expedition is due entirely to the learned societies of this country. The Geographical Society, the Royal Society, and the British Association, have urged upun the present Government, as they urged 1 TiiK KxoMsii i:\'i'i;nrnoN. 405 ii I f upon tlie lato oiio, tlio dcsii'iibility of flttliii* out such an cxp'jdiliou for the purposes of science; and in a memorial ■\vhicli tlicj have presented to the Government, they state that results of great scientific importance nmst arise from the exploration of the polar area. Such results are an- ticipated by some of the most eminent scientific men in the United Kingdom, and the question is, whether they arc worthy the risks that will be incurred. "Xo doubt the fate of the last arctic expedition under Sir John Franklin has for many years damped the ardour of the people of this country as regards the sending out of any similar expedition. Sir John Franklin's expedition was the last sent out from this country, I brieve, for the purposes of scientific discovery, the others, between 1818 and 18G1, having been search expeditions, although, of course, during their journeys valuable scientific discoveries were made. Other countries have not been deterred by the fate of Sir John Franklin from sending out expedi- tions; and I do not think this country should be, especially after the experience of the American ship Fuhiris, which proceeded by the same route it is now proposed to take, " When after a review of all the facts relating to the matter, the decision of the Government was come to, in order, as far as possible, to secure a successful result, a com- mittee of experienced arctic oflicers was formed, consist- ing of Admiral Richards, Admiral Sir Leopold ^M'Clintock, and Admiral Sherard Osborn, One of Her Majesty's ships, the Alert, has been pronounced by this committee to be in all respects fitted for the service, and she has been thoroughly overhauled at Portsmouth, under the superin- tendence of Sir Leopold jM'Clintoek. A whaling vessel, the IjIooiIJioidkI, has been also purchased and renamed the DlsGovcri/, and she also is being thoroughly refitted at Portsmouth. " The AleH will be the first ship, while the Discovery will not go farther north than 82", and be a depot ship. :• ) * 400 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. *' I can assure tlio house tliat every pains has been taken to equip these ships in tlie best possible manner, and to provide all that is necessary in every way. " I cannot help recoj^nisinf^ the kindly feeling shown by other governments. The Danish government, which has settlements close to Greenland, has entered most warmly into the enterprise, and has promised to have sledge-drivers and dogs ready at the settlements when the expedition shall arrive. The American government has also placed at our disposal the stores left by the Polaris at difTercnt points. " It is quite possible that the main object of the expedition — the discovery of the veritable Pole, whatever that may be — may not be attained, as a great deal will depend upon the season; and there is also an unknown quantity as to what the nature of the country round the Polo may be. " I do not say there are no risks and no peril, but I do submit that the results to be gained are quite in com- parison with the risks likely to be incurred. Nor are the men of the various services the men to shrink from any perils at the call of their queen and country, while those who will be in command are not a whit inferior to those who had gone before them. I beg to move the vote." The vote was cheerfully agreed to by the committee. Mr. Goschen, as spokesman for the opposition side of the house, applauded the expedition, and wished it every success. Another member remarked that it was hiofh time, when other countries were getting so far ahead of us in arctic exploration, that this country should do some- thing to vindicate its maritime fame. And a third said truly enough that such an expedition, organized openly and publicly in the interest of scientific objects, reflected great honour on the age in which we live. Of the chief officers selected to serve in the expedition it will bo interesting if we give here a few biographical particulars. Cai'tain Narks. /2, and travelled over 187 miles. In the spring of 18o3 ho was auxiliai'y to Lieutenant !^^echanl, and travelled over GGo miles in sixty-nine days. In 18o4 he started in the intense cold of March, antl went over 08G miles in fifty-six days. He ha« thus had considerable ex- perience, and will bo a connecting link between the former and the present generation of arctic ofiicers. After his i)olar service Captain Nares was first lieu- tent of the Britannia training-ship for naval cadets. He has published a valuable work on "Knot-tying, and other Rudiments of Seamanship." He commanded the Salauiandi'i' surveying ship on the cast coast of Australia, and in Torres Straits in 18GG and 18(57, and he afterwards surveyed the Gulf of Suez in the Shoarwaier. From 1872 to 1871 he commanded the Challewici' durintr lier important scientific expedition, the operations of which have made such large additions to our knowledge of ocean currents and temperatures. Captain Nares returned to England from Hongkong in January, l''^7'"'>, to take C(jm- mand of the arctic expedition. The commander of the Disco ccnj, and the second in com- mand of the expedition, is Captain Henry Frederick Stevenson. He entered the navy in 1855, and served on board the ItaJcujli in the Chinese war in 1857, and sub- so(|Ucntly onboard the ]*carl. During the Indian ^Futiny he acted as aide-de-camp to Captain Sutheby in the actions of tlie naval brigade with the rebels at Solimpore and Chan- H » 408 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. deeporc. He was also gazetted ■with high praise for his conduct in the action at the fort of Behvar, Fyzabad, Thamowlee, and Puchawas. Being promoted to a lieutenancy in 18G1, he was ap- pointed to the Emerald, and subsequently to the Battler and Euryahis on the China station. In 18GG Stephenson commanded the gun-boat Heron on the lakes of Canada during the Fenian disturbances, in 18G7 became flag lieutenant to Sir Henry Keppel in China, and in the following year was promoted to the rank of commander. In this capacity he served successively with the Battler (lost in the Straits of La Perouse in September, 18G8), with the Yamjnaril, the Iron. l)ul:e, and Caledonia. Since 1872 he has commanded the royal yacht Victoria and Albert, whence in January, 1875, he was promoted to a captaincy, and to the command of the Vlscovcru. Captain Albert H. Markham is the second in command of the advance ship Alert. This ofEcer entered the navy in January, 185G, and served for eight years in China, during which time he was present at several actions in the war, and was promoted in 18G2 for his gallant conduct in the capture of a piratical junk. From 18G1 to 18G7 ho wfis a lieutenant in the Mediterranean flag-ship Victoria, and from 18G8 to 1871 was first lieutenant of the Blanche on the Australian station. In 1871-72 he commanded the steam-sloop Bosario dur- ing a cruise among the Santa Cruz and New Hebrides Islands, when he was employed to investigate and report upon the cases of kidnapping, and on *^'o murders com- mitted by the islanders. This diflicult duty was performed with tact and judgment, and, after a short service as first lieutenant of the Ariadne training ship, he was promoted to the rank of commander on the 30th of November, 1872. In that year he undertook a voyage to Baffin's Bay and Prince Regent's Inlet, in order to acquire experience in ice navi* THE ENOLIPTI EXPEDITION. '100 I gatlon, and his work on tlie subject, " A Whaling Cruise in Baffin's Bay," contains the hatcst account of the opera- tions of the -whaHng fleet, as well as the memorandum of the scientific results to bo secured by arctic exploration. Commander Markham served on board the Sid tan in the Channel fleet from October, 18":], to December, 1871-, and was appointed to the arctic expedition on the '^th of Decem- ber, 1874. Commander ^larkham, wo may adil, has taken for his chief companion to the arctic regions Nelly, a huge black dog, born on the seas, and a day of whose life has never yet been spent ashore. The medical duties of the advance ship, the Alert, aro undertaken by Dr. Edward L. ^loss, in company with Dr. Colan. Dr. Moss was born in l8i:J, and received his chemical and physical education at the Royal College of Science, Dublin, and his medical at the College of Surgeons, Ireland. He became a licentiate of that body, and a medical graduate of St. Andrew's, in 18G2. Ho subsequently visited the United States. lie entered the navy in February, 18(34, survived an attack of yellow fever at Vera Cruz, and served under Captain Woke in the action in which II.M.S. BulhJnrj was destroyed. Dr. !Moss was afterwards attached to H.^M.S. S'nnoviu for four years and a half. In ISGO he obtained the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland. He was next placed in charge of the Sick Quarters, Portland, and subsequently re-opened the Royal Naval Hospital, Ivsquimalt, Vancouver's Island, from which post he was recalled by telegram to join the expedition. He is the author of zoological papers in the transactions of the Linnean and Zoological Societies, of articles in the Naval Blue Bonk, and in various scientific and medical joiuniils. Ill 410 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. We shall now speak of the complements of the two ships. To take first that of the Alert, it consists of sixty-two officers and crew all told; viz., the captain (Captain G. S. Nares), the commander (Commander Albert Hastings Markham), four lieutenants, one sub-lieutenant, two surgeons, one chaplain, one assistant paymaster in charge, one naturalist, a chief boatswain's mate, a chief carpenter's mate, a ship's steward, a cook, two captains of forecastle, three ice-quarter- masters, a captain of the maintop and a captain of the f oretop, a sailmaker and a ropcraaker, an armourer in charge of gunner's stores, second captains of maintop and foretop, a cooper, captain of hold, a shipwright, carpenter's crew, fourteen able seamen, a captain's steward and a Avardrooni steward, a wardroom cook, two engineers, a leading stoker, three stokers and coal trimmers, two marines, anu Esquimaux or Danes as dog-drivers. The second ship, the Discovevij, carries fifty-nine hands — that is to say, she i:as no commander or officer next in rank to Captain Stephenson, and she has two able seamen loss than the Aln-f. It is understood that Commander ^tarkham is on boanl the Alert as second to Captain Nares ; Lieutenants Pelham Aldrich, Alfred C. Parr, George A. Giifard, and W. II. ^fay, together with Sub-lieutenant ]']gorton, also serve on board the Alert ; while Lieutenants Wyatt, Rawson, Lewis, A. Beaumont, Robert H. Archer, and Reginald B. Fulford, with Sub-lioutenant Conybeare, are on board the Blscovenj, under Captain Stephenson. Dr. E. L. Moss, M.D., is sur- geon, as we have ali-eady said, to the .1/(^7. For chaplains, the Rev. C. 1*]. Hodson, R.N., was appointed to the X>/.s'- covorif, and the Rev. W. II. Pullen, formerly a minor canon of Salisbury Cathedral, and the author of " Dame Europa's School," to the Alert. Mr. Pullon has not hitherto been coiniected with the navy. In the early part of the prepara- tions no provision was made for oven one chaplain. It was nsserted, by wny of excuse, that (he greatest difllcnHy had THE EXOLI.SIl EXrEDITIOX. 411 been experienced in stowing away two scientific gentlemen connected with tlio Royal Society. Public opinion, how- ever, was clearly in favour of religion being represented on the expedition as well as science, and Government very wisely altered their decision. Among the crews there are no arctic veterans ; in fact, with the exception of Captain Nares, Commander ;>[arkham, and the six ice-quartermasters, not a man has ever been in the arctic regions. The ice-quartermasters are experienced whalers; three are from Peterhead, three from Dundee; all six, l)efore joining the expedition, "wero members of tlio Royal Naval Reserve. The crews of the two ships may be called the pick of the British navy. The difficulty was not to find men, but to make selections from the host of eligible voluijtcors from all ships on the home station. Age, height, character, tempera- ment, and constitution were all taken into consideration. The age standard is from twenty-four to thirty-one ; the height standard from live feet six inches to five feet nine inches. The medical examinq,tion was extremely rigorous, and soundness of teeth was a sine qxd nou, since without good teeth no man can eat frozen biscuit. Both crows abound in musicians, vocal and instrumental; and this is well, for men who can sing a good song and piny a merry tune will contribute not a little to the cheerfulness of the sequestered little company, isolated in the ieo amid Ihc thick perpetual darkness of an arctic winter. From tlie crews wo may turn to the sliips. The AlrrI is a screw-steamer, wliich was formerly rated as a five-gnn sloop. During their lying at Portsmouth the two ships wero visited by the general pul)lic at noon every day, and the thousands of peo{)le flocked to the dockyard. The vessels lay not a hundred yards apart from one another witliin a basin of the dockyard, the Alcrl being nearest to the entrancf gates, her cream-coloured, almost tiny, chimney claiming \ 412 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. attention the moment one entered. Persons not acquainted with whale ships, or the class of vesse'cs needed in the arctic seas, were astonished at the diminutiveness of the vessels. The Discovery was noticed to be smaller than the Alert, yet lier lines were more graceful. The funnel was black, unlike that of the Alcrf, the light, yachtlikc colour of which was not consonant with her build. Indeed, some old whalers pro- nounced her a heavy sloop, too clumsy to make way rapidly in the ice region, though, perhaps, strong and obstinate enough to maintain a good defence. She is a vessel of 1045 tons, as now registered, but 751 tons by the old measurement, with engines of 430 indicated horse-power. Her dimensions are — length over all, ] TO ft.; extreme breadth, o2 ft. G in. She made the speed of 8^ knots an hour on her trial-trip. The Discovery is a sharp- bowed vessel of 553 tons; her length is 1(35 feet. She was built for the seal trade about 1873, and was originally called the JlJoodhound. She is fitted with engines and screw-propeller, but her speed is rather less than that of the AJi rl. The hull of the AJcrl, we may mention, is painted with a red streak, and that of the Discovery with a gr(>cn streak. There arc spare fans for the screw of each vessel, and spare rudders likewise, provided in case of accident among the ice. AVhen in winter quarters the screws will bo lifted up out of harm's way into screw-wells, the screw-shafts drawn inboard, and the rudders unshipped and hoisted up to davits over the stern. The propi'lling-tjhaft is telescopic at both extremities, so that when a collision with the ice seems imminent it can be easily disconnected from the screw by means of a system of leverage, and the screw hoisted on deck. The steam-crab by which this latter work is performed is so arranged amid- ships that after the screw has been lifted it can be used to draw the vessel through the floe or along the shore. For this purpose the ice-anchor — a rudimentary mass somewhat THE ENGLISH KXrEDlTION*. •113 like an "S " in shape, with tlic lower liouk broadened — is made fast ahead by a warp, and then pulled upon by the "crab." Eaeh vessel is barque- rigged, with Cunningham's patent reefing topsails ; and the masts will be interchangeable, having been so constructed that, in case of accident, the spars of the AJcrf can be erected on board the Btscoccri/^ and rice versd. The rigging is of a light but durable character, and all the ironwork above and below is covered witl) Ji coating of leather, as a protection for the hands of the sailors in the cold latitudes. Both ships have been strengthened for their encounter with the ice by a thick " doubling " of timber, covered at the stern and round the bows with a plating of -wrought iron an inch thick. Besides this, the vessels are fitted with five water-tight bulkheads each, with engines to pump out any water which may succeed in forcing its way below. Inside a coat of a species of thick felting called " fear- nought" has been fastened on below the interior lining of planking, to produce greater warmth in the 'tween decks .space. This in the arctic regions will further be promoted by a coat of snow a foot thick on the upper deck, and over everything there will be a '"housing" of fearnought, con- verting the upper deck into a sjiecies of tent. The captain's cabin is in neither ship a very sfjacious apartment; but the circumstance that in the Alert the engines and boilers are amidships alfords Captain Narcs better accommodation than that which falls to the lot of Captain Stephenson in ilio Discovert/, where the engines and boilers are aft. Both cabins are plentifully supplied with lockers, and it is in these chiefly that there will be stowed tlio " luxuries " on which the olhcers Avill batten. It is true that their rations will be identical with those of the crew on the lower deck, the regulation quota of 1} lb. meat and 1 lb. of bread on board ship; in the sledge journeys pcmmican and biscuit. Their food will be cooked in the same uteutilb ; 4U ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. the captain will practically partake of the same mess as docs the Dirty Dick. But arrangements have been made -where- by it will be possible for the officers to tarry over the wine cup. Their stores will be so copious as to allow — the cal- culation has been carefully worked out — a glass and a half of wine and a half glass of spirits to each officer daily for the space of two years. Each of the other officers' cabins, which arc about G ft. long and 7 ft. broad, is furnished with a handsome rack of drawers, which at night is transformed into a snug bed by simply placing a mattress on the top ; the inmate is kept from falling out by a longitudinal sideboard. The cabins arc lighted by circular skylights cut in the deck ; a few of the after cabins arc lighted by inverted prisms inserted in the planking of the quarter-deck. The doors at each side open into a corridor, which is also lighted from above, and forms a commodious mesa- room for the officers, who will all dine together. The way below lies through "booby hatches," to each of which is a porch with a door to it. The order will be imperative in the arctic regions that every one passing up or down shall close one door before opening the other, so as to prevent as far as practicable the escape of heat and the intrusion of cold. Next to the captain's cabin in the Alert is one tlic bed- })lace of which is of exceptional length. " Valuable space wasted," was the first comment of practical men Avho visited the ship. Of what use is a bed-place over six feet long in a ship carrying an expedition, the maximum height for the members of which is 5 feet inches ? But the doctrine of coincidences vindicated itself. There was the long bed- place, and the man has turned up whose proportions accord therewith, in the person of the Rev. ^Ir. Pullen, the chap- lain. It was understood on board the Alert that the reverend author of "Dame Europa's School" is a man who stands considerably over six feet ; and it must be no LU THE ENGLISH EXPEDITION. 415 regarded as a satisfactory token of respect to the Churcli that tbc cabin with the long bed- place was immediately assigned as the " Bishop's Palace." In the Alerf the naturalist has a -wardroom cabin ; but this functionary in the Dlsccvenj has been relegated to the gangway, from an apprehension that his avocations ai*e scarcely calculated nniformly to contribute to the sweetness of the atmosphere. Fox'ward of the wardroom and of the engines is the lower deck, the quarters of the crew. To a landsman it seems that the space is somewhat confined, but the allow- ance is full regulation allowance and something to spare. The men have locker seats instead of stools ; and they sit six at each of the half-dozen tables, tliree of which are arranged on cither side. Where stoves arc used, the neighbouring woodwork is cased with copper, which greatly assists in distributing heat. Pipes of this metal are carried round the wardroom and the forecastle, between which there is hardly a pin to choose, so snugly comfortable are all the appointments. On the lower deck, against the screening of the oigines, stands a concern like a big iron piano. This is the galley. The cooking will bo done here, and the galley fire will help to warm the deck. The chimney of the galley-fire has also been made to perform another service. Embedded in the fore-deck is a capacious metal basin, which, when the polar latitudes have been reached, will bo filled with snow, and the galley chimney passing through it will condense it. 13y these means a supply of water will bo obtained in the place where it is most required. We have now described the ships fully enough, we hope, for the present purpose. It remains to say something about their various fittings, and about the boats, sledges, and other apparatus with which this splendidly organized expedition is furnished. Among the improved fittings is a tackle for lowering '' h •ilO ICH-WORLD ADVENTURES. boats, wliicli Captain Nares found of great value in the ' 'Jhtllinujcr. The apparatus is of very simple tliougli in- genious construction, consisting of self-detaching slip-hooks and rings, which can be readily attached to the ordinary chain slings and blocks. It secures the descent of a boat, liowevcr hastily it may be required, upon an even keel. The rings cannot by any possibility be detached from the hooks so long as there is a strain upon them. But the moment the boat becomes waterborne the fastenings arc disengaged and the boat is free. The ^vhoIe apparatus is ahuost automatic, and besides securing certain and instan- taneous action, it dispenses with the tugging and confusion of the ordinary boat-lowering gear. Amongst the boats of the expedition are two small fold- ing, or " collapsible " boats, on the principle invented by the Rev. E. L. Berthon, of Romsey. They arc taken for use more especially, in crossing the ice-creeks, when travelling at a distance from the ship. We must give some particulars of these handy, portable boats, one of which may easily be carried by a man holding it under his arm, but which will safely bear tlie weight of four men in the water, being, in fact, a perfect life-boat. It consists of a frame- work of light timbers, all longitudinal, covered with a double skin, which is made of the strongest woven hemp, perfectly water-proof. The two sides of the boat are contrived to fold against each other, almost flat, upon the line of the keel, as upon a hinge, so that their joint thickness, when closed, is but a few inches, like that of an empty collapsing portmanteau, if it may not even be compared to an empty portfolio. But when the boat is open and ex- panded, which takes place automatically, in the manner of a parachute, by releasing the sides from their catches or fastenings as it is lowered from the davits over the ship's side, it at once assumes its proper boat-shape, with ample breadth of beam as well as depth of hold. This form is rigidly secured, in another instant, by putting in the flour ,oA U !!■ Q a o a o -] a 3S ■53 w TIIR EXOMSfl EXrEMTlOX. 417 of the boat, an open wooilcu frame woi-k, nearly obloiij^, whicli is extremely light, but whieh supports the weight of ns many stout men as can stand and stamp upon it. Two short rods or stag's, on each side of the boat, are next in- Rcrted, rather aslant than perpendicularly, between this bottom framework and the gunwale. By this simple arrangement, without any transverse benches, which may be used, if desirable, in boats of larger size, the entire hull l)ecomes as stiff, practically, as though its sides were con- structed of wood or iron. « As the skin is double, with a space of three or four inches, when the boat is expanded, between the inner and outer skin, there is sufficient air in the hollow sides and l)ottom, admitted by an orifice from inside the boat, to render it as buoyant as any kind of life-boat yet devised. Indied, it cannot bo sunk ; and -wdien purposely capsized will right itself immediately ; nor would it sink with a hole in any one part, as the hollow space in the sides and bottom is divided into several watertight compartments. The boat is easy to row or paddle, and easy to sail. The two boats supplied to the Admirally for the arctic expedition arc but 7 ft. in leugth, and weigh only oo lbs., but will carry two or three men. They are to be conveyed on sledges, for the purpose of crossing the ice-creeks frequently met with ; but, if a larger number were provided for every ship at sea, they might be the saving of mai\y lives. Thirty-five sledges arc taken for the long journeys to bo made across the vast fields of ice and snow. The sledges are of different kinds and sizes. The largest is a twelve- man sledge — that is to say, it will take twelve men to drag it. It is intended to carry provisions fur seven weeks. The smallest is a four-man sledge. Every vehicle is usually fastened together with strips of buffilo hide, steeped in hot water, which becomes like iron in cold climates. When the wind is favourable and sail is K V. I 418 lCr.-\VOI?LB ADVKNTL'KKS. I intended to be set, two tent poles are raised on the fore part of the sledge, meeting at the top, -where two other tent poles are laslied horizontally, forming a yard, on which a piece of canvas is bent. This materially helps the pro- pelling power when a strong gale is blowing. At the back of the sledge two sloping arms arc fixed, with wliieh a man holding one in each hand, guides the course ; this is par- ticularly necessary ^^ith the dog-sledge. As a rule the two hindermost dogs arc old stagers, who have their work cut out to keep the younger ones in front constantly moving, while another old stager leads the van, and that only on frequent applications of the whip. Tho dogs have to be watched that they do not take a fancy to the buQalo-hide lashings, for with these animals, as with human beings, appetite is very keen in the cold regions, and hunger is often felt, even after a hearty meal. For this reason the harness for use in the present expedition has been made of stitched canvas bands These form a collar and a kind of close-fiiting martingale, which fastens to a girth. The whip is a very formidable-looking weapon, having a handle about the size of an ordinary hunting crop, but a lash of some twenty feet long, made of seasoned hose- leather. AVhen laden, the total weight of the ordinary medium- sized sledge will be about lOlG lbs. It will be in charge of an officer and seven men. Each sledge will carry its cooking apparatus. When the party is numerous the apparatus will be of two kinds — one being formed entirely of metal, and the other (an inven- tion, we believe, of Sir Leopold ^M'Clintock) being made of wood, with an inner and outer sheathing of tin, and having a receptacle on the top for condensing snow, which thus ensures a constant supply of portable water. The cooking- Btoves are circular, the heat being obtained by burning- cither spirit or stearine; and by an adjustment of saucepans, one upon the top of the other, both pemmiean and preserved TIIK ENGLISH EXPKDITIOX, 110 potato or other condiment can be cooked at the same time. The whole is protected from the weatlicr by an envelope of thick "fearnought." Not the least interesting feature connected -with the sledges is the simple, but highly ingenious, way (copied from the whalers) in which the men attach themselves to tlie drag-ropes. It consists in a single twist in the lanyard, which is kept in its position by means of a copper button. The attachment, however, only remains good as long as the lanyard is kept taut, by which tw'o advantages are gained. Should the sledge happen to fall into a hole in the ice, the men can disconnect themselves in an instant, and thus avoid being precipitated into the chasm. The peculiar fastening will also indicate that the men are doing their duty, as the moment a hauler begins to shirk work thf» hold upon the drag- rope becomes loosened, and the offender is detached. Besides the sleJges, there are several dog-carriages for the use of the officers, with an upinght railing in front, on which, when tired with riding, the driver can support himself while walking by the side. They are all strongly but lightly built of polished elm, with steel runners or slides, in form resembling a double skate, but with a uniform bend upward at each end. Although previous explorers had necessarily resorted to sledges when their ships got locked in tlie icn or jammed in the floe. Sir Leopold M'Clintock was the author of great improvements in their weight, shape, and equipment. In his longest journey from his base of operations Parry was only sixty days away, and Sir James Ross forty days. But Sir Leopold believes, as we mentioned on a previous page, that it is now a comparatively easy matter to start with six or eight men, and a sledge laden with six or seven weeks' provisions, and to travel more than COO miles over frozen seas and areas of hummocky ice. While travelling with the sledges, each man will be 420 TCE-WORLD ADVENTURES. supplied with a water-bottle, resembling an ordinary spirit Uask in shape, but with the mouth and cup covered with a leathern coating for the purpose of protecting the mouth from cold contact with the metal. Tlio bottles will be replenished from the condensers, and the water will bo kept in a fluid state by being carried in the bosom. The sledges will also carry a supply of rum of extra quality but this will only be used in cases of emergency, as it has been ascertained that the best antidote against the polar temperature is not spirits, but oleaginous food, of which pcmmican is a highly nutritious and concentrated form. A transporting hand-carriage, of .spider form, but remark- able for its strength, forms part of the equipment of the expedition. The "weight of this vehicle, which has a dash of the American trotting-buggy about it, but possesses great carrying capacity, is l- cwt. qrs. 5 lbs. One addition made to the outfit of the ships was a cylindrical contrivance very like a cask, and largo enough for a man to stand upright in, run up to the topgallant masthead. This was the well-known " crow's nest," of which frequent mention is made in the records of arctic voyages and of thoso in search of whales. It is a barrel- shaped construction, 4\(t. high and ^Ht. in diameter, and consists of a framework covered with canvas, open, or rather half-open, at the top, and having a planked bottom, with a trap-hole left in it. Hero the nest is entered by means of a suspended ladder connected with the maintop. Attached to the topgallant masthead, this crow's nest will screen the look-out man from the fatal effects of the northern blast. The crow's nest is usually provided with a seat, a recess to hold telescopes, a speaking trumpet, a rifle and ammuni- tion, signal Hags, and a movable screen, which can bo shifted round the lop to keep the icy wind from the watch- nuiu's head. It is of the utmost importancj that a careful look-out should be maintained fioni tlio moment the icy THE ENGLlSir EXPEDITION. 421 latitudes have been entered. Wlieu the vessel is passing through cross or floe ice, or when there is any apprehension of danger, the captain seldom or never leaves this elevated and exposed watch-tower. Captain Penny, while threading the tortuous passages of Baflin's Bay in the Neptioio in 1838, remained in a crow's nest for thirty-six hours, only descending ten minutes for a cup of coffee, and keeping the telescope to his eye during nearly the whole of the time. It has often been stated that one of the chief causes of depression to those who have wintered in the arctic seas is the long-continued darkness. During the summer the Kun shines continuously for GG^ days north of the arctic circle, but in the winter it disappears altogether below the horizon. From the arctic circle to the Polo the increase in the amount of darkness is very rapid ; for whereas at the circle the sun merely touches the horizon on the shortest day, giving three or four hours' twilight, at the Pole itself there is a darkness of 182 days' duration. Hence, the farther northwards the expedition proceeds, the greater will be the dreariness of its winter nights. But to make the little world between decTiis as cheerful as possible, the Admiralty have sii])plied the Alert and the Discocfri/ with twenty-four patent arctic lamps. This invention is a strong, copper, globeless ship lamp, Avhieh will be attached to the bulkheads by bayonet catches, the light being throwii below by powerful metal auxiliary reflectors. The method of raising the wick is by a regulating screw on the top. 'riie reservoir is litted witli a double casing of copper, the intervening s})ace being filled with a thick jacket of felt, which will prevent the oil from coagulating, and will enable the lamp to consume tallow, fat, or grease of any kind should the stock of colza fall short. The wick, which is circular, is fed by suction only. The chimneys have been hardened by a peculiar process (o w itl).:.(;ind exccs.'rivc variations of temj)eralure. 122 ICE-WOULD ADVENXUEtS. The supply of fuel on boai'd for steaming purposes was not very large, when we consider that each vessel will use four tons per day in steaming at a rate of six knots under the favourable conditions of an open sea and a clean bottom. When making their way through the ice the ships must be under steam almost continuously. There was a quantity of " preserved coal " on board. This handy fuel is warranted to withstand the effects of any climate, hot or cold, and it occupies a remarkably small space in stowage — only about thirty-two cubic feet per ton. Ji is composed of the best Welsh coal, or rather coal dust, ccTi-.prcosed by hydraulic power into hard, compact, square bio .k:,% v:eighing from 28 lbs. to 50 lbs. each, and these can be so I ^1 " -"T^ in the coal-bunkers as to utilise every square iuc" of r 0. 1. Its hardness also reduces dirt and dust to a minimurri. < extensively used by the Indian railways and the mcssageries maritimcs of France. The Aleri started on her voyage witli five tons of spirits of wine, ten tons of bread, eighty-five tons of beef, pork, bacon, coCi-e, sugar, flour, and preserved meats, and ten tons of pursers' stores. The total weight on board was about 540 tons, and the estimated draught of water was ]5 ft. G in. forward and 17 ft. aft. The Discovery carried four tons and a half of spirits of wine, nine tons of bread, seventy-eight tons of beef, flour, sugar, bacon, pork, coffee, and preserved meats. The total weight on board this vessel, including machinery, was liO tons, which it was estimated would give a draught of 15 ft. 4 in. forward and IG ft. 3 in. aft. Each ship is furnished with theatrical properties and wardrobe, so that amateur theatrical performances can be given on board. A piano was presented to the Alert and an organ put on board the Discovcri/. The Admiralty made a grant of JG25 for each ship, to be expended iu the purchase of apparatus for games. In accordance with the Admiralty rule, a library containing about five hundred Tilt; ENGLISH EXPEDITION. 423 volumes was furnished to each ship. Each comprises every work that has been pablishcd in connection with arctic exploration. Macli amusement was excited amongst visitors to the ships before they sailed at the sight of articles intended for the theatricals and fancy balls to be held in the arctic regions. Such entertainments are looked upon by old arctic officers as salient and efficacious means of "keeping the devil off"" in the dull days at sea. An arctic traveller with a distinguished name has written these words : " The most noticeable qualifications for active service are apti- tude for taking part in those winter amusements which give life to the expedition during the months of forced inaction." In the Arctic ^Museum at Portsmouth, on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales and Duke of Edinburgh, some amusement was afforded to the royal party by two framed bills of arctic entertainments printed some two- and-twenty years ago. Of these two programmes, both of which were printed in the polar regions, the first, dated January, 1853, bore the lieading, " Soirees Fanlastiques, Melville Island, II. M.S. InfrepiiJ,'' and proceeded to set forth the intei'csting information that an entertainment, " under the patronage of Captain Kellctt and Commander M'Clintock," would be given by Lieutenant Bedford Pirn " the well-known performer in legerdemain," some ol' whose astounding tricks of the art had been specially re- served for that occasion. Another and more " legitimate" play-bill, dated Novem- ber of the same year, on board the Jtesolule, showed that Mr. Nares, then ranking as mate, played in ^laddison ^lorton's farce of " The Two Bonnycastles," which was the afterpiece following Slmkspeare's comedy of " The Taming of the Shrew." Wc have just alluded to the Arctic Museum ;it Pm-'s- 421- I C I : - W U 1 .1 > A 1.) \" E NT U VXS . moutli. It was a mLscullaucous collection of articles ar- raiif?ed in a red brick buildinrr close to the basin in which the Al'jrt atid iJiscovo'i/ lay previous to their departure. A lively writer who visited it, thus describes what he saw : — " Hero arc huge ice-saws, with great jagged teeth, ice gouges for scooping holes in the ice, whence to draw water, or in which to insert blasting charges. Here arc ico- anchors, and crushers, and grapnels, snow-shoes, and other equipments. There are many sledges of various sizes, and for different purposes, but all constructed on the lines of the model made by Joe Organ, Admiral Sherard Osborn's old coxswain, and now to be seen in the British Museum. One sledge is rigged with the sail devised by that exper- ienced old arctic voyager, and described by him as 'casing the men's shoulders wonderfully.' " An ice tent stands pitched ready as for use. It accom- modates eight men, the officer lying farthest in, the men heads and heels, with the ' cook ' for the next day nearest the door, which it is his duty to make fast ; and he lies hero because it devolves on him to get np in the morniug and prepare breakfast in advance of the rising of his com- rades. It is the privilege of the man who has come off duty as cook to lie next the officer. The sleeping equip- ment for use in this tent consists of various strata. Next the ice is an indiarubbcr sheet, covered with a thick robe of soft felting : on this the men lie in their sleeping-bags of the same material, inside which they get ' all standing,' for there is no nndressing on sledge journeys ; and over all there is another duffle robe. " The tent coverings consist of unbleached duck,supporteil by two poles at cither end. The tents to bo taken on the expedition are to hold twelve, ciglit, and five men. The canvas and poles can be converted into sails for the sledges. "A table running down the centre of the museum is covered with objects neatly classified and labelled, the ^ ' )cl I Jl I THE EXOr.lSH KM'KlJllioN-. 'Ili-J weight b^lng in every case recorded. There arc ice-saws, gouges, axes, chisels, knives, anchors, and chiws. The largest ice-saw is a ponderous implement measuring fifteen J'eet in leugth, and about a couple of cwt. in weiglit. Jt will be used for cutting a channel through the pack, or for making a convenient berth for the ships during the long and dreary months of the arctic Aviuter. It will be worked by means of a tripod sheers and a gin, and will be guided by an ice-quartermaster. For blasting ice, a tin case with a fuse is the simple agent; and indeed a glass bottle would do almost as well. A hole is iirst crushed or 'jumped' in ihc ice, by a heavy iron polo with a claw-shaped club) Avhich is raised two or three feet and allowed to fall per- pendicularly. Through the hole, the bhisting-casc is intro- duced, and fired by the fuse. Then the claws and other implements are used in dragging away the ice fragments so as to leave the water clear. A harpoon gun for shooting whales and walruses, with a clever breech-loading appara- tus is shown. This will be fastened on a swivel at the bow of a whale-boat. The length of the harpoon is four feet. It is made of the finc^st steel. The gun though single-barrelled has two nipples to the lock to avoid the chance of a cap missing fire. There is also a smaller gun with its screen for killing seals when the dogs are hungry. " As this condition will occur to men as well as dogs, hu- man food is one of the objects exemplified in the museum. The bcnetit of a mixed diet, largely inchisive of vegetables, is too well known to be dwelt upon at any length or with much emphasis; and as compactness and portability are desirable in an expedition which may last three if not four years, the compressed cabbage for which a French inventor is celebrated appears in the Arctic Museum as a matter of course. So does that valuable imtriment pemmican. Pemniican biscuit, is likewise in store. '* The cooking utensils, for which sieaiine fuel as well as 42() ICK-WOKLD ADVEXTUKLS. spirits of wine is used, are Sir Leopold M'Clintock's own invention; and on the principle of the snowtanks on tlio decks of tlio Alort and JJiscovci-y, there are chambers in these portable stoves into which snow will bo rammed. The cooking utensils pack into very small bulk. " Close to the cooking implements and the tin cases for blasting ice are the invaluable despatch tins, which played an important part in the discovery of the I)tvcstl'jator. They will be deposited, not actually in the cairns — for these erections are often mauled by bears — but twelve feet due north from such land-mark. " After food comes clothing ; and the arctic fashions arc here temptingly displayed. Green spectacles with gutta- percha frames and soft flaxen pads are indispensable additions to an attire which is moi'c remarkable for comfort than grace. Thick knittctl woollen are the under u ments, which are worn two and threefold. Over tli s the 'duffel' suit, in preference to sealskin; and over the duffel is canvas, not for warmth, but for protection against the snow, which would penetrate the duffle very quickly. The woollen boot-hose have chamois-leather heels ; and fisherman's boots, for sloppy ice and snow, are worn over them. We must by no means forget the worsted night- caps, a supply of which had been pi'cscntcd by the ex- cmpress of the French. The steel rope which is to be taken out instead of a 0-inch hawser is also exhibited. Its advantage is, that with the same breaking strain of fourteen tons, a coil weighs only 5 cwt. as against a ton of the old rope hawser." The reader may not be displeased to see, by way of con- clusion to this chapter, an authentic account of the pre- paration of that indispensable article for the arctic voyagei", pemmican. The following is from Sir John Richardson's "Arctic Searching Expedition," published in 1851 : — "Tlio round or buttock of beef of the best quality, h.aving been cut oil" into thin steaks, from which the fat and il' due iger, son's and A THE KNfjM^II KXrEUITlOX. iJ' membranous parts were pared away, was dried in a malt- kiln over an oak fire, nntil its moisture was entirely dis- sipated and the tibrc of the meat became friable. It was then ground in a malt-mill, when it resembled finely grated nutmeg. Being then mixed with an equal quantity of melted beef-suet or lard, the preparation of plain pcmmlean was complete ; but. to render it more agreeable to the unac- customed palate, a proportion of the best Zante currants was added to part of it, and part was sweetened with sugar. After the ingredients had been well incorjiorat* d by stirring, they were transferred to tin canisters capable of containing eighty-five pounds each, and having been firmly rammed down and allowed to contract further by cooling, the air was completely expelled and excluded by filling the can- ister to the brim with melted lard, through a small hole left at the end, ^^ hieh was then covered with a piece of tin and soldered up. Finally the canister was painted and lettered according o its contents." AK empress's rUKSENT. (See pa (/e 420.) A WELSH W'OOLLKN WIO, FOR ARCTIC WKAR. II T CHAPTEB XXVir. THE EXGLISII EXPEDITWX OF 1875 (continued). A I'AltEWKLL BaNQVEX — VlSlT JllOM Till:: I'niXCE OF WaLES — ThK E.MniEss OF xiiE Frenci: N rsrrs i.tk Siiirs — Tue Day of UErARTCRE— lNTERESTT:>a IxciDJJNXS— TeLEQRAM FROM TUE QUEEN — TUE I'Ar.O/iOlS — TuE Exi'EDlTION AT PlA-MOUIU — In BaNTRY Bay— A Puivate Letter— On the Voyage— News Keceived by TUE I'.iLonors — Latest Intellioen'ce. We have now aiTived at the Inst dnys of the ox[)edltloii in I'iUgland. The Major of Portsiiiouili, on the evening of the 'JOth of May gave a bai^quet to Captains Nares and Stephen- 80U and the officer,3 under their command, with a com- pany of nearly two hundred and fifty guests, in tlie Portland Hall, Southsea. Among those present were Admiral Sir Leopold M'Clintock, K.C.B., naval super- intendent of the dockyard; Major-General Sir Henry Kawlinson, K.C.B., President of the Royal Geographical Society ; and the presidents of other learned societies Sir George Airy, Astronomer Royal, and Admiral Sir G I'Jlliott. After the customary loyal and patriotic toasts, the !Mayor proposed the health of Captain Nares and the other ofUcers of the arctic expedition. In replying to this com])liment. Captain Narcs observed tliat it was by the influence of the Uoyal Geographical Society, and by the efforts of a fuw men, such as the late Admiral Sherard Osborn and Mr. Clements iMjirkham, that the nation and Ciovernmeut had been aroused to renew this noble enterprise. Captain Nares alluded to the picture by Mr. ^lillais, iu the Royal Academy Exhibition of last year, with its motto, " It must be done, and I'higlaiul must do it I' lie bore testimony to ,1 THK KNOLISEI EXlMvDITIOX. 120 U. the com])lekness of the arrangements inatlo under the direction of Sir I/eopold M'Uiintock for the outfit of tlie expedition. He declared, in conchision, that if buccoss could be achieved at all thuy ought to achieve it. Tliia .speech was very well received. On the following day, the Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Edward of Saxe-Weioiar, arrived at Portsmouth for the purpose of inspecting the arctic ships. Both vessels were minutely gone over, and then the royal party visited the museum of arctic curiosities, with which they were apparently much entertained. On Saturday, the 22nd, the ex-empress of the French visited the ships and the museum. "When she quitted them she found drawn up outside the crews of the Ah.'rt and Discovcrij, and she expressed to the men, through Captain Nares, tlie deep interest she felt and would continue to feel in the expedition. The crews responded to the kindly wishes of the ex-empress by three ringing cheers and by waving their caps. As soon as her majesty hacj quitted the vicinity of the museum, the crews of t.io two vessels formed in marching order and proceeded to Portland Hall, Southsea, where they were to be entertained as the guests of the Portsmouth town council. The dinner passed otf most satisfactorily, nnd the crews returned to their ships highly gratitiod by the entertainment they had received. A week of bustle went by, and at last the day dawned on which the ships were to leave Portsmouth. It was the 2IHli of ;May. "Nothing superficially," remarks a graphic newspaper writer, " could have been more prosaic and matter-of-fact than the incidents of the departure, with the solo exception of the final progress seaward, and even that was chiefly impressive, not from set ceremonial, but by reason of thu spontaneous enthusiasm of the vast crowds of specta- 400 IfK-WOIILD ADVKXTURF.S. tors. But below all that was prosaic, and not a little that in its way was goimincly comic, there lay a serious interest more engrossing, and a pathos that was more mov- ing, than if the final scenes had been of a melodramatic character. '* The dockyard was closed to the public, admission being granted only to the friends and relatives of the crews, and thus the little gatherings on the jetty and on board the ships were almost of a family kind. In the gathering on the deck smiles and tears were strangely blended. The sailors kept a stiff upper lip and strove hard to wear an aspect of jollity. Some succeeded to admii-ation, and one worthy bravely chanted a comic song ; but hi^' efforts to amuse were not universally appreciated. In one corner an old mother sat with an arm around the neck of her stalwart son. A marine artilleryman, with that solemn aspect which seems peculiar to this branch of the service, was gravely performing 'a spell of drynursing' as he himself phrased it, dandling his infant in a curiously clumsy manner, as if he did not like to surrender it, and yet was in mortal terror of letting it drop, while his "wife hung on to his arm, clearly with but little between her and a burst of sobbing. " Every now and then there was a final parting, but this seldom occurred on board. Husband and wife, the former carrying the baby, would pass up the gangway to the jetty, and stroll a little way apart out of sight, and presently the man would come back alone, not inclined to be very free of speech just yet awhile, and with a tell-tale quiver about the mouth. There was no work to bo done, and the unattached men, who had probably already said their farewells, and, at all events, had no sweethearts or wives on board, made themselves demonstratively useful among the children, re- lieving mothers from the cares of watching that they came to no harm by falling down hatchways, or finding a prcmatux'o grave under coal-sacks. ' <^ TlIK ENGLISH KXl'EDITION. 4:31 he of lio ed at do re- a *' There was one seeming misanthrope, a dry, saturnine man, who took no heed of stray eliildrcn, clasped no friendly hand in a hearty farewell, but sat grimly and companionlcss, smoking a solitary pipe. Yet who knows ? The seeming misanthrope may have had a heart too full for intercomnmnion with his kind, and as lie sac thus isolated and apparently self-centred, may have been mentally recalling with nu exceeding wistfulness the last look from out loving eyes, that last caress, the touch of which he seems to feel upon him still. " It was altogether a strange scene to stand and watch — a scene with its prosaic surface, its undercurrent of deep emotion. A husband and wife sat with clasped hands each on a great tin of colza oil. A little ■woman suddenly broke down, and sank sobbing, ^Yhil:e print skirts and all, on the top of a coal-sack. The children were jdaying at horses on the still taut chain-cable. There was a policeman on board, but the guardian of the peace has come, not steridy to repress disturbance, not intent on running any- body in, but simply to exchange a warm handshake -with the marine, who it appeared, was his old chum. Old ship- mates came abroad, and, in a rollicking, nautical fashion, wished well to fellows who had cruised with them in the Duncan, the Hidfan, or the Mnidfaur. Down below in the 'tween decks, where, amid confusion worse confounded, a lumber of kits, lumps of metit, sailors in odd corners sleeping oil' the clfeets of overmuch rum, the cook was engaged in cooking a dinner for which, to all appearance, there would bo but few claimants, a sanguine tar was attempting to coax cheerful strnius out of a rather wheezy accordion with a perseverance which merited happier results. Here, too, amid all the confusion, quiet couples were sitting talking earnestly, and were not to bo distracted from their conversation cither by 'The aMou of Harlech,' or by ' Cheer, boys, cheer! ' '■ On the jetty there stood apart a little gi'oup of women 102 ICE-WOULD ADVENTURES. wlioso talk was in that fine broad northern Doric which Is to be licard in so great perfection in Aberdeen, Peterhead, and Dundee. Theso ladies, who were liigh of cheekbone and angular of figure, and who were the -wives of the ice- quartermasters, "were self-contained and calm. Their fare- wells liad not moved them to tears ; their chief concern •was lest one or two of their husbands were likely to get into trouble by reason of having applied themselves too freely to the parting glass. They were used to the departure of their husbands on arctic voyages, and one Avould tell you quietly that in his last trip in a whaler, ' my man was ane-an'-twenty month i' the ice an' mair forbyc.' Wlien the expedition departed they took train for London with intent to catch the ' Alberdeen boat.' "About half-past two the fires were lighted in the engine rooms, and presently a tiny stream of white smoke began to issue from either funnel. This was the first overt signal of the impending departure. Gradually friends and relatives went their ways. The officers one by one came on board, and orders began to bo issued. A great hamper full of fresh bread was taken on board either vessel. "An ice-quartermaster from Aberdeen proclaimed his intention of 'striving' with his obstructive wifo if she did not withdraw her opposition to his seeking the nearest public-house for one last drop of whisky. ' I maun hae ae last drappio, an' I will gang ashore. I'm no a navy chappie ; I liao ma frco will.' But the wifo sob her face half-sternly, half-coaxingly against that last ' drappie,' and as a deterrent gave her 'gudeman' the baby to hoUl, although there appeared an imminent risk that lie would drop that precious pledge of mutual affection. " Captain Nares came on board, his own parting over, and now the moment of departure was fast approaching. One final photograph was taken. The ladies who had lingered thus long in the wardroom were escorted on deck, their veils closely drawn over their faces, and the little throng THE ENGLltjH KXrEDlTIOX. ^33 la i.i 11(1 M 1' /► on thu jetty respectfully made way for tliciii as they moved away slowly, yet resolutely refraining from looking back. " The signal of the flagship went up to the mizen of the Alert asking the admiral for ' permission to part com- pany,' and the affirmative reply was speedily visible. The naval postmen came aboard for the last time, bearing packets of letters, the contents of which may well bo guessed, but even to glance at which the recipients were too busy. A telegraph boy darted down the gangway with a message to a young lieutenant. ' Goodbye, and God bless you!' the young fellow read aloud in his abstraction, before he hid the message in his bosom — the last fond farewell and aspiration from yearning hearts. " 'All for shore,' was the order, and the last of the visitors passed out; with them too passed out the drowthy ice-quartermaster from Aberdeen, who, still intent on that last drappie, had circumvented his wife by guile, and was now tacking his devious way in the direction in which he presumably conceived the drai)pie to lie. The matron was equal to the occasion ; she intercepted her consort, who was found maudlin in her arms in a corner, and led down to the ship extremely drunk, yet saturnine, and willi an assumption of dignity which was not disturbed by the ignominy which marked his reception on board. "And now strong arms pulled the gangway ashore, and communication with the Altrt was cut off. Captain Xares, with the pilot, took port on the bridge, the i)races were manned and the yards squared. From the jetty the harboui' master gave his successive injunctions: ' Let go forward!' and then the screw made its first revolution. " One moment more, and the order was, ' Let go abaft I ' and lo ! the Alarl was free and slowly steaming away from the jetty, closely followed by the JJiscuvcry. H ( Man the rigging,* was the next order, and the seamen, springing up nimbly, clustered on the shrouds, cheering Y F mmmmm 434 ICH-WOKLD ADVENTURES. I loudly ill response to the clicci'iug of those left behind on tho jetty. Not that all left there were in care to cheer ; not a few there were who turned away in mournful silence, or in silence wistfully gazed through tears after the reced- ing ships. "It was four o'clock to the minute when the Alert cast loose. "Very slowly the ships — the Alrrt leading by about a hundred yards — steamed down the harbour, their riggiug remaining manned. Slowly tliey passed tlie war-ships, the glorious old Victor y, tho flag-ship ixir exceUence of the British navy, and the lofty-sided Dulce of Wellhujton, and the St. Vincent, bearer of a memorable name. These, as the arctic vessels passed, manned their rigging, and their crews sped their comrades on their way with ringing cheers. The flag-ship ran up the signal, ' Good bye ; best •wishes!' and the Alert responded with, 'Thanks; fare- well ! ' "It was a sight not to be forgotten as the slu'ps emerged from the harbour into the anchorage of Spithead, and headed eastward, standing close inshore. Their path lay through a vast flotilla of steamers, yachts, and row-boats, ci'owded with spectators cheering enthusiastically. From the grass-grown, half-dismantled ramparts of Portsmouth on the west, as far as Southsca Castle on tho east, the shore from the top of the sea wall down to the water's edge was lined by one unbroken mass of onlookers. Amid the throng of dark-clad spectators ran the narrow red strip of the soldiery which had been drawn out and set in array on tho beach to do honour tc the departing representatives of the sister service. As the Alert and Ih'scoL'cri/ slowly passed along this coast-line of humanity, the waving of handker- chiefs was as if tho wind were fluttering the leaves of a forest whose leaves were white, and peal on peal of cheer- ing was wafted by tho light breeze over the calm water. And thus enthusiasticallv and lirai-iilv i-ind en i(s wav, tlio i # I* Ice World AdvcnUtres.'\ Tiiii Dkpaktuke or tiik "Alek VKTUKE OF THK " ALERT" AND THE "DiSCOVEKY." [Page 434. I ! THE ENGLISH KXri-DITiON. 43 oo arctic squadrou stood slowly away out to son, and as tlio assembled cnnvds stood gazing on it till the last, when ^vith sails set the ships gradually faded out of vision round Sea View Point, the glass told that the signal ' Farewell ' was still flying from the mizcns." In the course of the day Captain Narcs received the fol- lowing telegram from the queen : — " I earnestly wish you and your gallant companions every success, and I trust that you may safely accomplish the important duty you have so bravely undertaken." Captain Nares telegraphed in reply, *' I feci deeply the great honour her majesty has done myself and the other members of the expedition in wishing us success. IJcr majesty may depend on all doing their duty." The two ships were accompanied by the Valorous, a wooden frigate under the command of Captain Loftus F. Jones. Its business was to convey stores for the expedi- tion to the depot at Disco. Ou Sunday morning the squadron passed Plymouth, and was visited by Admiral Sir Henry Keppel, G.C.B., the commander-in-chief of that nav'al station. He came out in his tender, the Princess Alice, to bid the explorers farewell. Sir Henry remained on board the Dlscovcri/ to luncheon with Captain Stephenson, who is his nephew, while tho ships were running to the westward past the Eddystone. The Valorous parted company for a short time with the two arctic vessels, and went on to Queeustown, to call for despatches and letters, and to take iu an additional supply of coal. On Tuesday afternoon tho Alert and the Discovery arrived ut Bearhaven, in Bantry Bay, Hero they anchored for the night. The Valorous rejoined them, and the threo ships left next day bound for Disco. Many private letters were written by members of the ex- lition as they lay at anchor iu Bantry Bay. In one of pedi them we are told that "both the ships sail very Vvcll, tho 13(5 1L'I> WOULD AUVKNTUHLS. Alert tlio better of the two, both on a wind and going Irce." "As far as wo Lavo had any opportunity of judging," says the writer, " our ships are very good sea-boats, and if wo only have a fair wind, except that we shall be detained by the Valorous, wc shan't bo long crossing the Atlantic. We have had wonderfully fine weather up till now, a breeze strong cnougli to send us six knots through the water, and the sea quite smooth. Nothing could have been more ac- ceptable than this fine weather has been, as it has enabled us to shake down quietly into our cabins, and mess-places, and to properly secure anything that had not been quite properly stowed, etc., just at the last before leaving. . . . Most promising has our start been. May the same good fortune remain to us throughout our voyage. Our ship':, are good, our men arc healthy, strong, and determined, and the officers will do their duty. So with God's help, wo ought to succeed." On the afternoon of Sunday, the 2l.ttli of August, the Valorous returned to Portsmouth, and by her means news was obtained of the gallant men despatched to carry the Jlac: of Britain to the Pole. It seems that the gloomy regions of the north had given our vessels an early taste of the rough work awaiting them. They had hardly quitted Bantry Bay for tho open Atlantic before violent gales drove the three consorts up ' r more than a fortnight they Avere scatfi-re 'i .uA thither by cyclonic blasts, which did o t be boats and carried away much gear on 1. rd the .crt. Green seas rolled over the last-named sliip forward and aft, and the crews passed a trying time, batten, d down and liulf stifled for air ; but so little did the bad weather spoil their tempers, that one correspondent tells that he saw the naturalist of the Alert complacently fishing in the seawater for what ho took to be new organisms, though they turned out merely to be the grains of maizo washed out of tho ; ♦ ♦ THE EN'ClLISir EXrEPITIOX. •1'^ >/ ana aud and spoil IV tlic atcr ■irncd f tlio \ poiilh'j coop-, wlioroiii all tlu^ iiiiroitun;it(^ fowls lind l)Opn drowned. On the 2rtli of June, tlio wcathci' liavliii:^ soiucwliat mended, ice was seen drit'tinu' round from the cast coast of Greenland, by Cape Farewell, and the sight " gladdened cverj-body's heart." Hero was the enemy in siglit at hist. The Alcii sighted Capo Dcsohation on the 28tli of Juno, and on the 0th of July made Godhavn, wliere she rc'joined lier consorts. In the landlocked bay of Disco all was peace again. The sojourn here was characterized by festive pro- ceedings alternated with the hard work of filling up stores, and the pleasant occupation of surveying the wonderful scenery of the shores and waters thereabouts. The Valorous transhipped her fuel to the two exploring vessels, raising their stores to about two hundred tons apiece, and loading them up to the decks with sui'plus provisions. They also took in dogs for the sledging, with native drivers, a whale net, some extra coal from the Disco shale beds, and, moreover, shot enough ''loomies" for two days' fresh meat all round the fleet. On the 17th of July the VdJurous bade good-bye to the Alert and Discoveri/, quitting them in the Waigatz, a strait which runs behind Disco Island. The two ships were then bound for Upornavik. The Valorous was to return home. The voyage of the Valorous back to England was tinged with disaster. OtY Holsteinberg, south of Disco, she ran upon a submcrgcil rock, and was in great danger for a while; but her crew behaved excellently ucll, and the good luck which gave her a rising tide saved the vessel. On her voyage homo the Valorous did a good detd of deep-sea dredging and sounding. Wo were to hear still further news of the progress of the two exploring ships. The Pandora, as our readers are aware,* returned to England on the IGth of October. On her way home she had called at the "Arctic Post Office," a cairn ! I 438 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. of stones on the Carey Islands, north of ^[elville Bay, about latitude 7"/°^ longitude 73^ The date of her visit was the 11th of September. She had already called there when passing the island on her outward voyage, but had found no letters left by Captains Nares and Stephenson ; this time, however, she was more fortunate. A deposit was found. A few of the letters which came home in this way wo shall quote. There was one from Captain Nares, dated from H.M.S. Alerl, Carey Islands, July 2rth : — " I am leav- ing," he says, " a notice in a cairn here in order to send homo, if possible, my latest news. . . , We have had the most extraordinary success. The season has proved to bo the best that ever was, and, by a happy calm for two days, I have turned it to such account that we have made the quickest passage, thus far, that ever was made so early in the season as this. The Americans did it in August, but here we are h\ July, with a clear month before us, and no ice whatever in sight; and I am sure there is very little ahead of us. Of course all is wild deliglit at our prospects. The old whaling men thought I was mad to choose a new route, but it was (as I reasoned it would bo) successful. . . . We arc sure to get as near to the Pole as the land goes, and then it will be our own fault if we do not complete the work. I shall leave another letter to- morrow at our next depot." There was also a letter from Commander A. H. Mark- ham, of the Alert, addressed to his cousin i\rr. Clements R. Markhani, the secretary of the Royal Geographical Society. " Ofl'Cape Dudley Diggcs, July 2o, 1875. "I think our passage from Upcrnavik to Capo York is quite without precedent. We left Upcrnavik at eight o'clock last Thursday evening, iiud the following morning, on account of a dense fog, attempted to anchor in a small bay near the Inland of Kiugitok, and withiu a milo or two of the settlement, a raan in a kayack from that place actually / THE ENQLISir EXPEDITION. 430 i piloting us in ; bat he was evidently ignorant of the pilot- age, for we ran on to a rock, and remained immovable for five hour^, getting off, however, without any difficulty at high water. The fog having cleared up, we shaped a course due west (true), and at one o'clock yesterday morn- ing made the edge of the pack, into which we went. I never saw such light ice, no thicker than about twelve inches, and very soft and brashy ; we could easily have steamed through it. That, however, was quite unnecessary, as the pack was loose, with innumerable leads through it. Having beautiful calm weather, we progressed rapidly, both ships steaming full speed; and at ele/en o'clock this morning emerged into the North Water, wi h Capes York and Dudley Diggcs in sight ahead, having been in the pack only thirty hours. " It is certainly a wonderful passage. Of course the weather favoured us a good deal, and I have no doubt we should have been able to get through ^Iclville Bay with as much ease. What astonished me was the ice. I do not believe we encountered any of last year's ice, all that we came through having, in my mind, been formed tJiis spring. Then what has become of the heavy ice? It must all have been blown far south by the late prevailing northerly winds. That this indicates an open season for us to the northward I have little doubt. " Wo are all naturally elated at our success so far, and quite count upon reaching 85' without any serious check In a week's time wo ought to bo on ' the threshold of the unknown region,' when our real work will commence ; hitherto it has all been child's play. "I wish you could bo with us now. We are steaming on towards Carey Ishuids, which we shall reach to-morrow forenoon, and where we sliall land dt'pot A and the whale- boat obtained from tiio Vcdorutis. Wo shall then go on to Littleton Island, where the Discovern is ordered to rejoin us. " I hojic we are not going to have an early winter, but all 440 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. 1 I Inst night and this forenoon ' bay ico ' was malcing, nnd the temperature of the water was as low as 29". We have, I hope, six good weeks of the navigable season before us, and in that time we may do much." A private letter from a member of the expedition also on board the Ahrf was dated Off Petowak Glacier, north of the Crimson Cliffs, July 2r»th. " At present," says the writer, "our prospects are most cheering. Sea free of ico except opposite discharging glaciers; magnificent calm summer weathei ; every one in perfect health and uprofir- ious spirits, and in better time than any expedition before ns. Provisions in plenty, our sheep untouched, the first that ever came up here : lots of ducks hanging up in the rigging ; barrels of looms' eggs (we had some for kinch to- day, cold boiled, and no plover's eggs could equal their flavour). Wo arc now going into the Carey Islands, and will hand over our letters to the Discovo'i/, which is six miles astern, to be 'cached.' We shall at once make our depot of provisions, and go on to Lyttelton Island." The following is a letter from Dr. Coghlan, the fleet surgeon, and senior medical oflicer of the arctic e.Kpedi- tion : — " Approaching Carey Island, Arctic Kegions. H.M.S. Alert, Ji'hj 2m, 187.-.. *' This letter will be left at Carey Island, under a cairn of stones, in a cask, or buried with others, where it may be found by ^[r. Allen Young, who may call there, in the Pamlorn, on bis way home, or by some captain of a Avhaler. It will convey to all loving friends in England, who we know most anxiously are on the look-out for any partich! of news from these solitudes, the welcome intelli- gence that we are all, thank God, well and happy, and the weather beautiful, and still perpetual day. "We had a little slights now to-day, but, generally, the temperature of the nir is above freezing point. We arc all A Harpoon Gun a>u a Sn An Akctic Sce Ice World Adventures.^ 1 Hakpoon Gun a>u a Snow Shoe. pP An Akctic Scene. [A/^v 440. THK ENGLISH EXPETJiTION. 4U coiufortablo, ami so fur have got on very well indeed, even beyond our expectations. We have got through the ' Middle Pack ' of ice — the great dread of navigators — and are now in the North Water. " If you -will look in a map to the westward of ^It'lvillc Bay and Capo York and Dudley Digges, and a little north, you will see Carey Island. That is the place where wo hope soon to place our first dt'pot of provisions. Farther on wo shall place another, on the left-hand side, as we go north, and so on about every sixty miles. " Should we lose our ship we can fall back on our depots, and so get to Carey Island, where the Government has arranged to send a rescue ship in 1>^77. So loving friends at home need not be over anxious about us — indeed, if we go on as wo have been doing, 'tis quite possible we may find the Pole, or, finding it impossible, after getting a cer- tain distance northward, to reach it, may give up the attempt and return about October next year. "The great middle pack of ice we found quite practic- able to wend our way through. We always found lanes of water, small channels amidst the floes through which wo steamed, and in about thirty-four hours did what otherwise wo might have been a week in accomplishing ; our great object was to get through that, and we did so splendidly. It was a dead calm all through, and therefore the ice did not close in on us; indeed, if '.t had done so it could not have hurt us, as it was seldom over a foot thick, and our ships are not shells. The captain, with great courage and judgnienf, took the outside pns- sage ; and we did far better, I think, than if wc had taken the inner or general one. Wo may have a sharp struggle with the ice in SmitbV: Sound, but wo fear it much loss than that through which we have passed. We probably shall be in our winter quarters in nl)()ut six weeks or so, where we hope to make ourselves jolly and com- fortable. We shall endeavour to secure sonic snug berth , and \ ti t 442 ICE- WORLD ADVENTURES. ii not drift, and on the approach of spring try to reach the Pole by sledges. By the time this reaches you (should it reach you at all) 'tis probable the Middle Pack ^vill be utterly impassable, and we shall be shut in by the ice ; but there is One who will protect us while far away from all we love and the abode of civilized men. " Wc steamed along the coast yesterday evening, and I never saw, amid all my wanderings in every quarter of the globe, such a grand sight — high hills with inter- vening ravines, filled with huge glaciers, which generall}' break at the extremity of these valleys, casting off im- mense icebergs. Numbers of these enormous masses of ice towered above and about us, assuming all shapes and sizes, some most grotesque and fantastic, the eye picturing all sorts of figures, from a man's face to a .stately palace or temple, with its minarets and spires. Hundreds of thousands of tons in weight must these icebergs have been, when w^e reflect that nearly two- thirds of them must bo hidden from view below the water, and the glorious sun shining on them made tliem look beautiful and full of grandeur ; and often have I felt ready to exclaim, ' O Lord, how manifold are Thy M'orks ; in wisdom hast Thou made them all.' '0 ye frosts and snow, bless ye the Lord ; praise Him and magnify Him for ever.' We sang at church yesterday, ' I^'rom Greenland's icy mountains,' with, I trust, much thankfulness and glad- ness of heart. " This, I fear, will bo the last letter that can reach you for twelve months ; and though hitherto everything has favoured us, and we trust sincerely may still favour us, and while it is even possible for us to get much farther north than any previous navigators, even to the Poh; itself, now distant from us 900 miles, we do not conceal from ourselves the fact how much of peril and difficulty lies in that distance ; for our troubles and dangers are yet all before us; but, relying on Ahniglity guidance and THE ENOLISa EXPEDITION. 4i3 , strength, we hope to overcome all and accomplish the task which we have undertaken, and return in strength and joy to dear old England and all we love there. Should wo not return, we shall die ' doing our duty,' and meet in ' the better land.' But we are all full of hope and in the enjoy- ment of excellent health." :; i: b THE F.ND OF TIIK DAYS JOIT.NKY, CHAPTER XXVIIT. A rnnoNOLOQiaAL account of AncTic EXPEniTTOX^. fiCl. Icoland discovered. 970. Greenland is discovered. 1490. John Cabot sails and makes a successful voyngo in the Arctic seas. 1498. Sebastian Cabot goes to the -west of Greenland, and reaches the latitude of 50°. 1500-1502. Gaspar and ]\[ichael Cortereal make two voyages to Greenland. 1508-1535. Jacques and Aubert Cartier make several voyages for the purpose of discovering a new passage to the countries whence Spain derives her wealth. They dis- cover the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 1524. Estcvan Gomez is sent out by Spain on a voyage of discovery, but only reaches Labrador. 1524. Mendoza Coronada tries to find the supposed Strait of Anian, but is unsuccessful. 1527. Robert Thornc of Bristol is said in llakhiyl's Collection to have sailed to discover the North Pole. There is no account of his voyage. 1530. The voyage of the Trinitle and Miitioii in search of a North-west Passage. 1553. Sir Hugh Willoughby sails from England, and is supposed to have discovered Nova Zembla. Ifo is frozen to death in Lapland, with all his crew. 1555-1557. Stephen Borough and Kiclmrd Chancelor make two voyages. They reach the islands of Waigatz and Nova Zembla, but without effecting a North-east Passage, which thev had in view, C;ili:oMJLUGICAL At'LOUXX OF AULilC tXPtDlTIONS. Mo ! lo7G. Mai'tin Frobislier makes his Ih'.-sl voyiige, iiud discovers the straib which boars his name. 1577. Martin Frobisher makes a second voyage, and names !Mount "Warwick, to the southward of what has since been called Frobisher's Strait : he makes no advance, however, to the discovery of a passage. 1578. Martin Frobisher makes a third voyage, which is unsuccessful. After this, two brothers of the same name sail to discover a North-west Passage, but they never return, nor is there any conjecture respecting their fate. 1570. Edward Fenton sails to discover a North- we.-^t Passnge, but returns, being afraid of the Spaniards. 1580. Mercator, Pet, and Jackman try, but without success, to penetrate through "Waigatz; Strait. They return with much difficult}'. 1583. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, intending to discover the North-west Passage, sails to Newfoundland. 1585. John Davis makes his first voyage, and discovers the strait which bears his name. " Ou the eastern side of this wide sea he discovers and names what retains his appel- lative of Cape Desolation, and on the western shore. Mount Kaleigh, Cape "SValsingham, Exeter Sound, and some other places." 158t.». In his second voyage John Davis examines the co:ist on the western side of the strait l)etween Cumberland Island and the latitude of GGJy'^ N. ay 1587. John Davis makes a third voyage, and reaches latitude 7o°. In this he examines the coast which he had seen before, giving names to some other places, bul makes no advance towai'ds the solution of the problem of the passage. "The discoveries," says Sir John Ross, " which Davis made in the course of his three voyages proved of great commercial importance, since to him more than any preceding or subsequent navigator, has the whale fishery been indebted. Let not his name be liglitly passed over. In talent he has not many rivals, and it is ignoraneo 4i(5 ICE-WOHLD ADVtNTUnES. probably rather than inf,'ratitudo wliich fails to tbank liiai for the debts owed him bj British commerce." 1588. This is tl)c year of the fabulous voyage of Mal- donado. 1502. Juan do Fuca is sent to discover the supposed Strait of Anian. 159'i-159<'>. William liareutz, in company witli three others, makes three voyages. In the last of these he and half his crew perish. These voyages are all directed to the North-ca*-^ Passage, and he advances no farther than to Waigatz Strait, and the north-west end of Nova Zembla. 1G02. George Weymouth sails from England, but reaches no latitude higher than i)4P, and so makes no dis- coveries. 1ack ; ■wbilo Richardson, separating from him for the purpose, surveys the coast between Ilearne and Mackenzie Rivers. 1824-1825. Parry, in his third voyage, penetrates down Prince Regent's Inlet as far as latitude 72° 30', in longitude 91° W. In this voyage the Ftirij is lost. 1824-182G. Beechcy passes through Beechey Strait, and endeavours to penetrate to the westward. He reaches latitude 71° 23^' and longitude loG°21i' W., leaving about loO miles unexplored between his own and Franklin's dis- coveries. 1827. Parry makes an unsuccessful attempt to reach the North I'ole. 182i)-18o3. Sir John Ross's voyage in search of a North-west Passngc. Ross discovers King William's Land ; the isthmus and peninsula of Boothia Felix ; the Gulf of Boothia ; the western sea of King William ; and the north- ern magnct'c pole. 1833. Ciiptain Ross arrives at Hull, after an absence of four year.'.), and when all hope of his return has been nearly abandoned. 1835. Captain Back and his companions arrive at Liver- pool from their hazardous land expedition ; they have visited the Great Fish River, and examined "^ course to the Polar Sea. [The Geograi^hieal Society awards the king's annual premium to Captain Back for his polar discoveries and enterprl.se, December, 1835.] 183C. Captain Back sets sail in command of the Terror on an exploring expedition to Wager River. 1845. Sir John Franklin and Captains Crozier and Fitz- jamcs leave I'higland in search of the North-west Passage on the 10th of ]\Iay. 1848. II.M.S. riuvcr, Captain Mooro (afterwards unrler C^aptain ^laguirc), sails from Slicerncss to Bchring's Straits, in search of Franklin, in. -'anuary. 1H18-1H4',» Sir James C. RobH, in command of the oc Back ; purpose, Rivers. tes down ongitudo rait, and reaches ng about lin's dis- to reach ch of a ,'s Land : Gulf of le north - 3sencG of n nearly it Livcr- visited ic Polar s annual ies and Terror nd Fit/- p'assage s under Straits, of tlie CHRONOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF AECTIC EXPEDITIONS. '1-51 Enterjirisc, begins the search for Sir John Franklin and his crews. He returns to England unsuccessful. Sir John Richardson eugagcs in the Mackenzie River expedition in search of Franklin, 1850. The Enterjyrise (Captain Collinson) and the ///- vestigator (Captain McCIure) set sail from England in January. Many vessels are engaged this year in searching the Baffin's Bay region of the polar seas for Sir John Franklin ; they are distributed thus : — 1. A squadron, under Captain Austin, consisting of his own ship, the liesnluto ; the Assist- ance, Captain Ommanney ; and the I>drc2)id and Pioneer, two steam-tugs, commanded by Lieutenants Cator and Osborn. 2. Two fast sailing brigs, the Lady Franldin and the Sophie, under Mr. Penny, an experienced seaman, for many years captain ol a whaler in Baffin's Bay. 3. The Felix, with the Manj as tender, under the command of Sir John Ross. 4. Two American vessels, the Rescue and .ilcZfrtnce, fitted out by the liberality of Mr. Henry Grinnell, a New York merchant, and commanded by Lieutenant do Haven and Mr. Griffin. 5, Tlie Prince Albert, a small sail- ing vessel, the private property of Lady Franklin, under Commander Forsyth. October. The NonTir-WEiir Passawi: is discoveui:d nY Captain McCluke. 1851. The Prince Albert, "Mv. Kennedy, accompanied by Lieutenant Bellot, of the Fi'cnch navy, and .lohn ncplnirn, sails from Stromness to Prince Regent's Jnlct. Returns October, 1852. Lieutenant Pirn goes to St. Petersburg, intending to travel through Siberia to the mouth of the River Kolyma ; but is dissuaded from proceeding by the Russian govern- mQnt. 1852. Sir Edward Belcher't^ expedition, consisting of i\iQ Assistance, Sir Edward Belcher ; /iVso////t', Captain Kel- lett; North ^b'/K^*, Captain PuUcn ; Infrcj^irl^ Captain M'Clin- i 452 ICK-WOliLD AlA'EKTLliLS. tock; auci Pioncci', Captain Slicrard Osboru, sails from "Woolwich on the 15th of April. The Isahcl, Commander Inglefiekl, sails for the head of Baffin's Bay, Jones's Sound, and the Wellington Chan- nel, on the 0th of July. Returns November, 1852. 1853. Mr. Kennedy sails again in the Isabel, on a re- newed search for Franklin, to Behrinfj's Straits. H.M.S. ]iattles)iaJce, Commander Trollopc, is dis- patched to assist the Plover, Captain ]\Iaguire (who suc- ceeded Captain Moore), at Point Barrow. The Plover is met with in August. The second American expedition sets sail. It con- sists of the Advance, under Dr. Kane. The Pluenix (accompanied by the Breadalhane, trans- port). Commander Ingleficld, sails in May. Returns in October, bringing dispatches from Sir E. Belcher. 1854. Spring. Dr. Rae discovers relics of the Frank- lin expedition. He arrives "with them in England on the 22nd of October. The Phamix, North Star, and Talbof, under the com- mand of Captain Ingletield, continue the search for the missing crews. Sir E. Belcher abandons his ships. 1855. News arrives in February of the safety of Daptain Collinson. Captain Collinsou reaches England in Ma^-. The third American expedition sails in May in search ■~'i Dr. Kane. It consists of the 7it7ca.sc', the steamer J /r//f, the barque Krliujo, and another vessel, under the comninnd of Lieutenant H. J. Ilartstene, accompanied by a brother of Dr. Kane as surgion. An overland expedition is sent out by the Hudson's Bay Company, June to September. Some more remains of Franklin's party are discovered. 1857. The eighteenth British expedition (equipped by Lady Franklin and her friends) sets sail. It consists of the F*ix, under Captain M'Clintock. Leaves Aberdeen Isst of CHRONOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS. \oo 1 s lof 10 July; returns 22nd of Soptonibcr, 1H50. [Important dis- coveries arc made Ijy Lieutenant llubsou and Captain M'Clintoclc] 1858. A Swedish expedition ex])lorcs Spitzbergen. 1800. Dr. Hayes, in command of the schooner United Siaies, makes a successful voyage. Ho winters at Port Foulke, on the Greenland coast. 18G1. A Swedish expedition visits tlio northern and western shores of Spitzbergen. 1801. A Swedish expedition, under tlio direction of Professor Nordonskjold, engages in arctic exploration. 1807. Captain Long discovers a mountainous country in the Polar Sea, beyond the Straits of Buhring. 1809. Captain Carlson and Captain Palliser navigate the sea of Kara as far as the mouths of the Obi. 1800-70. The German expedition of the Ge/nnanla and Tlansa. 1870. An expedition is made into the interior of Green- land by Professor Nordenskjold and Dr. Bcrggren. 1871. Captain Hall, in command of the I'ohirii}, ad- vances as far as 82^ 10', the highest latitude ever reached by a ship. 1872-1 874. The Austro-ITungarian expedition discovers Francis Joseph's Land. 1871. Cap ain Wiggins sails to the eastward as far as the Gulf of Obi. 1875. The English expedition, under Captain Xares, sets sail from Portsmoutli on the 20th of ^lay, its oi)jcct being, if possible, to reach the Xortii Pole. The Pundora sails from England. She returns un- expectedly on the l<)th of October, havin|T^ met witii im- menso fields of ice, which it was impossible to ])(Miotrate. She had advanced up Peel's Sound to within twenty miles of King William's Island, the scene o? Sir John Franklin's death. This point is farther than any previous vessel has penetrated. f ill I I! 454 ICE-WORLD ADVENTURES. A Swedish expedition, under Professor Xordens- kjold, leaves Tromso on the 8th of June, and reached the Yenesei, where they cast anchor, on the 15th of August. The professor says, "The attainment of the goal which we liad reached has in vain been attcm})ted by the great sea- faring nations for hundreds of years." At the Yenesei the expecation divided, the jirofossor and two companions, with iliree men, proceeding up the river in a Noidland boat, to return to Europe via Turuchausk and Jeniseisk, while their vessel, the Prijven, returned to Norway. if!-:!; (lens- id the giisfc. li we i sea- ;i the with it, to their INDEX. Alert, the, scl-'Ctocl for arctic service, 405; crew of, 410; ilescriptiuu of, 411 et seq. Amsterdam Islaucl, narrative of an attempt to colouise, ct seq. Amusements, arctic, 1(»1, V.)2 ; for tlie polar expedition of 1«75, It23. Arctic Circle, the, 1. Arctic expeditions, a chronological account of, 411-151. Arctic exploration, reasons for, 390 et seq. Arctic Regions, what is included un- der the term, 1 ; chart of the, 10. Aurora Borealis, the, 19G, 1!»7. Austro-Hungariau Expedition of 1.^72-74, the, ;J78-38.S. Back, Sir George, accompanies Franklin in his expeditions on the mainland, '6'M ct xcq. ; sub- sequent ixpedition of, 358. Back's lliver, survey of, by Sir George Back, 358. Baflin, William, on a whalin;,' ex- pedition in ir)]S, 3t(i; ; o\\ the cost of discovery, 3(37. Barontz, William, his voyages, 81 ct seq. ; his death, '.)2, Bear, an adventure with a, 85. Bear, the polar, 31, 32. Bear Island. See Cherry Island. Boechey Island, truces of the Franklin expedition discovered on, 222-227. Belcher, Sir Edward, his expedition in search of Frankliu, 228 et seq. Bellot, Lieutenant, 227. Bcnnet, Stephen, his expeditions in 1G03, lOOl, 1GU5, and IGUO, 3G3 ct .-■■t''/. Berggren, Dr., his exploration of part of Greenland, 01. Birds, the, of the polar regions, 35 ct seq. Black stones found 1 "V Frobisher, G',». Bounty Bay receives its name, I'JO. Bristol exp'^dition, a, 110 ct seq. Brown, Di. Robert, quoted as to Greenland, 2 ; on icebergs, 15 ; attempts to reach the interior of Greenland, Gl. Buchan, Captain, his expedition in 1H18, 308. Burough, Stephen, his voyage in 155G, 110-112. Button, Sir Thomas, his expedi- tion in l»il2, l;J8-140. Bylot and Ballin's expedition of 1G15, 112 ; their .second expedi ti'-m. llf. Cabot, John, discovers Newfound- laud, IG. Cabot, Sebastian, his return to England, 103 ; suggests a voyage in search of a North-east Passage, 103; his instriu'tions, 104 lOG. Canada, early hi '.ovy of, 157, 158. Curl;;eii, Captain, navigates tho i I :r M] TrT-WORLD ADVrNTU'RT:^. Son of Knrn, r.T.I, HTO ; joins tho Anst— Hnngnrian expedition, 378. Cliancdor Eichard, hi.s voyaf,'o to the North-Cftst, 101, 108-110; hi?! second voyage, 110 rt srq. C'lmrt of the arctic regions, 10. Clierio, Frauci-^, his exiiedition in Kio;}, .-if;;?. f'herry Island, 87 ; receives its name, HOI ; taken possef^sion of in the name of ^In^covy Com- pany. i)(;5. ( hi'onohigical Account of arctic expeditions, a, lll-li")-!. Clerke, Captain, in arctic seas. 17.",. Coal, preserved, ■1'22. Cohl in the arctic regions, ls-20. Collapsihlc hoats, 110. ColHnson, Captain Piichard, iu search of Franldin, 'J7.'. 'i7(), 205, 200. Cohirnbus, Christopher, in north- ern seas, 08, 00. Confidence, Fort, Sir John 'Diehard- son at. 210. Cook, Captain, in arctic seas, 17;], 171. Coppermine River, at the, r,20, .^27. Cortereals, Voyages of the, 00-101. Crow's nest, the, 420. Palager, Lars, attempts to reacli tlie interior of Greenland, ."8, TiO. Panish expeditious to explore Greenland, 50 et seq. Pavis,. John, his first arctic voyage, 121 ; his second voyage, 12t ; liis third voyage, 127. r^awheney. Oliver, his account of the F.nglMi rxpfdiron of l.":'.i'.. 11-^. Deaso and Simpron, survey ol the North American coast by, H;'r>, nr,s. Desolation, tlie land of, 122. Disco Island described, 4 ; legend regarding, 4. Discovrnj, the, purchased for arctic service, 405 ; crew c>f. 110; description of, 412 et seq. Disraeli, !\rr., his letter to Sir Henry Ihiwlinson regarding an arctic expedition, 300. Dog, the Esquimaux, 84. Dominus Vohhcinii, the, 1)01. Dutch exploration in the arctic seas, 81-0.",. Egedo, Lieutenant, explores the east coast of Greenland, 50-58. English expedition of 1875. the. :!8!) c( scq, E)itrrprisc. and Iiivc'^tifintor, ex- pedition of the, 275 et seq. Enterprise, Fort, erection of, .^32. F rebus, the, on Sir John Frank- lin's expedition of 1845, 212. Eric the Kedhead, discovery of Greenland by, 14.3. Esquimaux, the, 21-25 ; Sir Ed- ward Tarry on, 202, 203. Expedition, English, of 1875, ;580 et i^eq. Flawes and Wood's voyage in 1070, 114 110. Fo.r Expedition, the. See M'Clin- tock, Sir Leopold. Fox, Luke, his expedition of IG.^O, 148-152. Fox, the arctic, 34. Francis Joseph's Land, discovery of, 384 ct nrq, Franklin. Lady, death of. 300. TXDKX. 157 arctic rauk- ry of E.l- ',0 ill Clin- Frnnkliu, Sir John, noconii">t\iiios Captain Buchau in 1818, 308; bis expedition on tho mainland, 329-3o7 ; starts on Lis expedition of 18 15, 211 ; the last sit,'ht of tho ships of, 21;"5 ; voyages in search of, 21C,-MH). Franklin's expedition, the de- parture of, 212 ; lii-st traces dis- covered of, 221 ; Dr. Ilae's in- formation regardinf,', 233 rt sfrj.; Al'Clintock's discoveries reprard- ing, 2.")i rt srq. French, Empress of the, visits the Ah'rt and Dif-covenj, 12'.». Frobisher, Joseph, his exploration of the mainland, 328. Frobisher, Martin, tho arctic voyages of, 00 hs. Frobisher's Straits, naming of, 08. Frost-bites, 21. Fitry and llechi. Sec Parry, Sir Edward, voyages of. (.Geographical Society, memoraa- dum of the, 390 el seq. Gcrmania and llanxa. expedition of the, 02-05. Cribbons, Captain, his exjicdition, 111. Gibbons hi, hole, 111. (iilbert. Sir Humphrey ( Albert's exjicdition in the reign of Eliza- beth, 47 Ct Hi'q. (iillam. Captain, his expedition of 1008, 15U. (lold, seeking for, in the arctic regions, 00-88. Chcenland, description of, 2 ; its government, 3 ; its imports and exports, 4 ; its iilants, 37 ; co- lonisation of, 43, 41 ; fati) of the colonists of, 45, 40 ; the ex- ploration of, 50-05. Hall, Captain, his arctic voyago in 1871, 310; his death, 310. Hall, James, in tho arctic sens, 110; murder of, 140. Hansa and Germania, expedition of the, 02-05. Hares in the arctic regions, 34. Hayes, Dr., his exploration of part of (Ireenland, 00; his expedi- tion in I80o, 311-310. Ilearne, Mr., his exjiedition I'f 1700-70, 325. Ilccla and Fury. See Parry, Sir Edward, voyages of, Hegemann, Captain. .S^^"^ Ifatisa. Highlanders, arctic, 180. Hobson, Lieutenant, his discover- ies in connection with the fate of tlio FrankUn expedition, 25'J ct ■■^t'q. Hood, Mr., accompanies Sir John Franklin in IBllt, 330 ; is mur- dered, 340. Hudson, Henry, his voyage in 1G()7, 302, 303 ; various expeditions of, •J3, 113, 133 ; mutiny of the crew of, 134. Hudson's Bay Company, origin of the, 159. Hunt, Mr. Ward, his speech in connection with the arctic ex- pedition of 1875, 401-400. IceHaveu,Barentzwinteq. ; his voyage of 1829- 33, 318-324 ; on the Franklin expedition, 210. Rupert, Prince, his patronage of arctic schemes, 159, 1 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) «p< 1.0 I.I 1.25 IM ilM m ||22 -- 11= 11.8 U III 1.6 V} eq. Scun'y, 21. Sea-horse. F!cc Walrus. Sea-unicorn, the, 28. Seal oil, .31. Seal, the, 29, 30 ; mode of captur- ing, 30, 31. Shark, the Groculand, 27, 28, Shivering trick, the, 281. Siberia, New. See Liakov Islands. Simpson and Dease, survey of the North American coast by, 358,3r>!>. Sledge- travelling, 38-10. Sledges for the North Pole e:q)edi- tion of 1875, 417-120. Smith and Moor's expedition of 17-1('., 108-172. Smith's Sound, 8 ; the history of, 3'»9. Smith's Sound route to the Pole, the, 390 ct teq. Snow, red, 180, 181. Snow huts, how to build, 228. Siinthern nations, arctic explora- tion by, 91-102. Spitzl)ergon, described, o ; vegeta- tion on, 5, 87; discovery of, 0; attempts to form settlementii on, 0. Stevenson, Captain Henry Fred- crick, biographical notice of, 107, 408. Suffering, a tale of, G et soq. Swedish expedition, a, in 1858, 373; in 1801, 371; in J 804, 371; in 1875, 377. Tackle, lowering, on board the Alert and Dhcovcry, 410. Tfflrthojf, the. .SV^ Austro-IIun- parian expedition. Terror, the, on Sir John Frank- lin's expedition of is 15, 212. Thome, llobert, his advice to Henry YIU., 301. Trees, remains of, in Banks's Is- land, 37. Trv.ga Camitus. See Knot, the. Trinitie and Minion, the voyage of the, in 1530, 110-121. Valorous, the, and the English ex- pedition of 1S75, 435 et seq. Wales, Prince of, visits the Alnt and Discoveri/, 129. Walrus, the, 28, 29 ; mode of cap- turing, 29. Weymouth, George, his voyage in 1002, 130, 131. Whales and whaling, 23, 25, 27. Wiggins, Mr., his expedition of 1874, 370, 377. Willoughby, Sir Hugh, his unfor- tunate expedition, 101-108. Women's Island, 1 15. Wood and Flawes' voyage in 1070, 114 11(1. Wrangell's Laud, 375. Wymper, Mr. Edward, attempts to l)cuetrate the interior of Green- land, 01. Year, various features of the arctic, 11 et neq. Young, Captain .\llan, his expedi- tion of 1875 in the Paiulnrii, 290 .300. Young, Lieutenant Walter, his ex- j^edition iu 1770, 177, 178. Zeno, Nicolo and Antonio, thoir adventures, 01 et ^rq. I APJM<:XI)IX. lU ex- tlu'ir » Tj//': "ALEirr" axd^' 1)[scovkuy' /x tiik ARCTIC UI'UIIONS. NouiinvAHi) 1)01X1) — In tiik Ick— At Payi:u IlAiinorn — In- cessant .Stkk.c.lks — Tiik '• Discovkiiv " at Ukst — Tin: *' Alkrt" Alonk — In Wintku (i(Airn.i;s — Atti'mn Slkdue J'AiniKS — LooKiNci Noinn — Tiik Sin DisArrKAits — Wintkk AVOHK AND WiNTKIl TkAV — SlIOoTINU — AlKTlC OWLS — Sl'IMN.; TlMK — TUAVELLlN(i IN AkcTIC WiLDS— AtTACKKI) iiv DisKASK — Mistaken Idkas— AKesolution — 8uithnvai!I)S — Home. Wi: have seen in Chapter XXVII. liow — stronjilhonod with every arran^reinent that eii^rineerin;,' skill couhl apply, and tiirnishod with every incehaiiisiii and .-tore that ati ex- perience of thirty years could suggest — the Arctic ships Alert i\m\ Discorcn/ left En-rlaiid on the 211th of May, 1H7.'>, connnissioned to attain the luLdiest po.-sildc northern lati- tude. The ships returned on the 2'.)tli of Octoher, 1, ami the story of their adventures, discoveries, and disappoint- ments is as follows : — Except a brisk fair wind after leaving Bantry Bay, the voyage out was made through a succession of strong gales and heavy seas. They anchored early in July in tln' har- bour of Disco, when the r(^/o/-(>">'. which had acc(»nij)!inied them as tender, transferred her load of coal, sheep, and other stores, to their already crowdt'd decks. The two ships left Upernavik — the most northerly settle- ment in the world — on their voyagi; to the ice, on the 22nd of duly, 1H7."). After some unimportiiiit iidventures, caused by fog, they reachefl the ice on the 21th. Tin; passage through the '• middle pa<'k "' oeeiipied only thirty-four hoiu's, much to the astonislnuent of tlu' ice ipiarlermasters, who were accustonu'(l to nuich more t«>dions navigation in these parts. 462 iCK-WOniJ) AI)\ KNTLIMIS. Oil tlio inoniiiiii ot" .luiic 2.Stli. .Mnclior \Vii> ca.-t iiciir Port Foulko, with Sinilli Sound iicrtVctly clear of ico in trout ot" tlicin. N'isits wore then niadi! to Littleton l.-land and to Lit'eltoat Cove, the sc'ene of the >vreek of the /'nfun's. A cairn liuving been cre(!te(l at Littleton I>land, and a survey made from the hi;rh land, the (wo ^hips sailed across the strait, hut the weather coming on thick, the ships lost sight of one another for a short time;. In the early morning of duly 'SOth the iJiscoven/ WHS seen besi't with ice near tln> land. The A/crt then bored her way through tlu; ,)ack, and the two ships were secured in a harbour, named after Lieutenant Payer, about two miles to the south of Cape Sabine (about 79" N. lat.) A dejjot of provisions was left and a cairn built in the neighljoiu'hood. The ships were detained at Payer Harbour for three days, watching for an opening in the ice, getting under way when- ever there aj)peared the slightest chaiu'e of j>roeee(ling on- wards, l>ut on each occasion being unabh; to ])ass Cape vSabine, were forced to return. 'J'heir resting-i)lace proved to be an excellent station, well protected against the en- trance of heavy tloes, possessing a lofty look-out. aiul deep navigable chaniuds to the north and south, through which to proceed to sea innuediately the ice oj)ened with a favoiu'ablc westerly wind. Though advantageously situated near a pro- ininent cai)e, where the tidal currents ran with increased velocity, it was. however, subject to scpially winds ; but in icy seas during the sunuuer. when awaiting the opening of the i<'e, these are I'ather an advantage than otherwisi", striving as (hey do with the sea currents, which are (he r\nv( V orkers in removing the impediments to a vi'ssel's advance. At last, a start was nuulc on the Oth of August, but before reaching the shore of (Iriniud Land the ships were caught In the pack. After this datt^ the progress to the northwards was an incessant strugf>le \vi(h the ice. and ulthouj^h no single opportunity was lost, advance was oidy ' alert' and • DISCOVKltV ' IN THE AUCTIC KEGIONS. -103 lit III* possible for sliort distiinoos at u time, wl.'iu'vrr (lio wind or t'urrctit foniiod laiu's (»t" water Ix'twccii tin- ice ai\(l the land. So close was the iee tJiat on every occasion the water channel by which the shii)s advance(l mmt soon closed behind them, rendering it as dillicult to return as to proceed on their way. On the 2">th of Anirust. after many hair-breadth escapes, a well-sheltered hai'bour was reached on the west side of JlaH's Basin, north of Lady P'raid^lin's Sound, iti hit. HV 44' N. Here the Di^coviii was secured foi' the winter n few miles north of Polaris Bay. which was in sight on the oj)posite side of the Channel. The ships parted company for the winter on the 28tli August, and by the 2'.lth the Al< it reached Lincoln liay, after a inck-and-neck race with a tloe. A de])ot of rations was deposited on the north shore on the .'KUh, and at high water of the sume day the Airt proci'eded, but being fori'cd away from the land by some heavy ice. was beset in the afternoon by old tloes, some of which were JSOft. thick, in this ice the yl A.'//" drifted south, until a favourable opjtortunity occurring, un excess of steam pressure i'uabled her to push through the ice and I'egain the shelter of Lincohi Bay — most provicnt it to the nci'lh- cast out of Kobeson Channel, leaving a clear pa»age for the Ali'il to proceed at H^ knot> an hour beyond Cape, rnion without any trouble. During this .severe >t niggle, as well as on previous occasions, it was noticeable, says the conunander of tlu> expedition, how liitih" the efroi-t> of the crew were to cb'ar away the ice on the l>ow or (piarter which impeded the movement of the >hip, <-onipare WOULD ADVENTUKKS. risks which arc advisuhhi to ho run ; no sliip lias yet boon l)nilt which couM withstand a real nip between two pieces of lieavy ice. By noon of Au;^nst 31 tlie Alerf liad reached 82" 21' N. Lat., a hi,irhor latitnde than had ever before been attained ; ]»»it here the wind was lost, and the Alrit was obliirod to ])roceed canlionsly nnder steam, as the ice conti'actcMl the cliannel nntil it reached the sliore. Captain — afterwards Sir (jieor":e, for he was knijjhted on his retnrn home — iNares having secnred the vessel inside a |)rotectin,ir barrier of gi'onnded bergs, landed, and observed the coast-line from a station abont ))()Ofl. above sea-hivel. Monnts Mjiri(> and Jnlia, and Cape .Joseph IleiM'y were (dearly seen, bnt more than thirty degrees ont in bearing fi'om the position assigned them on Hall's chart. Hy this time tlu' channel by which the ship had advanced was blocked by icu', and th ■ Alert was endjayed by the lloe. A stiff sonlh-west gale carried the pack two miles off shoi'e, bnt it >till kej)! (dose in against J'oint Sheridan, and prev(Mited fnrther advance to the north. On September 2, the wind suddenly shifted to the north- west, driving the pack towards the land, and threatening the ship with instant destruction. \\\\\ th ; stranded (loebergs acted like a reef, and the enormous masses of ice forced on to them by the advancing jjack served only to still fnrther con- solidate the wall presented by the bergs, behind which the Alrrf was in comparative safety, each lloe that was driven on shore helping to strengthen the small •• dock " in which the vessel was imi)ris(>ned. On the l;]th and 1 Ith Seplendjer. a heavy gale sprung np and drove the ice ont to M-a. leaving a passage by which the ship conld pass; bnt, fortnnately. as it happened, before the screw could be shipi)ed. a blinding storm of mist came on, which, obscin'ing everything. |irevented the ship from being moved. On the Kith, the wind again shifted, drove the ice on shore, and eftectnally closed in the Alert for the winter. Here the explorers remained for eleven months. i * alert' and ' DISCOVERY ' I\ THE ARCTIC REGIONS. 405 up Ihe the on., ice ter. i The followiii!:? (lescrii)ti(»ii of tlic A/i(le the barrier reef of heavy frroijiided iee low shores of sharp shingle rose here and there with little roeky doini's. which became more eonneett'd tis one advanced inland, and linally rose into a line of hiw mountains three and four hundri'd fe(>t hiirh. Snow — much of it. evidently, hist season's — lav in deep baidis under the steeper j)arts of tin' liills. A casual observer woidd look iil)on it as literally ami ab.-olutcly barren. Even a lichen speck on it? brown >laty rock was not to be found at once. IJut when one hxtked closcdy litth; (lumps of saxifrairc, the size of one's hand, could be discovered, and in one |)lace a tiny dwarfed willow, with a stem no biL'j;er th.ui a crow- C|uill. creeping flat amongst the stones. Some sheltered spots gave protection to euriously-^mall specimens of the little yellow Arctic poj)py. now witlu'red into a brilliant green. •• lieyond tlu; hills, an undulating — apparently intermin- able — exi)ans(> of high. snow-covere(l land sju-ead southward and westward, and rose in (»ne place, about eight miles oft", into two dome-shaped mountains. •■Such were the winter (piarters of \\w A/at in north latitude 82*^ 27' — not oidy noi-th of the winter (piarters of any other ship. as. indeed, the Disconr/fs cpiarters were al.-o, but eleven mih'S further nortii than the most northerly point reached by the gallant crew of the /'(i/aris. '' Looking westwai'd, a line (»f snow-covere(l mountain range, with high coidc peak?, shut in the hori/on. and ended north-westwai'd in a liui! headland, w'lich had been seen by the J'ahtn's. and named Cape dosepli Ifi'niy. after a distinguished member of the Smithsonian Institution. This point was the most northern true land seen by that expedition. It >ub>e(piently formed the advanced basis from which the A/t'rt'.< sledge parties to the northward and to the westward started." Sledge parties were now sent out, but. owing to the snow and the sloppy state of tiie surface underneath, the work was I' 4GG IC'K-WORLI) ADVKNTURES. I I carried on iiiidcr circunistnnfcs of f>:ro.'it (lilliciilty. and many frost-l)itlcii fVct were tlic roull nf tlic iiioxpcriciice of tlio luoii. Lieutenant Aldrirh cxplond Ijind to the north- west, and. t'loni the smnniil of a mountain. 2(Ml(l foet hiirli. observed hmd >tandint northwards; the party then n-lurnrd to the >hip. earryinj: on t\u) sled^re ouc man. who was .-iiuj»ly exhausted by tho novelty of the intensely hard work. The main party of autumn sledj^es, under the command of Captaiu Markhani, with Lieutenants Parr ami INI.iy, with twenty-live uwu, left the ship on 2;')th September, eommisi- sioned to (U'po.-it a d(i>ot of )»ro\isions for next year's spring .■«led.i;es at Cape .bocpji lleiny. They encountered as bad, if not worse, wcalhfi- than in the hi>t journey, and deep, soft >iiow !jri'atly iuip('(lrd ijicir |)roL;re>s. Snow and mist intiM'fei'ed with their obsirvatious alonu; the coa.-t. The temperature fell ixcry day. and the woi'ds •• ludow zcr:)" beji^an to be omitted, as a matter of course. The depot, however, was duly laid oiU. and ou 1 Ith Octtdn'r the whole j)ai'ty returiu'd with many small fi-o>l -bites amon.L^'^t them, which subserpu'utly iuNoIved the loss of two or three toes. Most vifforts were mailc to counnunicate with the winter (piarters of IL!\LS. Discmrf//. Lieutenant IJawson's sledjjje lir>t started southwards early in September, and nuide a second and more pi-rsistent effort in the first two weeks of Octol)er. Deep, soft snow lay in ;ri'eat drifts under the clitVs that had bt'cn })iissed (ui the voya;^e up. It was neces- sary to diy- a road, T* or (! feet deep in many places. Tho nu'U said< to their waists at every step. The sled^^c was often completely buried, and only showed the tt)p of its hmd above the dry snowy dust. A return became unavoidable, ALI;KT' ANI> • DISCOVKUV' IN Tin: ARCTIC llEGIONS. 4G7 110 )» 110 lo »f lio lli.>li('il in ten or olovi-ii days. Tliis IjroiiLdit tlif aiitiinjii >l»'(lirinix to a close, and activo preparations were at once made to meet the fast apj)roaehin;x wiiitt-r. The >nn disa|>peart'd on iL'lh ()('tol)fr. leo antl sky nn->et tints, the mercury and si)irlt ill the thermometer fell lower and lower, and while snow houses for observatories were built and snow was banked a^rainst tho shij) to help to i-etain her heat, twiliudit dai'keiied into iiiLihl. and the true dai'kness, silence, and solitude of the I'olai* winter set iu. The loni:; winter does not appear to ha\e been in reality so terrible as it is iniaLriued. The cpeak of. 1 1 was the nio-t intense e\ei- rt';;i.>tered, and when it was lol bidow free/ini;-point lift' outside tho shi|) c«)uld not e.\i>t. especially if ihe >li,^hte>t wind was id(nvin,if. Durin-j; tho-e months the deck was bankeil up with sixteen inches of >now. in order to ki-ep in the heat, and around the sides of the >hip it was piled to the depth of some fret every fortni'^dit. It is (pie>tii)nable whether tho l)eceml»er darkness was as irenuliiely dark as an a\(M"a;fo Knt;li>Ii midniifjit. Clear starli'jht o\crhrad. and ;,deamin^ snow under fooi and ai'ound. did miieli to niitiirate it. At midni'.;ht on the I'l'ml of Deeemlter i^ood jdain Uoiuaii letters an inch lon^' could be read withoiu ditllenlty if held cdose. and the eniply tins and ca-^frs markini; the exorciso mile could ;;enerally be seen se\-eral yards utf. There was not. however, the l:iinte»t ^leam to indicate the [)o>itioii of the \ani>hed >nn. Tho W(dcome li,i:ht (»f the moon came to cheei- the ice- bound v()ya;rers, with "•ouic evidence that their breath still existed, and its liirht relleeted l»y mile after mile of ;rlitter- iu'j ico and snow was of da/,zlinii- brilliancv. Landwards from tho A/i'if were lai'ire UKMintains, which, from tho base upwards, hjoked like cones of snow ; and outwards towards tho ocean ico-ridges rose iu su(di lonif and interminablo 408 TrE-WOnL"D ABVENTUnF.S. lines that tlio ship seomcd for ovpr fixod in those dreadful 8oliln(h'<. The men on bo.ird W(M'(» never allowed to lose heart. Such a failin? they never evinced : indeed, men eould not liave borne up with hr.iver hc^arts atrainst danirers than they. The admirable preparations which had been made on board enabled them to pass their time as airi'eeably ley could All as mortals could under sucli circmnstance Tl en.sauT in I)Outs at the t.iaidy art (^f s(df-defence. possible ijiines that could lie phiyed in su(di (dose (piarter; W( re availabh' for then Tl lev also had a ])rintin,2[-pre> in \vhi(di to print thrii- journals, and th<'atricals came off once a week. Refon; the cold of the weather became so dangerous that the othcers and men were kept coiilined to the ship, many ('xjieclitions were* made on foot over the ice in her nei^^hboiu'hood. A larire tloe, 7'» feet liiirh, settled down a short distance from lier bow. and the men set themselves, while the weather would allow them, the task of cutting' a stairway to its summit, wdiich they rapidly succeeded in doiuir. The top of Look-out Floe, as they called It. was generally the termination of those excursions, and on one occasion they carried on a ))erformance on it which made the piles of bergs flare as they never had done before. It was when, on the ath of November, the crew of the Alert ^ with all due ceremony, burnt (Juy Fawkes's elhgy on its top. At the same moment, and without any preconcert, the crew of the Discovcn/ were carrying out the same old jiractice on a smaller iloe, in a degree of latitude to the south. AVluMiever the weather ])ermitted of existence outside the ship, there was some skating to lie had on the smooth tloes, but the great excitement was shooting, and the principal quarry was the musk-ox, an animal never before known to iidiabit such latitudes. During the winter months about twenty-eight of those animals were shot, and in the spring about ten more, and their skins were afterwards brought ' ALKKt' and ' discovery' in TMK arctic RK(JI0NS. 4G9 (1 in was Olio made It •I levt, top. crew oe oil e tlie tloes, c'ijial ni to bout ight liomo. The hoofs are small and nicely formed, and the hair which clothes the animal is lon«; and of a dark hrown colour. The ermine — an animal never before known to liv** so far north — was also killed. The rji-cciiland .-hore, otY wiiich the ships lay. was infe.-ted with (twls. whose nests the sailors were very ipiick in discoverin;.'. NN'hen the sprini;rnment of owlets ; but when the youiiLT ones were all but fully Lri'<»*vn. wolves descended on them in nearly every instance and ate them. This was very stran^fi'. as there were not more than a C()uple of wolves seen in the neij^hbourhood of the ship. The robbiiiir of the nests that weri- left untouched was in itself a w(»rk of uri'at daiifrer. because the old owls descended on the men and darted at their evi's, and it reciuired no ordinary wariness to keep them off. The owls were treated with the uii on the 2'.»th of Fel)ruary, after its long absence of flvi> months, prepai'atioiis were made for the sledging camj)aign. On Mandi ITtli Lieiits. llawson and Egerton. accompanied by Christian I'etersi'ii, started to communicate with the Di.'icoreri/. but the attemj)t proved fatal to jjoor Petersen, who was taken with craiiij) in the stonuudi. and. notwithstanding the heroic exertions of his companions, was comixdled to return to the ship. lie died from exhaustion tlirei? months afterwards. Lieutenants Kawsou and Kgerton having recovered, again set out on the 2Uth of March, with tlu; teini)erature at — '>U)\ and after six days of scrambling over rough ice succeeded in reaching the hiscocevii. On the ^rd \\h\ iciicli it. Tlioy were absent seventy-two days fivjin the ship ; and on the 12tli of May sueeeecU'd in j)luntinL'' the llritish llai; in hititnde 8.*V^ 20' 2C>" N. From this jjosition there was no appearanee <»f hind ti» the noi-thward. hut. cm-ioMsIy enou;]jh,the (U'j)th of tlie water was found to ])e (Mily seventy- two fathoms. Altiioni^di the distance made jjood was only seventy-three miles from the >hip, 270 miles were travelled over to accomplish it. It is cpiite inipossilde for any hody of men ever to cxccd the j)raiseworthy jjerseveranee dis- l^layed hy this ;jfallant party in tlieir arduous struir.iiic over the rou;,''hest and mo>t moimtonous roat line leading towards it. In journi'ving to the northward, .-ays Cajjlain Mares, the route afti'r leaving the coast seldom lay over smooth ice; the somewhat levcd tl )es or llcdds, although stand- ing at a mean height of six feet above the neighbouring ice, were small, usually h'ss than a mile across. Thei. .surfaces were thickly studded over with rounded blue- toi)ped ice humps, of a mean heigjit above the general level of from ten to twenty feet, lying scanetimes in ranges, but more freipuMitly separated at a distance of from a hundred to two hundred yards apart, the depres- sions between being tillctl with snow deeply scored into ridges by the wind, the whole composition being well com- parable to a suddenly fro/.t'U oceanic sea. Separating these floes, as it were by a broadened-out hedge, lay a vast collec- tion of debris of the previous sunnner's brokcn-up pack-ice, 1- ' ALKRt' and • DrSCOVKIlv' IN' TIIK AUCTIC HKOION?. All II ares, • •uth iikI- I'iiii.'' lu-i. Iiic- nil ill of rcs- Mto cse L'C- ce. wliit.'h had been rc-frozeii diirinn: tlu^ winter into one chaotic niL''^'i'(l nmss of anf^nhir hhjcks of various hci.tihts up to 10 and ."»() feet, and every possiUh; >liap(!, leavin;^ littU', if any, choice of a roatl over, tlirou;;h. or round ahout them. A!nonf» these was a continuous series of stei'j)-sidi.'uow- (h'iftssh»|»in:r down from the hi;^hest ahiludi' of the pressed- uj) ice until h>st in the f^eneral h'vel at a distance of about 100 yards. The pri-vaiiiii^' wind duriii.u: thi' previous winter havin;^ been from the westward, and the sh-d^^i-s' course beiii;^ diu; north. thes«! •• sastruijfi." ins'eail of render- ing^ the road smocjther, as they fretiuently do in travUin-i^ alon;; a coast line, wiieii advanta^^; can be taken of their loiiijf smooth tops, had to be encouiUt'rcd nearly at ri^dit aii;,des. The wlM)le formed the roughest line of way imaginable, without the .-lightest prosjject of ever im- proving. The journey was consequentiy an incessant battle to over- come ever-recurring obstacles, each hard-won success stimu- lating them for the next struggle. A ])assage had always to be cut through the s(pieezed-up ice with pickaxes, an i!Xtra one being carried for the purpose, atitl an incline jiicked out of the perpendicular side of the high Hoes or a roadway built up, bi'fori' th(! sledges, generally one at a time, could be brought on. Instead of ailvaiieing with a stt'ady walk, the usual nuians of progression, more than half of each (hiy was expended l)y the whole party facing the >ledge and pulling it forward a few feet at a time. Vnder these circumstances, the distance attained, .-lujrt as it may be considered by some, was truly marvellous. The advamte only averaged a mile and a quarter daily— in fact, much the same rate as that attained by Sir Edward I'arry in his somewhat similar attempt in the summer (jf 1S27. During this memorable jijurney to penetrate towards the north over the heavy l*tanee of KlO niik's still to be tra\elled over before the North Pole is reached. In addition to the dispatch of the iioi-thern tra\elh'rs. the coast line to the westward of tlu; Ahrfs position was traced to a distance of 220 miles by a parly nndi-r the command of Lieutenant Aldrich ; the extrenu; position reached was in hit. S2^ 10' N., lonlacier-lilled valleys to the west- ward. Lieutenant Fulford and Dr. Coppinirer explored Petcrmann Fiord, iindinir it blocked up with a low j^lacier. With the exci'ption of Hayes Sound, the coast line of Smith Sound has now been explored from iu)rth to south. To give some idea of the amount of work entailed in sending out an arctic sledge party and advancing provisions for their sustenance, it may be nuMitioned that, in order to support the exteiuled travellers on the coast of (ireenland ami those examining Petenuann Fiord, Hobeson Channel was crossed eleven times from the Alei't'.'i position to a depot established north of Cape Brevoort, and Hall's Basin ' alert' and ' DISCOVKUY* IN TllK AUCTIC KKGIONS. 473 led ill lisioiis llcr to |il:iii(1 IIHK'I lo u liasin clovoii tlinos bctwooii Discovery Hay and Polaris Bay, making a lolal of twi'iily-two slcdn^o ])arti«'s crossing tlio Straits, iiicliidiiig the transj)orting of two boats. During tlif absence of the travellers, owing to tlieir inability to prociirr any fi\'sh game, as most former expedi- tions had done, an attack of scurvy !)rok(! out in each of the extended sledge parties when at their furthest distance from any help. 'IMie i-eturn journeys W(>re theretore a prolonged struggle honunvards of gradually weakening men, the avail- able force to i)ull the sledge constantly decreasing, and the weight to b(> dragged as steadily increasing, as one after another the invalids were stricken down and had to bo carried by their weakened comrades. lieutenant i'arr setting out for a lonely heroic walk of thirty-five miles, over soft snow and the heavy broken-up ice. guiding himself in the mist by the fresh track of a roamin >• wolf, l)rought intelligence to tlu> A/url of the prostration of the northern division. Relief was immediately sent out. oHicers and men alike dragging the sledges ; but, unfortunately, tlu; parties did not meet in time to save the life of the man who died, and who had been buried by tin; roadsid(> in the thi(;k i(!0 oiily a few hours previously. On arriving on board, out of the original seventeen men. live only — the two ollicers and three men, Radmore. .Ioliff> . and Masktdl — were able to work ; three others, Laurence, Ilarley, and Winston, cheer- fully but painfully struggled on with alpenstocks, and were just able to walk on board; the remaindi-r, being perfectly ludpless, were carried on sledges. 'JMie (.Ireenland and Western divisions not returning on the ring sledging opera- tions, 1 concluded," says Captain Nares, 'Mhat, owing to the absence of land trending to the northward, and the Polar pack not being navigable, no ship could be carried north ou either side of Smith's Sound beyond the position we had already attaiiu'd ; and also that from any maintainable posi- tion in Smith's Sound it was impossible to advance nearer the Pole by sledges. The oidy object, therefore, to be gained by the ex))edition remaining in the vicinity for another season, woidd be to extend the exph)ration of the shores of Grant Land to the south-westward, and Greeidand to the iu)rth-ea;jt or eastward, but as with the whole resources of the expedition 1 could not liopo to advance more than 50 miles ' ALEUT ' AND ' DISCOVKUY ' IX THK AI5( IfC KK(;iONS. 4*5 to (ho Polar (li on ■ Juul J)osl- r flic allied )tlici' cs of the * llic liloij licyond the jio.xitions already attaliiod on those coasts, and, iii(H'e()V('r.,altliouLrli the crew were rapidly recovering; from the disease which had attacked them, they would certainly lie nnlit tor employment on extend(Ml sledge parties next year, 1 decided that the expedition shonld return to Enprland as soon as the ice broke up and released the ship. If was with the very p'eatest regret I felt it my duty to give up the further examination of the northern coast of (ireeiiland." Although pools of water formed along the tidal crack in to ice early in June. l.S7<>, the thaw did not regularly set in before the last week of the month. On dulv l.^t water in the ravines (!onimenced to run; after that date the thaw was very raj)ld both on shore and on tlie i<'e. but no decided motion took plact; before the 2(Uli. On the ^.'Jrd, with a strong south-west wind, the pack was driven away from the tihore, but no navigable channel was made to seaward. On the ;)lst of duly, the ^lAvY succeeded in leaving her winter rpiarters. and. after many struggles with the ice, joined the iJiscnnri/ on the 12th of Augu>t. Lady Franklin Sound remained closed until the 2(lth, when, a chance occurring, both ships were pushed into the ice, and succeeded in crossing. After this date the same kind of battle and slow ])rogress took ])lacc daily between the ships jiiid the ici> as during the passage; north. cAcry inch gained lieing of importance as tlu' ice closed in the rear. It was not until the 'Jtli of Sej)iember, the very last of the season, that the mouth of J laves Sound was crossed and the expedition again rejoiced in •* open water.'' Most of the voyage homewards was performed under sail, but the wind was not by any means favoiiralile, and some disagreealdy rough weather was experii'iiced in HallinV IJay. The two vessids were parted by heavy weather on the I'Jth of Oetober. The Alert reached Valentia. all well, on Friday, the 27th Oetober, and on Sumlay, the 2'.)fli, both vessels reached C^ueenstown, the JJiscoceri/ arriving in the moniinit a spitt iiKU!Ccssiblo since the beginning of the world. man A SELECTION FROM WARD, LOCK & CO.'S CATALOGUE OF l^t^m nnit |pxnnt{:ui ^cii:ilv$. 0/ all Works of Reference f>nhlished of late years, not one has gained such general apprcbation as IIhhton's Illusirate') Encyclopedia. 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ALL ABOUT ETIQUETTE; or, The Manners of Polite Society : for Ladies, Gentlemen, and Families ; Courtship, Correspondence, Carving, ITfning, Dress, I'.all Room, ^L'lrn;^ge, Parties, Riding, Travelling, Visiting, &c. &c. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 2^. 6ci. \ cloth plain, 2f. THE COMPLETE ETIQUETTE FOR LADIES. A Giiicl to Visiting, F.Ktertaining, and Travelling ; with Hints on Courtship, Marriage and Dress ; In ilio Street, Sliopping, At Church, Vi-iting, Conversation Gbliga tions to Gentlemen, Presents, Dinners, 'I'ravcUing, OlTers and Refusals, Corre spondence, Courtship, Marriage, &c. Post 8vo, cloth, is. THE COMPLETE ETIQUETTE FOR GENTLEMEN. A Guide to the TaMe, the Toilette, and the liall Room ; with Hints on Court- ship, Music, and Manners, In the Street, Attendance on Ladies, Visiting, Dress, Dinners, Carving, Wints, the Hall Room, Buying and Selling, the Smoking and Billiard Rooms, &c. Post 8vo, cloth, is. THE COMPLETE ETIQUETTE FOR FAMILIES. 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Etiquette for Ship, Rail, Coach, or S.aduitii iis.ful Tt-xt- * * Books fof til- s'lhjects to whicn they refer ; they are /uU 0/ suggestive hints, ntui are undoubtedly su/>erior to any hitherto published. London: WARD, LOCK ^ CO,, Salislniry Square, E,C. Etiquette for ;, Entcrtainin;,', Kith Hints on f bound, cloth lite Society : nee, Carving, ling, Visiting, S. A Guide hip, Marriage, sation Oljlij^a- efusals, Corre- "LEMEN. ints on Court- isitin;j, Dress, ; Smoking and LIES. A ith Hints on of Di reus Engrav- nners. •nti-picce, iriMnre. or Saddle. is.ful 'J\- it- hints, iifui E.C, INDISPENSABLE HANDBOOK'S. SYLI/IA'S HOME HELP SERIES of Useful Handbooks for Ladies. Price \s. each ; cloth gilt, price if. td. 1. HOW TO DREGS WELL ON A SHILLING A-DA /. A (jiiideto IIoiH': Drcssin.ikin^ ami Millinery. C'lnl.iiiiiiij; full Instruclioivs in the Art of Dressing; Well ami Kconoiiiicially. With a larLje Shoot of Dia- grams for Cutting nm Dress lioJices in Three Sizes, and Fifty Diagrams of Lhildren's Clothing. " There are scores of practical hints in this work wl ich are not likely to be known to everyone, but the adoption of which would make a l.'ttle money go a long way." — X iiiconforinist. 2. ART NEEDLEWORK : A Guide to Embroidery in Crewels, Silks, Appliiiuc, &c. , with Instructions as to Stitches, and explanatory Diagrams. Containiii;; al-n a short History of the Art of Needlework. With a large and valuable Slicet (>f Designs in Crewel Work. "At once interesting and instructive, and it onglit to be very acceptable to those ladies who have a care for th-i excellence of the work they put their hands to." — Bath CJircmicle. 3. HOSTESS AND GUEST. A Guide to the Etif)OKS har'c been conceived and carried out in the belief that a set of Cheap and Handy Volumes in Biography, Geography, History (Sacred and Profane), Science, and Businfss, would be thoroughly welcome, because they would quickly answer many a question. In every case the type will be found clear and plain. I. 2. 3- 4- 5- Strongly bound in cloth, price One Shilling each; or cloth gilt, is. 6d. Beeton's British Gazetteer: A Topographical and Historical Guide to the United Kingdom. Beeton's British Biography : From the Earliest Times to the Accession of George III. Beeton's Modern Men and Women: A British Biography, from the Accession of George III. to the Present Time. Beeton's Bible Dictionary. A Cyclopa.xlia of the Geography, Hiogr.iphy, Narratives, and Truths of Scripture. Beeton's Classical Dictionary : A Cyclnpa.(lia of Greek and Roman Biography, Geogr;i[)hy, Mythology, and Aniiquities. 6. Beeton's Medical Dictionary. 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Gymnastics, Athletics, Training, Bo.xing, Wrestling, &c. IN-DOOR GA.MD.S. Billiards and Bagatelle: Their Theory and Practice. Whist, Loo, and Cribbage : Their Theory and Practice. Chess and Draughts : Tlieir Theory and Practice, Backgammon : Its Tlieory and Practice. 3- 4. 5. 6. 7- I. 2. 3- 4- 5. Bezique, and the New Card Games. London: WARD, LOCK ^ CO,, Salisbury Square, E.C. Apn 8«* .-**'' POPULAR GUIDE BOOK'S, WARD AND LOCK'S (late SHAW'S) TOURISTS' PICTORIAL GUIDE BOOKS. Price One Smr.LiNG each ; or cloth gilt, is. 6d. each. E,tc/i GitUe is most carefully prepared, and/nlly Illustraied^uith Ensravm^s, Coloured Plates and new Route Maps. Tliey will be found to contain all t'le information that the Tourist 7-cquires. Just Ready, New and Attractive Guides to Edinburgh : A Popular History and Ticturesque Guide to the Old ■AX\A New Towns, Lciih, Gr.iiiton, Newhaven, Portobello, Musselburgh, &c. With Map and many Illustrations. 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With numerous Maps, Plans, Coloured and other Illustrations. WARD AND LOCK'S READY GUIDES AND HANDBOOKS FOR TOURISTS. Wrni CotiNTv ^L\l•, tkick Sixpence each. 1. Ready Guide to Kent. 2. Ready Guide to Derbyshire. 3. Ready Guide to Sussex. 4. Ready Guide to Surrey. 135" Each of these Ready Guides contains cartfully prepared letterpress description of routes, tiKvns, 7'illa^es, scenery, excursions, and historical and antiquarian associations ; theyaho afford al^und ant irfortnation ri sped inc; hotel acconiniodation, railway access, distances, fares, and other matters of pytnsrs, contain all the iile to the Old [usselburgh, &c. Popular Ilis- and many llliis- hitby, Brid- D. stern High- k. non,KiIkee, as and some )'nce.s. OW. ii^hbourhood imond,Cen- and Windsor rations. '•i* URISTS. Sussex. Surrey. >''i lettcrfireas listotical and sf>,-cti>tir hntfl ■ <"/ /"acticiil ltd Electoral e nuntlur of s of arrange- Viilled, 'f £, C.