IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /^^ v .^J, -\ Arctic Circle M j „„..„}:,„ I U B^r — im ■ M i > _... tag "^a aa j nr g n sj — SKETCH WAP OF THE ARCTIC REG IONS. AT T HE TIME O F FRANKLINS LAST I l»... tH i no 105 rfe L (.'flj/vrnVi y? 50 MmrJiimTi^' ;^7^ 3IELTILLE ' ^ 1 ? ""■^1 mm ^ ^VirtoriaArthift? \& + 1) HfT)/ '^£= ^-Ui^cP^ Crf )^^" t P A H R Y isrlortTir strr^'xjf^r^ iNO«''* SKETCH MAP X!? 1 THE DRIFT OF THE FOX: DOWN Baffin's bay. 7H Oii/n'rrnt TrnrU.v Drit'tiiitf Tmi'h $0^" S O U K D I'nlkn- A v^- - , l5l:«Alf ■ , Vi JL*'l' \: I V7 W»3t. Ijtho H:itt.'n 'VarHflJ •7B B A FV-T 1 N ^* ^.S^ NJ .^- -^ lfl6S\ \ \ AY \v PRISCE - IVfllXAaTCXS XASI ^0^. ^^^rv^ blSi^ "^a^r^*^^ ^•"■* i \ =^r" I lift -^ iVin^'»fc^_^^ )*"•' ; BiryiXrckJtr. "fssa 5 Vi- ^Mmircpll, % .---.,l|:|^^":^i;0 r?*- i^ 7.J- -'S^ Hon"'' 5 ;rT"-r M •^t dapfttmnh Bh hg; tUV' CKir PREFACE. original project ; the more so as he had then tested and recognised the value of the services of Lieutenant (now Commander) Hobson, his able second in command ; of Captain Allen Young, his generous volunteer associate ' and of Dr. Walker, his accomplished Surgeon. Despite, however, of these reassuring data, many an advocate of this search was anxiously alive to the chance of the failure of the venture of one unassisted yacht, which after sundry mishaps was again starting to cross Baffin Bay, with the foreknowledge that, when she reached the opposite coast, the real difficulties of the enterprise were to commence. Any such misgivings were happily illusory • and the reader who follows M'Clintock across the "middle ice "of Baffin Bay to Ponds Inlet, thence to Beechey Island, down a portion of Peel Strait, and then through the hitherto un- navigated waters of Bellot Strait in one summer season, may reasonably expect the success which followed. Whilst the revelation obtained from the long -sought records, which were discovered by Lieutenant Hobson, is most satisfactory to those who speculated on the proba- bility of Franklin having, in the first instance, tried to force his way northwards through Wellington Channel (as we now learn he did), those who held a different hypothesis, namely, that he followed his instructions, which directed him to the S.-W., may be amply satisfied that in the follow- ing season the ships did pursue this southerly course till they were finally beset in N. lat. 70° 05'.^ i ' Captain Allen Young, of the merchant marine, not only threw his services into this cause, and subscribed munificently in furtherance of the expedition, but, abandoning lucrative appointments in command, generously accepted a subordinate post. "^ For a rhume of all the plans of research and the speculations of seamen and geographers, see the interesting and most useful volume PREFACE. ?«> At the same time, the pubhc should fully understand the motive which prompted the supporters of Lady Franklin in advocating this last search. Putting aside the hope which some of us entertained, that a few of the younger men of the missing expedition might still be found to be living among the Esquimaux, we had every reason to expect that, if the ships were discovered, the scientific documents of the voyage, including valuable magnetic observations, would be recovered. In the absence of such good fortune, we may, however, well be gladdened by the discovery of that one precious document which gives us a true outline of the voyage of the * Erebus ' and ' Terror.' That the reader may comprehend the vast extent of sea traversed by Franklin in the two summers before his ships were beset, a small map (No. 2) is introduced, represent- ing all the lands and seas of the arctic regions to the west of Lancaster Sound which were known and laid down when he sailed. The dotted lines and arrows, which extend from the then known seas and lands into the unk lown waters or blank spaces on this old map indicate Franklin's route, the novelty, range, rapidity, and boldness of which, as thus delineated, may well surprise the geographer, and even the most enterprising arctic sailor.^ For, those who have of Mr. John Brown, entitled ' The North-West Passage and Search after Sir John FrankHn,' 1858. In an Appendix to this work we learn that from the earliest polar researches by John Cal)ot, at the end of the iSth century, to the voyage of M'Clintock, there have been about 130 expeditions, illustrated by 250 books and printed documents, of which 150 have been issued in England. Amidst the various recent publica- tions, it is but rendering justice to Dr. King, the former companion of Sir George Back, to state that he suggested and always maintained the necessity of a search for the missing navigators at or near the mouth of the Back River. ' The letter A in Baffin Bay (Map No. 2) indicates the spot where Il xu PREFACE. not closely attended to the results of other arctic voyages may be informed that rarely has an expedition in the first year accomplished more by its ships than the establishing of good winter quarters, from whence the real researches began by sledge-work in the ensuing spring. Franklin, however, not only reached Beechey Island, tut ascended Wellington Channel, then an unknown sea, to 77° N. lat., a more northern latitude in this meridian than that attained long afterwards in ships by Sir Edward Belcher, and much to the north of the points reached by Peniiy and De Haven. Next, though most scantily provided with steam-power, Franklin navigated round Cornwallis Land, which he thus proved to be an island. This last discovery of a navigable channel throughout, between Cornwallis and Bathurst Islands, though made in the very summer he left England, has remained even to this day unknown to other navi- gators ! Franklin then, in obedience to his orders, steered to the south-west. Passing, as M'Clintock believes, down Peel Strait in 1846, and reaching as far as lat. 70° 05' N., and long. 98° 23' W., where the ships were beset, it is clear that he, who, with others, had previously ascertained the existence of a channel along the north coast of America, with which the sea wherein he was interred had a direct communication, was the first real discoverer of the North- West Passage. This great fact must therefore be inscribed upon the monument of Franklin. The adventurous M'Clure, who has been worthily honoured for working out another North-Western passage, which we Franklin was last seen. In Map No. 2, B is the winter rendezvous at Beechey Island; C, the greatest northing of the expedition, viz., 77° N. lat. ; Z, the final beset of the 'Erebus' a 'd 'Terror;' the extreme north and south points of their voyage being n presented by two small ships. cl PREFACE. Xlll c voyages 1 the first :ablishing esearches Franklin, ascended N. lat, a attained much to ; Haven, n-power, he thus avigable Bathurst England, er navi- ered to , down 05' N., is clear led the nerica, direct North- cribed loured ch we v'ous at 77° N. e north hips. now know to have been of subsequent date,^ as well as Collinson, who, taking the * Enterprise ' along the north coast of America, and afterwards bringing her home, reached with sledges the western edge of the area recently laid open b;- M'Cllntock, will, I have no doubt, unite with their arctic associates, Richardson, Sherard Osborn, and M'Clintock, in affirming that " Franklin and his followers secured the honour for which they died — that of being the first dis- coverers of the North-West Passage."^ Again, when we turn from the discoveries of Franklin to those of M'Clintock, as mapped in red colours on the general map, on which is represented the amount of outline laid down by all other arctic explorers from the days when these modern researches originated with Sir John Barrow, we perceive that, in addition to the discovery of the course followed by the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror,' some most important geogrci-phical data have been accumulated by the last ex- pedition of Lady Franklin. Thus, M'Clintock has proved that the strait named by Kennedy in an earlier private expedition of Lady Franklin ' In 1850. ' See a most heart-stirring sketch of the last voyage of Sir John Franklin by Captain Sherard Osborn, in the periodical ' Once a Week,' of the 22nd and 29th October and 5th November last. Possessing a thorough acquaintance with the arctic regioriS, this distinguished sea- man has shown more than his ordinary power of description, in placing before the public his conception of what may have been the chief occurrences in the voyage of the 'Ert'xis' and 'Terror,' and the last days of Franklin, as founded upon an acquaintance with the character of the chief and his associates, and the record and relics obtained by M'Clintock. This sketch is prefaced by a spirited and graceful outline of all previous geographical discoveries, from the day when tliey were originated by the father of all modern arctic enterprise, Sir John Barrow, to whom, and to many other eminent persons, from Sir Edward Parry downwards, I have in various Geographical Addressess offered the tribute of my admiration. XIV PREFACE. after his companion, the brave Lieutenant Bellot, and which has hitherto been regarded only as an impassable frozen channel, or ignored as a channel at all, is a navigable strait, the south shore of which is thus seen to be the northernmost land of the continent of America. M'Clintock has also laid down the hitherto unknown coast-line of Boothia, southwards from Bellot Strait to the I^'^"'gnet^c Pole, has delineated the whole of King William's Island, and opened a new and capacious, though ice-choked, channel, suspected before, but not proved, to exist, extend- ing from Victoria Strait in a north-west direction to Melville or Parry Sound. The latter discovery rewarded the in- dividual exertions of Captain Allen Young, but will very properly, at Lady Franklin's request, bear the name of the leadt" of the ' Fox' expedition, who had himself assigned to it the ni.me of the widow of Franklin.^ Neither has the expedition been unproductive of scientific results. For, whilst many persons will be interested in the popular descriptions of the native Esquimaux, as well as of the lower animals, the man of science will hereafter be further gratified by having presented to him, in the form of an additional Appendix,^ most valuable details relating to the zoology, botany, meteorology, and especially to the terrestrial magnetism, of the region examined. Lastly, M'Clintock has convinced himself that the best ' In his volume before cited, p. xii., Mr. John Brown gave strong reasons (which he had held for some time) for believing in the existence of the very channel which now bears the name of M'Clintock. It is, however, the opinion both of that officer and his associates, as also of Captain Sherard Osborn, that Franklin could not have reached the spot where his ships were beset by proceeding down that ice-choked channel, but that he must have sailed down Peel Sound, ' Much of this Appendix [First Edition] will be prepared by Dr. David Walker. Ull b€ PREFACE. XV the best f 1 way of securing the passage of a ship from the Atlantic to the Pacific is by following, as near as possible, the coast- line of North America : indeed, it is his opinion, founded upon a large experience, that no passage by a ship can ever be accomplished in a more northern direction. This, it is well known, was the favourite theory of Franklin, who had himself, along with Richardson, Back, Btechey, and Dease and Simpson, surveyed the whole of that same North American coast from the Back or Great Fish River to Behring Strait. Thus, when Franklin sailed in 1845, the discovery of a North-West Passage was reduced to the finding a link between the latter survey and the discoveries of Parry, who had already, to his great renown, opened the first half of a more northern course from east to west, when he was arrested by the impenetrable ice-barrier at Melville Island. And here it is to be remembered that the tract in which the record and the relics have been found is just that to which I.ady Franklin herself specially directed Kennedy, the commander of the ' Prince Albert,' in her second private expedition in 1852 ; and had that intrepid explorer not been induced to search northwards of Bellot Strait, but had felt himself able to follow the course indicated by his sagacious employer, there can be no doubt that much more satis- factory results would have been obtained than those which, after a lapse of seven years, have now been realized by the undaunted perseverance of Lady Franklin, and the skill and courage of M'Clintock. The natural modesty of this commander has, I am bound to say, prevented his doing common justice, in the following journal, to his own conduct — conduct vhich can be esti- mated by those only who have listened to the testimony of XVI PREFACE. the officers serving with and under the man whos' qualities in moments of extreme peril elicited their hearuest admiration and ensured their perfect confidence. In writing this Preface (which I do at the request of the promoters of the last search), I may state that, having occu- pied the Chair of the Royal Geographical Society in 1845, when my cherished friend. Sir John Franklin, went forth for the third time to seek a North- West Passage, it became my bounden duty in subsequent years, when his absence created much anxiety, and when I re-occupied the same position, ardently to promote the employment of searching expedi- tions, and warmly to sustain Lady Franklin's endeavours in this holy cause. Imbued with such feelings, I must be permitted to say that no event in my life gave me purer delight than when Captain Collinson, whose labours to support and carry out this last search have been signally serviceable, forwarded to me a telegram to be communicated to the British Association at Aberdeen announcing the success of M'Clintock. That document reached Balmoral on the 22nd of September last, when the men of science were invited thither by their Sove- reign. Great was the satisfaction caused by the dilTusion of these good tidings among my associates (the distinguished arctic explorers Admiral Sir James Ross and General Sabine being present) ; and it was most cheering to us to know that the Queen and our Royal President * took the deepest ' At the Aberdeen meeting the Prince Consort thus spoke :— '• The Aberdeen whaler braves the icy regions T the polar sea to seek and to battle with the great monster of the deep ; he has materially assisted in opening these ice-bound regions to the researches of science ; he fear- lessly aided in the search after Sir John Franklin and his gallant companions whom their country sent forth on this mission ; but to V liom Providence, ahr, ! has denied the reward of tlieir labours, the PREFACE. XVI I ' The V and to sisted in le fear- gallant but to ■\ interest in this intelligence — such as, indeed, they have always evinced whenever the search for the missing navi- gators has been brought under their consideration. The immediate bestowal of the Arctic Medal upon all the officers and men of the * Fox ' is a pleasing proof that this interest is well sustained. But these few introductory sentences must not be extended; and I invite the reader at once to peruse the Journal of M'Clintock, which will gratify every lover of truthful and ardent research, though it will leave him impressed with the sad belief that the end of the companions of Franklin has/ been truly recorded by the native Esquimaux, who saw these noble fellows "fall down and die as they walked along the ice." Looking to the fact that little or no fresh food could have ) been obtained by the crews of the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror ' during their long imprisonment of twenty months, in so frightfully sterile a region as that in which the ships were abandoned — so sterile that it is even deserted by the Esquimaux — and also to the want of sustenance in spring at the mouth of the Back River, all the arctic naval authori- ties with whom I have conversed coincide with M'Clintock and his associates in the belief that none of the missing navigators can be now living. Painful as is the realisation of this tragic event, let us now dwell only on the reflection that, while the North-West Passage has been solved by the heroic self-sacrifice of Franklin, Crozier, Fitzjames, and their associates, the searches after them, which are now terminated, have, at a very small loss of life, not only added prodigiously to return to their homes, to the affectionate embrace of their families and friends, and the acknowledgments of a grateful nation." b \ } v -Will PREFACE. geographical knowledge, but have, in times of peace, been the best school for testing, by the severest trials, the skill and endurance of many a brave seaman. In her hour of need — should need arise — England knows that such men will nobly do their duty. Roderick I. Murchison. November t 1859. CONTENTS. -•«^ .URCHISON. Introduction Page xxv CHAPTER I. Cause of delay in equipment — Fittings of the ' Fox ' — Volunteers for arctic service — Assistance from public departments — Reflections upon the undertaking — Instructions and departure — Orkneys and Greenland — Fine arctic scenery — Danish establishments in Green- land — Frederickshaab, in Davis' Strait i CHAPTER II. Fiskernaes and Esquimaux — The ' Fox ' reaches Disco — Disco Fiord — Summer scenery — Waigat Strait — Coaling from the mine — Purchasing Esquimaux dogs — Heavy gale off Upernivik — Melville Bay — The middle ice — The great glacier of Greenland — Do Rein- deer cross the glacier? i6 CHAPTER III. Melville Bay — Crow's-nest — Beset in Melville Bay — Signs of winter — The coming storm — Drifting in the pack — Canine appetite — Resigned to a winter in the pack — Dinner stolen by sharks — The arctic shark — White whales and Killers 29 CHAPTER IV. Snow crystals — Dogs will not eat raven — An arctic school — The dogs invade us — Bear-hunting by night — Ice-artillery — Arctic ]5a"iates — Sudden rise of temperature — Freezing of salt-water — Harvey's idea of a sortie 43 CHAPTER V. Burial in the pack — Musk oxen in lat. 80° north — Habits of the arctic fox — The aurora affects the electrometer — An arctic Christmas — Sufferings of Dr. Hayes' boat party — Ice acted on by wind only — How the sun ought to be welcomed — Constant action of the ice — Return of the seals — Revolving storm 59 b 2 XX CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. bear-fight — An ice-nip — Strong gales, rapid drift — Breaking up of the ice — Hanging on to floe-edge — The arctic bear — An ice tournament — Escape out of the pack — A storm in the pack — Description of the escape Page 74 CHAPTER VII. A holiday in Greenland — A lady blue with cold — The loves of Green- landers ■ — Close shaving — Meet the whalers — Information of whalers — Disco — Danish hospitality — Sail from Disco — Coaling — Kindness of the whalers — Danish establishments in Green- land 90 CHAPTER VIII. ' Fox ' nearly wrecked — Afloat, and push ahead — Arctic hair-breadth escapes — Nearly caught in the pack — Shooting little auks — The arctic highlanders — Cape York — Crimson snow — Struggling to the westward — Reach the West-land — Off" the entrance of Lan- caster Sound 105 CHAPTER IX. off Cape Warrcndor^ — Sight the whalers again — Enter Pond's Bay — Communicate with Esquimaux — Ascend Pond's Inlet — Esquimaux information — Arctic summer abode — An arctic village — Np^jn- telligence of Franklin's ships — Arctic trading — Geographical infor- mation of natives — Information of Rae's visit — Improvidence of Esquimaux — Travels of Esfjuimaux 124 CPIAPTER X. l^*avc Pond's Bay — A gale in Lancaster Sound — The Beechey Island depot — An arctic monument — Reflections at Beechey Island — Proceed up Barrow's Strait — Peel Sound — Port Leopold — Prince Regent's Inlet — Bellot Strait — Flood-tide from the west— Unsuc- cessful efforts — Fox's Hole — No water to the west— Precautionary measures — Fourth attempt to pass througli 142 > i»?*,> ■*% CONTENTS. XXI CHAPTER XI. Proceed westward in a boat — Unpromising state of the western sea — Struggles in Bellot Strait — Falcons, good arctic fare — The re- sources of Boothia Felix — Future sledge travelling — Heavy gales — Hobson's party start — Winter quarters — Bellot Strait — Ad- vanced depot established — Observatories — Intense cold — Autumn travellers — Ravens — Narrow escape — Wolves .. Page 165 CHAPTER XII. Death of our engineer — Scarcity of game — The cold unusually trying — Jolly, under adverse circumstances — Petersen's information — Return of the sun of 1859 — Early spring sledge parties — Unusual severity of the winter — Severe hardships of early sledging — The western shores of Boothia — Meet the Esquimaux — Intelligence of Franl'.lin's ships — Return to the 'Fox' — Allen Young returns 1185 CHAPTER XIII. Dr. Walker's sledge journey — Snow-blindness attacks Young's party — Departure of all sledge-parties — Equipment of sledge-parties — Meet the same party of natives — Intelligence of the second ship — My depot robbed — Part company from Hobson — Matty Island — Deserted snow-huts — Native sledges — Land on King William's Land 210 CHAPTER XIV. Meet Esquimaux — News of Franklin's people — Frighten a solitary party — Reach tne Great Fish River — On Montreal Island — Total absence of all relics — Dog-driving — Examine Ogle Peninsula — Discover a skeleton — Vagueness of Esquimaux information — Cape Herschel — Cairn 226 CHAPTER XV. The cairn found empty — Discover Ilobson's letter — Discovery of Crozier's record — Tlic deserted boat — Articles discovered about the boat — The skeletons and relics — The boat belonged to the ' Erebus ' — Conjectures 242 XXI 1 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVI. Errors in Franklin's records — Relics found at the cairn — Reflections on the retreat — ITelurning homeward — Geological remarks — Difficulties of summer sledging — Arrive on board the 'Fox' — Navigable N. W. Passage — Death from scurvy — Anxiety for Captain Young — Young returns safely Page 256 4 CHAPTER XVII. Signs of release — Seal-stalking — Dearth of animal life — Birthdays — Break out of winter quarters — Game lists — Steam out of port — Escape from Regent's Inlet — In Baffin's Bay — Bears — Captain Allen Yoimg's journey — Hobson's journey — Disco; sad disap- pointment — Part from our Esquimaux friends — Adieu to Greenland — Arrive home 273 Conclusion 309 APPENDIX. No. I. — List of Relics of the Franklin Expedition brought to England in the *Fox,' and deposited in the Museum of the UnitCLl bervi -e Institution 315 No. II. — Reports of Scientific Observations obtained during the voyage of the * Fox ;' or References to such of these Reports as are published elsewhere 321 I *■!¥ Index 328 ^ lim — Reflections igical remarks — ird the 'Fox' — J — Anxiety for . . Page 256 fe — Birthdays — ni out of port — Bears — Captain isco; sad disap- lieu to Greenland • . 273 . . 309 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. light to England United bervi -e iring the voyage as are published . . 321 .. 328 The Escape out of the Pack, page 86. Drmvn by Captain \V. IV. May, A'.iV. Frontispiece. Sketch Map of the Arctic Regions, showing the Track of the ' Fox,' and her Drift down Baffin's Bay ; also. Sketch Map of the Arctic Regions at the time of Franklin's Departure, and showing his supposed Track . . . . . . . . • . . . . . To face p. \\ 1>A(,K The Governor in his Oomiak. By Captain \V. W. May, R.N. . . 15 Our Summer Costume 27 The crow's-nest. By Captain \V. W. May, R.N. . . . . 42 Funeral on the Ice — Paraselence and Lunar halos, 4th December, 1857. By Captain W. W. May, R.N. 58 Section of Seal's Cave in the Ice 75 The Greenlander's Supper appropriated by a Bear . . . . 83 Perilous Position of the * Fox ' near Buchan Island, 7th June, 1858. By Captain W. IV. May, R.N. 104 Esquimaux near Cape York watching the Approach of the ' Fox ; ' also Christian in his kayak. From a Sketch by Captain Allen Young 112 Final Liberation from the Melville Bay ice, 2nd July, 1858, From a Sketch by Captain Allen Young . . . . . . 118 Village and Glacier of Kaparoktolik, 4th August, 1858. By Captain IF. W. May, R.N. 133 The Three Graves, and Depot House, Beechey Island. By Captain IV. IV. May, R.N. 147 Departure from Beechey Island, l6th August, 1858. By Captain IV. W. May, R.N. 1^9 Stranded mass of heavy floe ice. By F. Skclton, from a Sketch by Captain Allen Young . . 155 Bellot Strait, 1st September, 1858. By Captain IV. IV. May, R.N. 164 Greenland dog-sledge 172 Interior of the Magnetic Observatory. By Captain IV. IV. Afay, XXIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Drawn from By Captain Top of Funnel of our stove-pipe Travelling Costume Boothian Mother and Infant . . Starting of the Exploring Parties, 2nd April, 1859. (1 P/iotop-aph, by Captain W. W. May, R.N. . Plan of the Snow Huts Sledge under Sail. By Captain W. W. May, R.N. Cape Herschel, and Remains of Simpson's Cairn W. W. May, R.N. P'acsimile of the Record of Franklin's Expedition, Victoiy. Copied by F. G. Nctherclift . . Diagram of the stem of the Boat Pattern of worked slippers found in the Boat Christian Seal-stalking. By Captain W IV. May, Moonlight, 25th August, 1859 Belles of Disco. From a Photograph by Dr. J. J, lent by the late C. Grinnell, Esq. . . Map to illustrate the Voyage, and the Geographical Discoveries of the 'P'ox.' By y. Arroivsmith, Esq. found at Point To face R.N. Hayes, kindly PARK 191 19s 209 215 219 225 239 244 249 251 275 293 30s At the end. I'AGK . . 191 . .1^, . . 195 :'>: . . 209 ■(17011 from • • • • 215 . . 219 1 • • • • 225 -:'?■.■ y Captain % • • • • 239 '■% J at Point ■ ,1 To face 244 • • • • 249 '^ • • • • 251 • • • • 275 . '^f- • • • • 293 es, kindly • • • • 305 iscoveries . . At the end. INTRODUCTION. »0» A NEW EDITION of this narrative having been called for, I gladly avail myself of the opportunity to make some few alterations and additions which I trust will render it more acceptable to the public. Much of the Appendix has been omitted, in order to bring the volume to its present reduced size. The illustrations are more numerous, the text has been corrected,, and some new matter dispersed through its pages chiefly descriptive of the habits of arctic animals, of our tent life on the floe, and of our sledging journeys. The latter, being the special means by which arctic exploration is now-a-days mainly carried on, deserve more than a passing notice. In these details, which I have introduced at the suggestion of some valued friends, I have had recourse to my rough journal kept on board the * Fox,' and to my diaries in three preceding polar expeditions of search.^ In submitting this new edition to the notice of the public, I feel it incumbent on me, not only to acknowledge the indulgence with which the narrative was originally received, but to fulfil the higher duty of expressing the deep sense entertained by my officers and men, as well as myself, of our country's sympathy and approbation, and of the generous reception we met with on returning to our native shores. We had not done all that we desired, but we had done our ' Under Sir James Ross, Sir Horatio Austin, and Sir Edward Belcher. XXVI INTRODUCTION. best ; and the lapse of time and other adverse circumstances considered, we had, perhaps, met v^^ith as much success as could have reasonably been expected. It is with hesitation that I allude to the honours personally conferred upon me, by our gracious Sovereign, and by the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin. I mention with less reserve other tokens of the national feeling, for these prove how well it was understood that the success of the ' Fox ' exjDedition — or rather the measure of success which it achieved — was mainly owing to the high spirit of loyalty to the cause which animated all my companions, and to their untiring exertions. It will be remembered that in March, i860, Parliament voted 5000/. for the public services the * Fox' had rendered. And, when the Royal Geographical Society conferred their Patron's Gold Medal on the commander, it was, to use the words of Earl de Grey, the President, "for having in the ' Fox ' yacht, with your gallant companions, not only en- larged our acquaintance with arctic geography, but having also brought to light the precious record which has revealed to us the voyage and final abandonment of the * Erebus ' and 'Terror.'"' The City of London also, when it conferred upon me the rare honour (for a naval officer) of the Freedom of the City, * On this occasion the Founder's Gold Medal was, by exceptional favour (but witli admirable justice), awarded to Lady Franklin in the following terms : — " Desirous of commemorating in an especial manner the arctic researches of our associate, the late Sir John Franklin, and of testifying to the fact that his expedition was the first to discover a North- West Passage, the Council of the Royal Geograpliical Society have awarded the Founder's Gold Medal to his widow, Lady Franklin, in token of their admiration of her noble and self-sacrificing perseve- rance in sending out at her own cost several searching expeditions, until at length the fate of her husband has been ascertained." I INTRODUCTION. xxvu lumstances success as personally md by the I mention ;eling, for le success of success li spirit of .nions, and Parliament rendered. 2rred their ;o use the ng in the only en- lut having revealed * Erebus ' )n me the the City, exceptional klin in the ial manner :lin, and of discover a :al Society Franklin, ;,^ l^erscve- tions, until was not unmindful of those brave men by whose zeal and devotion I was enabled, under Providence, to bring our expedition to a successful issue. The document expressly records " their thanks to the officers and crew composing it, for the bravery and self-sacrifice which distinguished their conduct on this patriotic occasion." Many other most honourable and gratifying recognitions of our common services might be mentioned ; but I forbear from doing so. To say less, however, than I have done, would be a failure of respect to the public, as well as an inadequate expression of my own feelings and those of my companions. Ten years have elapsed since the discoveries made during the voyage of the ' Fox ' were made public. Gallant efforts have not been wanting during that period to glean further information of the lost crews of the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror ;' yet no additional light has been obtained, and beyond vague rumours current among Esquimaux remote from the scene of the final catastrophe, nothing whatever has come to our knowledge. We must, therefore, I greatly fear, relinquish all hope of recovering any of the official documents or private journals of the officers ; the long interval of twenty- one years since the abandonment of the * Erebus ' and * Terror ' almost precludes the possibility of their existence. As a fitting sequel to the subjoined list of the officers of the Franklin expedition, I have endeavoured to give an outline of their services. This outline in some instances is necessarily of the briefest description. The ships selected were the ' Erebus ' and * Terror.' Originally constructed for bomb vessels, they were enor- mously strong, their timbers being as massive as those of a seventy-four-gun ship. Moreover, they had been especially XXV111 INTRODUCTION. <$ fortified for the antartic voyage, from which they had but recently returned. Before saiUng for the discovery of the North-West Passage, screw propellers and very small engines were adapted to them, being just sufficient to propel them at the rate of three miles an hour in calm weather. They were commissioned and fitted out at Woolwich Dock- yard, and sailed from the Thames, 19th May, 1845 ; and they were last seen 26th July, of that year, in Melville Bay. H.M.S. Erebus. 370 Tons. 20 H.-P. Screw. Captain . . Commander Lieutenant . Ice Master , Surgeon . Purser Mate . . . Asst.-Surg. 2nd Master, 1845. 1846. Sir John Franklin, K.C.H. &c. James Fitzjames Captain, Dec. Graham Gore Commr., Nov, H. T. D. Le Vesconte. James W. Fairholme. James Read. Stephen Samuel Stanley. Charles Hamilton Osmer. Robert Orme Sargent . . . . Lieut., May, 1846. Charles Frederick Des Vceux ,, Nov, 1846, Edward Couch ,, May, 1847. (Acting, for Arctic Expedition only), Henry D. S. Goodsir. Henry Foster Collins. H.M.S. Terror. 340 Tons. 20 H.-P. Screw. Captain . . Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier. Lieutenant. Edward Little Commr., Nov. 1846. „ G. H. Hodgson. ,, John Irving, Ice Master , Thomas Blanky. Surgeon (Acting), John Smart Peddie . . . . Surgeon, Dec. 1845. Mate, . . . Frederick J. Hornby Lieut., May, 1846, , Robert Thomas ,, April, 1847. Assistant-Surgeon, Alexander M 'Donald. 2nd Master, Gillies Alexander Macbean. Clerk in Charge, E, J, H. Helpman. Of the illustrious leader of the expedition. Sir John Franklin, it is almost superfluous to speak, his career being INTRODUCTION, XXIX interwoven with the history of his country. In his earliest years he had an opportunity of distinguishing himself in war ; but it was during a period of profound peace that he entered on that arctic career with which his name is especially connected, and in which he won the imperishable fame of solving the vexed problem of centuries. The martyr's palm is his, and theirs who followed him, for " they forged the last link of the North- West Passage with their lives." Born at Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, in 1786, young Franklin entered the Navy as a midshipman on board H.M.S. ' Poly- phemus ' in . 800, and was serving in that ship when it led the line at the battle of Copenhagen in 180 1. He afterwards was appointed to H.M.S. ' Investigator,' under his distinguished relative, Captain Matthew Flinders, R.N., who was at that time engaged in the discovery and survey of the coasts of Australia; and after two years was wrecked with his com- mander in H.M.S. 'Porpoise' on one of the innumerable coral reefs on its northern coast. Franklin, now separated from his chief, was returning home in the fleet of Indiamen under Commodore Dance, when it was attacked by the French squadron under Admiral Linois. In the action, which put the French to flight, Franklin took a conspicuous part. On his return home he was appointed to H.M.S. ' Bellero- phon,' Captain Cook, and served as signal midshipman at the battle of Trafalgar, where he was remarked for his imperturbable coolness and intrepidity in a position of great danger. Without enumerating his intermediate services, we find him in 1814 Heutenant in H.M.S. 'Bedford,' com- manding the boats from that ship in the attack upon New Orleans, when he was the first to board and capture one of the enemy's gun-boats. XXX INTRODUCTION. It was in 1818 that he commenced his arctic career in command of H.M.S. 'Trent,' consort to the 'Dorothea,' Captain Buchan, K.N., in an attempt to reach the North Pole. Disappointed in his desire to continue this voyage alone, when the * Dorothea ' became disabled, Franklin had not long to wait on his return home before he was appointed to command an overland and boat expedition (coincident with the ship expedition of Parry, for the discovery of the North-West Passage), the object of which was to determine the limits and direction of the arctic shores of America, where only two or three isolated points had hitherto been ascertained. In this expedition he was accompanied by his faithful friend and able coadjutor. Dr. (afterwards Sir John) Richard- son. Together they surveyed 555 geographical miles of arctic coast, and traversed, to reach it, a still greater extent of inland country, carrying their boats with them, and depending for food on the casual supplies of the chase, which sometimes failed them altogether. The narrative of their return from the Arctic Sea over the " Barren Grounds " of the interior, in order to reach the nearest Hudson Bay Company's settlement, is a tale of suffering and endeavour which flushes the cheek and dims the eye of the most phlegmatic of readers. The lichens on the rock, and occasional bits of soaked shoe-leather, alone saved the party from absolute starvation. What a foreshadowing of that still deeper tragedy which was to close the career of the gallant leader and his followers in later years ! But the future was veiled from his eyes. Our adventurous explorers returned after four years of absence to meet, when they landed in Europe, with the sympathy and admiration of their countrymen. Franklin, I % INTRODUCTION. XXXI who had been made a commander during his absence, was now raised to the rank of captain, and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. Undaunted by his late bitter experience, Franklin started again in 1825 at the head of another canoe expedition (of which he had submitted the plan to Government), and in which he was again accompanied by his friend Richardson, who acted in this, as in the former search, as surgeon and naturalist and second in command. By their united exertions, though in separate parties, thirty-seven degrees of longitude were surveyed along the air.tic shore of the American continent ; and the conviction must have been more and more impressed upon their minds that this was the real pathway for ships striving to get from sea to sea, if only a gap to the eastward, which would connect it with the older discoveries on the Atlantic side, could be found. On their return, Franklin enjoyed an interval of two or three years of repose, and during this time received with his friend Parry (who had secured a world-wide fame by his arctic discoveries in a higher latitude) the honour of knighthood, and ihat of the honorary degree of D.C.L. conferred upon them both by the University of Oxford. The Geographical Society of Paris also adjudged its annual gold medal to Franklin. He met with less liberality at home from the Board of Longitude, which declined to admit nis and Richardson's claims to the pecuniary reward which had been offered for attaining certain degrees of longi- tude (or portions of the North-West Passage), on the ground, mainly, that their work had been performed in boats in- stead of ships ! ' ' Twenty thousand pounds had by the same Act of Parliament been XXXll INTRODUCTION, iw Arctic expeditions being now suspended, Franklin sought employment in the ordinary line of his profession, and was immediately appointed to commission H.M.S. ' Rain- bow ' for the Mediterranean station, when the Greek war of independence was closing, but whilst Greece was still disorganised, and a prey to foreign intrigues and in- ternal disturbance. Whilst on duty in Greece, where his ship was chiefly stationed, he received the warm acknow- ledgments of that distinguished officer, the late Admiral Sir Henry Hotham, for the diplomatic skill and judgment with which he conducted the services entrusted to him. Otho, the young King of Greece, conferred on him the Order of the Cross of the Redeemer, and on his return to England he was created by William IV. a Knight Commander of the Guelphic Order of Hanover. Shortly after the expiration of his commission, having no immediate prospect of another ship, he accepted the im- portant government of the colony of Tasmania {then called Van Diemen's Land), which was offered to him by the late Lord Glenelg in terms which he greatly appreciated. True to his old profession, however, he stipulated with the '^ ':re- tary of State for the Colonies that he might be allowed to resign the government if, on a war breaking out, he were offered the command of a ship. Franklin arrived in Tas- mania in January, 1837, and administered the government during seven years. That his memory is held in great respect and affection by the colonists there is evinced by the unanimous vote of the Legislature for the erection of a lield out as a reward for the discovery of the North- West Passage, hut immediately following the decision against P'ranklin, a Bill was brought into Parliament abrogating the former Act altogether ; not, however, before Parry had established his own indisputable claim to a portion of the reward. INTRODUCTION. XXXIll , having no pd the im- :hen called by the late ed. True the " "re- allowed to , he were d in Tas- overnment in great vinced by ction of a Passage, but was brought ot, however, a portion of Statue to his honour, which now occui)ics the site of the old Government House. Within a year of his return from Tasmania, Franklin left England for the last time (May 19, 1845), i" command of the expedition which Government had, after much delibera- tion, resolved upon for the completion of the discovery of the North-\Vest Passage. This was, perhaps, the pioudest moment of Franklin's life. He would not solicit the appointment, deeming it due to his own long career of arctic experience that it should be tendered to him if younger men had not the preference ; but when sent for by the First Lord of the Admiralty, and offered the command, in terms which showed that his former laurels were still fresh in remembrance, he felt a proud satisfiction which compensated him for many previous trials. For his guidance in this momentous undertaking, Franklin had Parry's and Ross's charts and narratives, and his own Admiralty Instructions : but the charts, coioparedAvith those which subsecjuei t explorations have filled with well-defined coast-lines, were little more than sheets of blank paper, particularly in that direction to which his efforts were to be mainly directed.* He had to launch into the wide unknown space, and find his way as best he might. His Admiralty Instructions could aid him but little ; suggested mainly by himself, they were the result of the united deliberations of the most eminent men who had already distinguished themselves in earlier explorations, or who had made the subject a field of earnest and careful study: amongst the latter the late Sir John Barrow, Secretary to the Admiralty, was the most conspicuous. ' See the sketch-map in Preface, at page ix. C .,j^ XXXIV INTRODUCTION. The Instructions were rather warnings what to avoid than orders what to do ; but even under the latter head the language is sufficiently explicit. "Therefore" (after assuming from the experience of Parry that all attempts to penetrate westward of longitude 98° in the direction of Melville Island would be useless), "you will not stop to examine any openings either to the northward or southward in that (Barrow) Strait, but continue to push to the west- ward without loss of time, in the latitude of 74°^ N., till you have reached that portion of land on which Cape Walker is situated, or about qS'' W. From th"t point we desire that every effort be used to penetrate to the south- ward and westward in a course as direct towards Behring Strait as the position and extent of the ice or the existence of land, at present unknown, may admit." Franklin was last seen by a whaling ship which com- municated with him in Baffin's Bay on 26th of July, little more than two months after his departure from England. At that time all was well with the expedition ; and letters from Disco, of a few days' earlier date, from himself and his officers, attest their confidence under Providence of final success, and their mutual satisfliction with each other.' Captain Francis R. M. Crozier, F.R.S., F.S.A., was born at Banbridge, Ireland, in September, 1796. ' For further detnils of Franklin's life, the reader is referred to tlie 'Encyclopedia Britannica,' 8th edition, in which tliere is an admirable article — under the head of Franklin— written by his friend and relative, Sir John Richardson, the companion of liis earlier explorations, and \\i o knew and loved him as a brother; also, to the very interesting memoir in French, by M. de la Rociuette, late Vice-President of the Geographical Society of Paris, published by desire of that society, before the final expedition of the 'Fox' had enabled the biographer to brinir his record to an authentic close. r f if 4 INTRODUCTION. XXXV lat to avoid latter head sfore" (after all attempts direction of not stop to or southward to the west- 74°i N., till which Cape hrt point we to the south- ards Behring the existence » which com- of July, little om England. and letters mself and his ence of final other,' F.S.A., was referred to the is an admirable •lid and relative, I )] orations, and very interesting' 'resident of the of that soeicty, le biographer to He entered the Navy as a midshipman in iSio, and served in it almost without cessation for the remainder of his singularly adventurous life. He accompanied Sir Edward Parry in his second, third, and fourth polar voyages, and attained his lieutenancy in 1826. When Sir James Ross was suddenly despatched to '\.w^ arctic regions, m the depth of winter, for the relief of several missing whale ships, Crozier accompanied him, as senior lieutenant, and was promoted to commander on their return home in 1836. He commanded the 'Terror, consort to the ' Erebus,' Captain Sir James C. Ross, throughout the antarctic voyage — the most remarkable and imjDortant expedition of discovery since the days of Cook. Commander Crozier was made captain shortly after their departure ; but services like his were too valuable to be dispensed with, therefore he was retained in his command until the return of the expedition in 1843. Captain Crozier had now achieved the highest pro- fessional reputation ; he had also contributed largely, more especially in the department of terrestrial magnetism, to the various scientific observations of the exploring voyages — both arctic and antarctic — in which he had been for so many years engaged. Therefore, when an expedition for the discovery of the North-West Passage, and for general scientific research in the arctic regions, was determined upon. Sir John Franklin naturally sought for, and obtained, the nomination of Crozier as his second in command, Franklin being in the 'Erebus,' and Crozier in his former ship, the 'Terror.' They sailed from the Thames, 19th May, 1845. For all that we know of him, or any of his companions, c 2 r XXXVl INTRODUCTION. subsequently to the following July, we are alone indebted to the Crozier record, found on Point Victory in 1859.' ' Wliilst these pages were going through the press, the public journals announced the return of the American explorer, Captain C. F. Hall, after an absence of five years ; I am therefore enabldl to notice that portion of hi.j rejiort (published in the New York ' Tribune,' 30th September) which relates to his search for our long lost countrymen. l)uring the spring of this year, Captain Hall reached King William's island, and explored a portion of their line of retreat, along its southern shore. His experience, and also the native information iie has collected, agrees in all important points with that previously obtained, but without adding thereto. According to these latest accounts, the place called Oot-loo-lik, where one of the ships was stranded {Narrath't\ p. 220), is on the shore of the continent some thirty or forty miles south-westward of Cape Herschel. And it appears that, subseciuently to the examination of King William's Island by sledge parties from the * Fox,' the Esquimaux visited its north- western shores, thus leaving no part of it unsearched, and of course removing or destroying every relic and trace of the lost crews — -those seen by us as well as others which the snow concealed from our view. Captain Hall's report fully confirms the opinion expressed in this Narrative (p. 312), that their sufferings could not have been materially jirolonged beyond the short period for w'-.irh the provisions, brought from their ships, would support them. Deriving his information from the Esquimaux, he states that one of the parties seen to pass Cape Herschel, reached tlie continent near Point Richardson, about 12 or 15 miles westward of the Great Fisli River. Captain Hall also states tliat none of the lost crews reached Montreal Island, in the mouth of that river, notwithstanding tliat Mr. Anderson's evidence, repeatedly corroborated by Esquimaux testimony, seems con- clusive that a boat-party did reach it, and that their boat was eventually cut up there by the natives. He further tells us, that in the overwhelming thirst for plunder, even their graves (so called, but merely superficial constructions of loose s'ones as a protection against wild animals — Sec Narrative^ \\. 254) were not respected. His journey has resulted in additional relics and reports obtained fn^n the natives, but no dociiiiwnts or i^^-i.'i/i^s whatever. And it shows us conclusively that, had tiie ' Fox ' expedition been delayed even for a couple of years, we should have been ikprived of the only reliable in- formation respecting the \o;,age and aljandonnient of the ' Erebus' and ' Terror,' which has ever come to light ; for the ruthless lOsquimaux would have plundered the only remaining cairns, and have destroyed those jjrecious records, which for eleven years lay sheltered beneath them. INTRODUCTION. XXXV 11 one indebted n i859.» ; public journals ain C. F. Hall, 1 to notice that 'Tribune,' 30th countrymen. King William's ong its southern le has collected, led, but without 3t-loo-lik, where the shore of the ^ape Herschel. " King William's visited its north- , and of course ist crews— those •om our view, ^pressed in this been materially isions, brought ates that one of nent near Point oat Fisli River. ached Montreal Mr. Anderson's ony, seems con- t was eventually )r plunder, even ictions of loose rv, p. 254) were eports obtained And it shows aycd even for a )i\Iy reliable in- e ' ICrebus ' and |uiniaux would CNlroyod those lealh them. Upon the death of Franklin (nth June, 1847), Crozier succeeded to the chief command. On him devolved the terril)le necessity of abandoning the ships, and endeavouring to save their cre\,s by a desperate attempt to reach the Hudson l]ay territories. Crozier's record — -written upon the march — is dated 25th April, 1848. The reader may perhaps picture to himself that last fearful march, and the heroic bearing of its undaunted leader, whose nobleness of character and warmth of heart had ever won for him universal esteem and affection. Captain James Fitzjamks entered the Navy as a mid- shipman in 1825. After serving in various ships, he was attached to Colonel Chesney's celebrated expedition to the River Euphrates, and took an active part as mate of the ' Euphrates ' steamer upon that river. On the re- turn of the expedition in 1838. and after two years and a half of distinguished service, Mr. Fitzjames was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He served on board H.M.S. 'Ganges ' throughout the Syrian campaign (1840), again particularly distinguishing himself. His next appointment was to the ' Cornwallis,' the flag- ship of Vice-Admiral Sir Wm. Parker, the naval commander- in-chief on the East Indian station. During the Chinese hostilities in 1842, Lieutenant Fitzjames's brilliant conduct was such that he was five times gazetted ! He participated in all the operations on the River Yang-tse-kiang both afloat and on shore, his conspicuous exertions and gallantry rei)eatedly calling forth the warm approbation of the General Sir Hugh (afterward Viscount) (iough, as well as of the Admiral. At the storming and capture of Ching-kiang- Foo, Fitzjames received four bullet wounds ; one of these XXXVIU INTRODUCTION. balls passed through his body, and was subsequently ex- tracted from beneath his shoulder blade. In December, 1842, he was promoted to the rank of commander, and appointed to H.M.S. 'Clio,' a command which he retained until the termination of her period of commission in October, 1844. In the following March, he was appointed to the * Erebus' with Franklin, and was gazetted a captain a few months after the departure of the expedition. Captain Fitzjames was a man of rare talent as well as gallantry ; his sketches, and his writings, exhibit remarkable vigour and accuracy ; frank, warm-hearted, and ever cheerful, he was deservedly one of the most popular officers in the Navy; most enterprising, active, and endowed with rare powers of endurance, he was eminently constituted for that peculiar service in which unhappily has terminated a career of the highest promise. Commander Graham Gore entered the Navy in 1820. As midshipman, on board H.jM.S. 'Albion,' he was present in the battle of Navarin {1827) ; became lieutenant in 1837, upon his return from an arctic voyage in the ' Terror ' with Captain (now Admiral Sir George) Back. Lieutenant Gore was present at the capture of Aden in 1839 ; also present at the capture of the Bogue Forts, and Chusan, in 1840. He continued to serve in various ships up tc March, 1845, the date of his appointment as senior lieutenant to the ' Erebus.' His promotion to the rank of commander took place in November, 1846. Commander Gore's name appears in both the Franklin records. In the more recent one he is alluded to as '' ^he late Commander Gore;" his death therefore occurred between their dates, viz. 28th jNIay, 184'/, and 25th April, 1848. INTRODUCTION. XXXIX He had seen much active service ; he was an accom- plished as well as an excellent officer, and one in whom remarkable evenness of temper was combined with great stability of character. Commander Edward Little joined the Navy in 1825 ; was made lieutenant in 1837, and served in various ships up to March, 18415, when he was appointed to the 'Terror' as senior lieutenant. In November, 1846, he was promoted to the rank of commander. In his last letters from Green- land, Captain Crozier writes in terms of warm praise of his senior lieutenant, Mr. Little. Lieutenant H. T. D. Le Vesconte entered the Navy in 1829; served throughout the Chinese war, distinguishing himself on severrd occasions, and by repeated acts of con- spicuous gallantry winning his lieutenancy in 1841. As lieutenant, he continued in active service, and was appointed to the ' Erebus ' in 1845. Lieutenant James W. Fairholme joined the Navy in 1834. When despatched in a captured slaver, he was wrecked on the coast of Africa, and taken prisoner by the Moors ; most fortunately he was rescued within a few days. Mr. Fairholme served in the Syrian war in 1840. In 1841 he accompanied Captain Trotter in a most perilous expedition up the River Niger. He attained his lieu- tenancy in 1842, and served without cessation up to his appointment to the ' Erebus' in 1845. Lieutenant G. H. Hodgson commenced his naval career in 1832. Mr. Hodgson served under Admiral Sir William Parker in China, where he distinguished himself during the war by his personal gallantry, and was also wounded. In 1842 he was made lieutenant, and again distinguished himself in an attack on pirates. H\ xl INTRODUCTION. \\ :i ill 1 1:1 i ! Ml 'I \[ Lieutenant John Irving entered the Navy in 1828, obtained his heutenant's commission in 1S43, and joined the 'Terror' in 1845. His name is mentioned in the Point Victory record. In the interval between passing his examinations for Heutenant and obtaining that rank, Mr. Irving spent a few years in Australia, where he acquired experience of bush life and its attendant hardships. He possessed an iron constitution, was a talented drafts- man, and in every respect well adapted for arctic service. Ice-Masters. — James Read and Thomas Blanky. Previously commanders of Greenland whaleships, distin- guished for their intimate knowledge of the rctic seas, and their experience in ice-navigation. Owing to these valuable acquirements, they were selected and appointed to the * Erebus ' and ' Terror ' respectively. Mr. Blanky had, moreover, served in the 'Griper,' Captain G. '^. Lyon, R.N., in 1824, when an attempt was made to reach Repulse Bay. He also served in the 'Hecla' in 1827 under Sir E. Parry, M'hen that officer tried to reach the No^^th Pole. And we find Mr. Blanky for the third time engaged in an arctic expedition, as first mate of the ' Victory ' with Sir John Ross, in 1829-34; the three years he then passed amongst the Boothian Esquimaux enabled him to acquire a valuable knowledge of their language and habits. Surgeons. — Stephen Samuel Stanley and John Smart Peddie. JDr. Stanley entered the Navy as an assistant-surgeon in 1838. He served in China during the war of 1840-42, and was favourably noticed by his Captain — the late Sir Thomas Bouchier — for having, on several occasions, taken medical charge of the men engaged in active operations INTRODUCTION. xli OHN Smart both in the boats and on shore. Dr. Stanley was specially gazetted for his servir^s, and promoted to the rank of surgeon in June, 1842. He had also attained to some distinction by his knowledge of natural history. Dr. Pcddie had served as an assistant-surgeon from 1836, the date of his entry, until appointed to the 'Terror' in March 1845 as acting surgeon; he was confirmed in this rank the following December. It is pleasant to be able to record, that Captain Crozier's last letters make very favourable mention of Dr. Peddie. Purser. — Charles Haj>iilton Osmer. This gentleman commenced his naval career as a clerk, in 18 ig. In 1836 he was promoted to the rank of purser. He served in the ' Blossom ' throughout her memorable voyage to Behring Strait in 1825-8, under Captain F. W. Beechey, R.N. In 1839, when it became expedient to re-establish our naval power upon the lakes of North America, Mr. Osmer was appointed as purser to the senior officer's ship, the ' Niagara,' which appointment he retained for nearly four years. Ha\'ing acquired most extensive and varied ex- perience, Mr. Osmer was selected to accompany Sir J. Franklin's expedition. Assistant-Surgeons. — Alex. M'Donald and Henry D. S. Goodsir. Dr. M'Donald, I believe, had previously visited the arctic seas, as surgeon of a whaler. He entered the Navy as assistant-surgeon in 1841, and served for nearly four years in H.M.S. ' Belvidera,' previously to joining the 'Terror.' Dr. Goodsir was an anatomist, and a naturalist of the highest promise. In 1843 he succeeded his brother John (the late eminent Professor of Anatomy to the Edinburgh University) in the curatorship of the Royal College of xlii INTRODUCTION. •M : i!t' ■ i :- '1 I i '■| i ; ill! I ! ' I Surgeons, Edinburgh, wliich position he gave up on joining the FrankHn expedition, in 1845. Ostensibly, he embarked as an assistant-surgeon, "acting, for Arctic Expedition only." but really as a naturalist, the wide field for scientific research which the voyage offered, proving as irresistible to his en- thusiastic mind as the antarctic voyage had previously been to the present distinguished botanist, R. D. Hooker, F.R.S. Very early in life Dr. Goodsir made himself known to science by contributing, in conjunction with his brother John, some papers to the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh. His younger brother Robert twice visited the arctic regions in search of the Franklin expedition, the second time as surgeon of a Government expedition, under the command of Captain William Penny. The junior 'officers were all young men ; consequently, of their previous services there is but little to record ; but the fact of their having been selected to form part of so difficult and hazardous an expedition is proof of their general merits and rising qualifications. Mr. Hornby passed his examinations for lieutenant's rank in 1841 ; Sargent, in 1843; Des Va^ux, in 1844; Thomas, and Couch, in 1845. They were all promoted within two years of their de- parture from England. Mr. Des Vodux served under Sir Charles Napier in the Syrian war of 1840. He proceeded to China in the flag-ship of Admiral Sir William Parker, and served in the ' Endymion,' under the present Admiral Sir Frederick Grey, during the Chinese war. At one period of this war he was employed as a naval aide- de-camp to General Sir Hugh Gough, the commander-in-chief of the forces. Thus early had he distinguished himself Li INTRODUCTION. xliii Lip on joining he embarked edition only." iitific research )le to his en- eviously been ooker, F.R.S. e!f known to L his brother " Edinburgh, d the arctic 1, the second n, under the isequently, of :ord ; but the of so difficult eneral merits lieutenant's jx, in 1844 i of their de- apier in the Admiral Sir under the Ilhinese war. naval aide- nder-in-chief hed himself ft .18 bv his intelligence, gallantry, and zeal. His name occurs in both the Franklin records. The seamen composing the crews of the two ships had been carefully selected ; they were, for the most part, hardy north-countrymen, the remainder being men-of-war's men. I cannot better conclude this imperfect notice of the gallant men whose sad fate has moved with sympathy the whole civilized world, than by giving a few extracts from some of their last letters (from the oldest to the youngest officer on board) written to friends at home, whilst upon their outward voyage and during their short detention in Greenland, at the Whnlefish Islands; the last letter received from them is dated 12th July. These extracts will convey to the reader, far better than any description could do, an idea of the delightful tone of feeling which existed amongst them, and of their devoted loyalty, I may with truth say, affection, for their renowned leader. Gallant spirits eminently worthy of their heroic chief! Higher praise than this it is alike impossible to win or to bestow. EXTRACTS. (i). " Sir John is delightful, active, energetic, and evidently even now persevering; what he lias been, we all know. I think it will turn out tliat he is in no way altered." (2). " I would not lose him for the command of tlo expedition, for I hp.vj a real regard — I might say affection — for him, and believe this is felt by all of us." (3). "Of all men he is the most fitted for the command of an enter- prise requiring sound sense and great perseverance ; and he is full of benevolence and kindness withal. You have no conception how happy we are." (4). "Yesterday we had the highest sea I ever saw; it was very fine. I know nothing fmer than a gale of wind, particularly when you are running before it. We had a few seas over our decks, one of which xliv INTRODUCTION. Mii! 11 ii: i 'I'i 'I found its way down on our tahle just as we liad done dinner. We are packed s(; closely we can't move very i. • ; but the j;ood humour of every one is peifect, and we do dance before it (the gale) finely."' (5). ** I wish I could, however, convey to you a just idea of the im- mense stock of good feeling, good humour, and real kindliness of heart in our small mess. We are very hai)py, and very fond of Sir John Franklin, who imjiroves very much as we come to know more of him. lie is anything but nervous or fidgety ; in fact, I shoidil say remarkable for energetic decision in sudden emergencies. Our men are all fine hearty fellows." (6). "'Tis a rare thing to find met together twelve men of different ranks and ages who combine the scholar with die gentleman, such as these which it has been my fortunate lot to mix with ; and I do most feiTcntly pray that nothing may occur to loosen the ties which at present so happily bind us to each other. With such a man to command us, 'tis next to impossible that we shall be aught else than most happy and comfortable. " (7). " I had omitted to mention that we have had Divine Service every Sunday since we left Greenhithe ; and you would be perfectly delighted at the beautiful and impressive manner in which Sir John reads both the Service and the Sermon. I assure you it was with unalloyed feelings of delight that I witnessed their fervent and audible responses (die entire crew) ; every individual on board has a Bible and Prayer-Eook." (8). " 1 1 P.M., Lat. 63° N. The air is delightfully cool and bracing, and everybody is in good humour, either witli himself or his neighbours. Goodsir is catching the most extraordinary animals in a net, and is in ecstacies. Gore and Des Vceux are over the side with nets and long poles. We take it in turns to fish with a net at the end of a long pole, and bring up most strange animals." (9). "The more I see of our worthy chief the more I like and admire him ; in fact, he is deservedly beloved by us all, seamen as well as officers. As this day (Sunday) will serve as a sample of what has already taken place on the Lord's Day, and \\'hich will no doubt be strictly adhered to for the future, I will describe our observance of it : — We assemble at Prayers at ten o'clock, the beautiful Ser\ice of the Church of England is read by Sir John in the most impressive manner, after which a Sermon adapted to our pursuits is also most impressively delivered. At seven in the evening all those who arc desirous assem])Ie in Sir John's cabin, when the Evening Service is read, and another ' This extract is dated 23rd June, off Cape Desolation, Davis Strait. INTRODUCTION. xlv ncr. We are 1(1 humour of incly."' lea of the im- iness of heart . of Sir John more of liim. ly rcmarkalilc 1 are all fine !n of different nan, such as 11(1 I do most lich at present command us, ist happy and )ivine Service I be perfectly lich Sir John I it was with t and audible ; a JJible and and bracing, neighbours, net, and is in lets and long a long pole, I like and imcn as well of what has no doubt be iscrvance of ervice of the sive manner, imj)ressivcly ous assemble and another avis Strait. Scrn.on delivered. We look forward to the coming of the Sabbath with much gratification, and 'tis rarely you will miss the attendance of even one, except when duly occurs, and then these absentees are sure to be of the evening coiigiegati')n." (lo). "To-day we have had a sea smooth as glass; very cloudy, and a cold air, thermometer 35" ; passed several icebergs, within a mile of a large one. The effect was very fine, for the horizon happened to be a dark distinct line ; and these bergs, catching an occasional gleam of sunshine, shone like a twelfth-cake. I had fancied icebergs were large transparent lumps, or rocks of ice. They look like huge masses of \>\\xc snow, farrowed with caverns and dark ravines. I went on board the 'Terror' in the evening, for it was quite calm, and found Hodgson better. When we came on board, we pulled up for Goodsir — beasts, starfish., mud, and shells, from a depth of 250 fathoms, and caugiit more cod." (11). "We are now (eight o'clock, evening, 3rd July) slowly approaching our anchorage ; comparatively mild weather, with 192 icebergs, large and small, in sight. We have chess, backgammon, draughts, and 1700 books on board to ar use us." (12). "1 cannot tell you— more than I have done — how truly and deservedly beloved Sir John is by us all" (13). "We are all very happy and comfortable on board. Sir John is such a good old fellow. We all have perfect confidence in him." (14). "Sunday. Whalefish Iblands. A fine sunshiny night, and we have had a delightful sunshiny day, quite warm, the air clear, ice glistening in all directions. The fine liold land of Disco, black, and topped with snow ; the sea covered with bits of ice which are rushing through the channel as they break off from t. e icebergs, falling with a noise like thunder. Every man nearly on shore, running about for a sort of holiday, getting eider duck's eggs, (S:c. ; curious mosses and plants being collected, also shells." (15). "All is getting on as well as I could wish. Officers full of youth and zeal, and, indeed, everything going on most smoothly. The Admiially were exceedingly kind to us, all our demands were re;;. lily granted ; if we can only do something worthy of the country which has so munilicently fitieil us out, 1 will only be too hap])y ; it will be an amjile rewartl for all my anxieties, and believe me, Henry, there will be no lack of them." The last of these extracts is from a letter of Captain Crozier's, written from the Whalefish Islands, and was one of the last letters ever received from the expedition. xlvi INTRODUCTION. • i Mill i\ It was not until the close of 1847, when no further news had arrived of the absent ships, that anxiety began to be felt as to their safety, or ratlier, that apprehensions were awakened of their being in some predicament which re- quired assistance and relief. In November of that year, Lord Auckland, then at the head of the Admiralty, kindly communicated to Lady Franklin his intention of sending out an expedition in their behalf in the following spring, and invited her to express an) views she might entertain in connection with it. It is not my purpose to enter here into a history of the several expeditions which under successive administrations, and commanded by various distinguished officers, were despatched in quest of the missing navigators ; neither will I touch upon the supplementary efforts made by Lady Franklin herself with the assistance of sympathising friends. This auxiliary search was rendered necessary in the opinion of Lady Franklin, by the failure of the Government expedi- tions to penetrate into those particular parts of the field of search where she believed the * Erebus ' and ' Terror ' would be found : an opinion which gained increased force, when in 1854 Dr. Rae arrived in England with news derived from the Esquimaux, and confirmed by relics obtained from them, of some fatal catastrophe that had taken place within the area on which her anxious attention had always been fixed. On the arrival of this sad rumour, confirmed by such painful symbols, the Admiralty deemed it time to recall, if it were possible, their searching vessels. To Lady Franklin, however, it was only an incentive to renewed exertions, directed to the place (ever circum- scribed, and now plainly ascertained) where alone there was a chance of success. "^ fi-. ii ad sc ell let wc or "I th( ha 11 n 111 as i ba J ve pr be th '^^-^^1 Su be INTRODUCTION. xlvii further news l)egan to be nsions were It whicL re- nd, then at teci to Lady ition in their :r to express ;h it. istory of the ninistrations, fficers, were neither will le by Lady ising friends. \ the opinion iient expedi- the field of error ' would )rce, when in lerived from from them, e within the been fixed, led by such lie to recall, m incentive ever circum- ne there was 1 The reduced dimensions of this work have prevented me from inserting, as in former editions, the letter of Lady Franklin to Lord Palmerston, and the memorial also addressed to the Prime Minister by all the leading men of science then in I>ondon, strenuously advocating this final effort. I will gi\e one passage only from Lady Franklin's letter above alluded to, and will conclude with a few touching words from her appeal to the Admiralty : — " I submit to your Lordship that this is a case of no ordinary exigency. These 135 men of the 'Erebus' and ' Terror ' (or perha})s I should rather say the greater part of them, for we do not yet know that there are no survivors) have laid down their lives after sufte rings doubtless of unexampled severity, in the service of their country, as truly as if they had perished by the ritle, the cannon-ball, or the bayonet. " Nay, more, by attaining the northern and already sur- veyed coast of America, it is clear that they solved the problem which was the object of their labours, or, in the beautiful words of Sir John Richardson, that they ' forged the last link of the North-West Passage with their lives.' Surely, then, I may plead for such men that a careful search be made for any possible survivor, that the bonss of the dead be sought for and gathered together, that their buried records be unearthed or recovered from the hands of tne Esquimaux, and above all, that the last written words, so precious to their bereaved families and friends, be saved from destruction. " A mission so sacred is worthy of a Government which has grudged and spared nothing for its heroic soldiers and sailors in other fields of warfare, and will surely be ap- proved by our gracious Queen, who overlooks none of her ■« xlviii INTRODUCTION. loyal subjects suffering and dying for their country's honour.' " This final and exhausting search is all I seek in behalf of the first and only martyrs to arctic discovery in modern times, and it is all I ever intend to ask " "It is my humble hope and fervent prayer, that the Government of my country will themselves complete the work of search which they have begun, and not leave it to a weak and helpless woman to attempt the doing that imper- fectly which they themselves can do so easily and well; yet, if need be, such is my painful resolve, God helping me." Had the prayer of this petition been granted, it is need- less to say that the expedition of the ' Fox ' would not have taken place. The national monument commemorative of this — perhaps the noblest episode in F^n band's naval history — has been erected in Waterloo P'nce. Upon the pedestal beneath his statue is tlie following inscription : — U' '1 FRANKLIN. TO THE GREAT NAVIGATOR AND HIS BRAVE COMPANIONS WHO SACRIFICED T H F. I R LIVES IN COMPLETING THE DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. A.D. 1847-8. ERECTED IIV THE UNANIMOUS VOTE OF TARLIAMENT. ' Written at the close of the Crimean War. i I : I n their country's JOURNAL OF THE SEARCH FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN. CHAPTER I. Cause of delay in equipment — Fittings of the 'Fox' — Volunteers for arctic service — Assistance from public departments — Reflections upon the undertaking — Instructions and departure — Orkneys and Greenland — Fine arctic scenery — Danish establishments in Green- land — Fredericksimab, in Davis' Strait. It is now a matter of history how Government and private expeditions prosecuted with unprecedented zeal and perse- verance the search for Sir John FrankUn's ships, between the years 1B47-55 ; and that the only ray of information gleaned was that afforded by the inscriptions upon three tombstones at Ikechey Island, briefly recording the names and dates of the deaths of those individuals of the lost expedition, who thus early fell in the cause of science and in the service of their country. In tnis manner were we made aware of the locality where the Franklin expedition passed its first Arctic winter. The traces assuring us of that fact were discovered in August, 1850, by Captain Ommanney, R.N., of H.M.S. 'Assistance,' and by Captain Penny of the ' Eady Franklin.' In October, 1854, Dr. Rae brought home the only addi- tional information respecting them, which had ever reached B ,l,l FORMER EXPEDITIONS. Chap. I. us. From the Esquimaux of Boothia Fehx he learned tliat a party of about forty white men were met on the west coast of King WiUiam's Island, who from thence travelled on to the mouth of the (Ireat Fish River, where they all perished of starvation, and that this tragic event occurred apparently in the spring of 1850. Some relics obtained from these natives, and brought home by Dr. Rae, were proved to have belonged to Sir John Franklin and several of his associates. The Government caused an exploring party to descend the Fish River in 1855 ; but, although sufficient traces were found to prove that some portion of the crews of the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror ' had actually landed on the banks of that river, and traces existed of them up to Franklin Rapids, no additional information was obtained either by the dis- covery of Records, or through the Esc[uimaux. Mr. Anderson, the Hudson Bay Company's officer in charge, and his small party, deserve credit for their perseverance and skill : but they were not furnished with the necessary means of accomplish- ing their mission. Mr. Anderson could not obtain an in- terpreter, and the two frail bark canoes in which his whole party embarked were almost worn out before they reached the locality to be searched. It is not surprising that such an expedition caused very considerable disappointment at home. Lady Franklin, and the advocates for further search, now pressed upon Government the necessity of following up, in a more effectual manner, the traces accidentaMy found by Dr. Rae, and, in fact, of rendering the search complete by one more effort, involving but little of hazard or expense. It was not until April, 1857, that any decisive answer was given to Lady Franklin's ai)peal.' ' Lady Franklin's letter to ^■i.scount Palmerston, liore alluded to, was liuhlishcd in the Appendix of the former editions of this work. Apr. 1857. NOMINATION OF COMMANDER. /es, and brought isappomtment at Sir Charles Wood then stated '• that the members of Her Majesty's Government, having come, with great regret, to the conckision that there was no prospect of saving life, would not be justi^.ed, for any objects which in their opinion could be obtained by an expedition to the arctic seas, in exposing the lives of officers and men to the risk inseparable from such an enterprise." Lady Franklin, upon this final disappointment of her hopes, had no hesitation in immediately preparing to send out a searching expedition, equipped and stored at her own cost. But she was not without ardent supporters. Many friends of the cause — including some of the most distin- guished scientific men in England, and especially Sir Roderick Murchison, whose zeal was as practical as it was enlightened — hastened to tender their aid, and soon a very considerable sum was raised in furtherance of so truly noble an effort. On the 1 8th April, 1857, Lady Franklin offered me the command of the proposed expedition, — it was of course most cheerfully accepted. As a post of honour and of some diflficulty it possessed quite sufficient charms for a naval officer who had already served in three consecutive expe- ditions from 1848 to 1854. I was thoroughly conversant with all the details of this peculiar service ; and I confess, moreover, that my whole heart was in the cause. How cx)uld I do otherwise than devote myself to save at least the record of faithful service, even unto death, of my brother officers and seamen? and being one of those by whose united efforts not only the Franklin search, but the geo- graphy of arctic America, had been brought so nearly to comi)letion, I could not willingly resign to posterity, the honour of filling up even the small remaining blanks upon our maps. To leave these discoveries incomplete, more especially in a (quarter through which the tidal stream actually demon- u 2 i^i| PURCHASE OF THE 'FOX: Chap. I. strates the existence of a channel — the only remaining hope of a practicable north-west passage — would indeed be leaving strong ind".oement for future explorers to reap the rich reward of our long-continued exertions. I immediately applied to the Admiralty for leave of absence to complete the Franklin ' 'arch ; and on the 2y^ received at Dublin the telegraphic message from Laoj Franklin : " Your leave is granted ; the ' Fox ' is mine ; the refit w'11 commence immediately." She had already pur- chased the screw-yacht 'Fox,' of 177 tons burthen, and now placed her, together with the necessary funds, at my disposal. Let me explain what is here implied by the simple word "refit" Tiie velvet hangings and splendid furniture of the yacht, and also everything not constituting a part of the vessel's strengthening, were to be removed ; the large skylights and capacious laddersvays had to be reduced to limits more adapted to a polar clime; the whole vessel to be externally sheathed with stout planking, and internally fortified by strong cross beams, longitudinal beams, iron stanchions, and diagonal fastenings ; the false keel taken off, the slender brass propeller replaced by a massive iron one, the boiler taken out, altered, and enlarged ; the sharp stem to be cased in iron until it resembled a ponderous chisel set up edgeways; even the yacht's rig had to be altered. She was placed in the hands of her builders, Messrs. Hall and Co., of Aberdeen, who displayed even more than ..leir usual activity in effiecting these necessary alterations, for it was determined that the ' Fox ' should sail by the i st July. Internally she was fitted up with the strictest economy in every sense, and the officers were crammed into pigeon- holes, styled cabins, in order to make room for provisions and stores; our mess-room, for five persons, measured 8 feet I III x: Chap. I. r remaining hope Indeed be leaving o reap the rich ty for leave of and on the 2yr'^ lage from Lau; ox ' is mine ; the lad already pur- ns burthen, and ary funds, at my the simple word [ furniture of the iting a part of lOved ; the large D be reduced to whole vessel to ^, and internally nal beams, iron alse keel taken T a massive iron irged ; the sharp ed a ponderous rig had to be ers, Messrs. Hall more than >.ieir Iterations, for it )y the I St July. ;test economy in ed into pigeon- 11 for provisions measured 8 feet Apr. 1857. VOLUNTEERS FOR ARCTIC SERVICE. 5 square. The ordinary heating apparatus for winter use was dispensed with, and its place supplied by a few very small stoves. The ' Fox ' had been the property of the late vSir Richard Sutton, Bart., who made but one trip to Norway in her, and she was purchased by Lady Franklin from his executors for 2000/. Having thus far commenced the refit of the vessel. I turned my attention to the selection of a crew and to the requisite clothing and provisions for our voyage. Many worthy old shipmates, my companions in previous arctic voyages, most readily volunteered their services : and they were as cheerfully accepted, for it was my anxious wish to gather around me well-tried men, who were aware of the duties expected of them, and accustomed to naval discipline. Hence, out of the twenty-five souls composing our small company, seventeen had previously served in the arctic search. Expeditions of this nature are always popular with seamen, and innumerable were the applications made to me; but still more abundant were the offers to " serve in any capacity " which poured in from all parts of the country, from people of all classes, many of whom had never seen the sea. It was, of course, impossible to accede to any of these latter proposals, yet, for my own part, I could not but feel gratified at such convincing proofs that the spirit of the country was favourable to us, and that the ardent love of hardy enterprise still lises amongst Englishmen, to be cherished, I trust, as the most valuable of our national characteristics — that which has so largely contributed to make England what she is. My second in command was Lieutenant W. R. Hobson, R.N., an officer already distinguished in arctic service. Captain Allen Young joined me as sailing-master, contribut- ing not only his valuable services but largely of his private OFFICERS OF THE EXPEDITION. Chap. I. ^, I i! I' ill funds to the expedition. This gentlenian had previously commanded some of our very finest merchant ships, the latest being the steam-transport 'Adelaide,' of 2500 tons : he had but recei.tly returned, in ill-health, from the Black Sea, where he was most actively employed during the greater part of the Crimean campaign. Nothing that I could say ould add to the merit of such singularly generous and disinterested conduct. David Walker, M.D., volunteered for the post of surgeon and naturahst; he also undertook the photographic department ; and just before sailing, Carl Petersen, now so well known to arctic readers as the P^squi- maux interpreter in the expeditions of Captain Penny and Dr. Kane, came to join me from Copenhagen, although landed there from Greenland only six days previously, after an absence of a year from his family : we were indebted to Sir Roderick Murchison and the electric telegraph for securing his valuable services. Like the Paris omnibuses we were at length mi complete and quite as anxious to make a start. Ample provisions for twenty-eight months were embarked, including preserved vegetables, lemon-juice, and pickles, for daily consumption, and preserved meats for every third day : also as much of Messrs. Allsopp's stoutest ale as we could find room for. The Government, although declining to send out an expedition, yet now contributed liberally to our supplies. All our arms, powder, shot, powder for ice-blast- ing, rockets, maroons, and signal-mortar, were furnished by the Board of Ordnance. The Admiralty caused 6682 lbs. of pemmican to be prepared for our use. Not less than 85,000 lbs. of this invaluable food have been prepared since i8j5 at the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard, Gosport, for the use of the arctic Expeditions. It is composed of prime beef cut into thin slices and dried over a wood fire ; then pounded up and mixed with about an equal weight of melted III ON. Chap. I. Apr. 1857. AID FROM PUBLIC DEPARTMENTS. 7 lad previously ant ships, the of 2500 tons : from the Black ing the greater at I could say generous and v^olunteered for undertook the i sailing, Carl •s as the Esqui- ;ain Penny and igen, although ireviously, after were indebted c telegraph for gth an couplet, vere embarked, md pickles, for ivery third day : ,le as we could h declining to liberally to our er for ice-blast- re furnished by lused 6682 lbs. Not less than prepared since d, Gosport, for posed of prime 'ood fire; then eight of melted beef fit. The warm pemmican is then run into strong tin cases and becomes hard on cooling; our cases contained 42 lbs. each, they were oblong in shape, but with convex ends, this form giving them greater strength to resist the claws of the Bears. The Admiralty supplied us also with all the requisite ice-gear, such as saws from ten to eighteen feet in length, ice-anchors, and ice-claws : also with our winter housing, medicines, pure lemon-jaice, seamen's library, hydrographical instmments, -^harts, chronometers, and an ample supply of arctic clothing which had remained in store from former expeditions. The Board of Trade contributed a variety of meteorological and nautical instruments and journals; and I found that I had but to ask of these departments for what was required, and if in store it was at once granted. I asked, however, for such things only as were indispensably necessary. The President and Council of the Royal Society voted the sum of 50/. from their donation fund for the purchase of magnetic and other scientific instruments, in order that our anticipated approach to so interesting a locality as the Magnetic Pole might not be altogether barren of results. I was desirous to retain for my vessel the privileges she formerly enjoyed as a yacht, and my wishes were very promptly gratified : in the first instance by the Royal Har- \nr\\ Yacht Club, of wh'ch my ofticers and myself were enrolled as members — the Commodore, A. Arcedeckne, Esq., presenting my vessel with the handsome ensign and burgee of the Club ; and shortly afterwards by my being elected a member of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club for the period of my voyage. Lastly, upon the very day of sailing, I was proposed for the Royal Yacht Squadron, to which the yacht had previously belonged when the property of Sir Richard Sutton. .^ Iv. 8 LADY FRANKLIN'S VISIT. Chap. I. Throughout the whole period required for our equipment I constantly experienced the heartiest co-operation and earnest goodwill from all with whom my varied duties brought me in contact. Deep sympathy with Lady Franklin in her dis- tress, her self-devotion and sacrifice of fortune, and an earnest desire to extend succour to any chance survivors of the missing expedition who might still exist, or at least, to ascertain their fate, and rescue from oblivion their heroic deeds, seemed the natural promptings of every honest English lieart. It is needless to add that this experience of public opinion confirmed my own impression that the glorious mission in- trusted to me was in rerJ'ty a g7-eat national duty. I could not but feel thnt, if the gigantic and admirably equipped national expeditions sent out upon precisely the same duty, and reflecting so much credit upon the Board of Admiralty, were ranked amongst the noblest efforts in the cause of humanity any nation ever engaged in, and that, if high honour was awarded to all composing these splendid expe- ditions, surely the effort became still more remarkable and worthy of approbation when its means were limited to one little vessel, containing but twenty-five souls, equipped and provisioned (although efficiently, yet) in a manner more according with the limited resources of a private individual than with those of the public purse. The less the means, the more arduous I felt was the achievement. The greater the risk — for the ' Fox ' was to be launched alone into those dangerous seas from which every other vessel had long since been withdrawn — the more glorious would be the success, the more honourable even the defeat, if again defeat awaited us. Upon the last day of June Lady Franklin, accompanied by her niece Miss Sophia Cracroft, and my esteemed friend and brother officer Rochfort Maguire,' came on board at ' The late Commodore Maguire. This brave, generous, and humane Chap. I. June, 1857, LADY FRANKLIN'S INSTRUCTIONS. 9 lur equipment I ion and earnest ies brought me klin in her dis- , and an earnest irvivors of the or at least, to on their heroic every honest f public opinion ious mission in- ' duty. I could irably equipped the same duty, ■d of Admiralty, 11 the cause of d that, if high splendid expe- •emarkable and limited to one , equipped and manner more ivate individual i the means, the The greater lone into those had long since the success, the eat awaited us. accompanied isteemed friend e on board at lous, and humane Aberdeen to bid us farewell, for we purposed sailing in the evenmg. Seeing how deeply agitated Lady Franklin was on leaving the ship, I endeavoured to repress the enthusiasm of my crew, but without avail ; it found vent in three prolonged hearty cheers. The strong feeling which prompted them was truly sincere ; and this unbidden exhibition of it can hardly have gratified her for whom it was intended more than it did myself. I must here insert the only written instructions I could prevail upon Lady Franklin to give me ] they were not read until the ' Fox ' was fairly in the Atlantic. n. ,-. ■\itin, ™«„., Aberdeen, '^une 2Q, iS"??. My dear Captain M'Cuntock, ' -^ ^> :>i You have kindly invited me to give you "Instructions," but I cannot bring myself to feel that it would be right in me in any way to influence your judgment in the conduct of your noble undertaking ; and indeed I have no temptation to do so, since it appears to me that your viev/s are ahnost identical with those which I had independently formed before I had the advantage of being thoroughly possessed of yours. But had this been otherwise, I trust you would have found me ready to prove the implicit confidence I place in you by yielding my own views to your more enlightened judgment ; knowing too as I do that your whole heart also is in the cause, even as my own is. As to the ol/jects of the expedition and their relative importance, I am sure you knew ihat tlie rescue of any possible survivor of the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' would be to me, as it would be to you, the noblest result of our efforts. To this oliject 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 in- officer was universally respected and beloved. Scarcely had he reached the meridian of life when a protracted and most jiainful malady terminated his career in 1867, a ^cw days only after his return from Australia, where he held the chief naval command. In 1 840 he was most severely wounded at the taking of Sidon. When engaged in arctic service, 1852-3-4, he particularly distinguished himself by his nolile forbearance towards the natives at Point Harrow who attacked II. M.S. 'Plover' under his com- mand : his admirable narrative is published in the Appendix to McClure's •North-West Passage.' iWi* * U i f\ t ' '! li if lO DEPARTURE. Chap. I. ferentially, the claimsof my luisljand's expedition to the earliest discovery of tile N. W. passage, which, if Dr. Rae's report lie true (and the CJovern- ment of our country has accepted and rewarded it as sucli), these martyrs in a noI)le craise achieved at tlicir last extremity, afi.er five long years of lal)our and suffering, if not at an earlier period, I am sure you will do all that man can do for the attainment of all these ol)jects ; my only fear is that you may sjiend yourselves too much in the effort ; and ycni must therefore let me tell you how much dearer to me even than any of them is the preservation of the valuable lives of the little iiaiid of heroes who are your companions and followers. May Ciod in his great mercy preserve you all from harm amidst the labours and jierils which await you, and restore you to us in health and safety as well as honour ! As to the honour I can have no misgiving. It will be yours as much if you fail (since you viay fail in spite of every effort) as if you succeed ; and be assured that, under any and all cir- cumstances ■tohafiT'c'i; such is my unbounded confidence in you, you will possess and be entitled to the enduring gratitude of your sincere and attached friend, Jane Franklin. We were not destined to get to sea that evening. The ' Fox,' hitherto during her brief career, accustomed only to the restraint imposed upon a gilded pet in summer seas, seemed to have got an inkling that her duty henceforth was to combat with difficulties, and, entering fully into the spirit of the cruize, answered her helm so much more readily than the pilot expected, that she ran aground upon the bar. She was promptly shored up, and remained in that position until next morning, when she floated off unhurt at high water, and commenced her long and lonely voyage. Scarcely had we left the busy world behind us when we were actively engaged in making arrangements for present comfort and future exertion. How busy, how happy, a:id how full of hope we all were then ! On the night of the 2nd of July we passed through the Pentland Firth, where the tide rushing impetuously against a strong wind raised up a tremendous sea, amid which the little vessel struggled bravely under steam and canvas. The bleak wild shores of Orkney, the uncouth aspect, hoarse ^ 'i ]\JV sere si shril S angi Gret T 'Wn cam Fare .v^^^H adve him '-'^MM whet ■f^S. in h purp bicf/^ Chap. I. July, 1S57. ORk'XEYS AND GREENLAND. II cnrliest discovery : (and the Ciovern- ich), tliese martyrs five long years of ; attainment ot" all lurselves too mucli how much dearer e valuable lives of I followers, harm amidst the :o us in health and lave no misgiving, lil in spite of every :r any and aU cir- ;e in you, you will f your sincere and \.NE Franklin. ; evening. The astomed only to n summer seas, henceforth was ly into the spirit lore readily than 3n the bar. She lat position until at high water, ind us when we lents for present how happy, and ised through the :)etuously against amid which the nd canvas. The aspect, hoarse screams and unintelligible dialect of the Pilots' crew, the shrill cry of innumerable sea-birds, the howling breeze and angry sea, made us feel as if we had suddenly awakened in Greenland itself. The southern extremity of that ice-locked continent be- came visible on the 12th. It is quaintly named Cape Farewell ; but whether by some sanguine outward-bound adventurer who fancied that in leaving Greenland behind him he had already secured his passage to Cathay ; or whether by the wearied homesick mariner, barely escaping in his shattered bark from the grasp of winter, and firmly purposing to bid a long farciucll to this cheerless land, history altogether fails to enlighten us. From January until July this coast is usually rendered unapi^roachable by a broad margin of heavy ice, which drifts there from the vicinity of Spitzbergen, and, lapping round the Cape, extends alongshore to the northward about as far as Baal's River, a distance of 250 miles. Although it effectually blockades the ports of South Greenland for the greater part of the summer, and is justly dreaded by the captains of the Greenland traders, it confers important benefits upon the Greenlander by bearing to his shores immense numbers of seals and many bears. The same current which conveys hither all this ice is also freighted with a scarcely less valuable supply of driftwood from the Siberian rivers. About this time, one of my crew showing symptoms of diseased lungs, I determined to embrace the earliest oppor- tunity of sending him home out of a climate so fatal to those [ who are thus affected ; and having learnt from Mr. Petersen, who had quitted Greenland only in April last, that a vessel would very soon leave Frederickshaab for Copenhagen, I resolved to go to that place in order to catch this homeward- bound ship. ,li I.' 12 IL\/-: ARCr/C SCKNKRV. CllAl'. I. It \v;is necessary to push ihrouLjh the Si)itzl)crgen ice, and wc IbrluiKitely succecileil in doiiiij; so after eii;lileen hours of buHelini; with tiiis (brniidable enemy; at Inst we found it tolerably loose, and the winil bein^ stronj^ and favourable, we thumped aloni; pleasantly enough ; but as we advancctl, the ice became mucli more closely jjacked, a thick fog came on, and many hard knocks were exchanged ; at length our ste im carried us through into the broail belt of clear water between the ice and land, which Tctersen assureil mc always exists here at this season. The dense fog now prevented further i)rogrcss, and as evening closed in I gave up all hope of improvement for the night : w lien sucUlenly, the fog rolled back ui)on the land disclosing some islets close to us, then the rugged i)oints of mainland, and at length, the distant snowy mountain- peaks against a deep blue sky. ^\'e found ourselves to be upon the Tallard Bank, 30 miles north of our port, having been rapiiily carried northward by the Si)itzbergen current. The evening became bright and delightful ; the whole extent of coast was fringed with innumerable islets, backed by lofty mountains, and, being richly tinted by a glorious western sun, formed an unusually splendid sight. (Greenland unveiled to our anxious gaze, that memorable evening, all the magnil'icence of her wondrous natural beauty. It almost seemetl as if to welcome us, she thus suddenly cast off her dingy mantle and shone forth with an impressive grandeur which aljiine scenery alone can equal. A foint streak ap})arently of mist, which we could not account for, still extended across a low wide interval in the mountain range ; the telescojie revealed its true character, — it was a portion of the distant mighty glacier. Ji//y 20///. — This morning the chief trader of the settle- ment, or, as he is more usually styled by the English, the Governor, came otf to us, and his pilot soon conducted us C:iAi'. I. Jii.v, 1857. J)A\/SJI ESTAIiUSIIMKNTS. 13 bcrgcn ice, and cii;lilecn hours jrst wc found it ;ind favourable, vs we advanced, . thick fopj came ; at leni^th our t of clear water >urcd me always )rogrcss, and as mprovement for •k upon the land e rugged points nowy mountain- ourselves to be our port, having bergen current, itful ; the whole )le islets, backed d by a glorious ght. Cireenland ible evening, all auty. It almost enly cast off her )ressive grandeur ::h we could not e interval in the tme character, — :r. ler of the settle- the English, the on conducted us into the safe litUe harbour of I'rcdcrickshaab. I was much gratified to learn that wc were just in time to secure a passage houie for our ailing shipmate. For trailing purposes (ireenland is monopolized by the Danish (lovernmcnt ; its Ks([uimaux and mixed population amount to about 7000 souls. Some 400 or 500 Danes re- side constantly there for the ])urpose of conducting the trade, which consists almost exclusively in the exchange of I'Airo- j)ean goods tor oil and the skins of seals, reintleer, and a few other animals. The l'ls(iuimaux are not subject to Danish laws, and they pride themselves upon this mere show of independence ; they are, however, sincerely attached to the Danes, and with abundant reason; a Lutheran clergyman, a doctor, and a schoolmaster, whose several duties it is to give them gra- tuitous instruction and relief, are attached to each district, and supported by the Danish Government ; and when these im[)rovident people are in distress, which not imfrecjuently hapi)ens during the long winters, provisions are issued to them free of cost : spirits are strictly prohibited. All of tliem have become Christians, and many can read and write. Have we English done as much for the aborigines in any of our numerouo colonies, even in far more favoured climes ? We have thousands of Escjuimaux within our own territories of Labrador and of the Hudson's Bay Company, have we ever attempted to do anything for their welfare ? — and thou- sands more of them inhabit the north shore of LIudson's Strait and the west shore of Davis' Strait, within three weeks' sail of us, and in annual communication with our whaling ships. Greenland is divided into two inspectorates, the northern and southern ; the inspector of the latter division. Dr. Rink, had arrived at Frederickshaab upon his summer round of I visits only the day previous to ourselves. He came on I board to call upon me, and after Divine Service I landed, 'f n. 14 FREDERICKSHAAB, DA VIS' STRAIT. Chap. I. and enjoyed a ramble with him over the moss-clad hills. Our first meeting was in North Greenland in 1848 ; we had not seen one another since, so we had much to talk about. Dr. Rink is a gentleman of acknowledged talent, a dis- tinguished traveller, and is choroughly conversant with the sciences of geology and botany. Unfortunately for me his excellent work on Greenland has not been translated into English. Huge granitic boulders are not uncommon ; we met some during our walk ; the largest measured fifty feet in circum- ference by eight feet in height. We were kindly permitted to purchase eight tons of coals, and such small things as were recjuired ; the only fresh sup- plies to be obtained besides codfish, which was abundant, consisted of a very few ptarmigan and hares, and a couple of kids ; these last are scarce. Some goats exist, but for eight months out of the year they are shut up in a house, and even now — in midsummer — are only let out in the day- time. We also purchased of the Esc^uimaux some r:pecimens of Esquimaux workmanship, such as models of the native dresses, kayaks, (S:c., also birds' skins and eggs. I saw fine si)ecimens of the white swan, and of a bird said to be extremely rare in Greenland, — it was a species of grebe, Podiccps o'isiatiis, I imagine. Frederickshaab is just now well supplied with wood : besides an unseaworthy brig, the wreck of a large timber-ship lay on the beach, and an abandoned timber-vessel, which was met with between Ice- land and Greenland in July by Prince Napoleon, drifted upon the coast 30 miles to the northward in the following September. 2ist — Dr. Rink paid me a visit when starting upon a boat-voyage to visit some settlements at several days' journey to the southward. His boat was constructed of a wooden frame covered with stout seal-skin ; it was about thirty feet T. Chap. I. J ULY, 1857. ESn UIMA UX BOA TS CRE IV. Dss-clad hills. 848 ; we had to talk about, talent, a dis- sant with the :ly for me his ranslated into we met some ;et in circum- tons of coals, »nly fresh sup- ,vas abundant, , and a couple exist, but for up in a house, 3ut in the day- 3me c;pecimens of the native I saw fine d said to be cies of grebe, b is just now orthy brig, the each, and an between Ice- )oleon, drifted the following arting upon a d days' journey 1 of a wooden out thirty feet rs long, very nnnow, and flat at the bottom. The crew con- sisted of six smartly dressed young women, — hence, I sup- pose, the Escjuimaux name of Ooiniak^ or woman's boat; — and the coxswain, or pilot, was a sedate old man, whose patience must often have been sorely tried by these frisky damsels. Esquimaux matrons remain at home attending to household affairs. The men and lads employ themselves in hunting and fishing — they are too dignified and lazy to labour in rowing ; — so it is amongst the disposable young women one must look for a boat's crew, and it seemed to us that the worthy inspector had selected the belles of the place. The difticulty of discipline amongst them once got over, boating in South Greenland may be pleasant enough; we naturally re- garded such a boat and boat's crew as an interesting novelty, and were immensely amused by observing the amount of co(iuettishness, combined with very graceful skill, which these emulous rowers contrived to display upon this rare and fitting occasion, — the Governor's State visit to the ' Fox' ! m The Governor In his Oomiak . ■ I I I ' §, . i il \\ ■ ] i6 LICHTENFELS — FISKERNAES. Chap. II. CHAPTER II. Fiskernaes and Esquimaux — The ' Fox ' reaches Disco — Disco Fiord — Summer scenery — Waigat Strait — Coaling from the mine — Purchasing Es<|uimaux do 'j ^. -»,- t IM; '\ )'■ I ■ "I i8 MOJ^A VIAN MISSIONS. Chap. II. in many old charts as Baal's River. Almost adjoining Godhaab is the Moravian settlement of New Herrnhut. Here it was that Hans Egede, the missionary father of Greenland, established himself in 1721, and thus re-opened the communication between Europe and Greenland, which had ceased upon the extinction of its early Scandinavian settlers in the 14th century. A few years after Egede's successful beginning, the Mora- vian mission still existing under the name of New Herrnhut was established. At present the Moravians support ' t missions in Greenland ; they ire not subject to the Danish authorities, nor are they permitted in any way to trade. As we were about to enter the harbour, the Danish vessel — the sole object of our visit — came out, so not a moment was lost in sending on board our invalid ' and our letter-bag, and in landing our coasting pilot. This man had brought us up from Frederickshaab for the very moderate sum of three pounds ; he was an Esquimaux, and, as the brother of poor Hans, Dr. Kane's unhappy dog-driver, was received with favour amongst us, and soon won our esteem by his quiet obliging disposition, as also by his ability in the discharge of his duty ; he was so keensighted and so vigilant, it was quite a comfort to have him on board during the foggy weather, for he could recognise on the instant every rock or point, even when dimly looming through the mist. V/e were not long in discovering that his absence was a loss to us. When passing out to the north of the Kookornen islands, the wind suddenly failed, and at the same time a swell from to seaward reached us ; we therefore had considerable diffi- ' This man was in a rapid decline ; his sliipmatcs kindly prepared for him a few bottles of cod liver oil from the fish obtained at I'^redericksliaah ; to this oil, he subsec^uently told me, he atlributed his speedy and com- plete recovery. Chap. II. July, 1857. DISCO FIORD. 19 Imost adjoining New Hermhut. lonary father of I thus re-opened ireenland, which -ly Scandinavian nning, the Mora- f New Herrnhut ms support r ct to the Danish ay to trade. ;he Danish vessel so not a moment nd our letter-bag, m had brought us rate sum of three ; brother of poor as received with eem by his quiet 1 the discharge of :ilant, it was quite le foggy weather, ry rock or point, mist. V/e were e was a loss to ookornen islands, time a swell from considerable diffi- kindly iireparcd for 1 at Fi-edcricksliaah; liis speedy and com- culty in towing the ship clear of the rocks ; for nearly half an hour our position was most critical. July ■^\st. — Anchored at Godhavn (or Lievely), in Disco, for a fev/ hours. I presented a letter from the ]3irectors of the Royal Greenland Company to the Inspector of North Greenland, Mr. C. S. M. Olrik, authorising him to furnish us with any needful supplies. Our only wants were sledge- dogs and a native to manage them. We soon obtained ten of the former, but were advised to go into Disco Fiord, where many of the Esquimaux were busy in taking an 1 drvinir salmon-trout, and where one of the latter would most probably be obtained. I was much pleased with Mr. Olrik's kind reception ot me, and soon found him to be not only agreeable but well informed. Born in Greenland of Danish parents, he is thoroughly conversant with the language and habits of the Esquimaux, and has devol 1 much of his leisure time in collecting rare specimens of the animal, vegetable, and mineral productions of the country. I came away enriched by some fossils from the fossilized forest of Atanekerdluk, also with specimens of native coal. It was here I met with the commanders of the late whalers ' Gipsy ' and * Undaunted,' of Peterhead, which had been rrushed by the ice in Melville Bay five or six weeks pre- \iously : all the other whalers had returned from the north along the pack edge, and passed south of Disco. They said that the ice in Melville Bay was all broken up, and that they thought we should find but little difficulty at this late period in i)assing through it into the North Water. Although the crews of the lost whalers were here, awaiting a passage home in the Danish ship, yet I could not induce any of them to volunteer for the ' Fox.' Leaving Godhavn in the afternoon with a native pilot, we found ourselves some 10 or 12 miles u]) Disco Fiord at c 2 M I. 1 20 CHRISTIAN, THE DOG-DRIVER. Chap. II. an early hour next morning. After despatching the pilot to announce our arrival to his countrymen at their fishing station, 7 or 8 miles further up, the Doctor and I landed upon the north side to explore. The scenery is charming, lofty hills of trap rock, with slopes unusually rich in grass and moss for the 70th parallel, descending to the fiord, and strewed with boulders of gneiss and granite. We found the blue campanula holding a con- spicuous place amongst the wild flowers. I do not know a more enticing spot in Greenland for a week's shooting, fish- ing, and yachting than Disco Fiord ; hares and ptarmigan may be found along the bases of the hills : ducks are most abundant about the fiord, and delicious salmon-trout very plentiful in the rivers. Formerly Disco was famed for the large size and abundance of its reindeer ; but for some un- explained reason they now confine themselves to the main- land. At this season the natives of Godhavn resort here and enjoy the trout fishery, — it is truly their season of harvest : the weather is pleasant, food delicious and abundant, and labour an agreeable pastime. Some kayaks soon came off" to the ship, bringing salmon- trout, both fresh and smoked. A young Esquimaux, named Christian, volunteered his services as our dog-driver, and was accepted ; he is about 23 years of age, unmarried, and an orphan. The men soon thoroughly cleansed and cropped him : soap and scissars being novelties to an Esquimaux ; they then rigged him in sailor's clothes j he was evidently not at home in them, but was not the less proud of his improved appearance, as re- flected in the admiring glances of his countrymen. We now hastened away to the Waigat Strait to complete our coals. When passing Godhavn, the pilot was launched off our deck in his little kayak without stopping the ship ! ; pice, \ 5^ •;jpassir ^split ( warm R. Chap. II. ching the pilot at their fishing r and I landed trap rock, with le 70th parallel, mlders of gneiss L holding a con- [ do not know a s shooting, fish- ; and ptarmigan ducks are most dmon-trout very .s famed for the Dut for some un- ves to the main- resort here and ason of harvest : d abundant, and wringing salmon- volunteered his )ted ; he is about The men soon cap and scissars en rigged him in )me in them, but ppearance, as re- •ymen. ;rait to complete [lot was launched tpping the shipl Aug. 1857, WAIGAT STRAIT. 21 As a kayak is usually about 18 feet long, 8 inches deep, and only 15 or 16 inches wide, it requires great expertness to perform such a feat without the addition of a capsize. 4th Au}:;iist. — Entered the Waigat yesterday morning, slowly steaming through a sea of glass. Its surface was only rippled by the myriads of eider-ducks which extended over it for several miles : most of them were immature in plumage, and were probably the birds of last year. After running about 24 miles, towards evening we ap- proached a low range of sandstone cliffs on the Disco shore, in which horizontal seams of coal were seen. Here we anchored, and immediately commenced coaling. It was fortunate v/e did so, for soon it began to blow hard ; and ere noon to-day we were obliged, for the safety of the ship, to leave our exposed anchorage, having, however, secured eight or nine tons of tolerable coal. Formerly these coal- seams were worked for the supply of the neighbouring settlements, but for several years past it has been found more profitable and convenient to send out coals from Denmark, and thus permit the natives to devote their whole time to the seal-fishery. The Waigat scenery is unusually grand ; the strait varies ifrom 3 to 5 leagues in width; on each side are mountains of 1 3000 feet in height. The Disco side, upon which we landed, is composed of trap, sandstone appearing only at the beach, land occasionally rising in cliffs to about 100 feet. Upon (the moss-clad slopes many fragments of quartz and zoolite hvere met with. The north end of Disco is almost a preci- ^pice, the snow-capped summit of which is aooo feet high. 5^//. — A pleasant fair wind carries us rapidly northward, -passing many icebergs. Our rigging is richly garnished with split codfish, which we hoped would dry and keep ; but a warm day in Disco Fiord, and much rain with a southerly gale in the Waigat, have destroyed it for our own use. It hi I;' I If ! i I M !i ! ■ '^. if «r I'i ' / > l: ; I i UPERNIVIK. Chap. II. is, however, still valuable as food for our clogs. I am very anxious to complete my stock of these our native auxiliaries, as without them we cannot hope lo explore all the lands which it is the object of our voyagf; to search. We could only obtain ten at Godhavn, an^' we require twenty more. 6///. — By Petersen's i I'm- • cnov/ledge of the coast we were enabled to run c : ■. o the little settlement of Proven during the night,' - i oufrm a few dogs and some dogs' food. This morning we reachcu he extreme station of Upernivik, the last trace of civilization we shall meet with for some time. It is in lat. 72^ N. Here Petersen resided for twelve of the eigliteen years he has spent in Greenland, and his unlooked-tor reappearance astonished and delighted the small community, more especially Governor Fliescher and his household, who received us with a most hearty wel- come. On a previous visit to this place I was tempted to measure an Esquimaux's mouth as he stood on the deck, grinning frightfully and offering a couple of speared looms for sale ; it measured four inches and a half across ! Flat- tered by this attention, he begged for rum, and a small wineglassful was given him, — he literally chucked it into this yawning crater, as a dog catches the crumb thrown to him, and, quick as thought, held the glass out for more, which of course he did not get. 7///. — Yesterday, when we hove to off Upernivik, the weather was very bad and rapidly growing worse, therefore our stay was limited to a couple of hours. The last letters for home were landed, fourteen dogs and a quantity of seal's flesh for them embarked, and the ship's head was turned seaward. It was then blowing a southerly gale, with overcast murky sky, and a heavy sea running. When four miles outside the i; ' It is hardly necessary to remind the reader that at this season, and in this high latitude, the daylight is constant. Aug. 1857. HE A VY GALE. t this season, and in outer island, breakers were suddenly discovered ahead, only- just in time to avoid the ledge of sunken rocks upon which the sea was beating most violently. Many such rocks lie at considerable distances beyond the islands which border this coast, and greatly add to the dangers of its navigation. Being now fairly at sea, and the ship under easy sail for the night, I went early to bed in the hope of sleeping. I had been up all the previous night, naturally anxious about the ship threadiiig her way through so many dangers, uncertain about being able to complete the number of our sledge-dogs, and much occupied in closing my correspondence, to which there would be an end for at least a year. All this over, the uncertain future loomed ominously before me. The great responsibilities I had undertaken seemed now and at once to fall with all their weight upon me. A mental whirlpool was the consequence, which, backed by the material storm, and the howling of the wretched dogs in concert on deck, together with the tumbling about of everything below, long kept sleep in abeyance. One thought and feeling predomi- nated : it was gratitude, deep and humble, for the success which had hitherto attended us, and for some narrow escapes which I must ever regard as providential. Yesterday's gale has given place to calm foggy weather. An occasional iceberg is seen. The officers amuse themselves in trying new guns, and shooting sea-birds for our dogs. Governor Fliescher told me yesterday that for the last four weeks southerly winds had prevailed, and that only a fort- night ago his boat v/as unable to reach the Loom Cliffs at Cape Shackleton, 50 miles north of Upernivik, in conse- quence of the ice being pressed in against the land. I fear these same winds have closed together the ice which occu- pies the middle of Davis' Strait (hence called the middle ice), so that we shall not be able to penetrate it. However, we are standing out to make the attempt. /Tf* BAFFIN'S BA V. Chap. II. ii f .1 ( ; ' i! 'li! I To the uninitiated it may be as well to observe that each winter the sea called Baffin's Bay freezes over ; in spring this vast body of ice breaks up, and drifting southward in a mass — called the main-pack, or the middle ice — obstructs the passage across from east to west. The '• North Passage " is made by sailing round the north end of this pack ; the " Middle Passage,"' by pushing through it ; and the " Southern Passage," by passing round its southern extreme ; but seasons do occur when none of these routes is practicable. It is very remarkable that southward of Disco northerly winds have prevailed. They greatly impeded our progress up Davis' Strait, but we cheered ourselves with the hope that they would effectually clear a path for us across the northern part of Baffin's Bay. 8///. — Last night we reached the edge of the middle ice, about 70 miles to the west of Upemivik, and ran southward along its edge all night. This morning, in thick fog, the ship was caught in its margin of loose ice. The fog soon after cleared off, and we saw the clear sea about two miles to the eastward, whilst all to the west was impenetrable closely-packed floe-pieces. After steaming out of our pre- dicament (a matter which we could not accomplish under sail) we ran on to the southward until evening, but found the pack edge still composed of light ice very closely pressed together. Having now closely examined it for an extent of 40 miles, I was satisfied that we could not force a passage through it across Baffin's Bay, as is frequently done in ordinary seasons : therefore, taking advantage of a fair wind, we steered to the northward, in order to seek an opening in that direction. I2/A — Position 75° 6' vY, 59° 20' W, We are in Melville Bay; made fast this afternoon to an iceberg, which lies Chap. II. Aug. 1857. THE MIDDLE ICE. 25 rve tliat each ;r; in spring .ithward in a ce — obstructs md the north shing through i(T round its ,'hen none of isco northerly our progress I the hope that ,s the northern he middle ice, ran southward thick fog, the The fog soon bout two miles impenetrable )ut of our pre- ;omplish under ing, but found closely pressed ;nt of 40 miles, sage through it in ordinary fair wind, we an opening in are in Melville erg, which lies 1 aground in 58 fathoms water, about two miles from Browne's Islands, and between them and the great glacier which here takes the place of the coast-line. We have got thus far without any difficulty, sailing along the edge of the middle ice ; but here we find it pressing in against Browne's Islands, and covering the whole bay to the northward, quite in to the steep face of the glacier. This is evidently the result of long-continued southerly winds; but as the ice is very much broken up, we may expect it to move off rapidly before the autumnal northerly winds now due, and these winds invariably remove the previous season's ice. All that we know of Melville Bay navigatio 1 in August is derived from the experience of exploring voyages, and is limited to eight or nine seasons. My own three previous transits across it were made in this month. The whalers either get through in June or July, or give up the attempt as being too late for their fishing. It frequently happens that they get round the south end of the middle ice, between latitudes 66° and 69° N., and up the west coast of Baffin's Bay late in the season ; but we have no accounts of these voyages, nor should I be justified, at this late period of the season, in abandoning the prospect before me, in order to attempt a route which, even if suc- cessful, would lengthen our voyage to Barrow's Strait by 700 or 800 miles. We have already passed what is usually the most difficult and dangerous part of the Melville Bay transit. There is much to excite intense admiration and wonder around us ; one cannot at once appreciate the grandeur of tliis mighty glacier, extending, coastwise, unbroken for 40 or 50 miles. Its sea-cliffs, about 5 or 6 miles from us, appear comparatively low, yet the icebergs detached from it are of the lofuest description. Here, on the spot, it does not seem incorrect to compare the icebergs to mere chip- pings off its edge, and the floe-ice to the thinnest shavings. W ■iVHJ i 3s' • 26 GREAT GLACIER Chap. II. ii 'ii \v ;! The flir-off outline of glacier, seen against the eastern sky, has a faint tinge of yellow : it is almost horizontal, and of unknown distance and elevation ; roughly, we may estimate it to be thirty or forty miles off, and 1500 or 2000 feet high. There is an unusual dearth of birds and seals ; everything around us is painfully still, excepting when an occasional iceberg splits off from the parent glacier; then we hear a rumbling crash like distant thunder, and the wave occasioned by the launch reaches us in six or seven minutes, and makes the ship roll lazily for a similar period. I cannot imagine that within the whole compass of nature's varied aspects there is presented to the human eye a scene so well adapted for promoting deep and serious reflection, for lifting one's thoughts from trivial things of everyday life to others of the highest momenr. The glacier reminds us at once of Time and Eternity — of time, for we see portions of it break off to drift and melt away; and of eternity, since its downward march is so extremely slow, and its augmentations behind so regular, that no change in its appearance is perceptible from age to age. If even the untaught savages of luxuriant tropical regions regard the earth merely as a temporary abode, surely all who gaze \x\>qw this ice- overwhelmed region, this wide expanse of " terrestrial wreck," must be similarly assured that here we have no abiding place, "no continuing city." During daytime the strong glare is very distressing, hence the subdued light of midnight, when the sun just skims along the northern horizon, is much the most agreeable part of the twenty-four hours; the temperature variea between 30° and 40° of Fahrenheit. The drift-ice of various descriptions about us is constantly in motion under the influence of mysterious surface and •t Chap. II. le eastern sky, zontal, and of I may estimate or 2000 feet .Is ; everything an occasional len we hear a ave occasioned minutes, and iod. I cannot nature's varied a scene so well reflection, for everyday life to id Eternity — of drift and melt march is so |ind so regular, lie from age to ;uriant tropical iporary abode, ed region, this It be similarly 'no continuing stressing, hence |sun just skims agreea.ble part I varies between |us is constantly IS surface and Aug. 1857. OF GREENLAND. 37 under currents (according to their relative depths of floata- tion), which whirl them about in every possible direction. To the S.E. are two small islands, almost enveloped in the glacier, and far within it an occasional mountain-peak protrudes from beneath. Our Summer Costume. From observing closely the \. riations in the glacier surface, I think we may safely infer that where it lies unbroken and smooth, the supporting land is level ; and where much crevassed the land beneath is uneven. The crevassed parts are of course impassable, but, by following the windings of the smooth surface, I think the interior could be reached. Some attempts to cross the glacier in % II Il < i /•■ ! 28 DO REINDEER CROSS THE GLACIER? Chap. II. South Greenland have failed, yet, by studying its character and attending to this remark, I think places might be found where an attempt would succeed. Mr. Petersen tells me that the Esquimaux of Upernivik are unable to account for occasional disappearances and reappearances of immense herds of reindeer, except by assuming that they migrate at intervals to feeding-grounds beyond the glacier, the surface of which he also says is smooth enough in many places even for dog-sledges to travel upon. As there is much uninhabited land both to the northvard and southward of Upernivik, I do not see the necessity for this supposition. The habits of the Esqui^iaux confine them almost exclu- sively to the islands and sea-coasts. \ II'; 'J: i 'Si \\ 7?.? Chap. II. Aug. 1857. MELVILLE BAY, 29 CHAPTER III. Melville Bay — Crow's-nest — Beset in Melville Bay— Signs of winter — The coming storm — Drifting in the pack — Canine appetite — Resigned to a winter in the pack — Dinner stolen by sharks — The arctic shark — White whales and Killers. li^th Aui:;. — Three days of the most perfect calm have sadly taxed our patience. Lovely bright weather, but scarcely a living creature seen. This afternoon the anxiously- looked-for north wind sprang up, and immediately the light ice began to drift away before it, but it is not strong enough to influence the icebergs, and they greatly retard the clearing- out of the bay. We have noticed a constant wind off the glacier, probably the result of its cooling effect upon the atmosphere ; this wind does not extend more than 3 or 4 miles out from it. We are lying alongside an iceberg ; from the pools upon its surface we obtain the most delicious water : the Doctor has clambered all over it in search for extraneous matter, boulders, mud, &c., but without success. The dogs have been put upon it, and they enjoy the com parative freedom of space which it affords ; occasionally they survey the prospect from ^'^-s loftiest peak, frequently they fight, and, then unwarily approaching too near to its glassy slopes, tumble into the sea ; when this happens the whole pack give us notice by setting up a prolonged melan- choly howl, peculiar to wolves and Esquimaux dogs; — What's the row now ? Oh, it's only another dog overboard ! The dog swims to the ship, allows himself to be pulled up in the bight of a rope, and for the time tranquillity is restored. I f 11:1 30 THE CROW'S-NEST. Chap. III. So grc^.t is the discharge of fresh water from the glacier and the innumerable icebergs, and so calm has been the weather, that we find the surface of the sea covered to a depth of three inches by water which is perfectly fresh ! 16th. — One of the loveliest mornings imaginable ; the ice- bergs sparkled in the sun, and the breeze was just sufficiently strong to ripple the patches of dark blue sea ; beyond this, there was nothing to cheer one in the prospect from the crow's-nest at four o'clock ; but little change had taken place in the ice ; I therefore determined to run back along the pack-edge to the south-westward, in the hope that some favourable change might have taken place further off shore. The barometer was unusually low, yet no indication of any change of weather. A seaman's chest was picked up ; it contained only a spoon, a fork, and some tin canisters, and probably drifted here from the southward, where the two whale-ships were crushed in June, affording another proof of the prevalence of southerly winds. As we steamed on, the ice was found to have opened considerably ; it fell calm, and mist was observed rolling along the glacier from the south- ward. By noon a S.E. wind reached us; all sail was set, the leads or lanes of water became wider, and our hopes of speedily crossing Melville Bay rose in proportion as our speed increased. We are pursuing our course without let or hindrance. The " crow's-nest " is a peculiarity of arctic ships ; it is merely a secure and sheltered look-outpost, as high up the must as possible. Here on this lofty perch the commander spends anxious hours watching the ice-movements, and tracing out in the ever-changing labyrinth the most secure and con- tinuous " leads " or " lanes " of water in the direction of his course. It resembles a cask about 4^ feet high, and wide enough for a man to turn round in freely ; it has a trap-door in the bottom through which he enters it, a small moveable Aug. 1857. BESET IN MEL VILLE BA V. 31 i-om the glacier n has been the 3a covered to a ectly fresh ! finable ; the ice- 3 just sufficiently ;a ; beyond this, ospect from the mge had taken ) run back along ! hope that some further off shore, indication of any IS picked up; it in canisters, and , where the two I another proof of 1 steamed on, the it fell calm, and :r from the south- all sail was set, md our hopes of roportion as our se without let or ir .rctic ships ; it is s high up the mast )mmander spends and tracing out secure and con- direction of bis t high, and wide it has a trap-door a small moveable screen on the top to keep off the biting winds, and contains a narrow flat seat ; a light iron rod extends round from its upper rim on which to rest a telescope. The extent of vision over the sea-level, of course, varies with the observer's elevation, and is in actual sea-miles but slightly more than the square-root of that elevation in feet. 17///. — The fog overtook us yesterday evening, and at length, unable to see our way, we made fast at eleven o'clock to the ice. The wind had freshened, it was evidently blow- ing a gale outside the ice. During the night we drifted rapidly together with the ice, and this morning, on the clearing off of the fog, we steamed and sailed on again, threading our way between the floes, which are larger and much covered with dry snow. This evening we again made fast, the floes having closed together, cutting off' advance and retreat. A wintry night, much wind and snow. 19///. — Continued strong S.E. winds, pressing the ice closely together, dark sky and snow; everything wears a wintry and threatening aspect; we are closely hemmed in, and have our rudder and screw unshipped. This recom- mencement of S.E. winds and rapid ebbing of the small remaining portion of summer, makes me more anxious about the future than the present. Yesterday the weather im- proved, and by working for thirteen hours we got the ship out of her small ice-creek into a larger space of water, and in so doing advanced a mile and a half. It is now calm, but the ice still drifts, as we would wish it, to the N.W. Yester- day we were within 12 miles of the position of the 'Enter- prise' upon the same day in 1848, and under very similar conditions of weather and ice also. 20th.— Position, 75° 17' N., 62° 16' W. No favourable ice-drift : this detention has become most painful. The ' Enterprise ' reached the open water upon this day in 1843, within 50 miles of our present position; unfortunately, our i \% M 32 BESE :> ' IN MEL VILLE BA V. Chap. III. ;;'»ospects are not so cheering. There is no relative motion in the floes of ice, except a gradual closing together, the small spaces and creaks of water being still further diminished. The temperature has fallen, and is usually belo'v the freezing- point. 1 feel most keenly the difficulty of my position ; we cannot afford to lose many more days. Of all the voyages to Barrow Strait, there are but two which were delayed beyond this date, viz., Parry's in 1824, and the 'Prince Albert's' in 185 1. Should we not be released, and there- fore be compelled to winter in this pack, notwithstanding all our efforts, I shall repeat the trial next year, and in the end, with God's aid, perform my sacred duty. The men enjoy a game of rounders on the ice each even- ing ; Petersen and Christian are constantly on the look-out for seals, as well as Hobson and Young occasionally; "^ in good condition and killed instantaneously, the seals float; several have already been shot ; the liver fried with bacon is excellent. Birds have become scarce, — the few we see are returning southward. How anxiously I watch the ice, weather, barometer, and thermometer! Wind from any other quarter than S.E. would oblige the floe-pieces to v.. -ange them- selves, in doing which they would become loDse, and then would be our opportunity to proceed. 24///. — Fine weather with very light northerly winds. We have drifted 7 miles to the west in the last two days. The ice is now a close pack, so close that one may walk for many miles over it in any direction, by merely turning a litde to the right or left to avoid the small water spaces. My fre- quent visits to the crow's-nest are not inspiriting : how abs'^lutely distressing this imprisonment is to me, no one Vvitlio.i*: similar experience can form any idea. As yet the crew have but liltle suspicion how blighted our prospects are. w ■^¥^M^ J^^:'». Mfe.- *-:! 'k: <*<•*!■ Chap. III. Aug. 1^57. SEAL-SHOOTING. 33 > relative motion ag together, the rther diminished, ilo'v the frcezing- my position ; we ' all the voyages :h were delayed md the 'Prince ;ased, and there- notwith standing year, and in the he ice each even- (T on the look-out ccasionally; '^ in ,', the seals float ; fried with bacon see are returning he ice, weather, any other quarter -inge them- j, and then |herly winds. We two days. The lay walk for many iurning a little to spaces. My fre- linspiriting : how Is to me, no one Idea. As yet the led our prospects 27//V. — We daily make attempts to push on, and some- times get a ship's length, but yesterday evening we made a mile anc^ a half ! the ice then closed against the ship's sides and lifted her about a foot. We have had a fresh east wind for tw'^ days, but no corresponding ice-drift to the west \ this is most discouraging, and can only be accounted for by sup- posing the existence of much ice or grounded icebergs in that direction. The dreaded reality of wintering in the pack is gradually forcing itself upon my mind, — but I must not write on this subject, it is bad enough to brood over it unceasingly. We can see the land all round Melville Bay, from Cape Walker nearly to Cape York. Petersen is indefatigable at seal- siioGting, he is so anxious to secure them for our dogs ; he sa\ J they must be hit in the head ; " if you hit him in the beef that is not good," meaning that a flesh-wound does not prevent their escaping under the ice. Petersen and Christian practise an Esquimaux mode of attracting the seals ; they gciape the ice, thus making a noise like that produced by a seal in making a hole with its flippers, and then place one end of a pole in the water and put their mouths close to the other end, making noises in imitation of the snorts and grunts of their intended victims; whether the device is suc- cessful or not I do not know, but it looks laughable enough. Christian came back a fevy days ago, like a true seal- hunter, carrying his kayak 01 his head, and dragging a seal behind him. Only two years ago Petersen returned across this bay with Dr. Kane's retreating party; he shot a seal which they devoured raw, and which, under providence, saved their lives. Petersen is a good ice-pilot, knc'ws all these coasts as well as, or better than any man living, and, from long experience and habits of observation, is almost unerring in his prognostications of the weather. Besides his great value to us as interpreter, few men are better i\ \ h*, ! iiPi / t!' J 'i)^ «; 3^1- PROGRESS J CROSS THE BAY. Chap. III. adapted for arctic work, — an ardent sportsman, an agree- able companion, never at a loss for occupation or amuse- ment, and always contented and sanguine. Happily we have many such dispositions in the ' Fox.' 7,ot/i.~Fosition, 75° 30' N., 64° 4' W. The whole dis- tance across Melville Bay is 170 miles: of this we have performed about 120, 40 of which we have drifted in the last fourteen days. The ' Isabel ' sailed freely over this spot on 20th August, 1852 ; but the 'North Star' was beset on 30th July, 1849, to the southward of Melville Bay, and carried in the ice across it and some 70 or 80 miles beyond, when she was set free on 26th September, and went into winter quarters in Wolstenholme Sound. What a precedent for us ! Yesterday v.^e set to work as usual to warp the ship along, and moved her ten feet: an insignificant hummock then blocked up the narrow passage ; as we cculd not push it before us, a two pound blasting charge was exploded, and the surface ice was shattered, but such an "mmense quantity of broken ice came up from beneath, that the difficulty was greatly increased instead of being removed. This is one of the many instances iu '.vhich our small vessel labours under very great disadvantages in ice-navigation — we have neither sufficient manual power, steam power, nor impetus to force the floes asunder. I am convinced that a steamer of mode- rate size and power, with a crew of forty or fifty men, would | have got tbrorgh a hurdred miles of such ice in less time than we hav^ bi-en bese";. The temperature ^ 11 i > 25° last night, and the pools are strongly frozen ov^r. I ii': w look matters steadily and calmly in the face ; whilsv reasonable g'-ound for hope remained I was anxiovib in tht extreme. The dismal prospect of a "winter in the pack" has scarcely begun to dawn upon the I do not think they will be much upset by | crew; however. lY. Chap. III. Sept. 1857. DRIFTING IN THE PACK. 35 it. They had some exciting foot-races on the ice yesterday evening. \st Sept. — The indications of an approaching S.E. gale are at all times sufficiently apparent here, and fortunately so, as it is the dangerous wind in Melville Bay. It was on the morning of the 30th, before church-time, that they attracted our attention : the wind was very light, but barometer low and falling; very threatening appearances in the S.E. quarter, dark-blue sky, and grey detached clouds slowly rising ; when the wind commenced the barometer began to rise. This gale lasted forty-eight hours, and closed up every little space of water ; at first all the ice drifted before the wind, but latterly remained stationary. Twenty seals have been shot up to this time. On comparing Petersen's experience with my own, and that of the * North Star ' in 1849, it seems probable that the ice along the shores of Melville Bay, at this season, will drift northward close along the land as far as Cape Parry, where it probably meets with a southerly current out of Smith's Sound ; it will be carried away into the middle of Baffin's Bay, and thence during the winter down Davis' Strait into the Atlantic. From Cape Dudley Digges to Cape Parry, including Wolstenholme Sound, open water remains until October. It is strange that we have ceased to drift lately to the westward. (it/i.—Fosiiioji, 75° 24' N., 64° 31' W. During the last week we have only drifted 9 miles to the west. Obtained soundings in 88 fathoms ; this is a discovery, and not an agreeable one. Of the six or seven icebergs in sight, tlie nearest are to the west of us; they are very large, and appear to be aground ; we approach them slowly. Pleasant weather, but the winds are much too gentle to be of service to us ; although the nights are cold, yet during the day our men occasionally do their sewing on deck. Our companions, D 2 i ^"^'"("^ I I I i' i. '1 ;r H'l 36 DRIFTING IN THE PACK. Chap. Ill the seals, are larger ana fatter than formerly, therefore they float when shot ; we ar^ disposed to attribute their improved condition to better feeding upon this bank. The dredge brought up some few shellfish, starfish, stones, and much soft mud. 9///. — On this day in 1824 Sir Edward Parry got out of the middle ice, and succeeded in reaching Port Bowen. To contiiiij hoping for release in time to reach Bellot Strait would be absurd ; yet, to employ the men, we continue our preparation of tents, sledges, and gear for travelling. Two days ago the ice became more slack than usual, and a long lane opened ; its western termination could not be seen from aloft. Every effort was made to get into this water, and by the aid of steam and blasting-powder we advanced 100 yards out of the intervening 170 yards of ice, when the floes began to close together, a S.E. wind having sprung up. Had we succeeded in reaching the water, I think we should have extricated ourselves completely, and perhaps ere this have reached Barrow Strait, but S.E. and S.W. gales succeeded, and it now blows a S.S.E. gale, with sleet. \oth. — Young went to the large icebergs to-day; the nearest of them is 250 feet high, and in 83 fathoms water; it is therefore probably aground, except at spring-tide ; the floe ice was drifting past it to the westward, ai.d was crushing up against its sides to a height of 50 feet. Since we first became beset, and consequently the sudden destruction of the ship a contingency which we should be prepared for, provisions have been kept at hand on deck, boats and sledges in readiness for instant use. In such a dire extre- mity we should of course endeavour to reach the nearest inhabited land. \T^th. — Thermometer has fallen to 17° at noon. We have drifted 18 miles to the W. in the last week ; therefore our neighbours, the icebergs, are not always aground, but even Chap. HI therefore, they heir improved The dredge es, and much rry got out of t Bowen. To 1 Bellot Strait I continue our Lvelhng. Two lal, and a long 1 not be seen nto this water, r we advanced f ice, when the having sprung ter, I think we IT, and perhaps and S.W. gales ith sleet. IS to-day; the fathoms water ; pring-tide ; the d was crushing Since we first destruction of prepared for, :ck, boats and []\ a dire extre- Ich the nearest loon. We have therefore our n>nd, but even Sept. 1857. CANINE APPETITE. 37 v/hen afloat drift more slowly than the light ice. There is a water-sky to the W. and N.W. \ it is nearest to us in the direction of Cape York : could we only advance 12 or 15 miles in that direction, I am convinced we should be free to steer for Barro^a Strait. Forty-three seals have been secured for the dogs; one dog is missing, the remaining twenty-nine devoured their two days' allowance of seal's flesh (60 or 65 lbs.) in forty-two seconds ! it contained no bone, and had been cut up into small pieces, and spread out upon the snow, before they were permitted to rush to dinner ; in this way the weak enjoy a fair chance, as there is no time for fighting. We do not allow them on board. iGth.— Position, 75° 33' N., 64° 52' W. At length we have drifted past the large icebergs, obtaining soundings in 69 fathoms within a mile of them; thpy must now be aground, and have frequently been so during the last three weeks ; and being directly upon our line of drift, are pro- bably the immediate cause of our still remaining in Melville Bay. The ice is slack everywhere, but the temperature having fallen to 3°, new ice rapidly forms, so that the change comes too late. The western limit of the bay — Cape York — is very distinct, and not more than 25 miles from us. i8//i'. — Lanes of water in all directions; but the nearest is half-a-m.ile from us. They come too late, as do also the N.W. winds which have now succeeded the fatal south- easters. The temperature fell to 2° below zero last night. We are now at length in the •' North Water" ; the old ice has spread out in all directions, so that it is only the young ice — formed within the last fortnight — which detains us prisoners here. The icebergs, the chief cause of our unfortunate deten- tion, and which for more than three weeks were in advance If M il ■ t nm m n '*mm!mme'mm I < V ( t . i' 1 ( : \f 38 PROSPECT FOR WINTER. Chap. III. of us to the westward, are now, in the short space of two days, nearly out of sight to the eastward. The preparations for wintering and sledge-travelling go on with unabated alacrity; the latter will be useful should it become necessary to abandon the ship. Notwithstanding such a withering blight to my dearest hopes, yet I cannot overlook the many sources of gratifica- tion which do exist ; we have not only the necessaries, but also a fair portion of the luxuries of ordinary sea-life ; our provisions and clothing are abundant and well suited to the climate. Our whole equipment, though upon so small a scale, is perfect in its way. We all enjoy excellent health, and the men are most cheerful and willing. Our "native auxiliaries," consisting of Christian and his twenty-nine dogs, are capable of performing immense ser- vice ; whilst Mr. Petersen from his great arctic experience is of much use to me, besides being all that I could wish as an interpreter. Humanly speaking, we were not unreason- able in confidently looking forward to a successful issue of this season's operations, and I greatly fear that poor Lady Franklin's disappointment will consequently be the more severely felt. We are doomed to pass a long winter of absolute inuti- lity, if not of idleness, in comparative peril and privation; nevertheless the men seem very happy, — thoughtless of course, as true sailors always are. We have drifted ofi" the bank into much deeper water, and suppose this is the reason that seals have become more scarce. 22nd. — Constant N.W. winds continue to drift us slowly southward. Strong indications of water in the N.W., W., and S.E. ; its vicinity may account for a rise in the tempe- rature, without apparent cause, to 27° at noon to-day. The newly-formed ice affords us delightful walking ; the Sept. 1857. BEARS— AMUSEMENTS. 39 ge-travelling go e useful should old ice on the contrary is covered with a foot of soft snow. We have no shooting ; scarcely a living creature has been seen for a week. 2\th.--Fosition, 75° 8' N., 65° 20' W. Yesterday I thought I saw two of our men walking at a distance, and beyond some unsafe ice, but on inquiry found that all were on board : Petersen and I set off to reconnoitre the strangers ; they proved to be bears, but much too wary to let us come within shot. It was dark when we returned on board after a brisk walk over the new ice. The calm air felt agreeably mild, we were without mittens and but that the breath froze upon mustachios and I )eard, one could have readily imagined the night was comfortably warm ; yet the thermometer stood at 2 7° below the freezing point. I feel more inclined to pardon the man who remarked, " the thermometer had no influence whatever on the cold," than to bear with people who take for granted that it indicates the sensation of heat or cold appreciable by our feelings. To-day when walking in a fresh breeze the wind felt very cold, and kept one on the look-out for frost-bites, although the thermometer was up to 10° Games upon the ice and skating are our afternoon amusements; but we also have some few lovers of music, who embrace the opportunity for vigorous execution, without fear of being reminded that others may have ears more sensitive and discriminating than their own. But I must not omit to mention the cat, for she affords us quite as much amusement as the con- certina. The Doctor has been very zealous in arranging the specimens of dried plants, and tells me that now he has got them all packed up and ready for delivery ! 26///. — The mountain to the north of Melville Bay, known as the " Snov/y Peak," was visible yesterday, although 90 miles distant ; I have calculated its height to be 6000 feet. A raven was shot to-day. ,11 m IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) Z^ ^ A i,. I suppose, of bettering their condition, — we only feed them three times a week at present ; they returned this morning. Seals are daily seen upon the new ice, but in this doubtful sort of light they are extremely timid, therefore our sports- men cannot get within shot. The bears scent or hear our dogs, and so keep aloof; even the shark has deserted us, the bait remains intact. The snow crystals of last night are extremely beautiful ; the largest kind is an inch in length ; its form exactly resembles the end of a pointed feather. Stellar crystals two-tenths of an inch in diameter have also fallen ; these have six points, and are the most exquisite things when seen under a microscope. I remember noticing them at Melville Island in March, 1853, when the temperature rose to +8°; as these were formed last night between the temperatures of +6° and +12°, it would appear that the form is due to a certain fixed temperature. In the sun, or even in moonlight, all these crystals glisten most brilliantly ; and as our masts and rigging are abundantly covered with them, the ' Fox ' never was so gorgeously arrayed as she now appears. 13///. — One day is very like another; we have to battle stoutly with monotony ; and but that each twenty-four hours brings with it necessary, though trivial duties, it would be difficult to vemember the date. We take our guns and walk long distances, but see nothing. Two of the dogs go hunting on their own account, sometimes remaining absent all night. What they find or do is a mystery. The weather is generally calm and cold, — very favourable for freezing purposes at all events, — for the ice of only three weeks' growth is two feet thick. Our well is exhausted ; for nearly a month we have drawn :hap. IV. its third suppose, em three s doubtful )ur sports- r hear our jserted us, t night are length ; its er. Stellar dso fallen ; site things ticing them ;emperature ^etween the ar that the the sun, or brilliantly ; overed with ^ed as she '6 to battle '-four hours would be s and walk le dogs go ing absent 'he weather for freezing iree weeks' Ihave drawn Oct, 1857. " HARNESS J A CK." 45 i^j our whole supply of fresh water from one of those pools of thawed snow so common upon old ice in the summer ; it had become frozen over and was covered with a foot of snow. A week ago this well was 33 inches deep, and contained 16 inches of water. Of course this fresh water did not in the most remote degree owe its origin to the sea. I hardly expect any considerable disruption of the ice before the general break-up in the spring, yet we do not trust any of our provisions upon it, nor is it sufficiently still to set up a magnetic observatory, for which purpose the instmments have been supplied to us. Petersen still hopes we may escape and get into Upernivik, as the sea is not permanently frozen over there before De- cember. I am surprised to hear that eagles have been seen so far north as Upernivik, although it is but twice in twenty- four years that specimens have been noticed there. In Richardson's '.Fauna Boreali - Americana ' the extreme northern limit of these birds is given as 66°; but Upernivik is in 72f ° A few bear and fox tracks have been seen, but no living creatures for several days, except a flock of ducks hastening southward, and a solitary raven. It is said that Esquimaux dogs will eat everything except fox and raven. There are exceptions, however ; one of ours, old " Harness Jack," devoured a raven with ri^ach gusto some days ago. All the other dogs allowed their harness to be taken off when they were brought on board ; but old Jack will not permit himself to be unrobed ; when attempted he very plainly threatens to use his teeth. This canine oddity suddenly became immensely popular, by constituting himself protecting head of the estabhshment when one of his tribe littered ; he took up a most uncomfortable position on top of the family cask (our impromptu kennel), and prevented the approach of all the other dogs : but for his timely inter- |.) (1 46 PENDULUM EXPERIMENTS. Chap. IV. ; ''\ iif i ii fl Vi ference on behalf of the poor little puppies, I verily believe they would all have been stolen and devoured ! Dogs may do even worse than eat raven. I have atte;npted some experiments for the purpose of determining the mean hourly change of oscillation of a pendulum due to the earth's diurnal motion; but as mine was only iii^ feet in length, I failed of any approach to accuracy. The mean of several observations gave 17° 47', whereas the change due to our latitude is about 14° 30'. A single experiment gave 14° 10', and this was the longest in point of time of any of them, the pendulum having swung for thirty-six minutes. 2 ^th.— Position, 7 5° 2 7 ' N. , 68^ 4 1 ' W. Furious N. W. and S.E. gales have alternated of late ; the ship is housed over, to keep out the driving snow ; so high is the snow carried in the air that a little box perforated with small holes and triced up 50 feet high is soon filled up ; this box is supplied morning and evening with a piece of prepared paper to detect the presence and comparative amount of ozone in the atmosphere ; it is a peculiar pet of the Doctor's. At eight o'clock this evening I noticed the falling of a very brilliant meteor ; it passed through the constellation of Cassiopeia in a N.N.E. direction before terminating its visible existence, which it did very much like a huge rocket ; the flash was so brilliant that a man whose back was turned to it mistook the illumination for lightning. 26t/i. — Our school opened this evening, under the auspices of Dr. Walker. He reports eight or nine pupils, and is much gratified by their zeal. At present their studies are limited to the three R's — reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic. They have asked him to read and explain something instructive, so he intends to make them acquainted with the trade-winds and atmosphere. This subject affords an opportunity of explaining the uses of our thermometer, barometer, ozono- Nov. 1857. ICE DISTURBANCE. 47 meter, and electrometer, which they see us take much in- terest in. It is delightful to find a spirit of inquiry amongst them. Apart from scholastic occupation, I give them healthful e.:ercise in spreading a thick layer of snow over the deck, and encasing the ship all round with a bank of the same non-conducting material. 28///. — Midnight. This evening, to our great astonish- ment, there occurred a disruption and movement of the ice within 200 yards of the ship. The night was calm ; the reflection of a bright moon, aided by the more than ordinary brilliancy of the stars upon the sno\vy expanse, made it appear to us almost daylight. As I sit now in my cabin I can distinctly hear the ice crushing ; it resembles the con- tinued roar of distant surf, and there are many other occa- sional sounds ; some of them remind one of the low moaning of the wind, others are loud and harsh, as if trains of heavy waggons with ungreased axles were slowly labouring along. Upon a less-favoured night these sounds might be appalling ; even as it is they are sufficiently ominous to invite reflection. Cape York has been in sight for some days past. 2^th. — Another heavenly night, and still greater ice dis- turbance ; some of the crushed-up pieces are nearly four feet thick. The currents, icebergs, and changes of temperature, may contribute to this ice action ; but I think th^^ tides are the chief cause, and for these reasons ; that it wants but two days to the full moon, and that the ice-movements are almost confined to the night, and change their direction morning and evening. Now we know that the night-tides in Green- land greatly exceed the aay-tides. One thing is evioent — the weather continues calm, therefore the winds are not concerned in the matter. 2nd Nov. — Position, 75° 13' N., 68° 50' W. Having ob- served some days ago that- a few of the dogs were falling away — from some cause or other not having acquired their M ■' ' I ■:i5 ' 48 BEAR-HUNTING BY NIGHT. Chap. IV. Nov. . 11 i 1 natural winter clothing before the recent cold weather set in — they were all allowed on board, and given a good extra meal. Since then we can scarcely keep them out. One calm night they made a charge, and boarded the ship so suddenly that several of the men rushed up, very scantily clothed, to see what was the matter. Vigorous measures were adopted to expel the intruders, and there was desperate chasing round the deck with broomsticks, &c. Many of them retreated into holes and corners, and two hours elajjsed before they were all driven out ; but though the chase was hot, it was cold enough work for the half-clad men. Sailors use quaint expressions. They describe the nightly foraging expeditions as " sorties : " they point out to me the various corners between decks where the " ice corrodes," i.e. the moisture condenses and forms frost ; a ramble over the ice is called " a bit of a peruse." I presume this in- dignity is offered to the word perambulation. There was a very sudden call " to arms " this evening. Whether sleeping, prosing, or schooling, every one flew out upon the ice on the instant, as if the magazine or the boiler was on the point of explosion. The alarm of " A bear close- to, fighting with the dogs," was the cause. The luckless beast had approached within 25 yards of the ship ere the quartermaster's eye detected his indistinct outline against the snow; so silently had he crept up that he was within 10 yards of some of the dogs. A shout started them up, and they at once flew round the bear and embarrassed his retreat. In crossing some very thin ice he broke through, and there I found him surrounded by yelping dogs. Poor fellow ! Hobson, Young, and Petersen had each lodged a bullet in him ; but these only seemed to increase his rage. He suc- ceeded in getting out of the water, when, fearing harm to the numerous bystanders and dogs, or that he might escape, I fired, and luckily the bullet passed through his brain. He Nov. 1857. THE SUN'S LAST VISIT. 49 proved to be a full-grown male, 7 feet 3 inches in length As we all aided in the capture, it was decided that the skin should be offered to Lady Franklin. The carcase will feed our dogs for nearly a month ; they were rewarded on the spot with the offal. All of them, how- ever, had not shown equal pluck ; some ran off in evident fright, but others betrayed no symptom of fear, plunging or falling into the water with Bruin. Poor old Sophy was amongst the latter, and received a deep cut in the shoulder from one of his claws. The established authorities on all canine matters — i.e., Petersen, Christian, and Alexander Thompson —have prescribed double allowance of food for her, and say she will soon recover. For the few moments of its duration the chase and death was exciting. And how strange and novel the scene ! A misty moon affording but scanty light — dark figures gliding singly about, not daring to approach each other, for the ice trembled under their feet — the enraged bear, the wol.ish howling dogs, and the bright flashes of the deadly rifles. T,r(i- — I remained up the greater part of last night takiUg observations, for the evening mists had passed away, and a lovely moon reigned over a calm enchanting night ; through a powerful telescope^ she resembled a huge frosted-silver melon, the large crater-like depression answering to that part from which the footstalk had been detached. Not a sound to break the stillness around, excepting when some hungry dog would return to the late battlefield to gnaw into the bloodstained ice. On the I St the sun paid us his last visit for the year, and noAv we take all our meals by lamplight. $th. — In order to vary our monotonous routine, we de- termined to celebrate the day ; extra grog was issued to the ' Most kindly lent to the Expedition by the late Lord Wrottesley, then President of the Royal Society. W u& 1 Jii 50 GUY FA IVA'ES' DA V. Chap. IV. No^ 1 < I tii ■*' crew, and also for the first time a proportion of preserved plum-pudding. Lady Franklin most thoughtfully and kindly sent it on board for occasional use. It is excellent. This evening a well-got-up procession sallied forth, marched round the ship with drum, gong, and discord, and then pro- ceeded to burn the effigy of Guy Fawkes. Their blackened foces, extravagant costumes, flaring torches, and savage yells, frightened away all the dogs ; nor was it until after the fire- works were let off and the traitor consumed that they crept back again. It was school-night, but the men were up for fun, so gave the Doctor a holiday. \2th.— Position 74° 42' N., 68^ 6' W. Yesterday I had the good fortune to shoot two seals ; they were very fat, and their stomachs were filled with shrimps.^ To-day Young and Petersen shot three more, and many others have been seen. This is cheering, and entices people out for hours daily. There is just enough movement in the ice to keep a few narrow lanes and small pools of water open ; the floes or fields of ice are more inclined to spread out from each other than to close. We have latterly been drifting before northerly winds. William Jones, our dog-driver, spent some years on the Labrador coast, in the Hudson's Bay Company's service ; he there developed a taste for seal's flesh, and doubtless obtained some distinction for cooking it; at all events he has placed on our table a novel roast joint, viz., a stuffed shoulder of. seal — very good and tender, although its colour was very dark. Somebody once said that the man who invents a new dish is a benefactor to the whole human race ; such our dog-driver has been to us, his zeal and skill have received the commendations they deserve ; if seal and all else were to fail, I can hardly doubt he would exercise his genius upon some of his own team ! • 1 This is worthy of remark, for with our longest sounding-line, mea- suring 220 fathoms, we could not reach the botl-'-i. ( Nov. 1857. ICE-ARTILLERY. 51 16///. — A renewal of ice-crushing within a few hundred yards of us. I can hear it in my bed. The ordinary sound resembles the roar of distant surf breaking heavily and con- tinuously; but when heavy masses come in collision with much impetus, it fully realizes the justness of Dr. Kane's descriptive epithet, " ice-artillery." Fortunately for us, our poor little ' Fox ' is well within the margin of a stout old floe : we are therefore undisturbed spectators of ice-conflicts, which v/ould be irresistible to anything of human con- struction. Immediately about the ship all is still, and, as far as appearances go, she is precisely as she would be in a secure harbour — housed all over, banked up with snow to her gunwales. In fact, her winter plumage is so com- plete that the masts alone are visible. The deck and the now useless skylights are covered with hard snow. Below hatches we are warm and dry ; all are in excellent health and spirits, looking forward to an active campaign next winter. God grant it may be realized ! Yesterday Young shot the fiftieth seal, an event duly celebrated by our drinking the bottle of champagne which had been set apart in more hopeful times to be drunk on reaching the " North Water" — our unhappy failure, the more keenly felt from being so very unexpected ! Petersen saw and fired a shot into a narwhal, which brought the blubber out. When most arctic creatures are wounded in the water, blubber more frequently than blood appears, particularly if the wound is superficial — it spreads over the surface of the water like oil. Bills of fare vary much, even in Greenland. I have enquired of Petersen, and he tells me that the Greenland Esquimaux (there are many Greenlanders of Danish origin) are not agreed as to which of their animals affords the most delicious food ; some of them prefer reindeer venison, others think more favourably of young dog, the flesh of which, he asserts, is " just like the E 2 F !■! % \ «1 lip If fl W': U i 1 li- h^ J- * % H 52 ARCTIC PALATES. Chap. IV. beef of sheep." He says a Danish captain, who had acquired the taste, provided some for his guests, and they praised his nu "vi! after dinner he sent for the skin of the animal, which was no other than a large red dog ! This occurred in Greenland, where his Danish guests had resided for many years, far removed from European mutton. Baked puppy is a real delicacy all over Polynesia : at the Sandwich Islands I was once invited to a feast, and had to feign great disappointment when told that pippy was so extremely scarce it could not be procured in time, and therefore sucking-pig was substituted ! 19///. — A heavy southerly gale has increased the ice movements ; happily we are undisturbed. As Young was seated under the lee of a hummock, watching for seals to pop up for breath, the ice under him suddenly cracked and separated ! He rscaped with a ducking, and was just able to reach his gun from the bank ere it sank through the sludgy mixture of snow and water. Yesterday we were all out ; I saw only one seal, but was refreshed by the sight of a dozen narwhals. It is a positive treat to see a living creature of any kind. The only birds which remain are dovekies, but they are scarce, and being white are very rarely observed. The dogs are fed every second day, when 2 lbs. of seal's flesh — previously thawed when possible — is given to each ; the weaker ones get additional food, and they all pick up whatever scraps are thrown out ; this is enough to sustain, but not to satisfy them, so they are continually on the look- out for anything eatable. Hobson made one very happy without intending it ; he meant only to give him a kick, but his slijjper being down at heel, flew off, and was in- stantly snapped uj) and carried oft' in triumjjh by this lucky dog, who demolished it at his leisure, away amongst the hummocks. Nov. 1 857. SUDDEN RISE OF TEMPERATURE. 53 Two large icebergs drift in company \, iih us ; our relative positions have remained pretty nearly the same for the last month. 2yd. — A heavy gale commenced at N.E. on the 21st, and continued for thirty-six hours unabated in force, but changed in direction to S.S.W. It appears to have been a revolving storm, moving to the N.W. Yesterday, as the wind approached S.E., the temperature rose to + 32°; the upper deck sloppy ; the lower deck temperature during Divine Service was 75° ! ! As the wind veered round to the S.S.W. it moderated, and temperature fell ; this evening it is — 7°. How is it that the S.E. wind has brought us such a very high temperature ? E' en if it traversed an unfrozen sea it could not have derived from thence a higher tempera- ture than 29°. Has it swept acrops Greenland — that vast superficies partly enveloped in glacier, partly in snow ? No, it must have been borne in the higher regions of the atmo- sphere from the far south, in order to mitigate the severity of this northern climate. Petersen tells me the same warm S.E. wind suddenly sweeps over Upernivik in midwinter, bringing with it abundance of rain; and that it always shifts to the S.W., and then the temperature rapidly falls : this is precisely the change we have experienced in lat. 75°. I believe a some- what similar, but less remarkable, change of temperature was noticed in Smith's Sound, lat. 78,^° N. 25///.— /W/w/, 75° 2' N., 70° 22' W. Mild, " Madeira weather," as Hobson calls it, temperature up to + 7°. It is commonly asserted that sea ice produces fresh water ; and even Dr. Kane, who had the opportunity of testing the fact, states (at page 3 7 7. of his narrative of 'The Grinnell Exi)edition, 1850-51 ') that "it will produce from salt water a fresh, pure, and drinkable element." By my desire. Dr. A\'alker is occupied upon making a ; li . ! il ill 1 'Ml m i Ml W^ %\\ Mi I / • it ,!i< .( ^ ' ;/ '' 1 I I n: i|! ! j !• !■ 54 FREEZING OF SALT WATER. Chap. IV. series of experiments upon the freezing of salt water ; I will here briefly state the process he found necessary, in order to procure fresh water from sea ice. Finding that sea ice contained less salt than the sea water, he collected and thawed a considerable quantity of it ; he then exposed it in tubs until coated over with half-inch ice ; he gathered this second crop of ice, thawed it, and found that it also was less salt than the water which produced it. Again repeating the process of exposure in tubs, he obtained a third crop of ice, which v/as found to yield drinkable water ; and repeating this process a fourth time, a small quantity of nearly pure fresh water was obtained. He found that the ice would contain less salt when frozen slowly than when exposed to a very low temperature, and therefore rapidly frozen. A very beautiful frosty efflorescence appears upon sea ice when formed at low temperatures in calm weather, it is in fact a portion of the brine expressed by the action of freezing. No wonder, then, that sledge dogs, when driven hard over this ice, which soon cuts their feet, suffer intense pain, often faUing down in fits ; nor that snow thinly covering such ice wholly or partially thaws so frequently, even when the temperature is far below the freezing point. Should it then rise to near the freezing point, the young ice, thus coated with sludge "vo saline as to resist the ordinary freezing temperature, not unfrequently becomes so weakened, as to be unsafe. ' 29///. — Keen, biting, N.W. winds. No cracks in the ice, * In a pnpcr read before the Royal (leograpliical Society on 12th April, 1869, from Captain Montgomery of the Indian Survey, it is stated, that at the gohl dii^y;ings in Thibet, first visited by our explorers in 1867, it is the custom of tlie miners to use melted ice for drinlsinj;;, as the water is too salt ! These mines are at an elevation of 16,300 feel, and the cold is very considerable. light 11 Nov. 1857. THE DOGS' SORTER. 33 therefore no seals. Grey dawn at ten o'clock, and dark at two ; the moon, everywhere the sailor's friend, is a source of great comfort to us here. Nothing to excite conversation, except an occasional inroad of the dogs in search of food ; this generally occurs at night. Whenever the deck-light which burns under the housing happens to go out, they scale the steep snow banking, and rush round the deck like wolves. " Why, bless you, Sir, the wery moment that there light goes out, and the quartermaster turns his back, they makes a regular sort^'^*, and in they all comes." " But where do they come in, Harvey ? " " Where, Sir ? why every- wheres ; they makes no more to do, but in they comes, clean over all." Not long ago old Harvey was chief quarter- master in a line-of-battle ship, where, during the long night- watches, the younger midshipmen would gather round him and eagerly listen while he spun them long tough yarns by the hour about the arctic regions, — its bears, its icebergs, and still more terrific " auroras, roaring and flashing about the ship enough to frighten a fellow I " 30///. — Position, 74° 41' N., 69° 10' W. Severe cold has arrived with the full moon ; eight days ago the thermometer stood ai the freezing-point, it is now 64° below it ! So dark is it now that I was able to observe an eclipse of Jupiter's first satellite before three o'clock to-day. For the last two months we have drifted freely backwards and forwards before N.W. and S.E, winds; each time we have gained a more off-shore position, being gradually separated further and further from the land by fresh growths of ice, which invariably follow up every ice-movement. In this manner we have been tlirust out to the S.W. 80 miles from the nearest land, and into that free space which in autumn was open water, and which we then vainly struggled to reach. That the ice has been most free to move in this direction it ^-1^ \ 56 PROXIMITY OF OPEN SEA. Chap. IV; is additional evidence of the recent proximity of an open sea, and shows that in all probability — I had almost said certainty — we should have sailed, or at least drifted into it, had it not been for those enemies to our progress, the grounded bergs. ,: I ;; i i i P '' :i' !• Iii .v= 1*1^ Ms :hap. IV. an open Tiost said ;d into it, ;ress, the m a ■^:M i^» m ^ .^np'-ifcwi \i\ 1 1: '«' i '1 I i;' Jl' 111 !| if ')■- J if'. ■ V I Dec. 1857. THE FIRST DEATH ON BOARD. 59 If i CHAPTER V. Burial in the pack — Musk oxen in lat. 80° north — Habits of the arctic fox — Tlie aurora affects the electrometer — An arctic Christmas — Sufferings of Dr. Hayes' boat party — Ice acted on by wind only — How the sun ought to be welcomed — Constant action of the ice — Return of the seals — Revolving storm. ^th Dec, — I HAVE just returned on board from the perform- ance of the most solemn duty a commander can be called upon to fulfil. A funeral at sea is always peculiarly impres- sive ; but this evening at seven o'clock, as we gathered around the sad remains of poor Scott, reposing under an Union Jack, and read the Burial Service by the light of lanterns, the effect could not fail to awaken very serious emotions. The greater part of the Church Service was read on board, under shelter of the housing ; the body was then placed upon a sledge, and drawn by the messmates of the deceased to a distance from the ship, where a hole through the ice had been cut : it was then " committed to the deep," and the Service completed. What a scene it was ! I shall never forget it. The lonely * Fox,' almost buried in snow, completely isolated from the habitable world, her colours half-mast high, and bell mournfully tolling : our little proces- sion slowly marching over the rough surface of the frozen deep, guided by lanterns and direction-posts, amid the drea^-y darkness of an arctic winter ; the death-like stillness around, the intense cold, and the threatening aspect of a murky, overcast sky ; and all this heightened by one of those strange lunar phenomena which are but seldom seen even here, a complete halo encircling the moon, through which passed a ti \ ^. i , t :!' fi) ;t , dill [III tli 60 J/t/.9A' OXEN IN LA T. 80^ N. Chap. V. horizontal band of pale light that encompassed the heavens ; above the moon appeared the segments of two other halos, and there were also mock moons or paraselenoe to the number of six. The misty atmosphere lent a very ghastly hue to this singular display, which lasted for rather more than an hour. Scarcely had the Burial Service been completed, when our poor dogs, discovering that the ship was deserted, set up a most lismal unearthly moaning, continuing it until we returned on board. Coming to us from a distance across the ice, at sucli a solemn moment, this most strange and mournful sound was both startling and impressive. Poor Scott fell down a hatchway two days only before his death, wliich was occasioned by the internal injuries then received ; he was a steady serious man ; a widow and family will mourn his loss. He was our engine-driver ; we cannot replace him, therefore the whole duty of working the engines will devolve upon the engineer, Mr. Brand. wth.— Position, 74° 31' N., 68"^ 21' W. Calm, clear weather, pleasant for exercise, but steadily cold ; thermometer varies between — 20° and — 30°. At noon the blush of dawn tints the southern horizon, to the north the sky remains inky blue, whilst overhead it is bright and clear, the stars shining, and the pole-star near the zenith very distinct. Although there is a light north wind, thin mackerel-clouds are passing from south to north, and the temperature has risen 10°. I have been questioning Petersen about the bones of the musk oxen found in Smith's Sound by Dr. Kane's expedi- tion ; he says the decayed skulls of about twenty were found, all of them to the north of the 79th parallel. As they were all without lower jaws, he says they were killed by Esquimaux, who leave upon the spot the skulls of large animals, but the weight of the lower jaw being so trifling it is Dec. 1857. THE ARCTIC FOXES. 61 allowed to remain attached to the flesh and tongue. The skull of a musk ox with its massive horns carmot weigh less than 30 lbs. Although it has been abundantly proved by the existence of raised beaches and fossils, that the shores of Smith's Sound have been elevated within a comparatively recent geological period, yet Petersen '■^Us me that there exist numerous ruins of Esquimaux buildings, probably one or two centuries old, all of which are situated upon very low points, only just sufficiently raised above the reach of the sea ; such sites, in fact, as would at present be selected by the natives. These ruins show that no perceptible change has taken place in the relative level of sea and land since they were originally constructed. At Petersen's Greenland home, Upernivik, the land has sunk, as is plainly shown by similar ruins over which the tides now flow. Anything which illustrates the habits of animals in such extremely high latitudes I think is most interesting; their instincts must be quickened in proportion as the difficulty of subsisting increases. Foxes, white, and sooty or dingy- blue, are very numerous ; all the birds are merely summer visitors, therefore the hare is the only creature remaining upon which foxes can prey ; but the hares are comparatively scarce, how then do the foxes live for eight months of each year ? Petersen thinks they store up provisions during the summer in various holes and crevices, and thus manage to eke out an existence during the dark Avinter's season ; he once saw a fox carry off" eggs in his mouth from an eider- duck's nest, one at a time, until the whole were removed ; and in winter he has observed a fox scratch a hole down through very deep snow, to a cache of eggs beneath. Both thes'j kinds of foxes have been found in all arctic lands ; they are very small, and in their winter fur are beautiful animals, full of tricks and impudence. ill lii < i< 1 1 M ,J ''■ *■ ' ^ if 1 ' y ' ' ' 1 62 zz/je: arctic foxes. Chap. V. We once captured a litter of three cnb«; (early in September, 1853) ; they were exactly the co . the dark greyish- brown stones amongst which they were found ; such fierce little fellows, with most restless eyes, and pliant weasel- shaped bodies. Not unfrec^uently foxes would venture on board our ships during the winter nights, and even be caught in traps set for them on deck. I find in my journal for December, 1852, at Melville Island, that, " a wretched-looking, but most lucky fox has been caught three times, and each time hunted by the dogs ; the last time Lion opened his huge mouth to seize it, but the spirited little creature turned, bit him in the foot, and escaped. Had this miserable little fox been worth the skinning, its life would have paid the forfeit of its first capture. We consider a fox which weighs eight pounds to be a large one." When irritated they give a short half- suppressed bark, and sometimes when hunting they utter a strange cry, which always puzzled our men, who would take it for that of a hawk, a goose, or a gull. I fancy that birds and lemmings form their ordinary prey. Captain Collinson attributed the success of his hunting- parties at Walker Bay, in shooting hares, to their having killed off all the foxes. Besides hunting on their own account, they appear to follow the bears to pick up their scraps. Yet how this brave little fellow lives is a marvel ; he is so small that the geese and larger gulls often successfully resist his attempts upon their broods. The men are exercised at building snow huts ; for winter or early spring travelling, this knowledge is almost indis- pensable. Upon a calm day the temperature of the external air being — 33", within a snow hut the thermometer stood 17° higher, this important difference being due to the trans- mission of heat through the ice from the sea beneath. Dfx. Dec. 1857. THE AURORA. 63 Evaporation goes on through ice from the water under- neath it. The interior of each snow-hut is coated with crystals, although the ice upon which the huts are built is four feet thick : but when no longer in contact with, that is, floating upon, the water, I cannot discover any evaporation from ice. For instance, a canvas screen on deck which became wet by the sudden thaw last month still remains frozen stiff. \dtth. — Of late there has been much damp upon the lower deck. This has now been remedied by enclosing the hatchway within a commodious snow-porch ; and, instead of the steam and vapour of the inhabited deck being condensed into moisture about the hatchway as heretofore, it now meets the downward rush of cold air in the porch, and is there converted into minute particles of snow; this porch also diminishes the escape of heat. \c)tlL— Position, 74° 5' N., 66° 27' W. Light N.W. winds, with occasional mists; the temperature is comparatively mild:— 12° to -25°. It is now the *:ime of spring-tides ; they cause numerous cracks in the ice, but why so, at such a great distance from the land, I cannot explain. The three nearest points of land are respectively 110, 140, and 180 miles distant from us. Frequent auroras during the last two days. Yesterday morning it was visible until eclipsed by the day-dawn at 10 o'clock. Although we could no longer see it, I do not think it ceased ; very thin clouds occupied its place, through which, as through the aurora, stars appeared scarcely dimmed in lustre. I do not imagine that the aurora is ever visible in a perfectly clear atmosphere. I often observe it just silvering or rendering luminous the upper edge of low fog or cloud banks, and with a few vertical rays feebly vibrating. II. ? If 64 AN ARCTIC CHRIS7MAS, Chap. V. Last evening Dr. Walker called me to witness his success with the electrometer. The electric current was so very weak that the gold-leaves only diverged at intervals of four or five seconds. Some hours afterwards it was strong enough to keep them diverged. 2\st. — Mid-winte' day. Out of the arctic regions it is better known as the shortest day. At noon we could just read type similar to the leading article of the ' Tim^s.' Few of us could read more than two or three lines without making our eyes ache. 27///. — Our Christmas was a very cheerful, merry one. The men were supplied with several additional articles, such as hams, plum-puddings, preserved gooseberries and apples, nuts, sweetmeats, and Burton ale. After Divine Service they decorated the lower deck with flags, and made an immense display of food. The officers came down with me to see their piiparat" ns. We were really astonished ! Their mess-tables were laid out like the counters in a confectioner's shop, with apple and gooseberry tarts, plum and sponge- cakes in pyramids, besides various other unknown puffs, cakes, and loaves of all sizes and shapes. We bake all our own bread, and excellent it is. In the background were nicely-browned hams, meat-pies, cheeses, and other substan- tial articles. Rum and water in wine-glasses, and plum-cake were handed to us : we wished them a happy Christmas, and complimented them on their taste and spirit in getting up such a display. Our silken sledge-banners had been borrowed for the occasion, and were regarded with deference anrl peculiar pride. In the evening the officers were enticed down amongst the men again, and at a late hour I was requested, as a great favour, to come down and see how much they were enjoying themselves. I found them in the highest good humour with themselves and all the world. They were perfectly sober, Chap. V. lis success s so very lis of four '^as strong gions it is d just read ; Few of )ut making lerry one. Licles, such ind apples, ervice they n immense me to see ;d ! Their ifectioner's id sponge- own puffs, ake all our ound were :r substan- plum-cake [Christmas, in getting had been deference longst the is a great enjoying Imour with :tly sober, Jan. 1858. NEW YEAR'S DAY. 6S and singing songs, each in his turn. I expressed great satis- faction at having seen them enjoying themselves so much and so rationally, I could therefore the better describe it to Lady Franklin, who was so deeply interested in everything relating to them. I drank their healths, and hoped our position next year would be more suitable for our purpose. We all joined in drinking the healths of Lady Franklin and Miss Cracroft, and amid the acclamations which followed I returned to my cabin, immensely gratified by such an exhi- bition of genuine good feeling, such veneration for Lady Franklin, and such loyalty to the cause of the expedition. It was very pleasant also that they had taken the most cheering view of our future prospects. I verily believe I was the happiest individual on board that happy evening. Our Christmas-box has come in the shape of northerly winds, which bid fair to drift us southward towards those latitudes wherein we hope for liberation next spring from this icy bondage. 2W1. — We have been in expectation of a gale all day. This evening there is still a doubtful sort of truce amongst the elements. Barometer down to 28*83 ; thermometer up to +5°, although the wind has been strong and steady from the N. for twenty-four hours, low scud flying from the E., snow constantly falling. An hour ago the wind suddenly changed to S.S.E. ; the snowing has ceased; the sky become clear ; the thermometer falls and barometer rises. Here, as on the 23rd November, we have a well-marked instance of a revolving storm passing to north-westward, and occasioning the otherwise unaccountable phenomenon of a warm north wind. 2nd Jan., 1858. — New Year's day was a second edition of Christmas, and quite as pleasantly spent. We dwelt much upon the anticipations of the future, being a more agreeable theme than the failure of the past. I confess to a hearty i ' 1 . ,1 1, 1 -.1 , 1 i f ■ *iii ir. 66 NE W- YEAR REJOICINGS. Chap. V. welcome for the new year — anxious, of course, that we may escape uninjured, and sufficiently early to pursue the object of our voyage. Exactly at midnight on the 31st December the arrival of the new year was announced to me by our band — two flutes and an accordion — striking up at my door. There was also a procession, or perhaps I should say a continuation of the band ; these performers were grotesquely attired, and armed with frying-pans, gridirons, kettles, pots, and pans, with which to join in and add to the effect of the ot/icr music 1 We have a very level hard walk alongside the ship ; it is narrowed to two or three yards in width by a snow-bank four feet high. In the face of this bank some twenty-five holes have been excavated for the dogs, and in them they spend most of their time. It looks very formidable in the moonlight, being a good imitation of a casemated battery. After our rubber of whist on New Year's night Petersen related to us some of his dreadful sufferings when with the boat party from Dr. Kane's Expedition. They left Rensselaer Harbour in August, 1854, intending to proceed to Upernivik ; they spent the months of October and November in Booth Sound, lat. 77°, all that time upon the verge of starvation, unable to advance or retreat. For these two months they had no other fuel than their small cedar boat, the smoke of which was not endurable in their wretched hut, and without light (for the sun left them in October), unless we except one inch and a half of taper daily, which they made out of a lump of bees'-wax that accidentally found its way into their boat before leaving the ship. In December they regained their vessel. I am surprised that no account of the extreme hardships of this party — so far exceeding that of their ship- mates on board — has ever appeared ; and I regret it, as I believe they owed their lives to the experience and fidelity ill. Jan. 1858. ICE ACTED ON BY WIND ONLY. 67 of their interpreter Petersen.^ At first the Esquimaux assisted them ; latterly they were quite unable to do so, and became anxious to get rid of their visitors. Observing how weakened they had become, the Esquimaux endeavoured to separate them from their guns and from each other, and even used threatening language. It is a pity that these facts are not more fully and generally known, as they bear directly upon two questions very important to arctic explorers : — Can white men find subsistence wherever Esquimaux do ? And, Can white men adopt the habits of wild Esquimaux in so far as to become dome -ticated amongst them ? Even when seeking to escape from starvation, this small party could not accomplish either the one or the other ; nor has any instance of their ever having been accomplished come to my knowledge. During December we drifted 67 miles, direcdy down Bafiin's Bay towards the Atlantic, and are now in lat. 74°. Although it is quite impossible to discriminate between the several influences which probably govern our movements, or to ascertain how much is due to each of them — such as the relative positions of ice, land, and open water, the influence of the winds, currents, and eartii's rotation — yet it appears in the present instance that the wind is almost the sole agent in hastening this vast continent of ice towards the latitudes of its dissolution. We move before the wind in proportion to its strength ; we remain stationary in calm weather. Neither surflice nor submarine current has been detected ; the large icebergs obey the same influences as the surflice ice. We have noticed a slight set to the westward — it is not likely to be produced by current, unless it is the northerly current along the Greenland sliore which thus rtw^w us off to the westward, and may be the result of the earth's motion from west to east. ' Since the above was written, Dr. T. I. 1 Lives, one of the party, has pubHshed a most interesting account of their journey. F a i i ' i I' ; 1 i 1 IvlfM ill 90 ANCHORED AT HOLSTEINBORG. Chap. VII. CHAPTER VII. A holiday in Greenland — A lady blue with cold — The loves of Green- landers — Close shaving — Meet the whalers — Information of whalers — Disco — Danisii Hospitality — Sail from Disco — Coaling — Kindness of the whalers — Danish establishments in Greenland. Wednesday 'night, April 28///. — At anchor off the settlement of Holsteinborg, and moored dose in to its very rocks ! How black they look, and what a welcome feeling of security they convey to us, so recently escaped from a long con- tinuance of icy peril ! ! We have been visited b> uie Danish residents — the chief trader or governor, the priest, and two others : their latest European intelligence is not more recent than our own, but the Danish ship is hourly expected ; she usually leaves Copenhagen about the middle of March. The winter here has been just the reverse of our experi- ence ; it has been severe in point of temperature, but with very little wind; the land lies buried in snow, and as yet there is no thaw ; it is too early for the cod-fishery, and not a single reindeer has been kilted throughout the winter ! Eider-ducks, looms, and dovekies are abundant, as well as hares and ptarmigan. 2()th. — A bright and lovely day. Our poor, half-famished dogs have been landed near the carcasses of four whales, so they must be supremely happy. I visited the Governor to-day, and found his little wooden house as scrupulously clean and neat as the houses of the Danish residents in Greenland invariably are. The only ornaments about the room were portraits of his unfortunate wife and two children : they embarked at Copenhagen last year to rejoin him, and ^^A p. VII. )f Green- ation of -Coaling enland. ;tlement rocks ! security ng con- : Danish and two e recent :ed ; she ;h. experi- lut with [l as yet and not winter ! well as imished lales, so lovernor )ulously lents in lout the uiildren : lim, and May, 1858. HOLIDA V IN GREENLAND. 91 the ill-fated vessel has never since been heard of. Poor Governor Elberg is in ill health, and talks of returning home — by Jiome he means Denmark, the land of his birth, and where once he had a home. 30///. — This is a grand Danish holiday ; the inhabitants are all dressed in their Sunday clothes — at least, all who have got a change of garments, — and there is both morning and evening service in the small wooden church. As the Governor could not be persuaded to unlock the door of tlie dance-house, our men returned on board early ; yester- day evening they were all on shore, and, with the Esqui- maux, were wedged into this one large room ; to be squeezed in a crowd of human beings is positive enjoyment after a winter's isolation such as ours has been. Old Harvey constituted himself master of the ceremonies, and with his flute led the orchestra ; it consioUd of one other flute and a fiddle : he managed to perch himself above all the rest, at one end of the room, and played with such vigour that our bluejackets and the Esquimaux ladies danced away most furiously for hours. These ladies can dance in the least possible space, their costume being particularly well adapted for the purpose, partaking, as it does, much more of the " Bloomer " than the " Crinoline." Christian looks immensely happy : his countrymen regard him as a man whose fortune is made, and the women gaze with admiration upon his neat sailor's dress, his good- natured, full, round face, and huge fat, ■ hining cheeks ; Mr. Petersen is in great request to interpret between the English, Danes, and Esquimaux. ']th May. — I intended sailing for Disco this morning, but wind and weather were adverse. We have ob- tained but little here except water, a tolerable supply of rock cod, some ptarmigan, hares, wildfowl, and a few items of stores. The Governor now thinks the Danish ship must P I; r Mil W 93 AN EARTHQUAKE. Chap. VII. have been directed to visit Godhaab before coming here. We have left letters to go home in her, and they ought to be in England by the end of June. I visited to-day a small lake at the foot of Mount Cunning- ham; it is said to occupy the centre of an extinct vol- cano, but I saw nothing to bear out the assertion. This is the only part of Greenland where earthquakes are felt. The Governor told me of an unusually severe shock which occurred a winter or two ago. He was sitting in his room and reading at the time, when he heard a loud noise like the discharge of a cannon ; immediately afterwards a tremu- lous motion was felt, some glasses upon the table com- menced to dance about, and papers lying upon the window- sill fell down : after a few seconds it ceased. He thinks the motion originated at the lake, as it was not felt by some people living beyond it, and that it passed from N.E. to S.W. This rocky mountainous scenery is magnificent; but a little more animal life — reindeer, for instance — would make it far more pleasing in our eyes. The last twelvemonth's produce of this district amounts only to 500 reindeer skins, instead of 3000, as in ordinary years. The prevailing rock is syenitic granite. This settlement was first formed in 1772, it now contains about 200 souls; the present clergy- man was born in it, and has succeeded his father in the priestly ofifice; his wife is the only European female in the colony. Being told that fuel was extremely scarce in the Danish houses, and that " the priest's wife was blue with the cold," I sent on shore a present of some coals. On Sunday afternoon, hearing the church bell tolling, I went on shore. It proved to be only a christening. The little dusky infant received a long string of European names; there was a small description of barrel-organ, to the sound of which the congregation joined in, keeping up a loud AP.VII. .g here. )ught to Running- net vol- . This are felt, k which lis room )ise like a, tremu- ile com- window- links the by some N.E. to but a filing, I The Inames; sound la loud May, 1858. THE LOVES OF GREENLANDERS. 93 monotonous chant. Most of the young people had hymn- books in their hands, printed in the Esquimaux language. Ravens seem very abundant ; also large grey falcons : perhaps the dead whales may have attracted an unusual number. Poor Christian has not only fallen desperately in love, but has engaged himself to the object of his affections, a pretty Esquimaux girl. He asked me to-day to give her a passage up to Godhavn, as he wished to leave her in charge of his mother until his return there with us next year, when his engagement for the voyage would be fulfilled. Having heard a rumour of a young woman awaiting his return with anxiety at Godhavn, I taxed him with it, but he replied with great simplicity that *' he had never promised her, and would not marry her, as his liiends objected to the match." What are the good Greenlanders coming to? I recom- mended that he should leave his betrothed in her own home, with her mother and family. His asking a passage for her, in order to leave her with his mother, is strong proof of the sincerity of his engagement, not only to his lady-love, but to the * Fox ' also. Governor Elberg has promised to get me some fossil fish, to be found only in North Strom Fiord : they are interesting, as being of unknown geological date. The fur of the arctic hare is beautifully soft and white ; it is sometimes spun, and knitted into the nicest ladies' gloves possible. I was not able to procure more than one pair, and the poor woman who made them could not conceal her delight at receiving for them a shilling and a few biscuits. Holsteinborg may be a charming spot in summer, but it has a northern aspect, and is now almost buried with snow. It is called " Wylie Fiord " by our whalers, and is, I believe, the only place on the coast suitable for laying a ship upon I m ''■n'-\ W Vi: I'l lib «■((,/ • i 1 :' il ], i ! ! 1 i ' i 1 , I I ^ M SI 94 WHALE FISH ISLANDS. Chap. VII. the ground to undergo repairs ; the rise and fall at spring tides is lo feet. We cannot land at all times of tide, for a very sufficient reason : at high-water-mark a broad fringe of ice margins 'he shore to which it is firmly frozen, and is convenient to step on to from a boat ; but at low-water this "ice-foot" is several feet above one's head, and moreover the rocks now exposed are worn smooth and slippery by the constant attrition of ice. The harbour is so small that the ' Fox ' is moored by hawsers to the rocks on each side, and yet the water is so deep that oar anchor lies in 17 fathjms. They tell me that oysters abound here, but I am not quite clear that they do not mean scallops. lo^/i. — On the morning of the 8th we left Holsteinborg with a pleasant land wind and bright weather. When 15 miles off shore we were stopped by ice formed during the last two nights, the thermometer having fallen to 12°; out in the offing lue weather was gloomy and cold, and strong northerly vviiids v/ere blowing. On closing the land again, we regained the offshore wind, and bright weather. Keeping clo^e alongshore, and threading our way through a vast deal of pack and numerous icebergs, we caught sight of Disco about noon to-day, and by the evening were \vithin an hour's sail of Godhavn, when we were again stopped by a broad belt of ice stretching along the coast ; this was a bitter disappointment, more particularly as a gale of wind with heavy sea was fast rising, and snow beginning to fall thickly ; there was nothing for it, however, but to stand off under easy sail for the night. i2t/i. — At anchor at the Whalefish Islands. On the evening of the loth we stood off from the inhospitable barrier of ice, prepared to meet the storm ; snow fell so thickly that we could hardly see the icebergs in time to avoid them. We supposed ourselves to be well to leeward age. A.P. VII. May, 1858. MEET THE WHALERS. 95 I spnng le, for a ringe of , and is ater this loreover y by the )ored by ter is so me that they do steinborg When 15 uring the ° ; out in id strong id again, through caught mg were re again le coast ; rly as a id snow lowever, On the ispitable fell so time to leeward of the Whalefish Islands, but were deceived by the tides ; suddenly a small, low islet was seen on the lee bow ; not being able to pass to windward, we were obliged to wear ship, and, in doing so, she passed within her own length of destruction — for we were certainly within a few yards of the rocks ! The islet was covered with snow, and, but for some very few dark points of rock showing through, it could not be distinguished from ice. On the nth the weather im- proved, and in the evening we came to our present anchor- age. From a hill we can watch an opportunity to enter Godhavn. Notwithstanding the blowing weather, some natives came about five miles off to us ; the water washed over their little kayaks, and kept the occupants' sealskin dresses streaming with wet up to their shoulders ; this part of their dress seems rather part of the kayak, as it is attached to it round the hole in which the kayaker sits, so that no water can enter. It is wonderful to see how closely a man can assimilate his habits to those of a fish. The Danish cooper in charge of this out-station tells us there are thirteen English whalers already out, and some of them have been up to the north end of Disco ; two vessels are in sight. The world, it appears, is at peace. Petersen was at one time in charge of this station 3 he is now seeking out his old acquaintances. 14///. — Summer has suddenly burst upon us — thermo- meter up to 40° ; moreover, we are enjoying English news- papers, and have dined off roast beef and vegetables ! Two days ago I sent a note off to a whaler by a kayak, requesting her captain to lend me some newspapers ; the note reached Ca]jtain J. Walker, of the 'Jane,' and yester- day his ship, accompanied by the 'Heroine,' Captain J. Simpson, a[)proached us, and they both came in to call upon me, each of them bringing the very acceptable present of some newsiDapers, besides a quarter of beef, with vege- ■VHI W I I; !l III ir: , III 96 VOYAGES OF WHALERS. Chap. VII. tables. Nothing could exceed their sincere good feeling and kindness j they offered to supply me with anything their ships could afford. The account they give of last season is as follows: the whalers reached Devil's Point, near Melville Bay, as early as 21st May; southerly winds then set in, and blew incessantly for six weeks, during all which time they were closely beset, and the ships * Gipsy' and 'Undaunted' were crushed. When able to move, the fleet returned southward along the pack-edge, which was everywhere found to be impenetrable ; they sailed south- ward of Disco, and about the middle of July the eariiest ships rounded the southern extremity of the middle ice in lat. 68i° and found no difficulty in their further passageto Pond's Bay. Captain Walker says ships could not have reached Lancaster Sound, as there was much ice north of Pond's Bay which he thought extended quite across to Melville Bay. The position of the ice last season was considered to be most unusual ; the long prevalence of southerly winds appeared to have separated the tail of the pack from the main body, the former lying against the west land about Cape Searle, whilst the latter was forced northward and pressed closely into Melville Bay ; the ships sailed freely between these two great divisions, and found the west water unusually extensive. Had I been able to collect a sufficient number of sledge- dogs at Godhavn last year, it Avas my intention to have sailed across to the west side if possible, instead of pursuing the usual route through Melville Bay ; but the opinions of the captains of the lost whalers were in favour of a " Melville Bay " passage, and the necessity for obtaining dogs left me no choice as to whether I should proceed west, or north to Proven and Upernivik ; I have already recorded what were my opinions at the timc^ so need only observe HAP. VII. eling and ling their St season )int, near [nds then all which ipsy' and love, the ^hich was ed south- le earliest lie ice in passageto not have north of across to idered to rly winds from the Qd about vard and ed freely the west )f sledge- to have pursuing nions of ur of a btaining ed west, ecorded observe May, 1858. UNCERTAINTY OF ICE-NAVIGATION. 97 iwiv, that, although I failed, I believe my decision was justified by all ibrmer experience, even independently of the circumstances which obliged me to adopt it. Nevertheless it is mortifying to find that ships had reached as far as Pond's Bay, and with but little difficulty. Sir Ed.vard Parry, upon his third voyage, did not reach the west water until very late in the season, although some of the whalers met with better success by following up another route. There is nothing more uncertain than ice-navigation, de- pendent as it is upon winds, temperatures, and currents : one can only calculate upon " the chances," and how nearly we succeeded we have already seen. In the preceding year (1856) some of the whalers got through Melville Bay, as early as the 15th June, only a few days after the commence- ment of the summer's thaw. Captain Walker tells me there are many years in which the whalers can pass up the western shore late in the season, but not always so far as Pond's Bay; of Melville Bay after the loth or 15th July they know nothing, but the voyages of discovery afford us ample de- tails ; whilst of the southern route almost nothing has been made puljliciy known. There are many intelligent whaling captains who possess much valuable knowledge of these lands and seas, and even in the terra i/icoi;iiita of Frobisher's Straits whalers have wintered, whilst our charts scarcely afford even a vague idea of the configuration of these extensive islands. The so- called '• Home Bay " has been penetrated for fifty miles and is sui)posed to be a strait leading to Fox's Furthest. Scott's Inlet is also said to be a strait leading into a western arm of the same sea. A surveying vessel would be usefully emi)loyed for a cou])lc of summers in tracing the general outline of these possessions of Her Majesty, more particu- ux most rly as they :ly 'y C[U1 ;ager to barter their produce for rilles, saws, files, knives, H iA #! !■■. i \m .1 V ^ •i; 1:1 I 1 n I ,' ! i i j 1 ! i'l 98 UPERNIVIK BA Y. Chap. VII. needles, and such like articles. Good coal has been found upon Durbin Island (near Cape Searle), in a convenient little cove upon its southern side ; and as the old sailing whalers are fast being replaced by steamers, this place may become of great importance to them. Amongst the many siray questions put to 01 kind visitors, "the fashions" were not forgotten, and, strange to relate, crinoline has actually quadrupled the price of whalebone within the last few years. The sooner the poor whales memorialize the Empress for a change of fashion the better ! We are refitting, shooting, and devouring quantities of excellent mussels; eider ducks are very abundant, but ex- tremely shy. Poor puss has been killed ; tempted on deck by the unusually warm weather, she was pounced upon by the dogs. ilth. — Yesterday our attempt to enter the port of God- havn failed, it is still filled with .ce. This evening Young raid I examined a narrow rocky cove — Upernivik Bay of the natives; finding it suitable for our purpose, the ship was brought in and moored to the rocks. We were received with much kindnesc by our friends Mr. and Mrs. Olrik, and were presented with a file of late English papers. A con- siderable supply of beer was ordered to be brewed for us. I found Mrs. Olrik without a fire in her sitting room, it was unnecessary ; the windows looked to the south, and the sun shone brightly in upon a profusion ^. geraniums and European flowers, at once reminding one of home, and re- freshing the senses by their perfume and beauty ; the merry voices of the children were also a most pleasing novelty. Mr. Olrik says the past winter has not been in any way remarkable, except for the prevalence of strong winds; April and the early part of May have been unusually cold. 24///. — We did honour to Her Majesty's birthday by Mav, AP. vn. 11 found ivenient i sailing ace may visitors, relate, lalebone press for itities of , but ex- on deck upon by of God- ig Young k Bay of the ship received »lrik, and A con- fer us. room, it and the lums and and re- le merry novelty, ny way Lis; April liday by May, 1858. COALING. 99 dressing the * Fox ' in all her flags, and regaling her crew with plum pudding and grog. The ice having moved off, we have come into the harbour of Godhavn, as being more convenient and ,iafe. The day has been a busy one ; we have completed our small purchases and closed our letters ; I have added another Esquimaux lad to our crew, taking with him his rifle, kayak, and sledge. This evening there has been a brisk interchange of presents between us and our Danish friends. I have been given an eider-down coverlet by the Governor, a pair of fur boots by Mr. Andersen, and by Mrs. Olrik, some delicious preserves of Greenland cranberries, a tin of preserved ptarmigan, and a jar of pickled whaleskin ; my table is decked with European flowers, including roses, mignonette, and violets. With good reason shall we remember Godhavp : we have certainly been treated as especial favourites. 26//^. — Left Godhavn early yesterday morning, and an- chored this afternoon in our old position off the Coal Cliffs in Waigat Strait ; a party of seal-hunters from Atanekerdluk came off to us, and their hunting having terminated suc- cessfully, they will assist us in coaling. P'rom these men I obtained much information about this part of the coast ; within a range of 20 miles upon the Disco shore there are four distinct coaling places ; but at this early season two of them are deeply covered with snow. There is also very good coal at the S.E. end of Hare Island, where it can easily be obtained. The ice in this strait: broke up as long ago as the 3rd April ; it has all drifted out to the nort/noard, and only a few icebergs now remain. On the Greenland shore of the strait is the now celebrated fossilized forest of Atanekeruluk, — a brief notice of it will be found in the Appendix ; the extraordinary intere'^ attaching to it is due to the fact, that here about one hundred species of plants have been found, that flourished at ijuite a recent H 2 m I I I § ,t 1^' ! ! lOO FOSSILIZED FOREST. Chap. VII. geological period, and required an English climate for their support. The annual temperature of England may be taken at 49° ; that of Iceland, where no trees will grow, at 39°; but of Greenland, under the 70th parallel where these trees grew, it is only 19°. These miocene fossils, beeches, oaks, magnolias, and ever- greens; the ammonites of Prince Patrick's Island in Lat. 77°; the widely spread coal plants ; the stems of pine trees, still capable of being used as fuel, and found not only in the Arctic Archipelago, but in New Siberia ; also the fossil firs and poplars of Spitzbergen in Lat. 79°; these all shew that there was a time when arctic lands enjoyed, at least a temperate climate ; and we look to the astronomer for a solution of this mystery. Meanwhile the safest hypothesis to adopt isj I believe, that there has been a change in the earth's aXiS of rotation, which astronomy, as an exact science, is not yet old enough to detect. There is, however, nothing new under the sun — even here we find ourselves anticipated l)y an old Chinese tradition, that long ages ago the Pole star suddenly dipped down towards the horizon ! 28///. — Again hastening northward ; the business of coal- ing was very speedily and satisfactorily completed, but the (juality of the coal is very inferior. Upon the green slopes our sportsmen found nothing but a few ptarmigan and a hare, Shortly after running close past the deserted settlement of Noursak, we arrived oft' a small bay, and were startled by finding the water had suddenly changed from transparent blue to a thick mudily colour, but there was no change in its depth ; we were crossing the stream of " Makkaks Elvin," or Clay River, which empties itself into the bay after running through a broad and extensive valley, said to abound with reindeer. This river has its origin in lakes and glaciers in the interior, and the discolouration of the water is pro- \... ■ ■ : ,^vSE c„ [AP. VII. for their 1 at 49° ; ; but of 5 grew, it md ever- Lat. 77°; rees, still ly in the :he fossil all shew , at least iier for a 3thesis to he earth's :ience, is , nothing ticipated Pole star of coal- but the ~|opes our hare., nnent of [rtled by psparent liange in Is Klvin," running Inid with liciers in is pro- JUNE, 185S. KINDNESS OF THE WHALERS. lOI bably the chief cause of success in white-whale fishing, which is carried on here in the autumn, as those timid animals will not permit boats to approach them in clear water. This evening we are crossing Omenak's Fiord, and the land-wind, which here and all along the coast northwards blows from the N.E., has come off to us. 31^/. — Lying fast to an iceberg off Upernivik. The whalers are all within a dozen miles of us, unable to penetrate further north. The season appears forward, and the ice much decayed ; but southerly winds prevail, retarding its disruption and removal. Captain Parker, of the ' Emma,' tells me he does not expect to make a north passage this year, and as his experience extends over a period of at least thirty years, I give his reason ; it is simply this, — that as during the months of February, March, and April northerly winds prevailed to an unusual degree, therefore southerly winds may now be expected to continue ; if he prove a pro- phet, it will be to our serious hindrance at this critical season. Governor Fliescher says the winter has been mild ; there has been but little wind, and that chiefly from the southward. ^fh June. — We have received much kindness from our friends Captains Parker and J. Simpson, as well as from others of the whaling fleet ; the former has generous!}' supplied us with many things we were rather short of, not only in ship's stores, but provisions and coals, and in return I have of course furnished him with a receipt for his owners. Cai)tain Simpson has most handsomely presented the ' Fox ' with a sail and yards, which, after some slight alterations, will enable us to add a main topsail to our si)read of canvas. For the two days we lay at the iceberg, alongside of the ' Emma,' I made furious attacks upon Captain Parker's beef- steaks and porter; we amply availed ourselves of his hearty welcome. By the arrival of the fine steam %\. \l I02 DANISH ESTABLISHMENTS. Chap. VII. ■r, I whaler ' Tay,' from Scotland, we have received papers up to 17th Ajml. This morning we slowly steamed away from Upernivik, threading our way betwixt islands and ice, for about 30 miles, and now await further ice movement before it will be possible to proceed. These are called the Women Islands, so named by the celebrated arctic explorer John Davis, who visited them in Queen Elizabeth's reign ; he found here only a few old women, their frightened lords and more active juniors having effected their escape. Upon one of these islands a stone was picked up some 30 years ago, bearin;^ a Runic inscription ; it was sent home to Copenhagcii as a most interesting relic of the early Scan- dinavian voyagers ; but nothing was on it except the names of those men " who cleared this place " (or formed a settle- ment), and the date, 1135. In all probability their sojourn was extremely short, perhaps only for a single summer. The Esquiniaux did not made their appearance for nearly two centuries later. After Egede's settlement at Godhaab in 1721, the Danish trading establishments gradually extended along the coast, even to Upernivik; but it appears to have been soon aban- doned. During Napoleon's wars all the Danish posts were withdrawn, as the British fleet effectually cut off communica- tion with Europe; but after peace was restored in 18 15, the trading posts were again resorted to, and a new settlement formed near the ruins of the old one at Upernivik ; it enjoys pre-eminence as the most northern abode of civiliLcd man. t il ! I ] d\ Danish coast, aban- ts were munica- 15, the ement njoys man. , t W '\ rr ) \ \ I ft I 1 ) 1 I: liiii n i. 1 1 :i !^ '?5,!iv!:rrt';5i;''fiI;"'Pi'''iiiiii' ,.. : ;;,,;'[Mii|l':i i.Vi vi' vi■0'i'ii'ftl'VI''' '^ii:ii:!:^^'f!:l!]?i!:''ijiiill:l; ' ^' iliiflli'ljl! ii '!i;i;i„:i"i'iUiK ::';i;i l; I i"' 1 .i .'!! Ill Ih ' ,1 I L IV. i i..ili!il Llllilli ilJilliiL Jl- i^- •'.'-^ ^^tN" ! . ts=? ■\\ if'' li i«3' iiii;iiJI;L:!lJi;..iil Juxr, 185S. AV; J A'Z 1 ' n 7v7: c Vv'/:" A lo^ CHAPTER VIII. 'Fox' nearly wrecked — Afloat, ami i)U.-.h ahead — Arctic liair-hieadth escapes — Nearly caii^i;lu in the pack — Shooting little auks — The arctic hiijhlanders — Cape York — Crimson snow — Struggling to the westward — Reach the West-land — Off the entrance of Lan- caster Sound. /i///c 8///. — YivSTF.RDAV momiiig we passed close outside Jjiichan Island ; it is small but lofty, its north side is almost precipitous, yet, notwithstanding this strong indication of deep water, a reef of rocks lies about a mile off it. J hap- pened to be aloft with the look-out-man at half-past eight o'clock as we were steaming through a narrow lead in the ice, when I saw a rod- close ahead ; it was capped with ice, therefore was hardly distinguishable from the floating masses around ; the engines were stopped and reversed, but there was neither time nor room to avoid the reef, which now extended upon each side of us, and upon which the ship's bow stuck fost whilst her stern remained in 36 feet water ; the tide had just commenced to fall, and all our efforts to haul off from the rocks were ineffectual. The floes lay within 30 yards of us upon each side. I feared their drifting down upon the ship and turning her over; but fortunately it was perfectly calm, and as the tide fell, points of the reef held them flist. The ship continued to fall over to star- board ; at dead low water her inclination was 35°; the water covered the starboard gunwale from the mainmast aft; and reached almost up to the after hatchway ; at this time the slightest shake must have caused her to fall over upon ^l , ' ■ *j .111 io6 JOIN THE WHALERS. Chap. VIII. > I, her side, when she would instantly have filled and sunk ! The dogs, after repeated ineffectual attempts to lie upon the deck, quietly coiled themselves up upon such parts of the lee gunwale as remained above water and went to sleep. To me the moments seemed lengthened out beyond any- thing I could have imagined ; but at length the water began to rise, and the ship to resume her upright position. Boats, anchors, hawsers, &c., were got on board again with the utmost alacrity, and the ship floated off unhurt after having been eleven hours upon the reef. We had grounded during the day tide and were floated off by the night tide, which upon this coast occasions a much greater rise and fall, — so far we were favoured, but the poor little ' Fox ' had a very narrow escape ; as for ourselves, there was not the slightest cause for apprehension, three steam whalers being within signal distance. To-day we are steaming along after the three vessels which passed us last evening and disappeared round Cape Shackle- ton during the night. The contrast between our prospects yesterday and to-day fills one with delight, — to be afloat and advancing unobstructedly once more, is indeed charming. I ith. — On the afternoon of the 8th we joined the steamers ' Tay,' Captain Deuchars ; ' Chase,' Captain Gravill, sen. ; and ' Diana,' Captain Gravill, jun. After repeated ice- detentions, we have reached Duck Island. Captain Deuchars says there is every prospect of an early north passage. We have had several conversations about the Pond's Bay natives, and their reports of ships, wrecks, and Europeans ; but there appears to be not only great difficulty, but also uncertainty, in arriving at their meaning ; to form an idea of the time elapsed since an event, or the distance to the spot where it occurred, is a still harder task. I look forward to our visit at Pond's Bay with greatly increased interest. In August, 1855, when Captain Deuchars was crossing June, 1858. ARCTIC HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPES. 107 through the middle ice, in latitude 70°, he found part of a steamer's topmast embedded in heavy ice ; he also saw the moulded form ot a ship's side, and thinks the latter must have sunk ; the portion of the topmast visible was sawed off and taken to England. In the following month, and three degrees further South, the * Resolute ' was picked up. Now as Her Majesty's Ships ' Resolute ' and ' Intrepid ' were frozen up close together when we abandoned t.iem in May, 1854, I conclude that the traces which Captain Ueuchars discovered were those of my old ship, the * Intrepid.' About two or three years ago Captain Deuchars lost his ship, the ' Princess Charlotte,' in Melville Bay. It was a beautiful morning ; they had almost reached the North Water, and were antici- pating a very successful voyage ; the s<-eward had just reported breakfast ready, when Captain IJeuchars, seeing the floes closing together ahead of the ship, remained on deck to see her pass safely between them ; but they closed too quickly : the vessel was almost through, when the points of ice caught her sides abreast of the mizenmast, and passing through, held the wreck up for a few minutes, barely long enough for the crew to escape and save their boats. Poor Deuchars thus suddenly lost not only his breakfast but his ship ; within ten mimitcs her royal yards disappeared beneath the surface. How closely danger besets the arctic cruiser, yet how insidiously ; everything looks so bright, so calm, so still, that it requires positive experience to convince one that ice only a very few inches, perhaps only three or four inches, above water^ perfectly level, and moving extremely slow, could possibly endanger a strong vessel 1 The ' Princess Charlotte ' was a very fine, strong ship, and her captain one of the most experienced arctic seamen : he now commands the finest whaler in the fleet. ■1-w 5mg ' Only about one-seventh of the whole thickness of sea ice is floated above water. t \l io8 A MAN CHASED BY BEARS. Chap. VIII. !ll {. i^t/i. — We have only advanced a few miles to the north- Avard. The steamer 'Innuit' has joined our small steam scjuadron. Captain Sutter left Scotland only a month ago : he has very kindly and prompdy sent us a present of news- papers and potatoes. Captain Deuchars has also been good enough to supply us with some potatoes and porter, perhaps the most serviceable present he could have made us after our long subsistence upon salted and preserved meats. 19///. — Once more alone in Melville Bay. The 'Innuit' and ' Chase ' steamed much too fast for us, and the last of the four vessels, the ' 'J'ay,' parted from us in a thick fog yesterday. We have come close along the edge of the fixed ice, passing about 6 miles outside of the Sabine Islands, and are advancing as opportunities offer. This morning the man who was stationed to watch a nip about a quarter of a mile ahead of the ship, came running back, pursued by three bears — a mother with her half-grown cubs. I suppose they followed him chiefly because he ran from them ; at all events they were very close up when he reached the ship. Another bear was seen about the same time, but none of them came within shot. Rotchies (or little auks) are very abundant. Seals are occasionally shot. I ate some boiled seal to-day, and found it good : this is the first time I have eaten posi- tive blubber ; all scruples respecting it henceforth vanish. 25///.— The land-ice broke away inshore of the ' P'ox' on the 19th or 20th, and we found ourselves drifting southward amongst extensive fields of ice. Sad experience has already shown us how powerless our small craft is under such cir- cumstances. But after many attempts we regained the edge of the fast ice this morning, and steamed merrily along it towards liushnan Island. When within a few miles a nip brought us to a standstill : here five or six icebergs, appa- rently aground, lie encompassed by land ice ; one of them juts out and has caught the point of an immense field of ice ; June, 1858. NEARLY CAUGHT IN THE PACK. 109 there is some slight movement in the latter, but not enough to let us pass through. Twelve or eighteen miles to the south there is a cluster of hergs, in all probability aground upon our " 70 fathom bank " of last September. Ilie ice-field appears to rest against them, as both to the east and west there is much clear water. Exactly at this spot Captain Penny was similarly detained by a nip in August, 1850. Although progress is denied to us at present, yet it is an unspeakable relief to have got out of the drifting ice. I have passed very many anxious days in Melville Bay, but hardly any of them weighed so heavily upon me as yesterday. Such a lovely day, so clear and bright, a sky intensely blue, and every distant object remarkably distinct; it was a day above all days to string one's nerves for unusual action ; and the longed-for broad land-water was there — ■ within a third of a mile — gently rippled by a pleasant fair breeze. But the nip — the intervening nip, — it worked suffi- ciently with wind and tide to keep one in suspense ; it nearly opened at high water, but closed again with the ebb tide. I thought of the week already spent in struggling amongst drifting tloes, and was haunted by visions of everything horrible — gales, fogs, ice -crushing, (S:c. Nor was it consoling to reflect that all the whaling ships might have actually slipped i)ast us. In fact a prolonged condition of unrest, of intense mental and physical strain, had worked me up into a state of extreme anxiety at being so repeatedly baffled in all my efforts by the varying, yet continual perplexities of our position.' The only difference in favour of our prospects over those of the past year consists in our having arrived Pi U:i;ia * To those liaviiiL,' responsibility, Melville Kay navigation admits of »o n's/ ; tiie unquiet ice ever threatens, whilst constant dayhylit not only seems to warn one a<;ainst yielding to repose, but banishes for a time the desue for natural rest. w ! 11 no SHOOTING LITTLE AUKS. Chap. VI 1 1. H I ^ ,! )hi i: i ■(' ill I- I here two months earUer ; but the importance of this differ- ence is incalculable. The opportunities afforded by the delays to which we have been subjected were turned, however, to some account. Nearly one thousand rotchies were shot ; they are excellent eating, their average weight is four ounces and a half, but when prepared for the table they probably do not yield more than three ounces each. A young bear imprudently swam up to the ship, and was shot, — his skin fell to the sportsman, and carcase to the dogs. Several others have been seen : we watched one fellow surprise a seal upon the ice, and carry it about in his mouth as a cat does a mouse. 27///. — Lying fast to the ice off the Crimson Cliffs, of Sir John Ross. Yesterday we succeeded in passing through the nip, and by evening reached Cape York. Seeing natives running out upon the land-ice, the ship was made fast for an hour in order to communicate with them. A party of eight men came on board : they immediately recognised Petersen for they lived at Etah in Smith's Sound when he was there in the American expedition. They asked for Dr. Kane, and told us Hans was married and living in Whale Sound. They all said he was most anxious to return to Greenland, but had neither sledge-dogs nor kayak ; hunger had compelled him to eat the sealskin which covered the framework of the latter. Petersen gave them messages for Hans from his Greenland friends, and advice that he should fix his residence here, where he might see the whalers and i)erhaps be taken back to Greenland. The natives did not seem to be badly off for anything except dogs, some distemper having carried off most of these indispensable animals, I was therefore unable to procure any from them. These people sjjcnt last winter here ; they seemed to be healthy, well-dad, and happy little fellows. One of them is brother-in-law to Erasmus York, who voluntarily came to England in the ' Assistance ' in ,■ \ ■pi ,1 1 it ■ 4 1 1 1 ... I M ;i ■ 1 nl h' ilv i 1 f \H ' I 'illli J I fl'''i l': ri.l. iS,!;!i;:|::'a|:.:;m '5 6 I) o 2 5? '3 •s 3 ■J a 3 June, 1851. flatter though Pete able sp petrate( years in of his d his proj " unsop Esquim Of 1; alarmed famine : other in The a about in strange, long, coa which in breeches, sealskin 1 the horn of Christ rot posse only trai Esquimai trepid'; 1 us; they flat faces rently in walked tc lation ; o seemed t k-'— ; '"I i,l' >, 111 j3 13 X 3 j3 O u 2 a, ■3 3 -J O. ■J 3 '3 3* n June, 1858. ARCTIC HIGHLANDERS. 113 185 1. This man is an angekok, or magician; he has a still flatter face than the rest of his countrymen, but appears more thoughtful and intelligent. Petersen pointed out to me a stout old fellow, with a toler- able sprinkling of beard and moustache. This worthy per- petrated the only murder which has taken place for several years in the tribe : he disliked his victim and stood in need of his dogs, therefore he killed the owner and appropriated his property ! Such motives and passions usually govern the " unsophisticated children of nature ; " yet, as savages, the Esquimaux may be considered exceedingly harmless. Of late years these arctic highlanders have become alarmed by the rapid diminution of their numbers through famine and disease, and have been less violent towards each other in their feuds and quarrels. The a] pearance of the men, as they danced and rolled about in frantic delight at our approach, was wild and strange, and their costumes uniform and pictuiesque. Their long, coarse, black hair hung loosely over the sealskin frock, which in its turn overlapped their loose shaggy bearskin breeches, and these again came down over the tops of their sealskin boots. Most of them carried a spear formed out of the horn of a narwhal. They watched the rapid evolutions of Christian in his kayak with intense interest, for they do rot possess any themselves, and their knowledge of them is only traditional. My first interview with these northern Esquimaux was in 1852, when commanding H.M.S. 'In- trepid'; then, as now, the men came off on the land ice to us; they appeared to me to be very little people, with large flat faces and a sprinkling of beard and moustache, appa- rently in sound health and perfectly happy. A party of us walked to the land to visit their abodes, and the female popu- lation ; one vociferous old hag met us at the beach, and seemed to be introducing us to all the rest, and gave us a I i \ \ i; t ij t IV tl 114 ARCTIC HIGHLANDERS. Chap. VIII. detailed account of their relationships and accomplishments. There were three tents only ; words can scarcely describe the filth and wretchedness of such abodes ; the sealskins composing the tents, and the skins of various sorts which served for beds, and blankets, were scarcely half dressed, and emitted an intolerable effluvium, whilst the ground in every direction was strewed with bones and decaying animal matter. The dresses of the women were covered with blubber and soot, their faces and necks black and greasy, and eyes bleared, from constantly superintending the slow process of cooking in a stone vessel over a smoky blubber lamp. Several fresh sealskins were stretched upon the earth, and pegged down with small bones, whilst the carcases, not required for present use, were covered over with large stones to preserve them from the dogs. Not twenty yards from the tents stood the ruin of a winter hut ; I looked in through a crevice and saw that the ordinary flooring of flat stones was nearly covered with ice, and, from the quantity of scraps and bones lying about, it seemed to have become the occasional habitation of the dogs; — but there was also a human skeleton, and near to it that of a dog. In times of distress, when unable to bury the dead, the hut is usually aban- doned, as appears to have been the case in this instance. ■ It would be difficult to find a more repulsive and humilia- ting spectacle than I have here briefly described. The dogs were very fine, large, wolfish in appearance, and with much of the carriage and the quick, intelligent, restless eyes peculiar to beasts of prey. These degraded people are effectually cut off from civili- zation, and from the more southern inhabitants of Greenland by the enormous and impassable glaciers of Melville Bay ; the distance from Cape York to Upernivik, the nearest inhabited land to the southward, is about 250 miles. At (iodhavn I received a request from the Royal Danish Green- \\ [AP. VIII. ishments. ' describe sealskins irts which issed, and 1 in every g animal ;red with d greasy, the slow y blubber upon the I carcases, ivith large nty yards looked in ng of flat uantity of come the is also a times of illy aban- tance. humilia- mce, and , restless Dm civili- reenland ille Bay ; nearest lies. At h Green- JULY, 1858. CA UGHT IN THE ICE. 115 land Company, through the Inspector of North Greenland, to convey from their isolated locality these arctic high- landers (numbering in all 120 souls), to the Danish settle- ments in Greenland ; and had the object and circumstances of my voyage permitted me to turn aside for this purpose, it would have afforded me very sincere satisfaction to have carried out so humane a project. It is indeed hard to realize their state of existence ; they have no vegetable lood whatever, neither wood nor metal, no canoes, not even a bow ; and yet they exist in a mean annual temperature of 34° below the freezing point, further north than any other known people, and where the sun is absent for one third of the year ! Having distributed presents of knives and needles, and explained to them that we did so because the_, " n.d behaved well to the white people (as we learn from Dr. Kane's narrative of their treatment of him and his crew), we pur- sued our voyage, not doubting but that we should soon reach the North Water, an extensive sea through which we could sail uninterruptedly to Pond's Bay. During the night we advanced through loose ice ; but fog and a rising S.E. gale delayed us, and to-day the pack has pressed in against the land, so that our wings are most unexpectedly clipped. A walrus was shot through the head by a Minie bullet ; none other will penetrate such a massive skull : unfortunately for my collection of specimens and for the dogs, the animal sank. 2nd July. — For five days we have been almost beset amongst loos« ice and grounded bergs; the winds were generally from the S.E. and accompanied by fog. To avoid being squeezed we had constandy to shift our posi- tion j once we were caught and rather severely nipped ; the ship was heeled over about ten degrees and lifted a couple of feet : the ice was three feet thick, but broke \ 1 16 ROTCHIES AND GULLS. Chap. VIII. Mk ■ - ! readily under her weight. Unfortunately there was not time to unship the rudder, so it suffered very severely. Upon a previous occasion ^he screw-shaft was bent and a portion of the screw brokeji off. We landed to obtai.i a good view of the sea in the offing ; from th ■ hills'" could see nothing but pack to seaward. There w ■ '^ • ; tnd ice; we stepped out of the boat upon a narrow ic*' 'M: •.i\ich fringed the coast; immediately above it we trod c.er a -et sward of soft bright-green moss; the turf beneath was of considerable depth. Here and there under this noble range of cliffs, which are composed of primary rock, there exists much vegetation for so high a latilude. From the fact of thick layers of turf descending quite down to the sea, it is evident that the land has been gradually sinking. Steep slopes of rocky debris^ which screen the bases of the most precipitous cliffs, form secure nurseries for the little auk; these localities were literally alive with them ; they popped in and out of every crevice, or sat in groups of dozens upon every large rock. I have nowhere seen such countless myriads of birds. The rotchie, or little auk, lays its single egg upon the bare rock, far within a crevice beyond the reach of fox, owl, or burgomaster gull. We shot a couple of hundred during our short stay on shore, and, by removing the stones, gathered several dozens of their eggs. The huge predatory gulls, long ago named " Burgomasters" by the Dutch seamen (because they lord it over their neigh- bours, and appropriate everything good to themselves), have established themselves in the cliffs, where their nests are generally inaccessible : we were a month too late for their eggs ; the young birds were as large as spring chickens. Of course we obtained specimens of the red snow, but had to seek rather diligently for it ; its colour was a dirty red, very like the stain of port wine : very few patches of it were found. AP. VIII. not time ■. Upon a portion le offing ; seaward. It upon a ;ly above m moss; [ere and oniposed ■ so high iscending has been :h screen nurseries live with )r sat in nowhere or Uttle crevice We shot and, by eggs, nasters" neigh- s), have ests are or their lickens. Dut had rty red, js of it iiiii tT ;:H 'Mi: { 1 1 k* :n ".r J I I » Final liberation from the Melville Bay ice, 2nd July, 1858. July, Ul i^'- July, 1858. BATTLING WITH THE ICE. 119 Last night a westerly wind blew freshly and dispersed the ice outside of us, so much so that this evening we have got out into almost clear water. Farewell, Greenland, — hurrah for the west ! 5///. — After getting free from the ice off the Crimson Cliffs, we soon lost sight of the last fragment, and steered for Pond's Bay. And now we all set to work in zealous haste to write our last letters for England, to go by the whalers, which we hoped soon to meet at Pond's Bay. After running 60 miles the ice reappeared, and we sailed through a vast deal of it, but it became more closely packed, and a thick fog detained us for a day. When the weather became clear, the main pack was seen to the W., S., and S.E. ; in the hope of rounding its northern extreme we ran along it to the N.W. To-day it has led us to the N. and N.E., so that this evening Wolstenholme Sound is in sight. To the N. the pack appears impenetrable, and there is a strong ice-blink over it. All the ice we have lately sailed through is loose, and much decayed ; it seems but recently to have broken away from the land, is not water- washed, neither has it been exposed to a swell, the fractured edges remaining sharp. dth. — Fositiofi, 75° 17' N., 73° 35' W. Midnight. Last evening I persevered to the N. until every hope of progress in that direction vanished. To the W. the pack appeared tolerably loose; the wind was fresh at E.S.E., so I deter- mined once more to push into it, and endeavour to battle our way through ; I hoped it would prove to be merely a belt of 30 or 40 miles in width. We found the ice to lie for the most part in streams at right angles to the wind, and therefore much more open than it had appeared : there was seldom any difficulty in winding through it from one water space to another. The wind greatly increased, bringing much rain, but fortunately no fog ; — the dread of this hung i^- ii JIM ', ( M ill I i j 1 ) 1 f IM k 1 20 THE ICE CLOSING. Chap. VIII. over me like a nightmare, — for our progress entirely de- ])ended upon the vigilance of the look-out kept in the crow's- nest. By noon we had made good 60 miles. Throughout the day the wind gradually moderated ; the rain gave place to snow, which in its turn was succeeded by mist. The evening was fine and clear ; but still we find the ice is all around. Just before midnight the termination of our lead was discovered, whilst the ice through which we had passed was closing together, and a dense fog came rolling down. Under these circumstances the ship was made fast as near to the nip as safety permitted, to await some favourable change. \oth.— Position, 75° 26' N., 76° 58' W. All the 7th we remained in our small basin, there being no outlet from it, and but little water anywhere visible. To pass away the dull hours and get rid of unwelcome reflections upon the similarity of our present position and that in August last, I commenced an atlack upon all the feathered denizens of the pack — they seemed so provokingly cofiiented with it — but they soon became wary, and deserted our vicinity, so I shot only a dozen fulmar petrels, three ivory gulls, two looms,' and a lestris parasiticus ; some of them were useful as specimens, and such as were not destined for our table were given to the dogs. Although Cobourg Island was 45 miles distant from us, its lofty rounded outlines were very distinct, and much covered with snow. On the 8th we squeezed through nips for 4 or 5 miles, and on the 9th, reaching a large space of water, steamed towards Cobourg Island until again stopped by the pack at an early hour this morning, when within 5 or 6 leagues of it. The reader will now find it convenient to turn from the skelch-map in the Preface * These birds are called "willocks" at home; they are the " Uria Brunnichii" of naturalists. JULI msaimmmmm i. \ .,My = July, 1858. THE WEST-LAND. 121 Uria which he has hitherto used, to the large and accurate one at the end of the book. / -^ . This evening we are endeavouring to steam in towards the West-land, and fancy we can trace with the crow's-nest telescope a practicable route through the intervening ice- mazes «-o a faint streak of water along the shore. This sort of navigation is not only anxious, but wearying. To me it seems as if several months instead of only eight days had elapsed since we left Cape York. We are constantly wondering what our whaling friends are about, and where they are. 14///. — The faint streak of water seen on the night of the loth proved to be an extensive sheet to leeward of Cobourg Island. We reached it next morning. Jones' Sound ap- peared open, and a slight swell reached us from it, but all along the shore there was close pack. Although but little water was visible to the southward, we persevered in that direction, and, a^ the ice was rapidly moving offshore under the combined influence of wind and tide, we were onb occasionally detained. Two hundred and forty-two years ago to a day, I believe, William Baftin sailed without hindrance along this coast and discovered Lancaster Sound. What a very different season he must have experienced ! Passing near Cape Horsburgh we approached De Ros Islet at midnight' The air being very calm and still, the * The whak ' Queen,' of Peterhead, spent the winter of 1865-6 in a small harbour, iat. 74° 44' N., and long. 80° W., about four leagues south-westward of De Ros Islet, and between Point Beatrice and Hope's Monument. A channel was discovered between Bank's Bay and Hyde Bay, thus making an Island of what appears on our charls as a con- tinuous coast line. About 20 foxes, 3 lemmings, a wolf, and 150 •ptarmigan, besides some reindeer's antlers, and the skeleton of a musk ox, were seen on the land ; and upon the ice or sea coast, 30 bears, and 70 or 80 walruses. No Esquimaux were met with, although their II Ul *■■; ^^m • J ^' i:* '\i t II 122 VISIT OF NA TIVES. Chap. VIII. shouting of some natives was heard, although we could scarcely distinguish them upon the land ice. The ship was made fast, and the shouting party, consisting of three men, three women, and two children, eagerly came on board. Only four individuals remained on shore. The old chief Kal-lek is remarkable amongst Esquimaux for having a bald head. He inquired by name for his friend Captain Inglefield. The above three families have spent the last two years upon this coast, between Cape Horsburgh and Croker Bay. Their knowledge does not extend further in either direction. They are natives of more southern lands, and crossed the ice in Lancaster Sound with dog- sledges. Since the visit of the 'Phoenix' in '54 they have seen no ships, nor have any wrecks drifted upon their shores. They seemed very fat and healthy, but complained that all the reindeer had gone away, and asked if loc could tell where they had gone to. Our presents of wood, knives, and needles were eagerly received. They assured us that Lancaster Sound was still frozen over, and that all the sea was covered with pack. After half an hour's delay we steamed onward, and on reaching a larger space of water our hopes (somewhat depressed by the native intelligence) began to revive. But we soon found that our clear water terminated near Cape Warrender. Lancaster Sound, although not frozen over, was crammed full of floes and icebergs. The wind increased to a strong gale from the traces were aliundant, tlie people seen liaving returned to the south of Lancaster Sound. North-east winds prevailed ahnost constantly, and perhaps in some degree aided the strong tides in keeping a considerable sjjace of open water in the offing throughout the whole winter. The voyage proved unsuccessful, as no whales were taken ; they had the additional mortification of seeing the Dundee whaling ships steam past tliem on the 22nd of June, and of remaining imprisoned in their harbour by the ice, until the 4th August. I am indebted to Dr. Ed. P. IMiilpols of Leamington, who was the surgeon of the ship, for this interesting information. Ju July, 1858. OFF LANCASTER SOUND. 123 east, and pressed in more ice. At length the ship was with difficulty made fast to a strip of land ice, a few miles west- ward of Point Osborn. Gradually the gale subsided, but not until the pack was close in against the land. The tides kept sweeping it to and fro, to our great discomfort. The land is composed of gneiss, and the gravelly shore is low. A few ducks only have been shot, and traces of reindeer and hares seen. Our Melville Bay friends, the rotchies, are very rare visitors upon this side of Baffin's Bay. Part of a ship's timber has been found upon the beach ; it measures 7 inches by 8 inches, is of American oak, and, although sound, has long been exposed to the weather. I If ■: II I,- I iit If ^iil' li; 124 OFF CAPE WARRENDER. Chap. IX. CHAPTER IX. Off Cape Warrender — Sight the whalers again — Enter Pond's Bay — Communicate with Esquimaux — Ascend Pond's Inlet — Esquimaux information — Arctic summer abode — An arctic village — No in- telligence of Franklin's ships — Arctic trading — Geographical infor- mation of natives — Information of Rae's visit — Improvidence of Esquimaux — Travels of Esquimaux. xdth July. — To borrow a whaling phrase, we are "dodging about in a hole of water " off Cape Warrender. I recognise the little bay just to the west of the cape where Parry landed in September, 1824. The " immense mass of snow and ice containing strata of muddy-looking soil " is there still, and, I should think, had considerably increased. Here his party shot three reindeer out of a small herd. We have narrowly scanned the steep hill-sides with our glasses, but without discovering any such inducement to land. None of the cairns of former expeditions are visible upon Cape Warrender ; the natives have probably removed them. Dense pack prevents us from approaching Port Dundas or crossing to the southern shore. We find these vexatious delays by no means conducive to sleep. The mind is busy with a sort of magic-lantern representation of the past, the present, and the future, and resists for weary hours the necessary repose. 1 7///. — Last night's calm has allowed the pack to expand so much, that to-day we have steamed through it until within three miles of the noble cliffs of Cape Hay ; and now we are drilling eastward with the ice precisely as did the Jul] ■■ I July, 1858. THE WHALERS AGAIN. 125 the * Enterprise ' and ' Investigator ' in September, '49. Upon that occasion we were set free ofif Pond's Bay. There is a very extensive looviery ^ at Cape Hay ; we regret the cir- cumstances which prevent our levying a tax upon it. Here, if anywhere, I expected to find a clear sea, but east winds have prevailed for twenty days out of the last twenty-five, and this accounts for the present state of the sea ; the next succession of west winds will probably effect a prodigious clearance of ice. 21st.— Position, 73° 58' N., 78° 25' W. The ' Tay ' was seen to-day in loose ice, and much farther off the land. She gradually steamed through it to the southward, and by night was almost out of sight. Her appearance surprised us, as we supposed she must have reached Pond's Bay long ago. Ten hours' struggling with steam and sails at the most favourable intervals has only advanced us five miles. The weather is remarkably warm, bright, and pleasant. A very large bear came within 150 yards, and was shot by Petersen, the Minie bullet passing through his body. This beast measured 8 ft. 3 in. in length ; his fat carcase was hoisted on board with great satisfaction, as our dogs' food was nearly expended. 2j\th. — Last night the ice became slack enough to afford some prospect of release, so we charged the nips vigorously, and steamed away through devious openings towards Cape Fanshawe. For several hours but little progress was made, but this morning the ice became more open ; clear water was seen ahead, and reached by noon. Although it is calm, I prefer waiting for a breeze to expending more coals. We are only ten miles from Possession Bay. The air is so very clear that the land appears quite close to us. All that is not mountainous is well cleared of snow. There is immense ij ' A name given to the breeding cliffs of t' looms, or willocks, and where they assemble each summer in countless niyriails. 126 ENTER POND'S DA V. Chap. IX- July, I ( ' refraction. Only a single iceberg in sight. The sea-water is light green, as remarked by Parry in 1819. 26///. — A vessel was seen yesterday morning; the day continuing calm, we steamed through some loose ice, and joined her off Cape Walter Bathurst in the evening. It proved to be the 'Diana'; she parted from us on the i6th of June in Melville Bay, has everywhere been obstructed by the pack, as we have been, and only reached Cape War- rendc" three days before us. From then'-e to Possession Bay she met with no obstruction. The subsec^uent east winds brought in all the ice which has so much retarded us. The ' Diana ' has already captured twelve whales. Taking the hint from Capt. Gravill, we have made fast to a lov^se floe, and are drifting very nearly a mile an hour to tne southward along the edge of very formidable land -ice, winch is seven or eight miles broad. All to seaward of us is packed ice. The old whaling seamen of the * Diana ' are astounded at t1ie unusual and unaccountable abundance of ice which everywhere fills up Baffin's Bay. All the ' Diana's' steaming-coals, her spaie spars, wood, and even a boat, were burnt in the protracted si:i ...^::le through the middle ice. 27///. — After putj'ng our ielier trig on board the 'Diana' this morning we steamed on for Pond's Bay, and at noon made fast near Button Point to the land ice, which still extends across it. For four hours Petersen and I have been bargaining with an old woman and a boy, not for the sake of their seal-skins, but in order to keep them in good humour whilst we ex- tracted information from them. They said they knew nothing of ships or white people ever having been within this inlet, nor of any wrecked ships. They knew of the depot of provisions left at Navy Board Inlet by the ' North Star,' but had no 'e of them. The woman has traced on reaper i-ie shorts of the inlet as ic.t as her knowledge :\ sm^:-: iA.i- : ice. ex- mew hill the (irth on July, 1858. COMMUNICATE WIT/ ESQUIMAUX. 127 extends, and has given me the name of every point. She says the ice will break up with the first fresh wind. These two individuals are alone here. They remained on purpose to barter with the whalers, and cannot now rejoin their friends, who are only 25 miles up the inlet, because the ice is unsafe to travel over, and the land precipitous and impracticable. This afternoon the 'Tay' stood in towards us, and Captain Deuchars kindly sent his boat on board with an offer tc take charge of our letters. The ' Tay ' reached this coast only a few days ago, having met with the same difficulties which we experienced. The ' Innuit ' was last seen nearly a month ago beset off Jones' Sound. The re- maining steamer, the ' Chase,' has not been seen or heard of 2()th, — The old woman's denial of all knowledge of wrecks or cast-away men was very unsatisfactory. I deter- mined to visit her countrymen at their summer village of Kaparoktolik, which she described as being only a short day's journey up the inlet. Petersen and one man accompanied me. We started yesterday morning with a sledge and a Halkett boat. Although the ice over which we purposed tra\-elling broke away from the land soon after setting out, yet we managed to get half-way to the village before encamping. This n.orning we learnt the truth of the old woman's account. A i:>''\^Q of precipitous cliffs rising from the sea cut us off by land from Kaparoktolik, so we were obliged to return to the ship. Our walk afforded the opportunity of examining some native encampments and caches. \Ve found innumer- able scraps of seal-skins, bi:d-skins, walrus and other bones, whalebone, blubber, and a small sledge. The latter was very okl, and composed of pieces of wood and of large bones ingeniously secured together with strips of whale- bone. Five pieserved-meat tins were found ; some vf them ,1 > ; 1 \ \' ■ il 128 LOOM SOUP. Chap. IX. w V \ ! M kill' II. retaining their original coating of red paint. Doubtless these were part of the spoils from Navy Board Inlet depot. The total absence of fresh wood or iron was strongly in favour of the old woman's veracity. Since yesterday, ice, about 16 miles in extent, has broken up in the inlet, and is drifting out into Baffin's Bay. During my absence our shooting parties have twice visited a loomcry upon Cape Graham Moore, and each time have brought on board 300 looms. The most favourite dish of the three former expeditions was loom soup. So long as we had the necessary ingredients, the following receipt of our excellent steward, James Gore, was strictly followed. It suited well for divers, ducks, and all sea-birds, especially those with dark flesh ; and it would in many instances be useful in rendering very palatable this description of wholesome food, which otherwise would be rejected. We considered oui loom soup incomparable ; more like hare soup than any other, but richer, darker, and better adapted to our climace, our appetites, and conse- quently to our tastes : — LOOM SOUP. Take 8 looms, skin and take off the two wliite lumjis near tlie tail ; clean and split them i'lUj pieces ; wash them well, also the livers. Put them into a large saucepan, and cover them well with water, and boil for four or five hours. An hour before serving up, put in \ lb. of bacon cut up small ; season with pepper and salt, 2 talilespoonfuls of Harvey sauce, a little Cayenne ])cpper, h'il. wineglass of le..ion juice, a teaspoonful of ground allspice, and a few clo' es ; thicken with 4 tablespoonfuls of flour mixed in cold water, tlien stii ed gradually into the soup. Add i piuv '-'' wine, after which let it boil for a few minutes. The ■ esuk wiii be 4 quarts of ri<:h soup. Only a very few birds were seen during our walk over the rich mossy slopes to-day. I saw a pair of Canadian brown cranes, the first of the species 1 have ever seen so fiir north. Sir Robert M'Clure found them on Bank's Land. ; season Cayenne allsjMce, in cold Iver the l)rown so far md. July, 1858. ASCEND POND'S INLET. 129 1 The lands enjoying a southern aspect, even to the summits of hills 700 or 800 feet in height, were tinged with green ; but these hills were protected by a still loftier range to the north. Upon many well-sheltered slopes we found much rich grass. All the little plants were in full flower ; some of them familiar to us at home, such as the buttercup, sorrel, and dandelion. I have never found the latter to the north of 69° before. The old woman is much less excited to-day ; she says there came a wreck upon the coast when she was a little girl ; it lies a day's journey and a half (about 45 miles) to the north ; and came there without masts and very much crushed ; the little which now remains is almost buried in the sand. A piece of this wreck was found near her abode — she has neither hut nor tent, but a sort of lair constructed of a few stones and a seal-skin spread over them, so that she can crawl underneath. This fragment is part of a floor timber, English oak, yt- inches thick; it has been brought on board. 2)0th. — A gale of wind and deluge of rain have detained the ship until this evening ; we are now steaming up the inlet, having the old lady and the boy on board as our pilots ; they are delighted at the prospect of rejoining their friends, from whom they were effectually cut off until the return of winter should freeze a safe pathway for them ; they had, however, abundance of looms stored up en cac/ic for their subsistence. She has drawn me another chart, much more neatly than the former, but so like it as to prove that her geographical knowledge, and not her powers of invention, has been taxed. She is a widow ; her daughter is married, and lives at a place called Igloolik, which is six or seven days' journey from here, — three days up the inlet, then about three days overland to the southward, and then a day over the ice. K \ 1 Ill ; i 1 I 'II;: I t ill!''. •30 ESQUIMAUX INFORMATION. Chap. IX. Thinking it not quite impossible chat this Igloohk might be the place where Parry wintered in 1822-3, 1 told Petersen to ask whether ships had ever been there ? She answered, " Yes, a ship stopped there all one winter ; but it is a long time ago." All she could distinctly recollect having been told about it was that one of the crew died, and was buried there, and his name was Al-lah or P21-leh. On referring to Parry's ' Narrative,' I found that the icemate, Mr. Elder, died at Igloolik. This is a very remarkable confirmation of the locality, — for there are several places called Igloolik. She also told us it was an island, and near a strait between two seas. The Esquimaux take considerable pains to learn and remember names ; this woman knows the names of several of the whaling captains, and the old chief at De Ros Islet remembered Captain Inglefield's name, and tried hard xo pronounce mine. She now told us of another wreck upon the coast, but many days' journey to the soutli of Pond's Bay ; it came there before her first child was born. Her age is not less than forty-five. August \th. — Our Esquimaux friends have de]mrted from us with every demonstration of friendship, to return to their village. We have had frep communication with them for four days — not only through Mr. Petersen, but also through our two Greenlanders ; the result is that they have no knowledge whatever of either the missing or the abandoned searching ships. Neither wrecked people nor wrecked ships have reached their shores. They seemed to be much in want of wood ; most of what they have consists of staves of casks, probably from the Navy Board Inlet dei)ot. In their bartering with us, saws were most eagerly sought for in exchange for narwhals' horns ; they are used by them in cutting up the long strips of the bones of whales with which they shoe the runners of their sledges, a'so the ivory Aug. 1858. BARTER WITH THE NATIVES. 131 and bone used to protect the more exposed parts of their kayaks and the edges of their paddles from the ice. P'iles were also in great demand, and I found were required to convert pieces of iron-hoop into arrow and spear heads. If any suspicion existed of their having a secret supply of wood such as a wreck or even a boat would afford, it was removed by their refusing to barter the most trifling things for axes or hatchets. But I must relate the events of the last few days as they occurred. When 17 miles within the inlet we reached the unbroken ice and made the ship fast. Here the strait — originally named Pond's Ba)\ and more recently Eclipse Sound — appears to be most contracted, its width not exceed- ing 7 or 8 miles. Both its shores are very bold and lofty, often forming noble precipices. The prevailing rock is grey gneiss, generally dipping at an angle of 35° to the west. Early on the ist of August I set out for the native village with Hobson, Petersen, two men, and the two natives from Button Point. Eight miles of wet and weary ice-travelling, which occupied as many hours, terminated our journey; the surface of the ice was everywhere deeply channelled, and abundantly flooded by the summer's thaw : we were almost constantly launching our small boat over the slippery ridges whirli separated pools or channellings, through which it was generally necessary to wade. After toiling round the base of a precipice, we came rather suddenly in viev.' of a small semicircular bay \ the clifl:s on either side were 800 or 900 feet high, remarkably forbidding and desolate ; the mouth of a valley or wide mountain gorge opens out into its head. Here, in the depth of the bay, upon a low flat strip of land, stood seven tents, — the summer \illage of Kaparoktolik. I never saw a locality more characteristic of the Esquimaux than that which they ha\e K 2 W I -n 11 I--*/'^ 1 I I I: kWrAROKTOUK Chap. IX. \\v 1 M I •■ i tl % M here selected for their abode ; — it is wildly picturesque in the true arctic application of the term. Although August had arrived, and the summer had been a warm one, the bay was still frozen over ; and if there was an ice-covered sea in front, there was also abundance of ice- covered land in the rear — a glacier occupied the whole valley behind, and to within 300 yards of the chosen spot ! The glacier's height ajjpeared to be from 150 to 200 feet; its sea face extending across the valley, — a probable width of 300 or 400 yards, — was (juite perpendicular, and fully 100 feet high. All last winter's snow had thawed away from off it and exposed a surface not free from earth and stones, fissured by innumerable small rivulets, which threw them- selves over the glacier cliffs in pretty cascades, or shot far out in strong jets from their deeply serried channels in its face ; whilst other streamlets near the base burst out through sub-glacial tunnels of their own forming. A strange people to confine themselves to such a mere strip of beach ! Upon each side they have towering rocky hills rising so abruptly from the sea that to pass along their bases or ascend over their summits is ecjually impossible ; whilst a threatening glacier immediately behind bears onward a sufficient amount of rock and earth from the mountains, whence it issues, to convince even the unreflect- ing savage of its progressive motion. The land is devoid of game, although lemmings and ermines are tolerably numerous ; it only sui)plies the moss which the natives burn with blubber in their lamps, and the dry grass which they put in their boots ; even the soft stone, lapis ollaris, out of which their lamps and cooking vessels are made, and the iron pyrites with which they strike fire, are obtained by barter from the people inhabiting the land to the west of Navy Board Inlet. But the sea com- pensates for every deficiency. The assembled population ilii* iiiii''' ' ' I :' ,: I ?!i WM ', 111' m; ii mere rocky their ssible ; bears 111 the •eflect- s and moss id the ?tone, lesselb Istrike ■fT the icom- Lition !■ ',M IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 JriM IIM ^ lifi IIIIIM 1.8 U IIIIII.6 A" ^ o V] <^ /2 /a '^1 _ -^f A '/ /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 873-4503 % Aug. 1858. A SUMMER VILLAGE. 1.1 135 amounted to only 25 souls : 9 men, the rest women and childr^;n. All of them evinced extreme delight at seeing us ; as we approached the huts the women and children held up their arms in the air and shouted " Pilletay " (give me), inces- santly ; the men were more quiet and dignified, yet lost no opportunity, either when we declined to barter or when they had performed any little service, to repeat " Pilletay " in a beseeching tone of voice. We walked everywhere about the tents and entered some of them, carefully examining every chip or piece of metal ; our visit was quite unexpected. They had only two sledges ; both were made of a^-inch oak-planks, devoid of bolt-holes or treenails, and having but very few nail-holes. These sledges had evidently been constructed for several years, the parts not exposed to friction were covered with green fungus; one of them measured 14 feet long, the other about 9 feet ; we were told the wood came from a wreck to the southward of Pond's Bay. Most of the sledge crossbars were ordinary staves of casks. Amongst the poles and large bones which supported the tents we noticed a painted fir oar. Some pieces of iron hoop and a few preserved- meat tins — one of which was stamped " Goldner," — com- pleted their stock of European articles. Petersen questioned all the men separately as to their knowledge of ships or wrecks ; but their accounts only served to confirm the old woman's story. None of them had ever heard of ships or wrecks anywhere to the westward. Both individually and collectively we got them to draw charts of the various coasts known to them, and to mark upon them the positions of the wrecks. The two chiefs, Noo-luk and X-wih-lah, soon made themselves known to me, and, when we desired to go to sleep, sent away the people \\\\o were eagerly pressing round our tent. All these natives were \ 136 THE CHIEF A WAHLAH. Chap. IX. better-looking, cleaner, and more robust than I expected to find them. A-wah-lah has been to Igloolik ; one of his wives, for each chief has tin'o^ has a brother living there. I spread a large roll of paper upon a rock, and got him to draw the route overland, and also round by the coast to it ; this novel pro- ceeding attracted the whole population about us ; A-wah-lah constantly referred to others when his memory failed him ; at length it was completed to the satisfaction of all parties. When I gave him the knife I had promised as his reward, and added another for his wives, he sprang up on the rock, flourished the knives in his hands, shouted, and danced with extravagant demonstrations of joy. He is a very fine speci- men of his race, powerful, impulsive, full of energy and animal spirits, and moreover an admirable mimic. The men were all about the same height, 5 feet 5 in. ; they eagerly answered our questions, and imparted to us all their geographical knowledge, although at first they hesitated when we asked them about Navy Board Inlet, in consequence of the depot placed there having been plundered ; but we soon found that they were easily tired under cross-examination, and often said they knew no more ; it was necessary to humour them. According to their account the depot was discovered and robbed by people living farther west. This is probably true, as so few relics were to be seen here, which would not be the case if such active fellows as A-wah-lah and Noo-luk had received the first information of its proximity. These l^eople of Kaparoktolik are the only inhabitants of the land lying eastward of Navy Board Inlet, and live entirely upon its southern shore. In a similar manner, it is only the southern coast of the land to the west of Navy Board Inlet that is inhabited. After distributing presents to all the women and children, and making a few trifling purchases from the men, we returned next day to the ship. ' W'' Aug. 1858. AGAIN IN DANGER. 137 Id not )o-luk J'hese land |upon the llnlet the lases During my absence more ice had broken away, involving the ship and almost forcing her on shore. It required every exertion to save her. For two hours she continued in imminent danger, and was only saved by the warping and ice-blasting, by which at last she got clear of the drifting masses, four minutes only before they were crushed up against the rocks ! Four Esquimaux came off to the ship in their kayaks, bringing whalebone, narwhals' horns, &c. to barter. Next to handsaws and files, they attached the greatest value to knives and large needles. These men remained on board for nearly two days, and drew several charts for us. Noo-luk explained that seven or eight days' journey to the south- ward there are two wrecks a short day's journey apart. The southern is in an inlet or strait which contains several islands, but there his knowledge of the coast terminates. The man A-ra-neet said he visited these wrecks five winters ago. All of them agreed that it is a very long time since the wrecks arrived upon the coast ; and Noo-luk; who appears to be about forty-five years of age, showed us how tall he was at the time. In the ' Narrative of Parry's Second Voyage,' at p. 437, mention is made of the arrival at Igloolik of a sledge con- structed of ship timber and staves of casks ; also of two ships that had been driven on shore, and the crews of which went away in boats. In August, 182 1, nearly two years previous to the arrival of this report through the Est[uimaux to Igloolik, the whalers 'Dexterity' and 'Aurora' were wrecked upon the west coast of Davis' Strait, in lat. 72°, 70 or 80 miles south- ward of Pond's Bay. The old man, Ow-vvang-noot, drew the coast-line northwards from Cape Graham Moore to Navy Board Inlet, and pointed out the position of the northern wreck a few miles east of Cape Hay. Had it been con- \ 138 INFORMATION ' OF RAES VISIT. Chap. IX. spicuous, we must have seen it when we slowly drifted along that coast.* These people usually winter in snow-huts at Green Point, a mile or two within the northern entrance of Pond's Bay. They hunt the seal and narwhal, but when the sea becomes too open they retire to Kaparoktolik ; and when the remain- ing ice breaks up — usually about the middle of August — a furthei migration takes place across the inlet to the S.W., where reindeer abound, and large salmon are numerous in the rivers. Every winter they communicate with the Igloolik people. Two winters ago (1856-7) some people who live far beyond Igloolik, in a country called A-ka-nee (probably the Ak-koo-lee of Parry), brought from there the information of white people having come in two boats, and passed a winter in snow-huts at a place called by the following names : — A-mee-lee-oke, A-wee-lik, Net-tee-lik. Our friends pointed to our whale-boat, and said the boats of the white people were like it, but larger. These whites had tents inside their snow huts ; they killed and ate rein- deer and narwhal, and smoked pipes; they bought dresses from the natives ; none died ; in summer they all went away, taking with them two natives, a father and his son. We could not ascertain the name of the white chief, nor the interval of time since they wintered amongst the Esquimaux, as our friends could not recollect these particulars.^ The name of the locality, A-wee-lik (spelt as written down at the moment), may be considered identical with " Ay-wee- lik," the name of the land about Repulse Bay in the chart of t'ne Esquimaux woman, Iligliuk (Parry's 'Second Voyage,' p. 197). ' The remains of this wreck have since been visited by an English whaler, thus confirming the Esquimaux report. - Dr. Rae wintered at Repulse Bay in stone huts in 1846-7. Again wintered there in sncnv huts in 1853-4. |nglish igain Aug. 1858. SCARCITY OF WOOD. 139 We were of course greatly surprised to find that Dr. Rae's visit to Repulse Bay was known to this distant tribe ; &nd also disappointed to find they had heard nothing of Franklin's Back River parties through the same channel of communica- tion. They were anxiously and repeatedly questioned, but evidently had not heard of any other white people to the westward, nor of their having perished there. Ow-wang-noot lived at Igloolik in his early days, and made a chart of the lands adjacent, jDut said he was so young at the time that " it seemed like a dream to him." He was acquainted with Ee-noo-l66-apik, the Esquimaux who once accompanied Captain Penny to Aberdeen, and told us he had died, lately I think, at a place to the southward called Kri-merk-su-malek, but that his sister still lives at Igloolik. Although they told us the Igloolik people were worse off for wood than they were themselves, yet it was evident that here also it is very scarce. We could not spare them light poles or oars such as they were most desirous to obtain for harpoon and lance staves and tent-poles ; and they would willingly have bartered theii' kayaks to us for rifles (having already obtained some from the whaling-ships), but that they had no other means of getting back to their homes, nor wood to make the light framework of others. They collect whalebone and narwhals' horns in suffici'^it quantity to carry on a small barter with the whalers. A-wah-lah showed us about thirty horns in his tent, and said he had many more at other stations. A few years ago, when first this bartering sprang up, an Esquimaux took such a fancy to a fiddle that he offered a large quantity of whale- bone in exchange for it. The bargain was soon made, and subsequently this whalebone was sold for upwards of 1 hundred pounds ! Each successive year, when the same ship returns to Pond's Bay, this native comes on board to visit his friends, and goes on shore with many presents in ' ^: h r^ \ 140 TEMPTATIONS TO BARTER. Chap. IX. remembrance of the memorable transaction. It is much oetter for him thus to receive annual gifts than to have received a large quantity at first, as the improvidence of these men surpasses belief. : Of the " rod of iron about four feet long, supposed to have been at one time galvanised," which was brought home in 1856 by Captain Patterson, and forwarded to the Admiralty, I could obtain no information. The natives were shown galvanised iron, and said they had never seen any before ; if their countrymen had any, it must have come from the whalers ; none like it was found in the wrecks. Rod-iron is very valuable to Esquimaux for spears and lances, and nar- whals' horns very tempting to the seamen, not only as valuable curiosities, but the ivory is worth half a crown a pound ; and I have but little doubt that many of tL^ things said to have been stolen by the natives were fraudulently h, "t.ered away by the sailors. That there was no galvanised ■\a- .1 on board any of the Government searching-ships, nor in Liie missing expedition which sailed from England as far back as 1845, I am almost certain. But is it certain that this iron rod was galvanised? The natives gave Captain Patterson to understand that they got it from the wreck to the north. In July, 1854, Captain Deuchars was at Pond's Bay, and many natives visited his ship, coming over the ice on twelve or fourteen sledges made of ship's planking. Now at this time Sir Edward Belcher's ships were still frozen up in Barrow Strait. My own impression is that the natives whom Captain Deuchars communicated with in 1854 were visitors at Pond's Bay — certainly from the southward — and probably attracted by the barter recently grown up at that whaling rendezvous. Having discovered the use of the saws obtained by barter from our whalers, they had successfully applied them to the stout planking of the old wrecks, which I and welve this in tives were and that saws fully hich M Aug. 1858. TRAVELS OF 7 HE ESQUIMAUX. 141 they could not have stripped off with any tools previously in their possession. I ' ' . \ That the various tribes, or rather groups of families, occa- sionally visit each other, sometimes for change of hunting- grounds, but more frequently for barter, is well known. Captain Parker told me that a native whom he had met one summer at Durbin Island, came on board his ship at Pond's Bay the following year. The distance between the two places, as travelled by this man in a single winter, is scarcely short of 500 miles ; and the information given us of Rae's wintering at Repulse Bay, information which must have travelled here in two winters, shows that these natives com- municate at still greater distances. Did other wrecks exist nearer at hand, our Pond's Bay friends would be much better supplied with wood. If the Esquimaux knew of any within 300, 400, or even 500 miles, the Pond's Bay natives would at least have heard of them, and could have had no reason for concealing it from us. u: LEAVE POND'S BAY. Chap. X. CHAPTER X. Leave Pond's Bay — A gale in Lancaster Sound — The Beecliey Island depot — An arctic monument — Reflections at Beechey Island — Proceed up Barrow's Strait — Peel Sound — Port Leopold — Prince Regent's Inlet — Bellot Strait — flood-tide from the west — Unsuc- cessful efforts — Fox's Hole— No water to the weiit — Precautionary measures — Fourth attempt to pass through. I' !> dth Aug. — Continued calms have delayed us. This even- ing we steamed from Pond's Bay northward, although our coals have been sadly reduced by the almost constant necessity for steam-power since leaving the Waigat. The three steam-Avhalers have gone southward ; none others have arrived. They appear to us to be leaving the whales behind them ; we saw many whilst up the strait, and at the edge of the remaining ice. The natives said that these animals arrive in early spring, and do not pass through the strait into any other sea beyond ; that they themseh es would remain as long as the ice remained, but when it all broke up, they would return into Baffin's Bay and go south- ward. Monday evening, ()t/i. — On the night of the 6th a pleasant- fair breeze sprang up, and enabled us to dispense with the engine. An immense bear was shot ; he measured 8 feet 7 inches in length, and is destined for the museum of the Royal Dublin Society. On the 7th the wind gradually freshened and frustrated my intention of examining the wreck spoken of near Cape Hay ; at night it increased to a very heavy gale. Although past Navy Board Inlet, very II Aug. 1858. GALE I A' LANCASTER SOUND. H3 isant the feet the lally the to a /ery little ice had yet been met with. The weather, and fear of ice to leeward, obliged us to heave the vessel to, under main trysail and fore staysail. The squalls were extremely violent and seas unusually high. All Sunday, the 8th, the gale continued, although not with such extreme force ; the deep rolling of the ship, and moaning of the half-drowned dogs amidst the pelting sleet and rain, was anything but agreeable. Notwithstanding that I had been up all the previous night, I felt too anxious, to sleep ; the wind blew directly up Barrow Strait, drifting us about two miles an hour. Occasionally we drifted to leeward of masses of ice, reminding us that 'S any of the dense pack which covered this sea only three weeks ago remained to leeward of us, we must be rapidly setting down upon its weather edge. The only expedient in such a case is to endeavour to run into it — once well within its outer margin, a ship is comparatively safe — the danger lies in the attempt to penetrate ; to escape out of the pack afterwards, is also a doubtful matter. In the evening we were glad to see the land, and find ourselves off the north shore near Cape Bullen, for the violent motion of the ship and very weak horizontal magnetic force had rendered our compasses useless. This morning (the 9th) the gale broke, and the sea began to subside rapidly ; by noon it was almost calm, but a thick gloom prevailed, ominous, it might be, of more mischief All along the laud there is ice, but broken up into harmless atoms. We have carried away a maingaff and a jibstay, but have come remarkably well through such a gale with only this damage. iiih. — Before noon to-day we anchored inside Cape Riley, and immediately commenced preparations for em- barking coals. I visited Beech ey Island house, and found the door open ; it must have been blown in by an easterly i '44 BEECHEY ISLAND DEPOT. Chap. ^. '!< > ii\ gale long ago, for much ice had accumulated immediately inside it. Most of the biscuit in bags was damaged, but everything else was in perfect order. Upon the north and west sides of the house, where a wall had been constructed, there was a vast accumulation of ice, in which the lower tier of casks between the two was embedded, and its surface thawed into pools. Neither casks nor walls should have been allowed to stand near the house. The southern ^, and eastern sides were clear and perfectly dry. The ' Mary ' decked boat, and two 30-foot lifeboats, were in excellent order, and their paint appeared fresh; but oars and bare wood were bleached white. The gutta-percha boat was useless when left here, and remains in the same state. Two small sledge travelling boats were damaged ; one of them had been blown over and over along the beach until finally arrested by the other. The bears and foxes do not appear to have touched any- thing, I have taken on board all letters left here for Franklin's or Collinson's expeditions, and also a 20-foot sledge-boat for our own travelling purposes. Last night we steamed very close round Cape Hurd in a dense fog, p-'d crept along the land as our only guide : we were thus led into Rigby Bay, and discovered a shoal off its entrance by grounding upon it. After a quarter of an hour we floated off unhurt. In lowering a boat to pursue a bear, Robert Hampton fell overboard ; fortunately he could swim, and was very soon picked up, but the intense cold of the water had almost paralyzed his limbs. The bear was shot and taken on board. Sunday, 15///, 9 p.m. — Our coaling was completed yesterday, and the ship brought over and anchored off the house in Erebus Bay. A small proportion of provisions and winte'" clothing has been embarked to complete our deficiencies ; Lii w Aug. 1858. AN ARCTIC MONUMENT. 145 the ice has been scraped out of the house and its roof thoroughly repaired, a record deposited, and door securely closed. At Godhavn I found a marble tablet which had been sent out by Lady FrankUn, in the American expedition of 1855 under Captain H. J. Hartstein, U.S.N., for the purpose of being erected at Beechey Island. Circumstances prevented his executing this kindly service, and it fell to my lot to convey it to the site originally intended. The tablet was con- structed in New York under the direction of Mr. Grinnell at the request of Lady Franklin, in order that the only oppor- tunity which then offered of sending it to the arctic regions might not be lost. I placed the monument upon the raised flagged square in the centre of which stands the cenotaph re- cording the names of those who perished in the Government expedition under Sir Edward Belcher. Here also is placed a small tablet, sent out by John Barrow, Esq., to the memory of Lieutenant Bellot. I could not have selected for Lady Franklin's memorial a more appropriate or conspicuous site. The inscription runs as follows : — --4 \ 51 IJi lu i i TO THE MEMORY OF FRANKLIN, CROZIER, HTZJAMES, AND ALL THEIR GALLANT BROTHER OFFICERS AND FAITHFUL COMPANIONS WHO HAVE SUFFERED AND PERISHED IN THE CAUSE OF SCIENCE AND THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY. THIS TABLET IS ERECTED NEAR THE SPOT WHERE THEY PASSED THEIR FIRST ARCTIC WINTER, AND WHENCE THEY ISSUED FORTH TO CONQUER DIFFICULTIES OR TO DIE. IT COMMEMORATES THE GRIEF OF THEIR ADMIRING COUNTRYMEN AND FRIENDS, AND THE ANGUISH, SUBDUED BY FAITH, OF HER .'HO HAS LOST, IN THE HEROIC LEADER OF THE EXPEDITION, THE MOST DEVOTED AND AFFECTIONATE OF HUSBANDS. ''AND SO HE BRINGETH THEM UNTO THE HAVEN WHERE THEY WOULD BE:' 1855. ;,i i' This Tablet having been left at Disco by the American Expedition, which was unable to reach Beechey L.land, in 1855, was put on board the Discovery Yacht Fox, and is now set up here by Captain M'Clintock, R.N., commanding the final expedition of search for ascertaining the fate of bir John Franklin and his companions. 1858. Aug. 1858. REFLECTIONS AT BEECHEY ISLAND. 147 UL SHED HE '^»^-i^;:^, ^^'"$V;-:.'.^->! .^^»v. The Three Graves, and Depot House, Beechey Island. We are now ready to proceed upon our voyage from Beechey Island, and there is no ice in sight ; but having worked almost unceasingly since our arrival up to the present hour, the men require a night's rest. Nearly forty tons of fuel have been embarked. The total absence of ice in Barrow Strait is astonishing. No less so are the changes and chances of this sing^alar navigation. Twelve days later than this in 1850, when I belonged to Her Majesty's ship ' Assistance,' with consider- able difficulty we came within sight of Beechey Island : a cairn on its summit attracted notice ; Captain Ommanney managed to land, and discovered the first traces of the missing expedition. Next day the United States schooner ' Rescue ' arrived ; the day afte**, Captain Penny joined us, and subsequently Captain Austin, Sir John Ross, an