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"J f; 8 >{)„

THE FROZEN ZONE

ITS EXPLORERS:

A COMPRERRNBIVK nilTOBT OV

VOYAGES, TRAVELS, ADVENTURES, DISASTERS, AND DISCOVERIES

ARCTIC REGIONS,

iNOLUsma

EKCENT OBRMAN AND SWEDISH EXPEDITIONS; CAPTAIN NARE'S ENGLISH

EXPEDITION: PROK NORDENSKIOI.D'S DISCOVERY OP

A NORTHEAST PASSXQE: THE SAJUNO

OF THE JEANNETTE,

ETC..

WITH OBAPUIO DBI.IHBATIONt OW

LIFE AND NATURE IN THE REALMS OF FROST.

Illnitnttb takl|| •nt ^nnbtcb anb 9cb(RiB-fibi fingtabingi nnb j^ipf.
Writtin, AMD Compiled mov Avtbintic Sohbom,

ALEXANDER HYD-E, A.M., Rkv. A. C. BALDWIN,

AND

Rkv. W. L. GAGE.

PUBLISUED BY f JbSCIilPTION ONLY.

HARTFORD, CONN.:

R. W. BLISS & COMPANY.

A. L. BANCROFT * CO., SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.
1880.

c\q2

1 Hf^3

COPTHIOIIT BT rOt,nilBlAl. BoOK COMPAKT 18T4.
COFYBIOIIT BY COI.UMBUJI BoOK COMPANY. 1H80.

rNTRODUCTION.

The Arctic Regions, cold, dreary and desolate, liave
been the theatre of the most heroic exploits and dar-
ing adventures the world has ever seen. Here the
tjenius of such men as Parry, Ross, Franklin, Kane,
Hayes, Hall, Payer, Markham, Nares, Nordenskiold,
and DeLong has found ample scope for development ;
and a taste of the j)erils and hardships of the Frozen
Zone only served to incite them to new encounters.
No vision of " sunny fountains rolling down their
golden snnds," or ambition for conquest and usurped
power filled their minds; but the love of adventure,
the advancement of science, and the holier impulses of
humanity, were the lodestones which drew them
toward the Pole.

*To chronicle faithfully and in an attractive manner
the brilliant achievements of these adventurous spirits,
and to present, incidentally, graphic pictures of Life
and Nature in the Realms of Frost, is the object of
this book. In it, culled from scores of volumes of
Arctic literature,*are condensed the fascinating records
of a thousand years. While no important expedition,
nor even the experience of whalers, has been over-
looked, prominence has been given to the most in-
teresting ones, and when practicable the story is told
in the explorers' own words.

32522

J i

** At herfeet the Froien Ocmd, round her head the Auroral Lights*
In her bride-veil, fringed with iciules and of the inuw-drift spun,
SiU the White Lad/e of tlie Pole, itill waiting to be won.

What tultori for her palace gatei hare hoUted daring tail,
Though eye of man has never seen the face behind the veil I
So long sighed for, so hard served for, as this Queen, was never nontf
Since the days of brave adventure and true service first begun.

But still the white Witch-Maiden that sits above the Pole,
In the snow-bound silence whose cold quells aught but soul,
Draws manly hearts with strange desire to lift her icy veil ;
Tba bravtit itill have sought her, and will seek, whoever falL**

CONTENTS.

SKETCH or TBI UFK OF DR. KANB.

PAOa

CHAPTER I.

TUB ABCTIC HBGIONB.

The Arctic Circle— The Arctic Ocean— The Arctic Nlffht— The Mid-
night Hun — Summer and Winter— Beautiful Prov^lRlon u( Nature —
Characteristic Features — Arctic Explorers 17

CHAPTER n.

BARI.t DIBCOVEKIBS AND BISTORT.

The Scandinavian Mariners and their Voyages — Diseovorj of Iceland-
Eric the Red — Discovery of Qreenland — The Northmen in Amer-
ica — Northern Voyasreof Columbus — Story of the early Greenland
Settlers — Wat and Pestilence — Search for the lost Colonists — Hans
Egede— The Moravian Missions— A Visit to Lichtenfels— The native
Oreenlanders — The CalMts and their Voyages — The Labrador Col-
ony—French and Portuguese Explorers 23

CHAPTER in.

KNOLISH BXFEDITIONS TO THB NORTH-EAST.

Expedition under Sir Hugh Willoughby— A Storm off the North Cape
— Nova Zembla Scenery — A Winter on the Lapland Coast — Fate of
the Explorers — Chancelo: !. Visit to Moscow — The Searchthrift and
her Cruise— English Adventurers In Asia — Lake Baikal — Pet and
Jackson — Mistakes of a Geographer , M

CHAPTER rV.

DUTCH EXPEDITIONS TO THE NORTH-EAST.

Wm. Barentz— The Orange Islands— Noosing a Bear— The Cape of Idols
— Second Expedition — A Russian Craft — Among the Samoiedes —
Comeliz Ryp— Discovery of Bear Islands and Spitsbergen — Impris-
oned—Building a House— Life at Icy Port— A Winter of Hardsiiips
—Feast of the Kings— The Ship Deserted— Icy Ramparts— Death of
Barents 47

C0NTKNT8.

CHAPTER V.

ARCTIC VOYAGES OF FROIII8IIER AND DAVId.

Early English Adventurers — Martin Frobishcr— " Meta Incognita" —
Fight witii Esquininux— Uelics of lost Sailors— Female rrisoncrs —
Treachery of the Natives — Frobisher's third Expedition — A Storm —
The Expedition Astray — "All is not Gold that Glitters "—Sir Hum-
phrey Gilbert— Loss of the " Squirrel "—John Davis— The " Land of
Desolation" — A Greenland Dance — Voyage witli the Mermaid —
Exquimaux Incantations — Excursion to the Interior — The Sailors*
Warning — Desertion of Ships 59

CIIAPTEU VI.

ARCTIC T0TAOE8 OF HENRY IIUDSON AND OTHERS.

Weymouth's Expedition — A cowardly Crew — Fate of Ciipt. Knight —
An Esquimaux AUack — Hudson's I'olar Voyage — A Mermaid— Voy-
age in the Half-moon — Hudson's last Voyage — Trouble with the Sail-
ors — Discovery — In Winter-quarters — Mutiny — The Tragedy in Hud-
son's Bay — Adventures of the Mutineers 86

CHAPTER VII.

ARCTIC V0TA0E8 OF BAFFIN AND OTHERS.

Button and Bylot — Capt. Gibbons' Adventure — Baffin's early Voyages —
Memorable Discoveries — Fotherby's Voyage — Danish Expedition —
Munk's disastrous Voyage — The Fox and James Expedition — A
Winter of Suffering— Final Escape — A lost Expedition — Heme —
Mackenzie — Pliipps — Cook 106

CHAPTER VIII.

THE ARCTIC WIIAI.F.-FISIIERY.

Earlj' Fishing Expedition — Tlip .Siiit7.1iiT;;en Seas — Adventures of Cap-
tiiin Edge— Dutch Enterprise — A Winter in SpifzluTgen— An Arctic
Tragedy — Vears of Peril— The Whales' Paradise — Shipwrecks —
Memorials of tiic Hollanders 122

CHAPTER IX.

THE ARCTIC WIIAI.E-FlSIIF.nV. (CONI fltED.)

Whale Catching in Baffin's Bay— Disasters in Melville Bay— "Baffin's
Fair" — Yankee Whalemen- The Dundee Whaling Steamers-Rescue
of tho Polaris Crew 136

CHAITER X,

CRITISE OF THE ISABKI.LA AND ALEXANDER.

Ross and Parry's Expedition— On the Greenland Coast— A Secluded
Race — Esquimaux Ideas of a Ship — The Arctic Iligldanders — Signal
of Return 14l'

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XI.

CRCfBE OF THE HECLA AND ORIPER.

Farry and Liddon Expedition — Entering Lancaster Bound — Hopes and
Disappointments — Dreary Sliores — Tlie Reward E^urncd — Winter-
quarters and Amusements — Tlie Nortli Georgian Theatre — Fire !
Fire ! — A Break-up — A successful Expedition 151

CHAITER XII.

CHUISB OF THE FUHY AND HECLA.

Parry and Lyon's Expedition — The Savage-Islanders — Repulse Boy —
Frozen in — Thieving Natives — " Tlie Rivals" — "The Merry Dancers"
— Esquimaux Neighbors Discovered — Astonishing the Natives — An
Excursion — A Fight with Walrus — Stopped by Ice — Again Frozen in
— A cheering Spectacle — The fair Esquimaux — An Esquimaux Magi-
cian — Parry's tlurd Expedition ... 163

105

122

13ff

Secluded
9— Signal J
141

CHAPTER XIIL

YOV\0E OF THE OOKOTIIEA AND TRENT.

Buchan and Franklin's Expedition — The Rendezvous at Magdalena Bay
— An Avalanche — On the Edge of the Ice — A Dangerous Position —
Escape to Fair Hav«n 181

CHAPTER XIV.
franklin's FinsT land expedition.
Arrival at York Factory — Perils of River Navigation — A Winter's Jour-
ney — Testing a Conjurer's Skill— Indian Customs— Interview with
Akaitcho— The Winter at Fort Enterprise — Reception of a Chief-
Down the Coppermine River — Bloody Falls — Encounter with Esqui-
maux — Voyage on the Polar Sea — The Return Journey commenced —
Crossing a River — Exciting Adventures — Huilding a Cnnoe — Separa-
tion of tlio Men — Junius missing — A Deserted Fort — Starvation —
Life at Fort Enterprise 184

CHAPTER XV.
franklin's first land expedition (continhed.)
Dr. Richardson's Narrative — Suspicious Conduct of Michel — The Mur-
der of Hood— Richardson Shoots Michel— The Retreat to the Fort —
Arrival of Indians— Relief at Hand— The Journey to Fort York 218

CHAITER XVL
franklin's second land expedition.
Tl" Rendezvous at Great Bear Lake— The Winter at Fort Franklin—
At the Mouth of the Mackenzie— Tlie Expedition in Trouble — Contest
with the Esquimaux — A Brave Interpreter — Voyage along the Coast
—Second Winter at Fort Franklin 231

^riii

OONTKNTS.

CHAPTER XVn.

XRCTIO TOTAOEH OF LYONS, BEECHT, AXD OTHEKS.

Sccresbjr'i DitcoTeries — Excursion on Jan Maycn— Among the Moon*
taint— APeriloui Descent— Deserted Habitations — Cruiseof theGriper
— Sabine's Researches in High Latitudes — On the East Greenland
Coast— Scientific Problems Solved— Lyon's Second Voyage— The
Snow-bunting— Bay of God's Mercy — Beechcy's Expedition — Ap-
proach to Kamchatka — The Lawrence I'lauders — Customs of the
Alaskans — Wreck of the Barge— Skirmishes with the Natives 288

CHAPTER XVIIL
parry's polar voyage.
The Hecla and Her Outfit— In Treurenberg Bay— The Start for the Pole
— A Journey on Ice — Drifting South— A Hopeless Undertaking —
Hecla Cove 255

CHAPTER XIX.

EXFEDITION OF JOIIK AND JAMES C. ROSS.

Expedition of John and James C. Ross — The Victory — Life at Holstein-
berg — Arrival at Fury Beach — Frozen In — Winter at Felix Harbor —
King William's Land — Discovery of tlie Magnetic Pole — The Victory
Deserted — Voyage in Open Boats — Rescued by the Isabella — Return
of the Lost Explorers 261

CHjLPTER XX.

OEOROE back's expeditions.

Overland through Canada— Woman's Rights at Norway House — The
Batteaux and Canoes — Indian Summer Encampments — "Raising the
Devil" — Sad Fate of Augustus — Running the Rapids — A Desolate
Region— Voyage in the Terror— Fearful Ice-drift 278

CHAPTER XXI.

LAND EXPEDITIONS OF DBASE, SIMPSON, AND RAK.

A Winter's Journey— On the Coasts of Alaska — Down Escape Rapids —
Winter-Quarters on Great Boar Lake— Return to Red River Settle-
ment — Simpson Murdered — Dr. Rae's Explorations 288

CHAPTER XXII.

franklin's last voyage, with a sketch of nl8 LIFE.

Birth and Education — Early Passion for the Sea— A Midshipman at
Trafalgar — At Battle of New Orleans— Arctic Voyages— Governor of
Van Dieman's Land— The Erebus and Terror— A Lost Expedition. . . 206

CHAPTER XXIIL

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN.

Expeditions of 1848 — Voyage of Ross to Lancaster Sound — Overland
Seurch by Richardson and Rae — The Herald and Plover 804

CONTENTS. ix.

CHAPTER XXrV.

■EABCHES FOR FRANKLIN. (CONTIinTED.)

Auatin's Squadron— Discoveries at Beechey Island— Sledge Expedition
—Carrier Pigeons — Cruise of tlie Prince Albert — The Lad^ Franklia. . 310

CHAPTER XXV.

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN. (CONTINUED.)

Oollinson and McCIure's Expedition — Cruise of the Investig^ator — On the
Coast of the Continent- Up Prince of Wales Strait— Frozen in— Dii--
covery of a North-west Passage — A Night Adventure — Life at Mercy
Bay— McClintock's Cairn— Third Winter in the Ice— Relief at Hand
—Visit of Lieut. Pim— The Ship Deserted— Retrtat to the Resolute-
Cruise of the Enterprise — Recent Death of McClure 817

CHAPTER XXVI.

SEASCHXS FOR FRANKLIN. (CONTINUED.)

Second Cruise of the Prince Albert— Party Separated from the Ship^
A Night at Cape Seppings— Bollot's Rescue Party — Winter at Batty
Bay— A Visit to Fury Beach— Somerset House 883

CHAPTER XXVII.

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN. (CONTINUED.)

Expeditions of 1862— Belcher's Squadron— News of McClui 1— Pirn's
Journey to Mercy Bay— Kellctt's Adrcntures- Abandonment of the
Ships— Return to England 839

CHAPTER XXVIII.

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN. (CONTINUED.)

Inglcflcld's Voyages— Cruise of the Phoenix and Lady Franklin— Death
of Bellot— Lieut. Cresswell- Dr. ?«e at Repulse Bay 345

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE FntST AMERICAN EXPEDITION.

The Advance and Rescue- Off Newfoundland— The Arctic Day— Crown
Prince Islands— Kayaks 349

CHAPTER XXX.

THE FIRST AMERICAN EXPEDITION. (cONTINirBD.)

Iceberg Scenery— Wonders of Refraction— Arctic Navigatiou— Bergs—
A Race- A Pinch — Animal Life — Frozen Families 872

CHAPTER XXXI. .

THE FIRST AMERICAN EXPEDITION. (cONTIinTBD.)

The Crimson Cliffs— An Arctic Gardon- -Trapping the Auks— Good-bye
to BafSn- Franklin's Encampment Discovorecl— The Oraves 899

X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXXII.

TRB FIB8T AMERICAN UXPEDITION. (CONTINUED.)

Visit to the Resolute — The Rendezvous — A. Gale — Order for Return —
Frozen in — Drifting — Figliting the Enemy—The Aurora — Crisis — A
Race of Polo Faces — Midnight of the Year — Returning Liglit 428

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE FIRST AMERICAN EXPEDITION. (CONTINUED.)

A Gale — An Escape — Floating Bears— Esquimaux Guests — A Night
Scene— In an Ice Trap — The Escape — The Governor's Mansion — The
Feast — Fcits of the Kayaker — Conclusion 478

CHAPTER XXXIV.

DR. KANE's 8ECOMD EXPEDITION.

Rensselaer Harbor— Camp on the Floes— Sudden Alarm — The Rescue
Party— The Wanderers Found — A Bivouac — Esquimaux Visitors —
Death of Baker— Adventures of Morton and Hans— Signal Cairn—
The Record— The Arrest— The Punishment- Our Wild Allies —
Hunting Excursion — Esquimaux Homestead— A Bear Fight 619

CHAPTER XXXV.

DR. Kane's second expedition, (coi'tinued.)

The Cabin by Night— The Hut in a Storm — Hans Discouraged— Day
Dreams— Joyful News — A Sun AVorshiper — Famine at Etah— A
Walrus Hunt — Tlie ])elcctal)le Mountains — A Deserter— A Jlorning
in the Cabin — Shunghu's Daughter — A Noble Savage — Enterprising
Hunters 672

CHAPTER XXXVI.
DR. Kane's second expedition, (contikited.)
Farewell to the Brig — Approach to Etah— A Midnight Festival — A
Crystal Palace — At the Open Water— Good-bye to Esquimaux —
Embarkation — Weary Man's Rest — The Esquimaux Eden — Lost
Among Bergs—*' The Seal 1 "-Terra Firma !— The Welcome 604

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE HARTSTENB RELIEF EXPEDITION.

Narrative of John K. Kane

635

CHAITER XXXVIII.

franklin's fate DISCOVERED.

Dr. Rae's Discoveries — The Fox Expedition — Franklin's Monument —
Winter in Bellot Strait— McClintock's Discoveries— The Cairn at
Point Victory — Crozier's Record — A Buriid Hoat— Return of the Fox
— Relics of Franklin— The Story of the Lost Expedition 641

CONTENTS. Zl

CHAPTER XXXIX.

AROTIO BIBBBIA AMD ITS KXPLOBERS.

Siberian Exilei — Voyage of Dcshnef— Bering's Discoveries— Chelyns-
kin's Explorations — The New Siberia Islands— Ai\jott's Trarels —
Wrangell's Explorations — Skill of Siberian Sledge-drivers — The
"Great Russian Polynia"— The Lower Yenisei 66S

CHAPTER XL.

TRAVELS IN ALASKA.

The Alentian Islands— Expeditions of Dall and Whymper — Up the
Tnkon— A Winter at Nulato— The Alaskans— Sitka 67S

CHAPTER XLI.

DR. hates' EXPEDmOir.

The Voyage to Smith Sound — Winter at Port Foulke— Sledge Journey
— Orinnell Land— Cape Lieber— Return 683

CHAPTER XLII.

SKETCH OF CHARLES F. HALL, AND HIS EARLIER ARCTIC TRAVELS.

Early Life — Proposes to Search for Franklin — Secures Passage in a
Whaler— Captain Buddington — The " George Henry "—Frozen in at
Field's Bay — Visit from Ebierbing and Tookoolito— Excursions — Fro-
bisher Relics — "Fisherman's Luck" — Second Winter in the Ice —
Return Home — Second Journey to the North — The Monticello — Resi-
dence on the Northern Coasts of Hudson's Bay — A visit to King Wil-
liam's Land— Relics of Franklin's Expedition 68S

CHAPTER XLIIL

THB POLARIS EXPEDITION.

Captain Hall's Plans— The Polaris and lier Crew— Sketch of Officers —
On the Greenland Coast — Disco — The Expedition at Upernavik —
At Tessuisak — Hall's Good-bye to Civilization 698

CHAPTER XLIV.

THB POLARIS EXPEDITION. (CONTINUED.)

Adrift on the Floes— Off the Labrador Coast— A Fearftil Position— Sig-
naling the Tigress- Rescued— Startling News from the Polaris — The
Castaways at St. John's— Suspicions— The "Frolic"— At Washington . 706

CHAPTER XLV.

THE POLARIS EXPEDITION. (CONTINUED.)

The Polaris in I^igh Latitude — Tliank Gw\ Harbor — Hall's Journey to
the North— Hall's Last Dispatcli— Death of Hall— Joe's Story—

• Funeral of Captain Hall— The Winter at Polaris Bay— Outside of the
Ship — Returning Day— Bear Hunting — Excursions to the North-
Separation from the Polaris — The Drift Southward — The Rescue^
Joe and Hans 711

CONTENVS.

CHAPTER XLVI.

TUB POLAHIS BXPBUITIOM (CONTINUED).

Journal of Herman Sienians, a Sbanian of the Steamer Polarii 761

CHAPTER XLVH.

TUB POLARIS EXPEDITION. (CONTINUED.)

Diary of John Herron, One of the Polaris Ice-drift Party 760

CHAPTER XLVIII.

POLAKia SEARCH AND RELKIF EXPEDITIONS.

Cruise o^'the Juniata and Tigress — The Little Juniata — The Tigress on

the Trail— Buddington's Camp— Signaling the Juniata at Night 769

CHAPTER XLIX.

THE POLAIU8 EXPEDITION (CONCLUDED.)

Captain's Buddington's Narrative— The Polaris Wrecked and Deserted
— Preparing for Winter — Visit from the Natives — The Winter at Life-
Boat Cove— The Start Homeward — Rescued by the Kavenscraig. . , , 776

CHAPTER L.

QEHMAN AitCTlf KXPEDITON8.

Kiildewey's Expedition— Loss of the " Hnnsa"- Cruise of the "Ger

mania "—Payer's Expedition— Cruise of the " Tegethoff" 787

CHAPTER LL

SWEDISH AND NORWKGIAN EXPKDITIONS,

Captain Carlsen's 'Voyage — Relics of Dutch Explorers— Nordenskiold't
Expedition to Spitzbergen — Wintor at Mussel Bay— Startling Nt ws —
The Ice-Bound Eishermen and Their Fate — Nordenskiold's Expe-
dition to the Yenisei — Life in Sihcria— A Second Voyage 788

CHAPTER LIl.

THE BN0I.I8II EXPEDITION OF 1875 —76.

The Alert and Discovery — Officers and Crew — In High Latitude — The
Arctic Night — Polaris Bay Revisited— Captain Hall's Grave— An
Exciting Day — Markham's North Pole Party — On the Palteocrystic
Sea— The Turning Point— Death of a Seaman— Tlie Return Jour-
ney — The Western Exploring Party— Explorations in Greenland. . , . 801
CHAPTER LIU

NORDENSRIOI.D's DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-EAST PA88AOK

Sketch of the Explorer — The Vega and Her Crew — Dickson Harbor —
R<iundin<; of Cape Chelyuskin— Arrival at the Lena — Navigation of
River — Frozen In — The Winter Harl)or — Li e amid the Ice — The
Tcliuktches— Auroral Phenoniena— The Release — Homeward Voyage 817

CHAPTER LIV.

DE I.ONO'S NORTH I'OI.B E.XPKDITION- THE JBANNBTTE.

An Arctic Expedition Decided on by Jaiiies Gordon Bennett — Purchase
of the Pandora — The Jeannette — At Mure Island— Officers and Crew
— Objects of the Expedition— Departure of the Expedition— San Kraf.-
cisi.'o's Good-l)ye to the Jeannette~At Ounalaska, St. Michael's,
and St. Lawrence Bay — Last Words from the Explorers — Missing
Whalers — The Relief Steamer Corwin 8f7

7fil

760

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

gress on
{ht 769

Deserted
r at Life-
raig 776

he "Ger

787

nskiold't

{ Nj W8 —

i's Expe-

793

ude— The
rave— An
aeocrystic
urn Jour-
iland 801

AOR

Harbor —
igatiun of
Ice— The
d Voyage 817

TB.

rurchaae
and Creir
Sun Frnr.-
dicliael's,
—Missing

«sr

Pass.

1 Thb Polaris inIIioii LATiTvnEB (FronUtpUee.)

i POIITKAIT UP Ok. K ANK, 1

8 UousB IN Havana wuerb Dk. Kahb Died 10

4 TUE It E«CL'E 18

6 PouTiiAi r OK Sill John Fiunklin, 19

6 Scene on the (ikisenlanu Coast, S6

7 View op Fihkehn aes, Qreenland, 88

8 Moravian Shttlkmbnt at Licutenfels, 88

Ships Amonu Dkikis, 89

10 Winter in Mom-ow, 44

11 Snips Entanoled in Ice, 46

12 Lake Baikal, Eastern Siberia, 47

18 Votive t'ltosH and Miuniuut Sum— Nortdern Russia, 68

14 The Land op Desolation 78

16 Freioiited IceiiKito, 73

19 The Middle 1'alk, 81

17 A Sketch »1

18 Esquimaux Doo-Teams, 93

19 RsquiMAUx S.sow-lIousES, 93

80 Arctic Auiioua, 109

31 View on tiik Spitzberqen Coast, 109

33 AppROAriiiNu Winter— Jaxeb' Bat, 116

33 Arctic 1'aiuielia 116

3t TUE ICKltolND iUllBOR 116

35 The Kavaklii in a Gale, 131

86 A WliALiNo Scene 141

87 Kayak and Uumiak 143

38 Whalers Stopped by the Pack, 143

89 An Ice Cathedral 144

80 C • PE Isabella, 147

81 Cai-^ Alexander 147

8S Track op the Hecla and Griper, 157

33 Parry's Ships in Winter Quarters, 167

84 Stranded, 168

85 The "Merry Dancers," 167

38 Watchino for Indian Horse-Thieves, 188

87 Hunting on Snow-Shoks 191

SS Disguised Bipfai.o Hunters, 191

89 Hunters' Winter Camp SOO

40 A IluNORY Explorer 917

41 Overland Explorers, 330

42 A Station op the Hddsom's Bat Company, 831

43 The M ariner's Compass, 337

4t Petropaulski, Kamchatka, 860

45 UONIY-COMBFO ICEBERO, 354

ZIT

ILLUSTBATIONS.

^ i

46 Jackahd Bu "Dcm," 160

47 Am IcB Bbidoi, STT

4B IMDIAM SUIIXKB ElCCAjmiBST gSO

49 Hoosi IluMTUio IH C'AaoiM 980

so A LiAO Tbbodoh THE Kuie.. . 9t)T

61 WiNTBBCoDBUiuor THc Ft-BCoarAXT, 888

6i Ehoubd Bbbo 800

63 Bniuioou, 816

64 BcBCHBT ISLAMD 840

66 Thb Icb-Babbibb, 340

66 Tbb Adtahcb AMD Ubkcc* at Katt T abb, 868

6T OubFibst Icebcbo, 888

68 Thk ScKKEBTorm 860

60 Sntibimo Disco, 860

60 Disco Hdt«, . 860

61 Imspeotobs' Bocrb, Ukvelt 880

63 Amomo TBB BcBos 8SR

68 GnoDPOP StAis 870

64 loBBBBo, an

66 Olaoibbs or Jaoob'i Buibt. 878

06 In A Foo, 878

87 Tbackho 881

68 Katacu, 881

60 Womam'bBoat 38a

10 Tbb Dbtu.'! Tbcmb, 884

71 Mblvuxb Bat, 804

72 EsquiMADXoa HKorr-HiioEt, 896

73 LooKiMO pobWateb, 408

74 Bbmib's Cotb 408

75 Tbb Adtamce w Fbbbcabt 465

76 Wintebim the Pacb. 483

77 Biiu>'b-Ete View of Icb-Flob, 484

78 EsqciKAUx Beactiei 480

70 The Oovebhob's Soxi 408

80 8A1.0TIM0 TBB Pbovekebe, 406

81 GoOD-BtB TO TBB I'BISCE Alsebt 499

83 Intebiobop A Native Hct, L'psbbatol, .*. 490

83 Tbb OoTBBMOB'a Mabsiob, 606

84 nABPooHwo Beau 81T

85 Fastemed TO AH IcEBEna 631

86 PASTDia Hawsebs, 631

87 Stltia IIba]}laki>— IXPPEcTtxo A ILabbob, 837

88 Tbb AoyAHCE Fbozeb IS AT BexMELABB Habbob, 637

80 In tbb Tent, 58S

to Pinnaclt Bebo, 683

01 The Rescue Pabtt 684

03 Loading the Faith, 548

03 First Heetino wiTB Ea^-iBArx, 648

04 Tent ON the Fu>e«, S40

06 The Beabin Cabp, 049

06 Gathbrino Moss, 549

97 Morton and IIanb Ektebix* Ke!» ] » e pt CHABinn., 663

08 Morton andUahs LEAnxo '^cCBAinnD,, 658

99 Kennedy Cbanhel, B61

100 View PBOM Cape Conn'm-Tum 661

101 An EsquiiiAUZ IIomivteau 667

109 Wild Doo Teah, 667

108 Abctic Uoohlmbt, 6T8

ILLUSTRATIONS.

M Tm loB-FooT Cakoft, 57S

.05 The Bbib im hbb Wmtm Craou, 6T»

06 Appboachiko TBI DmebtcdUut 678

07 Tm Opes Wateb *. 579

08 Abctio Hea-Oulu 685

lOB Eider Iilahd Ducki 685

10 Tbe Walbus IIctnteb 691

U The Atluk. ob Seal-Hole 600

13 Sbootino Seal 690

13 Walrus Spobtino 699

14 EgQUIBAUX PoBTBAIPI— PaDLIK— ANAK— ACCOMObAU, 606

16 Obeenland CillLOBEM Platino Ball 600

16 Catchino Auke 600

IT Boat -Camp in a Stobm 617

18 OOOD-BTE TO TBE ERqUIBADX, 617

19 Birds or Pbovidencb Clipps 627

ao Passino tbe Cbivsom Clipps, 627

21 Cape Welcome 638

33 Our First Katak, 688

38 The Faitb, 684

34 A Small Water Partt, 689

35 Discovert op Franklin's Caihn 648

36 Relics op tbe Lost Ezploreiis 618

87 The Erebus and Terror in tue Ice-Stream, 667

38 Funeral op Sir John Fbanklin, 657

39 A Polar Bear Picnic 603

30 Exiles En route pob Siberia, 663

81 A Siberian Fort, 675

33 Traveling in Kamchatka, 6~S

33 Aleutians Catchino Whales, i 678

84 Fort Nulato, Alaska— Acboral Liout, 679

Vi A Deer Corral, 681

88 View op Sitka, Alaska, 683

87 Portrait op Captain Charles F. Hall 69S

88 Portrait op Captain S. O. Buddinoton, 608

30 Portrait op Captain Oeorob E. Ttson, 698

40 SiQN ALINQ the Tigress 706

41 Funeral op Captain IIali« at Polaris Bat, 718

43 A Bear Hunt 780

43 Meeting op the Floes, 749

l44 Formation op Hummocks, 768

i45 LiPE on the Driptino Ice-Field, 769

46 Portraits op Joe, H annab, and Stlvia, 773

.47 The Hansa Crushed— Escape op the Crew, 787

48 Count Wilczec in Nova Zembla 791

49 Relics op the Dutch Expedition, 798

60 Barentz's House at Ice Haven 798

And Twenty Smaller Kngravlngs.

MAPS, Etc.

CiRcuMPOLAB Map 1

Map op the American Arctic Sea SB

Ancient Map op Spitzbeboen, 188

Chart op the Whale-Fish Islands, 366

Chart Showing the Ducovbbies op Kane, Hates, and Hall, 640

Fao similes, 649-66D

/SO

'-^

foi

Tfi
U
SV

^:iA-

>". '-is M A\ ,KI frr KAj;'. E, n;. K^a;. s.

:^. ^^J^. ^ ^-^^1^_^_

«ICKT<. !' •■> r H k: I.! vv. or
:: FNT KANK, M.D., IT. S. N.,

IK ulruattf * BiV'title taic. I'U^ry n^n is

'■ .t V'>ung kmghi-erranf of pliiliinlhropy

>rf- llio w!v>k' wrfncfc of tlie gloljo, wi*!iiii

.r«; wlio j<nthcr(Kl Iieic anJ there a

reiOfcrch iTi wliioJi lit' Btraye«l ; who

; >• . vf^cntun*, ttbslrai'tiiig in the spirit

.'t- ««**b»:- *.' ' 'f I»ofpy, and loving with the

. wh'> fiwvtiHC. '. •«',;c; ^U'h impiiUes. im I'li to the

'H%! pluuct wmJ ri.y»*«i.i>i? >«»«xluJcJ aiuiiist tbo horrors

. ; who rctarntid Jik* tw* ji'nu; l»jwk frum another

« rv »t>orv of \.'\* :• iji t*><» diBThi* of lltora-

ow'' •• .te. • '. ■ ■ '.•*'«) ': l-i iusoaoa wo

..-.>(■ fete ?t4itt«r,

tirwii4 be »flt«*fl, r,'oul] ho

• . tiii» memoir, aii«l nuthing more,

;: • , «.- -h ft ftkctt'h US may BtTve to

'.i t; iiif « .rk» t'; the r(Na<]t>t. As we trace the

•uruphi' -H, ihoti^'h in llio briefwsf manner, it will he

• HxA oh^- ^«»/i <><i(tt«u«in, the leading events in his career,

;>' tT>. :. ..r, hi.-* puhli'" w^rvioes, luii' ' is private

•-"'•I i.;<i an iiapr«'««i.>u whicli is suue<t at

. hi« fuv lisrpbtimtu thu" IcsHOiis he has ief^ to the

^-t^. *-^"v€.,.e-4gL->

A SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF

ELISHA KENT KANE, M.D., U. S. N.,

%(-'■

PROP. CHARLES \ir. SHIELDS, D. D., OI" PRINCETON COLLEGE, N. J.

The Life of Dr. Kane is already a fireside tale. Every one is
familiar with it as the story of a young knight-errant of philanthropy
and science, who traversed nearly the whole surface of the globe, within
the shoil period of fourteen years ; who gathered here and there a
Ifturei from every walk of physical research in which he strayed ; who
piungod into the thick of perilous ndventure, abstracting in the spirit
of i>hiiosophy, yet seeing with the eye of poesy, and loving with the
heart of humanity ; who penetrated, under such impulses, even to the
Northern pole of the planet and remained secluded amidst the horrore
of two Arctic winters ; who returned like one come back from another
world, to invest the very story of his escape with the charms of litera-
ture and art, and transport us, by his graphic pen, into scenes wo
scarceh realize as belonging to the earth we inhabit; and who died at
length, in the flush of his manhood and the morning of his fame,
lamented by his country and the world.

To write the story of such a life as it should be written, would bo
impossible within the limits assigned to this memoir, and nothing more,
therefore, will be here attempted than such a sketch as may serve to
introduce this new edition of his works to the reader. As we trace the
usual biographical themes, though in the briefest manner, it will be
found that liia origin and education, the leading events in his career,
the prominent traits of his character, his public services, and his private
life and la.st moments, tog<;ther yield an impression which is suited at
once to justify his fame bad perpetuate the lessons he has left to the
world. 1

LIFE OF DR, KANE.

Elisiia Kent Kane, the leader in the American search for Sir John
Franklin, wfis born in Phiiadelpliia, Feb. 3, A. D. 1820. lie received
the name of his grandfather, wlio had himself been named after his ma-
ternal granilfatlier, the Reverend EUsha Kent, of " Kent's Parish," N. Y.,
and ho was baptized by his uncle, the Reverend Jacob J. J;,neway,
D. D.j then pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, which his
parents attended.

On the father's side he was descended from Colonel John Kane, of
the British Army, his great-grandfather, who came from Ireland to the
colony of New York about the year 1756, retired to Dutchess County,
and there married Miss Sybil Kent, daughter of the clergyman above
named, and aunt of Chancellor Kent. His grandfather, ElishaK. Kane,
was a successful merchant in Albany and New York, who married Miss
Alida Van Rensselaer, daughter of General Robert Van Rensselaer, of
Claverack, and subsequently removed to Philadelphia. His father, the
late lion. John K. Kane, a graduate of Yale College, and successively
a member of the Phihadelphia bar, Attorney-General of the State, and
Judge of the United States Court for the Eastern District of Pennsyl-
vania, was well known aa an acute and learned jurist within his profes-
sion, as an intluential statesman of the old school of politics, an active
promoter of the arts, sciences, and charities in Philadelphia, an accom-
plished scholar in classical and English literature, and a courtly gentle-
man in society. And the culture, etficiency, and tact which distin-
guished him in every relation of life were not wanting in his honored
son.

On the mother's side he was descended from Thomas Leiper, a
younger son of a Scotch family of French origin, who came in search
of fortune about the year 1764, to the colony of Virginia, and thence
to I'cnnsylviinia ; built extensive mills near Pliiladclpliia; aided in
forming the First City Troop, and served with distinguished gallantry
in the battles of Trenton and Princeton ; united, after the war, with
his warm personal friend, I'rosident Jefferson, in organizing the polit-
ical party which looked to him for its leader ; and as a zealous advo-
cate of public improN "uients, laid down the first experimental railway
constructed in tiie United States. He married Miss Elizabeth Coltas
Gray, the daughter of the lion. George Gray, of Gray's Ferry, and of
Martha Ibbetson Gray, whose generous services in nursing the sick and
wounded prisoners during the occupation of Philadelphia by Lord
Howe, attracted public testimonials from both parties. Their daughter,
Jane Duval Leiper, as Mrs. Kane, illustrated the traits proverbial in
the mothers of great men by combining with the virtues of the Spartan

Tor Sir John
le received
fter his ma-
•isli," N. Y.,
J.'.neway,
which his

1 Kane, of
anil to the
ss County,
man above
a K. Kane,
arriei] Miss
issolaor, of
fatiier, the

iiccessively

State, and

)f Pennsyl-

his profes-

>, an active

an accoin-

•tly gentle-

lich distin-

is honored

' Lciper, a
> in search
md thence

aided in

gallantry
war, with

the polit-
loiis advo-
^1 railway
^tli Coltas
y, and of

sick and

by Lord
laughter,
erbial in
3 Spartan

LIFE OF DR. KANE. 3

matron, that energy, nerve, elasticity, and warm-heartedness which
became famous in her son.

On both sides, liis ancestry in this country, it will be seen, dates
before the American Revolution, being derived in the paternal line from
Ireland, Holland, and England, and in the maternal line from Scotland,
England, and France, while the corresponding religions blended in it
were the Episcopalian, Dutch Reformed, and Congregational, with the
Presbyterian, Quaker, xMethodist, and Moravian. And the names wl'.lch
it embraces are here mentioned, not merely because ho has h'inself
written them, with a just pride, upon the map of the Arctic seas, but
also as serving to explain that rare combination of varied and even
opposite elements of race, of creed, and of culture, which entered into
the formation of his character.

When Mr. Kane and Miss Leiper first mot, they were in the prime
of youthful strength and beauty ; and after a courtship, the romance
of which lias become a family tradition, they were married, April 20,
1819. Elisha was the eldest of their children. Three other sons and
a marrietl daughter are still living.

In Dr. Kane, as in most men wlio acjnevc greatness, the boy fore-
shadowed the man. Arctic explorations wore prefigured by juvenile
feats of daring and contrivance. His biographer relates that when but
a child, he scaled the roof by moonlight with his younger brother,
while the family were asleep, feeling repaid for the perilous adventure
by the " grand view " from the chimney-top. Traits which afterwards
shone o>it before the world, already appeared in the school-room and
on the playground, where he became a spirited little champion of the
weak and oppressed, repelling imposition from any quarter with nncal-
culating courage, and yet as quick to forgive as to resent an injury.
His tiistes, too, began to show the bias of coming years. He had his
own small cabinet of minerals, birds, and insects, and his chemical lab-
oratory, the latter to the frequent alarm of the household — and his
favorite books were Robinson Crusoe and Pilgrim's Progress.

But if it is easy now to trace the beginnings of his career, it was not
80 easy then to forecast it. Fonder of sports than of books, full of
generous but ill-i-egulatod impulses, and impatient of control, his
course as yet was like that of a mountain torrent which has not found
and made its channel ; and it was only when he began by his own
efforts to retrieve his neglected education, that parental anxiety was
relieved.

His father would have had him follow in his own footsteps at Yale;
but his incliuatioa was more towards science than learning, and the

LIFE OP DR. KANE.

optional course of study which the University of Virginia allowed, was
found better adapted to his somewhat exceptional genius. He was in
his seventeenth year when he entered the university, and during the
year and a half that he studied there, made good progress in the clas-
sical and mathematical course prescribed, as well as in his own chosen
sciences of chemistry, mineralogy, geology, and civil engineering. It
was at this time ho said to his cousin that ho "intended to make his
mark in the world." And the resolution seems to have derived im-
pulse from an event which abruptly ended his collegiate coui-se a little
before the time of graduation. Prostrated by an acute rheumatism of
the heart, he was wrapped in a blanket and taken by slow journeys
home to Philadelphia, where he endured frightful paroxysms of pain,
and for days appeared to be on the brink of death. He recovered, to
learn from his physicians that he might fall as suddenly as by a musket
shot. Tiie decision with which he went back to the duties of life was
only anticipated by his father's counsel : " Elislia, if you must die, die
in harness."

Turning from the profession of a civil engineer to that of a physician,
in his nineteenth year, he was matriculated in the Medical Department
of the University of Pennsylvania, and after attending one course of
lectures, while yet sn undergraduate, he was elected one of the Resi-
dent Physicians in the Hospital at Blockley. His preceptors and asso-
ciates have ail publicly spoken of the remarkable zeal and success with
which he prosecuted his studies and performed his duties in these posi-
tions. Indeed his graduating thesis on the subject of "Kyestcin" was
80 highly esteemed that it was published by a vote of the Faculty, and
attracted the general notice of the profession. It is still quoted as an
authority both in this country and abroad.

It had become plain that Dr. Kane's cardiac disorder combined with
his scientific tastes and aspirations to unfit him for the routine life of a
practitioner, and that travel, adventure, and incessant activity were with
him a physical need as well as a moral impulse. He had no taste for
the social blandishments under which young men born to ease and ele-
gance too often waste their prime, and the stagnant political condition
of the country at that time afforded none of the generous careers which
have since been opened to them. Neither could he accept for himself
the fate of a mere invalid tourist or reckless adventurer, intent on
crowding into a short lifetime the utmost amount of mere aimless
diversion. There must, if possible, be a color of scientific enthusiasm
to sanction his life of physical hardihood.

His father, acting upon this enlightened view of his case, applied for

LIFE OF DR. KANE.

him to the Secretary of the Navy for the post of surgeon in the ser-
vice ; and after passing the required examination so creditably that the
disquahfying state of his health was overlooked by the Board of
Examiners, he was appointed physician of the Chinese Embassy,
which sailed in the frign*' Brandywine, Commodore Parker, in May,
1843.

During the two years that he was absent upon this his first extended
tour of travel, he made a complete circuit of the globe, sailing around
the coast of South America, across the Pacific Oceau to Southern and
Eastern Asia, and returning by the overland route through Europe,
across the Atlantic to the United States. And that spirit of dauntless
research which actuated him through life seems every where to have
brought with it its own proper atmosphere of marvelous incident and
peril.

While the vessel remained at Rio de Janeiro, after participating with
the diplomatic corps in the coronation of the Emperor of Brazil, he
visited the Eastern Andes for a geological survey of that region. At
Bombay, where the legation awaited some months the arrival of its
chief, Mr. Cushing, by the overland route, ha seized the opportunity for
similar inland journeys, exploring the cavcrned temples of Elephanta,
traveling by palanquin to the less known ruins at Karli, passing over
to Ceylon, and engaging, with some ofliccrs of the garrison, in the ele-
phant hunt, and the other wild sporte of the island. But it was at
Luzon or Luconia, a Spanish possession in the China Sea, that this
adventurous spirit, though under a scientific impulse, passed tlie limits
of prudence in his far-famed exploration of the crater of Tael, a vol-
cano on the Pacific coast of the island, in a region inhabited only by
savages. Crossing over to the capital city of the island, during one of
the long delays of Chinese diplomacy, he procured an escort of natives
from the Archbishop of Manilla, (by means of letters from American
prelates which he had secured before leaving home,) and in company
with his friend Baron Loe, a relative of Metternich, penetrated across
the country to the asphaltic lake in which the island volcano is situ-
ated. Both gentlemen at first descended together, until they reached
a precipice overhanging the cavernous gulf of the crater, when the
baron saw further progress to be impossible, but the doctor, in spite
of the remonstrances of the whole party, insisted upon being lowered
over the ledge by means of a rope made of bamboos, and held in the
hands of the natives under the baron's direction, until he reached the
bottom, two hundred feet below. Loosing himself from the cord, he
forced his way downwards through the sulphurous vapors, over the hot

LIFE OF DR. KANE.

ashes, to the green, boiling lake, dipped his specimen-bottle into its
waters, returned to the rope, several times stumbling, almost stifled,
and with his boots charred, one of them to a coal, but succeeded in
again fastening himself, and was hauled up by his assistants and re-
ceived into their hands exhausted and almost insensible. Remedies
brought from the neighboring hermitage were applied, and he was so
far restored that they could proceed on their journey, lint rumors
spread before tliem among the pigmy savages on the island, of the pro-
fane invasion whicli had been <nade into the sacred mysteries of the
Tael, and an angry mob gathered around them, which was only dis-
persed by one or two pistol sliots and the timely arrival of the padres.
The trophies of this expedition were some valuable mineral specimens,
a bottle of sulphur water, a series of graphic views from recollection
in his sketch-book, and a written description of the volcano by one of
the friars, which, after many wanderings, was put in his hands as he sat
at the home dinner-table, twelve years afterwards.

Resigning his post in the diplomatic mission, Dr. Kane practiced his
profession in Whampoa, until he was sufficiently in funds to pursue his
journey homeward through Calcutta by the overland route. After
exploring the interior of India, including the Himalaya mountains, he
was admitted with his friend, Mr. Dent, a British official, into the suite
of Prince Tagore, one of the native Hindoo nobles, then on his way to
the court of Queen Victoria, and traveled under this safe conduct
through Persia and Syria, as far as Upper Egypt. At Alexandria he
received, through an introduction by Prince Tagore to the Pasha Me-
hemet Ali, a special firman by which lie was enabled safely to traverse
the region of Egyptian ruins. But the journals of a large part of this
expedition, as of the whole previous tour, were unfortunately lost by
the upsetting of his boat in the Nile. In the ruined temple of Karnak
he met with Professor Lepsius, the renowned Egyptologist, with whom
he traveled some time, and at Luxor he proved that archroological re-
search is sometimes more curious than effective, by climbing, as had
never been done before, between the colossal knees of the statue of
Memnon, in hopes of finding some hieroglyph on the under side of the
tablet in the lap of the figure.

His sensitive organization, throughout life, seems to have reflected
with peculiar intensity the disease of every country through which he
traveled. As at Macao he had been prostrated by the rice-fever, so at
Alexandria he was seized with an attack of the plague. When suffi-
ciently recovered to pursue his jonrneyings, he set out for Greece, and
made the tour of that classic land on foot. Athens, PlattBa, Mount

LIFE OF DR. KANE.

•ttle into its

nost stifled,

iccceded in

ants and re-

llciaedics

he was so

Hut rumors

, of the pro-

eries of the

as only dis-

tho padres.

specimens,

I recollection

10 by one of

nds as lie sat

practiced his
to pursue his
■oute. After
lountains, he
into the suite
3n his way to
safe conduct
Ucxandria he
ic Pasha Me-
ly to traverse
^ part of this
itely lost by
lie of Karnak
;, with whom
aeological re-
ibing, as had
lie statue of
3r side of the

ave reflected
^h which he
e-fever, so at

When sufli.

Greece, and
ttica, Mount

Helicon, Thermopylae, Parnassus, were successively visited, after which
he passed to Trieste, and thince through Germany to Switzerland,
where the glaciers of the Alps yielded him the ice-theories which he
afterwanh tested in the Arctic regions.

His design hail been to return to Manilla, in the island of Luzon,
with a license from the Spanish authorities to practice his profession ;
but failing in this, or relinquishing it, he at length yielded to urgent
sohcitations from home, and returned by way of Italy, France, and
England, to the United States.

Dr. Kane was at this time twenty-four years of age, and had already
developed the traits for which he was subsequently distinguished. The
Reverend George Joiies, chaplain to the Chinese Embassy, speaks of
him as "then very youthful-looking, with a smootii face, a florid com-
plexion, very delicate form, smaller than the common size ; but with an
elastic step, a briglit eye, and great enthusiasm in manner, which also
mixed itself with his conversation. Uq seemed to be all hope, all
ardor, and his eye appealed already to take in the whole world as his
own." And anoth>'r of his associates in the diplomatic mission,
Fletcher Webster, Esq., has said that " in social intercourse, although
agreeable and very bright when called out, he still seemed to be think-
ing of .something aoove and beyond what was present. To his great
scientiflc taste and knowledge, and his energy and resolution, he added
a courage of the most dauntless kind. The idea of personal appre-
hension seemed never to cross his mind. He was ambitions, not of
mere personal distinction, but of acliievements useful to mankind and
promotive of .science."

On his return to Pliiladelphia, he successfully devoted liimsclf for a
time to his profession, both as a teacher and practitioner of medicine,
though being still a titular surgeon of the Navj', he had put his name
on the roll its " waiting for orders." Accordingly, three weeks before
the declaration of war against Mexico, in May, 1846, he was ordered to
the coast of Africa, in the frigate United States, under Commodore
Reed. When at Rio .Janeiro in 1843, ho had received, in return for
professional .services, from the famous Portuguese merchant, Da Sousa,
introductory letters to his commercial representatives on the African
coast, by means of which lie now visited and examined the slave-fao-
tories; and while the frigate was in liarbor, he also joined a caravan
going to the interior, and was presented at the court of his savage
majesty the king of Dahomey, where he became convinced that even
the horrors of the middle passage were merciful compared with those
from which iti^ victims had been rescued.

C-'r

LIFE OF DR. KANS.

From thiB comparatively ingiorions field of tlic public service, Dr.
Kane was transferred hj a virulent attack of tlie coast-fever, which,
after bringing him Ut the point of death, required iiis iininediate return
home. Ue reached I'hilailclphia utterly broken in health, but eager to
mingle in the stirring wrenc* then passing in Mexico, from which he
had been withheld during his ten months' absence. When scarcely
yet convalescent, he hastened to Wasliington, obtained credentials as
bearer of dispatches to General Scott, then in the Mexican capital, and
after stopping in Kentucky to procure a horse, said by one of his col-
leagues to have been " the finest animal ever seen in Mexico," pursued
his journey to New Orleans, and thence across the Gulf to Vera Cruz.
It was while on his way to the interior that an attair occurred, the well-
attested facts of which bring back the romance of chivalry as a reality.

Dr. Kane, having been unable to procure an American escort, had
intrusted himself tf> a Mexican spy-company, under Colonel Doniingucs,
and was approaching Xopaluca, when they encountered a body of
contra-guerrillas, escorting Generals Gaona and Torrojon, with other
Mexican officers. A short and severe contest ensued, resulting in the
capture of most of the Mexican |>«rty. During the fray, the doctor's
charger carried him \Mitween young Colonel (iaona and his orderly,
who both fell uj>on him at the same moment. Ueceiving only a slight
flesh hurt from the lance of the latter, he parried the sabre-cut of the
former and unhorsed him with a wound in the chest. Soon afterwards
cncs came from young Gaona to save his father, the aged general,
whom, together with the other Mexican prisoners, the renegade Do-
mingues and his banditx were about to butcher in cold blood. Dr.
Kane instantly charged among them with his six-shooter, and suc-
ceeded at length in enforcing humanity to the vani]ui8licd, though only
after himself receiving a lancc-ihmst in the abdomen and a blow which
cost him the loss of his horse. But still another act of mercy remained
to be performed. As the old General sat beside his son, who was
bleeding to death from his wound, the doctor, with no better surgical
implements than a table-fork and a piece of pack-thread, succeeded in
taking up and tying the artery, and thus saving the life which he had
endangered.

The gratitude of the rescued Mexicans knew no bounds, and when it
was found that their deliverer was himself suffering from his wounds,
ho was taken by General Gaona to his own residence, and there nursed
for weeks by the ladies of the family, with every attention that wealth
and refinement could suggest. A ti.ssuc of circumstantial as well as
personal evidence has ^»cd the chronicler of this incident the risk of

LIFE OF DR. KANE.

geeminn; a roinnncer. The published letters which passed between the
American mid Mexican governors of I'uebla in n ^',n\i to Dr. Kane,
intcrchuni^ed his praises; and on his return to riiihultlphia, more than
seventy of tiie most distinguished gentlemen of tlio lity united in pre-
senting him with a sword, as a memorial of "an incidental exploit
which was crowned with the distinction due to gallantry, skill, and
success, and was hallowed in the flush of victory by the noblest hu-
manity to the vanquished."

After the Mexican war, in January, 1849, Dr. Kiine was attached to
the storesliij) Supply, Commander Arthur Sinclair, bound for Lisbon,
the Mediterranean, and Rio Janeiro. The diseases which he had suc-
cessively contracted in China, Egypt, Africa, and Mexico, had made sad
inroads upon his health, and the voyage, thoiigli without much of in-
cident, at least served to recruit his strength. He was next assigned to
the Coast Survey, and had settled into its round of duty, when he was
suddenly called to the great work of his life.

"On the liith of May," he writes, " while bathing in the tepid waters
of the (iulf of Mexico, I received one of those courteous little epistles
from Washington which the electric telegraph has made so familiar to
naval officers. It detached rac from the coast-survey, and ordered me
to proceed forthwith to New York for duty upon the Arctic expedition."
For months before, the civilized world had resouiuied with the cry to
the rescue of Sir John Franklin, and the Government, moving in sym-
pathy with the whole country, had resolved upon sending in search of
the lost navigator the two vessels, the "Advance" and "Rescue," under
Commander De Uaven. Dr. Kane, who had repeatedly volunteered
his services, was made senior medical officer and naturalist of the ex-
pedition, and on his return, published its history in the form of a "Per-
sonal Narrative," collected from his private journals. The cruise lasted
during sixteen months, but resulted in little more than the discovery
of Sir John Franklin's first winter quarters and the graves of three of
his men.

In proceeding to organize the second United States Grinnell Expe-
dition under his own command. Dr. Kane had before him an object
worthy of his matured powers and noblest aims, and gave himself to
the task with the zeal of a votary. But what discouragements, what
disappointments, and what difficulties entered into that great under-
taking from its outset to its close, can be but partially seen through
the veil of delicate reserve which he has thrown over them. Some-
thing, however, may be learned in regard to them from another source,
and upon authority as competent as it is disinterested and honorable.

LIFE OF DR. KANE.

r «

Captain Sherard Osborne, of Ilcr Majesty's Navy, in a paper advoca-
ting fintlier pt)lar exjiloration, holds the following langiiajrc : —

"It is only fair to iJr. Kane to say, that never in our times has a
iiaviitator entered tlic ""lo so indifterently prepared for a I'cjlar winter.
With only seventeen followers, two of them mutineers, without a steam-
power for liis solitary vessel, without proper sledge-equiiJUicnt. witliout
any preserved fresh meat, and a great insufficiency of piesorvud vege-
tables, and with only coals ouo\igh to servo for twelve months' fuel, the
only marvel to mo is, "that he ever returned to relate his siitferings.
They are only to ho e(|iialed by those of the navigator ".lames," in
Hudson ]>ay, two centuries earlier. God forbid that 1 should bo
thought to cast one reflection upon those warm-hearted Americans wlio
came nobly forward and said, " We too will aid in Arctic enterprise ;"
but the fact is tliat enthusiasm and high courage, witliout proper
knowledge and ecjuipmeut, on such service, infallibly lead to the sufi'er-
ing which Dr. Kiinc's followers endured; and it is t/mt which best
explains how it was, that whilst our sailors, far beyond the l'^st|uiinaHX,
waxed fiit and fastidious, Kane's poor followers had to eat the raw flesh
of animals to avert the ravages of scurvy, brought on by a poisonous
dietary of salt meat. This nmch to meet the objections of tliose who
point to Dr. Kane's thrilling narrative with a view to frighten us from
Arctic exploration ; and I may add, that I know well tiiat chivalrous
man never penned those touching episodes to frighten men from high
enterprise, but rather to caution us to .avoid his mistakes. And to show
us how nobly the worst evils may bo borne when the cause is a good
one."*

The narrative of that expedition is before the reader in this volume.
Vv'^hen tirst given to the world, it excited an intense interi'st and drew
forth universal eulogy. All classes were penetrated anil touched by
the story so simply, so modestly, so eloquently told. Autograph let-
ters from the most eminent names in every walk of life were written in
its praise. Medals and other costly testimonials were sent by the Queen
of England, by ditl'creut Legislatures in our own country, and by scien-
tific associations throughout tlie world. The mere casual notices of
the press, as collected by his friend Mr. Childs, the publisher, fill sev-
eral albums of folio size.

But the recipient of these uonors was not destined liiMself long to
enjoy them. To the seeds of former diseases never fully eradicated,
had been added that terrible scourge of Arctic life, tlie scurvy, together

• Paper on tlis Exploration of the North Polar Region, roiid bi'roro tiie Royal
floographical Society, Jan. 23d, 1865, by Captain Sherard Osborne, R. N., C. B.

paper ndvoca-

ir times lioa a

II I'Dlar winter.

itiioiit Hsteain-

)iiu'iit. without

ivesoi'ved vege-

>ntlis' fuel, the

D liis siirt'eringB.

or "James," in

t 1 uliould be

AiiuMiciins wlio

tie enterprise ;"

witlioiit proper

11(1 tij tlie sufter-

t/iiit \viiic:h best

tiic Estpiimaux,

L':)t the raw flesh

\>y a poisonous

18 of tiiose who

ijfliteii us from

1 tliat eliivalrous

I men from high

ves, t\inl to show

! cause is a good

r ill this volume.
iitert':st and drew
and touched by
Aiitoiiraph let-
) were written in
ent by the Queen
ry, and by scien-
casual notices of
jubli-shcr, fill aev-

, liiMseif long to

fully eradicated,

! scurvy, together

id bc-foro the Royal
me, B. N., C. B.

LIFE OF DR. KANE.

with the pxlmusting literary Iftbom incident to the puMication of this
narrative, Kiitircly lindcrestiinatiiig those ial)ors, (of wiiich indeed but
few eau form an a(h.4uate conception,) lie had been (juite too tiiought-
leas of tiie claiinH of a body ho had so long been acciintonied to subject
to his purpose, ami only awoke to a discovery of the error wlieu it was
too late. With tliis melancholy conviction, he announced the couipie-
tion of t'".; work to a friend in the modest and touching sentence : —
" The book, poor as it is, has been my coffin,"

He left the country for England under a presentiment that he should
never return. For the first time in his life, departure was shaded with
foreboding. It was indeed an alarming syini)tum to find that iron
nerve which hitherto had sustained him uniler shocks ap|)arently not
less severe, thus beginning to falter; and yet even tiu'U the great pur-
pose of his life he iiad not wholly abandoned, but, in spite of the most
serious entreaties, wa.s already projecting another Arctic Expedition of
research and rescue* Before, however, he could make known his plans,
or even receive the honors awaiting him, successive and more virulent
attacks of disease obliged him, under me<lical advice, to seek the last
resorts of the inviilid. Attended by his faithful friend Morton, he
sailed for Cuba, where lie was joined by his mother and two of his
brothers, and <levotetlly nursed during a lingering and painful illness,
until his death on the 10th of Fcbr-.ary, 1857.

No man of his age was ever more proudly and tenderly lamented.
The journey with his remains from Havana to New Orleans, and thenco
through the Western States to Philadelphia, became but one long
funeral triumph, with the learned, the noble, and the good mingling in
its train. State and civic authorities, literary, scientifi(\ and religious
bodies, followed his bier from city to city with lavish shows of grief,
until at length the national obsequies were conipleted in the Hail of
Independence, in the church of his childhood, and at the grave of his
kindred.

Dr. Kane, so lar from being one of those mere personages who move
in a halo of applause, had only to be known in order to convert the
coldest criticism into sympathy with the popular feeling. Whatever
faults belonged to him — and his nature was too rich and strong to be
without them — yet the man himself was fully worthy of his mission,
and had been actually endowed with gifts and traits quite as remark-

* The particular project to which ho then reverted willi special interest, was one
whieii he had entertained in 1852, lookinp to a combined land and sen expedition
down Mackenzie's River, and through Behring's Straits. See Paper on Alaski,
lately read by his brother and literary executor, General T. L. Kane, before the
American Geograp)iical Society.

LIFE OF DR. KAKE.

.» ft

I i

able as any of the circumstances which conspired to make him an object
of such general admiration.

Whea at his prime, before disease had begun to waste his frame, his
personal appearance was extremely youthful and handsome, almost to
the degree of a feminine delicacy of form and featare, with an air of
elegance and fasiiion, suggestive at first sight of anything but hardy
exploits and physical endurance. But as his character matured, the
lines of his face revealed the energy and purpose within. There was a
certain presence which diverted attention from his deficient stature.

Teinpenite in meat and drink, he had none of the Si lall vices which
deprave the body, but was rather ii: danger of neglecting, or overtask-
ing it, by the reckless energy with which he subjected it to his behests.
The stimulus with which he repaired the waste of mental application
was natural rather than artificial. He would leave the maimscripts of
his book, to seek relaxation in a midnight rid upon his favorite stallion
" Gaona," or in a rapid walk before breakfast, lie was a splendid
horseman and marksman, in the excitements of the chase he had the
keenest relish, and yet for suflering animal creatures often showed a
tenderness that in another might have seemed sentimental.

Natural scenery and objects he sui veyed with the eye of an artist as
well as that of trained scientific observation. Ilis journals in all parts
of the world were filled with sketches, some of them finished pictures,
others mere pen-and-ink outlines with verbal notes. "Could they be
placed before the public," says the artist who illustrated this work,
"they would add still further, if that were possible, to his reputation
as an Arctic explorer."

His aflections for home and kindred were absolute passions. In his
love for his mother especially, he was a child to the last. His imi^in-
ation strove to brighten even the Arctic waste with dear and familiar
associations. The ice-bound harbor in which he was imprisoned was
made to echo with names oftenest heard at home. He was really
prouder to call a new land or river after one of his own kinsmen, than
to christen it for a Washington or a Tennyson ; and the sledge in
which he sought the object of a world-wide fame was most precious in
his eyes as a memorial of his brother " Little Willie."

His heart, indeed, was as warm as it was large and noble. No ele-
vation and vastness in his schemes of philanthropy, no absorption in
their pursuit, and no reputation gained by their success, ever made him
insensible to the claims of the humblost upon its regards. Throughout
life he had mimerous dependants who looked to hiir. for relief and
maintenance, and at every step he performed acts of kindness with an

LIFE OF DR. KANE.

uncalcuiating generosity. In one of his voyages he saved the life of
an infant whose mother was too ill to nurse it, by himself taking entire
charge of the little sufferer. A young orphaned niidsliipman, with
whom he read the Bible and Shakspeare on the voyage to Brazil, when
found to be dying of consumption, was taken home with him and ten-
derly nursed until his death as one of the family. It would have been
strange if such affluent affection had not been, in some instances, lav-
ished upon an unworthy object, as when a young culprit whom he
sought to reform by bringing him under the home influences, was sud-
denly missing with some valuable jewelry. But that knightly romance
and simplicity aiiging his ardent nature, if ever quixotic in the eyes of
the prudent, could never have exposed him to the serious misappre-
h-^nsion of any but inferior souls.

The writer of this sketch, as the eulogist at the obsequies of Dr.
Kane, gave an expression of the public estimate which has since been
only confirmed by his more intimate knowledge, and he can not now
do better than here to reproduce so much of it as relates to his moral
traits and achievements.*

" As a votary of science, he will indeed receive fitting tributes.
There will not be wanting those who shall do justice to that ardent
thirst for truth, which in him amounted to one of the controlling pas-
sions; to that intellect so severe in induction, yet sagacious in conjec-
ture ; and u; those contributions, so various and valuable, to the existing
stock of human knowledge. But his memory will not be cherished
alone in philosophic minds. Ilis is not a name to be honored only
within the privileged circles of the learned. There is for him another
laurel, greener even than that which science weave for her most gifted
sons. He is endeared to the popular heart as its chosen ideal of the
finest sentiment that adorns our earthly nature.

"Philanthropy, considered as among thi'.gs which arc lovely and of
good report, is the flower of human virtue. Of all the passions that
have their root in the soil of this present life, there is none which,
when elevated into a conscious duty, is so disinterested and pure. In
the domestic afTections, there is something of mere blind instinct; in
friendship, there is the limit of congeniality ; in patriotism, there are
the restrictions of local attachment and national antipathy; but in that
love of race which seeks its object m man as man, of whatever kindred,
creed, or clime, earthly morality appears divested of the last dross of
selfishness, and challenges our highest admiraiion and praise. *

• Sec Report of tho Joint Oommittee appointed to receive the remains and con-
duct tiie obsequies of tlie late HWaha Kent Kane, in Dr. Elder's Biography. Funeral
Diacourso delivered in the Second Presbyterian Church.

LIFE OF DR. KANE.

"Provulence, who governs the world by ideas, selects the fit occasions
and men for their illustration. In j.n »gc when philanthropic senti-
ments, through the extension of Christianity and civilization, are on
the increase, a fit occasion for their display is oflfered ii: the perils of a
bold explorer, for whose rescue a cry of anguished aif. .'ion rings in
the ears of the nations ; and the man found ode j-at/u ^' it occasion
is he whose death we mou' n.

"If there was every thiiig congruous in the . 3ei;c f the achieve-
ment, — laid, as it was, in those distant regions where the lines of geog-
raphy converge beyond all the local distinctions that divide and sepa-
rate man from his fellow, and among regions of cold and dirkncss, and
disease and famine, that would task to their utmost the powers of
human endurance — not less suited was the actor who was to enter upon
that scene and enrich the world with such a lesson of heroic benefi-
cence. Himself of a country estranged from that of the imperiled
explorers, the simple act of assuming the task of their rescue was a
beautiful tribute to the sentiment of national amity; while, as hia war-
rant for undertaking it> he seemed wanting in no single qualificarion.
To a scientific education and the experience of a cosmopolite, he join.d
an assemblage of moral qualities so rich in their separate excel! :i ' ,
and so rare in their combination, that it is difficult to ofttc tbo;;
analysis

" Conspicuous among them was an exalted, yet practical beutmintQ.
It was the crowning charm of his chanvcter, and a controUinc »roti" '
in his perilous jntcrprise. Other proinptings indeed th^re were, nei-
ther suppressed, nor in themselves to be depreciated. But that passion
for adventure, that love of science, that generous ambition, which stim-
ulated his youthful exploits, appear now under the check and guidance
of a still nobler impulse. It is liis sympathy with the lost and suflfei-
ing, and the duteous conviction that it may lie in liis power to liberate
them from their icy dungeon, which thrill his heart and ncv.^' him to
his hardy task. In his avowed aim, the interests of geogri iiy ,rore to
be subordinate to the claims of humanity. And neither tiie • f;-. Hiies
of affection, nor the imperiling of a fame, which to a less eanu pirit
might have seemed too prcciou;j to hazard, could swerve him from the
generous purpose.

" And yet this was not aher.c iokiice vh "-'^ could exhaust itself in any
mere dazzling, visionary proj':at. It '.va; hs |iractical as it was compre-
hensive. It could descend to all tlic niinuti.-!; of personal kindness, and
gracefully disguise itself even in tlie most menial offices. When de-
feated in ita great object, and forced to resign the proud hope of a

LIFE OF DR. KANE.

philanthropist, it turns to lavish itself on bis suffering comrades, whom
he leads almost to forget the commander in the friend. With unselfish
assiduity and cheerful patience he d:»otes himself as a nurse and coun-
sellor to relieve their wants, and buoy them up under the most appall-
ing misfortniies ; and, in those still darker seasons, when the expedition
is threatened with disorganization, conquers them, not less by kindness
than by address. Does a party withdraw from him under opposite
counsels, they arc assured, in the event of their return, of a " brother's
welcome." Are tidings brought him that a portion of the little band
are forced to halt, he knows not where in the snowy desert, he is off
through the midnight cold for their rescue, and finds his reward in the
grateful assurance, "They knew that he would conic." In sickness he
tends them like a brother, and at death drops a tear of manly sensi-
bility on their graves. Even the wretched savages, who might be sup-
posed to have forfeited the claim, share in his kindly attentions ; and
it is with a touch of true human feeling that he parts from them at last,
as ' children of the same Creator.'

"Then, as the fitting support of this noble quality, there was also an
indomitable oier^y. It was the iron column, around whose capital that
delicate lily-work was woven. His was not a benevolence which must
waste itself in mere sentiment, for want of a power of endurance ade-
quate to support it through hardship and peril. In that slight physical
frame, suggestive only of refined culture and intellectual grace, there
dwelt a sturdy force of will, which no combinaticn of material terrors
seemed to appall, and, by a sort of magnetic impulse, subjected all
inferior spirits to its control. It was the calm power of reason and
duty asserting theirsuperiority over mere brute courage, and compelling
the instinctive homage of Herculean strength and prowess.

" With what firm yet conscientious resolve does he quell the rising
symptoms of rolK'Hion which threaten to add the terrors of mutiny to
those of famine and disease I And all through that stern battle with
Nature in her most savage haunts, how he ever seems to turn his mild
front toward her frowning face, if in piteous appealing, yet not less in
fixed resignation !

" iJut while in that character, benevolence appeared supported by
energy and patience, so, too, was it equipped with a most marvelous
tact. He broiiirht to his beneficent t.ask not merely the resources of
acquired skill, but a native power of adapting himself to emergencies,
and a fertility in devising expedients, which no occasion ever seemed to
baffle. Immiired in a dreadful seclusion, where the combined terrors
of Nature forced him into all the closer contact with the passions of

LIFK OF DR. KANE.

man, Le not only rose, by his energy, superior to them both, but, by
his ready executive talent, converted each to bis ministry. Even the,
wild inmates of that icy world, from the mere stupid wonder with
which at first they regarded his imported marvels of civilization, were, at
length, forced to descend to a genuine respect and love, as they saw him
compete with them in the practice of their own rude, stoical virtues.

" To such more sterling qualities were joined the graces of an afBucnt
cheerfulness, that never deserted him in the darkest hours — a delicate
and capricious humor, glancing among the most rugged realities like
the sunshine upon the rocks — and, above all, that iuvaiiublo stamp
of. true greatness, a beautiful modesty, ever sufficiently content with
itself to be above the necessity of prettrsion. These were like the
ornaments of a Grecian building, which, though they may not enter
into the effect of the outline, are found to ipipart to it, the more
nearly it is surveyed, all the grace and finish of the most exquisite
sculpture.

" And yet strong and fair as were the proportions of that character in
its more conspicuous aspects, we should still have been disappointed
did we not find albeit hidden deep beneath them, a firm basis of reli-
gious sentiment. For all serious and thoughtful minds this is the purert
charm of those graphic volumes in which he has recorded the story of
his wonderful escapes and deliverances. There is every where shining
through its pagt-s a chastened spirit, too familiar with human weakness
to overlook a l*rovidcnce in his trials, and too conscious of human in-
significance to disdain its recognition. Now, in his lighter, more pen-
sive moods, we see '.t rising, on the wing of a devout fancy, into that
region where piety becomes also poetry :

' I have trodden the deck and the floes, when the life of earth seemed
suspended, its movements, its sounds, its colorings, its companionships;
and as I looked on the radiant hemisphere, circling above me, as if
rendering worship to the unseen centre of light, I have ejaculated in
humility of spirit, ' Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of hiraP
And then I have thought of the kindly world we had left, with its
revolving sunlight and shadow, and the other stars that gladden it in
their changes, and the hearts that warmed to us there, till I lost myself
in the memories of those who are not ; and they bore me back to the
stars again.'

"Then, in graver emergencies, it appears as a habitual resource, to
which he has come in conscious dependence :
*A trust, based on experience as well as oti promises, buoyed me np

LIFE OF DB. KANE.

at the worst of times. Call it fatalism, as you ignorantly may, there
is that in the story of every eventful life which teaches the ineiticiency
of human means, and the present control of a Supreme Agency. See
how often relief has come at the moment of extremity, in forma
strangely unsought, almost at the time unwelcome ; see, still more, how
t>.e back has been strengthened to its increasing burdens, and the heart
cheered by some conscious influence of an unseen Power.'

"And, at length, we find it settling into that assurance which belongs
to an experienced faith and hope : —

' I never doubted for an instant, that the same Providence which
liiid guarded us through the long darkness of winter was still watching
over us for good, and that it was yet in reserve for us — for some ; I
dared not liopc for all — to bear back the tidings of our rescue to a
Christian land.'

" We hear no profane oath vaunted from that little ice-bound islet of
human life, where man has been thrown so helplessly into the hands of
God ; but rather in its stead, murmured amid the wild uproar of the
storm, the daily prayer, ' Accept our thanks and restore us lo our
homes.' Let us believe that a faith which supported him through trials
worse than death, did not fail him when death itself came.

"In the near approach of that last moment, he was tranquil and com-
posed. With too little strength cither to support or indicate any thing
of rapture, he was yet sufficiently conscious of his condition to per-
form some final acts befitting the solemn emergency. In reference to
those who had deeply injured him, he enjoined cordial forgiveness. To
each of the watching group around him, liis hand is given in the fond
pressure of a final parting; and then, as if sensible that his ties to earth
are loosening, he seeks consolation from the requested reading of such
Scripture sentcncca as had been the favorite theme of his thoughtful
hours.

"Now he hears those soothing beatitudes which fell from the lips of
the Man of Sorrows in successive benediction. Then he will havo
repeated to him that sweet, sacred pastoral —

' The Lord is my Shepherd ; I shall not want. lie maketh me
to lie down in green pastures : he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil ; for Thou art with me : Thy rod and Thy staff, they com-
fort me.'

"At length are recited the consolatory words with which the Saviour
took leave of his weeping disciples : —

'Let not your heart be troubled : ve believe in God, believe also in
2

LIFE OF DB. KANK.

me. In my Father's house are many mansions ; if it were not bo, I
would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you.'

" And at last, in the midst of this comforting recital, he is seen to
expire — so gently that the reading still proceeds some moments after
other watchers have become aware that ho is already beyond the reach
of any mortal voice. Thus, in charity with all mankind, and with
words of tlie Redeemer in his ear, conveyed by tones the most familiar
and beloved on earth, his spirit passed from the world of men."

With these last and sublimest lessons of his life, it is fitting that
this sketch should close. Let every American youth, who reads his
story, remember that, in an age of materialism when old faiths seem to
be decaying, he illustrated, as no man ever did before, the spiritual ele-
ments of our nature, and the entire compatibility of deep religious con-
viction, not only with humane efforts, but with physical researches and
with earthly toils, successes, and honors. He will not indeed have
lived in vain should history hereafter rank him among the harbingers
of that peaceful era when charity shall become heroic, and science be
reconciled to religion.

■-'-7/m

...^^

, were not so, I

il, he is seen to
moments after
yond the reach
cind, and with
e most familiar
Id of men."
b is fitting that
who reads liis
I faitlis seem to
lie spiritual ele-
p religious con-
rescarchos and
)t indeed have
tlje harbiiigci's
and science be

3 I

r.m^rr»i\y K Tr^i»rt.rtr«lk

:» ■ h;'

.nk:.::! att -R ^!

CHAPTER I

Circle,-H^ hfi'i ■■■■-.\n ,,-■ maps, w ft

»und the eaitli, jtHiuilei with the wixjafor,

■^.'■t m m«^ dlm;tkm twenty-three dt^grees

V tilji^lit niiottt^ imm the North Pole. It

the Kortli !'■■ • ' r n I h«- North Teniperute

.iliin thi'^ ■ •- r.ifff Arctic (^:ean; nearly

• i'H'nland : • •,•"•>. Jsnvn Zenil>lH tuiJ

.i,t.'"}s5 mrrthc: . »,. . n- of Norw-ay, ^jwedeii,

i-. iisgia, i>ll>tni!i. r%MFi:Uii.. Mtid Kntish America ;

ji tost im kit <>v ' AiA north- wcst«*rly . of

'-■.■■ Ki«>k*flM')m
■.■■" • ■■■':^

■j =::;*» it

... ..i .. ever torn

■ "km PoJi* ^ith an m^'

iiiouHund li-agiies. It is a

•.i, au<l h*^ ior ecnt'uries ba.rtle'l IJie re-

'' -i/tx ii^utorK. 'u '

'. I'ctie Circle, h Inr? "bet wwu latitud es e^i xt v-

•■^i.Yiy ,-^*»ven d('irr^( s miiHt nol !>e c.on!>i<lered

' ■•(iiidar)- of the Arcti<' R«>gi')us, for the char-

t<^iiiperHtiuv.-< and pUciiunu-na of far higher

• »^vteiid ^\'itl) H/imo oxctjptious many degrees

. 10

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cr^.h f^:^^n^''<^^^^

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CHAPTER I.
THE ARCTIC REGIONS.

The Arctic Circle, as laid down on our maps, is a
line drawn around the earth, parallel with the equator,
and distant in every direction twenty-three degrees
and twenty-eight minutes from the North Pole. It
separates the North Frigid from the North Temperate
Zone. Within this circle lie the Arctic Ocean ; nearly
all of Greenland ; Spitzbergen, Nova Zenibla and
other islands ; northerly portions of Norway, Sweden,
Lapland, Russia, Siberia, Alaska, and British America ;
and the almost unknown regions north-westerly of
Greenland.

The Arctic Ocean is enclosed betAveen the n' ''li'^rn
limits of Eurojio, Asia, and America. Several large
rivers from the three continents flow northerly into it
or its tributary waters. It has an area of over four
million square miles, and girds the Pole with an ice-
locked coast of a])out three thousand leagues. It is a
mysterious sea, and has for centuries baffled the re-
search of navirjators.

But the Arctic Circle, lying between latitudes sixty-
six and sixty-seven degrees, must not be considered
as the boundary of the Arctic Regions, for the char-
acteristic temperatiu'es and phenomena of far higher

latitudes extend Avith some exceptions many degrees

THE ARCTIC HEOIONS.

I -I

farther to the s(»uth. Iceland, ^\•llic•h may well he
considered an Arctic country, lies outside this circle ;
and the researches of the lamented Hall during liis
first expedition were made considerably hehnv this
line, and it is not known that he reached much higher
latitudes during his later residence on the northern
shores of Hudson's Bay.

Witliin these hyperl »orean regions Natu'H^ is niarhed
"by the most stupendous features, and ' forms she
assumes diifer from her attitudes in .ilder cli-

mates almost as A\idely as if they belonged to another
planet. The scenery is aAxd'ul and dreary, yet abound-
ing in striking, sublime, and beautiful objects. The
Hxm forseveral monthsof the year is totally withdrawn,
leaving l>ehin(l him a desert Avaste of relentless frost,
and the darkness of a prolonged winter which broods
over the frozen realm, save when the magnificent
Aurora lights up the gloom, or tlie moon, which for
days continually circles aroimd the horizon, reveals
the weird beaiity and desolation of the scene.

Dr. Kane, in the most fascinating narrative of his
second e.\[)edition descril)es an Ar<.'tic moonlight night
as folloAvs : —

" A grander scene than our bay by moonlight can
hardly be conceived. It is more dream-like and super-
natural than a coml)ination of earthly features.

"The moon is nearly full, and the dawning sun-
light, mingling with hers, invests everything with an
atmosphere of ash;, gray. It clothes the gnarled hills
that make the horizon of our ])ay, shadows out the
terraces in dull definition, groAv^s darker and colder as
it sinks into the fiords, and broods sad and d)-eary
upon the ridges and measureless plains of ice that
make up the rest of our field of vicAV. Rising above

TIIE AnCTIO KEOIONS.

nil tliiH, and sluuliiig down into it in strange comLina-
tion, is the iiitiMise. niooiiliglit, glittering on every crag
and s])iro, tracing the outline of the background with
contrasted l)rightness,and printing its fantastic j)rofile3
on tlie snow-lield. It is a landscape sucli as Milton or
Dante might imagine, — inorganic, desolate, mysterious.
I have come down from deck with the feelinij^s of n
man Avho has looked upon a Avorld unfinished l)y the
hand of its Creator."

At lengtli the sun reapj)ears aLove the horizon, and
as a comi)eiisation for his long absence shines uninter-
ruj)tedly for tlie balance of the year, although his
rays are fre(piently obscured by mist and fog. This
continual sunli^jht strikes the traveler as the stran2;est
l)henomenon of the Arctic summer.

As the sun acquires elevation, his power increases.
Tlie j)rogress of tlie frost is checked, the sno\v grad-
ually wastes away, the ice dissobes, and vast frag-
ments of it are preci})itated along the shores with the
crash of thunder. The ocean is n(nv uid)ound, and
its icy dome disrupted with tremendous fracture;
enormous fields of ice thus set afloat are broken up
Ijy the violence of winds and cnri'ents, or drift away
to the south, and the icebergs take u]) tlieii' stately
march.

The aniuial formation of ice within the Arctic worhl
is a l>eautiful i)rovision of Natui'e for mitigating the
excessive inequality of temperature. Were only dry
land there exposed to the sun, it would be absolutely
scorched by his incessant beams in summer, and
pinched in the darkness of winter l>y the most intense
and penetrating cold. None of the aninnd or vegeta-
ble tribes could at all support such extremes. But in
the actual arrangement, the surplus heat of summer

■W"

KIMHHF

■PHMMBMII

IHE ARCTIC REGIONS.

I ■<}

ii\

is spent in melting away the ice ; and its deficiency in
winter is partly supplied by the influence of the pro-
gress of congelation. As long as ice remains to thaw
or water to freeze, the temperature of the atmosphere
can never vaiy beyond certain limits.

For what is known of the Arctic regions the world
is indebted, principally, to the ex])editions which, from
time to time, have been sent out by different nationn —
some to search for new routes to China and the In-
dies, some to look for the North Pole, and some, in
later times, for the relief of the lost navigator. Sir
John Franklin.

Tlie thrilling experiences and observation^ jf many
of these expeditions have ])een written out by mem-
bers thereof, and the penisal of their narratives 'Anil
give the reader a more vivid and far more interest-
ing conception of life and nature in the fiigid zone
than can be obtained from the study of volumes of
didactic description. As it is the plan of this book
to give the history of these expediticms, and to do it
to some extent in the words of the explorers them-
selves, full information as to tlie characteristic features,
])lienomena, inhal)itants, and animal and vegetable
life of the Arctic regions will be found in succeeding
chapters.

:' '

ficiency in
f the pro-
8 to thaw
mosphere

the world
lich, from
nations —
d the In-
some, in
^ator, Sir

jf many
by mem-
tives '.nil
! interest-
igid zone
)lumes of
;his book
to do it
ers them-
! features,
vegetable
Licceeding

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CHAPTER II.

EARLY DISCOVERIES AND HISTORY.

One thousand years ago the mariners of the Scan-
dinavian Peninsula were the boldest of navigators, and
the most successful ones of their age. They possessed
neither the sextant nor the compass ; they had neither
charts nor chronometers to guide t})em ; but trusting
solely to fortune and their own indomitable courage,
they fearlessly launched forth into the vast ocean.
Their voyages, distinguished by a strange mixture of
commerce, piracy, and discoveiy, added no little to the
geographical knowledge of their day. To (piit their
bleak regions in search of others still juore bleak
would have been wholly foreign to their vicAVs ; yet
as the sea wjis covered with their sails, chance and
tempest sometimes di'ove them in a direction other
than southerly.

In the year 801, Naddodr, a Norwegian pirate, was
diifted by contrary winds far to the north. For sev-
eral days no land Mas visible; then suddenly the
snow-dad mountains of Iceland were seen to rise above
the mists of the ocean. The viking landed on the
island, and gave it the name of Snowland, but dis-
covered no ti'aces of man. Three years afterward,
Gardar and Flocke, two Swedes, visited it; and hav-
ing found a great quantity of drift-ice collected on the

ICi:LAND.

I
1,

li'

nortli side of it, they gave it the name of IccLiiiJ,
"wlii'.'h it still l>ears. In S4'4, Ingolf and Leif, two
famous Norwegian adventurers, earrit'd a colony to
this inhos])ital)le region — the latter ha\ ing enriched
it with the ])ooty which he ravaged from England.

Al)out this time Harold, the Fair-haired, had he-
come the despotic master of all Norway. ]Muny <>f
his former equals submitted to his yoke; hut others,
animated by a love of liberty, emigrated to Iceland.
Such were the attractions which the island at that
time presented, that not half a century elapsed before
all its inhabitable ])()i'tions were occupied by settlers
from Norway, Sweden, Denmark Scotland, and Ire-
land.

Icehmd might as well have been called Fireland,
for all of its forty thousand S(juare miles have origin-
ally been upheaved from the depths of the vvaters
•by volcanic action; and its nmnerous volcanoes have
many times brought ruin upon Avhole districts. The
most frightful visitation occurred in 1 78.'{, and its
direful effects were long felt throuL-hout the island,
over which, for a whole year, hung a dull cano])y of
cinder-laden clouds.

Pestilence, famine, and severe winters have also
from time to time added many a mournful l)age to
Iceland's long annals of sorrow. Once she had over
a hundred thousand inhabitants, — now she has scarcely
half that nund)er; then she had many rich and j)ower-
fid families, — now medioci'ity t)r poverty is the universal
lot ; then she was renowned as the seat of learning and
the cradle of literature, — now, were it not for her
remarkable i)hysical features, no traveler would ever
think of landing on her nigged shores.

In winter, "when an almost perjwtual night covers

Iier
ner

GREENLAND.

tlie wastes of tliis fire-born land, and the waves of a
stormy ocean thunder against its shores, imagination
can liardly picture a more desohite scene ; but in sum-
mer the rugged nature of Icehind invests itself with
many a cliann. Then the eye rej)oses with delight
on green valleys and crystal lakes, on the purple hills
or snow-capped moiuitains rising in Alpine grandeur
above the distant horizon, and the stranger might
almost be tempted to exclaim Avith her patriotic chil-
dren, " Iceland is the fairest land under the sun,"

The colonization of Iceland proved the stepping-
stone to further discoveries, although over a century
elapsed before any progress was made in a westerly
direction ; then, 070, an Icelander named Gunnbjorn,
first saw the high mountain coast of Greenland.

Soon afterAvards, a XorAvegian named TliorAvald,
with his son, the famous Ei'ic the Red, living their
country on account of homicide, took refuge in Iceland.
Here Thorwald died, and Eric, his hands again im1)ued
with blood, Avas obliged, in 082, to once more take
refuge on the high seas. lie sailed Avestward in (piest
of the land discovered by Gunnbjorn, ai"l ere long
reached its shores. Having entei-ed a spacious creek,
lie spent the winter on a pleasant adjacent island. lu
the following season, pursuing his discoveries, he ex-
plored the continent, and Avas delighted Avitli tlie
freshness and verdure of its coast.

Eric afterwards returned to Iceland, and by his in-
viling description of the neAV country, Avhich he named
Greenland, induced great nund)ers to sail Avitli him
and settle there. They started in OSo, Avith twenty-
five vessels, but on account of foul Aveather only four-
teen of tiu'in reached the destined harbor. Other
emigrants soon followed, autl in a feAV years all of

TUE NORTHMEN IN AMERICA.

Southern Greenland was occupied by flourishing
colonies.

An adventurous young Icelander named Biarni,
who was in Norway when Eric's colonists sailed for
Greenland, on returning home and finding that his
father had gone Avith them, vowed that he ^vould
spend the winter with his father, as he had always
done, and set forth to find the little settlement on the
unknoAvn shores of Greenland.

A northerly gale sprung up and for many days he
was driven to the southward of his course. At last
he fell in with a coast in the west, wooded and some-
what hilly. No landing was made, and tlie anxious
mariners, sailing for t^vo days to the nortliAVurd, found
anotlier land, low and level, and ovei'grown with
woods. Not recoo-nizinjTc the mountains nor meetins:
with icebergs, Biarni sailed northerly, and in three
days came upon a great island with high mountains,
much ice, and desolate shores. lie was then driven
before a violent soutli-Avest wind for four days, wlien
by singular good fortune he reached tlie Greenland
settlement which he was seeking.

From tlie internal evidence aiforded by the dates
and the causes, as well as from the corroboration of
subsequent expeditions, it "would appear that these
mariners brought up on the coast of New England.
The first land seen, judging from the descrii)tions,
was probably Nantucket or Cajie Cod. Two days'
sailing would easily l)ring them to tlie level and forest-
covered shores of Nova Scotia, and three more to the
bleak and precipitous coast of Newfoundland. From
that island to the southern extremity of Greenland,
the distance is but six hundred miles, Avhich a vessel,
running before a favorable gale, might readily accom-
plish Avithin the given time.

THE NORTIDIEN IN AMERICA.

111 the year 999, Leif, a son of Eric, liuving visited
the coast of Norway, was iiuluced, by the zealous and
earnest solicitation of King Olaf Trygg\ason, to era-
brace the Christian faith ; and, carrying with him some
monks, he found, through their ministry, no great
difficulty in persuading his father and the rest of the
settlers to forsake the rites of Paganism. Having
heard Biarni much blamed at Norway for neglecting
to prosecute his discoveries, Leif Avas stimulated to
undertake a voyage in quest of new lands. He bought
the vessel of Biivrni, and with thirty-five men, some
of M'liom had been on the fonner voyage, set sail in
the year 1000.

Probably the first lands sighted by him were the
same as those which Biarni had already discovered,
but they Avere now taken in an inverse order. Hav-
ing steered to the westward of an island (jirobably
Nantucket) the voyagers "passed up a river and
thence into a lake." Tliis channel, it would seem, was
the Seaconnet Biver, the eastern outlet of Nari-agan-
sett Bay, which L ads to the beautiful lake-like expanse
now known as Mount Hope Bay. From the great
number of Avild grapes found here the Avhole country
received the name of Vinland.

Numerous other voyages, according to Icelandic
manuscripts, Avere made from Greenland and Iceland
to the shores of Vinland. To-day inscriptions are
found Avhich Avere periiajis the handiAVork of these
adventurers ; but the discoA^eries they made appear to
have been forgotten like the Greenland colonists, and
it has not been uncommon for modern students to
doubt the Avhole stoiy of the discovery of America by
the Northmen. Many hoAvever believe in it, and
some propose to celebrate our centennial anniversary

TIIK LOST COLONISTS.

T)y ereotinj^ in Madison, Wis., a monument to the
Viking who first discovered Aniericji.

In 1477 Coluni])us visited Iceland, and voyaged a
liundred leagues lieyond it, i)r()l»al)ly to the westward,
and, it may be, came near reviving the ancient discov-
eries of the Noi-thmen, and tracking the steps of BL
arni, Leif, and Thorfhm to the long lost Vinland.

The original settlement of Greeidand l)eijnn ahout
the southern jjromontory, near Cape Farewell, and
stretched along the coai;;t in a north-westerly direction.
Farther north, and prol)aldy extending as high as the
latitude of sixty-six degrees, was a second settlenK^nt.
Tlie f(»rmer is said to have included, at its most Hour-
ishing ])eri()d, twelve parishes and two convents; the
latter contained four parishes. Between the two dis-.
ti'icts lay an uninhabitable region of seventy miles
The whole population Avas about six thousand. For
some centuries a commercial intercourse avjus nijiin-
tained Avith Nonvay ; but the trade was subsequently
seized as an exclusive privilege of the Danish court.

The colonists of Greenland led a life of hardship
and severe privations. They dAvelt in hovels sur-
rounded by mountains of ])erpetual ice; they neA^er
tasted bread, but subsisted on the fish AAdiich they
caught, joined to a little milk obtained from their
starving coavs; and, Avith seal-skins and the tusks of
the Avalrus, they purchased from the traders who occa-
sionally A^isited them, the Avood required for fuel and
the construction of their huts.

Al)out the year l.'»7(), the natiA'cs of the country, or
Esquimaux, Avhom the NorAvegian settlers had in con-
tempt called Dwarfs, attacked the colonies. The
scanty population Avas enfeebled by rej)eated alarms ;
and that dreadful pestilence, termed the Black Deathj

TIIKIR SUIUHISED PATJ2.

•wliicli raged over Europe from the year 1402 to 1 40 1,
at last extended its ravai^^es to Greeidaiul, and ncaily
coiii])leted tlie destruetion.

Ill 1418 a hostile fleet, suspected to l>e English, laid
waste tlie country. Political tr<)u})les and wars in
Scandinavia at a later date, caused Greenland to be
neglected, and finally forgotten ; and it is l)elieved
that its last colonists either retreated to Iceland or
were destroyed by the Es(|uiniaux about the com-
mencement of the sixteenth century.

In loS^ and 1G05, expeditions were sent out from
Denmark to see if any inhabitants of Norse origin
still dwelt in Greenland; but none could be found,
although traces of the ancient settlement were seen
on the western coast.

An idea formerly pi-evailed that a colony had also
been planted (m the east side of Greenland, which
had been cut off from the rest of the world l)y vast
bari'iers of ice accumulating on the shore. The
problem was, wliether the ill-fated people had survived
the catastrophe, or been entombed in snow and ice,
as the unhappy citizens of Pompeii Avere involved in
a shower of volcanic ashes. Ships were sent out at
different times by Denmark for their relief, Imt it is
now evident that no such settlement ever existed.
The coast of Eastern Greenland is everywhere bold
and rocky, and the interior of the country consists of
clusters of mountains covered with eternal snoAvs.

In 1721, Kans Egede, a XorAvegian pastor, Avho had
long felt the deepest concern for the descendants of
the old Christian commimities of Greenland, in Avhose
total desti'uction he could not believe, sailed from
Bergen Avith his Avife, four children, and forty colonists,
having resolved to ))ecome the apostle of regenera-

THE APOSTUa OF GREENLAND.

ted Greenland. Tliey landed July 3d, and soon erect-
ed a wooden chapel at the location of the present set-
tlement of Godthad.

Although Egtide met with severe trials, and was
deserted by nearly all the settlers, he ])ei-severed in
sustaining his foothold in the countiy ; and in 1733
the king of Denmark bestowed on the mission an animal
grant of two thousand dollars, and sent three Moravian
Lrothers to assist him.

Es>:ede returned to Norway in 173."): dm"in<r his long
stay in Greenland he could find nothing in the ])hysi.
ognoiny or language of the Es<piimaux whic-h pointed
to an European origin.

Dr. Kane visited this locality in 1853, and speaks
of it as follows : —

*' While Ave were heating out of the liord of Fisker-
naes, I had an opportunity of visiting Lichtenfels, the
ancient seat t»f the Greenland congregations, and one
of the three Moravian settlements. I had read much
of the liistor^ of its founders : and it was with feelings
almost of devotion, that I drew near the scene their
labors had consecrated.

"As we rowed into the shadow of its rock-embayed
cove, every thing was so desolate and still, that we iiiiglit
have fancied ourselves outside the world of life , even
the dogs — those (pierulous, never-sleeping sentinels of
the rest of the coast — gave no signal of our a})proach.
Presently, a sudden turn around a projecting clilf
brought into view a quaint ohl ttilesian nuuision, l)ris-
tlinir with irreauh

I'ly-disp

•.Y'

hanging ro<>f studded Avith dormer Avindows and
croA\-ned Avith an antique belfry.

" We Avere met, as we landed, T)y a couple of gi-ave
ancient men in sable jaickets and close velvet skull-

: \t

FiSKKRSAKS — 11 I.MK OF IIAN8 CHRISTIAN.

.MoitAviAN ^^;rn.K.M^..^l' at lk.htk.nkkls.

THE MOEAVIAN MISSIONS.

caps, such as Vandyke or Kembrandt himself might
have painted, wh(j gave us a quiet but kindly welcome.
All inside of the mansion-house — tlie furnituie, the
matron even the children — had the same time-sobered
look. The sanded floor was dried by one of those huge
white-tiled stoves, which have been known for gene-
rations in the north of Europe ; and the stift'-l^acked
chairs Avere evidently coeval v>ath the first days of the
settlement. The heavy-built table in the middle of
the room was soon covered with its simple offerings of
hos])itality ; and we ""jat around to talk of the lands we
had come from and the changing wonders of the times.

"We learned chat the liouse dated back as far as
the days of Matihew Stach ; built, no doubt, with the
beams that floated so providentially to the sliore some
twenty-five years after the first landing of Egede ; and
that it had been the home of the brethren who now
greeted us, one for twenty-nine and the other twenty-
seven years. The •' Congregation Hall " was within
the building, cheerless now with its empty benches ; a
couple of French horns, all that I could a.s^^ciate with
the gladsome piety of the Moravians, hung on each side
the altar. Two dwelling-roc mis, thi'ee chaml)ers, and
a kitchen, all under the same roof, made up the one
structure of Lichtenfels.

" Its kind-lu-arted inmates were not without intelli-
gence and education. In spite of the formal cut of
their dress, and something of the stiffness that belongs
to a proti'actcd solitary life, it was impossil)le not to
recognise, in tlieir demeanor and course of thought,
the li})eral spirit thnt has always characterized their
cliuivh. Two of their " children," they sai<i, had " gone
to God "last year with the scurvy; yet they hesitated
at receiving n. scanty supply of potatoes as a present
from our store."

lit

1^1

ESQUIJIAUX OF XOHTII GREEXLAXD.

■ I

Tlie Danisli colonies now in Greenland are scattered
along some eight liimdred miles of the western coast,
and are more lioiu'if^hing than the ancient settlements.
Tlxe Eviro])ean population is only about one hundred
and lift}' — all in the service of the Danish company
excepting the missionaries — ^^Lile the natise Esc^ui-
maux of the district, among whom they live on good
terms, are estimated at ahout nine thousand.

Farther north, and cut off from civilization and their
more favored brothers of the Danisli neighborhoods
by impassable glaciers, are other Esquimaux — nomads,
^^•ho range over a narrow belt extending along the
coast for six hundred miles. They Avere the neighbors
of Dr. Kane during liis t^vo winters' imprisonment in
Kensselaer Harbor. In his "Arctic Exi)lorations," Dr.
Xane pays an affectijig tribute to their virtues and
('raws gloomy auguries of their future : —

" It is Avith a feeling of melancholy that I i-ecall these
familiar names. They illustrate the trials and modes
of life of a simple-minded jjeojde, for whom it seems to
l>e decreeil^tliat the year must Acry soon cease to renew
its changes. It pains me when I think of their ap-
proaching destiny, — in the region of night and winter,
where the earth fields no fruit and the waters are
locked, — Avithout the resorts of skill or even the rude
materials of art, and ■\valled in from the world by
barriers of ice Avithout an outlet.

" If you i)oint to the east, inland, Avhere the herds of
reindeer run over the l^arren hills unmolested, — for
they have no means of ca])turing them, — they will cry
" KSermik," " glacier ;" and, question them as you may
about tin; range of their nation to the north and south,
the answer is still the same, with a shake of the head,
"Sermik, scrmik-soak," "the great ice-wall;" there is
no more bevond.

THE OABO'rs AND THEIll VOYAGES.

" They have no " kresuk," no wood. The drift-tim-
her whicli blesses their more southern brethren never
reaches them. The bow and arrow are therefore un-
known ; and the kayak, the national implement of the
Greenlander, which, like the palm-tree to the natives
of the tropics, ministers to almost every want, exists
among them only as a legendary word."

Though a long intercourse with Europeans has
somewhat modified the character of the Southern
Greenlanders, and acquainted them with some of the
luxuries of civilization, they still retain to a great de-
gi'ee their former customs and modes of life. This is
prol)ably owing to the sparse population, and their
\agrant life. Depending wholly upon the products
of the chase for their food, they are most accom-
plished hunters ; and the sea is the principal source of

England narrowly missed snanug m m,. ^^^.^.,.
awarded to Columbus for his great achievement.
After vainly soliciting Spain and Portugal for aid,
that navigator sent his brotlier to Ileniy VII., with
propositions which were at once accepted ; but 1)ef(>re
the return of his messenger, Columbus, under tlie
auspices of Isabelhi, had started on his voyage. The
news of his success excited much interest in England ;
and the king granted to John Cabot and his xliree
sons, a patent "to sail to all paiis, countries, and seas,"
at their own exjiense, as exjdorei's. Cabot was an
Italian, once a " Merchant of Venice," :hen living
in IJristol, England, where his son Sebasti-ui was 1)orn
about 1477. A subsecpient residence in Venice had
given the son a taste for maritime enterprises, whicli
was increased by his learning the trade of making
maps.

THE LABRADOR COLONY.

The explorers, in a ship named the " IMatthew,"
fitted out probably at the expense of the Cabots, sailed
from Bristol in May, 1497. Sebastian, though only
nineteen years of age, was entrusted with the com-
mand, but was accompanied by his father.

On the 24th of June, they beheld portions of the
coast of Labrador and Newfoundland stretched out
before them. This discovery of a continent (four^^een
months before Columbus discovered the main land)
caused the explorers little exultation, although the
British claim to the tliii-teen colonies was primaiily
based thereon. The object of the voyage was to dis-
cover a passage to India ; and to be obstructed by land
displeased the mariners. Entering one of the chan-
nels leading into Hudson's Bay, they continued on
for several days, when the crew became despondent
and insisted on returning. Cabot yielded to their
clamors and sailed for England.

In the Spring of 1498, Sebastian, with three hun-
dred men, again set sail for the region he had discov-
ered. These unfortunate people he landed on the
bleak and inhospitable coast of Labrador, that they
might form a settlement there, and then with the
squadron renewed his search for the North-west pas-
sage. On his return to the station, he found that the
settlers had suffered intensely from cold and exposure.
A number had already perished, and the balance Avere
carried back to England.

Cabot made a third voyage to the North-west in
1517, and it is believed that lie discovered tlie two
Htraits which now bear the names of Davis and Ilud-
8on.

In the year 1500, Gasper Cortereal, of Portugal,
sailed in search of a North- west passage. He reached

POBTUGUESB EXPEDITIONS.

Labrador, and sailed a long distance along its coast,'
and then Avith a number of natives on board returned
home. The next year he guided two ships to the
noi'thern point of his fonner voyage, Avhere he entered
a strait ; here the vessels were separated by a tem-
pest. One of them succeeded in extricating itself, and •
searched for some time in vain for its lost consort ;
but that which had on board the gallant leader of the
expediti(Mi returned no more, and no trace could ever
be obtained of its fate.

The next year, Miguel Cortereal sailed with three
ships in search of his brother. Two of the vessels re-
turned in safety, but Miguel and his crew were never
heard from. A third brother wished to search for his
lost kindred, but the king would not allow him to do
so.

French expeditions, under Verazzani (1523) and
Cartier (If) 2 4) were equally unsuccessful in their
search for the north-west passage.

CHAPTER III.

ENGLISH EXPEDITIONS TO THE NORTII-

E.VST.

(WILLOUGHBY — CHAXCEI/^R BrRROUOIIS ETC.)

In 1553, after a long j*luml>er, the spirit of discov-
ery in England was again aroused, and a voyage was
planned A\'ith a view to reach In' way of the noi-th
and north-east, the celebrated regions of India and
Cathay,

Sebastian Cabot was prominent in forwarding this
enterprise, and though too old to lead the expedition
he drew up the instructions under which it sailed.
In it the mariners were .vamed not to be too much
alarmed when they saw the natives dressed in lions'
and bears' skins, with long bows and arrows, as this
formidable ai>j)earance wa« often assumed merely to
inspire teiTor. He told them, that there were persons
anned with bows, who swam naked, in various seas,
havens, and rivers, "desirous of the bodies of men,
which they covet for meat," and against whom diligent
watch must be kept night and day. He exhorted
them to use the utmc st circumspection in their deal-
ings Avith these strangers, and if invited to dine Avith
any loitl or ruler, to go well armed, and in a ])osture
of defence.

The command of the expeditiim was given to Sir

XZPSDinON UNDEQ SIB HUOH WILLOUOHBT. 41

Hugh Willoughby, and three vessels having been
fitted out with great care, sailed from England in the
month of May. The court and a great multitude of
people witnessed their departure, and the occasion was
one of great interest and excitement. Willoughby
was furnished by King Edward, with a letter of intro-
duction, addressed to all "kings, piinces, rulei-s, judges,
and governors of the earth," in Avhich free passage and
other favors were asked for the explorers; and if
granted, he concluded, — " We promise, by the God of
all things that are contained in heaven, earth, and the
sea, and by the life and tranquillity of our kingdoms,
that we will with like humanity accept your servants,
if at any time they shall come to our kingdoms."

On the 14th of July the explores were near the
coast of Nonvay, and on approaching the North Caj^e
saw before them the Arctic Ocean stretching onward
to the Pole. Here Sir Hugh exhoi-ted his commanders,
Chancelor and Durfooth to keep close together. Soon
after this there arose such " terrible whirlwinds," that
they were obliged Ui stand out to the open sea, and
allow the vessels to drift at the mercy of the waves.

Amid the thick mists of the next stormy night the
vessels of Willoughby and Chancelor sepai'ated, and
never again met. Willoughby's pinnace was dashed
to pieces amid the tem|)est ; and next morning, when
light dawned, he could see neither of his companions ;
but, discovering at length the smaller vessel called the
Confidence, he continued his voyage.

He now sailed nearly two hundred miles north-east
and by north, but was astonished and bewildered at
not discovering any 8ymi)tom of land ; whence it ap-
peared that *' the land lay not as the globe made men-
tion." Instead of sailing along or towards Norway, he

H «

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TATE OF THE EXPLORERS.

( <>

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was plunging deeper and deeper into the unknown
abyss of the Northern Ocean.

At length land appeared, but high, desolate, and
covered with snow, while no sound was wafted
over the waves, except the crash of its falling ice and
ihe hungry roar of its monsters. This coast was evi-
dently that of Nova Zembla ; but there was no point
at which a landing could be made. After another at-
tempt to push to the northward, they turned to the
south-west, and in a few days saw the cojist of Rus-
sian Lapland. Here they must liave been very near
the opening into the White Sea, into whicli, liad for-
tune guided their sails, they would liave reached
Archangel, have had a joyful meeting with their com-
rades, and spent the ■^vinter in comfort and security.
An evil destiny led them westward.

The coast was naked, uninhabited, and destitute
of shelter, except at one point, where they found a
shore bold and rocky, but with one or two good har-
boi-s. ' Hei'e, though it was only the middle of Sep-
tember, they felt already all the premature rigoi-s of a
northern season ; intense frost, snow, and ice driving
through the air, as though it had been the depth of
winter. The officers conceived it therefore most ex-
pedient to search no longer along these desolate
shores, but to take up their quartei-s in this haven till
the ensuing spring.

The naiTative here closes, and the darkest gloom
involves the fate of this firet English expedition.
Neither the commander nor any of his brave compan-
ions ever returned to their native shores. After long
suspense and anxiety, tidings reached England that
some Russian sailors, as they wandered along these
di'eary boundaries, hatl been astonished by the view

CUANCELOR 8 VISIT TO ErsSIA.

of a

long

that

these

view

of two large ships, which they entered, ainl found the
gallant crews all lifeless. There was only the journal
of the voyage, with a note written in Juuuaiy, show-
ing that at that date the creAVS were still alive. What
was the immediate cause of a catastrophe so dismal
and so complete, whether the extremity of cold, fam-
ine, or disease, or whether all these ills united at once
assailed them can now only be matter of sad conjec-
ture. Thomson thus patliet ically laments their fate : —

" Miserable they,
Who, here entangled in the gathering ice,
Take their last look of the descending sun,
Wliile, full of death, and fierce with tenfold frost,
The long, long night, incumbent, o'er their heads.
Falls horrible. Such was the Briton's fate.
As with ,/?»•«< prow (what have not Britons dared !)
lie for the passage sought, attempted since
So much in vain. •"

After parting A\ath the other two ships Chancelor
reached the port of Wardhuys and after waiting seven
days for his companions, pushed fearlessly on toward
the north-east, and sailed so far that he came at last
" to a place where they found no night at all." Then
they reached the entrance of an immense bay (the
White Sea) and espied a fishing boat, the crew of
which, having never seen a vessel of similar magnitude,
Were as nuich astonished as the native Americans had
been at the Spaniards, and, taking the alarm, fled at
full speed. Chancelor, with his party, pureued and
overtook them ; whereupon they fell flat on the ground
half-dead, crying for mercy. He immediately raised
them most courteously, and by looks, gestures, and
gifts, expressed the most kind intentions. Being then
allowed to de])art, they spread eveiywhere the report
of the arrival " of a strange nation, of singular gentle-
ness and courtesy." The natives came in crowds, and

DEATH OF (!IIANCELOR.

fll

I'll

the sailors were coi)iously supplied with provisions
and eveiytliing they wanted.

Chaneelor now learned that he was at the extremity
of a vast country obscurely known as Russia or Mus-
covy, ruled by a sovereign named Ivan Vasilovitih,
and obtained permission to visit him at his court at
Moscow. The journey was made on sledges, and
Chaneelor returned with a letter from the Czar, grant
ing privileges to trader, which led to the formation
of the Muscovy C-ompany.

Chaneelor went to Russia a second time, in tlie
employ of this company ; and on the homeward voyage
with four ships and an ambassador from the C^zar,
two of the vessels were wi-eeked on the coast of Nor-
way ; a thu'd reached the Thames ; but the fourtli, in
which were the chiefs of the expedition, Avtis driven
ashore on the coast of Scotland, Avhere it went entiiely
to pieceH. Chaneelor endeavored, in a very dark
night, to convey himself and the ambassador asliore
in a boat. The skiff waa ovenvhelmed by the tem2)est,
and Chaneelor Avas drowned, though .the ambassador
succeeded iji reaching the land. He thence proceeded
to London, where Philip and Mary gave him a splen-
did and pom|x>us reception.

In 1556, a vessel called the Searchthrift, was fitted
out and placed iindei" the command of Stephen Bur-
roughs, Avho had gone with Chaneelor on his first
voyage. Enthusiasm and hope seem to have risen as
high as at the depai'ture of the first expedition. Se-
bastian Cabot came down to Gravesend with a large
party of ladies and gentlemen, and, having first gone
on board, and partaken of such cheer as the vessel
afforded, invited Burroughs and lus company to a
splendid bancpiet at the sign of the Christopher.

'■8

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ENGLISH TRAVELERS IN ASIA.

Among the islandn of Waygatz, the voyagers fell in
with a Russian craft, and on giving the master there-
of a present of pewter sp* ^ns, he stated that the jkI-
joining country "vvas that of the wild Samoides, who
were said to eat Russians when oppf-rtunity offered.
At a deserted encamj)ment of these })eople, Biin-ouglis
saw three hundred of their idols — human figures of
horrible aspect.

After this, Burroughs approached Nova Zembla, but
as winter Avas near he concluded that it ^vould be
useless to attempt further explorations that season,
and so turned homeward.

The Musco\^ Company now attempted to op*^n
communication with Persia and India across the Cas-
pian, and by ascending the Oxus to Bochara. Tliis
Bcheme they prosecuted at great cost, and by a .'^ries
of bold adventures, in which Jenkinson, Johnson, x^l-
cocke, and other of their agents, penetrated deep into
the interior regions of Asia. An unusual degree of
courage was indeed necessaiy to undei'take tliis expe-
dition, A\ hich \vas to be l)egun by passing round tlie
North Cape to the White Sea, then by a land Journey
and \'o}-age down the Volga, across the whole l»readth
of the Russian empire to Astrakhan, before they could
evjiii embark on the Casjtian. It was si)on ascertained,
that no goods could bear the cost of such an immense
and (l;ni<ferous convevance bv sea and Liud.

This channel of iuiercourse witli the Indies liavins:
failed, attention was again attracted t(» tlie route by
the north and east of Asia. John Balak, a\ lio had
been living at Duislnirg, sent on much information of
the country and of the attempts of a traveler named
Assenius to 2)enetrate to ihe eastward. lie described
a ri\'cr, ])robabl}- the Yenisei, do-wn which came

'I ,i !

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1 I 3 (1!)

III

i ■

ENGLISH TRAVELERS IN ASIA.

" great vesstels laden with rich and precious nierchan-
dise, T)rouglit by black or swart people." In ascend-
ing tliis river, men came to the great lake of Baikal,
on Avhose banks were the Kara Kalmncs, who, he as-
serted, were tlie very people of Cathay. It Avas added,
that on tlie shores of this lake had been heard sweet
harmony of bells, and that stately and large bnildings
had l)eeii seen therein.

Reasoning from this new information Gerard Mer-
cator, the famous geographer and map-maker of those
days, f'l aimed that a short passage beyond the limit
already reached by navigators 'would carry tlieni to
Japan tind China. This Avas underrating the breadth
of Asia by a hundred degrees of longitude, or more
than a fourth of the circumference of the globe.

To realize these views, two vessels under Arthur
Pet and Charles Jackson left Enji-land in loSO. On
reaching high latitudes they were surrounded with
fields of ice. Tluy were also enveloped in fogs, and
obliged to fastcMi to icebergs, where, " abiding the
Lord's leisure, tlu^y continued with patience." Finally
they found their way home without making any prog-
ressi at solviuj^ the problem.

'4i

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CHAPTER IV.
DUTCH EXPEDITIONS TO THE NORTH-EAST.

(WM. BARENTZ — COEKELIZ RYP.)

The English attempts to find a Noi-tli-east passage
to the Indies having all signally failed, the Dutch took
up the enterprise, and a society of merchants (itted out
three vessels, which sailed from the Texel on the 5th of
June. 1594, under the general guidance of AVilliam
Barentz, a noted pilot, and an e-\])ert sailor.

On apj^roaching Nova Zemhla tAvo of the ships at-
tempted to pass by the old route of the Strait of ^Vay-
gatz; hut Barentz himself, taking a bolder course,
endeavored to pass round to the north^vard of Nova
Zembla, which opposed his eastward progress. Pass-
ing the Black Cape and William's Isle, they saw
various features characteristic of the Arctic world. At
the Orange Isles, they came upon three hundred wal-
nis, lying in heaps upon the sand and basking in the
sun. Supposing that these animals were helpless on
shore, the sailoi*8 marched against them with pikes
and hatchets, but, to theii* su'-prise, -were ol)liged to
retire in dishonor.

Tlie crews had a fierce encounter Avith a Pohu'bear.
Having seen one on the shore, they entered their
shallop, and discharged several balls at him, but Avith-

If li

ir:'!

11^

DUTCH ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.

•I

•

out inflicting any deadly wound. They were then
happy when they succeeded in throwing a noose about
his neck, hoping to lead him like a lapdog, and caiTy
him as a trophy into Holland. They were not a little
alarmed by his miglity and tremendous struggles ; but
what was their consternation, when he fastened his
paws on the stern and entered the boat ! The whole
crew expected instant death, either from the sea or
from his jaws. Providentially at this moment the
noose got entangled Avith the iron work of the rudder,
and the creature stru<:c2;led in vain to extricate him-
self. Seeing him thus fixed, they mustered courage to
advance and despatch him with their speai's.

Barentz, reached the northern extremity of Nova
Zembla by August 1st ; but the wind blcsv so strong,
that he and his crew gave up hope of passing that
point, and resolved to return.

The two other vessels meantime pushed on along
the coast. On turning a point the Dutch observed
one of those great collections of rudely carved images
which had been formerly remarked l>y Burroughs.
These consisted of men, women, and childi'en, some-
times having from four to eight heads, all with' their
faces turned eastward, and many horns of reindeer ly-
ing at their feet ; it was called, therefoi'e, the Cape of
Idols.

After passing. thi'ough the strait of Waygatz, and
sailing for some space along the coast of Nova Zembla,
they Avere re[)elled by the icy bariiers ; l)ut having by
perseverance rounded these, they arrived at a wide,
blue, open sea, with the coast bending rapidly soutk
ward ; and though this was only the shore of the (xulf
of Obi, they doubted not that it was the eastern
boiuidary of Asia, and would afford an easy passage

«■' ti

SECOND DUTCH VOYAGE.

down upon China. Instead, however, of prosecuting
this vo}'age, they determined to hasten back and com-
municate to their countrymen this j<->yful intelligence.
The t^vo divisions met on the coast of Russian Lapland,
and an-ived in the Texel on the 16th of Sep '.ember.

Tlie intelligence conveyed in regard to the latter
part of til is expedition kindled the most sanguine
hopes in the government and people of Holland. Six
vessels Avere fitted out, not as for adventure and dis-
covery, Ijut as for assured success, and for carrying
on an extensive traffic in the golden i-egions of the
East. They were laden with merchandise, and well
supplied with money ; while a seventh, a light yacht,
was instructed to follow them till they had passed
Tabis, the supposed bounding promontory of Asia;
when, having finally extricated themselves from the
Polar ices and directed their course to China, it was
to return tt) Holland with the joyful tidings.

The squadron sailed from the Texel, the L'd of June
1505. iSothing' great occurred till the 4th of August
when they reached the strait between Waygatz and
the continent, to which they had given the appellation
of the Strait of Nassau. They came to tl:e Cai>e of
Idols; but though these were still drawn up in full
array, no trace was found of the habitations Avhi<.'h
they might have seemed to indicate. A Russian ves-
sel, ho^^■ever, constructed of pieces of l)ark sewed to-
gether, Avas met on its way from the Pechora to the
Obi in search of the teeth of the sea-horse, -whale-oil,
and geese. The sailors accosted the Dutch in a \ery
fiiendly manner, pi'esonted eight fat birds, ami on
going on ])oard one of the vessels, were struck with
astonislnnent at its magnitude, itsc([nipment-<, and the
high order w ith which ever) thing was arranged. This

!',d

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DUTCH ABCnO EXPEDITIONS.

(;:

being a fast-day, tliey refused meat, butter, and cheese ;
but, on being offere'l a raw herring, eagerly SAvallowed
it entire, head and tail inclusive.

The navigat<ji-^, after considerable search, fell in
with a party of Samoiedes, who manifested much
jealousy of the strangers, and on the approach of
the interpreter, di-ew their arrows to shoot him ; but
he called out, " AVe are friends "; upon "which they
laid down their A\eajx>ns, and saluted him in the Rus-
sian style, l)y 1>ending their hea<^l3 to the ground.

On hearing a gun fire<i, they ran away and leajDed
like madmen, till assured that no harm was intended.
A sailor boldly went up to the chief, dignified in the
narrative M-ith the title of king, and presented him
with some biscuit, which the monarch gracioussly ac-
ce^pted and ate, though looking round somewhat sus-
piciously. At length the parties took a friendly
leave ; but a native ran after the foreigners Avith
signs of great anger, on account of one of their rude
statues Avhich a sailor liad carrie<l off.

Being informed tliat a few days' sail would bring
them to a point beyond which there was a large open
sea, they made repeated attempts to reach it, but were
driven back by floating ice, and at the end of Sep-
tember were forced to return to Holland without
having accomplished any one of the brilliiiut exploits
for ■which they had set out

Another expe<lition of two vessels, entnisted
to Barents and C'orneli^ R>'p, sailed from Amster-
dam on the 10th of 3Iav, 1.506. As homesickness
was suspected to have some relation to the failure of
former expeditions, none but unmarried persons were
admitted as memljers.

Avoiding the coast of Kui^ia they pushed north-

'.;m

DI800VBBT OF SPITZBERGliaT.

eriy, and on the 22d saw the Shetland Islands. On
the 9th of June they discovered a long island rising
abruptly into steep and lofty cliffs, and named it Bear
Island. The horror of this isle to their view must
have been imspeakable : the prospect dreary ; black
where not hid with snow, and broken into a thousand
preciiiices. No sounds but of the dashing of the
waves, the crashing collision of floating ice, tlie dis-
cordant notes of myriads of sea-fowl, the yelping of
Arctic foxes, the snorting of the Avalruses, or the
roaring of the Polar bears.

Proceeding onward, they reached the latitude of 80°,
and discovered the coast of the Spitzbergen Archipel-
ago, a cluster of islands lying nearer the North l*ole
than any other known land, excepting the regions dis-
covered by Kane, Hayes, and JIall. Not^vithstand-
ing its high latitude, Spitzbergen has been much
frecpiented by whaling-ships, walrus hunters and ame-
teur sportsmen.

Tlie mariners, finding their progress eastward stop-
ped by this line of coast, now retraced their route
along its deep bays, still steering soutlnvard till they
found themselves accain at Bear Island. Here Corneliz
and Barentz separated ; the former proposing to push
again northward.

Barentz proceeded south-easterly intending to round
the northern point of Nova Zembla. On the Gtli of
August, he fastened his vessel to a large iceberg amid
drifting ice, off Cape Nassau.

On the 10th, the ice began to separate, and the sea-
men I'emarked that the berg to "SNliich they Avere
moored Avas fixed to the bottom, and that all the
others struck against it. Afraid that these loose
pieces would collect and enclose them, they sailed on,

^i: 1

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P ': 1'

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DUTCH ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.

moorinj;^ theniHelves to successive fragments, one of
whicli rose like a steeple, Leing twenty futlioms
ttl)()ve and twelve beneath the water. They saw
around tlieni more than four hundred large ictjhergs,
the fear of which made them keep close to the shore,
not being aware that in that cpiarter they were
fonned.

Steering on tliey came to Orange Island, which forms
the northern extremity of Kova Zembla, Here ten
men swam on shore, and, having mounted several jiiles
of ice ■which rose, as it were, into a little mountain,
they had the satisfaction of seeing the coast tending
soutlnvard, and a wide open sea to the south-east.
They hastened back to Barents Avith these joyful
tidings, and the success of the voyage was considered
almost secure.

But these hopes were delusive. After doubling
Cape Desire they were drawn into what they called
Icy Port, and the vessel was thrown into a i)osition
almost perpendicular. From this critical attitude they
were relieA'ed next day ; but fresh masses of ice con-
tinually increased the teri-ible rampai-ts around them.

The explorers now felt that they nuist bid adieu
for this year to all hopes of escape f i-om their icy prison.
As the vessel was cracking continually, and opening in
dilferent quarters, they made no dou})t of its going to
jiieces, and could ho2)e to sumdve the Avinter t)nly by
constructinfj a hut, which misrht shelter them from
the approaching rigor of the season. Pai-ties sent
into the country reported having seen footsteps of rein-
deei', also a i'i\er of fresh Avatei", and, what A\as more
important still, a great quantity of fine trees, Avith the
roots still attached to them, strewed upon the shore,
all brought down the rivers of Russia and Tartary.

IMPniSONKT) FOU THE WIXTKIl.

nu'so cireiiinstiincfis clioered the mnriiu'i'.s; tliey
tinisted that Providence, wliicli luid in tlii.s surprising
luiuiner furnislicd ninteriuls to build a liouse, and futd
to wurni it, Avould su]>]»ly also Avhatever was necessary
for tlieir ])assing tlirougli (lie a])])r()aching winter, and
for returniu'f at ]en'''tli t(* tlieir iiative eountrv. A
sledge was instantly constructed ; three men cut the
wood, while ten drew it to the spot inai'ked out for
the liut. They souglit to raise a rampart of earth for
shelter and security, and employed a h)ng line of fu'e
in the ho])e of softening the ground, l)ut in vain. The
carpenter having died, it Avas found impossilde to dig
a grave for him, and they lodged his Lody in a cleft
of the rock.

The building of the hut was carried on with ardor,
yet the cold endured in this operation was intense,
and almost insui)poi'table. The snoAV sometimes fell
so thick, for days successively, that the seamen could
not stir from under cover. They liad at the same
time hard and perp(^tual combats Avith the Polar bear.
One day three of these furious auimals chased tlie
working party into the vessel and advanced furiously
to attack them, but linally retreated.

Sometime after this a "westerly Avind cleared away
the ice and they saw a wide open sea without, while
the vessel Avas enclosed A\ithin, as it were, l)y a solid
Avail. By October they completed their hut, and pre-
pared to convey thither their provisions and stores.
Some painful discoAeries Avere noAV made. Several
tuns of tine Dantzic beer, of medicinal (juality, from
Avhich they had anticipated nuich comfort, had fi'ozen
so hard as to burst the casks ; the contents remained in
the form of ice, but Avlieu thaAved it tasted like bad
Avater.

I , >t'i

V i'l i!

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DUTCH ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.

' :'

Tlie sun began now to pay only shoi-t visits, and to
give signs of approaching departure. He rose in the
south-south-east and set in the south-soutli-west, while
the moon was scarcely dimmed by his j>reseiice. On
the 4th of November the sky was calm and clear, but
no sun rose or set.

The dieury winter night of three months, which
had now set in, was not, however, without some alle-
viations. The moon, now at the full, wheeled her pale
but perpetual circle roun<i the horizon. With the sun
disai)peared also the bear, and in his room came the
Arctic fox, a beautiful little creature, whose flesh re-
sembled kid, and funiished a variety to their meals.
They found great difficulty in the measurenjent of
time, and on the 6th rose late in the day, when
a controveisy ensued whether it was day or night.
The cold had stopped the movements of all the clocks,
but they afterward fonned a sand-glass of twelve
hours, ]>y Avliich tliey contrived tolerably to estimate
their time.

On the 3d of December, as the sailors lay in bed,
they heard from without a noise as tremendous as if
all the mountaiufi of ice by which they were surround-
ed had fallen in pieces over each other, and the first
light which they afterward obtained showed a consider-
able extent of open sea.

As the season advanced, the cold became always
more and more intense. Early in D cen^ber a <lense
fall of snow stopped up the smoke flues so that nothing
but a low fire could be kej)t up. The room was thus
kept atalow temperature, which was partially remedied
by warming the beds with heated stones. Ice two
inches thick formed on the walls ; and their suffering
came to such an extremity, that, casting at each other

ENCOUNTER WITO A BEAU.

languishing and piteous looks, they anticipated the
extinction of the life of the whole crew.

They now resolved that, cost what it might, they
should for once be thoroughly warmed. They repaired,
therefore, to the shij), whence they brought an ample
supply of coal ; and having kindled an immense fire,
and carefully stopped up the windows and every
aperture by which the cold could penetrate, they did
bring themselves into a most comfortable temperature.
In this delicious state, to which they had been so long
stiangei-s, they went to rest, and talked gayly for some
time l)efore falling asleep. Suddenly, in the middle
of the night, several awakened in a state of the most
painful vertigo; their cries roused the rest and all
found themselves, more or less, in tlie same alarming
pretlicament. On attempting to rise, they became
dizzy, and could neither stand nor walk. At length
two or three contrived to stagger towards the door;
but the fii'st mIio opened it fell down insensible among
the snow, but the wintiy air, which had been their
greatest dread, now restored life to the whole party.

In the midst of these sufferings, remembering that
the r)th of Januaiy was the feast of the Kings, they
besought the master that they might be aHowe<l to
celebrate that great Dutch festival. They had saved
a little wine and two juninds of flour, with which they
fried pancakes in oil ; the tickets were drawn, the gun-
ner was crownied king of Nova Zend)la, and the eve-
ning passed as merrily as if they had been at home
rouml their native fireside.

About the middle of Januarj' the crews began to
experience some abatement of that deep darkness in
which they had so long been involved, and affairs
assumed a more cheerful aspect. Instead of constant-

DUTCH ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.

I B'

ly moping in the liut, the men went out daily, em-
ph^yed themselves in walking, running, and athletic
games, which warmed their bodies and preserved
their health. With the sun, however, appeared their
old enemy, the bear. One attacked them amid so
thick a mist that they could not see to point their
pieces, and sought shelter in the hut. The bear came
to the door, and made the most desperate attempts to
burst it open ; but the master kept his back firmly
set ascainst it, and the animal at last retreated. Soon
after he mounted the roof, where, havii g in vain at-
tempted to enter by the chimney, he made furious
attempts to pull it down, having toni the sail in
which it was wrapped ; all the while his frightful and
hungry roarings spread dismay tlu'ough the mansion
beneath ; at length he retreated. Another came so
close to the man on guard, Avho was looking another
way, that, on receiving the alarm from those within
and looking about, he saw himseK almost in the jaws
of the bear; however, lie had the presence of mind
instantly to fire, when the animal was struck in the
head, retreated, and was aftenvard pursued and de-
spatched.

In February, a heavy north-east gale brought a cold
more intense than ever, and buried the hut again
under snow. This was the more deeply felt, as the
men's strength and supply of generous food to recruit
it were alike on the decline. They no longer at-
tempted daily to clear a road, but those who were
able went out and in by the chimney. A dreadful
calamity then overtook them in the failure of their
stock of wood for fuel. They began to gather all the
fragments which had been thrown away, or lay scat-
tered about the hut ; but these being soon exhausted,

THE SHIP DESERTED.

it beliooveJ them to carry out their sledge in search
of more. To Jig the trees, liowever, out of the deep
snow, and drag them to tlie hut, was a task which, in
their present exhausted state, ^vouhl have appeared
impossible, had they not felt that they must do it or
perish.

In the course of March and A})ril, the weather be-
came milder, yet the bamers which enclosed the ship
continued, and, to their inexpressible grief, rapidly in-
creased. In the mid<lle of March these ramparts were
only 75 paces broad, in the beginning of IMay tliey
were 500. These piles of ice resembled the houses of
a great city, interspersed with apparent towers, steeples,
and chimneys. The sailors, viewing with desi)air this
position of the vessel, earnestly entreated permission
to fit out the two boats, and in them to undertake the
voyage homeward. The mere digging of the boats
from under the snoAV was a most laborious task, and
the equipment of them would have been next to im-
possible, but for the enthusiasm with which it was un-
dertaken.

By the 11th of June they had the boats fitted out^
their clothes packinl, and the provisions embarked.
Then, however, they had to cut a way through the
steeps and walls of ice wliich intervened between them
and the open sea. Amid the extreme fatigue of dig-
ging, breaking, and cutting, they were kept in play
by a huge bear which had come over the frozen sea
from Tartary.

At length the crew, having embarked all their
clothes and provisions, set sail on the 14th with a
westerly breeze. In the three following days they
passed the Cape of Isles, CajJC Desire, and came to
Orange Isle, always Avorking their way through much

DUTCH AKCTIO EXPEDITIONS.

encumbering ice. As they were off Icy Cajie, Bar-
entz, who had been long struggling with severe ill-
ness, desired to be lifted up that he might take a last
view of that fatal and terrible boundary, and he gazed
upon it for a considerable time.

On the following day the boats were again involved
amid masses of drift-ice ; but one of the men boldly
took a rope to a solid floe, and by this means all the
crew, then tlu stores, and finally the boat itself, reach-
ed a secure position. During this detention Barentz
died, to the great grief of all his crew.

On the 22d there appeared open sea at a little dis-
tance, and having dragged the boats over succej^sive
pieces of ice, they were again afloat. In the three fol-
lowing days they reached Cape Nassau, the ice fre-
quently stopping them, but opening again like the
gates of a sluice, and allowing a jjassage. On the 2<3th
they were obliged once more to disembark and pitch
their tents on the frozen surface.

On the 7th of July they again dragged the boats to
an open sea, and from this date their progress though
often obstructed was never 8topj>ed. On the 2Sth
they approached the southern i)art of Nova Zembla
where they found two Russian vessels at anchor, and
were received by their crews Avith much courtesy.

After mutual presents, the parties set out to sail
together to Waygatz, but ^vere separated by a gale.
On the 4th of August the Dutch came in view of the
coast of Russia, and after a tedious voyage along the
shore reached Kola, where they found Corneliz, who
conveye<l them to Amsterdam. Corneliz had not been
successful in making any discovery of inijjortauce.

VUTiVK CliUbii AMU UlUMIUHT BUM-NOBTUEBN BUS8IA.

CHAPTER V.

ARCTIC VOYAGES OF MARTIN FROBISIIER
AND JOHN DAVIS.

In the early rei n of Queen Elizabeth, the great
enterprise of finding a North-western i)assage was
again revived in England. Since the discoveries of
Cahot no progress had been made at solving the
problem, although two English ex2>editions had sailed
to Northern America.

The first one consisted of two ships, having on
board " divers cunning men," one of whom \\"as a canon
of St. Paul's, a great mathematician, and wealthy.
The ships reached Newfoundland, where one of them
was wrecked ; the other vessel sailed soutliward, and
then returned to England.

Nine years afterwards, another voyag(> ^vas made in
the same direction by a company of adventurers of
highest respectability. This gay band mustered in
military array at Gravesend, an<l having taken the
sacrament, went on board ship. They had a long and
tedious voyage, during which their buoyant spirits
considerably flagged. Having reached Newfoundland,
they saw a boat with the "natural peojde of the
country." A barge was fitted out t<j treat ^^•itll them ;
but the savages, alanned, fled precipitately, relincpiish-
ing the side of a bear which they had been roasting.

EXGIJSII AD\T!:NTtTKER8.

The const was barren and »les<)late, and a famine
soon rose to sueh a pitch as to drive thcni to the
extremity of cannibalism. They had an-angcd tlio
casting of h)ts to decide whose life should bcf sacrificed
to save the rest, when a French ship up])ear('d in view.
Finding it to l)e both in jrood order and well stored
Avith provisions, the English scrupled not to attack
and scMze it ; .and in it they nnidc their way to Eng-
land in a most miserable condition, leaving their own
bark to tlu? ejected crew.

8o(«i afterwards the Frenchmen reached P^i-ance,
and raised such a clamor about the outrage of the
Englishmen, that King Henry liberally paid for their
losses from his own pui-se.

The next Fnglish exjiedition to the North-west was
planned and conducted by Martin Frobisher, a native
of Yorkshire, who subsequently distinguished liim-
self by naval exploits in every quarter of the globe. '
Frobisher regarded the discovery of a North-west
I)assage " as the only thing of the w<n-ld, yet left ini-
done, whereby a notable man might become famous;"
and for fifteen years in city and court he solicited the
means for undertaking the enterprise.

"With thiee small vessels (35, 30, and 10 tons,) ^
Frobisher, on the 8th of June 157fi, j)assed Greenwich
where the court then resided, and w'hen opposite the
palace fired a salute in honor of the cpieen, who gazed
at the fleet from the window and waved her hand to
the dejiarting exploreiu

Early in July, Frobisher saw a range of awful and
precipitous sunnnits, which, even in the height of sum-
mer, were white with snow ; this was the southi^rn
point of Greenland. He then steered westward, and
experienced a severe gale, during which his smallest

DISC'OVKUY OF " META INCOGNITA."

vessel sunk beneath the waves with all en Loard.
Appalled at this disaster one of the remaining ve.sHela
turned hack, hut Frobinher in the third one i)ushed
forward, and on the22d of July reachc 1 tho ic'e-l)()und
coasts of Labrador. Sailing northward ho came in
August to more accessible land, and named it " Meta
Incognita."

Seeing seven boats J)!}' ing along the beach, Fr 1 )isher
sent out one of his own, thecrewof wliicli, Ijy holding
up a white cloth, induced a native canoe t(» ap[)roach ;
but on seeing the ship the people iniiuediately turned
back. Frol>isher then went on shore, and, by the dis-
tribution of presents, enticed one of the natives on
board. This person, being well treated with food and
drink, made on his return so favorable a report, that
nineteen followed his example.

The natives were next day more shy, and Avitli
some difiiculty one of them, by the alliii'ements of a
bell, was drawn on Ixvird. Frobisher, having no in-
tention to detain him, sent a boat Avitli live men- to
put him (.)n shore ; but, urged by curiosity, they went
on to join the nuun body of the natives, and were
never allowed to return. After spending two days
firing guns, and looking for the missing ineii, Fro-
bisher sailed for home, where he arri\ed in October.

Although Frol)ii-her had made but little progress
towards a westerr. passage, his voyage ^vas considered
highl}' creditable, and interest in the new country-
was greatly excited from the fact that a large sinning
stone, Avhich Frobisher had l)rought home and divid-
ed among his friends, was pronounced by the gold-
smiths to be gold ore. A new expedition of three
ships was immedijitely orgunized ; England was thrown
into a ferment of joy; and Frobisher being invited

FUVUli^UJilW t* SECOND VOVAOE.

I l<

to visit the quoon, received her hand to kiss, with
many gracious expressions.

The new exj)eilitiou sailed on the 20tli of May,
1577 ; on tlie 8th of June it touched at tlie Orkneys
for fresh water. The poor inhabitants, liaving, it is
probable, suffered from the inroads of j)irateH, fled
from their housci^ with cries and shritfks, but were
soon, by courteous traatment, induced to return.

The English now entered on their perilous voyage
through the northern ocean, during which tliey were
much cheered with the perpetual light. At length
they touched at the sound or deep indentation
of waters kno>vn as Frobisher Strait — afterwards
said to be a sound, and recently })roved such
by the researches of the late Captain Hall. The
coast, ho\vever, was found guarded by a mighty wall
of ice, which the ships could not penetrate ; but the
captain, with two of his boats, worked his way into
the sound, and began to survey the country.

So crude were then the ideas respecting the
geography of these regions, that they imagined the
coast on their left to be America, and that on their
right Asia. Dmding on the Ameiican side they
scrambled to the top of a hill, and erected a column,
which, after the great patron of the exj)edition, was
called Mount Warwick. On their return, cries were
heard like the lowing of bulls, and a large body of
natives ran up to them in a very gay and cordial
manner. Tliey began an eager traffic for the trifling
ornaments displayed by their visitors, yet declined
every invitation to go on board, while the English on
their part did not choose to accede to their overtures
of going into the countiy. Frobisher and a compan-
ion, meeting two of the natives apart, rashly seized

FIOIIT WITII ESQUIMAUX.

and bej^nn dragging them to the Loats, lioping
to gain their friendship by presentu and ('(HutcMy.

On the Mlij)i)ery ground, however, tlieiv feet ga\ e wny,
the EwiiuiinaMX broke h)0«e, and found beliind a rook
their bows and arrows, which they began to disc imn^e
with great fury. Frobisher and his conini .., seized
with a ]wu'ie, fled full speed, and the f«)rMier reiiclied
the boat with an arrow sticking In his leg. The rrew,
i\;!igining that something tnily serious must have
driven back their commander in such disconititure,
ga\ e the alarm, and ran to the rescue. The two l)ar-
bariana instantly fled ; but one of them w as caught
and taken to the boat.

Meantime the ships outside were involved in a
dreadful tempest, being t()s.sed amid those tremendous
ice-islands, the least of which would have been sulU-
eient to luive crushed them into a tliousand pieces.
To avoid dangers wliich so closely beset them, they
were obliged to tack fourteen times in four hours;
but with the benefit of the perpetiuil light, the .skill
of their steersman, and the aid of Providence, they
weathered the temi)est, without the necessity of driv-
ing out to sea and abandoning the boats. On the
19th, Frobislier came out to the ship Avith a large
store of glittering stone ; upon which, says one of the
adventurers, "we were all rapt wi<^h joy, forgetting
both where we were and what we haa sulTered. Be-
hold," he continues, "the glorj' of man, — t, -night
looking for death, to-morro\v devising how to satisfy
his greedy appetite with gold."

A north West gale now sprang up; before which,
like magic, the mighty bamei-s of ice by which the
ships had been shut out melted away. They had now
a broad and open passage by which they entered the

RELICS OF THE LOST SAILOSS.

sound, wliich was a strait leading into the Pacific
Ocean. In a run of upwards of thirty leagues they
landed at different points, and, mounting to the topa
of hills, took possession of the country with solemn
and sacred ceremonies, in name of her majesty.

On questioning their prisoner, he admitted knowl-
edge respecting the five men captured in the preceding
year, but repelled most strenuously the signs l)y which
the English intimated their belief that they had been
killed and eaten. However, a dark source of suspicion
was soon opened ; for some boats of the natives were
found, which, along with bones of dogs, flesh of un-
known animnls, and other strange things, contained
an English canvas douldet, a shirt, a girdle, three
shoes for contrary feet, — apparel which, beyond all
doubt, Ijelonged to their countrymen lost in the pre-
ceding year.

Hoping to recover them, they left a letter in the
boat, with pen, ink, and i)aper, and a party of forty,
under Charles Jacknian, marched inland to take tho
natises in tlie rear, and ilrive them upon the coast^
where Frobisher with his boats waited to intercept
them. The wretches had removed their tents into
the interior ; but the invaders, after marching over
several mountains, descried a cluster of huts, whose
inmates hastened to their caiioes, and j)ushed out full
speed to sea. They rowed with a rapidity wliich
would have baffled all pureuit, had not Frobisher
with his boats held the entrance of the sound and
there awaited them.

As soon as the Esquimaux saw themselves thus
beset, tliey laiided among the rocks, abandoning their
skifl's. The Englisli rushed on to the assault; but
the natives, stationed on the rocks, resisted the land-

FEMALE PRISONEKS.

ing, and stood their ground with the most savage and
desperate valor. Overwhelmed with clouds of ar-
rows, they picked them up, plucking them even out
of their bodies, and returned them with fuiy. On
feeling themselves mortally wounded, they plunged
from the rocks into the sea, lest they should fall into
the hands of the conquerors.

At length, completely worsted, and having lost five
or six of their number, they sprang up among the
cliffs and eladed pursuit. There fell into the hands
of the assailants only two females, who caused some
speculation. One was stiicken in years, and present-
ed a visage so singularly hideous, that her moccasins
were pulled off to ascertain if she was not the great
enemy of mankind in disguise. The other female
was young, with a child in her arms ; and being, from
her peculiar costume, mistaken for a man, had l)een
fired at and the child wounded. It was in vain to
apply remedies ; she licked off Avith her tongue the
dressings and salves, and cured it in her own way.
She and the male captive formerly taken appeared to
be straiitroi'H, but on becomini' intimate found much
comfort in each other's society, and showed a atrong
mutual attachment. >•>*-■' ' .,

FrobislKn* still cherished hopes of recovering his
men. A large party appearing on the top of a hill,
signs were made of a desire for a fiiendly intervie\v.
A few of ihem advanced, and were introduced to the
captives. The jmrties wei'o deeply affected, and spent
some time without uttering a word ; tears then flowed ;
and when they at last found speech, it was in tones
of tenderness an(^. regret, which prepossessed the
English much in their fa\H)r. Frobisher now came
forward, and propounded that on condition of restor-

TREACHERY OF TirE NATIVES.

ing his five men, they should receive back their own
captives, with the addition of sundry of those little
gifts and presents on which they set the highest value.
This they j)roraised, and also to convey a letter to the
prisoners, who doubtless at this time were not alive.

Afterward three men appeared holding up flags of
bladder, inviting the invaders to approach ; buf: the
latter, who saw the heads of othei-s peeping from be-
hind the ^ocks, resolved to proceed \vith the utmost
caution. The natives began by placing in view large
pieces of excellent meat ; and when their enemy could
not be caught by that bait, a man advanced very close,
feigning lameness, and seeming to offer himself an
easy prey. Frobisher allowed a shot to be fired, by
which the person was cured at once, and took to his
heels. Seeing all their artifices fail, the barbaiians
determined upon main force, and pouring doAvn to
the number of a hundred, discharged their arrows
with great rapidity. They even followed a consider-
able way along the coast, regardless of the English
shot ; but the boats were too distant from tlie shore
to suffer the slightest annojance. Several of the sea-
men imi)ortuned Frobisher to allow them to land and
attack; Init this he refused, as only calculated to
divert them from the main object, and to cause useless
bloodshed. *

The 21st of August had now arrived, the ice was
beginning to fonn around the ships, and, though little
progretis had been made towards China, the seamen
had put on board two hundred tons of the precious
ore. Tliey therefore moiuited the highest hill, fired a
volley in honor of the Countess of Wanvick, and
made their way home.

NotAvithstanding the vicissitudes which had marked

frobisher's third expedition.

tliis voyage, its arrival was hailed ^yith the utmost
exultation. Enthusiasm and hope, Loth with the
queen and the nation, rose higher than ever. The
delusion of the golden ore continued in full force, and
caused those desolate shores to be regarded as another
Peru. Special commissioners, men of judgment, art,
and skill, were named by her majesty to ascertain
both the quality of the ore and the prospects of the
voyage to India. After due inquiry, a most favorable
rei)ort ^va^ iiiade on both subjects, and it ^as recom-
mended not only that a new expedition on a great
scale should be fitted out, but a colony established on
that remote coast, who might at once be placed in full
possession of its treasures, and be on the watch for
every opportunity of farther discovery.

To brave the winter of the Polar world was a novel
and daring enterjtrise ; yet such was then the national
sj)irit, that the appointed number of a hundred was
quickly filled up. There were foi-ty marinei's, thirty
miners, and thirty soldiei-s, in which last number were
oddly included, not only gentlemen, but gold-find's,
bakers, and carpentei's. Materials wer»^ sent on board
the vessels, which, on being put togeth tr, might be
converted into a fort or house. The squadron fitted
out was the largest that had yet adventured to plough
the northern deep. It ct)nsisted of fifteen vessels,
furnished by various ports, especially by those of the
west, and the rendezvous took place at Harwich on
the 27th May. 1578, whence they sailed on the Blst.
The captains waited on the queen at GreenAvich, and
were personally addressed by her in the most gracious
manner ; Frobisher receiving a chain of gold, and the
honor of kissing her majesty's hand.

It IS no^ jrious that expeditions got up on the great-

THE FLEET IN A STOIiM.

est scale, and Avitli tlie most ample means, usually
prove tlie most uiifoi-tunate. On reaching the open,
ing of Froblsher's Strait, the navigators found it
frozen over from side to side, and barred, as it were,
with successive walls, mountains, and huhNarks. A
strong easterly Avind had driven niunerous icebergs
upon the coast, and hence the navigation amid these
huge moving bodies soon became most perilous. The
Dennis, a large vessel, on board of Avhich "was part of
the projected house, received such a tremendous blow
from a mountain « 'f ice, that it went down instantly,
though the other ships, liastening to its aid, succeeded
in saving the men. This s])ectacle struck panic into
the other creAvs, -who felt that the same fate might
next moment be their own.

The danijer was much aujmiented when the eu'ie
increased to a tempest, and the icy masses, tossing in
every direction, struck the vessels furiously. In-
vention was now variously at work to find means
of safety. Some moored themselves to these floating
islands, and being carried al)out along wiHi tliem,
escaped tlie outrageous blows which they must other-
wise have enc(mntered. Others lield suspended by
the side£! of the ship oars, planks, pikes, poles, eveiy-
thing by which the violence of the shocks might be
broken ; yet the ice, " aided by the surging of the sea
and billow," was seen to break in pieces planks three
inches thick. Frobisher considers it as redounding
highly to the glory of his poor miners and landsmen,
wholly unused to such a scene, that the}- faced with
heroism the nssendded dangers that besieged them
rouAd. " At length, it pleased God with his eyes of
mercy to look down from heaven," — a brisk south-
west wind dispersed the ice, and gave them an open
sea through which to navigate.

THE EXPEDITION ASTRAY.

After a few days spent in repairing the vessels, and
stopping lip the leaks, Frobisher bent afresh all his
efforts to penetrate inward to the spot where he was
to found his colony. After consideraT>le effort, he
made his way into a strait, when he discovered that
he was sailing between two coasts; but amid the
gloomy mists, and the thick snow which fell in this
northern midsummer, nothing could be distinctly
seen. As, however, clear inten-^als occasionally oc-
curred, affording partial glimpses of the land, the
surmise arose that this was not the shore along which
they had formerly sailed. Frobisher would not listen
to a suggestion which would have convicted him of
having thrown a^vay much of his time and labor.
He still pressed onward. Once the mariners imagined
thej'^ saw Mount Warwick, but were soon undeceived.
At length, the chief pilot stood up and declared, in
hearing of all the crew, that he never saw this coast
before.

Frobisher still pei-severed, sailing along a country
more populous, more A'erdant, and better stocked Avith
] ' ^s, than the one formerly visited. In fact, this
was probably the main entrance into Hudson's Bay,
by continuing in which he would have made the most
impoiiant discoveries. But all his ideas of mineral
Avealtli and successful passage were associated with
the old strait ; and, on being obliged to own that this
was a different one, he turned back to the open sea.
In this retreat the fleet was so involved in fogs and
violent currents, and so beset with rocks and islands,
that the sailoi-s considered it only by a special inter-
position of Providence that they Avere brought out in
safet}'.
' When they had reached the open sea, and arrived
5

THE COLONY PROJECT ABANDONED.

at tlie mouth of the desired strait, it was almost as
difficult to find an entrance. However, Frohisher
was constantly on the watch, and wherever there
appeared any opening, it is said " he got in at one gap
and out at another," till at length he readied his pur-
posed haven. Before, however, the crews were com*
pletely landed and established, the 9th of August
had come, thick snoAvs were falling, and it behooved
them to hold a solemn consultation as to the pros-
l?ects of the projected colony. There remained of
the house only the materials of the south and east
sides, a great part of the bread had been spoiled, and
there was no adequate provision for a hundred men
during a whole year.

Renouncing the idea of settlement, Frobisher still
asked his captains whether they might not, during
the short remaining inter%'al, attempt some discoveiy
to throw a redeeming lustre on this luckless voyage ;
but, in reply, they urged the advanced season, the
symptoms of Avinter already approaching, and the
danger of being enclosed in these nan-ow inlets,
where they would be in the most imminent danger of
perishing ; — in short, that nothing Mas now to be
thought of but a speedy return homeward. This
was effected, not ^v-ithout the dispersion of the fleet,
and considerable damage to some of the vessels.

The failure of successive attempts, and esi)ecially
of t)iie got up with so much cost, produced its natu-
ral effect in England. Tlie glittering stone, which
was to have conveited this northern Meta into anoth-
er Peru, was never more heard of ; a few careful
assays having established its utter insignificance.
Frobisher strongly advocated another voyage to the
North-west, but Avithout success, and was obliged to

SUBSEQUENT LIFE OF FKOBISKER.

seek in other climates employment for his daring and
active spirit. He accompanied Sir Francis Drake to
the West Indies, and commanded one of the largest
ships in the armament which opposed the Spanish
armada, fighting with such bravery, that he was
decorated with the honors of knis^hthood. Beincr
aftenvard sent to assist Henry IV. against the League,
and employed in the attack of a small fort on the
coast of France, he received a wound which proved
fatal in November, 1594.

The " Meta Incognita " or " unknown land " discov-
ered by Frobisher, lies between Hudson's Strait and
Frobisher's Strait. Capt. Hall passed the period of
his first visit to the north in this vicinity, and found
many relics, as he supposes, of the Frobisher expedi-
tion.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert, a man of high character
both as a soldier and civilian, hatl been much inter-
ested in the voyages of his countrymen, and in 1578
he obtained from Elizabeth a patent confemng sole
jurisdiction over a large territory in America, on con-
dition that he should plant a colony there within six
years. His half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh was also
engaged in the enterprise.

In 1583, Sir Humphrey set out with a fleet of five
vessels, but one of them put back on account of sick-
ness. On reaching St. John's harbor, New Found-
land, Sir Humphrey simamoned some Spanish and
Portuguese fishermen there, to witness the ceremony
of taking possession in the name of the English sov-
ereign, an operation which he performed by digging
a turf, and setting up a pillar to which the arms of
England were affixed. Silver ore, as they supposed,
was discovered and taken on board the vessels, one

III

LOSS OF TIIB

" SQUIBEEL."

of which was abandoned, while with the remainder
Sir Humphrey pursued his voyage along the coast
towards the south. On his way, tlie largest remain-
ing ship with its ore was Avrecked, and a hu? -^red
souls perished.

Retiirn was now considered necessarj', and iU the
midst of terrible storms and tempests, the prows
were turned homeward. Sir Humphrey had chosen
to sail in a little tender, called the Squiirel, and when
the stoiTu came on he was urged to shift his flag to
a larger vessel. But he refused to do so, saying :

" I will not desert my little company, with whom
I have passed so many storms and penis."

The gale increased; lights were burned at night,
and the little Squirrel, for a long time, was seen gal-
lantly contending with the waves. Once she came
80 near another ship that its officei's could see Sir
Humphrey sitting by the mainmast, with a book in
his hand, reading. He looked up, and cried cheerily,
"We are as near to Heaven by sea as by land."
About midnight, all at once, the lights were extin-
guished ; and in the morning nothing was seen of the
good Sir Humphrey or his little ship.

In 1585 the spiiit of discovery was again i-oiii-fd.
Merchants of London fitted out two vessels, the Sun-
shine and Moonshine, which were placed under the
command of John Davis, a determines seaman, en-
dowed with much courtesy and good humoV, by which
he was likely to render himself acceptable to the mde
natives of those inhospitable shores : to promote
which laudable purpose, he was provided not only
with a supply of the trifling gifts suited to their taste,
but with a band of music to cheer and recreate their
spirits.

iii-ed.
Sun-

r the

n, en-
liicli
nide

umote

only

taste,

their

J /*•, /JT-. ,.!•■ .

TUE "LAKD op desolation."

Davis sailed on the 7tli of June, 1585. On the 19th
of July, as the seamen approached the Arctic boundary,
they heard, amid a calm sea beset with thick mist, a
mighty roaring, as of the waves dashing on a rocky
shore. The captain and master pushed off in the
boat to examine this supposed beach, l)ut Avere much
Burjjrised to find themselves involved amid numerous
icebergs, while all this noise had Ijeen caused by the
rolling and beating of these masses against each other.

Next day they came in view of Greenland, which
appeared the inost dreary and desolate ever seen;
" deformed, rocky, and mountainous, like a sugar-loaf,
standing to our sight above the clouds. It towered
above the fog like a white list in the sky, the tops
altogether covered with snow, the shore beset with
ice, making such irksome noise that it was called the
Land of Desolation.^^

After sailing for several days along this dreary
shore, Davis pushed out north-westward into the open
sea, hoping in " God's mercy to find our desired pas-
sage." On the 29th he came in view of a land in 64**
north latitude, which was still only Greenland ; but
as the wind wjis unfavorable for proceeding westward,
the air temi)erate, and the coast fi'ee from ice, he re-
solved to go on shore and take a view of the country
and people. In the company of two othera, he landed
on an island, leaving directions for the rest to follow
as soon as they should hear any loud signal. The
party mounted the top of a rock, whence they were
espied by the natives, who raised a lamentable noise,
witli loud outcries like the howlinij: of wolves. Davis
and his comrades hereupon struck up a high note, so
modulated, that it might at once be alluring to the
natives, and might summon his own crew to deeds

A QKEENLAND DANCK.

• 1!

either of courteay or valor. Bui-ton, the muster, and
others, hastened, well armed, yet with the bund of
music jilaying, and dancing to it with the most invit-
ing signs of friendship.

In accordunce with this gay simimons, ten canoes
hastened from the other islands, and the i)e()ple
crowded round the strangers, utteiing in a hollow
voice unintelligible sounds. The English continued
their friendly salutations, while the other pai-ty still
showed jealousy, till at length one of them began
jiointing towards the sun and beating his breast.
These signs being returned by John Ellis, master of
the Moonshine, the natives were induced to aj^proach ;
and being presented with caps, stockings, gloves, etc.,
and continuing to be hailed with music and dancing,
their fears gave place to the most cordial amity.

Next day there appeared thii-ty-seven canoes, the
people from which kindly invited the English on
shore, showing eager impatience at their delay. Da.
vis manned his boats and went to them ; one of them
shook hands with him, and kissed his hand, and the
two pai-ties became extremely familiar. The natives
parted with every thing, the clothes from off their
backs, their buskins of well-dressed leather, their
darts, oars, and five canoes, accepting cheeiiully in
return whatever their new visitors chose to present.

Davis next steered directly across the strait, or
ra+her sea, which still bears his own name. On the 6th
of August he discovered high land, which he named
Mount Ealeigh, being part of Cumberland Island.
Here, anchoring in a fine road, the seamen saw three
white animals, which seemed to be goats. Desirous
of fresh victuals and sport, they pursued them, but
discovered instead three monstrous white bears. :

VOYAGE WITU THE MKUMAID.

Davis, after coaHting al>out for sonio days, again
found hininelf at the cajie Avliicli Ik; liml at liist reach-
ed on Ills f.roHsing fioni the opiMwite nhore of (ri'een-
land. Tills promontory, whicli lie called (Jod's Mercy,
he now turixed, when he found himself in ji sound
stretching north-westward, twenty or thirty It^agues
broad. After ascending it si.xty leagues, he found an
island in the mid-channel. Alxmt the end of August,
however, l>eing involved in fogs and contraiy \vind8,
he del tinined to su8j)end operations for the season
and return to England.

On one of tlie islands in this sound tlui seamen
heard dogs howling, and saw twenty api)roach, of
wolf-like ap])earance, but in most j)eaceful guise. Im-
press'nl, however, with the idea that oidy animals of
prey could be found on these slun-es, they tiled and
killed two, round one of' whose necks they found a
collar, and soon after discovered the sledge to which
he had been yoked.

Davis sailed on a second expedition on the 7tli of
May "158(5 with his two fonner vessels, and another
one called the M- nnaid. On the 29th of June he
I'eached the scene of his former visit in Gi'oenland.
The natives came out in their canoes at first with
shouts and cries; but, recognizing their companions
of the former year, they hastened forwai'd, and hung
round the vessel with every expression of joy and
welcome.

Davis, seeing them in such favorable disposi-
tions, went a.shore and distnbuted jviesents. The
most intimate acquaintance was now begun ; yet
tliey never met the strangers anew without crying,
*'Ili<ntiitP^ beating their breasts and lifting their
hands to the sun, by which a fresh treaty was ratified.

ESQUIMAUX INCANTATIONS.

The two parties amused themselves by contests in
bodily exercises. The Esquimaux could not match
their opponents in leaping; but in wrestling they
showed themselves strong and skillful, and threw
some of the best English wrestlers. By degrees they
began to manifest less laudable qualities. Tljey exer-
cised many and solemn incantations, though, Davis
thanks God, without any effect. They kindled a fire
by i-ubbing two sticks against each other, and invited
him to pass through it ; but he, in contempt of their
sorcery, caused the fire to be trodden out and the
embers thrown into the sea.

The natives, however, soon began to show less
amiable traits, and finally reached the highest pitch of
audacity. They stole a spear, a gun, a sword, cut the
cables and even the Moonshine's boat from her stern.
The leading personages of the crew remonstrated with
Davis, that for their security he must " dissolve this
new fi-ienddhlp, and leave the company of the thiev-
ish miscreants." Davis fired two pieces over their
heads, which "did sore amaze them," and they fled
precipitately ; but in ten hours they again appeared
with many promises and presents of skins ; when, ou
seeing iron, " they could in nowise forbear stealing."
The conmiander was again besieged with the com-
plaints of his crew ; however, " it only ministered to
him an occasion of laughter," and he told his men to
look out for their goods, and not to deal hardly -with
the natives, who could scarcely be expected in so
short a time " to know their evils."

Davis now undertook an expedition into the inte-
rior, lie sailed up what appeared a broad river, but
Avhich proved only a strait or creek. A violent gust
of wind having obliged him to seek the shelter of

' i:;

AN EXPEDITION TO THE IJSTEUIOK.

inte-
r, but

gust
ter of

land, lie attempted to ascend a very lofty peak ; but
"the mountains were so many and so mighty^ that
his purpose prevailed not." AVhile the men were
gathering muscles for supper, he was amused ])y view-
ing for the first time in his life, a water-spout, which
he describes as a mighty whirlwind taking up the
water and whirling it round for three hours without
intermission.

During the captain's absence matters had become
worse with the Esquimaux ; they had stolen an an-
chor, cut the cabLi, and even thrown stones of half a
pound weight against the Moonshine. Davis invited
a party of them on board, made them various littlef
presents, taught them to run to the topmaat, and dis-
missed them apparently quite pleased. Yet no sooner
had t]'e sun set than they began to "practise their
devilish nature,'" and threw stones into the Moonshine,
one of which knocked down the boatswain. Tli')
captain's meek spirit was at length kindled to wrath,
and he gave fiiU warrant for t^vo boats to chase the
culprits ; but they rowed so swiftly that the pursuers
returned with small content.

Two 'lays after, five natives j^'esented themselves
with overturt>s for a fresh truce ; but the master came
to Davis, remonstrating that one of them Avas " the
chief ringleader, a master of mischief," and was \Aie-
ment not to let him go. He was made captive, and,
a fair wind suddenly spiinging nj), the English set
sail, and carried him away, many doleful signs being
then exchanged between him and one of his countiy-
men ; hoAvever, on being well treated, and presented
with a new suit of frieze, his spirits revived, he be-
came a i)lea.sant companion, and used occasionally to
assist the sailora.

(

DAVIS WARNED BT HIS SAILORS.

On the l7th of July the mariners descried a land
diversified with hills, bays, and capes, and extending
farther than the eye could reach ; but a\ luit was their
horror on approaching, to find that it Avas only " a
most mighty and strange quantity of ice !" It was,
in fact, that great barrier known as the Middle Pack.

As they coasted along this mighty field, a fog came
on, by which the ropes, shrouds, and sails were all
fast frozen, — a phenomenon that, on the 24th of July,
appeared more than strange. Dismayed by these ob-
servations, the seamen considered the passage hope-
less, and, in a respectful yet firm tone, Avarned Davis,
that by " his ovei'-boldness he might cause, their
■widoA/s and fatherless children to gi\-e him bitter
curses."

Davis was willing to consider their case ; yet,
anxious not to abandon so great an enterprise, he de-
termined to leave behind him the IMermaid, and to
push on in the Moonshine with the boldest part of his
crew. Having found a favorable breeze, he at last,
on the 1 st of August, turned the ice, and in lat. GO"
33' reached land ; along which he now coasted south-
ward for about ten desrrees, entancjled amonsr a num-
ber of islands, and missing, in his progress, the inlets
to Hudson's Bay. On the coast of Labrador, five
men who landed were beset by the natives, and two
of them killed and two wounded. Davis then re-
turned to England. . •

Through the influence of his friend IMr. Sanderson,
Davis sailed on a third expedition with tlie Sunshine,
the Elizabeth, and a pinnace, and on the 1 (Uli of June,
1587, ari'ived among his old friends on the coast of
Greenland. The natives received him as before with
the cry of iliaout and the exhibition of skins, but lost

IB; 1 ' .

TBI LAKO OS D£S0I.AT10I(.

VREIOaTED ICEDERO.

DESERTION OP TWO SHIPS.

no time in the renewal of tlieir former system of
thieving.

It was now arranged that the two large vessels
should remain to fish, while Davis in the pin-
nace should stretch out into a hi Ixdr latitude with a
view to discovery. In pursuance of this plan lie
took his depai-ture, and, continuing to range the
coast to the northward, on the 28th he reached a point
which he named Sanderson's Hope, in upwards of
72^, still finding a wide open sea to the west and
north. Here, the wind having shifted, Davis resolv-
ed to hold on a western tack across this sea, and
proceeded for forty leagues without sight of land or
any other obstruction, when he was arrested by the
usual barrier of an immense bank of ice. Tempted
by an apparent opening, Davis involved himself in a
bay of ice, and was obliged to wait the moment
when the sea beating and the sun shining on this
mighty mass should eifect its dissolution.

At length, on the lOtli of July, he came in view
of Mount Raleigh, and at midnight found himself
at the mouth of the inlet discovered in the fii'st voy-
age, and Avhich has since been called Cumberland
Strait. Next day he sailed across its entrance, and
in the two following days ascended its northern shore,
till he was again involved among numei'ous islands.
lie now concluded this strait to be an enclosed gulf,
and retreated along the southern shore. He now
crossed the mouth of an extensive gulf,' in one part of
which his vessel Avas carried along by a violent cur-
rent, while in another the water was whirling and
roaring us is usual at the meeting of tides. This Avas
evidently the grand entrance to Hudson's Bay.

Davis now hastened to the point of rendezvous

, I!

•I \\\

I:!

«4

suBssQuiurr oaileeb of DAvia

fixed with the two other vessels ; but, to his deep dis-
appointment and just indignation, he found that they
had departed. It was not without hesitation that,
with his small stock of provisions he ventured to saU
for England ; but he arrived safely.

Davis bad succeeded in reaching a much higher lati-
tude than any former navigator, and, with the excep
tion of the banner of ice on one side, had found the
sea open, blue, of vast extent, and unfathomable
depth. He considered, therefore, that the success of
a spirited attempt was almost infallible. But three
failures had exhausted all interest in the subject, and
the invasion by the Spanish Armada which soon
followed, engaged for a season all the energies of the
nation.

Davis tried in vain to procure means for another
Arctic Expedition. He subsequently made several
voyages to the East Indies, in the service of the
Dutch, and was killed during a fight with Japanese
pirates on the coast of Malacca in 1605.

l! m

I
I i

•';r.U

CHAPTER VI. t

ARCTIC VOYAGES OF WEYMOUTH, KNIGHT,
AND HUDSON.

In 1602, the Muscovy Company and the Levant
Company united in new efforts for a North-west route,
and sent out George Weymouth with two vessels, the
Discovery and Goodspeed, which sailed on the 2d
of May.

On the 28tli of June, Weymouth came in view of a
snow-clad promontory on the American coast. The
vessels were tossed to and fro by violent currents and
involved in thick fogs, and they came quite near to
an iceberg on which some of the crew landed. Hear-
ing a great sound like the dashing of waves on the
shore, they approached it, and were dismayed to find
it " the noise of a great quantity of ice, Avhich was
very loathsome to be heard." The mist became so
thick, that they could not see two ships' length, and
on attempting to take down the sails, they were aston-
ished to find them so fast frozen to the risrijinj; that
in "this chiefest time of summer they could not be
moved." Next day they renewed the attempt ; but it
was only by cutting away the ice from the ropes that
they could be made to move through the blocks.
The following day the fog lay so thick and froze so

'11

1 I

!■:

A COWAKDLY CREW.

, i

fast, tliat ropes, saili=<, and rigging remained immovaljle.

These phenomena produced a disastrous efreet on
the minds of the sailors, who began to hohl secret
conferences, ending in a conspiracy " to bear uj) the
hehn for England." It was ])roposed to seize Wey-
mouth, and confine him in his cabin till he gave his
consent ; but the captain, receiving notice of this ne-
farious design, called the seamen before him, and in
presence of Mr. Cartwright the preacher, and ]\Ir.
Cobreth the master, called upon them to answer for
thus attempting to overthrow a voyage fitted out at
such ample cost by the honorable merchants.

The men stood finu, and produced a pai)er signed
by themselves, in which they justified the proposed
step as founded on solid reason, without any tincture
of fear or cowardice. They represented, that if they
should suffer themselves to be enclosed in an un-
known sea, by this dreadful and premature winter,
they would not only be in imminent danger of perish-
ing, but could not hope to commence their can.'er of
discovery next year sooner than IMay ; while by setting
sail in due time from England they might easily
reach this coast in that month. Weymouth retired
to his cabin to deliberate, when he heard it announced
that the helm was actually borne up. Hastening on
deck, and asking who had done this, he \vas ans^verell,
" One and all ; " and he found the combination such
as it was impossible to resist, though he took occasion
afterward to chastise the ringleaders. The men, how-
ever, declai'ed themselves ready to hazard their lives
in any discovery which might be attempted to the
southward.

Descending the coast, Weymouth found himself at
the entrance of an inlet, into which he sailed in a

FATE OP CAPTAIN KNIGIIT.

soutli-west direction, a hundred leagues ; but encount-
ering fogs and heavy gales, and finding the season far
spent, he deemed it necessary to regain the open sea.
This inlet -was in fact the grand entrance of Hudson's
Bay.

In 55° "Weymouth found a fair land, consisting of
islands and " goodly sounds," apparently tlie place
where the Moravian settlement of Nain was afterward
formed. Soon after, a dreadful hurricane from the
west seemed to take up the sea into the air, and drove
the ships before it with the utmost impetuosity. Had
it been from any other quarter they must have been
dashed to pieces on rocks; however they ranged
through the open sea, and in the greatest extremity
"the Lord delivered us his unworthy servants."
They had now an easy navigation to England.

No farther attempts were made till IGOG, when
East India merchants fitted out a vessel of forty tons
under John Knight, who had been employed in the
Danish voyages to Greenland. On the 19th of June
he had reached the coast of Labi-ador, but the vessel
had been so much damaged by collisions Anth ice that
it became necessaiy to repair it thorouglily, and for
this purpose it wjis hauled ashore in a little cove.

On the 2Gth, Knight, with some of his men well
armed, went across to the oi)posite coast in a boat, to
take a survey of the country. Here the captain Avdth
two of his ofiioers, went over a hill, leaving three
men in charge of the boat, who Avaited the whole day
in anxious expectation of the retiu-n of the jxarty;
they then sounded trumpets, fired muskets, and made
other sifjnals but -without effect. After waitins^ till
eleven at night, they gave up hopes, and returned to
the ship with the doleful tidings. The crew were

- Ill

KlH

!» ill

fiiili

AK ESQUIMAUX ATTACK.

struck wltli the deepest dismay at having thus lost
their captain and best oflficers, and being themselves
left in such deplorable circumstances. The boat was
fitted out next morning for search, but could not cross
the channel on account of the ice.

On the night of the 28th, as the boatswain was keep
ing watch in advance of the tents, he suddenly saw
rushing through the darkness a great body of men,
who, on desciying him, let fly their arrows. He in-
stantly fired, and gave the alarm ; but before the crew
could start from bed and be mustered, the shallop was
filled with fifty savages, who, with loud cries and men-
acing gestures, showed themselves prepared for im-
mediate attack. The English mustered only eight
men and a large dog, and though the rain fell in tor-
rents, they determined rather to perish bravely, assail-
ing this savage enemy, than to wait their onset. They
advanced, therefore, i)lacing the dog foremost. This
bold front appalled the savages, asIio leaped into
their boats, and made off with all speed ; but they
were entangled in the ice, and detained a considerable
time, during which the pursuera continued firing, and
the savages were heard " crying to each other, very
sore."

The mariners, placed in this alarming situation,
made all the haste they could to fit their shattered
bark for again taking the sea. They had first to cut
a way for her through the ice ; but they had nothing
which could be called a iiidder, and the leaks were so
large, that the sailors coidd scarcely enjoy half an
hour's relief from the pump. At length they suc-
ceeded in reaching the coast of Newfoundland, and
found, among the fishing vessels on that station,
friends who supplied all their wants. Aft#r twenty

IIUDS0N8 VOYAGE TOWAKD THE POLE.

(lays spent in repairing their sLip they sailed for
home.

Captain Henry Hudson, a Londoner, of whose
early life veiy little is known, was employed, as he
says, "l»y certaine worshipfull merchants of Ijondon,
for to discover a passage ])y the North Pole, to Japan
and Cliina." With only ten men and his little son,
lie sailed in a small vessel on the first of May, 1G07,
with instructions to sail, if possible, directly over the
Noi*th Pole. This was the first attempt to make this
hazardous ti'ip, and the first recorded voyage of this
eminent navigator.

On the iJJth of June, the ship was involved in
thick fog, the shrouds and sails being frozen; but
Avhen it cleared next morning, the sailors descried a
high and bold headland, on Greenland coast, mostly
covered with snow, behind which rose a castellated
mountain, named the Mount of God's Mercy. Rain
now fell, and the air felt temperate and agreeable.
They steered eastAvard to clear this coast ; l)ut, after
being for some time enveloped in fogs, again saw land,
very high and bold, and without snow even on the
top of the loftiest mountains. To this cape, in 73^*,
they gave the name of IIold-with-ITope.

Hudson now took a noi-th-eastward direction, and
on the 27th, faintly perceived, amid fogs and mist.
the coast of Spitzbergen, He still pushed northward,
till he passed the 79th degree of latitude, where he
found the sun continually ten degi'ees above the hori-
zon, yet the weather piercingly cold, and the shrouds
and sails often frozen. The ice obliged him to steer
in various directions ; but embracing every opportu-
nity, he pushed on, as appeared to him, to 81^,

and saw land still continuously stretching as far as
6

!; ■

ili

4^'

A MERMAID DISCO VJ«:RKD.

I! i

■It

82®. He retiimecl, coasting along Spit/hergen, some
parts of which appeared very agreeable ; ami ou the
15th of September arrived in the Thames.

On Hudson's return from Spitsbergen, tlie London
merchants still hoping to find a roiite to the Noi-th-
east, sent him out on a voyage in that direction. On
the 3d of June, 1G08, he passed the North Cape, and
pushed on to the north and east till he reached the
latitude of 75", when he found himself entangled
among ice. He at first endeavored to push through,
but failing in this attempt, turned and extricated
himself with only "a few rubs." On the 12th of
June he experienced a thick fog, and had his shrouds
frozen ; but the sky then cleared, and aifoi'ded bright
sunshine for the whole day and night. On the 15th,
Thomas Hilles and Robert Rayner solemnly a\ erred,
that, standing on deck, they had seen a mermaid.
This marine maiden is described as having a female
back and breast, a very white skin, and long black
hair flowing ])ehind ; but on Lor turning round they
descried a tail as of a porj[)oi-,e, and speckled like a
mackerel.

Hudson continued to push on eastward, between
the latitudes of H^ and 75". On the 25th, heavy
north and north-easterly gales, accompanied with fog
and snoAV, obliged him to steer south-easterly ; and
this course brought him to the coast of Nova Zend:»la.
Here, he concluded that it was fruitless to attempt
to hold a more northerly course and resolved to try
the old and so often vainly-attempted route of the
Waygatz.

From this he was diverted by the view of a large
sound, which appeared to afford an equally 2:>romising
opening. On its shores also were numerous herds

Irge
Irds

VOYAOK IN TinC IIALF-MOON.

of walnis, from wliicli he Loped to defray the
expense of tlie voyage. Nova Zembla, on the whole,
seen under tliis Arctic niidsnninier, i»resented to him
somewliat of a gay aspect. lie says, it is "to man's
eye a j^leasant land ; much mayne land, -with no snow
on it, looking in some places green, and deer feeding
thereon." The sound, however, terminated in a large
river, and the boats soon came to anchorage in shallo^v
water. The ice now came in gi'eat masses from the
Bouth, " veiy fearful to look on ;" and though " by the
mercy of God and His mighty lielp," Hudson escaped
the danger, yet by the 0th of July he M'as "void of
hope of a noiih-east passage," and, determining to put
his employers to no farther expense, hastened home
to England. The " worshipful! merchants," discour-
aged by these failures, refused to fit out any more ex-
peditions for him.

The bold Englishman now sought employment
from the Dutch East India Company, and sailed from
the Texel under their auspices in a little vessel called
the Half-Moon, with a crew of twenty men, on the
25th of March 1009.

On the 5th of May he passed the Noi*th Cape, and
on the 19th came in \new of Wardhuys. Here he
turned his prow and steered across the Atlantic to
America. His reasons for so doing are not known ;
but it is conjectured that his seamen accustomed to
seek India by the tropical route, were alarmed by the
fogs, tempests, and floating ice of the north, and that
Hudson prefeiTed to seek for a north-western route.

On the 2d of July Hudson reached the coast of
Newfoundland, and then proceeding south^vard visit-
ing several places along the coast, he arrived in Au-
gust off Chesapeake Bay, where John Smith at that

' 11 1

at
1

f !

' 1

it '

i'l lit

DISCOTEEY OP THE HUDSON EIVER.

time was engaged in founding the first English settle-
ment in America. Hudson then sailed northward, and
came to anchor in what is now known as the Lower Bay
of New York City.

After ascending the Hudson River for about a hun-
dred and fifty miles, Hudson began to perceive that
the track to India was yet undiscovered ; so he turned
his prow southward and beat slowly down the stream,
having several fights with the natives on the way.

On the 4th of October he left New York Bay, and
proceeded to England, where he was detained for a
while by an order of the English court, who were
jealous of the enterprise of the Dutch.

Hudson sailed on his last and lamentable voyage
on the I7th of iipril, IGIO. His one sliip was pro-
visioned for six months, and had been fitted out by
eminent Englishmen. On the 11th of May he de-
scried the eastern part of Iceland, and ^vas enveloped
in a thick south fog — hearing the sea dashing against
the coast without seeing it. He was thus obliged to
come to anchor ; but, as soon as the weather cleared,
lie proceeded westward along the coast till he reached
Sno^v Hill (Snaefell,) which rears its aw^ul head
above the sea that leads to the frozen shores of Green-
land. On their way the navigators sa^v Hecla, the
volcano of which was then in acti-\'ity, vomiting tor-
rents of fire down its sncm'}' sides, witli smoke ascend-
ing to tlie sky — an object not only fearful in itself,
l)ut Avhicli struck theiu with alarm as an indication of
unfavorable AA'eather.

Leaving the Icelandic cojist tliey now sailed west-
ward, and, after being deceived by illusory appear-
.ances of land, at length saw the white cliffs of Green-
land towering behind a mighty wall of ice. A\''ithout

*■■-

HUDSON S LAST VOYAGE.

attompting to approach the coast, Hudson sailed to-
wards the south-west, and passed what be imagined to
be Fi-obishei's Strait, which in fact k)ng continued to
be laid down on the coast of Greenland. Hudson now
rounded Cape Farewell, and " raised the Desolations,"
making careful observations of those coasts, which he
found not well laid down on the charts. Tlie marin*
ers soon began to desciy, floating along, the niigljty
islands of ice, — a sight which appalled all but the
stoutest hearts. Onward they sailed, however, some-
times enjoying a clear and open sea, but often encom-
passed by these mighty masses, or by the small and
drifting heaps ; and at length they had to steer as it
were between two lands of ice. They sometimes
moored themselves, on occasions of j)eril, to these ice-
liCf^s ; but seeing one of them fall with a tremendous
i^ra.sh into the sea, they no longer ti'usted to such a
prot'».ction.

! in the 25th of June land appeared to the north,
W/» :igain lost sight of, and afterward discovered to
iL. P' :th ; 80 that they found themselves at the broad
entrance of the channel which has since obtained the
name of Hudson's Strait. They were now still more
troubled with ice in various forms, particularly that
of large islands standing deep in the water, which
•were more difficult to avoid fi-om the violent ripples
and currents. Thus they were often obliged, especially
amid thick fogs, to fasten tlunnselvcs to the largest
j.ix([ li.-mest of these masses, upon which they used to
go out fi'om time to time to procure the wat(n- melted
in llie hollows, which proved to be sweet and good.

Amid these vicissitudes many of the sailors l)ecaine
fearful and some of thefii sick, and Hudson to encour-
age them called them together and showed tliem his

TROUBLE "WrTH THE SAILOBS.

chart, from which it appeared that they had penetrated
farther into the straits by a hundred leagues than
any former expedition ; he then put it to vote whether
they sL ; ' ^ • roceed on or not.

This wu. bold experiment, but did not succeed.
Some, it is irue, expressed themselves "honestly
respecting the good of the action;" others declared
they Avould give nine-tenths of all they were worth,
so that they were safe at home; othera said tliey
did not care where they went, so they were out of
the ice.

Hudson, vexed and disappointed, brolce up the
conference, and determining to follow his own coui-se
iwcAe his way onward, having sometimes a wide and
clear sea, and being occasionally involved amid moun-
tains of ice. Certain rocky islands, in which he found
a tolerable harbor, were called " Isles of God's Tilercy ; "
but even this refuge was rendered dangerous by hid-
den recti ; and the i;jland adjoining to it contained
only " plashes of -water and riven rocks,"' and had the
appearance of being subject to earthquake.

At length they anived at a broad opening, having
on each side capes to which Hudson gave the names
of the two chief patrons of the voyage, AVolstenholme
and jDigges. Landing at the latter and mounting a hill,
the men descried some level spots abounding in sorrel
and e.curA-y grass — plants mojt salutary in this climate :
wliile herds of deer were feeding, and the rocks were
covered with unexampled profusion of fowls. Seeing
such ample materials both for sport and food, the crew,
who had cA'cr showTi the most anxious concern for
their own comfort, earnestly besought Hudson to allow
them to remain and enjoy themselves for a few daj'S
on this agreeable spot ; but he would not consent as

DISCOVERY OF IITTDSOII'b BAY,

the season for discovery was rapidly passing away.

After proceeding a short distance through tlie open-
ing, the coasts on each side w«re seen to separate, and
he beheld before him an ocean-expanse, to which the
eye could discover no termination. It seemed to him,
doubtless, a portion of the mighty Pacific, though
really Hudson's Bay. Here, however, Hudson's nar-
rative closes, without expressing those feelings of
pride and exultation which must have filled his mind
at this promised f uMllraent of his highest h()])es. The
naiTative v^f Pricket, one of Hudson's men, must be the
foundation for the remaining history of tlio voyage.

The 3d of August had now arrived, a season at
which the boldest of northern navicjators luid been ac-
customed to think of returning. Little iuoliued to
such a course, Hudson contiimed to sail aloii^ the coast
on the left, hoping probably before the close of
Autumn to reach some cultivated and temperate shore
where he might take up his winter-cpiurters. The
shores along this bay, though not in a very high lati-
tude, are suT)ject to a climate the most rigorous and
inclement. Entangled in the gulfs and capes of an
unknown coast, struggling with mist and storm, and
ill-seconded by a discontented crew, he spent three
months without reaching any comfortable haven.

It was now the 1st of November, the ice was clos-
ing in on all sides, and nothing remained but to meet
the cheerless winter which had actually begun. The
Bailors ■\vere too late at attempting to erect a wooden
house; yet the cold, though severe, does not seem
to have reached any perilous height. Tlieir chief
alarm Avas respecting provisions, of which they had
now only a small remnant left. Hudson took active
measures to relieve this want, and offered a reward

l!H

IN WmTEE QUARTERS.

to whoever should kill beast, fish, or bird; and
"Providence dealt mercifully," in sending such a
supply of Avliite partridges, that in three months they
killed a hundred dozen. In the spring these birds
disappeared, but were succeeded by flocks of geese,
swans, and ducks, not denizens of the spot, but on
their iliijht from south to north. When these were
gone the air no longer yielded a sujaply, but the sea
began to open, and having on the first day taken five
hundred fiahes, they were much encouraged ; but
their success at fishing did not continue ; and being
reduced to great extremity they searched the woods
for moss.

Hudson n , .v undertook an excursion with a view
to open an intercourse with the natives, but they fled,
setting fire to the woods behind them. Parley was
obtained \vith one, who was loaded with gifts, yet he
never returned. Discontents arose as to the distribu-
tion of the small remaining portion of bread and
cheese, to allay which the captain made a general and
equal partition of the whole. This was a bad meas-
ure among such a crew, many of whom knew not how
*' to govern their share," but greedily devoured it as
lone: as it lasted.

Hudson liad from the first to stiniggle "svith an un-
principled, ill-tempered crew, void of any concern for
the ultimate success of the voyage. He had probably
hoped, as the season should advance, to push on south-
ward and reach next summer the wealthy regions
which he was commissioned to search. The sailors,
on the contrary, had fixed their desire on "the c«i>e
where fowls do breed," the only place where they ex-
pected to obtain both present supply and the means
of returning to England. Ringleaders were not want-

PROGRESS OF THE MUTENT.

ing to head tliis growing party of malcontents. At
the entrance of the bay the captain had displaced Ivet,
the mate, who had shown strong pi'opensities for re-
turning, and appointed in his room Bylot, a man of
merit, who had always shown zeal in the general
cause. He had also changed the boatswain.

Among the crew was a wretch named Gi'een, whom
Hudson had taken on board and endeavored to
reclaim. He was possessed of talents which had
made him useful, and even a favorite Avith his supe-
rior ; and among other discontents of the crew, it was
reckoned one that a veil was thrown over several fla-
grant disorders of which he had been guilty. Yet
some hot expressions of Hudson so acted on the fierce
spirit of this ruffian, that, renouncing every tie of
gratitude and all that is sacred among mankind, he
became the chief in a conspiracy to seize the vessel
and expose the commander to perish.

After some days' consultation, the time was fixed
for the perpetration of a horrible atrocity. On the
2l8t of June, 1611, Green and Wilson the boatswain,
came into Pricket the narrator's cabin, and announced
theii" fatal resolution ; adding, that they bore him so
much good-will as to wish that he should remain on
board. Pricket avers most solemnly, that he exhaust-
ed every argument which might induce tliem to desist
from their horrid purpose, beseeching thein not to do
so foul a thing in the sight of God and man, which
would for ever banish them from their native country,
their wives, and children. Green Avildly answered,
that they had made up their minds to go through
with it or die, and that they would rather be hanged
at home than starve here. An attempt was then made
to negotiate a delay of three, two, or even one day.

\i-

100

THE APPROACHINO TEAOEDT.

but all without effect. Ivet declarins: that he would
justify in England the deed on which they had re-
sol v^ed. Pricket according to his own story, then per-
suaded them to delay till daylight the accomplishment
of their crime.

Daybreak approaching, Hudson came out of his
cahin, when he was instantly set uj^on by Thomas,
Bennet, and Wilson, who seized him and bound his
hands behind his back ; and on his eagerly asking
what they meant, told hini he should know when he
was in the shallop. Ivet then attacked King, the car-
penter, known as the commander's most devoted ad-
herent. That ])rave feUow, having a sv*'ord, made a
formidable resistance, and would have killed his as-
BJiilant had not the latter been speedily reinforced.
The mutineers then offered to him the choice of con-
tinuing in the ship ; but he absolutely refused to be
detained other\vise than by force, and immediately
followed his mastei* whom the conspirators were al-
ready letting down the sides of the vessel. Hudson's
son, a boy, was also sent into the boat.

The mutineei's then called from their l)eds and
drove into the boat, six sick and infirm sailors whose
support would have been burdensome. They threw
after them the eai-penter's box, with some powder and
shot, and cutting loose from the boat sailed away.
Hudson and his companions thus abandoned, were
never heard of more ; and undoubtedly i:)erished on
those remote and desolate shores.

As soon as the mutineers had time to reflect, rueful
misgivings began to arise. Even Green, who now as-
sumed command, admitted that England at this time
was no place for them, nor could he contrive any
better scheme than to keep the high sea till, by some

ADVENTURES OF THE MUTINEEBS.

101

jneans or other, they might procure a pardon. The
vessel was now embayed and detained for a fortnight
amid fields of ice which extended for miles around it ;
and, but for some cockle-grass found on an island the
crew must have perished by famine. Disputes ^\ ith
respect to the steerage arose between Ivet and Bylot,
who alone had any pretensions to skill ; but the latter
at length guided them to Cape Digges, the longed-for
spot, the breeding place for fowls, clouds of which
still continued to darken the air. The i)arty imme-
diately landed, si)i'ead themselves among the rocks,
and began to shoot.

While the boat was on shore they saw seven canoes
rowing towards them. The savages came forward
beating their breasts, dancing and leaping, with eveiy
friendly sign. The utmost intimacy commenced, the
parties went backward and forward, shoAved each
other their mode of catching fowls, and made mutual
presents and exchanges. In short, these appeared the
most kind and simple people in the world, and " God
so blinded Henry Green," that he vie^ved them with
implicit confidence.

One day, amid the height of this intimacy. Pricket,
sitting in the boat, suddenly saw a native close to
him with a knife uplifted and ready to strike. In
attempting to arrest the blow his hand Avas cut, and
he could not escape three wounds ; after which 'he
got hold of the handle of the knife and wrenched
it from the assassin, whom he then pierced with his
dagger. At the same time a general attack -was
made on the English crew dispersed in different
quarters. Green and Perse came tumbling down
wounded into the boat, which pushed off, while
Moter, " seeing this medley," leaped into the sea,

-i .'I

ife*!

102

THE EINGLEADER8 KILLED BY NATIVES.

;

swam out, and, getting hold of the stern was pulled
in by Pei-se.

The savages then fired arrows at the boat, one of
whicli struck Green with such force that lie died on
the spot, and his body was thrown into tlie sea
At length the party reached the vessel; but IV'ioter
and Wilson died that day, and Perse two days after.
Thus perished the chief perpetrators of the late
dreadful tragedy, visited by Providence with a fate
not less terrible than that which they had inflicted on
their victims.

The crew thus deprived of their best hands were
in extreme peiplexity, obliged to ply the ship to and
fro across the straits, and unable without the utmost
fear and peril to venture on shore ; although it was
absolutely necessary for obtaining provisions to cany
them to England. They contrived during some
anxious and unhappy excursions to collect three
hundred birds, which they salted and preserved as
the only stock whereupon to attempt the voyage.
They suffered during the passage the most dreadful
extremities of famine, having only half a fowl a day
to each man,- and considering it a luxury to have them
fried with candles. ' . * ' ;f

Ivet, now the sole survivor of the ringleaders in
the late dreadful transaction, sunk under these priva-
tions. The last fowl was in the steep-tub and the
men were become careless or desperate, when cuddenly
it pleased God to give them sight of land, Avhich
proved to be the north of Ireland. On going ashore
at Berehaven they did not meet with much sympathy
or kindness; but by mortgaging their vessel they
obtained the means of proceeding to PlymoutL

CHAPTER VII.

ARCTIC VOYAGES OF BUTTON, BYLOT,
BAFFIN, MUNK, JAMES, AND OTHERS.

NoTWiTiiSTANDiNO the deplorable issue of Hudson's
last voyage, tlie discovery thereby made of a great
open sea in the west seemed to justify the most flat-
tering hopes of accomplishing a passage, and the next
year, 1612, Captain Button was sent out, with By lot
and Pricket as guides. He soon made his Avay thi'ough
Hudson's Straits, and pushing directly across the
great sea which opened to the westward, came in
view of an insular ca])e, which afterward proved to be
the most southern point of Southampton Island.
Nothing else broke the apparent continuity of the
ocean, and he cherished sanguine hopes that the first
coast he should see would be that of Japan. Sudden-
ly the alarm of land was given, Avhen there appeared
before him an immense range of Arctic coast, stretch-
ing noi-th and south, and barring all farther progress.
Button, deejdy disappointed, gave it the name of
Hope Checked.

Before he had time to look for an opening, the
gloom of the northern winter began to gather, and he
had to seek quarters for the season, and found them
in the same creek and river which afterward became

'« I
I I

) t
■i I

104

CAPTAIN GIBBON S ADVENTURE.

the principtil settlement of the Hudson's Bay Corn-
pan)-. In spite of his best precautions he lost several
men through the severity of the cold, and was unable
to extricate himself from the ice till the middle of
June. He then steered northward, and sought. an
opening through the broad bay between the continent
and Soutliampton Island, since called Roe's Welcome.
Seeing this channel, however, become nanower and
narrower till it apparently closed, he gave up the at-
tem])t, and after touching at several points of the
island just named returned to England.

Although Button had been thus baffled by the un-
welcome encounter of the western shore of Hudson's
Bay, the merchants still considered it by no means
ascertained that this coast was so extensive and con-
tinuous an to preclude all passage into the ocean be-
yond Amei-ica; accordiiTgly they fitted out (in 1(514)
two vessels under Captain Gibbons, an officer of repu-
tation, pronounced by Button " not short of any man
that ever yet he carried to sea." But either his repu.
tation went beyond his raej'its or fortune was singu-
larly adverse, for never was there a more abortive
voyage. He was early entangled in a ba}- on the
coast of Labrador, in which he was detained the
whole summed, and which was afterward dignified
with the appellation of ''Gibbons his Hole." Hav-
ing here sustained some damage from the ice, he had
no sooner extricated himself than he returned home.

The merchant adventurers, «till undismayed, sent
out next summer (1615) the Discovery, under By-
lot, who was accompanied by William Baffin, a skill-
ful i)ilot and the most learned navigator of the age.

Baffin had already made two voyages to the Green-
land seas, the first in 1613, with six well-armed ships,

BAFFIN 8 EARLY V0YAOE3.

105

whose object seems to Lave been to chase away the
whaling vessels of other nations. The next year,
1614, he accompanied, as pilot, Kobeit Fotherby,
who was sent out with the ship Tlionuisine, to accom-
pany the great Greenland fleet of ten ships and two
pinnaces. While they were fishing, Fotherby and
Baffin were to devote themselves mainly to dis-
covery ; bnt their cruise resulted in n(»tliing of int rest.

]3yl«>t and Baffin entered Hudson's Straits, mid
havinjj on the 2d of June heard from the noi-th-
ern shore a great barking of dogs, landed and
found five tents covered with seal-skin, among which
were running al)out thirty-five or forty of these ani-
mals, of a brinded black color, reseml)ling wolves.
They had collars and harness suitable for sledges
lined with fish-bone which were standing by. In
one of the houses was a bag with little images of
men.

The navigators soon descried a canoe with twenty
individuals, whom they hailed with Greenland words
of courteous import, holding up knives and other
toys. Friendly salutations were given in return ;
but neither party chose to trust themselves within
reach of the other. At a little distance, the conflict of
opposite currents amid large icebergs caused so fear-
ful a grinding that they gave to the adjoining land
the name of Mill Island. There they Avonld have
been in extreme danger " had not God, ^vllo is strong-
er than ice or stream," delivered them.

The policy of bylot in this voyage seems to have
been to keep close to the noi-thern shore of the sti-ait ;
and thus, entering Hudson's Bay at a higher latitude,
he hoped to keep clear of those lands which had
barred the westerly career of his predecessors. On

Pi im

106

VOYAGE OF BYLOT AND BAFFIN.

reacliing, therefore, Hudson's Isles of God's Mercy
instead of steering southward to Cape Dudley Digges,
lie proceeded directly west, and arrived in the broad
exj)anse afterward called the Fox Channel.

At length he saw laud, but it was bounded by a
cape "ivhich had every appearance of being the most
northerly point of America. He called it Cape Com-
fort ; though this name it soon appeared was prema-
ture, for a single day had not elapsed when "his
sudden comfort Avas as soon quailed."

Tliey were now on the eastern coast of Southamp-
ton Island, whicli spread on eveiy side its almost
measureless extent, seeming to preclude every prospect
of an opening on either hand. Disappointment, the
lateness of the season, and the pressure of the ice,
concurred in persuading Bylot that there was nothing
to be hoped for here, and determined him to set sail
immediately for England ; whither he carried a most
unfavura])]e report as to any prospect of penetrating
westward in that direction.

But the adventurers were not discouraged by this
adverse residt. Turning their hopes to a different
quarter, next year (1G16) they again fitted out Bylot
and Bailin with instructions no longer to attempt the
passage by Hudson's Bay, but to enter Davis's Straits,
and push due north till they reached lat. SC, if an
open sea shoidd allow them to proceed so far ; then,
turning to the -westward, to round, if practicable, the
extreme point of America, and to bear down upon
Japan.

FolloAxing the course pointed out, Baffin reached,
on the 30th of May, Hope Sanderson, the farthest
point of Davis's progress, and soon afterward came to
a number of small islands on which they found only

JfEMORABLE DISCOVEEIES.

107

females, some of very great age. These at fii'st ran
and lii<l tlieraselves among tlie rocks ; but tlie sailors
having reached two dames, one of whom was estima-
ted at fourscore, and having presented to them bits
of iron and the iisual toys, the latter carried a fa-
vorable report to their youthful countr}- women.
The Avliole party soon came down to the shore, and
four even went on board the boat. Tlie charms of
these ladies were heightened or disfigured by long
black streaks made in their youth with a sharp instni-
ment, and lodged s*o deep that they could not now be
effaced.

The navigators sailed onwards in lat. 74'', Avhen
they were arrested by a large body of ice, .and oljliged
to turn into a neinfliborincr sound to wait its nieltinjj:
Here they received repeated visits from about forty
natives, the only account of whom is, that they
brought an extraordinary quantity of the bones of
sea-unicorns or narwals, great numbers of which were
seen swimming in the water. Hence this Avas called
Horn Sound. The mass of ice now dissolved before
the poAverful influence of the sun, and the discoverers
sailed nortlnv^ards among its fragments ; but stilly snow
fell every day, and the shrouds and sails wmo often
so hard frozen as to make it impossible to handle
them.

After having experienced a severe storm, the expe-
dition discovered a sound, which Avould have supplied
them Avith a multitude of Avhales had they been pro-
A'ided Avilh the means of capture: this they called
Whale Sound. Kext, in TS'^, appeared another inlet,
the Avidest and greatest in all this sea, and Avhich Avas
named after Sir Thomas Smith, one of the main pro-

moters of discovery.

Tliis

opening, Avhich Baffin

11^

111

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108

MEMOK^^LE DISC0VEEIE8.

i'f

seems to liave examined very supei-fieially, abounded
almost eiiiially in A^hales, and caused pai'ticular aston-
ishment by the extraordinary variation of Die needle,
to wliieli nothincj similar had ever been witnessed.
Between tliese two sounds was an island which was
named Ilakluyt, after the venerable recorder of early
English discoveries.

Proceeding now along the south-western boundaiy
of this great sea, the next " fair sound " received the
name of Alderman Jones, a patron of the enterprise.
In hit. 74°, there appeared another broad opening
which was called Sii' James Lancaster's Sound ; but
while Baffin calls it great, he seems scarcely to have
noticed this future entrance into the Polar Sea; on
the contrary, he observes, at the very same moment,
tlmt the hope of a passage became every day less and
less. He sailed on ; but a barrier of ice prevented
him from approaching the shore till he came within
the *' indraft " of Cumberland's Isles, " Avhere hope oi
passage could be none."

Finding the health of his crew rather declining, he
sailed across to Greenland, where an abundance of
eciu'vy-grass boiled in beer quickly restored them ; and
" the Lord then sent a 8j)eedy and good i)assage
homeward."

On returning, Baffin expressed the most decided
conviction that the great sea which he had traversed
was a bay enclosed on all sides, and affording no
opening into any ocean to the westward; and his
judgment was received by the public, who named ifc
from liim Baffin's Bay. lie forcibl}', however, repre-
sented the great opportunities which it xifforded for
the whale-fisherj', as those huge jiuimals were seen
sleeping in vast numbers on the surface of tlie water,

ARCTIC AUROKA.

ibsage

tackled
-ersetl
ig no
id Lis
lued it
[repre-
jil for
seen
rater,

VIEW ON THK SPITZBRRCEN COAST.

If ■

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ill

i'':

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': ■ \

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i ii

i;^

rOTHEEBY^8 VOYAGE.

Ill

without fear of the ship " or of anything else."
Baffin was killed near Ormuz in 1C21, while engaged
in an expedition against the Portuguese.

In 1615, Fotherby who had just returned from a
voyage with Baffin, was sent out in the Richard, a
pinnace of only twenty tons. After many conflicts
with ice and fog, he reached Hakluyt's Headland
about the beginning of July. He soon began his career
of discovery ; but a strong southerly gale driving him
upon the ice, shattered his bark considerably, and
obliged him to return. As soon as his vessel was re-
fitted, he endeavored by a westerly course to find an
opening among the ice, which projected in various
points and capes, but was drifted by it far to the
soatlnvard, where he descried a snowy hill very high
amid the clouds; and the fog lying on each side made
it appear like a great continent.

It proved, liowever, to be only an island — probably
Jan Mayen ; and as the shores presented nothing but
drift-wood, and appeared as if fortified Avith castles
and bulwarks of rock, no shelter was afforded from a
heavy gale which began to blow. This induced him
to stand out asrain to sea. He renrained the northern
point of Spitzbergen, and began to })eat for a Polar
passage. The wind, however, blew so strong from
the north-north-east that he gave up the attempt, only
resolving, on his way home, to take a suiTey of Hud-
son's IIold-with-Hope. He came to the place Avhere
it ought to have been, but finding no land he insisted
that Hudson nmst have been mistaken in the position
assigned to it. Availing himself then of a brisk
northerly breeze, he sailed for England.

Fotherby, on being asked as to the prosj^ects of a
passage through these seas, replied that thf)ngh he had

M
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112

DANISH EXPEDrnON.

not attained in this respect his desire, nothing yet ap-
peared to exchide hope. There was a spacious sea
between Greenland and Spitzbergen, though much
incumbered with ice; and he would not dissuade
the " worshipful company " from a yearly adventure of
£200. The little pinnace, with ten men, in which he
had sailed two thousand leagues, appeared to him
more convenient for that purpose than any of larger
dimensions.

Denmark, which had always felt a natural interest
in northern navigation, subsequently made an attempt
to follow up the success of Hudson and Baffin. In 161 9,
Christian IV. sent out two well-appointed vessels
under Jens Munk, who had the reputation of a good
seaman. He succeeded in penetrating through Hud-
son's Straits into Hudson's Bay, where he took upon
himself to change the whole nomenclature of that re-
gion, imposing the names of Christian's Straits and
Christian's Sea, and calling the western coast New
Denmark. But this innovation, which was contrary
to every principle recognized in such cases, has not
been confirmed by posterity.

When September anived, and the ice began to
form, Munk established himself in winter quarters
at the entrance of Chesterfield Inlet. The season
seemed to open with the best promise, commodious
huts were constructed, and there were both abundance
and variety of game. The Danes saw some brilliant
aerial phenomena — at one time three suns in the sky,
and the moon environed by a transparent circle, Avith-
in which was a cross cutting through its centre : l)ut,
instead of amusing their minds with these beautiful
appearances, they were depressed by viewing them as
a mysterious presage of future evils. ' •

hunk's disastrous voyage.

113

Frost now set in with all its intensity ; their beer,
wine and other liquors were converted into ice ; the
scur\y began its ravages, and, ignorant of the mode
of treating it, they employed no remedy except a
large quantity of spirits, which has always been found
to aggravate that frightful disorder. Unfit for the
exertion necessary to secure the game with which the
country abounded, they soon had famine added to
their other distresses. Their miseries seem to have
been almost without a parallel, even in the dark an-
nals of northern navigation. Munk himself was left
four days in his hut without food, and on crawling
out, found that of the original crew of fifty-two, only
two survived.

The three men now determined to make an effort
to preserve life. Gathering strength from despair,
they dug into the snow, under which they found herbs
and grass, which being of an anti-scorbutic quality
soon produced a degree of amendment. Being then
able to fish and shoot, they gradually regained their
natural ^^gor. They equipped anew the smaller of
the two vessels, in which they reached home on the
25th of September, 1620, after a stormy and perilous
voyage.

Munk declared his readiness to sail again ; and
there are various reports as to the cause why he did
not. Some say, that having in a conference with the
king, been stung by some expressions wliich seemed
to impute the disasters of the voyage to his misman-
agement, he died of a broken heart. But Forster re-
lates, that during several successive years he was
em[)loyed by the king on the North Sea and in the
Elbe, and that he died in 1628, when engaged in a
naval expedition.

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114

TIIE FOX AND JAJIES EXPEDITION.

In 1631 an English Expedition of two ships com-
manded by Captains Fox and James, was sent to ex-
amine Iliidson's Bay. Fox explored the channels on
each side of Southampton Island ; that on the west-
ern side he named Roe's Welcome ; the other one he
called from his OA\'n name, Fox Channel.

Capt. James sailed to the southerly shores of Hud-
son's Bay, and as winter came on found a luii'bor in
■ what is noAV kno^vn as James's Bay. Snow soon fell to a
great deptli, the sails were frozen stiff, and the cables
from accunmlated ice became as thick as a man's l)ody.

Preparations were now made for a long residence
at this place ; wood was cut for fuel, and search was
made in every direction for traces of human beings,
but none were found. A house was erected on shore
in which a portion of the crew slept at night, armed
with muskets to defend themselves in case of attack.
The main-sail was used as a coverinsr for the house.
A well Avas dug, arid the men sjient much of their
time in trapi)ing and hunting foxes and other animals.

In October, six of the men set out A\ith dogs to hunt
deer Avhose tracks had been seen, and returtied next
day with only one small animal, having i)assed a mis-
eraljle niglit in the woods. Another party which
went out Avas entirely unsuccessful in their hunt, and
lost one of their number who was drowned when
crossing a frozen pond.

As the cold increased the ship was entirely covered
with snow and ice ; and it was so beaten about against
the ice by the winds and cun-ents that tliere was great
danger of its being destroyed. The captain now pro-
posed to bore holes in the ship and sink it in shallow
water, where it might safely remain till spring, when,
pei'haps, it could be again floated. This was a fear-

APrROAriiixo WINTER— James's bat.

TIIK ICK-UOIM) IIAKIIUIl.

A WINTBB OF SUFFEEINO

117

ful expedient ; but after all tlie provisions and articles
needed had been taken on shore, it was adopted ; al-
though the crew, generally never supposed that tlie ship
could be raised again.

They liad much confidence in their captain and
obeyed all his commands implicitl}'. " If," said he,
" we end our days here, we are as near heaven as in
England ; and we are much bound to God Almighty,
for ha^dng given us so large a time for repentance,
and having thus, as it were, daily called upon us to
prepare our souls for a better life in heaven. He
does not, in the meantime deny that we may use all
proper means to save and prolong our lives ; and in
my judgment, we are not so far jvist hope of return-
ing to our native country, but that I see a fair Avay
by which we may effect it.'

Under direction of the carpenter timber Avas cut, and
the building of a large boat was begun, in wliieh they
might escape if the ship was destroyed. All worked
hard upon it, and the carjienter became so ill and weak
that he could scarcely walk and subsequently died.
The shoes of tlie men -were all worn out, and they
suffered much from cold for many successive months.

During all this season of distress Captain James
and his crew never omitted regidar devotional ser
\dces. Th(y particularly solemnized Easter day, the
20th of April lGo2 ; and on that day while theyAvere
sitting round their fire, the captain proposed to attempt,
on the first opening of the warm weather, to clear the
ship of ice. This was considered by some of the crew
impossible ; because they believed her to be filled Avith
one solid mass of ice. The attempt, ho^vever, was re-
solved \ipon ; but their only imidements for the work
were two iron bars and J:our broken shovels.

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111

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118

FINAL ESCAPE.

'Ml

The time passed miserably on, till the niiddle of
May, when efforts were made to clear the decks of
snow. From this peiiod the vessel began to occupy
much of the attention of the captain and l:'s crew.
The great cabin was found to be free fiom ice
and water, and a fire was lighted to clear and
dry it. One of the anchors, which was supposed
to have been lost, was found under the ice and recov-
ered. Soon afterwards they came to a cask, and found
it full of good beer ; which was a cause of great re-
joicing.

They then dug through the ice on the outside of
the vessel, and plugged the holes made in scuttling it.
The weather grew warmer which thawed the ice in
the hold, the water was pumped out, and many barrels
of beer and salt beef were found in good condition.

Open water first appeared on the lOtli of June ;
four daj s after the ship was reloaded, and the sails
reset. A cross was then erected on land, and to the
top of it were tied pictures of the king and queen.
On the 2d day of July, after the captain and his crew
had all devoutly paid thanksgiving to the Almighty
for their providential deliverance, they weighed
anchor, and proceeded on their voyage, and reached
England in October.

The Hudson's Bay Company an association of mer-
chants was organized in 1670 under the jiatronage of
Prince Rupert, second cousin of Charles II. Its very
favorable charter conferred on them the right to the
exclusive trade of the region, and territorial jiosses-
sion of the vast domain. It imposed on the Com-
pany the duty of making strenuous exertions for the
discovery of a western passage ; but its officers paid
little attention to the subject till 1V19 when they fit-

A LOST EXPEDITION

119

'in'!

ted out an expedition under Kiiiglit and Barlow.
These officei*s never returned, and a vessel sent next
year under Captain Scroggs couUl learn no tidings
of them. Nor was it till nearly fil'ty }'ears afterward
that the "wrecks of their arniamont were found on
Marble Inland, where they had heen cast ashore.

In 1741, Captain Middleton ol)tained the conuaand
of two vessels, with which he exaiuined Wager Inlet,
and then sailed up Iloe's Welcome — a channel lying
V st of Southampton Island- -to its northern extremity.
TT-. ^ lie found a spacious opening, which gave him at
first great hopes of success ; but iluding it shut in by
land, he named it Repulse Bay. He then followed
the coast in an easterly direction till he came to a
channel, which, from the accumulation of ice at its
entrance, he called the Frozen Strait. lie returned
Lome, expressing a decided conviction that no practi-
cable passage existed in that direction.

Mr. Dobbs, the mover of the expedition, Avas deeply
di3apj)oiuted by this result ; and from his oavu ref^.ec-
tions, and the statement of several of the inferior offi-
eel's, became satisfied that Middleton had given a very
false and imperfect statement of the facts ; though such
was not the case. £10,000 Avas suT)i^cribed for a new
expedition, and a standing offer of a reward of £20,000
to the discoverers of a North-west passage was made
by the English government.

Captains Moor and Smith commanded this new
expedition, Avhich sailed in 1740; like many others
ecpiipped with peculiar pt)mp and circumstance, it
entirely failed. They merely ascertained, what was
pretty Avell known before, that the Wager Inlet
aiforded no passage ; and after spending a severe
winter there, returned to England.

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120

HERNE AITD PHIPPS.

111 1770, Samuel Heme, an officer of tlie Hudson's
Biiy Comi)any, descended to the mouth of the Cop-
permine River, and thus opened the way for subse-
quent explorers. His journal of the trip lay for many
years in a " pigeon-hole " at the head-quarters of the
company. AVhen the fortunes of war found the French
Admiral La Perouse the captor of Fort York, he
there found Heme's journal, read it, and was so pleased
with it that lie told the officer that if he would pledge
his honor that it should be published, he might have
back his fort and all that pertained to it. The offer
was accepted, the French retired, and thus it came
about that Heme's record was put in print.

In June, 1773, an expedition under Captain John
Phipjis (afterward known as Lord Mulgrave) consist-
ing of two bomb-vessels — the " Racehorse " and the
" Carcass " — sailed from England to search for the
North Pole, The Carcass was commanded by Lieut.
Lutwidge, under whom Horatio Nelson, afterward
the naval hero of Engluind, served as cockswain. The
route was up the Greenland Sea, and the highest lat-
itude reached was 80'' 48^, and the most easterly
point was near the Seven Islands to the north of Spitz-
bergeii in longitude 20^. To the nortii and north-
east was a solid pack ol* ice covered with snow.
Here the ships vr«^re l>ecaimed and frozen in amid a
beautiful and picturesque scene; but as tiie crew were
starting over the ice to attempt to reach the Dutch
whaling ships, the ice opened and t\w ships escaped
to the south and reacht-d England in September.

In 177(), Cajitain Cook sailed from England on his
last voyage, anil in 1778 passed u]) Bering's Strait,
expecting to ])ioceed along the coeist of America to
Baffin's Bay, ^\here a vessel was sent to meet him.

CAPTAIN COOK S VOYAGE.

121

But lie was unaMe to j>f netrate further than Icy Cape
on account of the ice, and after examining the coasts
on both sides of the strait, he went to the Sand\\ ich
Islands, where he was killed in an affray with the
natives.

In 1 789, Alexander Mackenzie reached the mouth
of the great river ■which bears his name, and looked
out on the Arctic Sea. In a second journey he crossed
the Rocky Mountains, and followed Frazer River to
its mouth at the Georgian Gulf, opposite Vancouver's
Island, where he arrived in July, 1792.

iiiii

CHAPTER VIII.
THE ARCTIC A\ HALE-FISHERY.

il;

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II' I

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The Arctic seas are tlie native regions of the true
whale, and he never leaves them. Man, ever search-
ing for ol)jects of use and profit, early discovered in
these huge creatures a variety of substances fitted
for the supply of important wants. No sooner,
therefore, had the course of discovery opened a way
into the seas of the north, than daring fishermen
ventured thither and commenced a branch of com-
merce which has proved of great importance to the
wo)-l(l, but which is more full of adventure and peril,
than any other occupation in which man engages for
a livelihood.

As early as the ninth century, whales were cap-
tured on the Norway coast; but they were then
valued chiefly for their flesh, which satisfied the
hunger and even gratified the tastes of primitive man
— wliale's tongues being counted among the luxuries
of tlie middle ages. In later years, when civilization
rejected the flesh of the whale as an article of food,
the oil was needed to supply the winter lamp, and
for other ])urposes; while the firm, flexible, elastic
bone was found to be peculiarly adapted for various
articles of dress, ornament, and common use.

The EnLflish were tlie first who pushed whaling

122

EARLY FISHING EXPEDITIONS.

123

operations into the high latitudes of the Arctic seas.
The discovery of Spitzbergen, by Barentz, Avas followed
by the voyage of Stephen Bennet, who re-discovered
Bear Island and named it Cherie Island. A series of
voyages for tlie capture of Avalrus ensued, in which
Bennet, Jonas Poole, and others took a ]>art ; but the
attention of these hardy walrus-hunters was soon
attracted to a game more worthy of their steel.

The voyages of Hudson led the way to a great and
flourishing whaling trade, in which many nations
competed for pre-eminence, and v, hich opened one of
the most interestiiij^ chapters in the history of En-
glish and Dutch commercial enterprise. Henceforth,
for more than two centuries, Ihat part of the frontier
of the unex})lored region which extends from Spitz-
bergen to Greenland, was annually frequented by
fleets of whalers.

Hudson, on returning from his Polar voj^age, re-
ported having seen large numbers of whales along
the coast of Spitzbergen; and in 1611, tlie Muscovy
Company sent out the " Mary Margaret " with CA-ery-
thing then considered requisite for catching whales.
Captain Edge, her commander, succeeded in taking
one small whale, which yielded twehe tons of oil —
the first, he believed, that was ever extracted in the
Greenland seas. Soon afterward the Maiy Margaret
was wrecked, and her crew in three boats were found at
Spitzbergen by Captain Poole, of the Elizabeth, a
craft of fifty tons. Poole caught so many walrus on
this trip, that their hides caused the destruction of
Jiis vessel, for they shifted in the hold and capsized
her. Poole and his crew escaj)ed, and were taken
home by Captain Marniaduke.
^ Notwithstanding the unfortunate termination of

lit

124

THE SPrrZBERGEN WHALING-GROUNDS.

111:

I 111

their first whaling venture, the Muscovy Company-
sent out two ships under Poole the next season to
folloAV up the undertaking. Meantime the Dutch,
intent on every form of commercial adventure, had
sent vessels to the Greenland seas for the same pur-
pose. These the Englishmen considered as inter-
lopers; and being the strongest party they com-
pelled their rivals to leave. Next year the same
company obtained a royal charter, prohibiting all
besides themselves to intermeddle in any shape with
this valuable branch of industry. To make good
this pri\'ilege, the company fitted out an expedition
of seven -well-armed ships, under command of William
Baffin, who, on reaching the seas round Spitzl)orgen,
found tliem filled with shij^s of different nations,
Dutch, Fre ich, and Spanish, All were compelled to
depait, or ;o fish under the condition of delivering
half of the proceeds to the English as the lords of the
northern seas.

This interference with the whaling vessels of other
nations, was denounced as a flagrant example of the
tyranny of the new mistress of the ocean ; and the
Dutch determined not to submit, but to repel force
by force. For this purpose, they sent out fleets so
numerous and so well-armed, that for some years thei'e
was but sliu'lit interference Avith their rii^-hts. At
length, in 1G18, a general encounter took place, which
resulted disastrously to the English, for one of their
sliips was taken and carried to Amsterdam, The
Dutch government, anxious for peace, rewarded the
captors but restored the vessel. This led to a com-
piomise, and at last to a division of the Spitzl)ei'gen
whaling-gronnds among the nations whose sliips had
been accustomed to resort there. There was plenty

ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN EDGE.

125

of room for all ; but business did not prove profitaT)le
to the English owners; the gains of their fishery-
were absorbed by losses ; and, eventually, for many
years, scarcely an English ship sailed northward.

But durino; the time that English mariners were in
the ascendant in the Spitzbergen waters, fi-om the
voyage of stout Henry Hudson in 1607 to about 1022,
they did excellent geographical work, Greenland
was the name applied in those days to the Spitzber-
gen Archipelago. In 1613 and 1014 they dis-
cov^ered Hope Island, and other islands to the south-
eastward of Spitzbergen. In 1610 Captain Edge, one of
the leading spii'its in the early whaling enterprises,
sent a pinnace to the eastward, to exjdore E<lge Island,
and other land on the east side, as far as 7fi° north.
This pinnace was a boat of twenty ton-, Avith a crew
of twelve men. She is portrayed on the curious old
chart of Spitzbergen in " Purchas's Pilgi-inies," pulling
up Stor Fiord. The pinnace's crew killed a thou-
sand sea-horses on Edge Island, and got 1,800 tons
(barrels?) of oil. In 1013, the Dutch followed the
example, and the Dutch and English seamen often
came to l)lows over the exclusive right of the fishery.
One of the English expeditions of this peritKl discov-
ered a large island to the eastward of Spitzljergen,
which was never visited again until three Norwegian
sealing vessels reached it in 187'i. This di^^covery is
thus recorded in Purchas: —

"In the yeare 1017 the Company set out for Green-
land fourteene sayle of ships, and their two pinnasses,
furnislu!(l with a sufficient number of men and all
other provisions fitting for the voyage, uudei' the com-
mand of Thomas Edge. . . . They emjdoyed a ship of
sixtie tunues, wila twenty men in her, who discovered

JHi

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ANCIENT MAP OF SPITZBERGEN-FIIOM "PUUCHA8 HIS PILGUIMS.'

OUTCn ENTERPRISE — A DESERTED VILLAGE. 127

to tlie eastward of Greenland, as far to the north-
wards as seventie-nine degrees, an iland which he
named "Wiches Iland, and divers other ilands as by
the map appeareth, and killed store of sea-horses
there, and then came into Bel Sound, where he found
his lading of oyle left by the captayne, which he
tooke in. This yeare the Hull men set a small ship
or two to the eastwards of Greenland, for the Hull
men still followed the steps of the Londoners, and in
a yeare or two called it their discoverie, which is false,
and untrue, as by oath in the Admiraltie doth ap-
peare. The Dutch likewise practice the same course."
The Dutch -whalefisheries, unlike those of the
English, became the source of great national wealth.
An immense capital was invested in the business, and
it was carried on with characteristic prudence, dili-
gence, and consequent success. A settlement was
founded at the Smeerenberg Bay at the north-west
corner of Spitzbergen, where the requisite apparatus
for extracting oil and bone was erected on an immense
scale. Durinsr the

summer,

Smeerenberg

was

crowded and populous village, and in this dreary
corner of the world were to be found many of the
luxuries of civilized life.

But a change came over Smeerenberg. Gradually
and at last almost entirely the whales, deserted its bay
and sought refuge in distant waters. Thither their pur-
suers followed them, and at last, finding the expense
and delay of conveying their prizes to Smeerenberg
too onerous, they contrived an arrangement by
which the whale, being fastened to the sides of the
ship, was cleared of its blubber and bone. Smeeren-
beig then lost every foundation on which its pros-
perity had rested. The furnaces, tanks and other
8

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128

A WINTER IN 8PITZBERGKN.

articles were caiTied away, and it is now difficult to
trace the spot on whicli stood that once flourishing
village, in whose bay there had sometimes been as
many as two hundred vessels.

In 1633, the Dutch planned another settlement fur-
ther to the north, and seven sailors volunteered for
this arduous undertaking. On the 30th of August
the fleet left them in North Bay, where they not only
undertook to live during the winter, but even to pro-
vide themselves with fresh provisions. They visited
all the surrounding shores, took three reindeer and a
number of sea-swallows, collecting also a great quan-
tity of a species of watercress. Their great ambition
was to catch a whale ; but, though tantalized by the
sight of many, all their attempts failed.

Severe cold began to be felt in October, and on the
15th, only a small portion of the sun's disk could be
seen above the horizon, and in a few days it entirely
disappeared ; there was still a faint twilight of eight
hours, which was soon reduced to five, and became
every day shorter and shoi'ter. In November, the
cold increased to the utmost pitch ; they could not
sleep in their beds, but were ol)liged either to crouch
over the fire, or run full speed through the hut, to
keep up the vital energ}'. At length they ranged all
their couches round the fire-place and a stove, yet still
found it necessary to lay themselves down between
the stove and the fire, holding their feet to the very
embers.

Night and winter continued in their utmost inten-
sity till the 22d of January, when they again enjoyed
a twilight of six hours ; at midday of the 2Gth, there
was no longer a star to be seen ; but it was on the
2 2d of February ere, from a mountain-top, they could

"fighting the tiger."

120

descry any portion of the sun's disk. Throughout
the whole period they had dreadful contests with the
Polar bear.

Thus these seven persons passed through this hard
winter without any severe attack of scurvy ; and on
the 27th of May they were overjoyed by the view of
a boat, which conveyed them to a neighboring bay,
where seven Dutch ships had assembled for the fishery.

The success of this experiment induced the Dutch
Company to repeat the attempt in the following year,
when seven other sailors, well furnished with victuals,
and apparently with every means of withstanding the
rigor of the climate, undertook to winter in Spitz-
bergen. They appear, however, to have been of a
less active disposition than their predecessors, and
failed in every attempt to procure fresh victuals.
The sun having quitted them on the 20tli of October,
they shut themselves up in their hut, out of which
they scarcely ever stirred. In a few weeks they were
attacked by scurvy under its most malignant form,
which, amid this recluse life, and in the absence of
fresh meat and vegetables, assumed continually a
more alarming type, till three died, whose bodies the
others with difficulty enclosed in coffins. The sur-
vivors killed a dog and a fox, which afforded some
relief, but not enough to arrest the progress of the
malady. The ))ear8 began to approach the hut, and
would have been a blessing, had the men retained
strength either to shoot the animals or to drag home
the carcass. The sun appeared on the 2-ith of Feb-
ruary ; but they could no longer derive aid from this
benignant luminary. The last entry in their journal
is in the following terms : —

" We are all four stretched on our beds, and are

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130

AN ARCTIC TRAGEDY.

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still alive, and would eat willingly, if any one of us
were able to rise and light a fire. We implore the
Almighty, with folded hands, to deliver us from this
life, which it is impossible to prolong without food or
any thing to warm our frozen limbs. None of us can
help the other, each must suppoii his own misery."

Early in spring the fishing vessels an-ived, and a
party hastened to the hut. They found it so fast
closed, that an entrance could only be effected by
opening the roof. They found it a tomb. Three of
the men were enclosed in the coflSns which had been
framed for them ; the other four lay dead, two in their
beds, and two on a piece of sail spread on the floor.
These last had perished in consequence of mere ina-
bility to make the effort necessary for lifting and
dressing the food.

About the same time the Dutch made an attempt
to establish a colony on Jan Mayen Island, but with
a result equally fatal. The journal of the unfortunate
seamen contains little except a register of the weather.

The next instance of wintering in Spitzbergen arose
from necessity and disaster. A Russian vessel which
Lad sailed from Archangel for the whale-fisheiy in
1743, being driven by the wind to the eastern coast
of Spitzbergen, found itself beset amid floating ice
Avithout hope of deliverance. One of the party recol-
lected that a hut had been erected on this coast by
some of his countrymen, under the apprehension of
being obliged to spend the winter there. He and
three others set out to discover the place. With
much difllculty they reached the shore, leaping from
fragment to fragment of moving ice ; then, spread-
ing themselves in different directions, they found the
cottage, which, though ruinous, afforded shelter for
the night.

ADVENTURES OP RUSSIAN WnALEMEN.

131

Early in the morning they liastened to the shore,
to convey to their comrades this happ}- intelligence.
But what must have been their horror, when they saw
only a vast open sea, without a vestigf of the sliip, or
even of the numerous icebergs which had been toss-
ing through the waves ! A violent gale h;id dispersed
them all, and apparently also sunk the vessel, which
was never heard of more.

These four unfortunate seamen, abandoned on this
dreadful shore, having the long winter to pass with-
out food, or arms and implements to procure any, did
not, however, give way to despair. They had a gun
with which they sL t twelve deer; then theii- ammu-
nition failed ; but some pieces of iron were found on
the shore, which they contrived to fashion into pikes.
At the moment when their stock of venison was
nearly exhausted, they found occasion to employ
these weapons against a Polar bear by w hich they
were assailed. The animal, being vanquished and
killed after a formidable struggle, supplied for the
present all their wants. His flesh was food, his skin
clothing, his entrails, duly prepared, furnished the
string which alone had been wanting to complete a
bow. With that instrument they were more than a
match for tlie reindeer and the Ai'ctic fox, with the
spoils of which they filled both their pantry and their
wardrobe ; and thenceforth they avoided, unless in
cases of necessity, the encounter of the bear. Being
destitute of cooking utensils, they were oldiged to
devour the food nearly raw — dried either by suspen-
sion in the smoke during tlie long winter, or by ex-
posure to the heat of the sun during the short
summer. Yet this regular supply of fresh meat)
and, above all, the constant exercise to which neces-

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132

SIX YEARS OF PERIL.

sity prompted, enabled them to preserve their health
entire during six yeai-s, in which they looked in vain
for deliverance. In this time they killed ten bears,
two hundred and fifty reindeer, and a multitude of
foxes.

At the end of the six years one of the men died, when
the three survivors sunk into despondence, giving up
all hopes of relief, and looking forward to the mo-
ment when the last of them would become the prey
of the bears. Suddenly, on the loth of August, 1 749,
they descried a vessel at sea. They lighted fires on
the heights, hoisted a flag formed of icindeer skins,
and were at length discovered by the ship, which
proved to belong to their native country.

The example thus involuntarily set by these Rus-
sian sailors has been followed, to a considerable
extent, by their countrymen, some of whom have
since regularly wintered in huts on the Spitsbergen
coast, and employed themselves in chasing the walrus
and seal along the shore, the deer and Arctic fox in
the interior. They are constantly engaged in hunt-
ing, unless when interrupted by tempest ; and, even
when the hut is blocked up -with snow, they find
their way out by the chimney.

Commodore Jansen, of tLe Dutch Navy, makes the
following interesting remarks on the Spitzbergen
fisheiy of his countrymen : — "When our whalers first
came to Spitzbergen, they met with the whales in
great quantities, enjoying all the luxury of this most
exquisite feeding-ground, the best perhaps in the
whole Arctic region. The whales were found sport-
ing in open water off shore, with their hu^e backs
above water, or taking their siesta in a cali.i bay,
surrounded by abundance of food. This was u most

THE WHALE 8 PARADISE.

133

glorious time for whales — the paradise of their history.
In spite of the yearly increase of whalers, and the
great number of whales that were killed on the same
spot, they always resorted to this favorite ground.

"During this first period, called the 'Shore Fish-
eiy,' we had an oil-boiling establishment at Smee^'en-
burg, on Amsterdam Island. Every year our whalers
went straight to this i'-land ; each vessel had six or
seven boats, and u large complement of men, who
were employed in killing whales, bringing them
ashore, and making oil as fast as possible. Thousands
and tliousands of whales were killed, and at last,
from about 1G40-50, they ceased for a time to come
at all to the west coast of Spitzbergen. As soon as
the scarcity of whales was felt, the directors of the
Dutch Whaling Company made great efforts to follow
them to their place of retreat. Several ships were
sent out on exploring expeditions, but they did not
find any islands besides those round Spitzl)ergen, nor
any whaling-ground as easy and profitable as Smeer-
enburg and its vicinity had been."

The year 1777 was one which exhibited, on a large
scale, all the vicissitudes of this occupation. Captain
Broerties, in the Guillamine, arrived that year on the
22d of Jup/^ at the great bank of northern ice, where
he found fifty vessels moored and busied in the fisheiy.
The day after, a tempest drove in the ice with such
v^iolence that twenty-seven of the ships were beset,
of which ten were, lost. The Guillamine with four
other ships, succeeded in reaching a narrow basin,
enclosed by icy barriers on every side.

On the 1st of August the ice began to gather thick,
and a violent storm driving it against the vessels,
placed them in great peril for a number of days. On

134

8mPWRT:0KS.

the 20th, a dreadful gale arose from the north-east, in
which the Guillamine suffered considerable damage.
In this awful tempest, out of the 5ive ships two went
down, a third sprung a leak, and tlieir crews were
taken on hoard of the two remain ino; harks.

On the 2oth these were completely frozen in, and it
was resolved to send a party of twelve men to seek
aid from four vessels which a few days before had
been driven into a station at a little distance ; but by
the time of their arrival, two of these had been dashed
to pieces, and the others were in the most deplorable
condition.

Mejintime the Guillamine and her companions
drifted in sight of Gale Hamkes' Land, in Greenland,
and tlie tempest still pushing them gradually to the
southward, Iceland at length appeared on their left.
The crews were beginning to hope that they might
reach a harbor, when, on the 13th of September, a
whole mountain of ice fell upon thu Guillamine.
The men, half naked, leaped out upon the frozen sur-
face, saving Avith difficulty a small portion of their
provisions. The broken remnants of the vessel wee
soon buried under enormous piles of ice. By leaping
from one fragment of ice to another, the men contrived
to reach the other vessel, which, though in extreme
distress, received them on board. Shattered and
overcrowded, she was obliged immediately after to
accommodate fifty other seamen, the crew of another
vessel which had just gone down, the chief har-
pooner and twelve of the mariners having perished.
These numerous companies, squeezed into one crazy
bark, suffered every kind of distress, and famine, in
its most direful forms, began to stare them in the
face.

MEMORIALS OF THE HOLLANDERS.

135

All remoter fears, however, gave way, when in
October, the vessel went to pieces ic . Je same sud-
den manner as the others, leaving to the unfortunate
sailors scarcely time enough to leap upon the ice
with their remaining stores. With great difficulty
they reached a field of some extent, and contrived
with their torn sails to rear a sort of covering ; but,
sensible that, by remaining on this desolate spot, they
must certainly perish, they saw no safety excej)t in
scrambling over the frozen surface to the coast of
Greenland, which was in view. AVitli infinite toil
they effected their object, and happily met some
inhabitants who received them hospitably, and
regaled tliem Avith dried fish and seals' flesh. Thence
they pushed across that dreary region, treated some-
times Avell, sometimes churlishly ; but by one means
or other they succeeded at length, on the IBth of
March, in reaching the Danish settlement of Frede-
rikshaab, where they were received with the utmost
kindness.

The whaling trade of the Hollanders gradiLally came
to an end in the last half of the last century. Many
names roun<l the Spitzbergen shores, and large num-
bers of graves, remain as memorials of theii- furmar
hardihood.

1 Sr.

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I. n

M y

CHAPTER IX„

THE ARCTIC WHALE-FISHERY.

(continued.)

In 1719 the Dutch opened a w'liule-fishery in
Davis' Strait, wliich proved very remunerative and
comparatively sate; for, in a period of sixty years,
out of over three thousand ships fishing there, only
sixty-two were wrecked. English whalers soon
began to frequent the same fishery ; hut in spite of
old William Baffin's judicial advice, no vessel ev^r
followed in his track until 1817, and the whales were
permitted to remain for two centuries in tranquil
enjoyment of the North Water of Baffin's Bay.
Baffin h.'id gallantly led the way thither and no man
had dared to follow him. At last two English w^halers
successfully passed the middle pack, and found
whales so plenty that from that day to (his, very few
years have passed during which whalers have not
forced that bari'ier.

Melville Bay used to be a place of dread and anxi-
ety for the whaling fleet; for when a southerly wind
brought tlie drifting pack in violent and irresistil)le
contact Avith the land-floe, the ships, slowly cree})ing
ah)ng its edge, were frequently crushed like so many
walnuts. In lbl9, as many as fourteen shij^s were

13G

WHALING DISASTERS IN MELVILLE BAY.

137

smashed to pieces in this way; in 1821, eleven; and
in 1822, seven.

The year 1830 was the great season of disaster for
the whalers, for nineteen ships were entirely destroyed,
occasioning immense loss. On the 19th of June, a
fresh gale from the south-west drove masses of ice
into Melville Bay, and nipped the whole fleet against
the land-floe, about forty miles to the southward of
Gape York. In the evening the gale increased, and
the floes began to overlap each other. A huge floe
then came down upon the devoted ships, and a scene
of indescribable horror ensued. In a quarter of an
hour several fine ships were converted into shattered
fragments ; the ice, with a loud grinding noise, tore
open their sides, masts were seen falling in all direc-
tions, great ships were squeezed flat and thrown
broadside on to the ice, and one whaler, the " Rattler,"
was literally turned inside out. The shipwrecked
sailors only just had time to jump on the ice, and
take refuge on board their more fortunate consorts —
for even in 1830 several ships escaped by digging
deep docks in the land ice. It must be under-
stood that there is little danger of loss of life in
Melville Bay, for even if a solitary whaler is de-
stroyed, when no other is in sight, the retreat in
boats to the Danish settlements is generally prac-
ticable and easy. When the fearful catastrophe
occurred in 1830, there were a thousand men en-
camped on the ice, the clusters of tents were a scene
of joyous dancing and frolic, for Jack mia got a
holi(hiy, and the season was long remembered as
"Bafiin'sFair."

Tlie NV'hale-fishery has been carried on from the
United States with greater vig<jr and success than

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188

YANKEE WHALEMEN.

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from any other country, and from an early period.
In the middle of the eighteenth century, the business
was a very lucrative one; and several flourishing
towns were built up thereby. At the commencement
of the Revolutionary War, Massachusetts alone had
nearly two hundred vessels engaged in the northern
seas, l)e8ides many in the southern. The great Eng-
lish Statesman, Burke, in 1774 paid the following
tribute to Yankee enterprise : —

" Look at the manner in which the New England
people carry on the whale-fishery. While we follow
them among the tumbling mountains of ice and
behold them penetrating into the deepest frozen
recesses of Hudson's Bay and Davis Strait ; Avhile we
are looking for them beneath the Arctic circle, we
hear that they have pierced into the opposite region
of polar cold ; that they are at the antipodes, and
engaged under the frozen serpent of the South. Falk-
land Island, which seenu i too remote and too roman-
tic an object for the grasp of national ambition, is
but a stage and resting-place for their victorious
industry. Nor is the equinoctial heat more discc.ur-
aging to them than the accumulated winter of bof,h
the Poles. We learn that while some of them draw
the line or strike the harpoon on the coast of Africa,
others run the longitude and pursue their gigantic
game along the coast of Brazil,"

The war put a temporary stop to the whaling bus-
iness of the United States, but it was renewed with
energy as soon as peace was declared, and again
broken up by the war of 1812. Its recovery was,
however, rapid. In 1844, the American ^hnling
fleet comprised six hundred and fifty vessels, manned
by over seventeen thousand men. while the English

THE DUNDEE WHALING STEAMEKS.

139

fleet at the same date numbered only eighty-five ves-
sels. In 1849, the American whaling fleet was nearly
as large as in 1844. The Northern Pacific, extend-
ing from the coast of America to Kamchatka, was at
that time the great harvest field of American whalers,
and Bering Strait, and the Arctic Ocean to which it
leads have since been visited by intrepid Americaa
whalemen.

Owing to the scarcity of whales, the use of gas,
and the discovery of petroleum, the whaling business
of the United States has dwindled down to very
small proportions compared with what it once was.
Dangers, disasters, and sufferings are, however, still
incident to the profession. In 1871, the North-^vest
whaling fleet was shut in by the ice, and many of
the ships had to be abandoned. Quite recently three
New Bedford whalers have been lost in Hudson's
Bay, and another which has just returned A\'as impris-
oned thirteen months amid the desolations of Repulse
Bay.

Although never wholly abandoned, the whaling
trade of Great Britain fluctuated for many years ;
until it was found that an Indian fibre, when manip-
ulated with whale oil, could be manufactured into a
great variety of useful fabrics.. The extension t»f the
manufacture of jute in Dundee, Scotland, CiUised the
revival of the whale-fishery in Bafiin's Bay. A mil-
lion bales of jute are now annually imported into
Dundee, ecjual to one hundred and forty-three thou-
sano tons ; and the bulk of the whale oil is required
by the jute manufacturers of Dundee and the neigh-
l)orhood. Tims the port of Dundee has now become
the centre of the English whale-fishing trade ; and car-
goes of oil fi om the Arctic regions may bo seen dis-

I k

i\ M

140

RESCUE Oil" THE POLARIS CREW.

charging alongside of cargoes of jute from Calcutta,
both being essential to the prosperity of the port. Of
late years steam has made a great change in naviga-
tion, and the steam whalers are not exposed to the
same risks and detentions as fall to the lot of sailing
shij^s. The first steam whaler sailed from Dundee in
1858, and now a whaling fleet of ten steamers leaves
every spring for Baffin's Bay and returns in the fall.
Each carries eight whale boats, manned by nearly
the whole crew of sixty men ; for few remain on the
ship Avhen the cry of " There she spouts ! " is heard.
It was a steamer of this line, the Ravenscraig,
which rescued the crew of the wrecked Polaris, and
the party were carried to Dundee in two others, the
Intrepid and the Arctic. The latter steamer had, dur-
ing her trip, penetrated into the Gulf of Boothia.

a t (

V'l

CHAPTER X.

CRUISE OF THE ISABELLA AND ALEX-
ANDER.

(jOim BOSS — PARRY.)

The Northern seas, as a theatre of adventure,. had
been unoccupied for haK a century, and the grand
question in which England had taken so deep an in-
terest was still open. For several years preceding
1818, vast masses of ice had floated down from the
regions of Baffin's Bay, and an unusual opportunity
of discovering a North-west passage to the Pacific
Ocean, seemed to present itself.

In that year the English government fitted out two
expeditions ; oue to search for the North-west passage,
the other to attempt a voyage across tlie Pole. The
first consisted of the Isabella of 385 tons, commanded
by Captain John Ross, an officer of reputation and
experience, who had twice wintei'ed in the Baltic, had
been em[)loyed in surveying tlie AVhite Sea, and been
as far north as Bear Island ; and the Alexander of
252 tons, oommanded by Lieutenant AVm. E. Parry,
afterwards famous as an Arctic explorer.

On the 18th of April the vessels left tlu^ Thames,
and on the 27th of May came in view of Cape Fare-
well, round which as usual were floating numerous
and lofty icebergs of the most varied fonns and tints.

141

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142

A DANISU BEAUTY.

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On tlie 14tli of June tliey readied tlie Whale Islands,
where they were informed by the governor of the
Danish settlement, that the past winter had been un-
commonly severe — the neighboring bays and straits
having been all frozen two months earlier than usual —
and that some of the channels northward of his station
were still bound in with ice.

On the 17th of June, an impenetrable barrier of ice
stopping their course, they fastened to an iceberg hav-
ing foity-five whale-ships in comj)any. At length the
ice attached to the eastern shore broke up, though
still forming a continuous rampart at some distance
to the westward, but in the intermediate space they
were enabled to move forward slowly along the coast,
laboring through narrow and intricate channels amid
mountains and loose fragments of ice near the Danish
settlement. Their detention had not lacked amuse-
ment ; the half-caste sons and daughters of Danes and
Esquimaux danced Scotch reels with the sailors on
the deck of the Isabella ; Jack Saccheous, a native of
Greenland, Avho accompanied the expedition as inter-
preter, was master of ceremonies.

A daughter of the Danish resident, about eighteen
years of age, and by far the best looking of the
grouji, was the object of Jack's particular attentions ;
which being observed by one of the officers, he gave
him a lady's sha\vl, ornamented vnth spangles, as
an offering for her acceptance. He presented it to
the damsel, who bashfully took a pewter ring from
her finger and presented it to him in return.

Proceeding along a high mountainous coast, the
expedition came to a tribe of Esquimaux who seem-
ed to exist in a state of the deepest seclusion. They
had never before seen men belonging to the civilized

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A SECLUDED RACE.

145

world, or of a race different from tlu'lr own. Tlie
first small ])arty whom the nuvigatorn a2)pi'()aelied
showed every sign of the deepest ahu-m ; dieading,
as was afterward understood, a fatal inihience from
the mere touch of these beings of an unknown spe-
cies. Yet they seem to have felt a secret attraction
towards the strangers, and advanced, holding fast the
long knives lodged in theii* boots, and looking signifi'
cantly at each other.

Having come to a chasm which separated them
from the English, they made earnest signs that only
the interpreter, who bore a resemblance to themselves,
should come across. He went forward and offered
his hand. They shrunk back for some time in alarm ;
at length the boldest touched it, and finding it flesh
and blood set up a loud shout, which tlu'ee others
joined. The rest of the party then came up, to the
nund)er of eight, with fifty dogs which helped their
masters in raising a tremendous clamor.

Ross a)id Parry now thought it tim6 to come for-
Avard. This movement excited alarm and a tendency
to retreat ; but Saccheous having taught these officers
to pull their noses, this sign of amity was gi'aciously
accepted. A mirror was now held up to them, and on
seeing their faces in it they showed the greatest aston-
ishment ; they looked around on each other a few
moments in sileix^'e, thon set up a general shout, suc-
ceeded by a loud laugh of delight and surprise.

The ship was the next object of their si)eculation.
They began by endeavoring to ascertain its nature
l)y interrogating it, for they conceived it to be a huge
bird, spreading its vast wings and endowed with
reason. One of them, pulling his nose with the ut-
most solemnity, bejjan an address :

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WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

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146

ESQUIMAUX IDEAS OF A SHIP.

" Who are you ? Whence come you ? Is it fi-om
the sun or the moon ?"

The ship remaining silent, they at length applied
to Saccheous, who assured them that it wjis a frame of
timber, the work of liuman art. To them, however,
who had never seen any wood but slight twigs and
stunted heath, its immense planks and masts Avere ob-
jects of amazement. What animal, they also asked,
could furnish those enormous skiiis which wei*e 8i)read
for the sails.

Their admiration was soon followed by a desire to
possess some of the objects which met their eyes, but
with little discrimination as to the means of effecting
their end. They attempted firet a spai-e topmast, then
an anchor; and these ju-oving too ponderous, one of
them ti-ied the smith's anvil ; but finding it fixed, made
off with the large hammer. Another wonder for
them was to see the sailors mounting to the toj)ma8t •
nor was it without much hesitation tliat th\ y ventured
their own feet in the shrouds. A little teirier dog
appeared to them a contemptible object, wholly unfit
for drawing bunlens or being yoked in a sledge, while
the gi'unt of a hog filled them with alarm.

These Esquimaux had a king who ruled neemiu'fly
with gentle sway ; for they described him as strong,
very goml and very much beloved. The discovered
did not visit the court of this Arctic potentate ; but they
understood that he drew a tribute, consisting of train-
oil, sealskins, and the bone of the unicorn. Like
other Greenlanders, they had sledges drawn by large
and powerful teams of dogs. They rejec^ted with hor-
ror biscuit, sweetmeats and spirits; train-oil, as it
streamed from the seal and the unicorn, alone grati-
fied their palate. Captain Ross, swayed by national

pplied

OAPK I8AUF.LLA

•■AI'K ALKXAMlIK

TH£ ARCTIC HIOHLAin>SBS.

149

impressions, gave to this tribe the name of Arctic
Highlanders. In the northern part of this coast the
navigators observed a remarkable phenomenon, — a
range of cliffs, the snowy covering of which had ex-
changed its native white for a tint of dark crimson.
The latest ob? jrvations have established its vegetable

oriorm.

Having now passed Cape Dudley Digges, Captain
Ross found himself among those spacious sounds
which Baffin had named but so imperfectly described.
He seems, however, to have followed the same hasty
method. He sailed past Wolstenholme and Whale
Sounds without even approaching their entrance,
concluding them to be blocked up with ice, and to af-
ford no hope of a passage. Eoss next came to Smith's
Sound, which Baffin had described as the most spa-
cious and pi-oraising of the whole circuit of these coasts.
It was viewed with greater attention ; but believed to
be completely enclosed by land. The two capes at
its entrance were named after the ships Isabella and
Alexander. He then came to a spacious bay, which
had hitherto been unknown and unobserved, and
afterward to that which Baffin had called Jones's
S(mnd ; but in respect to both was led to a prompt
and unfavorable conclusion.

On the 30th of August, the expedition came to a
most magnificent inlet, bordered by lofty mountains
of peculiar grandeur, while the water being clear and
free from ice, presented so tempting an appearance
that it was impossible to refrain from entering. This
channel, which soon proved to be the Lancaster
Sound of Baffin, was ascended for thirty miles ; during
which run, officers and men crowded the topmast
filled with enthusiastic hope, and judging that it af-

■ i

160

SIGNAL OF EETUBN.

forded mucli fairer hopes of success than any of those
so hastily passed. Captain Ross however, and those
whom he consulted, never showed any sanguine ex-
pectations. He soon thought that he discovered a
high ridge stretching directly across the inlet ; and
though a gi'eat part of it was deeply involved in mist,
yet a passage in this direction was jiidged to be hoj)e-
less. The sea being open, the ship proceeded ; but an
officer came down from the crow's nest, stating that
he had seen the land stretching veiy nearly across the
entire bay. Hereupon it is said, all hopes were re-
nounced even by the most sanguine, and Captain Ross
sailed onward merely for the purj)ose of making some
magnetical observations.

At three o'clock, the sky having cleared, the com
mander himself went on deck, when he states that h".
distinctly saw across the bottom of the bay a chain of
mountains continuous and connected with those which
foi-med its opposite shores. The weather then becom-
ing unsettled, he made the signal to steer the vessels
out of Lancaster Sound. Lieutenant Parry, however,
declares that to him, in the Isabella, this signal a\>
peared altogether mysterious, beincr himself full of the
most sanguine expectations, and seeing no ground
for this abrupt retreat ; but his duty t)bliged him to

follow. • '}|k

On regaining the entrance of this great channel.
Captain Ross continued to steer south\vard along the
western shore of Baffin's Bay and Davis's Strait, with-
out seeing any entrance which afforded equal promise,
and returned home early in October. >*-

Ross arrived in England imder decided conviction
that Baffin's observations had been perfectly correct,
and that Lancaster Sound was a bay. „j

tint inw. ij.«Tjut'

■i'X

•ijn;

CHAPTER XI.
CRUISE OF THE IIECLA AND GRIPER.

(parry and liddon.)

It being detemiined that a new expedition should
he fitted out and intnisted to Lieutenant Parry, that
lie might fulfill, if possible, his own sanguine hopes
and those of his employers, he Avas furnished Avith
the IIe(!la of 'i75 tons, and a crew of fifty-eight men;
and Avith the Griper gun-brig of 180 tons and thirty-
six men, conunanded by Lieutenant Liddon. These
ships Avere made as strong and lus Avell-fitted as possi-
ble for the navigation of the Arctic seas ; and Avere
storeil Avith ample pro\isions for two yeai-s, a copious
supply of antiscoibutics, and eA'ery thing Avhich could
enable the creAvs to endure the extreme rigoi-s of a
I\)lar Avinter.

Lieutenant Parry, destined to outstrip all his prede-
cessora in the career of Arctic discoAery, left the Nore
on the nth of May, 1S19, and on the ISth of June
came in vieAV of the lofty cliffs of Cai)e FareAvell. On
the 1 Sth tlie ships fii"st fell in with icebergs, and made
an effort to j)us]i through the icy masses in the direc-
tion of Lancaster Sound ; but these suddenly closed
upon him, and on the 25th the two ships Avere imnioAe-
ably beset ; Ijut on the second day the ice was loosened
and driven against them Avith much A'iolence.

151

i;
•I ■

I I

152

ENTERING LANCASTER SOUND.

Resigning the idea of reaching Lancaster Sound by
the most direct route, the explorere coasted northward
along the border of this great icy field in search of
open water, and proceeded, till they reached lati-
tude 75''. As ever}' step was now likely to cany
them farther from their destination, Pany determined
upon a desperate push to the westwaid ; and ])y
sawing and warping, finally penetrated the icy barrier
and saw the western shore clear of ice extending be-
fore them.

The navigators now bore directly down upon Lan-
caster Sound, and on the 80th of July ft)und them-
selves at its entrance. Tliey felt an extraordinary
emotion as they recognized this magnificent channel,
with the lofty cliffs by whicii it was guarded, aware
that a very short time would decide the fate of their
grand undertaking. They were tantalized, however,
by a iiesh breeze coming directly down the sound,
which suffered them to make only veiy slow progress.
There was no appenrance, of any obstructions either
from ice or land, and even the heavy swell which
came down the inlet, driving the water repeatedly in
at the stem-windows, was hailed as an indication of
open sea to the westwai-d.

On the i3d of August an easterly breeze sprung up,
carrying both vessels rapidly forward. A croA\d of
sail was set, and they pushed triumphantly to the
westward. Their minds were filled with anxious hope
and suspense. The mast-heads were crowded w ith
officers and men, and the successive reports brought
down from the topmast pinnacle were eagerly listened
to. They passed various headlands with several wide
openings towards the north and south, but tliese it
was not their present object to explore. The wind,

HOPES AND DISAPPOIKTMENTg.

163

freshening more and more canied tliem liappily for-
ward, till at niidniglit tliey found tliemselvi's a liun*
dred and fifty miles from the mouth of th« grand in-
let, Avhieh still retained a breadth of fifty miles. The
success of the expedition they hoi)ed yvaa now to a
great extent decided.

The ships pnweeded on and found two other inlets,
then a bold cai)e named Fellfoot, forming ai)parently
the termination of this long line of coast. The length-
ened swell which still rolled in from the north and
west, with the oceiinic color of the AvatiTs, ins])ired
.^'e lioj)e that they had already passed the region of
straits and inlets, and were now Avafted along the
wide ex2)anse of the Polar basin. Nothing, it waa
supposed, would now obstruct their progress to
Icy Cape, the western boundary of America. An
alarm of land was given, but it proved to be only
from an island of no great extent ; more land waa
soon discovere<l beyond Cape Fellfoot, which waa
a8certaine<l to be the headland to a noble l)ay extend-
ing on their right, which they named JVIaxwell Bay.

An uninterrupted range of sea still sti'etched out
before them, though they saw on the south a line of
continuous ice. Some distance onward they discover-
ed, with deep dismay, that this ice was joined to impene-
trable floes, which completely crossed the channel
and joined the western point of Maxwell Bay. A vio-
lent surf wjis beating along the edges, and they drew
back to avoid entanglen)'jht in the ice

The officers began to amuse themselves ^vith fruit-
less attemj)ts to catch white whales, Avhen the weather
cleared, and they saw to the south an open sea with a
dark water-sky. Parry, hoping that it might lead
to a free passage in a lower latitude, steered toward

154

DREARY 8H0RIIS.

;

it, and fotmd himself at tlie moutli of a great
inlet, ten leagues broad, with no visible termination ;
to the two capes at its entrance he gave the names
of Clarence and Seppings.

Finding the western shore of this inlet deeply en-
cumbered with ice, they moved across to the eastern
where was a broad and open channel. The coast
was the most dreary and desolate they had ever be-
held even in the Arctic world, j)resenting scarcely a
semblance either of animal or vegetable life. Navi-
gation was rendered more arduous from the iiregular-
ity of the compass.

After sailing a hundred and twenty miles up this
inlet, the increasing width of which inspired them
%vith corresponding hopes, with extreme constenuition
they suddenly perceived the ice to diverge from its
parallel coui-se, close in and run to a point of land which
appeared to fonu the southern extiemity of the
eastern shore. The western honzon also appeai'ed
covered with lieavy and extensive floes, a bright and
dazzling ice-blink extending from shore to shore.
Pariy now detennined to return to the old station,
and watch the opjjortunity when the relenting ice
would allow the ships to j)roceed Avestward.

On the 18th, after getting once more close to the
northern shore the navigators began to make a little
progress, ^vhct» some showers of rain, accompanied with
hea-\y Avind, produced such an effect that on the 21st
the whole ice had disappeared; they could scarcely
believe it to be the same sea which had just ])efoi'e
been covered with floes as far as the eye could reach.

Pariy now crowded all sail to the Avestward and
passed Beechy Island ; after which he reached a fine
and broad inlet leading to the north, which he named

TiiK iU!;\VAiU> i:aunkd.

155

Wellington. The sea up tliis inlet being jKu-fectly
open he would have aseendetl it, luul there not been
before hiiii an (»])en channel leading due west.

A favorable breeze now Hpnnig up, and tlie adven-
turers passed gayly and triumphantly along the shores
of Cornwallis Island and tw<j suialler ones. Thonav-
i'jfatlou then became extremely difficult in conse(pieuce
of thick fogs, ■which not on.y froze on tlie slirouda
but, as the compass was useless, took away all means
of knowing the direction in which they sailed. Tliey
were obliged to trust to the land and ice preserving
the same line, and sometimes em])l<>yed the most odd
expedients for ascertaining the ])recise point.

Pushing westward thn)ugh many obstacles they at
length reached the coast of an island larger than any
before discovered, to which they gave the name of
Melville. Tlic wind now failed, and they slowly
moved forward by towing and warping, till, on the
4th of September, Parry announced to his joyful crew,
that, having reached the longitude of 110'' W., they
had become entitled to the reward of iJnOOO prom-
ised by Parliament to the first crew who should attain
that meri<lian.

The mariners pushed forward Avith redoubled ardor,
but soon found their course arrested by an impene-
trable icy ban'ier. They waited nearly a fortnight in
hopes of overcoming it, when the young ice began
rapidly to form on the surface of the waters, and
Parry was c(mvinced that in the event of a single
hour's calm he would be frozen up in the midst of
the sea. No option was therefore left but to return
to a harbor which had been passed on Melville Island.
It Avas reached t)n the 24th, but tljey were obliged to
cut Uvo miles through a large fltie with which it was

; I >

150

Tin: NORTH oEonaiAX tiikatue.

filled. Oa the 2()th, tlie ships were anchored at about
u luhle's length from the l)each, and soon frozen in.

The commander, finding liimnelf and Inn sliipH .shut
in forah>ng an<l dreary winter, devoted \m attention,
Avith judicious activity and a nnxture of lirmnesH and
kindness, to mitiirate those evils which even in lower
latitudes Lad often rendered an Arctic winleriiig so
fatal. It was necessary to he very economical of fuel,
the snndl (quantity of moss and tiii'f which coulu be
collected being too wet to be of any \ise.

Parry's plans for keei)ingthe men's minds in a live-
ly and cheerful state Avere original, and proved eifect-
ive. Arrangements were made for the occasional per-
formance of a l)la}', in a region very remote certainly
fnmi any to wlilrh the drama appeared congenial.
Beechy was nominated stage-nnmager, an<l the ofliceis
came forward as amateur performers. The veiy ex-
pectation thus laised among the seamen, and the bus-
tle of preparing a room for the jmrpose, were extreme-
ly salutary; and when the North Georgian theatre
Oldened with " Miss in her Teens," the hardy tars were
convulsed with lauijhter.

The officers had another source of amusement in
the North Ge<»rgia Gjizette, of which Captain Sabine
became editor, and all Avere invited to conti'ibute to
this chronicle of the frozen regions. Even those Avho
hesitated to api)ear as Avriters, enlivened the circle by
Severe but gooddnunored criticisms.

" Thus passed the time
Till, tlirough tho lucid chambers of the South,
Looked out tho joyous Sun."

It was on the 4th of November that this great orb
ought to have taken his leave ; but a deep haze pre-

I-'2

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'' Hi'' !

THACK >' Tilt: IIKCXA AMI UUIl-UU

U'- I

1 y

'! tl

rXURY S dill's IN WIXTKK (JfAKTKRS.

•\V1XTEK AMUSEMENTS.

159

vented tliem from bidding a formal farewell Amid
vai'ious occupations and amuaements the shortest day
came on almost unexjiected, and the seamen then
watched with pleasure the midday twilight gradually
strengthening. On the 3d of February the siui was
again seen from the maintop of the Ilecla. Tlirough
the greatest depth of the Polar niglit, the officei's, dur-
ing the brief twilight, had taken a regular walk of
t^^■o or three houi*s, although never longer than
a mile lest they should be overtaken by snow-drift.
There Avas a want of objects to divei-sify this walk.
A dreary monotonous surface of dazzling white cover-
ed land and sea: the view oi the ships, the smoke as-
cending from them, and the sound of human voices,
which through the calm and cold air was carried to
an extraordinary distance, alone gave any animation to
this wintry scene.

The officers, however, pei"severed in their daily
walk, and exercise was also enforced upon the men,
who, even when prevented by the weather from leav-
ing the vessel, were made to run round the deck,
keeping time to the tune of an organ. This move-
ment they did not at first entirely relish ; but no ])iea
against it being admitted, they converted it at last
into matter of frolic. By these means health was
maintained on board the ships to a hurprising degree,
although several of the crew had symptoms of
scurvy as early as January.

Further on in the season other cases of scurvy oc-
curred, Avhich were aggravated by an accident. As
the men were taking their musical peraml)ulation
round the deck, a house erected on shore and contain-
ing a number of the most valuable instruments was
seen to be on fire. The crew instantly ran, pulled off

160

FIRE! FIRE!

tlie roof with ropes, knocked down a part of the sides,
and being thus enabled to throw in large quantities
of snow succeeded in subduing the flames. But their
faces now presented a curious spectacle ; every nose
and cheek was white with frost-bites, and had to be
rubbed with snow to restore circulation. No less
than sixteen were added to the sick-list in conse-
quence of this fire.

The animal tribes disappeared early in the winter
from this frozen region, and there remained only a
pack of wolves, which serenaded the ship nightly, not
venturing to attack, but contriving to avoid being
captured. A beautiful white fox was caught and
made a pet of.

On the 16th of March the North Georgian theatre
was closed with an appropriate address, and the gene-
ral attention was now turned to the means of extrica-
tion from the ice. By the 17th of May the seamen
had so far cut the ice from around the ships as to
allow them to float ; but in the sea it was still immova-
ble. This interval of inaction was employed by Cap-
tain Parry in an excursion across Melville Island. The
ground was still mostly covered with softened snow,
and even the cleared tracts were extremely desolate,
though checkered by intervals of fine verdure. Deer
were seen traversing the plains in considerable num-
bers. To the north appeared another island to which
was given the name of Sabine. '

By the middle of June pools were every where
formed ; the dissolved water flowed in streams and
even in torrents, which rendered hunting and travel-
ing unsafe. There were also channels of water in
which boats could pass ; yet throughout June and
July the great covering of ice in the surrounding sea

A BREAK-UP.

161

remaitiecl entire, and kept the ships in harbor. On
the 2d of August, however, the whole mass broke up
and floated out; and the explorers had now open
water in which to prosecute their discovery.

On the 4th of August they reached the same spot
where their progress had been fonnerly arrested. On
the loth they were enabled to make a certtiin pro-
gress; after which the frozen surface of the ocean
assumed a more compact and impenetrable aspect
than had ever before been witnessed The officers
ascended some of the lofty heights w^ich bordered
the coast; but in a long reach of sea to the Avestward
no boundary was seen to these icy barriers. There
appeared only the western extremity of IMelville
Island, named Cape Dnndas ; and in the distance a
bold high coast, which they named Banks Land.

As even a brisk easterly gale did not produce the
slightest movement in this frozen surface, they were
led to believe that on the other side there must be a
large barrier of land, by which it was held in a fixed
state. On considering all circumstances, there ap-
peared no alternative but to make their Avay home-
ward while yet the seas >n permitted.

Lancaster Sound was left behind on the 1st of
September. Passing down the west shore of Raftin's
Bay, they stopped at Clyde's River, where they re-
cei\e<l visits from a tribe of Esquimaux, whose appear-
ance and conduct pleased them all very much — lively,
good-natured, and cheerful, with a great inclination
to jump about when nnich pleased, "rendering it,"
says Parry, " a penalty of no trifling nature for thera
to sit still for half an hour together." They were
decently clothed, male and fenuile, and their children
equally so, in well dressed and neatly-sewn seal skins.

! t

162

A RUCCESfiFUL EXI'EDITION.

Parry's arrivtil in Britian was hailed with the high-
est exultation. To have sailed upwai-ds of thirty
degrees of longitude beyond the point reached by any
former navigator, — to have discovered so man}' new
laud», islands, and bays, — to have established the
much-contested existence of a Polar sea north of
Ameiica, — finally, after a wintering of eleven months,
to have brought back all his crew except one man in
a sound condition, — were enough to raise his name
above that of any former Arctic voyager.

h^:

CHAPTER XII.
CRUISE OF THE FURY AND IIECLA.

J . ■ (PAKBY LYOX.)

No hesitation wus felt in England as to sending
ont another expedition under Pariy ; an<l the two
sliips Fury and Ileda, of nearly the same size, sailed
on the 8th of May, 1821. Captain Ge()rge F. Lyon,
already distinguished for his services in Africa, com-
manded the Ilecla.

The 8hii)s arrived at the mouth of Hudson's Straits
on the 2d of Jtdy, where the mai-iners Avere struck
with the dreary and gloomy as[)eot of the shores.
They were soon surrounded with liergs and floes, and
had much troulde in reaching Hudson's Bay. Amid
these delays the sailors were amused by the sight of
three companion ships — two l>elonging to the Hudson's
Bay Company, and one hi'inging out settlei-s f(U' Lord
Selkirk's colony. These last, who were chiefly Dutch
find Geiiuans, were seen waltzing on deck often for
hours together and were oidy driven in by a severe
fall of snow. Although almost in despaii-, they recre-
ated themselves from time to time by matrimonial
arrangements, in which they were so diligent, that it
is said there was scarcely a ball which did not end in

a marriage.

• 163

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T
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l-'i:

164

THE SAVAGE-ISLANDERS.

One tlay, when near the Savage Islanils a loud
shouting was heard, and soon after a number of natives
were seen paddling their canoes through tlie lanes of
open water, or drawing them over the pieces of ice.
Among a great number of kayaks were five ooniiaks,
or women's boats. Presently a wild and noisy scene
of frolic and traffic began. The natives traded ^vith
eagerness, even stripping themselves of the furs which
formed their clothing, and raised shouts of triumph
when they obtained in exchange for them a nail, a
saw, or a razor. Their aspect was wild and their
character seemed fierce and savage. Some of the
ancient dames were pronounced to be most hideous
objects. The children Avere rather pretty; though,
from being thrown carelessly into the bottom of the
boats, they had nnich the appearance of young wild
animals. Besides traflic. the natives indulired in a
great deal of rude frolic; one of them got behind a
sailor, shouted loudly in one ear and gave him a
hearty box on the other, which was hailed Avith a
general laugh. They also carried on a dance, consist-
ing chief.}' of violent leaping and stamping, though
in tolerable time.

After reaching Southampton Island, Parry sailed
Tip Fox's Channel and passing ai'ound the north of
the island came to Repulse Bay, where he ascertained
that it was as Middleton had described it, without a
western outlet. Its shores were far from uninviting:
the surrounding land arose a thousand feet, and veg-
etation was very luxuriant. The remains of sixty
Esquimaiix habitations were found, consisting of stones
laid one over the other, in circles, tight or nine feet
in diameter; besides about a hundred artificial struct-
ures, fire-places, store-houses, and other walled tuilos-

TIlLEVmO NATIVES.

1G5

ures four or five feefc high, used for keeping their
skin canoes from being gnawed by the dogs.

Leaving Repulse Bay and sailing eastward, the
explorers soon found themselves among numerous
islands which formed a complete labyrinth of various
shapes and sizes, while strong currents setting between
them in various directions, amid fogs and drifting ice,
rendered the navigation truly perilous. The Furj-
was assailed by successive masses rushing out from
an inlet ; her anchor was dragged along the rocks with
a grinding noise, and on being drawn uj), the two
flukes were found to be broken oif. A channel was
at last found, by which the mariners made tlieir way
through this perilous maze, and found themselves in
Fox's Channel, which they liad left a montli before.

Starting northward again they discovered several
inlets, one of which they named after Captain Lyon.
A j>arty of Esquimaux were encountered, \\hoso timid-
ity was overcome by the hope of obtaining some iron
tools. In the course of this transaction, the cuiiosity
of the crew was roused by tlie conduct of .a Avoman,
who had sold one boot, but obstinately retained the
other in disregard of the strongest remonsti-anoes as
to the ridiculous figure she made. At length suspi-
cion rose to such a pitch, that, setting aside all court-
esy, they seized hei" and pulled off the boot, in which
was fo.:nd two spoons and a pewter plate ^vhich she
had stolen.

Tlie end of September now approached, and Parry
found himself suddenly in the depth of winter; soft
or pancake ice began to form and ra})i<!ly increased
till the vessel became like Gulliver bound by the
feeble hands of Lilliputians. At the same time the
drift-ice became cemented into one great and threat-

10 ^

l\^

I •

166

''THE EIV.\X8.'*

ening field. The navigators could no longer even at-
tempt to reach the land, but detennined to saw into
an adjoining floe, and there take up their winter quar-
ters. This work was not laborious, but far from
pleasant, as the ice bent j leather beneath them.

The ships Avere now ( zen in, and measures were
taken to preserve health and comfort dining the
dreary winter before them. The Polur Theatre was
opened in November with " Tlie Rivals." Parry and
Lyon volunteered to appear as Sir Anthony and Cap-
tain Absolute ; while the ladies generously removed
an ample growth of beard, disregarding the comforta-
ble warmth which it afforded in an Arctic climate.
The comj)any were well received, and carried through
their performances with unabated spirit. Evening
schools were also established in both ships — the
cL'rk of tlie Fury and a seaman of the Ilecla act-
ing as schoolmasters. Twenty men of each ship
passed Uvo hours every evening in these exercises,
and made considerable progiess in their studies.

Amid these varied and pleasing occupations the
shortest day passed over their lieads almost unol )served,
especially as tlie sun never entirely left them. Ou
Christmas-day divine service was performed on board
the Fur}' and attended by the men of both ships.
The sailors were regaled with fresh beef, cranberry
pies, and grog, and became so extremely elevated, that
they insisted on successively drinking, with three
hearty cheers, the healtli of each officer.

The winter months were enlivened by various beau-
tiful appearances which the aky at times presented.
Those singulci and beautiful streams of light, called
the Aurora Borecdis, or Northern Lights, keep up an
almost incessant illumination. The licrht had a ten-

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"the msbrt dancers."

109

U Ml

dency to form an irregular arch, which, in calm
weather, was often very distinct, though its upper
boundary was seldom well-defined; but, whenever
the air became agitated, showers of rays spread in
every direction with the brilliancy and rapidity of
lightning. No rule, however, could be traced in the
movement of those lighter parcels called " the merry
dimcers," which flew about perpetually in every
direction and towards every quarter. In stormy
weather the Northern Lights always became more rapid
in their motions, sharing all the wildness of the blast.
They gave an indescribable air of magic to the whole
scene, and made it not wonderful, that by the untaught
Indian they should be vieAved as "the spirits of his
fathers roaming through the laud of souls."

On the morning of the 1st of February a number
of distant figures were seen moving ov the ice, and
when they were viewed through glasses, the cry wan
raised, "Esquimaux! Esquimaux!" As it was of
great importance to deal courteously and discreetly
with these strangera, the two commanders formed a
party of six, who walked in files behind each other
that they might cause no alarm. The Esquimaux
then formed themselves into a line of twenty-one,
advanced slowly, and at length made a full stop. In
this order they saluted the strangers by the usual
movement of beating their breasts. They were sub-
stantially clothed in rich and dark deer-skins, and
appeared a much more quiet and oi-derly race than
their rude countrymen of the Savage Islands. They
had pieces of whalebone in their hands which they
had brought hither as a peace offering or for barter ;
ill exchange for them they were given some nails and
beads. Some of the women who had handsome furs

170

ESQUIMAUX NEIGIinoilS DIUC'OVEKKD.

on which attracted attention, began to strii) them off,
to the great consternation of the English — as the tem-
perature was far below zero — who were consoled on
finding that they liad on complete double suits.

The Esquimaux then by signs invited the English
to accompany them to their habitations, which were
only two miles from the ships, but had not, strange
to say, been before discovered, although there was a
settlement of five houses and sixty j)e<)ple with their
canoes, sledges and dogs. The huts were made en-
tirely of snow and ice, with ice windows at the top to
admit liglit ; entrance was effected by creeping through
lo^v passages with arched doors ; the roofs were j)er-
fect arched domes, and from a circular apartment in
the centre, arched doorways connected with three
other rooms.

The interior of these mansions j)resented a scene
novel and interesting. The women were seated on
the beds at the sides, each one Imving a little fire-
place, or lamp, with domestic utensils ai'ound her.
The children crept behind their mothers, and the dogs,
excepting those on the beds, slunk out doors in dis-
may. Outside, the village appeared like a cluster of
hillocks, but successive falls of snow filled up the
spaces between 'the huts and made the sui-face nearly
level, so that the children played on the roofs, and as
summer advanced occasionally thrust through them a
leg or a foot.

After a cheerful and friendly visit, an invitation
was given to the Esquimaux to repair to the ships,
when fifty accepted it. Partly walking and partly
dancing they (juickly reached the vessels, where a strik-
ing congeniality of spirit was soon found to exist be-
tween them and the sailors — boisterous fun forming

ASTONtSlIINO TlIK NATIVES.

171

to each the chief source of enjoyment. A fiddle and
drum being produced, the natives struck up a dance,
or rather a succession of veliement leaps, accomj)anied
with loud shouts and yells. Seeing the Kahloonas or
Whites, as they called the strangers, engaged in the
game of lea[)-frog, they attempteii to join ; hut not
duly iinderHtaiuling how to nu'asure their movenuMits,
they made such over-leaps as so? m'.* times to come down
on the crown of their heads. Their attention was
specially attracted to the effects of a winch, hy which
one sailor forcihly drew towards him a party of ten
or twelve of their number, though grinning and strain-
ing every nerve in resistance; but finding all in vain,
they joined in the burst of good-humored laughter till
teal's streamed from thoir eyes.

One intelligent old man followed Lyon to the cabin,
and viewed vvitli rational surprise various objects
which Averc presented. The performance of a hand-
organ and a musical snuff-box struck him with breath-
less admiration; and on seeing drawings of the Es([ui
niaux in Hudson's Strait, he soon understood them
and showed the difference between their di'ess and ap-
];earance and that of his own tribe. On seeing the
sketch of a bear, he raised a loud cry, drew up his
sleeves, and. showed the seal's of three de(!p wounds
received in encounters with that terrible animal. The
seamen so\:ght to treat their visitors to such delicacies
as the ship afforded, but were for some time at a loss
to discover how their palate might be gratified. Gi'og,
the seam.'ui's choicest luxury, only one old woman
could be induced to taste. Sugar, sweetmeats, gin-
gerbrea<l, were eaten from politeness but with evident
disgust ; but oil and anything consisting of fat or
g^ea^e, Avas swallowed in immense cpiantitles, and

173

ASTONISHING THE NATIVIS.

with symptoms of exquisite delight. An old woman,
who sold her oil-pot, took care to swallow its contents
and lick it clean with her tongue before parting with
it Captain Lyon, being disposed to ingratiate him-
self with a rather handsome young damsel, presented
her with a candle ; she ate the tallow with every
symptom of enjoyment, and then thrust the Avick into
her mouth.

A large pack of wolves remained in the vicinity
through the whole winter, in eager watch for any vie-
tim which might come within their reach. They took
a station between the huts and the ships, ready to act
against either as circumstances might dictate. Tliey
did not attack the sailors even when unarmed, though
they were often seen hovering through the gloom in
search of prey. Every stray dog was seized, and Avheu
extremely hungry they devoured the cables and can-
vas as opportunity offered. A deadly war was there-
fore waged againfjt them by the sailoi-s, and many
were killed and given to the Esquimaux.

As spring advanced, the attention of the officers
was almost wholly engrossed by the prospect of navi-
gation and discovery during the approaching summer.
Their Es<|uimaux neighbors accustomed t'> move from
place to place, were found to have an extensive knowl-
edge of the seas and coasts. One woman, named
Iligliuk, called by her people " the wise woman," was,
after a little instruction, enabled to convey to the
strangers the outlines of her geographical knowledge
in the form of a rude map.

Captain Lyon, in the middle of March, undertook a
journey across a piece of land lying south of the ships,
which had been named Winter Island. The party
were scarcely gone when they encountered a heavy

AN EXCURSION.

gale, bringing with it clouds of drifted snow and in-
tense cold. They dug a cave in the snow, and by
hud<lliug together round v. lire to which no vent was
allowed, contrived to keep up a degree of warmth.
In the morning their sledge was too deeply buried
beneath the drift to leave any hope of digging it out,
and they started for the shi})s, now six miles distant,
with snow falling so thick that they could not see a
yard before them.

They were soon bewildered, and wandeied they
knew not ^vhere among heavy hummocks of ice ; some
began to sink into that insensibility which is the pre-
lude to death by cold, and to reel about like drunken
men. After resigning almost every hope of deliver-
ance they providentially reached the ships, where
their arrival caused indescribable joy, as they had
been given up for lost, while no party could lie sent
in search of them without imminent risk of sharing
their fate.

In May, Captain Lyon undertook another journey.
lie crossed Winter Island, and also the frozen strait
separating it from the continent. lie then proceeded
some distance along the coast, crossing sevci'al bays
upon the ice, and at last came in view o{ a bold cape,
which he vainly hoped was the extreme western ])oint
of Ameiica. Here the party were oveitaken by a
storm of snow, which kei)t them hnj)ris()ned in their
tents for sixty-eight hours, which dreary interval they
enlivened by reading in tuni from three l)ooks they
chanced to luive with them ; as soon as the sun began
to shine they liastened back to the ships.

The end of May presented a gloomy aspect, the sea-
son l)eing more backward than it had been in the
higher latitude of Melville Island. The snow was

174

A FIGHT wrrn walrus.

dissolved only in spots, and hardly any symptoms of
vegetation were visible ; but as there was an expanse
of open water in the sea without, Captain Parry de-
termined upon sawing his way through to it. This
was a most laborious process, and after the seamen
had continued at it more tlian a fortnight, and were
within forty-eight hours of completing a canal, the
body of the ice made a movement which closed it en-
tirely up. Another passage opened, and then closed,
but at last open water was reached, and the shijDS sail-
ed on the 2d of July. *

The shores now began to put on their summer as-
pect; the snow had nearly disappeared, and the
ground was covered with the richest bloom of Arctic
vegetation. Tlie explorers came to a fine river named
Barrow, Avhich formed a most picturescpie fall down
rocks richly fringed with very brilliant plants. Here
the reindeer sporting, the eider-duck, the golden plover,
and the snow-bunting, spreading their wings, pro-
duced a gay and delightful scene. On the 14th they
reached th(^ island of Amitioke, where they saw about
two hundred Avalruses lying piled over each other on
the loose di'ift-ice. A boat's crew from each ship pro-
ceeded to the attack; but these gallant amphibia,
some with their cubs mounted on their backs, made
the most desperate resistance ; three only were killed.

They now proceeded northward, and saw before
them a bold and high range of coast, separated ap-
parently flora that along which tliey were sailing.
This feature agreeing with the map drawn by the
fair Iligliuk, flattered them that they w^re ai)pi'oach-
ing the strait exhibited by her as forming the entrance
into the Polar basin. Tliey pushed on full of hope
and animation, and were farther cheered by reaching

STOPPED BY ICE.

the small island of Igloolik, whicli she had described
as situated at the commencement of the passage.
They soon saw the strait stretching westward before
them in long perspective ; but, alas ! they discovered
at the same moment an unbroken sheet of ice from
shore to shore, crossing and blocking up the passage ;
;ind this not a loose accidental floe, Imt the ice of the
preceding winter, on which the midsummer sun had
not produced the slightest change.

Unable to advance a single step, they amused them-
selves with land excursions in different directions; and
Captain Parry undertook, on the 14th of August, with
a party of six, an expedition along the frozen suiiace
of the strait. The journey was very laborious, the
ice being sometimes thrown up in rugged lunnmocka,
and occasionally leaving large spaces of open Avater,
which it was necessary to cross on a plank, or on
pieces of ice instead of boats. In four days they came
in view of a peninsula terminated by a bold cape, the
approach to Avliich -was guarded by successix^e ranges
of strata, resembling the tiers or gallei'ies of a high
and commanding fortification. The jiarty scrambled
to the sunmiit, whence they enjoyed a most gratifying
spectacle. They were at the narrowest part of the
strait, here about two miles across, and a tide or cur-
rent was running through it at the rate of two miles
an hour. Westward the shores on each side receded,
till, for three i)ointH of the compass and rmid a clear
horizon no land was visible. The captain doubted
not that from this position he beheld the Polar sea ;
and hoped notwithstanding the formidable barriers of
ice which intervened to force his way into it. He
named this the Strait of the Fury and Ilecla, and gave
the sailors an extra can of grog, to drink a safe and
speedy passage through its channel.

176

AGAIN FROZEN IN.

t. M ''.

I' t

Pany now lost no time in returning to tlie sliips,
where his aiiival was seasonable, for the opposing bar-
rier which had been gradually softening and cracking,
at once almost entirely disappeared. On the 51«t the
ships got under way ; and, though retarded by fogs
and other obstructions, arrived on the 2Gth at that
narrowest channel which the commander had formerly
reached. A brisk breeze now sprang up, the sky
cleared, they dashed across a current of three or four
knots an hour, and sanguinely expected entire success.
Suddenly, from the crow's nest above, it was an-
nounced that ice filled the channel. In an hour they
reached this baiTier, and finding it soft, spread all
their canvas and forced their way into it a distance
when they were stopped. From this point, during
the whole season, the ships were unable to advance.

Captain Lyon undertook an expedition southward,
to ascertain i± any inlet or passage from sea to sea in
this direction had escaped notice. The country was
80 filled with high rocky hills, and with chains of
lakes in which much ice was floating, that he could
not proceed above seven miles. Though it was the
beginning of September, the season was only that of
early spring. Another excursion was made by a
party who penetrated sixty miles westward along the
southern coast of Cockburn Island, till they readied
a pinnacle, whence they saw the Polar ocean spread-
ing before them ; but tremendous bariiers of ice filled
the strait, and precluded all approach.

It was now the middle of September, and the usual
symptoms of deer trooping in herds southward, float-
ing pieces of ice consolidating into masses, and the
thin crust forming on the surface of the waters, re-
minded the mariners not only that they could hope

A CHEEKING SPECTACLE.

177

for no farther removal of the obstacles which arrested
their progress, but that they must lose no time in jiro-
viding winter-quarters. The middle of the strait, at
the spot where they had been firat stopped, was a fav-
orable station for ^'uture discover}^ ; but prudence sug-
gested a doubt .vliether the ships enclosed in this icy
piison could ever be released.

On the 30th of October, by the usual operation of
sawing, the ships were established in a hai'bor at
Igloolik. The ensuing season was passed with the
most careful attention to the health and comfort of
the crews ; but though their spirits did not sink, there
appears to have been on the whole, less gaj'ety and
lightness of heart than in the t^svo former -winterings,
and the drama and school were not revived. On the
5th of Januaiy 1823, the horizon was so brightly suf-
fused Avith red, that they hoped to see the sun ; but a
fortnight of thick fog occasioned a disappointment.
On the 19th, the sky having cleared, they saw it rise
attended by two parhelia, and both crews turned out
to enjoy the novelty and splendor of this cheering
spectacle.

The sailors found at Igloolik a colony of Esqui-
maux, who received them at firat with surprise and
some degree of alann ; but on learning they were from
Winter Island and intimate with its tenants of last
season, they hailed them at once as familiar acquaint-
ances. These natives belonged to the same tribe, and
were connected by alliance and close relationship with
many individuals of the Winter Island party, of
v."hom, therefore, they were delighted to receive tid-
ings. The crews spent the winter with them on quite
a friendly footing, and rendered important services to
them during a period of severe sickness.

,! !

• t

■ t

178

THE FAIK ESQUIMAUX.

The navigators were received with the most cordial
hospitality into the little huts, where the best meat
was set before them, and the women vied with each
other in the attentions of cooking, dicing and mend-
ing their clothes. " The women working and singing,
their husbands quietly mending their lines, the chil-
dren playing before the door, and the pot boiling over
the blaze of a cheerful lamp," gave a pleasing picture
of savage life. Yet a continued intercourse sliowed
that the Esquimaux inheiited their full share of human
frailty. The fair Esquimaux are charged with a strong
propensity to slander, which was natural to them as
they sat in circles round the door mending their lines.
Their own conduct, meantime, is said to have afforded
ample scope for censure, especially in regard to con-
nubial fidelity.

* The principal deity of these people was Aywillai-
yoo, a female, immensely tall, with only the left eye,
and wearing a pigtail reaching to her knee. Lyon
witnessed a mighty incantation, in which Toolemak,
the chief magician, summoned Aywillaiyoo to the
upper world to utter her oracles. The party Avere
assembled in a hut, where light after light was put
out till they were left in total darkness. Toolemak
then, after loud invocations, professed to descend to
the world below to bring up the goddess. Soon there
arose a low chant of peculiar sound, imagined to be
the voice of Aywillaiyoo. During half an hour, in
reply to the loud screams and questions of her votaries,
she uttered dubious and mystical responses ; after
which the sound died away, and she was supposed to
descend beneath the earth; then Toolemak with a
shout announced his own return to the upper world.

The natives believe also in a future world, the em-

AN ESQUIMAUX MAGICIAN.

179

ployments and pleasures of which, according to the
usual creed of savage races, are all sensual. The soul
descends beneath the earth through successive abodes,
the first of which has somewhat of the nature of pur-
gatory ; but the good spirits passing througli it find
the other mansions successively improve, till they
rjach that of perfect bliss, far beneath, where the sun
never sets, and where, by the side of large lakes that
never freeze, the deer roam in vast herds and the
seal and walrus always abound in the w^aters.

One of the Esquimaux having lost his wife, as it
was very difticult to dig a grave, the sailors j)iled over
her a heap of stones to protect her from wild animals.
The man gave thanks, but not cordially ; he even ex-
pressed a dread lest the weight would be painfully
felt by his deceased spouse ; and soon after, Avhen an
infant died, he declared her wholly incapable of bear-
ing such a burden and would allow nothing but snow
to be laid over her.

The spring j)roved singularly backward, and it was
the 7th of August before they were able, by hard saw-
ing, to reach the open sea ; by Avliich time hope of
effecting any thing important during that season was
relinfpiished. The voyage homeward was soon after-
ward commenced, and the explorers reached England
in October. As nothing had been heard of them
during their two years' absence, they were viewed
almost as men risen from the dead. The bells of Ler-
wick were rung, and other extraordinary demonstra-
tions of joy made on their arrival.

A third expedition under Parry sailed from Eng-
land on the 19th of May, 1824. It consisted of the
two ships with which he had made his last voyage —
the Hecla and Fury, the latter being commanded

180

PAEEY'S THIRD EXPEDITION.

by Capt. H. P. Hoppner, who had already made several
voyages with Parry. It was not till the 10th of Sept.
that they were able to enter Lancaster Sound, and
on the 1st of October they anchored for the winter at
Port Bowen in Prince Regent's Inlet.

As the amusements of former winters had been
worn threadbare, masquerades were started and kept
up monthly throughout the winter. Schools also
were opened and continued with much benefit to the
scholars.

On the 19th of July, by sawing through the ice the
navigators reached open water and proceeded down
the inlet, which was filled with fragments of ice, mak-
ing navigation dangerous. Subsequently they drifted
with the ice till the ships lay close to the shore, over
which towered high perpendicular cliffs, fragnients
from which were constantly falling.

About the first of August a gale came on, which
drove the ice against the ships so that they became
unmanageable, and were carried along with great
8i)eed and grounded on the icy beach. Both vessels
were severely nipped, but got off with high \\ater.

On the 2l8t the Fury was again forced on sliore,
and as it was impossible to repair her she was aban-
doned, and her crew went on board the Heela.
Years afterward the stores of the deserted ship
served to comfort and sustain British sailors when in
circunistanoes of great j^eril.

The incessant labor and anxiety and the frequent
imminent danger into which the Ilecla was thrown
in the attempts to save her comrade, continued for
nearly a month, destroyed every chance of acconq)lish-
ing the objects of the voyage ; Pany therefore
started for Engliand where he arrived in October.

^il

I'i

CHAPTER XIII.
VOYAGE OF THE DOROTHEA AND TRENT.

1 /. (buCHAN — FRANKLIN.)

The English Expedition toward the Pole in 1818,
referred to in Chapter IX, was commanded by Cap-
tain David Buchan, who sailed in the Dorothea ; the
other ship of the expedition, the Trent, was command-
ed by Lt. John Franklin. Frederic Beecliy, who pub-
lished an account of the voyage, and George Back
were officers on the latter vessel.

The ships left England in April, their appointed
place of rendezvous in case of separation being Mag-
dalena Bay, Spitzbergen. They reached Bear Island
toward the close of May ; here the walrus were very
numerous and were carefully studied. Their affec-
tion for their young, their unflinching courage in de-
fending them, and their conduct towards a Avounded
companion were remarkable. It Avas noticed in a
fiiiht with them, that when one was wounded otliers
desisted from the attack and assisted their companion
from the field of battle, swimming around him and
holding him up with their tusks.

Early in June the two ships an cho'"ed in Magdalena
Bay, in the vicinity of numerous glacn>rs, the smallest
of which, called the Hanging Iceberg, was two hundred

181

ii.(

182

AN AVALANCHE.

feet above the water on the slope of a mountain. So
easily were large fragments of ice detached from these
glaciers that silence became necessary. The firing
of a gun rarely failed to be followed l)y an avalanche,
and t\vo of tlei e witnessed by Beechy were on the
most magnificent scale. An immense piece slid from
a mountain into the bay, where it disappeared, and
nothing was seen but a violent commotion of the wa-
ter and clouds of spray. On re-appearing it raised its
head a hundred feet above the surface with water
pouring down from all parts of it. When it became
stationary it was measured and estimated to weigh
421,660 tons.

The avalanche in falling into the water, made such
a commotion that the Dorothea, which was anchored
four miles distant, was careened over and had to be
set right by releasing the tackles. '■ • . ^ '

The ex])lorers left this locality on the 7th of June,
and sailing northward passed tlie north-western bound-
ary of Spitzbergen. Beyond Red Bay they were stop-
ped by the ice and remained imbedded in a floe for
thirteen days, and afterward took shelter in Fair
Haven.

On the 6th of July the explorers again sailed north,
but soon after encountered ice through which were
channels of water. As the wind Avas favorable one of
them was entered, but at evening it closed up and all
attempts to get f artlier were in vain, as they Avere con-
tinually drifted south with the ice. The highest lati-
tude reached Avas 80^ 34 '.

Having given this route a fair trial Buchan started
toward the Greenland coast. While sailing along the
edge of the ice a sudden gale arose, and to escape
wreck the ships steered straight toward the pack, sur-

A DANGKnorS POSITION".

183

rounded by immense pieces of ice. It was doubtful
what the result would be wlieii the ships reached the
solid ice, but the crew preserved the greatest calmness
and resolution. Beechy says: — "I will not conceal
the pride I felt in witnessing the bold and decisive
tone in which the orders were issued by tlie comnuinder
of our little vessel (Franklin), and the promj)titude
and steadiness with which they were executed by the
crew. Each person instinctively secured his own hold
and, with his eyes fixed upon the masts, awaitetl in
breathless anxiety the moment of concussion. It soon
arrived ; the brig, cutting her way through the light
ice, came in violent contact with the main body. In
an instant we all lost our footing, the masts bent with
the impetus, and the cracking timbers from below be-
spoke a pressure which was calculated to awaken our
serious apprehensions. The ship's motion was so
great that the bell, which in the heaviest gale of wind
had never struck of itself, now tolled so continually
that it was ordered to be muffled for the purpose of
escaping the unpleasant associations it was calculated
to produce."

For a few hours the explorers remained fast in this
trying position ; then the gale ceased, and the pack
broke up sufficiently to release the ships Avliich were
greatly damaged — the Dorothea being in a foundenng
condition. Tliey made their way to Fair Haven,
and after partially repairing the ships sailed for home
where they arrived in October. This -svas Franklin's
first Arctic voyage.

CHAPTER XIV.

FRANKLIXVS LAND EXPEDITIONS TO THE
SIIOllES OF THE POLAR SEA.

The English Government having detenu! net! upon
sending an Ex]>('dition from the shores of Hudson's
Bay by hind, to exjdore tlie nortliem coast of Aniericu
from the mouth of the Coppermine lliver to tlie east-
Avard, Lieut. John Fr.inklin was apj)oiuted its com-
mander, and, with Surgeon Jolin Kichaidscm and
Midshii)men George Back and Rol)ert Hood, all of tlie
Royal Navy, emhai'ked on Sunday the 'J.'Ul of May
ISll), at (Jravsend, England, on board the ship Prince
oi ^'jS" vies, l)elonging to the Hudson's Bay Coni])any.
T!ie ship arrived at its destination, Yoik Fjictory, on
^ho western shores of Hudson's Bay, Aug. ;5()th, hav-
ing narrowly escaped total wreck — being carried on
to the rocky coast of Labrador in a dense fog, from
which position she was extricated in a leaky cctndition.

At this time a violent competition for the fur trade
existed between the North-west and the Hudson's
Bay Companies, Avhich finally led to the extinction
of the first named. The officers and emjdoyes of both
companies were directed by the Government to ren-
der the exT)lorers every aid needed. Governor Wil-
liams of the II. B. Co. received them at ^'ork Factory,
and they were soon fitted out with a 8uital)le l)oat, and
a crew nuide up mostly from the shi])'8 company. On

184

I>C

mANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXTEriTIOlT.

185

tlie 9th of September, they hegan tlieir journey >>y way
of the rivers and hikes, to the moutli of tlie Copper-
mine River, distant over fifteen Inindred miles, on the
shores of tlie Polar ^^ea. They were soon afterwards
overtaken Ity hoats of the Company. A portion of
the following history of their travels is given in the
%,'ords of Franklin and his companions.

" We embarked at noon, and were honored with a
salute of eight guns and three cheei-s from the Gov-
ernor and all the inmates of the fort, assembled to
A\itness our departure. We gratefully returned their
cheers, and then made sail, much delighted at having
now commenced our voyage into the interior of
America. The wind and tide failing us at the dis-
tance of six miles aljove the Factory, and the current
l)eing too rajiid for using oars to advantage, the crew
had to commence tracking, or dragging the boat by a
line, to which they were harnessed. This operation is
extremely laborious in these rivers. At sunset we
landed, and ])itche(l the tent for the night, having
made a jn'ogress of twelve miles. A hu'ge fire was
quickly kindled, supper speedily i)repared, and as
readily des])atched, Avhen we retired Avith our biiffalo
robes on, and enjoyed a night of souTid rejiose.

" On the morning of the isth, the country wasclothed
in the livery of Avinter, a heavy fall of snow having
taken jdace during the night. It is not easy for any
hut an eye-witness tx) form an adeipiate idea of the ex-
ertions of the Oi'kney boatmen in the navigation of
this river. The necessity they were under of fre-
(piently jumping into the water, to lift the boats over
the rocks, compels them to remain tlie whole day in
wet clothes, at a season when the temjierature is far
below the freezing point. The immense loads too,

188

PERILS OF RIVER NAVIGATION.

which they cany over the portages, is not more a mat-
ter of surprise than the alacrity with which they per-
foifm these laborious duties.

" On the 22(1, our route led us amongst many wooded
islands, which lying in long vistas, produced scenes of
much beauty. In the course of the day we crossed the
Upper Portage, surmounted the Devil's Landing Place,
and urged the boats with poles through Groundwater
Creek. At the upper end of this creek, our bowman
having given the boat too broad a sheer, to avoid the
rock, it was caught on the broadside by the cur-
rent, and, in defiance of our utmost exertions, hurried
down the rapid. Fortunately, however, it grounded
against a rock high enough ' > prevent the current
from oversetting it, and the crews of the other boats
having come to our assistance, we succeeded, after
several trials, in thro^dng a rope to tbem, with which
they dragged our almost sinking vessel stern foremost
up the stream, and rescued us from our perilous situ-
ation.

" The Painted Stone is a low rock, ten or twelve
yards across, remarka})le for the marshy streams
which arise on each side of it, taking different courses.
On the one side, the water-course Avhich we have nav-
igated from York Factory commences. On the other
side of the stone the Eeliemamls arises. Having
launched the boats over the rock, we commenced the
descent of that river, and reached the mouth of the
Saskatchawan at midnight, October 9th.

"On the morning of tlie 20th we came to a party of
Indians, encamped behind the bank of the river, on
the borders of a small marshy lake. Here we were
gratified with the view of a ^'eiy large tent ; itj cover-
ing was moose deer leather, with apertu:"es for the ea-

FRANKLm's FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

187

cape of the smoke from the fires which were placed at
each end ; a ledge of wood was placed on the ground
on both sides of the whole length of the tent, within
which were the sleeping places, an-anged probably ac-
cording to families ; and the drums and other instru-
ments of enchantment were piled up in the centre.
Governor Williams gave a dram and a piece of tobacco
to each of the males of the party."

The travelers reached Cumberland House, a trading
post (originally built by Hearne) October 2 2d, and as
winter was setting in, making travel by water imprac-
ticable, made a long halt there.

" After the 20th December the weather became cold,
the thermometer constantly below zero. Christmas-
day was particularly stormy ; but the gale did not
prevent the full enjoyment of the festivities which are
annually given at the Cumberland House on this day.
All the men who had been despatched to different
parts in search of provision or furs returned to the fort
on ihe occasion, and "were regaled with a substantial
dinner and a dance in the evening.

"Tlie new year 1820 was ushered in by repeated dis'
charges of musketry ; a ceremony vhich has been ob-
served by the men of both the trading Companies for
many years. Our i)arty dined Avith Mr. Connolly, and
were regaled witli a beaver, which we found extreme-
ly delicate. In the evening his men were entertained
with a dance, in which the Canadians exhil)ited some
grace and much agility ; and tliey contrived to infuse
some portion of their activity and spirits into the steps
of tlieir female companions. The half-breed women
are passionately fond of this amusement."

On the 18th of January, Franklin, Back, and John
Hepburn, a seaman, set out on snow shoes for a journey

188

A winter's journey.

to Fort Chipewyan, eight hundred and fifty-seven
miles to the north. They were provided with two
carioles and two sledcreb, with th^ir drivers and dogs.
Being accompanied by Mr. Mackeni:ie, of tlie Hud-
son's Bay Company, who Avaa g'>ii)j.' +<> hh aha Crosse,
witli four sledges under his chaif,<\ n ;. formed quite
a procession, Id^eping in an Indi u filc^ in the track of
the man who preceded the foremost dogs.

The travelers rested occasionally at th(i trading posts
which lay on their route. At Carlton House they
were visited by the Stone Indians, who lived in that
section and were famous for stealing eveiy tiling
they could find, particularly horses, -which they
maintained Avere common proj)erty sent by the Al-
mighty for the general use of man. They ke])t in
amity Avith their neighT)ors the Crees, from iiioti>'es oi
interest ; and the two tribes united in determirr*! hos-
tility against the nations dwelling to the " , t>.s( »■ 'xrd.
wliioli were generally calh^d Slave Indian; — . v,?,."<.iof
reproach aj)plicd by the Crees to those trioe,- -vMHi.st
whom they liave waged successful wars.

While at Carlton House, Franklin went six miles
to visit a Cree encani})iiient. The chief's tent had been
arranged for the occasion, fresh grass was sjiread on
the ground, and buffalo robes were placed oi)j)osite
the door to sH on ; and a kettle was on the fire to cook
meat. The chief, an old man, welcome<; 'lim with a
hearty shake of the hand and the custon i aUitatlon
of "Wliat cheer?"

" After a few luinutes' conversation, an invitation
"was given tc the cliict ;v>.d his hunters to smoke tlie
calumet with u>, iis a tolo.; of our friendship; this
was loudly anno>nic*;d tlirougli the camp, and ten men
from tlie other tents immediately joined our party.

'Hi

i I

?< i

FRA>'KLI2i's FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

189

On their entrance the women and children, whose pres-
ence on such occasions is contrary to etiquette, withdrew.
The calumet having been prepared and lighted by Mr.
Pruden's clerk, was presented to the chief, who, on
receiving it, peiformed the following ceremony before
he commenced smoking : — He first pointed the stem
to the south, then to the west, north, and east, and af-
terwards to the heavens, the earth, and the fire, as an
oifering to the presiding spirits; — he took three whiffs
only, and then passed the pipe to his next companion,
who took the same number of whiffs, and so did each
person as it Avent round."

The Crees catch buffalo by dri\dng them into a
large enclosure or pound ; they also hunt them on
horseback ; and when the creatures are very shy they
craA\'l towards them disguised in the skins of the wolf
— an animal with which the buffalo are familiar, and,
when in herds, not afraid of.

At their departure from one trading post the trav-
elers were much amused by a salute of musketiy fired
by half-breed women — the men being all absent. At
another place a dance was given in their honor. On
the 2Gth of March they reached Fort Chipewyan, and
there halted for their companions who were to come
on with the boats after navigation opened.

Dr. llicliurdson, who with Mr. Hood passed the
winter at Cumberland House, gives an interesting
account of his residence there, and of the Ci-ee Indians,
who M'ere frequent visitors at the fort : —

"Tlie winter proved extremely seve'-s to the Indians.
Those Avho Avere able came to the fort and received
relief ; })nt many who had retired with their families
to distant corners, to pursue tlxeir winter hunts, expe-
rienced all the horrora of famine. One evening a poor

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190

TESTING A conjurer's SKILL,

Indian entered the North-west Company's House, car-
rying his only child in his amis, and followed by his
starving wife. They had been hunting apai-t from
the other bands, had been unsuccessful, and whilst in
want were seized with the epidemical disease. They
had walked several days without eating, yet exerting
themselves far beyond their strength that they might
save the life of the infant. It died almost within
sight of the house. Mr. Connolly, who Avas then in
charge of the post, received them with the utmost
humanity, and instantly placed food before them ; but
no lano-uacje can describe the manner in Avhich the
miserable father dashed the morsel from his lips and
deplored the loss of his child. IMisery may harden
a disposition naturally bad, but it never fails to soften
the heart of a good man.

" Every Cree fears the medical or conjuring powers
of his neighl)or ; but at the same time exalts his own
attainments to the skies. *I am God-like' is a com-
mon expression amongst them, and tliey prove tlieir
divinitysLip by eating live coals, and by various tricks
of a similar nature. A medicine bag is an indispensa-
ble part of a hunter's equipment, and is, when in the
hands of a noted conjurer, such an object of terror to
the rest of the tribe, that its possessor is enabled to
fatten at his ease upon the lal)ors of his deluded
countrymen.

"A fellow of this description came to Cuml»erland
House in the winter of 181i>. Tlie mighty conjuror,
immediately on his arrival at tlie liouse, ])egan to
trumpet off hi.s powers, boasting, among other things,
that although his hands and feet were tied as securely
as possible, yet, when placed in a conjuring-house, he
would speedily disengage himself by the aid of two

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fkaitklin's first laot) expedition.

191

or three familiar spirits, who were attendant on his
call. He was instantly taken at his word, and that
his exertions might not he without an aim, a ca2)ot or
gi'eat coat was promised as the reward of his success.

"A conjuring-house having been erected in the
usual form, that is, by sticking four willows in the
ground, and tying their tops to a hoop at the height
of six or eight feet, he was fettered completely,
and placed in its narrow compartment. A moose skin
then being thrown over the frame, secluded him from
our view. He forthwith began to chant a kind of
hymn in a verj' monotonous tone.

" The rest of the Indians, who seemed in some doubt
respecting the powers of a devil when put in compe-
tition with those of a white man, ranged themselves
round, and watched the result with anxiety. Nothing
remarkable occurred for a long time. The conjurer
continued his song at intervals, and it was occasionally
taken up by those without. In this manner an hour
and a half elapsed ; but at length our attention, which
had begun to flag, was roused by the violent shaking
of the conjuring-house. It was instantly whispered
round the circle, that at least one devil had crept
under the moose-skin. But it proved to be only the
" God-like man " trembling with cold. He had en-
tered the lists, stripped to the skin, and the thermom-
eter stood very low that evening. His attempts were
continued, however, with considerable resolution for
half an hour longer, when he reluctantly gave in. He
had found no difficulty in slipping through the noose
when it was formed by his countr^mien ; but, in the
present instance the knot was tied by Governor Wil-
liams, who is an expert sailor.

" These Indians, however capable they are of behav-

192

INDIAN CUSTOMS.

ing kindly, affect in their discourse to despise the
softer sex, and on solemn occasions will not suffer
them to eat before them, or even come into their
presence. In this they are countenanced by the white
residents, most of whom have Indian or half-l)reed
wives, but seem afraid of treating them with the ten-
derness or attention due to eveiy fenialr, lest they
should themselves be despised by the Indians.

" Both sexes are fond or, and very indulgent to their
children. The father never punishes them, and if the
mother, more hasty in her temper, sometimes bestows
a blow or two on a troublesome child, her heart is
instantly softened by the roar which follows, and she
mingles her tears with those that streak the snioky
face of her darling. Tattooing is almost universal.

" A Cree places great reliance on his drum, and I
cannot adduce a stronger instance than that of the
poor man who is mentioned in a preceding page, as
having lost his only child by famine, almost within
sight of the fort. Notwithstanding his exhausted
state, he had an enormous drum tied to his back.

" It was not very uncommon amongst the Canadian
voyagers for one woman to be common to, and main-
tained at the joint expense of two men; nor for a
voyager to sell his wife, either for a season or alto-
gether, for a sum of money, proportioned to her
beauty and good qualities, but always inferior to the
price of a team of dogs.

" The chiefs among the Chipewyans are now totally
without power. The traders, however, endeavor to
support their authority by continuing towards them
the accustomed marks of respect, hoisting the flag,
and firing a salute of musketry on their entering the
^rt. . i ! /

rnANKLIN S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

193

n 1

" The Northern Indians evince no little vanity, by
assuming to 'themselves the comprehensive title of
"The Peo])le," while they designate all other nations
hy the njime of their particular country. They sup-
pose that they originally sprang from a dog ; and,
ahoutfive years ago, a superstitious fanatic so strongly
pressed ii])on their minds the impropriety of emj)loy-
ing these animals, to which they were related, for
purposes of labor, that they universally resolved against
using them any more, and, strange as it may seem, de-
stroyed them. • They now have to drag everything
themselves on sledges.

"This tri])e, since its present intimate connection
with the traders, has discontinued its war excur.-ions
against the Esquimaux, but they still speak of that
nation in terms of the most inveterate hatred."

On the 13tli of July, Richardson and Hood ari'ived
at Fort Chipewyan with two canoes, and were
warmly greeted by Franklin and Back, who Avere
waiting for them. Final arrangements were now
made for the voyage northward ; on the 18th of July
the pai'ty set out, and arrived at Fort T>rovidence,
north of the Great Slave Lake, on the ^"'lu if July.

Here the travelers were visited by an Indian chief
named Akaitcho, who, Avith some of his men as hunt-
ers and guides, was to accompany the expedition.

" As Ave Avere informed that external a])pearances
made lasting impressions upon the Indians, Ave ])re-
pared f(jr the intervieAV by decorating ourselves in uni-
form, and suspending a medal round each of our necks.
Our tents had been previously pitched, and over
one of them a silken union flag Avas hoisted. Soon
after noon, on July 30th, several Indian canoes Avere
seen advancing in a regular line, and on their a})proach.

194

INTERVIEW M'lTn AKAITCIIO.

the chief was discovered in the headnioat, which was
paddled by two men. On landing at* the fort, the
chief assumed a veiy grave aspect, and walked up to
Mr. Wentzel with a measured and dignified step,
looking neither to the light nor to the left, at the
persons wlio had as.seml)led on the beach to witness
his debarkation, but preserving the same immovability
of countenance until he reached the hall, and was in-
troduced to the officers. When h had smoked his
pipe, drank a small portion of spi md water him-
self, and issued a glass to each of L. .uipanions, who
had seated themselves on the floor, he commenced his
harangue, l)y mentiouing the circumstances that led
to his agreeing to accompany the expedition, an en-
gagement which he was quite prepared to fulfill.

" Akaitcho and the guides having cominunicated all
the information they possessed on the different points
to which our questions had been directed, I placed
my medal round the neck of the chief, and the officers
presented theirs to an elder brother of his and the
two guides. Being confeiTed in the presence of all
the huntei-s, their acquisition was highly gi-atifyiug to
them, but they studiously avoided any great ex]>res-
sion of joy, because such an exposure would have
been unbecoming the dignity which the senior Indians
assume during a conference. ' ■ '

" We presented to the chief, the two guides, and
the seven hunters, who had engaged to accompany us,
some cloth, blankets, tobacco, knives, daggei-s, besides
other useful iron materials, and a gun to each ; also a
keg of veiy Aveak spirits and water, which they kept
until the evening, as they had to try their guns before
dark, and make the necessary preparations for com-
mencing the journey on the following day. The In-

FRANKLINS FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

195

(lians, however, did not leave us on the next day, as
the chief was desirous of ])eing present, witli his paiiy,
at the dance, which was given in tlie evening to our
Canadian voyagers. They Avere highly entertained hy
the vivacity and agility displayed by our companions
in their singing and dancing : and especially by their
imitating the gestures of a Canadian, wlio placed him-
self in the most ludicrous postures ; and, whenever
this was done, the gravity of the chief gave Avay to
violent bursts of laughter. In return for the gratifi-
cation Akaitcho had enjoyed, he desired his }oung
men to exhibit the Dog-llib Indian dance."

Franklin and his three companions, with Frederic
Wentzel of the North-west Co., John Hepburn, sev-
enteen Canadian voyagers, and three Indian interpre-
ters, left Fort Providence on the 2d of August, in
three canoes. Tliere was also a smaller canoe to con-
vey the wives of three of the voyagers, and their three
children, in company with a fleet of Indian canoes
they paddled up the Yellow Knife Kiver, toward a
country which had never been visited by Europeans.

" Akaitcho caused himself to be paddled by his
slave, a young man, of the Dog-llib nation, whom he
had taken by force from his friends ; when he thought
himself, however, out of reach of our observation, he
laid aside a good deal of his state, and assisted in the
labor ; and after a few day's further acquaintance
with us, he did not hesitate to j)addle in oiu' presence,
or even carry his canoe on the portages."

The party met with some hardships, were at
times short of proAnsions, and some of the voyagers
showed a spirit of insubordination which Franklin
promptly quelled by threats of severest punishment.
On the 20th of August they halted on the bank of

196

TTTR "WINTER AT FORT ENTERPRISE.

Winter Lake, and built Fort Enterprise, where they
passed the winter; its distance from Fort Chipe^vyau
was 533 miles.

Franklin was anxious to push on to the sea that fall,
but Avas forced to relinquish the idea from the refusal
of Akaitcho to go with him owing to scarcity of game
on the route.

On the ISth of October, Mr. Back and Mr. Went-
zel, set out for Fort Providence, accompanied by two
voyagers, Beaubarlant and Belanger, and two Indians,
with their wives.

" On the 23d of November, Belanger returned alone;
he had walked constantly for the last six-and-thirty
hours, leaving his Indian companions encamped at the
last woods, they being imwilling to accompany him
across the barren grounds during the storm that had
prevailed for several days, and blew with unusual vio-
lence on the morning of his arrival. His locks were
matted with snow, and he was incrusted with ice from
head to foot, so that we scarcely recognized him when
he burst in upon us. We Avelcomed him Avith the
usual shake of the hand, but were imable to give him
the glass of rum which every voyager receives on his
arrival at a trading post."

Ou the 20th of October, Akaitcho, with his party
came into camp, owing to the deer having gone south;
and on the 5th of Nov"ml)er, fishing liad to be relin-
quished. As so large a number of peoj)le could not be
provided for at the place, the Indians left again on
the 10 th of December. • ;

'• Kcskarrali the guide, with his wife and daughter
remained behind. The daughter whom we designa-
ted Green-Stockings from her dn!ss, is considered by
her tribe to be a great beauty. Mr. Hood drew an ac-

FRANICLIN 8 FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

197

curate portrait of her, although her mother "vras averse
to her sitting for it. She Avas afraid, she said, that
her daiigliter's likeness would induce the great eliief
who resided in England to send for the original. The
youTig lady, hoAvever, was undeterred hy any such
fear. She has already been an object of contest be-
tween her countrymen, and although under sixteen
years of age, has belonged successively to two hus-
l)ands, and woidd probably have been the 'wife of
many more, if her mother had not required hei- ser-
vices as a nurse."

Of their winter residence at this place i'ranklin
says:—

" The Sabbath was always a day of rest with us ;
the woodmen were required to provide for the exigen-
cies of that day on Saturday, and the party "svere
dressed in their best attire. Divine service • was reg-
uliuly performed, and the Canadians attended, and
l)ehaved with great decorum, although they were all
llonuin Catholics, and l)ut little acquainted ^with the
language in ^vhich the prayers Avere read.

" Our diet consisted almost entirely of the reindce:-
meat, varied twice a week by fish, and occasionally 1 y
a little flour, but we ha<l no vegetables of any descrip-
tion. On tlie Sunday mornings Ave drank a cup of
chocolate, but our greatest luxury Avas tea (w ithout
sugar), of which AA^e regularly partook twice a day.
With reindeer's fat, and strips of cotton shirts, Ave
formed candles; and Hepburn ac(piired considerable
skill in the manufacture of soap, from Avood-ashes, fat,
and salt."

On the 27th t»f December, jVfr. "Wcntzel arri\cd
with twi> Es(piimaux intcqireters Avho had l)een en-
gaged. Their >]nglish names Avere Augustus and

ii^

198

KECEPTION OF A CHIEF.

Junius. The former spoke English. Parties also ar-
rived from time to time bringing on the stores which
had heen left at Fort Providence.

" On the 17th of March, Mr. Back returned from
Foil; Chipewyan, having traveled since he started out
more tli?m one thousand miles on foot, with no shel-
ter at night excepting a blanket and deer skin, and
often without food. The Indians had sometimes given
him a fish or bird which they caught, with the remark,
" we are accustomed to starvation, and you are not."

" On the 21st of April, all our men returned from
the Indians, and Akaitcho was on his way to the fort.
In the afternoon two of his young men arrived to an-
nounce his visit, and to request that he might be re-
ceived with a salute and other marks of respect that
he had been accustomed to on visiting Fort Providence
in the Spring. I complied with his desire although I
regretted the expenditure of ammunition, and sent
the young men away with the customary present of
powder to enable him to return the salute, some to-
bacco, vermilion to paint their faces, a . comb, and a
lookinfj-cclass.

" At eleven Akaitcho arrived ; upon the first notice
of his appearance the flag Avas hoisted at the fort, and
upon his nearer approach, a number of muskets were
fired by a party of our j)eople, and returned by his
young men. Akaitcho prece'led by his standard-
bearer, led the party, and advanced with a slow and
solemn step to the door wliere Mr. Wentzel and I re-
ceived him. The faces of tlie party were daubed with
vermilion, the old men having a spot on the riglit
cheek, the young ones on the left. Akaitcho himself
was not painted. On entering he sat down on a chest,
the rest placing themselves in a circle on the floor.

FRANKLIN 8 FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

199

Tlie pipe was passed once or twice round, and in the
meantime a bowl of spirits and water, and a present
considerable for our circumstances, of cloth, blankets,
capots, shirts, ifec, was placed on the floor for the
chiefs acceptance, and distribution amongst his peo-
ple. Akaitcho then commenced his speech, but I re-
gret to say, that it was very discouraging, and indi-
cated that he had parted with his good humor, at
least since his March visit."

On the 4th of June, a part of the company under
Richardson, started northward; some dragged stores
on sledgBs, and others earned them on their backs.
Another j)arty started June 14th, with canoes dragged
hy men and dogs. On th*' 21 st, the whole expedition,
with Akaitcho and som« '' his hunters, was encamp-
ed at Point Lake. The lii^iian familif's and the rest
of the tribe had gone off to a largf^ ..ike to si)en<l the
summer, and Akaitcho who had ex]"'nded the am-
munition given to him, finally admitted that nearly
all of it had been given to those who had g«>ne with
the Indian families; Franklin was greatly distressed at
this occurrence.

Five hunters were now sent ahead to hunt; and on
the 2oth of June the journey was resumed, Aknit \o
and five other Indians accompanying the tia viers.
On the 29th " our attention was directed to some pine
l)ranches scattered on the ice, which jn-oved to be
marks placed by our hunters, to guide us to the spot
wlie v3 they had deposited the carcasses of two snudl
(leer. Tliis sui>ply was very seasonable, and the men
cheei-fuUy dragged the additional weight."

On the 1st of July they embarked on the Copj>er-
mine River, which was there two hundred yards wide
and ten feet deep, and run very rapidly over a rocky

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800

ENCOITNTER WITH ESQUIMAUX.

bottom, Tliey now descended the river to a place
named by Hearne, the Bloody Falls, in consequence
of a dreadful massacre there of Esquimaux by the
Chipewyan Indians. As it was a customary resort of
Esquimaux, Junius and Augustus were sent forward,
armed with concealed pistols, and with beads, looking
glasses, etc., to conciliate their countrymen by pres-
ents. They fell in with a small party of them, who
appeared to be mild, peaceable creatui-es ; but they
disappeared in the night.

"On the morning of the 16th, just as the crew were
putting the canoe in the water, Adam arrived in the
utmost consternation, and infonned us that a party of
Esquimaux were pursuing the men whom he had sent
to collect floats. The orders for embarking were in-
stantly countermanded, and we went with a party of
men to their rescue. We soon met our people return-
ing at a slow pace, and learned that they had come
unawares upon the Esquimaux party, which consisted
of six men, with their women and children, who were
traveling towards the rapid Anth a considerable num-
ber of dogs cariying their l^aggage. The women
hid themselves on the first alarm, but the men ad-
vanced, and stopping at some distance from our men,
began to dance in a circle, tossing up their hands in
the air and accompanying their motions with much
shouting, to siofnify, I conceive, their desire of peace.
Our men saluted them by pulling off their hats, and
making bow s but neither party was willing to ap-
proach the other ; and, at length, the Esquimaux re-
tired to tlie hill, from whence they had descended
when first seen.

" We proceeded in the hope of gaining an interview
with them, but lest our appearance in a body should

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franklin's first land expedition.

201

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alarm them, we advanced in a long line, at the head
of which was Augustus. We were led to their bag-
gage, which they had deserted, by the howling of the
dogs ; and on the summit of the hill we found, lying
behind a stone, an old man, who was too infirm to ef-
fect his escape with the rest. He was much terrified
■when Augustus advanced, and probably expected im-
mediate death ; but that the fatal blow might rot be
unrevenged, he seized his spear, and made a thrust
with it at his supposed enemy. Augustus, however,
easily repressed his feeble effort, and soon calmed his
fears by presenting him Avith some pieces of iron, and
assuring him of his friendly intentions."

On the I7th, nine Esquimaux appeared on the bank
of the river opposite the encampment, cairying their
canoes on their backs, but they fled on seeing the
t^nts. Not only were these people alarmed, but the
Indians also were so temfied that they insisted on re-
turning the next day ; nor could Franklin induce even
one hunter to remain with him. The interpreters too
were much frightened and requested their discharge ;
but it was refused, and they were closely watched to
prevent their desertion.

The reduced party proceeded, and on the 18th of
July reached the Polar Sea. Tlie Canadians were
much interested at the first view, although despondent,
and Hepburn, the English sailor, was quite elated at
beholding again his favorite element.

On the 19th, Mr. Wentzel and four discharged Ca-
nadians started on their return southward. The party
now numbered about twenty, who, in two canoes with
fifteen day's provisions, embarked 2l8t July, to navi-
gate the sea to the eastward.

They proceeded on, along a dreaiy coast, making new

1 ii

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202

THE EETURN JOURNEY COMMENCED

discoveries, but meeting no Esquimaux from wliom
they had hoped to get provisions, which were rapidly
diminishing. A few deer and a bear were caught, and
a veiy few fish.

On the 30th of July they passed the mouth of a
river which they named Hood. On the 5th of Au-
gust they reached the mouth of a river which is no^v
known as Back, or Great Fish River.

On the 15 th of August the canoes were found to be
in an unseaworthy condition, and there was only
three day's supply of provisions remaining, Avith poor
prospects of obtaining more. " It was evident that the
time spent in exploring the Arctic and Melville Sounds
and Bathurst's Inlet, had precluded the hope of reach-
ing Repulse Bay, which at the outset of the voyage
we had fondly cherished ; and it was equally obvious
that as our distance from any of the trading establish-
ments would increase as we proceeded, the hazardous
traverse across the barren grounds, which we should
have to make, if compelled to abandon the canoes up-
on any part of the coast, would becon^e greater."

The most eastern land seen was Point Turn-again,
distant f rona Coppermine River by the way they came
nearly six hundred miles. The return journey was
begun on the 2 2d of August, and on the 25th the
party encamped on the banks of Hood's River, at the
foot of the firat rapids. " Here terminated our voyage
on the Arctic sea, during which we had gone over six
hundred and fifty geographical miles. Our Canadian
voyagei-s could not restrain their expressions of joy at
having turned their backs on the sea, and they passed
the evening talking over their past adventures with
much humor and no little exaggeration. Tlie consid-
eration that the most painful, and certainly the most

i^fr.

FBANKLmS FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

208

hazardous, part of the journey was yet to come, did
not depress their spirits at all." , '

At a few miles up Hood's River, it runs for about
a mile through a narrow chasm, the walls of which
are upward of two hundred feet in height, and quite
perpendicular. Through this chasm the river precip-
itates itself in two magnificient falls, close to each
other. The large canoes not being suited to this river,
two smaller ones were constructed out of their mate-
rials, to be used when crossing rivers.

The construction of the new canoes detained them
till the first of September, when it was decided to make
a direct line to the part of Point Lake opposite the
Springencampment, distant only 149 miles in a straight
line from where they were. Having proceeded twelve
miles, a snow-storm obliged them to encamp, and on
the 3d, the last piece of pemmican and a little arrow-
root were distributed for supper.

The violence of the stonn continued till the 7th ; and
for several days, ha^^ng nothing to eat, and no means
of making a fire, they remained whole days in bed,
and, with a temperature of 20^*, without fire, the
party weak from fasting, their garments and tents
frozen stiff and the ground covered with three feet of
snow, their condition was very unfit for traveling in
such a country. On tiying to proceed, Franklin was
seized with a fainting-fit, in consequence of exhaust-
ion and sudden exposure to the wind, but on eating a
nioi-sel of portable soup he recovered. One of the
canoes was broken to pieces, and a fire was made with
it to cook the remnant of portable soup and aiTOW-
root ; a scanty meal after three days' fasting.

The next two days the surface of the barren
grounds was covered Avith large stones, bearing a

' in i"

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204

CROSSING A ErVTER.

licLen which the Canadians call tripe de roclie or, rock-
tripe, a substance to ^vhich the travelers may be said
to owe their safety and existence ; without it they
must all have died of starvation.

An unknown river was crossed on the 9th. The
canoe being put into the water was found very leaky,
but it was managed with much dexterity by St. Ger-
main, Adam, and Peltier, wlio fenied over one pas-
senger at a time, causing him to lie flat in its bottom.
The next day a musk-ox was shot. To skin and cut
up the animal was the work of a few minutes. The
contents of its stomach were devoured upon the spot,
and the raw intestines, which were next attacked,
were pronounced by the most delicate to be excellent.

On the 13th several of the party were sick from
eating rock-tripe, and it was then discovered that the
fishing nets had been thrown away by some one, and
that the flt)ats had been burned, thus depriving the
party of their chief resource for foe ^.

On the morning of the 14th, while the officer were
assembled round a small Are, Perrault, one of the voy-
agers, presented each of them with a small piece of
meat, which he had saved from his allowance. "It
Was received," sa}'s Franklin, " ^vith great thankful-
ness, and such an act of self-denial and kindness, be-
ing totally unexpected in a Canadian voyager, filled
our eyes with tears."

On the same day, Franklin, St. Germain, and Be-
langer, embarked in the canoe to cross the river, and
when in the midst of it, the current and a strong
breeze drove the canoe to the veiy brink of a tremen-
dous rapid. Belanger, unluckily, applied liis paddle to
avert the danger of being forced down the rapid ; he
lost his balance, and the canoe overset in the midst of
the rapid.

FRANKLIN 8 FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

205

"We fortunately kept hold of it, until we touched
a rock where the water did not reacli higher than our
waists; here we ke})t our footing, notwithstanding the
strength of the current, until the water was emptied
out of the canoe. Belanger then held the canoe steady
whilst St. Germain placed me in it, and afterwards
embarked himself in a veiy dexterous manner. It
was impossible, however, to embark Belanger, as the
canoe would have been hurried down the rapid, the
moment he should have raised his foot from the rock
on which he stood. We were, therefore, compelled
to leave him in his perilous situation. We had not
gone twenty yards before the canoe, striking on a sud-
den rock, went down. The place being shallow, we
were again enabled to empty it, and the third attempt
brought us to the nliore.

"In the mean time Belanger was suffering extreme-
ly, immersed to his middle in the centre of a rapid,
the upper pait of his body covered with wet clothes,
exposed in a temperature not much above zero, to a
strong breeze. He called piteously for relief, and St.
Germain on his return endeavored to embark him, but
in vain. The canoe was hurried down the rapid, and
when he landed he was rendered by the cold incapa-
ble of further exertion, and Adam attempted to em-
bark Belanger, but found it impossible. An attempt
was next made +o carry out to him a line, made of the
shngs of the men's loads. This also failed, the cur-
rent acting so strongly upon it, as to i)revent the canoe
from steering, and it was finally broken and carried
down the stream. At length, Avlien Belanger's strength
seemed almost exhausted, the canoe reached liim with
a small cord belonging to one of the nets, and he was
dragged perfectly senseless through the rapid. By

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206

XXOITINO ADVKNTUUES.

the direction of Dr. Richardsun, lie ^va3 instantly
stripped, and being rolled up in blanlvetn, two men
undressed themselves and went to bed with h'.^w, but
it was some hours beiure he recovered his ANannth and
sensations. ' •

" It is impossible to describe ray sensations as I wit-
nessed the various unsuccessful attempirf to relieve
Belanger. The distance prevented my seeing dif tinct-
ly what was going on, and I continued pacing up and
down upon the rock on which I landed, regan^le.ss of
the coldness of my drenched and stiffening ''arnents.
The canoe, in every attempt to reach him, was Hurried
doAvn the rapid, and was lost to the view amongst the
rocky islets, with a rapidity that seemed to threaten
certain destruction ; once, indeed, I fancied that I saw
it overwhelmed in the waves. Such an event would
have been fatal to the whole party. Separated as I
was from my companions, without gun, ammunition,
hatchet, or the means of making a fire, and in wet
clothes, my doom would have been speedily sealed.
My companions too, driven to the necessity of coast-
ing the lake, must have sunk under the fatigue of
rounding its innumerable arms and bays, which, as
we have learned from the Indians, are very extensive.
By the goodness of Providence, however, we were
spared at that time, and some of us have been permit-
ted to offer up our thanksgivings, in a civilized land,
fur the signal deliverances we then and afterward ex-
perienced.

" On the 20th we got into a hilly country, and the
marching became much more laborious. Mr. Hood
was particularly weak, and was obliged to relinquish
his station of second in the line, which Dr. Richard-
son now took, to direct the leading man in keeping

franklin's riRST lAND EXT'EPTTTOI».

2or

the Jippointed course. I Avas also un;i])le to keep pace
with tlie men, who piit forth their utmost s[)ee(l, en-
coiirflgod by tlie hope, whieli our rei'lvoning hud led us
to form, of Heeing Point Lake in the evening, but we
were obligvMl to oncanip without g;iiMiiig a view of it."

On tlie 22(1 they came to a hirL-;*^ lake and foHowed
its coast southerly. As the Avind wan ntrong it was
difficult to cany the canoe over the hills, and it got
several falls, and Peltier and Vailhint. \vho w^ere canT-
ing it, fnally left it behind. "The anguish this
intelligence occasioned may be conceived, but it is be-
yond my ]>ower to descnbe it. Inii)i'e.ssed, however,
with the necessity of taking it forward, even in the
state these men represented it to be, Ave urgently de-
sired them to fetch it ; but they declined going, and
the strength of the officers was inadecjuate to the task.
To their infatuated obstinacy on this occasion, a
great portion of the melancholy cii'cumstances which
attended our subsequent progi-ess may, perhaps, be at-
tributed. The men now seemed l(»st to all lu^pe of
being preserved ; and all the arguments we could use
failed in stimulating them to the least exertion.

" After consuming the remains of the bones and horns
of the deer we resumed our march, and in the eve-
ning reached a contracted part of the lake, Avhich per-
ceiving to be shallow, we forded and encamped on
the o})posite side. Heavy rain began soon afterAvards,
and continued all the night. On the following morn-
ing the rain had so Avasted the snow, that the tracks
of Mr. Back and his companions, Avho had gone before
Avith tlie hunters, were traced Avith difficulty; and the
frequent showers during the day almost obliterated
them. The men became furious at the apprehension
of being deserted by the hunters, and some of the

Ir I

ill: HI

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208

ATTEirPTS TO OBOSa THE COPPERMINE.

n 5 i

strongest throwing clown their bundles, prepared to
set out after them, intending to leave the more weak
to follow as they could. The entreaties and threats
of the officers, however, prevented their executing
this mad scheme ; but not before Solomon Belanger
was despatched with orders for Mr. Bade to halt until
we should join hmi. The bounty of Providence was
most seasonably manifested to us next morning, in
our killing iive small deer out of a herd, which came
in sight as we were on the point of starting. This
unex])ected supply reanimated the drooping spirits of
our men and fille<l every heart with gratitude."

On the 26th of September they reached the Copper-
mine River ; and now for the first time the men saw
their folly in refusing to bring the canoe. In hopes
of finding some material for building a raft, they pro-
ceeded along the river to the east end of Puint Lake
where they encamped. Here Mr. Back and the inter-
preters Avere sent forward to hunt, and to cominmiicate
with the Indians supposed to be at Fort Enterprise.
The balance of tlie party started the same day in n
straggling and desjiondent mood. The ])utrid carcass
of a deer whicli they found, furnished u su])per and
greatly revived the spirits of all, and they concluded
to try and get across on a raft of green willows, and
made one capable of holding up one man at a time.

" At this time Dr. Richardson, prompted by a desire
of relieving his suifeiing companions, ])roposed to
s\\am across the stream with a line, and to liaul the
raft over. He launched into the stream with the line
round his middle, hut when he had got a shoi-t dis-
tance from the bank, his anus became benumbed with
cold, and Ime lost the power of moving them ; wtill he
j)er8evered, and turning on his back, had nearly gained

FRANKLIN 8 FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

209

the opposite bank, when his legs also became power-
less, and to our infinite alarm we beheld him sink.
AVe .instantly hauled upon the line and he came again
ou the sui-face, and was gradually drawn ashore in an
almost lifeless state. Being rolled up in blankets, he
was placed before a good fire of willows, and fortu-
nately was just able to speak sufficiently to give some
slight directions respecting the manner of treating
him. lie recovered strength gradually, and by the
blessing of God was enabled in the course of a few
hours to converse, and by the evening was sufficiently
recovered to remove into the tent. We then regretted
to learn, that the skin of his whole left side was
deprived of feeling in consequence of exposure to too
great heat. He did not peifectly recover the sensa-
tion of that side until the following summer."

On the 1st of October, Back and the interpreters
returned, having been unable to cross the water. As
the tvillow canoe was impracticable, St. Germain pi'o-
])()sed to build one of some painted canvas, and men
were sent off to collect pitch from some small pines
which had been passed on the journey.

" On the following morning the ground was covered
with snow to the depth of a foot and a half, and the
weather was very stormy. These circumstances ren-
dered the men again extremely despondent ; a settled
gloom hung over their countenances, and they lefusea
to pick tripe de roche, choosing rather to go entirely
without eating, than to make any exertion. The
pai ty which went for gum returned early in the mov-
ing without having found any; but St. Germain said
he could still make the canoe with the Avillows cover-
ed \\\i\\ the canvas, and removed with Adam to a
clump of willows for that purpose. Mr. Back accom-

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210

BUILDING A OAKOE.

panied them to stimulate his exertion, as we feared
the lowness of his spirits would cause him to be slow
in his operations. Augustus went to fish ut the rapid,
but a large trout having carried away his bait, we had
nothing to replace it.

" The snow-storm continued all the night, and dur-
ing the forenoon of the 3d. Having persuaded the
people to gather some tripe de roche,l partook of a
meal with them ; and afterwards set out with the in-
tention of going to St. Germain to hasten his opera-
tions, but though he was only three-quarters of a mile
distant, I spent three hours in a vain attempt to reach
him, my strength being unequal to the labor of wad-
ing through the deep snow ; and I returned quite ex-
hausted, and much shaken by the numerous falls I
had got. My associates Avere all in the same debilita-
ted state, and poor Hood was reduced to a ])ei'fect
shadow, from the severe bowel complaints which the
tn'pe de roche never failed to give him. Back was so
feeble as to require the support of a stick in walking ;
and Dr. Richardson had lameness superadded to weak-
ness. The vc)ya2[ers were somewhat stronrjer than
ourselves, but more indisposed to exertion, on account'
of their despondency. The sensation of hunger was
no longer felt by any of us, yet we were scarcely able
to converse upon any other subject than the ])leasures
of eating. nepl)iirn, on the contrary, animated by a
firm r<'liaiuH> on the beneficence of the Snju-eine Being,
tenqjcred with resignation to his will, was indefatiga-
ble in his exertions to serve us, and daily collected all
the tripe de roche that was used in the oificers' mess.

" Oct. 4. — The canoe being finished, it was brought
to the encanqimeiit, and the whole party being assem-
bled in anxious expectation on the beacli, St. Germain

FRANKLIN 8 FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

embarked, and amidst our prayers for liis success, suc-
ceeded in reaching the opposite slior'e. The canoe
was then di'awn back again, and another pei"son trans-
ported, and in this manner, by drawing it buckv/ards
and forwards, tliey were all conveyed over without
any serious accident.

" That no time might be lost in procuring I'elief, I
immediately despatched IVIr. Back with St. Germain,
Solomon Beianger, and Beauparlant, to searcli for the
Indians, directing him to go to Fort Enterprise, where
we expected they would be, or wdiere, at least, a note
°rom Mr. Wentzel would be found to direct us in our
search for them. If St. Germain should kill any ani-
mals on his way, a portion of the meat was to be put
up secure y for us, and conspicuous marks placed over
it.

"It is impossible to imagine a more gratifying
change than was produced in our voyagers after we
were all safely landed on the southej'u banks of the
river. Their spirits immediately r(5vived, each of them
shook the officers cordially by the liand, and declared
they now considered the worst of their difficulties
over, as they did not doubt of reaching Fort Enter-
l)rise in a few days, even in their feebk^ condition.

"Our advance from the depth of the snow was
slow. Mr. Hood, wlio was now very feeble, and Dr.
Richardson, wlio attached himself to him, walked
together at a gentle pace in tlie rear of tlie jiarty. I
kept with the forenwst men, to cause them to halt
occasionally, until the stragglers came up. A\^e had a
Miiall (luantity of this irlpe ih roclm in the evening,
and the rest of our supper was made up of scraps of
roasted leather."

About this time two of the men, Credit and Vail-

P M

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212

SEPABATION OF THE C05IPANY.

m^'-i

lil^

lant, gave out, and were l-eported to be a mile behind,
in the snow. Dr. Richardson went back and found
Vaillant much exhausted with cold and hunger, but
was obliged to leave him. J. B. Belanger then went
to his aid and brought on his burden, but could not
arouse him, and neither he nor Vaillant were seen
afterwards. Junius, too, had left some days before to
hunt, and never returned. The men were unable to
carry their loads further, and, to relieve them and be
in condition to assist any who might give out, Mr.
Hood and Dr. Richardson proposed to remain behind.

" The weather was mild next morning. We left the
encampment at nine, and a little before noon came to
a pretty extensive thicket of small willows, near Avhich
there appeared a supply of t?-ipe ds rocJie on the face
of the rocks. At this place Dr. Richardson and Mr.
Hood determined to remain, mth John Hei»burn, who
volunteer'ed to stop with them. The tent was securely
pitched, a few ^villow8 collected, and the ammunition
and all other articles were deposited, except each
man's clothing, one tent, a sufficiency of ammunition
for the Journey, and the officer's Journals. I had only
one blanket, which was carried for me, and two pair
of shoes. The oft'er was now made for any of the
men, who felt themselves too weak to proceed, to re-
main with the officers, but none of them accepted it.
Michel alone felt some inclination to do so. After
we had united in thanksgiving and prayers to Almighty
God, I separated from my companions." This part-
ing took place on the 7th of October, at a distance of
about twenty-four miles from Foii Enteqirise.

"Descending afterwards into a more level country,
we found the snow very deep, and the labor of wad-
ing through it so fatigued the whole party, that we

ment.

own rei
son's en
be obtu
the lr()(
er hear(
the sui'\
was an
had a tc
The

franklin's first land 33XPEDinON.

213

were compelled to encamp, after a march of four
miles and a half. Belanger and Michel were left far
behind, and when they aiiived at the encampment
appeared rpiite exhausted. The former, bursting into
tears, declared his inal)ility to proceed with the jjarty,
and begged me to let him go back next morning to
the tent, and shortly afterwards Michel made the
same reipiest. Not being able to find any ^/y};<j de
roclie, Ave drank an infiision of the Labrador tea j)lant,
and ate a few morsels of burnt leather for sujiper.
ys^e were unable to raise the tent, and found its weight
too great to carry it on ; we, therefore, cut it up, and
took a part of the canvas for a cover. The night
was bitterly cold, and though we lay as close to each
other as possible, liaving no shelter, Ave could not keep
ourselves sufficiently wann to sleep. A strong gale
came on after midnight, which increased the severity
of the Aveather."

In the morning Belanger and IMichel AA'ere pemiit-
ted to go back, and Avere left sitting in the encamp-
ment. Soon af terAvard tAvo of the other men Perrault
and Fontano, Avere seized Avith dizziness and betrayed
symptoms of extreme debility ; one of them, bursting
into tears, declared his inability to go on, and the other,
the next day, Avas completely exluinsted ; each, at his
own recpiest, was pennitted to return to Dr. liichard-
son's encampment, Avhore fire and r(>ck-tripe Avere to
1)6 obtained. Only one of them, however, (Michel,
the Iroipiois,) anived; the othev three Aveie ne\'-
er heard of ; and fortunate indeed would it have been if
tlie survivor had perished Avith tlie rest. Fontano
Avas an Italian, a faithful man, for Avhom Franklin
had a tender regard.

The party, noAV reduced to five, Augustus having

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214

A DESEBTBD FOTST.

gone ahead, continued tlie journey with no alleviation
of their sufferings, excepting the comfort one day of
a large fire — the first deserving the name since leaving
the coast. Having no rock-tripe they drank some tea
and ate some of their shoes for supper.

"At length we leached Fort Enterpiise, and to our in-
finite disappointment found it a perfectly desolate hab-
itation. There was no deposit of provision, no trace
of the Indians, no letter from Mr. Wentzel to point
out where the Indians might be found. It would be
impossil>le for me to describe our sensations after en-
tering this miserable abode, and discovering how we
had been neglected ; the whole party shed tears, not
so much for our own fate, as for that of our fiiends in
the rear, whose lives depended entirely on our send-
ing immediate relief from this place.

" I found a note, however, from Mr. Back, stating
that he had readied the house two days ago, and was
going in search of the Indians, at a place where St.
Gemiain deemed it probable they might be found. If
he was unsuccessful, he purposed walking to Fort
Providence, and sending succor from thence.

" We now looked round for the means of subsistence,
and were gratified to find several deer skins, which
had been thrown aAvay during our former i-esideiice.
The bones were gathered from the heap of ashes ; these
with the skins, and the addition of irijje de roclie, we
considered would support us tolerably well for a time.
We jn-ocured fuel by pulling up the flooring of the
other rooms, and Mater for the purpose of cooking by
melting the snow. A\liilst we were seated round the
fire singeing the deer skin for supj^r, we were rejoiced
by the unexpected entrance of Augustiis. He had
followed quite a different coui^se from oura.

I ill

FEANKLIN 8 FIBST LAND EXPEDITION.

215

"In tlie afternoon of tlie 14tli, Belanger arrived
with a note from Mr. Back, stating that he had seen no
traces of the Indians, and desiring further instructions
as to the course he shouhi pursue. Belanger's situa-
tion, however, required our first care, as he came in al-
most speechless, and covered with ice, having fallen
into a rapid, and for the third time since we left the
coast, narrowly escaped drowning." Franklin decided
to start for Fort Providence, and sent by Belanger
directions to Back to meet him at Rainbow Lake ; but
one of the men, Adam, became unable to travel, and
leavdng Peltier and Samandre behind with him, the
other three started off alone. '

" No language that I can use could adequately de-
scribe the parting scene. I shall only say there was
far more calmness and resignation to the Divine will
evinced by every one than could have been expected.
We were all cheered by the hope that the Indians
would be found by the one party, and relief sent to
the other. Those who remained entreated us to make
all the haste we could." '

Franklin was unable to keep up with his compan-
ions, and leaving them to go on alone, returned to the
limise, "where he found the men much dispirited and
failin<x, two of them beins: unable to leave their beds.

" We perceived our strength decline every day, and
every exertion began to be irksome ; when we Avere
once seated the greatest effort was necessar}'- in order
to rise, and we had frequently to lift each other from
our seats ; but even in this pitiable condition we con-
versed cheerfully, being sanguine as to the speedy ar-
rival of tlie Indians. Having expended all tlie wood
which we could procure from our present dwelling,

without endangering its falling, Peltier began this

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216

STARVATION LIFE AT lOKT ENTERPBISE.

4ay to pull down the partitions of tlie adjoining
houses.

" On the 29th, Peltier felt his pains more severe and
could only cut a few pieces of wood. Samandre, ^vho
was still almost as weak, relieved him a little time,
and I assisted them in canying in the wood. "We
saw a herd of reindeer sporting on the river, about
half a mile from the house ; they re^aained there a
considerable time, but none of the party felt them-
selves sufficiently strong to go after thein, nor Avas
there one of us who could have fired a gun Avithout
resting it.

" Whilst we were seated round the fire this evening,
discoursing about the anticipated relief, the convei-sa-
tion was suddenly iuteirupted by Peltier's exclaiming
with joy, ^^Ah! le monde ! " imagining that he lieard
the Indians in the other room ; immediately after-
wards, to his bitter disapiwintment, Dr. Richardson
and Hepburn entered, each carrying his bundle. Pel-
tier, however, soon recovered himself enough to express
his joy at their safe arrival, and his regret that their
companions were not with them. When I saw them
alone my own mind was instantly filled with appre-
hensions respecting my friend Hood, and our other
com[)anions, which Avere immediately confirmed by the
Doctor's melancholy communication, that Mr. Hood,
and Michel were dead. Perrault and Fontano had
neither reached the tent nor been heard of by them.

" Hepburn having shot a partridge, Avhicli was
brought to the house, the Doctor tore out the feathers,
an I having held it to the fire a few minutes, divided it
into seven portions. Each piece was ravenoasly de-
voured by my companions, as it was the firet morsel
of flesh any of us had tasted for thirty-one days, un-

were reac

PBANKLIN 8 FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

217

le8S indeed tlie small gristly particles which vre found
occasionally adhering to the pounded Lones may he
termed flesh. Our spirits Avere revived hy this small
supply, and the Doctor endeavored to raise them still
higher by the prospect of Ileplmrn's being able to
kill a deer next da)-, as tliey had seen, and even fired
at, several near the house. Having brought his pray-
er-book and Testament, some prayers and psalms, and
portions of scripture, appropriate to our situation,
were read, and we retired to bed.
• " Next morning the Doctor and IIe2)burn went out
early in search of deer ; but, though they sa-w seve-
ral herds and fired some shots, they were not so for-
tunate as to kill any, l^eing too weak to hold their
guns steadily. The cold compelled the former to
return soon, but Hepburn persisted until late in the

evening.

" After our usual supper of singed skin and bone
soup, Dr. Richardson ac(iuainted me with the afflict-
ing circumstances attending the death of IMr. Hood
and Michel and detailed occurrences subsequent "which
I shall give from his joiu'ual in his own words."

' mm

llllhv,||

, 'JaeJ^- .'

CHAPTER XV.

FRANKLIN'S FIRST LAND EXPEDITION,
(continued.)

DR. Richardson's NARRAxrv^E.

" After Captain Franklin liad Indden us farewell,
we remained seated by the fireside as long as the
willows, the men had cut for us Ijefore they de])arted,
lasted. We had no tripe de roclie that day, but drank
an infusion of the country tea-plant, ^vhic]l was grate-
ful fix)m its AS armth, although it afforded no suste-
nance. AVe then retired to bed, where we remained
all the next day, as the weather was stormy, and tlie
snow-drift so heavy, as to destroy every jirospeot of
success in our endeavors to light a fire "with the green
and frozen willows, whicli were our (MiIv fuel. Thn )u<'li
the extreme kindness and forethought of a lady, tlie
party, previous to le«ving London, had been furuislied
with a small collection of religious books, of which Ave
still retained two or three of the most portable^, and
they proved of incalculable benefit to us. AVe I'ead
portions of them to each other as we lay in bed, in
addition to the morning and evening sei'vice, and found
that they inspired us on each perusal Avith so strong a
sense of the omnipresence of a beneficent (Jod, that
our situation, even in these wilds, appeared no longer
destitute ; and we conversed, not only with calmness,

218

II . II

FRANKLIN 8 FIRST LAJfD EXPEDITION.

219

but with clieei'fulness, detailing, wiih uiu-eHtrained
confidence tlie past events of our lives, and dwelling
Avitli hope on onr future prospecta. Had my poor
friend ])een spared to revisit hi.s native land, I should
look back to tliis period a\ ith unalloyed deliglit.

"On tlie morninLT of October Otli, the weather,
alth()U^d^ still cold, "\vus clear, and I went out in quest
of tript (k rochf', leaving Hepburn to cut willows for
afire, and Mr. IIooil in bed. I had no success, as
yesterday's snow drift was so frozen on the surface of
the rocks that I couhl not collect a' y of the weed ;
but, (»n my return to the tent, I found that Mi hel,
the Iro(piois, had come Avith a note from Mr. Franklin.
Michel informed us that he quitted Mr. Frjinki.u's
party }'estei'(hiy morning, but, that ha\ iiig missed his
way, he had passed the night on the snow a mile or
two to the northward of us. Belanger, he said, being
impatient, had left tlu; iire about two houi-s' earlier,
and as he had not arrived, he sui)posed he had gone
astray. It Avill be seen in the sequel, that we liad
more than sufficient reason to doubt the truth of this
stor)^

" Michel now produced a hare and a partridge Avhich
lie had killed in the morning. This unexpected sup-
ply of provision was received by us -with a deep sense
of gratitude to the Almighty for his goodness, and we
looked upon Michel as the instrument he luid chosen
to preserve all our lives. He complained of cold, and
Mr. Hood oifered to share his buffalo robe with liim
at night : I gave him one of two shirts Avhich I wore,
whilst Hei)burii, in the warmth of his lieart, exclaimed,
*lIow I shall love this man if I find that he does not
tell lies like the others.' Our meals being finished,
we arranged that the greatest part of tlxe things should

■4 I
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220

DR. RICnARDSON 8 NAURATm-!.

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be carried to the pines the next day ; and after reading
the evening service, retired to h<>d full of hope.

" Early in the nioniing Ilopburn, Michel, and my.
self, carried the anuminition, and most of the other
heavy articles to the pines, Michel was our guide,
and it did not occur to us at the time that his con-
ducting us pei-fectly straight Avas incompatible Avith
his story of having gone astray on his way to us. lie
now informed us that he had, on his way to the tent,
left on the hill above the pines a gun and forty-eight
balls, which Perrault had given him when Avith the
rest of Mr. Franklin's party, he took leave of him.
It will be seen, on a reference to Mr. Franklin's jour-
nal, that Perrault earned his gun and ammunition
with him when they parted from l^Iichel and Belan-
ger. After Ave had made a fire, and drank a little of
the countiy tea, Hepburn and I returned to the tent,
Avhere Ave arrived in the evening, much exhausted AAdth
our joiu'ney. Michel preferred sleejiing Avhere he Avas,
and requested us to leaA^e him the hatchet, Avhich Ave
did, after he had promised to come early in the morn-
ing to assist us in carrying the tent and bedding,
Mr. Hood remained in bed all <lay, Seelnix nothiii"
of Belanger to-day, we gaA'e him up for lost.

"On the 11th, after Avaiting until late in the morn-
ing for Micliel, Avho did not come, Hepburn and I
loaded ourselves Avith the bedding, and accompanied
by Mr. Hood, set out for the pines. Mr. Hood Avas
much affected Avith dimness of sight, giddiness, and
other symptoms of extreme debility, Avlilch caused us
to move A'ery s1oa\ and to make frecpieiit halts. On
arriving at the pinesi; we Avere much alarmed to find
that Michel was absenb. We feared that he had lost
his way in coming to i s in the morning, although it

1 I

fhattklin's FinsT land extedition'.

221

was not easy to conjecture liow that could have Imp-
pened, as our footsteps of yesterday were very cUstinct.
IIei)buni went back for the tent, and returned with it
after dusk, completely worn out "with the fatigue of
the (lay. Michel, too, arrived at the Hai.,:e time, and
relieved our anxiety on his account. lie reported that
he had been in chase of some deer wliich passed near
liis ':leeping-i)lace in the moniing, and although he did
not come up with them, yet that he found a wolf
which had been killed by the stroke of a deer's horn,
and had brought a part of it. We implicitly believed
this stoiy then, biit afterwards became convinced from
circumstances, the detail of which may be spared, that
it must have been a portion of the body of Belanger
or Pei'rault.

" A question of moment here presents itself ; name-
ly, whether he actually murdered these men, or either
of them, or whether he found the bodies on the snow.
Coptain Franklin conjectures, that Michel having
already destroyed Belanger, completed his crime by
Perrault's death, in order to screen himself from detec-
tion.

" On the follov/ing morning the tent was pitched,
and Michel Avent out early, refused my offer to accom-
pany him, and remained out the whole day. He
would not sleep in the tent that night, but chose to
lie at the fireside.

"On the 13tli there was a heavy gale of wind, and
we passed the day by tlie fire. Next day, about tAVO
P. M., the gale abating, Michel set out as he said to
hunt, but returned unexpectedly in a very short time.
Tliis conduct surprised us, and his contradictory and
evasory answers to our (questions excited some suspic-
ions, but they did not turn towards the truth.

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222

DU. KICIIARD80N B NARRATIVE.

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" Octoher 15th, — In tlie course of tliis day Michel
expressed jniich regret that he had staid Leliiiid Mr.
Franklin's party, and declared that he would set out
for the house at once if he knew the way. We en-
deavored to soothe him, and to raise his hopes of the
Indians speedily coming to our relief, but without
success.

" Next day he refused either to hunt or cut wood,
spoke in a veiy sui'ly manner, and threatened to leave
us. Under these circumstances, Mr. Ilood and I deem-
ed it better to promise if he Avou'ld hunt diligently for
four days, that then we would give Hepburn a letter
foi' Mr. Franklin, a compass, inform him what course
to pursue, and let them proceed together to the fort.

" On the I7th I went to conduct Michel to where
Vaillant's blanket was left, and after Avalking about
three miles, pointed out the hills to him at a distance.
He proposed to remain out all night, and to hunt
next day on his svay back. He returned in the after-
noon of the 18th, having found the blanket, together
with a bag containing two jjistols, and some other
things which had been left beside it. We had some
tripe da rocJn^^ in the evening, bv.t Mr. Hood, from the
constant griping it produced, w;is unable to eat more
than one oi' two spoonfuls. He was now so weak as
to be scarcely able to sit uj* at the fireside, and com-
plained that the least breeze of Avind seemed to blow
through his frame. He also sufiered much from cold
during the night,

" On the 10th Michel refused to hunt, or even to as-
sist in cai'rying a log of ^vood to the fire, which was
too heavy for Hepburn's strength and mine, Mr.
Hood endeavored to point out to him the necessity
and duty of exei*tn?'i, and the cmelty of his quitting

FRANKLINS TyiRST LAND EXPEDITION.

223

us without leaving ao^oething for our support ; but tlie
discourse, far from }•, educing any bt^nelicial effect,
seemed only to excite his anger, and amongst other ex-
pressions he made use of the following remai'kable one :
" It is no use hunting, there are no animals, you had
better kill and eat me."

" October 20. — In the morning w^e again mged
Michel to go a hunting, that he might if jxjssjble 1* uve
us some provision, to-moiTow being the da}' a]>pointed
for his (quitting us ; but he showed great unwilling-
ness to go out, and lingered about the ti'e, under the
pretense of cleaning his gun. After we had r*^ad the
morning service, I went about noon to gather some
tri^e de roelie, leaving Mr. Hood sitting before the tent
at the fireside, arguing Avith MicheJ ; IIep}>uru wiis
emplo}'ed cutting down a tree at a short distance
from the tent, being desirous of accumulating a (juan-
tity of fire- wood before he left us. A short time after
I went out, I heard the report of a gun, and about ten
miuutes afterwards Hepburn called to me in a voice
of great alami, to come directly. When I arrived, I
found ptH)r Hood lying lifeless at the fireside, a ball
having a})parently entered his forehead. I was at first
horror-struck Avith the idea, that in a fit of despond-
ency he had hurried himself into the jiresence of his
iiluiighty Judge, by an act of his own hand ; but the
conduct of Michel soon gave rise to other tlioughts,
and excited suspicions which were confhined when
upon examining the body, I discovered that tlie shot
lud entered the back part of the head, and i>assed
out at the forehead, and that the nuiz/.le of tlie gun
lu-ul been applied so close as to set fire to the night-
cap beliind. The gun, which was of the longest kind
supplied to the Indians, could not ha\e been pliK-eJ

;Bi:i

224

DR, RICHARDSON S NARRATIVE.

in a position to inflict such a wound, except by a sec-
ond person.

" Upon inquiring of Michel how it happened, he
replied, that jMr. Hood had sent him into the tent for
a short gun, and that during his absence the long gun
had gone off, ho did not know Avhether by accident
or not. He held the short gun in his hand at the
time he was speaking to me. Hepbur-> ; fterwarda
informed me, that previous to the report c'^ he gun,
Mr Hood and Michel %vere speaking to each other in
an ek^vated, angiy tone ; that Mr. Hood being seated
at the fireside, was hid from him by intervening wil-
lows, but that on hearing the report he looked up, and
saw Michel rising up fi-om before the tent door, or
Just behind Avhere Mr. Hood was seated, and then go-
ing into tlie tent. Thinking that the gun had been
discli urged for the purpose of cleaning it, he did not
go to the fire at first ; and when Michel called to him
that Mr. Hood was dead, a considerable time had
elapsed. Although I dared not openly to evince any
suspicion that I thought Michel guilty of the deed,
yet he repeatedly protested that he was incapable of
committing such an act, kept constantly on his guard,
and carefully avoided leaving Hepbiu'n and me to-
gether. He was evidently afraid of permitting us to
converse in private, and Avhenever He])burn s])oke, he
inquired if he accused him of the murder.

" We removed the body into a clump of willows
behind the tent, and, retui-ning to the fire, read the
funeral service in addition to the evening prayers.
The loss of a young oflficer, of such distinguislied and
varied talents and application, may be felt and duly
appreciated by the eminent cliaracters under ^^■llose
command he had served ; but the calmness with which

FRANKLIN 8 FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

225

lie contemplated the probable tennination of a life of
uncommon jiromise ; and the patience and fortitude
with -svliich he sustained, I may venture to say, unpar-
alleled bodily sufferings, con only be knoAvn to the
companions of his distresses. Jjioherstetlt^s ScrijAiire
Help was lying open beside the body, as if it had fall-
en from liis hand^ and it is probal»le that he Avas read-
ing it at the instant of his death.

" We passed the night in the tent together without
rest, every one being on liis guard.

" Next day, having determined on going to the Fort,
we began to jiatch and prepare our clothes for the
journey. We singed the hair oft' a part of the buffalo
robe that belonged to Mr. Hood, and boiled and ate
it. ]\Iichel tried to persuade me to go to the woods
on th(i Coppermine River, and Inint for deer, instead
of going to the Fort. In the afternoon a flock of par-
tridges coming near the tent, he killed several, which'
he s^liared with us.

" Thick snowy weather and a head wind prevented
us from starting the following day, but on the morn-
ing of the 2.'{d -we set out, carrying with us the re-
mainder of the singed robe. Hepburn and Michel
had each a gun, and I earned a small pistol, which
Hepburn had loaded for me. In the course of the
march, IMichel alarmed us nuich by his gestures and
conduct, was constantly muttering to himself, express-
ed an unwillingness to go to the Fort, and tried to
persuade m<' to go to llie south wai'd to the woods,
where ln' said he could midntain himself all the winter
hy killing deer. In consequence of this behavior, and
the expression of his eoiinteiumce, I ''equested him to
leave us and to go to the southward by himself. This
proposal increased his ill-nature, he threw out some

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226

DE. EICnARDSON 8 NARRATIVE.

obscure hints of freeing himself from all restraint on
the morrow ; and I overheard him muttering threats
against Hepburn, Avhom he openly accused of having
told stories against him. He also for the first time,
assumed such a tone of superiority in addressing me, as
evinced that he considered us to be completely in his
power, and he gave vent to several expressions of
liatred to-wards the white people, or as he termed us
in the idiom of the voyagers, the French, some of
whom, he said, had killed and eaten his uncle and two
of his relations.

" In short, tahing eveiy circumstance of his conduct
into consideration, I came to the conclusion, that lie
would attempt to destroy us on the first opportunity
that offered, and that he had hitherto abstained from
doing so from his ignorance of the way to the Fort,
but that he ^vould never suffer us to go thither in
'c mpany with him. Hepburn snd 1 were not in a
condition to resist even an open attack, nor could we
by any device escajve from him. Our imited strength
was far inferior to his, and, beside his gun, he was
armed with two pistols, an Indian bayonet, and a knife.
In the afternoon, coming to a rock on Avliich there
was some tr/pc- de rochc, he halted, and said he would
gather it whiliL^t we went on, and that he would sooll
overtake us.

"Hepburn and I Avere now left together for the
first time since j\[r. Hood's death, and he ac(piainted
me witli several inatorial circumstan(;es Av]ii<'h 1 e had
observed of ^Michers beliavior, and wliioli connrmed
me in the o])ini()n that there was no safety for us ex-
cept in his death, and lie offereil to be the instrument
of it. I determined, however, us I was thoroughly
convinced of the necessity of such a dreadful act, to

FRANKLIN 8 FIRST LAND EXPEDITION.

227

take the whole responsibility upon myself ; and imme-
diately iipor Michel's coming uji, I jnit an end to his
life by shooting him through the head -with a pistol.
Had my own life alone been threatened, I would not
have purchased it by such a measure ; but I considered
myself as intrusted also with the protection of Hep-
burn's, a man, who, by his humane attentions and de-
votedness, had so endeared himself to me, that I felt
more anxiety for his safety than for my oAvn. Michel
had gathered no tripe de rochcj and it was evident to
us that he had halted for the purpose of putting his
gun in order, with the intention of attacking us, per-
haps, whilst we "were in the act of encamping.

" I have dwelt in the preceding part of the narrative
upon many circumstances of Michel's conduct, not for
the purpose of aggravating his crime, but to put the
reader in possession of the reasons that influenced me
in depriving a fellow creature of life. Up to the
period of his return to the tent, his conduct had been
good and respectful to the officers, and in a conversa-
tion between Captain Franklin, ^Ir, Hood, and myself,
at Obstruction Kapid, it had been proposed to give
liim a reAvai'd upon our arrival at a ]>ost. His princi-
ples, however, unsupported by a belief in the divine
truths of Christianity, were luiable to withstand the
pressure of severe distress. His countrymen, the Iro-
quois, are generally Christians, but he -was totally un-
instnicted and ignorant of the duties inculcated by
Christianity ; and from his long residence in the Indian
countiy, seems to have imbibed, or retained, the rules
of conduct which the southern Indians prescribe to
tliemsclvcs

" On the t\vo following days we liad mild but thick
snowy weather, and as the view Avas too limited ("o

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1^^

DR. RICHARDSON B NARRATIVE.

enable us to j)i'e3erve a straight coui'se, we remained
encamped amongst a few willows and dwai-f pines,
about five miles from tlie tent. On tlie 2Gth, the
weather being clear and extremely cold, we resumed
our march, ^vhich was very painful from the de2)th of
the snow, jiarticularly on the margins of the small
lakes that lay in our route. We frequently sunk
under the load of our blankets, and were obliged to
assist each other in getting up.

"We came in sii^-ht of the fort at dusk on the 29th,
and it is impossible to describe our sensations, when
on attaining the eminence that overlooks it, we be.
held the smoke issuing from one of the chimneys.
From not having met with any footsteps in the snow,
as we drew nigh our once cheerful residence, we had
been agitated by many melancholy forebodings.
Upon entering the now desolate building, ^ve had the
satisfaction of embracing Captain Fraulclin, but no
words can con^•e}' an idea of the filth and Avretched-
ness that met our eyes on looking around. Our own
misery had stolen iipon us by degrees, and we were
accustomed to the contemplation of each othei-'s ema-
ciated figures, but the ghastly countenances, dilated
eye-balls, and sepulchral voices of Mr. Franklin and
those with him, -svere more than we could at firat
bear."

The morning of October 31st was very cold, and
matters did not improve at Foi-t Enterprise. At-
tempts to kill deer and partiidges were unsuccessful,
and Peltier and Samandre grew weaker ; within two
da)s lK)th Avere dead.

On the 7th of November, the report of a nuisket
was heard, and three Indians were seen close to the

til f

m^?TTf

FKANKUN's FIUST land liXI'EMTION.

229

house. Kelief had arrived at last ; Adams was in so
weak a state tliat lie coidd hardly comprehend it, but
on taking food he rapidly improved.

" The Indians had left Akaitcho's encampment on the
5th of November, having been sent by Mr. Back A\ith all
possible expedition, after he had arrived at their tents.
They brought but a small supply of piovisions, that
they might travel quickly. Boudel-kell, the youngest
of the Indians, after resting about an hour, returned
to Akaitcho with the intelligence of our situation.
The two others, " Crooked Foot and the Eat," remain-
ed to take care of us. They set about everything
with an activity that amazed us."

On the 13th, the Indians became despondent at the
non-arrival of supplies, and in the evening went off
after giving each of the white men a handful of pound-
ed meat. On the 15th, Crooked Foot and two other
Indians appeared, with two Indian women dragging
provisions.

On the IGth of November the travelers started to-
wards Fort Providence, es^corted by the Indians, Avho
treated their charge with the greatest tenderness, jire-
paiing their encampment and cooking for them. On
the 2r)th they arrived safely at the abode of Akaitcho,
and were received by the Indians in his tent with
looks of compassion and profound silence of fifteen
inhuites duration, whereby they meant to exjjress their
condolence. Nothing was said until after the ^\ hite
men had tasted food.

On (he 8th of December, Franklin and Ilichardson
took leave of Akaitcho and started south, conducted
by Belanger and a Canadian who had been sent for
tlieni \\ith sledges drawn by dogs. The} arrived at
Fort Providence on the 11th, and were there visited

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il\j%

ARRIVAL AT FORT TORK.

by Akaitcho and his band, with Adam, who had united
with them. In the course of conversation Akaitcho
said to Franklin, " I know you Avrite down eveiy oc-
currence in your books ; but probably you have only
noticed the bad things we have said and done, and
omitted to mention the good."

Stai'ting southward again, the pai'ty reached Moose-
Deer Island on the 17th, where they found Mr. Back,
who gave an affecting detail of the proceedings of his
party since the separation. His nan-ative is but a
continuation of the same kind of suffering by famine
and cold. For days they had nothing to eat, and one
of his men, Beauparlant, died on the way.

On the 2Gth of May, after a five months' residence at
Moose-Deer Island, the party started for Fort Chipew-
yan, where they met Mr. Wentzel ; liis excuse for fail-
ing to keep a supply of provisions at Fort Enterprise
was that he could not control the Indians.

Franklin, Richardson, and Augustus arrived at Fort
York on the 14th of July 1822. And thus termina-
ted their long, fatiguing, and disastrous travels in
North America, having Journeyed by water and by
land (including their navigation of the Polar Sea,)
five thousand five hundred and fifty miles.

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Contini
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CHAPTER XVI.
FRANKLIN'S SECOND LAND EXPEDITION.

In July 1825, Captain Franklin and his party, which
included his old companions Messrs. Richardson and
Back, arrived at Fort Chipe\\^an on his second expe-
dition to the northern shores of America. In due
time the whole party assembled on the banks of the
Great Bear Lake River, which flows out of that lake
on the -western side into the Mackenzie River, down
which they were to descend to the sea in the follow-
ing summer.

On the 8th of A.ugiist, Franklin embarked in the
"Lion "for a preliminary trip down the Mackenzie.
Back with three canoes accompanied him. Near a
place called the " Ramparts " they fell in with a party
of Ilare Indians all neatly clothed in new leathern
dresses, highly ornamented with beads and porcupine
quills, both sexes alike, who brought fish, berries and
ineal. At Fort Good Hope, the lowest of the fur es-
ta]>lishments, Charles Dease, chief trader of the com-
pany, received the travelers and prepai-ed a meal for
tliein at midnight. This fort was situated among the
Indiana Avhom Mackenzie called Quarrelers, but
whom the traders named Loucheux or Squinters.

Continuing on, the party came to what they sup-
posed to be the Arctic Sea, and on Garry Island a tent
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232

FOUT FKANKLIN.

was pitched, and the flag Avhich Franklin's deeply
lamented wife had gi\ ;'n him on j)ai-ting, to be iinfniled
only in view of this sea, was hoisteil.

Dnring Franklin's a1)sence on this trip snitahle
buildings were erected and named Fort Fianklin, and
here the adventurei-s remained through tlie winter,
which though severe was pjissed in comj)arative com-
fort. The last swan flew to the south on the Hth of
October, and the fii-st one re-a]»i)eared <m the fJth of
May. ]Mos(|nitoes arrived on the 24th of May, and
the first flower was gathered on the 27th.

The boats were launched on the 15th of June, and
the men ajipointed to their respective stations and
furnished with blue water-proof uniforms and ft-athers.
Tlie day was closed by drinking a small quantity of
rum reserved for the occasion, followed by a meiiy
dance in which all joinetl.

The adventurers left Fort Franklin on the 21st of
June, leaving behind in charge (»f the fort only an old
fisherman, who would not let them depart without
giving his hearty though solitary cheer, which
was retunied in full chorus. Early in July they
reached a broad part of the river where different
channels brand; oflF, and here the party divided.
Franklin and liack in the Lion and Reliance took th«
western channel and Kicluu'daun with two other
boats took the easterly one.

On tiic 7th of July Franklin's pcHy reached the
mouth of the river, and discovered on an ishmd a mid-
titude of tents and many Esipiimaux. Articles
for presents and tr.'ide having been sehieted, the boats
sailed toward the tents with the ensigns flying, but
touched ground when about a mih; from (he beach.
Three kayaks instantly put off fiom the shore and
othejfl i^uickly followed, so that the whole space

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AT THE UOUTU OF TUB MACKENZIE.

233

between the island and the Loats was covered with
them. The leading kayaks where paddled by elderly
men, Avhora Augustus invited to approach and receive
a present, telling them that if a channel for ships
were found they would come and open a trade. On
hearing which they shouted for joy.

A trade was now commente<l and three hundred
natives crowded around the boats, anxious to sell
their bows, arrows, and spears, and altliough their
injportunities were troublesome, they showed no
unfriendly disposition until an accident occurred
which was productive of annoying consequences.

"A kayak being overset by one of the Lion's oars,
its owner was plunged into the water Avith his head
in the uukI, and apj)arently in danger of being drowned.
AVe instantly extricated him from his unj)leasant situ-
ation, and took him into the boat until the water
could be thrown out of his kayak ; and Augustus,
HvPing him shivering with cold, wrapped him up in
his own great-coat. At first he was exceedingly angiy,
hut soon became reconciled to his situation ; and, look-
ing about, discovered that we had many bales and
other articles in the hont, which hful been concealed
from the ])eople in the kayaks, by the coverings being
carefully sjiread over all. He soon began to ask for
everything he saw, and exi)ressed much displeasure
on our refusing k) comjdy with his demands; he also,
as we afterwards learned, excite<l the cupidity ot
others by his account of the inexhaustible riches in
the Lion, and several of the younger men endeavored
to get into both our boats, but we resisted all their
attempts."

Meantime the water having ebbed so that it was
only knee deep where the boats lay, the natives seized

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234

THE EXPEDITION IN TROUBLE.

hi
i. '

the Reliance and dragged it to the beach. Franklin,
who was in the Lion, says : —

"Two of tlie most powerful men, jumping on board
at the same time, seized me by the wrists and forced
me to sit between them ; and as I shook them hwse
two or three times, a third P2squiniaux took his station
in front to catch my arm whenever I attempted to lift
my gun, or the broad dagger which hung 1»y my side.
The whole way to the shore they kept repeating the
word ' teymay beating gently on my left breast with
their hands, and i)ressing mine against heir breasts.
As we neared the beach, two oomiaks full of women
arrived, and the 'tet/vias'' and vociferation were re-
doubled. The Reliance was fli-st brought to the shore,
and the Lion close to her a few seconds afterward.
The three men who held me now leaped ashore, and
those who had remained in their canoes, taking them
out of the water, carried them to a litthf distance. A
numerous party then drawing their knives, and strip
ping themselves to -he waist, ran to the Reliance, and,
having first hauled her as far up as they could, lugan
a regular pillage, Iianding the articles to the women,
who, ranged in a row behind, quickly conveyed them
out of sight."

In short, after a furious contest for possession of the
goods, during which knives were brandished in a most
threatening manner, several of the 'men's clothes cut
through, and the buttons of othei-s torn from their
coats, Lieutenant Back onlered his men to seize and
level their nuiskets, but not to fire till the word was
given. This had the desired effect, the whole crowd
taking to their heels and hiding themselves behind the
drift-timber on the beach. Franklin still thought it
best to temporize so long as the boats were lying

A BRAVE IirrEItPBETEB.

235

aground, and states Lis conviction, "considering the
state of excitement to wliiili tliey hiul worked them-
selves, tliat the firat blooJ which his jmrty might un-
fortunately have shed would instantly have been re
venged by the .sacriiice of all their lives."

The boats floated soon afterwaitls, ard as they were
leaving, some of the natives walked / long the beach
and invited Augustus to a conference on shore. " I
was unwilling to let him go," says Franklin, " but
the brave little fellow entreated so eai'nestly that I
would suffer him to land and ri'j)r()ve the Escjuimaux
for their conduct, that I at length consented." On
his retum, being desired to tell what he said to them,
" he had told them," he said,

" Your conduct has been very bad, and unlike that
of all other Escniimaux. Some of you even stole from
mo, your countryman ; but that I do not mind ; I only
regret that you slu)uld have treated in this violent
manner the white peojde, who came solely to do you
a kindness. My tribe were in the same unhappy
state in which you now are before the white people
came to Churchill, but at i)reHent they arc supplied
with everything they need, and you see that I am
w«'ll clothed; I get all that I want, and am very com-
fortable. You cannot expect, after the transactions
of this day, that these iieojjle will ever bring go«)ds to
your country again, unless you show your contrition
by restoring the stolen goods. The white ])e()ple
love the Esipiimaux, and wish tt) show tliein the same
kindness that they bestow uiK)n the Indians, Do not
deceive youixelves, an<l su]>])ose they are afraid of you;
I tell yoti they are not; and that it is entirely owing to
their humanity that many of you were not killed
today ; fur they have all guns, with which they can

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236

SECOND WINTEB AT FORT FRANKUUf.

destroy you either when near or at a distance. I
also have a gun, and can assure you tliat if a white
man had fallen I would have been the fii-st to have
revenged his death."

In rejUy, the natives said that having never seen
white men before they could not resist the temptation
of stealing their pretty things ; they pronised never
to do the like again, and gave a proof of their sin-
cerity by restoring the articles that had been stolen;
and thus, in an amicable manner, Avas the affray con-
cluded.

On the 13th of July, Franklin started to examine
the sea coast westerly of the Mackenzie River, and
discovered on the 27th, the mouth of another large
river which he named the Clarence. The extreme
westerly point reached by the party was called lletura
Reef, near longtitutle 149''. Fnmi this place they
started to return on the 18th of August. At this
same time, as was subsequently ascertained, a boat
party from Beechy's Behring's Strait expedition, was
only one hundred and sixty miles west of them on
the same coast.

Franklin and his party reached Fort Franklin in
safety on the 21st of September, after traveling in
three months two thousand and forty-eight miles.
Here they found Dr. Richai-dson and his l)ai'ty, who
had sailed eastward from the mouth of the Mackenzie
River to the mouth of the Coppermine, and thence
overland to the rendezvous, making altogether a
journey of one thousand nine hundred and eighty
miles.

A second winter, and an intensely cold one, was
passed pleasantly at Fort Franklin. At this same
time Captain Parry was wintering amid the ice at a

THE MAGNETIC POLE.

237

point further nortli, as related in former chapters.
It chanced that the magnetic pole lay at this time
between them. " For the same months," says Frank-
lin, "at the interval of only one year. Captain Parry
and myself were making hourly obsei-vations on two
needles, the north ends of which pointed almost direct-
ly towards each other, though our actual distance
apart did not exceed eight hundred and fifty-five geo-
graphical miles ; and while the needle of Port Bowen
was increasing its westerly direction, ours was increas-
ing its easterly, and the contrary — the variation being
west at Port Bo>\en, and east at Fort Fr/^nklin — a
beautiful and satisfactory proof of the solar influence
on the daily variation." .. .,^ ' /

When spring opened Franklin and his companions
started southward, and anived in London in Septem-
ber. ,., , . _„. .

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,,^ • CHAPTER XVII. , ,

ARCTIC VOYAGES OF SCORESBY, CLA\T:R.
ING AND SABINE, LYONS, AND BEECIIEY.

It must not be forgotten that while we are greatly
indebted to scientific and amateur discovered for our
lcnowle<lge of the Arctic regions, we are also under
obligations to. practical seamen ; and among them no
one has shown more zeal and intelligence than Cai>t.,
afterwards Dr., Score8l)y. This gentleman, bred and
reared, as it were, amid the tempests and snows of
the North, and inheriting the love of ads enture from
his father who was also a captain in the whale ser-
vice and gave his son a marine education, observed
the phenomena of the Northern seas, with an encjuir-
ing and scientific eye unusual among those who pur-
sue the rough life of a whaler.

In 1800, Capt. Scoresby, then acting as mate under
his father who commanded a Greenland ship, made a
nearer approach to the Noilh Pole than liad hitherto
been fully authehticated ; for the statements of the
Dutch and other navigators who boast of having gone
much nearer, are subject to great doubt as to the cor-
rectness of their observations.

Proceeding by Jan Mayen into the whale-bight,
they found the watere encumbered by much broken

238

8COHESBY 6 DISCO VKKIESl.

239

ice, tlirougli whieli they made their Avay into an ojien
sea so extensive that its tenninutioii ctmld not be tUs-
covered, luit was estimated to extend fonr or five
hundred s(|uare leagues. Advancing nortlnvard, they
arrived at a very ch)8e continuous fieUl of ])ay-ice,
compacted hy drifting fragments. Pushing their way
through this by the most hiborious exertions, tliey
8ucceede<l in reaching another oj)en sea, unbounded,
except by ice on the south and land in the distant
east.

As their object was to catch whales, and not to
visit the l\>le, they sailed 'n a north-Avest direction,
swiftly crossing the short meridians of this parallel,
and soon j)a8sed from the tenth degree of east to the
eighth of west longitude. Their latitude was 70*^-35',
and the sea was still open on every sjde. As they
found no whales, they changed therr tack, and ran
eastnorth-east about three hundred miles, till they
came to the nineteenth degree of east longitude and
to latitude Sl'^-SO' — only about five hundred geo-
graphical miles from the Pole. The sea lay open
before them, and it was a gi-eat temptation to the
young and daring sailor to run up and hang his cap
on the N(»rth Pole ; but the father, prudently consid-
ering that he had been fitted out by a mercantile con-
cern to bring home a cargo of whale oil, decided not
to gratify the ambition of his son, and tiu'ned buck-
wards to Ilakluyt's Headland, where he was rewarded
for his fidelity to his employere by catching tAveiiiy-
four whales, from which were extracted two hundred
and sixteen tons of oil.

Cajtt. Scoresby, the younger, aftenvards had abun-
dant oiipoiiunity to gratify his love of adventure.
In 1817 he made an excursion on Jau JSIayen's Island.

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EXCUIiSIOK ON JAlf HAYEK.

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Tlie most striking feature was the mountain Beer-
euberg, Avhicli rears its head 6870 feet above the sea;
and, being seen to tlie distance of thirty or forty
leagues, proves a conspicuous landmark to the mar-
iner. Tlie first objects which attracted the eye were
three magnificent icebergs, which rose to a veiy great
height, stretching from the base of Beerenberg to the
water's edge. Their usual greenish-gray color, diver-
sified l)y snow-white patches resembling foam, and
with bhu'k points of rock jutting out from the surface,
gave them exactly the appearance of immense cas-
cades, wliich in falling had been fixed by the power
of frost.

A party ascended a mountain which composed only
the ])ase of Beerenberg, yet was itself 1500 feet liigh.
They were not long in discovenng that the materials
composing this eminence were entirely volcanic. They
trod only upon ashes, slag, baked clay, and scoriie;
and Avhenever these substances rolled under their
feet, the ground beneath made a sound like that of
empty metallic vessels or vaulted caverns. On the
summit they discovered a spacious cratei-, about GOO
feet deep, and 700 yanls in diameter, the lM)ttom of
wliich was filled with alluvial matter, and which, ])eing
surrounded by rugged walls of red clay half-baked,
had the ap]>earance of a spacious castle. A spring of
water penetiated its side by a subterranean cavern,
and disappeared in the sand. No attempt was made
to ascend Beerenberg, which towered in awful gran-
deur, white with snow, above the region «)f the clouds;
but at Its feet was seen another cratei- surr<)unde<l by
an immense accumulation of castellated lava. A large
mass of iron was found, that had been smelted by the
interior fires. The volcano was at this time entuely

•^ AMONG THE MOUNTAINS. " -fVt f.

241

silent, but the next year Scoresby saw smoke arising
from it to a great luMglit.

In 1818 he landed near Mitre Cape, and undertook
to reach the summit of the singularly iiiHulatetl cliff
of which it consists. ]\Iuch of the ascent wuh over
fragments of rock so loose that the foot in walking
slid back eveiy step. At one i)lace the ]>nrty found
a ridge so steep that Scoresl)y couhl wiit himself
across it as (Mi the back of a horse. They rcacluMl the
sununit, estimated as .SOOO feet high, about midnight
when the sun still shone on its snow-capjx'd pinnacle,
causing such a rajtid melting that streams of water
were flowing around them.

The view from this sununit is described by Scoresby
as e((ually grand, extensive, and beautiful. On the
east side were two finely-sheltered l>ays, while the sea,
unruffled by a single breeze, formed an inunense ex-
panse to the west. The icebergs reared their fantastic
forms almost on a level Avith the summits of the
nioimtains, M'hose cavities they filled, while the sun
illumined, but could not dissolve them. The valleys
were enamelled Avith beds of snow and ice, one of
which extended beyond reach of the eyi;. In the
interior, mountains rose beyond mountains till they
melted into distance. The cloudless canopy above,
and the jiosition of the party themselves, on the pin-
nacle of ii rock surrounded by tremendous precipices,
conspired to render their situation ecpiaily singular
and sublime. If a fragment was detached, either
spontaneously or by design, it bounded from rock to
rock, raisi ng smoke at every blow and setting nmnerous
other fragments in motion, till, amid showers of stones,
it reached the bottom of the jnoimtain.

The descent of the party was more difficult and

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A PERILOUS DESCENT. — KEFKACTIOX.

i h

perilous than tlie ascent. The ntones sunk henenth
their steps and rolled down the niountuiii, and they
were obliged to walk abreast ; otherwise the foremost
might have been overwhelmed under th»' nuisses which
those behind him dislodged. Finally, to the astonish-
ment and alarm of the sailors beneath, Seoresby and
his companions, in a paifc of tlu'ir descent, slid down
an almost perpendicular wall of ice, and arrived in
safety at the 8hi])3. The beaclj was found nearly
covered witli the nests of terns, ducks, and other ten-
ants of tlu; Arctic air, in some ol which there were
young, over whom the parents kept watch, and, by
lou<l cries and vehement gestures, s(mght to dt^fend
them against the gulls and other predatory tribes hov-
ering around. Several sailors wlu) had robbed these
.nests were f<tllowed to a considerable distance with
loud and vicdent screams.

In a sul)se(pient whaling voyage along the coast of
Gre(?nland in the good ship Baffin, Seoresby made
some important geographical diseoveries, and his
attenticju was particularly attracted to the refractive
power of the Polar atmosphere when acting on ice
and other ol)jects discerned through its medium. The
rugged surface assumed the forms of castles, obelisks,
and s[)ires, which here and there were sometimes so
linked together as to present the semblance of an ex-
tensive and crowded city. At other times it res(;mbled
a forest of naked trees ; and fancy scarcely recpiired
an effort to identify its varieties with the productions
of human art ; — scul[>tured colossal foi-rns, porticoes of
rich and regular architecture, — (;ven with the shapes
of lions, bears, horses, and other animals. Ships were
seen inverted, and suspended high in the air, and
their hulls often so magnified as to resemble huge

DESEBTEf> HABITATIONS.

243

edifices. Objects really ])eneath the horizon were
raised into view in a nioHt extraordinaiy manner. It
fieeniH jKwitively ascertained, that points in the coast
of (ireenland not above 4000 feet high, were seen at
tlie distance of ir)0 miles. The extensive evaporation
of the melting ices, v/ith the unequal condensation
produced by streams of cold air, are conHidercd bv
Mr. Scoresby as tli.j chief sources of this extraordinary
refraction.

The coasts of Greenland were found richer in plants
and verdure than any others Heen by our navigator
within the Arctic circle, and almost deserving the
name given to the country by its first discoverers.
The grass run in one i>lace to one foot in height, and
there wei'e mea<lows of several acres that aj)peared
nearly e([ual to any in England. Nowhere was a
human being seen, but there were traces of recent and
fro(pient habitations, not constructed of snow slabs
hke those of the Esfpiimaux, but dug deep in the
ground, entered by a loug Avinding passage, and roof-
ed with a wooden frame overlaid with moss and earth.
Near the luunlets were excavations in the earth, serv-
ing as graves, where implements of hunting, found
along with the bones of the deceased, proved the prev-
alence here of the general belief of savage nature,
that the employments of man in the future life Avill
exactly resemble those of the present.

Our navigator would have been happy i."» examine
more of the Greenland coast, but the ship was not his
own, and the o])ject of his voyage being to catch
M'hales, he was compelled to turn in another direction.

Scoresby's discoveries and observations are appro-
priately followed l)y those of Captains EdAvard Sabine
and D. C. Clavering, v;hich were made more in

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244

CnUISE OF TlIE GRIPER.

behalf of science than geographical discover}'. SaLine
had long been interested in philosopliical exiierinients
on the sliape of the earth by means of the pendulum,
and nnder the patronage of the English Government
had visited Siewa Leone, St. Thomas, Trinidad and
other AV^est India islands, and also New York, in the
ship Pheasant commanded by Clavering. So con-
genial was the society of these two gentlemen, that
when it was jiroposed to Sabine to extend his obser-
vations into the Polar regions, he requested that Clav-
eiing might command the gun-brig. Griper, which had
been designated to convey him noithward ; and he did
so. The Griper sailed from the Nore, May lltli,
1823, being duly furnished with the magnetic pendu-
lum and various astronomical and scientific iustni-
ments.

The fii-st destination of the Griper was Ilammerfest,
near the North Cape of Norway, where she arrived
on the 23d of June. This place, built on a small
island named Qualoen, is in latitude 70'^'40', autl tlit
dip of the needle here Capt. Sabine foxuul to be 77"
40'. Ilanuneifest was only a luunlet containing some
dozen houses, and our travelers were much j)leased
with the simple manners and kind hospitality of the
people, who were delighted with the idea of a visit
from a nnm-of-war, even if it was no larger than the
little Gi-iper. The women Avere fair and pretty ancL
dressid much like English women. Remote from the
fashionable world, they were untainte<l with cither
its vices or follies. Religious influences controlled
the hamlet and deviations from the rules of moi-ality
were exceedingly rare. The trade of the place w;is
entirely in fish and oil, and reindeer the sole animal.

Having finished his observation at Ilaminci-fest,

A CRUISE IN HIGH LATITUDE.

245

Sabine embarked on the 23d of June for Spitzbergen
and vicinity, and on the 30th anchored abreast of a
small island, one of the inner Norways, and disem-
barked the tents and instruments. While Sabine was
making his observations here, Clavenng determined
to sail northward — to the North Pole if possible, — to
see what he could see in the high latitudes.

Accordingly, leaving six men to assist Sabine, and
six months' provisions and fuel so that if an} thing
should happen to the Griper the philoso})lier might
not starve or freeze, and a launch in which he might
make his Avay back to Hammei-fest, the brave sailor
steered due north on the 5th of July, with the North
Pole for his destination. Aftc' sailing twenty-five
miles he found himself embayed among ice. Pi'o-
ceeding cautiously, he struck on the Oth a field of
packed ice extending east and west as far as the eye
could reach. Skirting the margin of this ticld in a
line nearly west for sixty miles and perceiving no ap-
pearance of an opening, he concluded it would be use-
less to make further attempt to reach the Pule in this
region, and accordingly returned to Capt. Sabine on
the 11th of July. The highest latitude reached by
Clavering was 80^ iO'.

The magnetic pendulum having swung to the satis-
faction of the j)hilosopher and all due obsfM'vations
having been taken of the stars, the (J riper was stored
with fifty reindeer for fresh provisions, and headed
for Uael Ilamkes' Bay, the highest point known on
th'^ eastern coast of Greenland, whioh they reached,
after mavy impediments from ice on the Sth of
August. A boat was sent on shore at a j>oint which
thoy called Cape Warren, "than which," Clavenng
says, "never was there a more desolate spot seen.
S])itzbei'geu was a paradise to this place."

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246

ON THE EAST GREENLAND COAST.

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Proceetling along the coast to the northward, among
floes of ice, they discovered two islands which they
named Pendulum Islands. Having passed them,
Clavering advanced northward till blocked by ice in
latitude 75*12'. He had now reached what he con-
ceived to be the north-east corner of Greenland,
formed by an island which he named " Shannon."

ReturninEf to the Pendulum Islands as the best
place for Sabine to make his observations, Clavering
left the Griper and the jjhilosopher there, and with
his yawl, wherry, and a party of twenty, started off
southwai'd to see what he could see. At Cape AVar-
ren they landed, and found traces of natives and several
graves. Proceeding up an ann of the bay, a tent of
seal skins was found on the beach, and two natives
appeared on the heights, who seemed n<it to differ
from the common race of the Esquimaux. They were
shy at fii-st, but their confidence Avas gradually won.
The whole tribe numbered only twelve. Great was
their surprise at the firing of guns and pistols. One
of them was induced to fire a pistol, and he was so
frightened that he slunk away into his tent, and the
following morning it was found they had all departed
leaving their tents and everything behiiul them,
doubtless frightened away by the magical effects of
gunpowder.

On the 20th of August, Clavering and party return-
ed to the Griper, and the philosopher having fiiii-<hcd
his experiments, all set sail on the 31st, coasting alcmg
the shore of Greenland till the 13th of September.
The coast everywhere appeared mountainous, lising
up in peaks from two to three thousand feet high.
The ice floes and fields making it dangerous sailing
near the shores, the Gri})er headed for Norway, where

.nv

SCrENTiriO FBOBLEMS SOLVED.

247

they arrived on the 23d of September. At Dron-
theim Fiord, Capt. Sabine landed and made further
experiments ; the expedition then returned safely to
England in December, after an absence of seven
months, and after successfully accomplishing the re-
sults for which it was planned.

The scientific results of this and former expeditions
of Captain Sabine and others, are thus summed up by
him. " The attempt to determine the figure of the
earth, by the variation of gravity at its surface, has
been carried into full execution on an arc of the me-
ridian of the greatest accessible extent, and the results
which it has produced are seen to be consistent with
each other, in combinations too varied to admit of the
correspondence being accidental. They are in fact
the combinations of twenty-eight stations — thirteen of
Captain Sabine's, eight of the French Savan's and seven
of the British Survey. The result is that the length
of a pendulum vibrating seconds at the equator is
39.01.52 inches. The increase of gravitation between
the Ecpiator and the Pole is 0.202-15, and the ellip-
ticity is 4"

The second voyage of Capt. Lyon to tlie A ctic
regions was undertaken with a view to co; ii)lete the
land survey of the eastern portion of the north coast
of North America, from the western shore of Mehille
Peninsula to Cape Turn-again, the eastern limit of
Franklin's first journey. Although it did not result
in any groat discoveries, it illustrates the perils and
lirings out In bright relief the heroic ohai-arter of
Arctic navigators. The vessel designated i'or the
servii-e was the Griper. She sailed from England June
19th, 1824.

At the Orkue^' Islands two ponies were taken

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248

THE SNOW-BUNTING.

t,-.-n

aboard ; also a cow and some sheep. The cow was
so sea-sick that she refused to eat, and was therefore
eaten; but the ponies proved good sailors.

Early in June, the Griper api)roached Resolution
Island at the entrance of Hudson's Strait. Here
Esquiniitux were met who brouglit articles for barter.
Lyon says, " I blush when I relate it, two of the fair
sex actually disposed of their neither garments."
On the 2 2d of August Southampton Island was in
sight. "When off Cape Pembroke the compasses were
found to be nenly useless.

As Lyon was taking a walk on shore one day he
crossed an Esquimaux burial-place, and found the
grave of a child slightly covered with stones, through
which a snow-bunting had found its way to the neck
of the child and there built its nest. This biid is
considered by Arctic navigators as the robin of thtse
dreary regions, having all the domestic virtues of the
English redbreast ; its lively chirp and fearless con-
fidence have rendered it respected by the most hun-
gry sportsman. An English lady on reading this
incident, was inspired with the following >eautiful
verses : —

" Sweet bird ! the breast of innocence
^; Hath fadeless charms for tlieo ;

"^ AIth<)U(7h tht! spirit lonpr has fled,

And lifeless clay it be ;

Thou dreadeat not to dwell with death,

Secure from harm or ill,
For on an infant's heart, thj nest

Is wrought with fearless skill

And, like our own familiar bird

Tliat seeks the human friend,
Tlinii clieer'st the wandering seaman's thoughts

With home, his aim and end."

In Howe's Welcome Bay, the fog, heavy sea, and
shallow water combined, made navigation most peril-

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BAT OF OOD's MEBCT.

249

ous. Of their situation here Lyon says: "I most
reluctantly brought the Griper up with three bow-
ers and a stream anchor, but not before we had
shoaled to five and a half fathoms, the ship pitching
bows under, and a tremendous sea ininning." The
peril being imminent, the long l)oat was prepared to
})e hoisted out with the four small ones, and the
officers and men drew lots with great composure for
their respective boats, although two of the boats
would have been swamped the instant they were
lowered.

" Although few or none of us had any idea that
we should survive the gale, we did not think that
our comforts should be entirely neglected, and an
order was therefore given to the men to put on their
best and warmest clothing, to enable them to support
life as long as possible. Every man, therefore,
brought his bag on deck, and dressed himself; and in
the fine athletic forms which stood exposed before me, I
did not see one muscle quiver, nor the slightest sign of
alarm. And now that every thing in our power had
been C i, I called all hands aft, and to a merciful
God oft'ered prayers for our preservation. I thanked
everv one for their excellent conduct, and cautioned
them, as we should in all probability soon ai)i)ear
before our Maker, to enter his i)resunce as men
resigned to their fate. We then all sat down in
groups, and, sheltered from the Avash of the sea l)y
wliatever we could find, many of us endeavored to
obtain a little sleej). Never, perhaps, Avas witness^nl
a liner scene than on the deck of my little shi]), when
all hope of life had left us. God Avas merciful to lis ;
the tide almost miraculously fell no loAver, the wind
ceased and we were saved." This locality Avas voiy
properly named Bay of God's Mercy.

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APPROACH TO KAMCHATKA.

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A similar storm occurred in September, opposite
the mouth of Wager's River, during which one
anchor after another parted, and the vessel drifted
away in the darkness, but escaped wreck. The sit-
uation, however, was still a precarious one, and with-
out anchors and in a crippled condition, the ship was
headed for England where it arrived in November.

The object of Captain Beechey's expedition to
Bering's Straits in 1825, was not so much for the
purposes of discovery as to render assistance to Parry
and Franklin, and especially to the latter — who was
then on his second land expedition — should he be
successful in working westward from the Mackenzie
River to Kotzebue Sound, the place of rendezvous for
both explorers.

Beechey sailed from England in the sloop Blossom,
May 19th, 1825, with instructions to proceed around
Cape Horn, visit the English possessions in the
Pacific Ocean, and arrive at the rendezvous by July,
1826, there to remain till the approach of winter, in
case neither Franklin nor Parry were heard from.
Late in June 1826, the Blossom approached Petro-
paulski, after having sailed seven hundred miles in a
dense fog, which now cleared up and revealed tlie
lofty mountains and volcanoes of Kamchatka. " Noth-
ing could surpass the serenity of the evening, or tlie
magnificence of the mountains capped with perennial
snows, rising in majestic array above each other. The
volcano emitted smoke occasionally, and from a
sprinkling of black dots on the snow to the leeward
of the crater, we concluded there had been a recent
eruption."

At Petropaulski, Beechey found dispatches announ-
cing the return of the expedition under Parry. Cor-

dial was
by the ci
coiupliauc
that he s
English m
seated Be

On the
Lawrence
out in bo)
lady amu
upon thei
peltry, fro
cautiously
implying I
it, and enc
a good l)j
would no
trade are
the great
of the wc
cles highlj
suspicious
if they w<
of these i
those of i
hands ove

Beech e}
the two g
still night
Ari'tic res
wIk'u the
below the
northern (
continents

TIIE LAWRENOE-ISLANDEES.

251

dial was the hospitality extended to the explorers
by the citizens of the little town, and the pastor, in
compliance with the injunctions of his grandfather,
that he should send a calf to the captain of every
English man-of-war that might arrive in the poi-t, pre-
sented Beechey with one of his own rearing.

On the voyage north the Blossom stopped off
Lawrence Island, and the natives immediately came
out in boats, evidently anxious for a trade. One old
lady amused the crew by her attempts to impose
upon their credulity. She was seated upon a bag of
peltry, from which she now and then drew out a skin,
cautiously exhibited the best part of it with a look
implying that it was of great value, repeatedly hugged
it, and endeavored to coax her new acquaintances into
a good bargain ; but it w'as easy to see that her furs
would not bear close examination. The tricks of
trade are not confined to civilization. Tobacco was
the great want of the men, and needles and scissors
of the women, and with both blue beads were arti-
cles highly esteemed. They, however, seemed a little
suspicious of the latter, and bit them, possibly to see
if they were made of wax. The mode of salutation
of these natives was by rubbing their noses against
those of their friends and drawing the palms of their
hands over the face.

Beechey passed Bering's Strait, which separates
the two great continents, on one of those beautiful
still nights well known to all who have visited the
Arctic regions, Avhen the sky is without a cloud, and
when the midnight sun, scarcely his own diameter
below the horizon, tinges with a bright hue all the
northern circle. The extremities of the two great
continents were distinctly seen, and the islands in the

253

CUSTOMS OF TUE ALASKAXS.

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strait clearly ascertained to be only three, as Lad
been stated by Capt. Cook.

A little north of Cape Prince of "Wales, they were
again visited by the natives who were eager for trade
and willingly sold everything they had, except their
bows and arrows. They were noisy and ever ready
for a joke. They had a curious appendage to tluir
dress, worn as an ornament in the shape of a bird's
wing or the tail of a fox, tied to the end of a stiiiig
fastened to their girdles, which dangled behind as
they walked, giving thera a ridiculous appearance,
and probably occasioning the report, recorded by
some traveler, that the people of this country have
tails like dogs. To this dog-tail slander, they might
perhaps retort that civilized women had camel's
humps on their backs.

At Schismareff Inlet were seen the lip ornaments
common to this coast. They consist of pieces of ivory,
stone or glass, formed with double heads, like sleeve
buttons, which are inserted in holes bored in the
under lip about half an inch below the corners of the
mouth. The diameter of the orifice in those worn
by adults is usually about half an inch, but Beethey
saw one lip button made of polished jade stone, that
was three inches in length and an inch and a half in
width.

On the 22d of July, Beechey reached his rendezvous,
Chamisso Island in Kotzebue Sound, but could find no
traces of Franklin.

Leaving the barge to keep in shore on the look-out
for Franklin, Beechey sailed northward as far as Icy
Cape. Finding indications of the ice closing in, he
then returned to the sound and dispatched the bar^e
under the command of Messrs. Elsou and Smyth with

WRECK OF THE BAKGE.

253

instructions to trace the coast to the North-east as far
as they coukl penetrate. They succeeded in survey-
ing one hundred and twenty-six miles of new coast, and
were stopped by a long, low, projecting tongue of
land which they named Point Barrow. Here they
were within one hundred and forty-six miles of the
extreme point reached by Franklin.

By the middle of October the Esquimaux had all
departed to their winter-quarters, the birds had
migrattd, the sea Avas rapidly being frozen, and
Beechey sailed for San Francisco where he wintered.

In the following season, Beechey returned to
Chamisso Island, where he anchored August 5th.
Here the barge was again called into reciuisition, and
under command of Lieutenant Belcher, it started
tioiih and reached a point some forty miles easterly
of Icy Cape, but could go no further in consequence
of the ice. On the -way back Belcher stopped at
Choris Peninsula to erect an observatory. While
all the party but two were on shore, a gale sprung
up. The crew Aveie immediately ordered aboard and
one trip of the small boat landed three persons on
the barge, but an attempt to reach it a second time
was unsuccessful. The vessel soon sunk in shallow
water, and two of her crew were drowned in attempt-
ing to reach shore. The others retreated to the
rigging, but one fell and perished; the other two
were rescued after the sea subsided.

Meantime, Beechey had been on an excursion in the
Blossom, and when returning to the rendezvous, dis-
covered with telescopes a flag flying on the coast and
two men waving white cloths. The possibility of its
being Franklin's party was the first wish of his mind ;
but this was soon dispelled as a nearer view of the

•r

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" li

f! -l i

SKIRMISnEfl WITH THE NATIVKS.

flag proved it to be the ensign of his own hoat
hoisted with tlie union downward indicative of dis-
tress, and Belcher and his surviving in«!n were soon rec-
ognized and oared for. They had experienced some
trouble with the natives after the loss of their ])arge,
and subsequently the crew of the Blossom had skir-
mishes mth them in which several of the seamen
were wounded by arrows, and one or more of the
Esquimaux killed. Beechey tlid not punish them as
they deserved, as he was unwilling to awahen senti-
ments which might prove injiirious to other Euro-
peans.

The balance of the season was passed in futile
attem])ts to find Franklin, and grieved and disap-
pointed, Capt. Beechey left Kotzebue's Sound, Oct. Gth,
1827 ; but did not arrive in England till the autumn
of 1828, having been absent three and a half yeai's.

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I'm ^

^^'

CHAPTER XVIII.
PARRY'S POLAR VOYAGE.

Tin? sclioi! ' of rcftching the Polo l)y travoliiicj over
the frozen surface of the ocean was first su«r,ir('st('(l by
Mr. Scores])}'. He believed that the Polar Sea in
some meridians presented one continuous sheet of toh
erably smooth ice, which could be traversed without
{:;reat difficulty. The idea was taken up by Capt.
Parry, wliose brilliant voyacjes to tlie North-west had
led him to suspect that further prot;ress in that di-
rection was hopeless, and an ex]K'dition was fitted out
which left England, April 4th, 1827, in the sloop
Heel a.

The plan was to proceed in this vessel as far north
as possible, when a portion of the crew were to leave
the ship, with two boats on runners, Avhich were to
he dragged or navigated as circumstances might
admit, over the unknown and desolate expanse be-
tween Spitzbergen and the Pole. These boats were
twenty feet long and seven broad, with runnei-s at-
tached to each side of the keel so that they could be
drawn on the ice like sleds. Wheels were also taken
along for use, if practicable.

At Hamrnerfest eight noble reindeer were taken
on board ship, with which the adventurers hoped to
make a stage journey to the Pole. As each boat with

255

256

PARRY AND HIS DEER,

Hfl

its cargo weiglied nearly two tons, a four-in-hand team
would certainly be an aid on the icy road. At all events
the deer served to beguile the tediousness of the pas-
sage to Spitzbergen, and all hands became much attach-
ed to them. The regular allowance of clean moss for
each deer v/as four pounds daily, but in case of neces-
sity they would go five or six days without prov-
ender and not suflfer materially. The adaption of these
animals to the Frigid Zone ij wcndeiful. Snow is
their favorite drink, — if the bull may be j)ardoued, —
and cold, hard ice is as comfortable and ehistic a bed
as they desire; at least they never complain when fur-
nished with such sleeping accommodations, canopied
over by the vaulted arch of heaven.

PaiTy was enamoi-ed with his deer — the only draw-
back to his happiness being the thought that dire ne-
cessity might compel him and his crew to eat them.

The Ilecla rounded Ilakluyt's Headland May 14th,
and met with a tremendous gale which almost lay the
ship on her beam ends, and tossed her like a feather ;
and she was soon completely beset by a large floe
which carried her eastward. After release from this
tedious imprisonment of twenty -four days, came along
and anxious search for a secure harbor.

At length the Ilecla was anchored in a fine harbor
which the Dutch had named Treurenberg Bay, but
now rechristened as Hecla Cove. Numerous graves
were found on the shore. The bodies had been depos-
ited in oblong boxes and covered with stones : a ])oard
near the head recording the name of the deceased and
the time of his death. One was dated as far back as
1690, and Parry was right in conjecturing that the
Dutch name of the bay was derived from treuren^ to
lament, on account of the mortality which had oc-

THE START FOR THE POLE.

257

curred here. Tills was not encouraging to the party
who were to remain with the ship, but there
was no time to be lost, and brave sailors must not Vd
frightened by graves or ghostly shadows.

On the 22d of June the excursion party left the
ship amid the cheers of their associates. The boats
were severally commanded by Parry and James C.
Ross. Lt. Crozier, afterwards second in command of
the lost Franklin expedition, was one of the officers
who remained with theHecla. Provision for seventy
days were taken along, but the " eight tiny reindeer "
were left behind, with the Avheels, Parry having seen
enough of the rugged surface of the ice to convince
him that they would be of more use to Santa Claus
than to himself. What became of these animals which
had so much interested Parry, he omits to mention.
The stern realities of the Northern Sea probably
drove all sentimentallsm from his mind.

For eighty miles they proceeded due north, sailing
8lo\vly through a calm and smooth open sea. In lati-
tude 8 1 * 1 2 ^ LI " they were stopped by slush ice, which
could neither be walked nor sailed over, but was to be
passed by the two methods alternately. Here com-
menced the real labor of their fatiguing and mouot-
ouoas journey.

The first step was to convert night into day ; to
begin their journey in the evening and end it in the
nioi-ning. Thus their notions of night and day became
inverted. They rose in what they called the morning,
hut which was really late in the evening, and having
peribrnied their devotions, breakfasted on warm co-
coa and biscuit. They then drew on their boots,
usually either wet or hard frozen; and v. liich, though
perfectly di'ied, would have been equally soaked in

Vt\\

« fli

258

A JOUENEY CN ICE.

fifteen minutes. The party then traveled five or six
hours, and a little after midnight stopped to dine.

They now performed an equal journey in what was
called the afternoon ; and in the evening, that is, at
an advanced morning hour, halted as for the night.
They then applied themselves to obtain rest anil
comfort, put on dry stockings and fur-boot«, cooked
something Avarm for supper, smoked their pipes, told
over their exploits, and, forgetting the toils of the
day, enjoyed an interval of ea&e and gayety. Then,
wrapping themselves in their fur-cloaks, they lay down
in the boat, rather too close together perhaps, hut
wnth very tolerable comfort. The sound of a bugle
roused them at night to their breakfast of cocoa, and
to a repetition of the same round.

Instead of a smooth, level surface, which they ex-
pected to find, over which a coach might be driven,
the ice consisted of small, loose and rugged masses,
compelling the men to make two or three trips in
order to bring up the boats and baggage. One day
during heavy rain they advanced but half a mile in
four hours. In short, it was found, by an observation
taken at midnight on the 30th of June, that since they
started on the ice, on the 2.3th, they had progressed
northward only about twelve miles. All expectation of
reaching the Pole was now relinquished, but hopes of
reaching the S.'kl degree were entertained.

The party came at length to smoother ice and larger
floes, and making better progress, persevered till the
20tli of July, when they werj mortified to find that
thi'ir latitude was less than five miles to the north-
ward of where it was on the 17th, although they had
certainly traveled twelve miles in that direction. Parry
began now to suspect that the ice was floating south-

DRIFTryO SOUTH.

259

ward, and that they Avere in the condition of the frog
jumping out of a well, which jumped three feet and
fell back two. Such a suspicion was disheartening to
the officers, hut was not communicated to the men
who often laughingly remarked, " We are a long time
getting to this eighty-third degree."

On the 2Gth they were only one mile further north
than they were on the 2 1st, though they had in that
time traveled northward twenty-three miles ; thus it
was ascertained that the southern drift of the ice was
at the rate of over four mil&3 per day. Pariy con-
cluded it was useless to persevere in the attempt even
to reach the 83d parallel, and communicated the facts
and his intentions to the men. Great had been their
exertions, and great was their disappointment. They
consoled themselves however with the l)elief that they
had gone further north than any previous explorers.
The highest latitude reached was S2°40', which is a
trifle farther north than the Polaris penetrated on her
late tri]). Their greatest distance from the Ilecla was
only one hundred and seventy-two miles, but to ac-
complish it they had probably traveled far enough to
reach the Pole, as they had so many times trebled
their track.

Nothing remarkable occurred on the return.
It was no small satisfaction to the explorers to know
that there would be no backsliding and that every
mile of advance southward would count two or three
miles. They arrived at Hecla Cove on the 21st of
August, where they were received, says Pany, " Avith
that warm and cordial welcome which can be felt
but nt)t described. Considering our constant exj)os-
ure to wet, cold and fatigue, our stockings having
been generally drenched in snow water for twelve

\wi

260

RETURN TO EffiCLA COVE.

hours out of every twenty-four, I had great reason
to be thankful for the excellent health in which upon
the whole we reached the ship."

The Hecla soon afterward sailed for England, and
thus ended the first and only attempt that has heen
made to penetrate to the Pole over the frozen surface
of the deep. All the prowess, energy, and hardihood
of British seamen were exerted to the utmost without
making even an approach towards the fulfillment of
their object. The late Captain Hall hoped to reach
the Pole by a sled journey over the ice and land,
starting from the highest point that the Polaris could
obtain; but thei'e is little doubt that if he had lived
to make the attempt, it would have proved an unsuc-
cessful if not disastrous one. The Pole is a reality,
and some benefit to science would accrue from obser-
vations taken thereon ; but we may as well conclude
that when God gave man dominion over the wlu)le
earth, that locality was not incladed or was considered
unwoi-thy of his presence.

ARCTIC E]

ill

III..

CHAPTER XIX.

ARCTIC EXPEDITION OF JOHN AND JAMES

C. ROSS.

John Ross, -whose Expedition made under the au-
spices of the British Admiralty in 1818 was sorely
criticised by the press and pronounced a failure, was
not content to remain in inglorious ease, but felt an
ambition so common to adventurers, to try his fortune
once more. Ross's faith in the North-west passage never
was very great ; and the second expedition seems to
have been undertaken more from a love of adventure
and a desire to retrieve his good name, than from any
well-grounded hope of success in its professed object.
The perseverance and energy displayed in carrying it
out were worthy of better results tlian it actually ac-
complished.

From his experience in his first Arctic adventure,
and from careful studj'-of the voyages of others, Ross
became convinced that a small steamship would make
better headway among the floes and fields of ice than
a sailing vessel ; and accordingly presented his views
to the Admiralty as early as 1827, asking government
aid for his new project. This proposal was not fiivor-
ably received, and he then applied to his friend. Sir
Felix Booth, a wealthy gentleman, who listened kindly
to his statements, but finally decided not to embark

261

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I
11

it :

262

SECOND EXPEDITION OF JOHN ROSS.

in the enterprise, lest it might be construed by the
public as a mere mercantile speculation, in hopes of
securing the reward of £20,000 offered by Parliament
for the discovery of the North-west passage.

Not baffled by this second rebuff, Eoss again applied
to the Admiralty, submitting a modified, and as he
thought, an improved plan of navigating the Arctic
Seas by means of steam. The decided answer of the
Admiralty was : — " Government does not intend to
send out any more expeditions on this enquiry."

Soon after this Parliament revoked its offer of £20,-
000, which had tempted so many adventurers into the
Polar Seas. This removed Booth's objection to aiding
Ross, and he advanced the money necessary to buy
and fit out the Victory, a steamer of one hundred and
fifty tons. The whole cost was £17,000.

With his nephew, James Clark Ross, as commander, a
purser, surgeon, and a crew of seventeen, Ross steamed
down the Thames on the 23d of May, 1829. The steam
fixtures did not prove to be as efficient as lie expected,
and his main reliance for the trans-atlantic voyage and
indeed for the whole expedition, was upon sails.

On the 23d of July the Victory came to anchor in
the harbor of Holsteinberg, a Danish settlement on the
coast of Greenland, and was soon surrounded by ca-
noes filled with Esquimaux, among whom were two
whites clothed like the natives, who proved to be Mr.
Kail, the governor, and Mr. Kijer, a clergyman, both
well educated gentlemen Avho had resided in the country
for six years. At the house of the latter the onicersof
the Victory were treated with great kindness, Mrs. Kijer
doing the honors at the table, and Esquimaux girls, neat-
ly dressed in native costume, doing the service. The
settlement consisted of the governor's and clergyman's

boats, and w

LIFK AT HOL8TEINBERG.

263

houses, a church, two store-houses, and about forty Es-
quimaux huts. The church was a neat simple struc-
ture, surmounted with a small steeple, and having an
audience-room furnished with an organ and seats
for two hundred persons. Holsteinberg is a roman-
tic and interesting place, but the governor and
clergyman must have led self-denying lives in this
solitude, away from all the social privileges of civili-
zation. Peace and happiness are however of no coun-
try or situation, and here in this narrow and appa-
rently contented circle they seemed to exist in per-
fection. No disorderly or immoral conduct was
noticed among the natives ; and Mr. Kijer represented
the Greenlanders as so pacific in their dispositions
that quarrels among them were very rare.

As an instance of their honesty, Capt. Ross relates
that on the morning of his departure from Holstein-
berg, a poor Esquimaux came alongside of the A'ictory,
bringing an oar which had been loet from one of the
boats, and adds : " I know not how far the exertions
of the worthy clergyman deserve to share in tlie merit
of this and the other good conduct Avhich we witnessed,
but be this as it may, 1 do but justice to the natural
character of this race, almost everywhere in our experi-
ence, to say that they are among the most wijrthy
of all i\\o rude tribes yet known to- our voyagers in
any part of the woi'ld."

The singing of the Esquimaux girls in church as-
tonished and delighted the captain, and he was assured
that they learned to sing the most refined sacred mu-
m of the German school with great facility, and the
Moravian missionaries have made music a powerful
auxiliary in religious instruction and civilization.
Some of the Esquimaux have not only been taught

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264

SECOND EXProiTION OF JOHN ROSS.

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1 I; i

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to sing, but to play, and construct their own instru-
ments.

On the 7th of August the Victory steamed into
Lancaster Sound. The sea was covered with minute
marine animals and ducks, and gulls were in sight ;
no ice of any kind was to be seen. Ross proceeded
westerly, till he reached Prince Regent Inlet, into
which he turned his ship and sailed southerly in search
of the place where the Fury was wrecked, hoping to
replenish his stock of provisions from her stores.

On the 13th of August the Victory entered a bay,
which was christened Adelaide in honor of the Duchess
of Clarence, it being her birth-day. On the afternoon
of. the next day, Commander Ross, who had been the
lieutenant of the Fury, recognized a high-projecting
precipice u^ being some three miles from the wreck,
for which all eyes were looking ; and, an hour after-
ward, the tents were seen on the mound where the
shipwrecked stores had been deposited. The same
evening the » ictory was safely moored in an ice har-
bor, within a quarter of a mile of the coveted goods.

The coast was found almost lined with coal; and one
tent — the mess-tent of the Fury's officers — remained
whole, though it was evident the bears had paid it
frequent visits. A pocket near the door of this tent,
in which Commander Ross had left his memorandum-
book, was missing. The preserved meats and vegeta-
bles were found in good condition. The canisters
had been piled up in two heaps, and though exposed
to all the vicissitudes of the climate for four years,
they had not suffered in the slightest degree. There
had been no water to rust them, and the security of
the joinings had prevented the bears from smelling
the contents. Had they known the feast of fiit things
contained within those shining tins, not much would

THE WRECK OF THE FURY.

205

have remained for the crew of the Victorj^ The wine,
sugar, bread, flour, and cocoa, were found in equally
good condition. The lime-juice and the pickles had
not suffered much, and even the .salis were not only
dry, but looked ns if they had never been wet. Not
a trace of the hull of the Fury was to be found. ' '■'■

The stores, not the wreck, were what Capt. Ross
wanted. With great delight the crew set about em-
barking a sufficiency of stores to complete the equip-
ment of the Victory for over two years. This fitting
out a vessel in an abandoned region of ice and rocks,
was a novel scene. Without money and without price
the crow carried on board the Victory canister after
canister of provisions, and yet all they could store away
on board seemed scarcely to diminish the pile. Ten
tc-s of coal, some anchors, and some carpenter's stores
were also appropriated. The powder magazine had
become unroofed, but the patent cases had kept the
powder perfectly dry, and with a portion of this the
new outfit was ended.

Captain Ross' plan was to make a thorough survey
of Prince Regent's Inlet, and ascertain whether there
was any outlet from it to the Polar Sea ; ho therefore
proceeded from Fury Beach southward. The vo}-auo
now began to acquire its peculiar interest as the Victory
was traversing a comparatively unknown region. The
land seemed to extend in a south-west direction con-
tinuously, and the captain gave it the name of Boothia,
in honor of his patron. Many whales came close to
the ship, thus proving that they had never had a taste
cf the harpoon.

The geological structure was limestone, containing
shells. Some sandstone and gneiss were also observed,
and in many of the small bays, there were accumula-

'll

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266

SECOND EXPEDITION OF JOHN ROSS.

^i;fi'

tions of sand. The soundings were in clay, so touj^h
as to require great force to extract the lead from it.
There was no wood ; a heath with stems about an inch
thick, being the largest plant growing.

A harbor was found sufficiently deep and large (o
accommodate the whole British navy, and to this was
given the name of Elizabeth, in compliment to a sis-
ter of Mr. Booth. In many parts of it there were
five fathoms of water close to rocks or shore, where
vessels might lie as at a pier ; and from marks on tiie
rocks it was judged that the spring-tide rose eight
feet. Near the sea the land was generally bare, but
inland there were plains and valleys of considerable
extent covered with vegetation. In the valleys were
numerous lakes, some of them two miles long, and
all well stocked with fish. As the season advanced
navigation became more and more difficult and liaz-
ardous. The Victory drawing but a few feet of water,
had great advantage in navigating the Arctic Seas, but
still her perils were many. Captain Ross thus graph'
ically describes the appearance of those seas.

" To those who have not seen a northern ocean in
winter, the term ice, exciting but the recollection of
what they know of it at rest in an inland lake, con-
veys no idea of what it is the fate of the Arc
tic navigator to witness. But let them remember that
ice is stone, a floating rock in a stream, a promontory
or an island when aground, not less solid than if it
were granite. Then let them imagine, if they can,
these mountains of crystal, hurled through a narrow
strait by a rapid tide ; meeting as mountains would
meet, with the noise of thunder, breaking from each
other precipices, huge fragments, or rending each
other asunder, till, losing their former equilibrium,

FROZEN IN.

267

they fall over headlong, lifting the sea around in break-
ers, and whirling it in eddies, while the flatter fields
of ice, forced against these masses, ur against the
rocks by tlie wind and stream, rise out of the sea till
they fall back on themselves, adding to the indescrib-
able CMnmotion and noise which attend these occur-
rences. "

On the last day of September Captain Ross deter-
mined that further progress was impossible for the
season, and that his next duty was to look out for
winter quarters. An inevitable detention among im-
movable ico made his men feel like captives upon
whom the prison doors were being closed for long and
weary months. Making an inland excursion, he as-
cended a high hill to take a general survey of the sit-
uation. At the south-west appeared a succession of
uniform low hill, beyond which no water was to be
seen. In the interior he could see even through the
snow, that the plains were covered with vegetation.
Many tracks of hares were seen, and some of these an-
imals were shot, which were at this early date quite
white, showing that their change in color is not the
efll'ct of temperature, but a prospective arrangement
for meeting the cold of winter. There were also
many Esquimaux traps wath a great number of cairns
or stones, wliich at a distance resemble men, and are
erected by the Esquimaux for tiie purpose of fright-
enini; the deer and turning them within reach.

In the meantime the crew were set to work unlad-
ing the ship of the steam engine and fixtures which
had proved an incumbrance. Thenceforth the Victory
was simply a sailing vessel.

By October 8th there was not an atom of water
to be seen anywhere, and excepting the protrud-

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208

SECOND EXPEDITION OF JOHN ROSS.

ing point of some dark rock, nothing but one du/./.ling
and monotonous, dull find wearisoino extent of .snow
was visible. Captain l^oss describes the eflect of this
uniformity, silence and death as paralyzing to both
body and mind. Nothing moves, nothing changes;
all is forever the same — cheerless, cold, and silent.

The Victory had not made the progress expected
of her, but she went into winter quarters one hundred
and sixty-six miles beyond the wrecking-ground of
the Fury. An examination of the provisions and
fuel gave the comforting assurance that there was
enough of both to suppy all wants for more than two
years ; and oflicers and crew settled down for a long
winter's repose.

The record of the winter is monotonous. Captain
Eoss studied carefully the effects of the cold upon him-
self and men, and came to the conclusion that there
is great difference in individuals as to their power of
generating heat. A ruddy, elastic, florid, or clear
comi)lexioned man, is seonred by nature against cold;
while the pale, sallow, ami melancholy-looking, are not
the men for an Arcik: voyage.

The deck of the Victory being covered with
snow to the depth of two-and-a-half feet, it was trod
down till it became a solid mass, and was then cov-
ered with sand, .so as to have the appearance of a solid
gravel walk. Above this a roof was built, and the
sides of the vessel were banked with snow up to the
roof so as to form a perfect shelter from the wind and
ward off much of the extreme cold. On this deck the
men walked for exercise when the cold was too exces-
sive for them to venture abroad. From six o'clock
in the evening till nine, the men were required to
attend school, and on Sunday prayers were oflfered

LIKE AT TELIX IIAllUOIl.

269

and a sermon read ; the good efiects of their educa-
tional '•ml religious duties were manifost in the conduct
of the men, who seemed to feel that they belonged to
one family, and evinced much mutual kindness and
a remarkable propritity of deportment. The use of
spirituous liquors was abandoned, and even the habit
of swearing was broken lip.

Christmas was celebrated with a liberal dinner, of
which roast beef formed the essential and orthodox
portion. The stores from the Fury came into play
on this day, as they included mince ple-i and iced
cherry brandy. Flags were displayed from the ship
and shore, the church service allotted for the day read,
and one and all enjoyed the festival more probably
than those whose lives of luiiforni ease, peace, and
luxury, render tliem insensible to hard-won enjoyment.
The thermometer ranged from 18 to 22 below zero.

January t)th, some Esquimaux api)earing on the
shore, the officers went out to meet them and found
them armed with spears and knives. Captain ]\oss
hailed them with the Esquhnaux salutation, iima,
tima, and was answered by a general shout of the
same kind, the natives throwing their weapons into
the air, and extending their arms. An embrace on
the part of Captain Kosr;, and a stroking of the dress
of the Esquimaux, the sign of friendship, established
unhesitating confidence, which they manifested in the
great delight apparent on their countenances, and in
laughing, clamor, and strange gestures. They were
all well dnissed in excellent deer-skins, the \q)per gar-
ments double and encircling the body, and extending
from the chin to the middle of the thigh. Of the two
skins which formed this double dress, the inner one
had the hair next to the body, and the outer one in

270

SECOND EXPEDITION OP JOHN ROSS.

a reverse direction. The trousers were also of deer
skin, reaching low on the leg, and each had on two
pairs of boots, with the hairy side of both turned in-
ward. With this immense superstructure of clothing,
they looked much larger than they really were, and
more like Avoodchucks walking on their hind legs
than men. Their cheeks were plump, and of as rosy
a color as possible under so dark a skin. Their faces
were good-natured, their eyes dark, nose small, and the
hair black and cut short, and carefully arranged.

Three of these Esquimaux being introduced into
the cabin, were greatly delighted with some engrav-
ings of their countrymen, which they instantlv re-
cognized as portraits of their race. The sight of tiiem-
selves in a looking-glass excited their greatest aston-
ishment. They did not relish the preserved meat, but
being offered some oil, drank it with great gusto.
Thus admirably are the tastes of all men adapted to
the food within their reach, and their views of happi-
ness to the means provided for their enjoyment. A
Hand thus spreads for HLs creatures a table in the wil-
derness.

The next day Captain Ross visited the village of
these Esquimaux, about two-and-a-half miles distant,
which he found to consist of twelve snow-huts, having
the appearouce of inverted basins. Ejich had a long
crooked appendage, which formed the entrance, and
at its mouth sat the women and children. This pas-
sage, always long and generally crookcil, led to the
principal apartment. Opposite the doorway there was
a bank of snow about two-and-a-half feet high, level
at tlie top, and covered with skins, forming the gen-
eral bed, or sleeping-place for the whole. At the end
of this snow-couch sat the mistress of the home, op-

KING WILLIAMS LAND.

271

posite to (he lamp, which being of moss and oil, as is
the universal custom, gave enough light and heat to
render the apartment comfortable. Over the lamp
was the cooking-dish of stone, containing the flesh of
deer and seals, cooking in oil. Dresses, implements,
and provisions lay about in unspeakable confusion, as
order is not one of the Esquimaux virtues.

A largo oval piece of clear ice, fixed about half way
up on the eastern side of the roof, served to admit e.^:-
ternal light to their snow-houses. In the entrance
passage, there was a little ante-chamber, arranged lor the
comfort of the dogs, and the mouth of the entrance
was changed with each change of wind, so as always
to open to the leeward.

The females were certainly not beautiful, but, what
is better, were well behaved. All above thirteen
years of age seemed to be married, and there were
three or i'oiir such in every liouse — apparently three
young wives in a house where there was one old one,
a modification of Mormouism, which Bri,i>ham Young
will do well to consider. All were tattooed to a
greater or less extent, «: biefly on the brow and on each
side of the mouth and chin.

In the following spring, Rnss, " the nephew of his
uncle," and really the enterprising genius of the ex-
pedition, started off on a sledge journey of nearly a
month, during which he penetrated westward two
hundred miles, and discovered King William's Sound
and King William's Land.

The Victory was held fast in the ice for eleven
months, and t)nly released on the iTtli of September,
1830. This long iniprisonmcnt through the sununer
months was enough to (U.scourage any but Arctic adven-
turers. Their sledge journeys hud satisfied them that

II <

i: -

272

SECOND EXPEDITION OF JOHN ROSS.

there was no western passage from Regent's Inlet, to
the south of their position, and it was with dehght that
they once more found themselves free to retrace their
course northward. After advancing about three miles
they encountered a field of ice, through which thov
vainly endeavored to saw their way. On the 30th <A
September there was no water tc« be seen. On ap-
sides lay snow and ice. They did not, however, relin-
quish their endeavors, but spent the month of Octo-
ber in sawing through ice which Wiis constantly in-
creasing in thickness. They struggled like drowning
men, but were opposed by King Frost, who is a mighty
power in those regions.

Obliged at last to submit to his sovereignty, the
litter monotony of their situation pressed upon them
with increasing severity, and they were led to envy
the Esquimaux, to whom eating and sleeping was the
whole of life.

In the following spring James Ross started off on a
sledge excursion, to ascertain the precise location of tlie
Magnetic Pole. In this he was successful. In lati-
tude 70° 5' 17", and longitude 96° 46' 45" west, he found
the dip of his needle' to be 89° 59', being thus within
one minute of vertical. On this spot he erected a
cairu of soih(> magnitude, and placing under it a canis-
ter containing a record of the event, and over it the
British flag, he formally took possession of the North
Magnetic Pole and its adjoining territory of Boothia,
in the name of Great Britain and King William IV.

This was doubtless an approximation to the [position
of the Pole, as it then was, as solentKic nieu liw] pre-
viously fixed it in this neighborhood, from olys i xtions
of their compasses in various circumjacent latitudes;
but the trouble with this pole is that it does not stay

COii;-..-
'''it x.

h '- 1.

'^^^

DISCOVERY OP THE MAGNETIC POLE.

273

fixed, but moves 11' 4" each year, and revolves around
the North Pole of the earth once in 1890 years. Accord-
mg to this calculation it will come around to Ross's
cairn in Boothia again in A. D. 3721.
I After a second imprisonment of eleven months, the
Victory was warped into open sea, August 27th, 1831,
but after advancing four miles in one month, she was
again ice-bound, September 27th, and another deso-
late winter was spent in Regent's Inlet — how desolate
none can tell who has not suffered similar solitude and
monotony. ,.^

As the experience of two summers left them little
hope of saving the ship, Captain Ross and his ofhcers
resolved to abandon the Victory, and travel over the
ice to Fury Beach, and thus avail themselves of the
bo;its, which might enable them to reach Davis's
Sti-i;.7i. Accordingly, on the 29th of May, 1832, the
CO: if the Victory were hoisted and nailed to the

,v .1 the capUiin and crew took a sad leave of her.

< the first vessel," says Ross, "that I bad ever
bt^''«i bli^^od to abandon, after having served in thirty-
six, dun; .g a period of forty-two years. It was like
the last p.u'ting with an old friend, and I did not pass
the point where she ceased to be visible without stop-
ping to take a sketch of this melancholy desert, ren-
dered more melancholy by the solitary, abandoned bel[>
less home of our past years, fixed in immova])le ice till
..'!ne should perform on her his usual work."

V'tef incredible fatigue and hardship, the oi-ew
reached Fury Beach in the latter part of Jidy, wiiere,
thanks to Parry and Providence, they foiuid boats and
provisions in good condition. August 1st, they em-
barked in their boats on an open sea, and after much
bufleting, many perils, and a month of toil, they

ii^Ti

^ 1 1

ii I i

274

SECOND EXPEDITION OF JOHN ROSS.

reached the mouth of the inlet. Here they were
doomed again to a sad disappointment, for after several
fru Vss attempts to run along Barrow's Straits, the ice
oblij^c -m to haul their boats on shore and pitch

their tei Day after day they lingered till the third
week in September; but the strait continuing one im-
penetrable mass of ice, it was unanimously agreed that
their only resource was to fall back on the stores at
Fury Beach, and there spend a fourth long winter
in the Arctic Circle. TLey were only able to proceed
half the distance in boats, and on the 24th of 'Sep-
tember left them behind on the shores of Batty Bay.

The rest of the journey was performed on foot, the
provisions beinof drawn in sledges. On the 7th of
October they reached the canvas hut, dignified with
the n;une of Somerset House, which they had erected
in July, on the scene of the Fury's wreck, to which
they thought they had bid a last farewell.

Building a snow wall four feet thick around their
canvas house, strengthening the roof with spars so that
it might be covered with snow, and putting up another
stove, they continued to make themselves comfortable,
until the scurvy broke out among them and several
of the men fell victims thereto. It was indeed an anx-
ious and doleful winter, for, should they be disap-
pointed in their hopes of escaping the next summer,
their fiiiling strength and diminishing stores loft them
little hope of surviving another year. As tiie sum-
mer opened, they moved forward stores to Batty Bay,
a distance of thirty-two miles ; but as their numbers
were now reduced, this land carriage taxed their
stren'^th sorely, and it occupied a month. Another
month was passed at Batty Bay, in constant expecta-
tion of the moving of the ice.

BESCUED BY THE ISABELLA.

275

At length on the evening of August 14th, the sight
of moving ice gladdened their hearts ; on the morning
of the 15th, they slowly made their way through the
masses of ice with which the bay was encumbered,
and to their gre'at joy they found, on the 17th, the wide
expanse of Barrow's Strait, open to navigation. Pushing
on with renewed hope, Cape York soon lay behind
them, and by alternately rowing and sailing, they
rested on the night of the 25th in a good harbor on
the eastern shore of Navy Board Inlet. ' .

At four o'clock the following morning, they were
roused from their slumber by the joyful announcement
of a ship in sight, and never did men more hurriedly
and energetically start in pursuit ; but the elements
were against them, and the ship disappeared in the
distant haze. Another vessel, however, was seen a
few hours afterward, lying in a calm, and by hard row-
ing they soon came up with her ; strange to say, she
proved to be the Isabella, the same vessel in which
Captain Ross had made his first trip to the Arctic seas,
now employed as a whaler.

The officers of the Isabella could scarcel3'^ credit the
story of Captain Ross, as he had long been supposed
to be dead ; when all doubts were removed, the rig-
ging was instantly manned to do the adventurers
honor, and thimdering cheers welcomed Ross and his
gallant band on board. The scene that followed can
not better be described than in Captain Ross's own
words : —

" Though we had not been supported by our names
and characters, we should not the less have claimed
from charity the attentions that we received, for never
was seen a more miserable set of wretches. Unshaven
since I know not when, dirty, dressed in rags ef wild

III.!:

276

SECOND EXPEDITION OP JOHN ROSS.

beasts, and starved to the very bones, our gaunt and
grim looks, when contrasted with those of the well-
dressed and well-fed men around us, made us all feel
(I believe for the first time) what we really were, as
well as what we seemed to others. But the ludicrous
soon took the place of all other feelings ; in such a
crowd and such confusion, all serious thought was im-
possible, while the new buoyancy of our spirits made
us abundantly wilHng to be amused by the scene
which now opened.

"Every man was hungry, and was to be fed; all were
ragged, and were to be clothed ; there was not one to
whom washing was not indispensable, nor one whom
his beard did not deprive of all human semblance.
In the midst of all, there were interminable questions
to be asked and answered on both sides ; the adven-
tures of the Victory, our own escapes, the politics of
England, and the news which was four years old. But
all subsided into peace at last. The sick were accom-
modated, the seamen disposed of, and all was done for
us which care and kindness could perform.

" Night at length brought quiet and serious thoughts,
and 1 trjList there was not a man among us who did
not then express, where it was due, his gratitude for
that interposition Avhich had raised us all I'rom des-
pair which none could now forget, and had brought
us from the borders of a most distant grave, to life,
and friends, and civilization. Ijong accustomed, how-
ever, to a cold bed on the hard snow or the bare rocks,
few could sleep amidst the comforts of our new ac-
commodations. I was myself compelled to leave the
bed which had been kindly assigned me, and take my
abode in a chair for the night ; nor did it fare much
better with the rest It was for time to reconc le us

}-M

RETURN OF THE LOST EXPLORERS.

277

to the sudden and violent change, to break through
what had become habit, and to inure us once more
to the usages of former days."

The party reached England, October 15th, 1833,
after an absence of four-and-a-half years. Having
long been considered as lost, they were looked upon
as men risen from the dead, and met and escorted
by a crowd of sympathizers. Orders, medals, and hon-
ors were showered upon John Ross by his own country-
men and continental sovereigns, and Parliament
granted him ^5,000 as some remuneration for his out-
lays and hardships. A baronetcy was conferred on
Felix Booth, the patron of the expedition.

John Ross and James C. Ross subsequently ap-
peared again in the Arctic Seas as searchers for Frank-
lin.

i
I

fil

:.5

■■is

I t

I !

CHAPTER XX.
GEORGE BACK'S EXPEDITIONS.

CAPTAiif George Back will be remembered as a
companion of Franklin on his first land expedition.
He was in Italy at the time when the prolonged
absence of the Rosses began to awaken fears for their
safety. Hastening home, he voiun leered to lead a
land expedition in search of the lost explorers, and,
accompanied by Dr. King, left England for New York
in February 1833, for that purpose.

Back and King left Montreal April 25th, in two
canoes amid enthusiastic cheering, and as the boats
turned their bows up the noble St. Lawrence, one
loud huzza bade the travelers farewell. The route
lay up the Ottawa. Paul, an old Iroquois guide
who knew every rock in the whole line of rajnds
between Montreal and Hudson's Bay, Avas the pilot.

On the 17th of June, the travelers arrived at Nor-
way House, where they halted to enlist volunteers
to guide and accompany them. The experts in
wilderness life were reluctant at first to engage in the
enterprise, but James McKay, a powerful High-
lander and one of the best steersmen in the country,
having consented to enlist, there was no further
trouble in securing men. Among other applicants
two Canadians, old acquaintances of Back's, came
nearly breathless with haste, and were enlisted.

278

V ,i !

,* i

WOMAN 8 BIGHTS AT NORWAY HOUSE.

279

But, " there is many a slip between the cup and the
lip." These Canadians had wives, and these wives
thought they had rights, as surely they had. The
different conduct of these women illustrates the two
great methods by which the gentle sex enforce
their rights. One, a good strapping dame, cuffed her
husband's ears with such dexterity and good will,
that he was fain to cvy peccavi and seek shelter in a
friendly tent ; the other, an interesting girl of seven-
teen, burst into tears, and with piteous sobs clung to
the husband of her love, as if she would hold him
prisoner in her arms. The result proved that each
method was equally effectual, for Back lost the ser-
vices of the men.

Leaving Norway House on the 28th of June, and
proceeding by the usual route. Back approached
Cumberland House on the 5 th of July. The crew
dressed themselves out in all their finery — silver bands
tassels, plumes and feathers, intending to approach the
station with some military effect ; but unfortunately
for the poor fellows, the rain fell in torrents, their
feathers drooped, and to complete their discomfitui'e
they were obliged to walk in their crestfallen condi-
tion for a mile in the mud before reaching the station.

Tlie boats, stores, etc., were all in readiness for a
start, and Capt. Back had the satisfaction of getting
his two batteaux under way on the 0th of July.
Each was laden with a cargo weighing over two
tons, exclusive of men, bedding, and clothes. Yet
with such steersmen as McKay and Sinclair, no
apprehension was felt for their safety.

Back lingered behind a day or two, and then
advanced in his canoe with eight attendants under
the pilotage of his skillful guide, De Charloit, a half-

280

THE BA'ITEAUX AND CANOES.

breed, and soon overtook Dr. King with the large boats.
The contrast between the rapidity of motion of the
two parties was striking. The water M-as veiy low,
and the cumbrous batteaux Avere dragged in some
places laboriously a few paces at a time by the united
exertions of those on board and those on shore.
Sometimes unable to resist the force of the inpetuoua
current they weie swept back; at others, suspended
on the arched back of a wave, they stiuggled and
labored until they were again in the shelter of some
friendly eddy. But the canoe, frail as she Avas, was
threaded through the boiling rapids and sunken rocks
with fearful elegance.

On the 21st of July, the party reached Portage la
Loche, the high ridge of land which divides the
waters running into Hudson's Bay from those Avliich
direct their course to the Arctic Sea. Here a beauti-
ful and picturesque view opened to their sight. A
thousand feet below, the sylvan landscape lay spread
out in all the wild luxuriance of its summer clothing.
Even the most jaded of the party seemed to forget
his weariness, and halted involuntarily to gaze with
admiration on a spectacle so magnificent.

On the 8th of August they reached Great Slave
Lake and were welcomed at Fort Resolution. The
remainder of the month was spent by Back in explor-
ing this lake and searching for Great Fish River,
called by the Indians Thlew-ee-choh, and now named
in honor of our explorer, who was the first to descend
it, Back's River.

Many encampments of Indians were passed, whose
occupants were employed in drying the flesh of
moose recently killed. The hunters were lying at
full length on the grass, whiffing the cherished pipe,

India:! bUUMJOt ENCAMrMKNT.

MlKJSK UlNTiyu — VI KdN lllVKH.

P 1

I I

^1 '. '

I' ' \

11 A'

or lounging
a lich marr
labors. Wo
wliich were
screaming i
louder sere
of their clii
were half f
plete the s
ing themse
canoes like
was at the
care, enjoy i
and capacit
than this ?

On the 2
tributaries (
that pleasir
bound of th
ging, he thr(
bearty drai
returned to
Lake where

As winte;
the vicinity
"with herg
turn, and st
the snow,
children, wl
peculiarly di
may or may
in steel whi
food."

Back's j)i

INDIAN SUMMER ENCAMPMENTS.

281

or lounging on their elbows i " watch the frizzling of
a rich marrow bone, the customary perquisite of their
labors. Women were lighting or tending the fires, over
which were suspended rows of thinly sliced meat, some
screaming to thievish dogs, and others with still
louder screams, endeavoring to drown the shrill cries
of their children, who, swaddled and unable to stir,
were half suffocated with the smoke ; while to com-
plete the scene, eight or ten boys at play, were aim-
ing themselves over and under some white bark
canoes like so many land dolphins. Their hapi)iness
was at the full ; at that moment they were without
care, enjoying themselves according to their nature
and capacity. Is human happiness ever much more
than this ?

On the 29th of August, Back reached one of the
tributaries of the Great Fish River, and yielding to
that pleasing emotion which discoverers, in the first
bound of their transport, may be pardoned for indul-
ging, he threw himself down on the bank and drank a
hearty draught of the limpid water. He then
returned to winter-quarters at Fort Reliauce on Slave
Lake where a house was erected.

As winter came on the sufferings of the Indians in
the vicinity were extreme. " Famine," says Back,
"with her gaunt and bony arm pursued them at every
turn, and strewed them lifeless on the cold bosom of
the snow. Often did I share my own plate with the
children, whose helpless state and piteous cries were
peculiarly distressing. Compassion for the full-grown
may or may not be felt, but that heart must be cased
in steel which is insensible to the cry of a child for
food."

Back's party shared in the general distress and

. y

, 1 1,

^! 1

i'.

282

"llAISING THE DEVIL."

could bestow but little on the wretched sufferers,
who began to imagine that the instruments in the
observatory kept the deer at- a distance and caused
their sufferings. Even the voyageurs were superstitous-
ly impressed, and on one occasion two of them listened
by the fence built around the observatory, and hear-
ing at intervals the words " now " and " stop/' always
succeeded by silence, they turned hastily away and
reported to their companions that they verily believed
the captain was '' raising the devil."

In November, the chief Akaitcho, the old acquaint-
ance of Franklin, arrived very opportunely with some
meat which was of great benefit to all. When he
went away he took some of the starving Indians with
him, and promised Back that he should not want as
long as he had anything to send to the fort. And he
kept his word, and during a most apalling period of
suffering and calamity proved himself the firm friend
of the expedition ; the dawn of each morning saw
liim prepared for the hunt, and he boldly encountered
every difficulty and made others act by the force of
his example.

In describing the scenes of this winter Back says :—
— "No sooner had one party closed the door than
another feeldy opened it, and confirmed by their half-
famished looks and sunken eyes their heart-rending
tale of sufferings. They spoke little, but crowded in
silence around the fire, as if eager to enjoy the only
comfort remaining to them, A handful of mouldy
pounded meat which had been intended for the dogs
was all we could give them ; and this, with the cus-
tomary presentation of the friendly pipe, was suffi-
cient to efface for a moment the recollection of tlieir
sorrows, and even light up their faces with a smile
of hope."

GAD FATE OF AUGUSTUS.

283

In March information came that Augustus, the
Esquimaux interpi-eter and Back's old friend, hear-
ing that he was in the country had set out to join
him, and walked from Hudson's Bay to Fort Resolu-
tion for that purpose. From this place he started
with a Canadian and Iroquois, who were taking
dispatches to Back ; but they all lost their way, and
the couriers returned to the fort without Augustus,
who had persisted in going on alone. In June the
remains of the brave Esquimaux were found near the
Riviere a Jean. " Such," says Back, " was the misera-
ble end of poor Augustus ! — a faithful, disinterested,
kind-hearted creature, who had won the regard not
of myself only, but I may add of Sir John Frank-
lin and Dr. Richardson also, by qualities, which,
wherever found, in the lowest as in the highest forms
of social life, are the ornament and charm of human-
ity."

On the 25th of April 1834, a messenger arrived
with the glad tidings of the safe return of Ross and
his party to England. Back, however, thought it his
duty to explore Fish River, and on the 7th of June
left Fort Reliance for this purpose, Thoucl; no
longer stimulated with the desire to render iid and
comfort to Ross, he was heartily glad to get away
from scenes of suffering and death, and launch out
again into stirring adventure.

In descending the Fish River, eighty or ninety
miles of the distance Avas a succession of fulls and
rapids, keeping the men in a constant state of exertion
and anxiety. Cataracts, too, obstructed their passage.
In passing down one of these, where the river was
full of rocks and boulders, the boat was obliged to
be lightened.

■¥:

284

RUNNING THE RAPIDS.

ill

?■ '\

"I stood," says Back, "on a higli rock, with an
anxious heart, to see her run it. Away they went
with the speed of an arrow, and in a moment the
foam and rocks hid them from my view. I heard
what sounded in my ear like a wild shriek ; I followed
with an agitation which may be conceived, and, to
my inexpressible joy, found that the shriek was the
triumphant whoop of the crew, who had landed
safely in a small bay below."

Near the close of July, Back approached the mouth
of the Fish Riv^er and discovered a majestic headland
which he named Victoria. He thus sums up a gen-
eral view of the tempestuous stream which he had
successfully descended : —

" This, then, may be considered as the mouth of
the Thlew-ee-choh, which, after a violent and tortuous
course of five hundred and thirty geographical miles,
running through an iron-ri))T)ed countr}-, without a sin-
gle tree on the whole line of its banks, expanding into
fine large lakes with clear horizons, most embarrass-
ing to the navigator, and broken into falls, cascades,
and rapids to the number of no less than eighty-
three in the whole, pours its waters into the Polar
Sea in latitude 07^11' N., and longitude 'W 30^ W."

Drift-ice was here encountered, and further prog-
ress was slow, but on the 7th of Aiigust the party
reached Point Ogle, the northern extremity of the
land on the western side at the mouth of the estuary.
From this }K)int portions of the coast of Boothia were
seen to the northward. Further explorations by
water were imj)ossible, but a party ])roeeeded westerly
along the coast of the Arctic Ocean for about fifteen
miles, in the direction of Cape Turn-again.

The country was low, level and desolate and pro-

A DESOLATE EEGION.

285

duced nothing but moss and fern, which was so wet
that it would not burn. The weather was chilly,
damp and foggy, and the situation of the explorery
grew cheerless and miserable. Surrounded on every
side by complete desolation, without fire or any kind
of warm food, wnth heavy rains followed by thick
snows, " it cunnot " says Back, " be a matter of aston-
ishment, and much less of blame, that even the best
men, benumbed in their limbs, and dispirited by the
dreary and unpromising prospect before them, broke
out for a moment into low murmuriugs that theirs'
was a hard and painful duty." .■ . , .

Back had now no choice but to start on the return
journey, which was commenced the middle of August.
Before setting out, the British flag was un l^^d, and
saluted with three cheei-s " in honor of his iii >^f u^ra-
cious majesty," and the name of William the Fourth's
Land was given to this part of America.

The many difficulties which had been experienced
in going down the river were at least doubled in
returning, but the explorers reached Fort Reliance in
safety on the 27th of September. Preparations were
inmiediately made for spending another winter in
this dreary place. Hunting and fishing were the
order of the day, and wood was collected to keep off
the cold, which proved to be less severe than usual.

About the last of May they gladly bade adieu to
the inliospitable region, and reached Norway House
on the 24th of June. Back returned home by way
of Montreal and New York, and received many kind
attentions during his journey through the United
States. lie reached England in September, after an
absence of over two and a half years, and was there
honored by an audience with the king.

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286

VOYAGE IN THE

" TERROR."

Soon afterwards, the English admiralty decided to
send out an expedition to complete the survey of
the coast between Regent's Inlet and Point Turn-
again, and for this purpose Captain Back sailed from
England in the "Terror," with a crew of seventy-
three men. Near the Savage Islands they encountered
a fleet of kayaks and oomiaks, and were hailed by
their occupants with vociferous cries of teyma. Back
says that the conduct of the women was particularly
outrageous ; besides disposing of their garments they
offered to barter their children, and one of them
noticing that an officer had but little hair on his
head, offered to supply him with her own.

Early in September, when near the entrance of
Frozen Strait, the Terror was seized by the ice as
with the grasp of a giant, and during the whole of
that month was whirled backward and forward just
as the wind or tide directed. " It was," says Back,
" a month of vexation, disappointment, and anxiety,
to me more distressing and intolerable than the
worst pressure of the worst evils which had befallen
me in any other expedition."

It was soon evident that there could T)e no escape
for several months, and that nothing could be done
but to make the situation as comfortable as possible.
Snow walls and galleries were built on the floes; and
towards spi'ing, for amusement, some of the men cut
figures of houses, forts, vessels, and men and women,
from blocks of snow. Most of the crew could read,
some could recite long passages of prose and poetry,
others could sing ; and by bringing out the talents
of each for the common benefit, the whole "were made
at times comparatively happy.

Thus di'ifting about and at times undergoing terrif

VOYAGE IN THE "TERROR."

287

ic nips, the Terror remained fast in the ice till the
11th of Jcly, when, after several clays spent by
the crew in attempting to cut her free, a loud rum-
bling noise was heard, and the ship broke her ice-
bonds and slid gently into her own element ; but so
much of the base of her ice cradle still clung to her,
that she remained on her beam ends for three days
after.

Nothing now remained but to get home as soon
as possible with the crazy, broken and leaky Terror,
and the voyage thither was as perilous as her encoun-
ters with the ice had been. On reaching the coast
of Ireland, the ship was run ashore in a sinking con-
dition, and could hardly have floated a day longer.
She was afterwards refitted, and with her and the
Erebus, James C. Ross made his explorations in the
Southern Seas. Subsequently, Franklin and his lost
expedition sailed in the same famous ships.

The ice-drift experiences of the Terror much resem-
ble those of the Advance and Rescue while searching
for Franklin — a full history whereof is given in Dr.
Kane's narrative of the First American Expedition.

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CHAPTER XXI.

LAND EXPEDITIONS OF DBASE AND SIMP-
SON, AND RAE.

As a considerable extent of the northern coast of
America still remained imexplored, the Hudson's Bay
Company determined, in 1836, to equip an expedi-
tion of tAvelve men under the lead of two of its own
officers— i*eter W. Dease and Thomas Simpson. The
latter was a young and well-educated Scotchman
who had resided in the territory since 1829 ; he Avas
full of zeal for scientific discovery, and the astronomer
and historian of the expedition.

Before setting out, Mr. Simpson spent several
months at the Red River Settlement, situated near
the 50th parallel at an elevation of eight or nine hun-
dred feet above the sea, w'hich then stretched for
upwards of fifty miles along the Avooded borders of
the Red and Assinoboine Rivers which flow through
a level country of vast extent. There was no specu-
lative motive to induce him to color his picture of
this region, and he may the more readily be relied
on when he states, that the climate is salubrious, the
soil good, horses, cattle, hogs and poultry numerous ;
and that wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes thrive well in
the vast Red River Valley. This testimony shouM

288

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remove tlie
recent trav
give glovvi
consideratic

Mr. Simj
ber for his
dred and s(
starting poi
three sledg<
as drivers,
lay over tli
quently th<
moose-deer
80 deep t]
travelers,
his compan

The trav
on the 1st
Slave Lak(
at finding
till the 21s
with hnnt
mirasje of t
Indians, j
which the
sport, and
being the
without th
midnight, i
to exertion

Fort Nc
on the 1st
at the moil
joyous ch(

A WINTER S JOURNEY.

289

remove the suspicions which some have, that more
recent travelers in this section have been induced to
give glowing descriptions thereof from mercenary-
considerations. • . ' • • '

Mr. Simpson left this colony on the 1st of Decem-
ber for his winter journey of one thousand two hun-
dred and seventy-seven miles to Fort Chipewyan, the
starting point of the expedition. A gay cariole and
three sledges drawn by dogs, with three picked men
as drivers, made up the retinue. Much of the route
lay over the frozen channels of the streams, and fre-
quently the tinklings of the dog-bells roused the
moose-deer from their lairs. At times the snow was
so deep that snow-shoes had to be worn by the
travelers. Fort Chipewyan, where Mr. Dease awaited
his companion, was reached on the fii'st of February.

The travelei's took their departure from this place
on the 1st of June 1837, and on reaching Great
Slave Lake, ten days afterwards, were disappointed
at finding it covered with ice which detained them
till the 21st of June — ^a delay which they beguiled
with hunting, and with observing the wonderful
mirage of tliis region and the games and sports of the
Indians. A dance was also given to the men in
which the Indian women joined. It furnished much
sport, and was concluded with a genei'ous supper, tea
being the only beverage. The games of the people
without the fort were generally at their height at
midnight, when the coolness of the atmosphere incited
to exertion.

Fort Norman on the Mackenzie River was reached
on the 1st of July, and on the 9th, the Arctic Ocean
at the mouth of the river was seen, and saluted with
joyous cheers. As the season was favorable, the

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290

ON THE COASTS OF ALASKA.

\l''4

explorers proceeded westerly along the coast, and on
the 23d of July arrived at Return Reef, where Frank-
lin had been stopped. Beyond this was unexplored
territory. Pushing on, they discovered the mouth of
a river and named it the Colville. They supposed it
to be a large one, for it freshened tlie waters of
the ocean to a distance of three leagues. Their
conclusions were right, for the Colville Rivei*, now in
the United States territory of Alaska, has since been
ascertained to be a thousand miles long.

They also discovered another noble river, the Garry,
whose mouth was a mile in width. Though the
ground was frozen four inches deep, a few flowers
cheered the eye of the travelers. On the Ist of
August the party had arrived within two degrees of
Point Barrow, the most eastern point reached by the
barge of the Blossom. As further progress was
here prevented by the ice, Simpson with five com-
panions pushed on afoot, and on the 4th had the
great satisfaction of seeing the long, low spit of land
called Point Barrow stretching to the northward.
On reaching it, they unfurled the British flag with
three cheei-s and took possession of this gravelly cape
in the name of their king. The last portion of the
journey to Point Barrow had been made in an
oomiak which was borrowed of a party of Esquimaux
met on the way. The landing at Point Barrow was
made at a place half way between a winter village
and summer camp of the natives, and in the vicinity
was an immense cemetery, where the remnants of
humanity lay on the ground in the usual seal-skin
clothing. The natives were generally friendly, but
thievish.

Having reached the limit of their explorations in

DOWN ESCAPE nAPID.

291

this direction, the whole party returned to winter-
quarters at Great Bear Lake. In the summer of 1838
they again commenced their travels, and on the 25th
of June were nearing the mouth of the Cop]ieiTnine.
Franklin had descended the lower part of this river
when it had fallen to its summer level, hut Dease and
Simpson were swept down it by the spring flood, in
which floated cakes of ice, while the banks were piled
up with pondrous fragments. Mr. Simpson thus
descnbes some of the perils of the passage : —

" The day was bright and lovely as we shot down
rapid after rapid, in many of which we had to pull
for our lives, to keep out of the suction of the preci-
pices, along whose base the breakers raged and foamed
with overwhelming fury. Shortly before noon we
came in sight of Escape Rapid of Franklin, and a
glance at the overhanging cliffs told us that there
was no alternative but to run down with a full cargo.
In an instant we were in the vortex, and, before we
were aware, my boat was borne towards an isolated
rock, which the boiling su i-ge almost concealed. To
clear it on the outside was no longer possible. Our
only chance of safety was to nin between it and the
lofty eastern cliflf. The word was passed, and every
breath was hushed. A stream, which dashed down
upon us over the brow of the precipice, more than a
hundred feet in height, mingled with the spray that
whirled upward from the rapid, fonning a terrific
shower-bath. The pass was about eight feet wide,
and the error of a single foot on either side would
liave been instant destruction. As, guided by Sin-
clair's consummate skill, the boat shot safely through
those jaws of death, an involuntary cheer arose."

On the Ist of July the party reached the sea, and

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WINTER-QUABTEBS ON GREAT BEAR LAKE.

>'i^

on tlie 17tli they started to coast along Its slioros to
the eastward. On arriving, about the 10th of August,
in the vicinity of Point Turn-again the Ijoats were
arrested by ice. On the 2()th, Simpson a\ ith seven
men started on a walk along the coast. On the 23d
they came to an elevated rocky ridge which was
named Cape Alexander. On ascending it, a vast and
splendid pr(>spect burst suddenly upon the travelers.
The sea, as if transformed by enchantment, rolled its
free waves at their feet, and extended to the eastward
as far as could be seen. Islands of various sha])es and
sizes overspread its surface ; and the northern land
terminated to the eye in a bold and lofty cape thirty
or forty miles distant. On the extensive land to the
northward, Simpson bestowed the name of Victoria,
and he called its eastern extremity Cape Pelly.

After surveying nearly one hundred and fc^rty miles
of new coast easterly of Point Turn-again, the foot
party returned to the boats. Early in September tlie
return journey up the Coppermine was commenced,
and on the 14th of that month Fort Confidence, the
old winter-quarters on Great Bear Lake, was safely
reached.

Here the winter of 1838-0 was passed by the
explorers, and in June 1839, undaunted by the dan-
gers and privations of the previous season, they again
started on their third successive visit to the Arctic
Sea. i .

On the 3d of July their boats emernred from the
Coppcnnine, and sailing eastward the party encamped
on the 26th at Cape Alexandei-. Continuing their
voyage, they discovered, on the 10th of August, a
strait three miles wide through which they passed.
Three days afterward, they were delighted at reaching
Cape Ogle at the mouth of the Great Fish River.

Ti^n

KETURN TO RED RIVER SETTLEMENT.

293

All the olg'ects for which the expedition was fitted
out had now been accomjuished. The noithei ii limits
of America to the westward of the Great Fish or
Back's lli\ er had been surveyed, but it still remained
a questiou whether Boothia might not he tinited to
the continent on the other side of the estuary. So
the jmrty pushed on to a point distant about two
degrees from Point Ogle, where they came to the
mouth of a river, which they named the Castor and
Pollux after their two boats. This river was the
limit of their eastern explorations.

In returning to the Coppermine River they crossed
over to the northern side of the strait, and traced the
southern coast of King William's Island for about
sixty miles till it turned to the north at Cape Ilerschel,
distant ninety miles from the magnetic pole. Along
these same dreary coasts the party of Sir John Frank-
lin attempted to make good their retreat a])out ten
years later ; and one of his boats, with skeletons, guns,
etc., was subsequently found some distance above
Cape Herschel.

The explorei's also surveyed the coasts of Victoria
Land for a long distance, and reached the Copj)ermine
on the 16th of September, having made a voyage of
over sixteen hundred miles on the Polar Sea — the
longest one ever made thereon in ojien boats.

Mr. Simpson left Fort Confidence on the 26tli of
September, 1839, and after a journey of 1910 miles
made on foot within sixty-one days, he arrived at Red
River Settlement early in February, 184(». Here he
remained waiting for authority from England to pro-
ceed on a new expedition which he had proposed to
lead. Deeply mortified at not receiving answers to
his dispatches as soon as he expected them, he left

294

MR. SIMPSON MURDERED.

Vil

the settlement on the 6tli of June with a party of
half-breeds and settlers, intending to cross the pvaines
to St. Peter's on the Mississippi lliver, and thenc*
proceed to England.

Mr. Simpson subsequently went on ahead with
four men, and beyond this all that is known with
certainty is, that on the 13th of June Simpson shot
two of his companions; that the other two rejoined
the larger party, and that a portion thereof went to
his encampment on the next morning and killed him.
Whether he shot the two men in self-defence oi- when
suffering under a temporary hallucination of mind
was never known by his friends.

Messrs. Dease and Simpson supposed that they had
sailed to the eastward of Boothia, and that the isth-
mus which Koss said connected Boothia with the
continent, did not exist. To explore the coast line
which was, in consequence of their discoveries, believ-
ed to extend from the Castor and Pollux easterly to
the Fury and liecla Strait — whose waters connect
with Hudson's Bay — the Hudson's Bay Company
sent out an expedition in 1846 under Dr. John Rae.

Dr. llae, with twelve men and two boats, left Port
York on the 12th of June, and coasted northerly along
the westerly shores of Hudson's Bay. On the 24th
of July they anchored at the head of Repulse Bay.
They then proceeded northerly, taking one boat with
them, over an isthmus interspersed with lakes, forty-
ihree miles to Committee Bay, the southerly extrem-
ity of Pi-ince Regent's Inlet. Finding that the rea-
son was too far advanced to complete tlie survey
that year, Rae determined, vnth a bolduess and con-
fidence ill his own resources that has never been sur-
passed, to winter in Repul se Bay, and to finish his

DR. Rave's explorations.

295

explorations on tlie Ice the next spring. lie therefore
recrossed the isthmus with his boat, and set about
collecting pi-ovisions and fuel for a ten months' winter.

To one less exj^erienced and hardy, the desolate
shores of. Repulse Bay would havj forbidden such an
attempt. They yielded neither drift-wood nor slirub-
by plants of any kind ; but Dr. Rae employed part
of his men to gather the "withered stems of a small
herbaceous plant which grew in abundance on the
rocks, and to pile it in cocks like hay: otliers lie set
to build a house of stone and earth called Fort Hope ;
while lie and his Es({uimaux interpreter were occu-
pied ill killing deer for winter food.

Early in April, 1847, llae and part of his men
started with sledges draAvn by dogs, and after again
reaching Committee Bay, traveled northerly' along its
western shore, and on the 18th reached the Lord
Mayor's Bay of Sir John Ross, on whose shores the
crew of the lost Victory so long resided. This jour-
ney ju'oved that Ross Avas right in supposing that
Boi^tlna Avas connected with the continent. No
attempt was made to pnK^eed westerly to the Castor
and Pollux, and the i)arty immediately set out on
their return to Fort Hope.

On the 12th of May Rae started to examine the
eastern coast of Committee Bay, and on tlie 27tli had
reached his farthest point at a headland, which he
called Capo Crozier, situated about twenty miles
south of the Avest end of the Fury and Ilecla Strait.
He then returned to Repulse Bay, and the whole
party arrived safely at Foi't Churchill on the last day
of August. The entire expedition had been an emi-
nently successful one, and proved that Dr. Rae was

well calculated for an Arctic exidorer.

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CHAPTER XXn.

SIR JOHN FRANKLIN'S LAST VOYAGE, WITH
A SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.

One of the most enthusiastic and indefatigable ex-
plorers of the Arctic regions of this, or any other age,
was Sir John Franklin. His history as an eminent
navigator, — his persistent, cheerful zeal for the accom-
plishment of a favorite object through obstacles, dan-
gers, and oftentimes intense suflering,won for him the
admiration and respect of the civilized world ; and
especially has the uncertainty of his fate excited an
almost universal interest.

John Franklin was born at Spilsby, Lincolnshire,
England, April 16th, 1786. He was the youngest son
of a respectable farmer in moderaio circumstances,
with a family of twelve children to provide for and
educate. John was intended by his parents for the
Church, and at an early age was placed in a grammar
school to prepare ultimately for the ministry. But
his tastes led him in a different direction. He had a
passion for the sea. While a school-boy at Louth, he
took advantage of a holiday to walk twelve miles,
with a companion, to look at the ocean, which he then
beheld for the first time. The effect upon his mind
was wonderful. He gazed upon it for hours with
emotions of intensci deUght, and from that day his

206

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LIFE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

297

heart bunied us it never did before, to trace its bound-
aries and explore its mysteries.

His father, thinking liis son carried away by a boy-
ish romance, and tliat he had no idea of the unpoet-
ical shade of a sailor's life, hoped that a little expe-
rience of its hardships and discomforts would break
the charm, and cure him of his folly. Accoidingly he
gave John permission to make a voyage in a merchant
vessel to Lisbon. But the e:cperiment proved an un-
fortunate one, so far as the fathf;r's wishes were con-
cerned, for it only served to intensify the boy's passion
for a sea-faring liff" Mr. Franklin, becoming convinced
that it was useless to attempt any longer to change
the propensity of his son, yielded to his wishes, and
procured for him a position in the navy aa a midship-
man, at the age of fourteen, He was placed on board
the Polyphemus, a ship of the line, and sen'ed in her
at the battle of Copenhagen, Apiil 2d, 1801. During
the engagement, a young midshipman and comrade
was shot dead standing by his side.

In the ensuing summer he was more pleasantly em-
ployed on board the Investigator, a government
ship commanded by his cousin, Captain Flinders, who
was commissioned to explore the coasts of Australia.
After nearly two years spent in this service, which
was an excellent preparatory school to qualify him
for future pursuits, he with the officers and crew sailed
for home in the Porpoise, a store-ship — the Investi-
gator having been condemned as unseaworthy.
But the Porpoise, shortly after leaviug port, was
wrecked upon a reef about two hundred miles from
Australia. Here he and his companions renuiined fifty
days, upon a small sand-bank, until relief came to
them from Port Jackson. The crew was now dis-

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LIFE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

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persed, and Franklin was taken to Canton, where he
obtained a passage to England on board an armed lu-
diaman. On their way home they were attacked by
a French man-of-war, which, after a severe conflict,
was compelled to retire in a crippled condition. Dur-
ing the battle, young Franklin distinguished himself
for bravery and efficiency.

On reaching England he was ordered to join the ship-
of the-line, Bellerophon, and in 1805 took part in the
memorable battle of Trafalgar, in which he discharged
•^.lie responsible duties of signal midshipman, with re-
markable coolness and courage, in the midst of a hot
ai\d most destructive fire from the enemy's sharp-shoot-
ern. Of forty persons who stood around him on the
potip of the ship, many fell, and only seven escaped
uni urt.

Subsequent to this, he served six years on board the
Bedford, on various stations, the last of which was on
the coast of the United States, during the war of 1812
-15. He commanded the boats of the Bedford in a
battle with the American gun-boats at New Orleans,
one of which he boarded and captured, though at the
expense of a severe wound. For his gallantry in tliis
action, he was promoted to a lieutenancy.

In 1818 Franklin made his first Arctic voyage as
commander of the Trent, and with Captain Buchim
attempted to sail over the North Pole. In 181!) he
started on his first great overland journey to the
shores of the Arctic Ocean, which occupied about
throe years.

In 1823 he was married to Eleanor Porden, daugli-
ter of an eminent architect, a lady of superior abil-
ities, who distinguished herself at a very early age
by her remarkable attainments in Greek and Latin,

LIFE OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

299

and also in several modern lann;uages. She was also
a proficient in botany, chemistry, and geology. She
■was, in addition, a poetess of no ordinary promise.
In 1818. she published the "Arctic Expedition" — a
poem. This led to her acquaintance Avith Franklin,
to whom she was united in marriage in 1823.

About a year and a half after his marriage, Frank-
lin Ava.s appointed to the command of another over-
land expedition to the Arctic Ocean. The appoint-
ment, though in accordance with his chivalric enthusi-
astic nature, was, in one respect, very inopportune.
His devoted wife was in a rapid decline, and evidently
drawing near her end. When the day assigned for
his departure arrived, she was lying at the point of
death. To leave her, in such circumstances, was like
tearing out his heart-strings ; but she insisted that he
should not delay his departure an hour on her account,
and as he took his leave of her, she, Avith a kiss, gave
him as a parting gift, a silk flag, with a request that
he would hoist it on reaching the Polar Sci, which he
did. She died, much lamented, the day after her
husl)and left England.

On his return from his two overland journeys,
Franklin published narratives thereof; no one can
read them without deep respect and admiration for
the l)rave Christian spirit which sustained him and his
cornp.Miions during the most appalling hardships.
The most interesting portions of these narratives have
been given in preceding chapters.

in 1828, Franklin was married to Miss Jane Gi'iffin,
(laughter of John Grillin Esq., and born about 1800.
^^he still survives, and has distinguished herself the
world over, by her public spirit, and her indomitable
perseverance in search of her lost husband. In the

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300

LIFE OF SIR JOUN FRANKLIN.

! *

same year he published a narrative of his second ex-
pedition, which did him much credit. In the follow-
ing year he was knighted, and received an honorary
degree from the University of Oxford, and a gold
medal from a learned society in Paris.

In 1830, Sir John, as he was from that time called,
was put in eomniand of the Rainbow, and ordered to
cruise in the Mediterranean. While absent, he had
opportunity of rendering important service to the
Greek?, who were then struggling to throw off the
Turkish yoke, under which they had long been sorel}'
oppressed. In recognition of his kindness. King Otho
decorated him with the cross of the "Kedoemcr of
Greece." Probably no commander of a ship ever paid
more attention to the comfort of those ])laced mider
him than Franklin, and the sailors expressed their
sense of his kindness by calling his vessel the " Celes-
tial II{iinl)OW," and "Franklin's Paradise."

In 183o, he was appointed governor of Van Die-
men's Land, which position he held till 1843. His ad-
ministration in this colony was remarkablj'' popular
and useful. He originated, and executed many impor-
tant measures for the benefit ot the eolonlsts, for
which they made both public and private demonstra-
tions of their gratitude. He founded a college and
endowed it largely from his own funds, to be < on-
ducted on the most liberal principles, without distinc-
tion of sect.

When he resigned his office and returned to England,
universal regret was expressed by the people of the
co'ony. On the day of his departure, a more numcr-
O is gathering than had ever been seen on ihe island,
attended him to the ship, and lie was much gratified
by receiving complimenLary and affectionate addresses

a passage ^\

franklin's last voyage.

301

from every district in the colony. As evidence of the
affection these remote colonists cherished for him,
they, years afterward, spontaneously raised nearly
$10,000, and forwarded it to Lady Franklin to aid her
in fitting out an expedition to search for her missing
husband.

Notwithstanding the numerous unsuccessful at-
tempts to discover a North-west passage to the Pacific
Ocean, it was still the firm belief of scientific men that
such a passage did exist, and the desire to solve the
problem of centuries was undiminished ; ultliough
reasonable men hud long been convinced that if such
a passage was found, the dangers and difficulties of
navigating the Northern seas were so great as to pre-
clude the use of it for purposes of commerce.

Engliuul especially was ambitious of the honor of
proclaiming to the world that the great question was
settled, and was also actuated by a more laudable desu'e
to promote the interests (>f science. Although she had
already expended much treasure, and sacrificed many
valuable lives in the imdertaking which hud long been
the dream of her philosophers, she determined to make
another attempt to accomplish it.

Accordingly, in 1845, the two ships, the "Erebus"
and " Terror," in which Sir Joiin Clarke Ro.ss had just
returned (rom his career of discovery in the Southern
seas, were fitted out. Both were of moderate size,
and renowned for their fitness to encounter ice. They
were now provided witli suudl steam engines and
screw propellers, and a three years' supply of every
thing that could contribute lo the healtii and comfort
of voyagers in the Arctic regions. The vessels were also
furnished with ship-stox'es, tools, nautical instruments^
fire-arms, and a large supply ot amunitiou ; in shorf^

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t:n

302

FRANKLIN S LAST VOYAGE.

.l',f

U i

with every thing imagination and experience could
suggest, that would be neediiil for ofhcer.s and crew.

It was hardly a question with the Admiralty, who
should be a{)i)ointed to the command of this enter-
prise, — it was Sir John Franklin, of course. No other
man in England was better qualified for this impor-
tant and perilous undertaking. lie had talent, sound
judgment, kindness of heart, large experience, and
had lost none of his youthful enthusiasm for adventure,
although nearly sixty years of age. The achievement
of a " North-west passage " had been the day-dream of
his life, and he was glad of an opportunity to make
another attempt for the realization of his long-cher-
ished hopes. He unhesitatingly accepted the ap-
pointment.

The second in command was Captain Francis R. M.
Crozier, a bold and experienced navigator, who had
been with Parry in all his northern voyages, and was
second officer in command of the Antarctic expedition
under Ross. Crozier was appointed captain of the
Terror, and Franklin sailed in the Erebus. The crews
of these two vessels, amounting in all, including offi-
cers, to one hundred and thirty-eight souls, were
picked men, hardy, experienced, bold, reliable, and
enthusiastic.

Franklin was instructed to proceed through Lancas-
ter Sound, and westward in the latitude of 74 i" until
he reached the longitude of 98° west. From that
point he was to penetrate to the southwest towards
Behring's Straits.

The ships sailed on the 19th of May, 1845, accom-
panied by a tender with additional supplies. This
tender was dismis.sed in Davis's Strait, and letters from
the officers and crew carried back — the last ever re-

franklin's last voyage.

303

ceived from them. One of the men wrote as follows :
— "I need hardly tell you how much wo arc all delighted
with our captain. He lia.s, I am sure, won not only the
respect but the love of every per.son on board, by his
amiable manner and kindness to all ; and his influence
is always employed for some good purpose, both
among the oHicers and men. lie takes an active part
in everything that goes on."

A letter which Sir John wrote to his friend Colonel
Sabine, contained the following : —

"I hope my dear wife and daughter will not be over-
anxious if we should not return l^y the time they have
fixed upon ; and I must beg of you to give them the
benefit of your advice and experience when that time
arrives, for you know well that without success in our
object, even after the second winter, we should wish
to try some other channel if the state of our provis-
ions and tlie health of the crews justify it"

The ships started northward iigain on the 13th of
July ; on the 2&th of July they wore spoken near lat-
itude 75° by the whaler Prince of Wales, which was
boarded by seven officers of the expedition, who in-
vited the captain to dine with Sir John on the follow-
ing day. But as a breeze favorable for the wualer
sprang up in the night, its captain set sail without
receiving on board any of the letters which the ex-
plorers doubtless intended to give him before he left
them. When the Prince of Wales left the two ships,
they were moored to an ice-berg.

This was the last ever seen of the " Erebus " and
" Terror," and the last direct intelligence that has been
received from Sir John Franklin and his men to this day.
Years elapsed before any indication of their fate or the
faintest trace of the lost explorers were discovered.

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CHAPTER XXIII.
SEARCHES FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

(expeditions of 1848.)

As the year 1847 drew to a close wltlioiit Lriiiging
any intelligence from Franklin, great solicitude fur
his safety was felt in England, and the government
resolved to send out three distinct expeditions to
search for him. Each of these was to have its own
independent route, but all were to converge toward
the Arctic Archipelago, through whose intricate and
unex}dored channels and sounds Franlclin was supposed
to be striving to force his way. One of these expe-
ditions was to sail direct to Lancaster Sound, and
follow in the track of the missing shii)s; another was
to ])roceed overland down the ^Mackenzie River, and
examine the coasts of the continent ; and the third
was to go by ^vixy of Bering's Straits.

The command of the first named expedition was
given to Ca])tain James C. Ross, who sailed from
Englanil, June 12th, 1848, with two ships, the Enter-
prise ixui\ Investigator — the latter })elng commanded
by Captain E. J. Bird. Each ship was provided with
a steam launch. The passage through Balllu's Bay
was difficult and tedious, and Lancaster Sound was
not reached till nearly the last of August, At its

304

JAMES C. R088 8 EXPEDITION,

305

entrance and wliile Hailing along its coasts, the shores
M'ere carefully scrutinized for traces of Franklin.
Guns were fired when foggy ; rockets and lights were
fre(iuently burned ; and casks containing information
for the benefit of the missing men Avere daily thrown
overl )oard.

On the Ist of September, Ross re.-i' lied Cape York
at the east side of the entrance to Prim-e llegent's
Inlet. He then ci'ossetl the inlet, and coasted the
northern shores of Barrow's Strait, far enough to see
that Wellington Channel was firmly frozen. On the
11th of Se])tember he with great dllliculty reached
Port Leo})old, ^vhich is situated at the junction of
the four great channels, Lancaster Sound, Bariow's
Strait, Wellington Channel, and Pi-ince Pegent's In-
let. The next day the ice-pack closed the mouth of
the harbor and the exj)edition was fast for the winter,
Avhii'h the crews })assed in a comfortable manner.

Over fifty white foxes were taken alive dui'ing the
season in traps constructed of casks, and after being
fitted to copper collars ni)on which were engi-avedthe
position of the shijis and provision depots, they were
set at libeity, in the hope that some of them might be
caught by Frardclin's men.

On the 15th of May, lloss and Lieut. McClintock
with twelve men, made a journey to the south, and
examined the northern and western shores of North
Somerset, but found no ti-aces of Franklin, and the
party returned to the ships, June 2.')d, in an ex-
hausted condition. In their absence other unsnccess-
ful searches had been made, and one party visited
the house on Fury Point in which Sir John lloss
passed the winters of 1832-3.
It was now midsummer, but the Enterprise and

i.'-i

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8p:arciies for franklin.

i it

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Investigator were still Woclvaded hy the ice, Piepn-
rations for leaving Avere however made, and, as a
refuge for lost exjdorers, a house covered with can-
vas was erected on the shore of spars and oilier nia-
tei'ial. A large 8n]iply of provisions \vas ntored
therein ; and one of the launches was put in good
order, to be left behind.

After an inijirisonnient in the ice of one year less
fourteen days, the ships were lilierated on the 28t}i
of August, and steered toward the northern sliore of
Barrow's Strait ; but they were soon surrounded hy
ice, and it seemed i)rolni])le that they would remain
therein for another winter. Soon afterward, however,
the whole body of ice began to drive to the eastward,
and the ships were carried with it through Lancaster
Sound and down the westerly shores of BafHn's B i)'.
Here a great number of icebergs stretched across
the path, and ])resented the crews a fearful prospect of
the destruction of their vessels. But when least ex-
pected by them, the great ice-floe was rent into innu-
merable fragments, as if by some imseen jxnver, and
the vessels Mere released from its gi'asp. But it
was evident that the hunt of the Enteiprise and
Investigator was over for that season ; so they v.'ere
turned homeward, and reached Enj^land in Noveml)er
IS-tO. The searchers had found no clue as to -where
the lost explorers were, but had learned of some
places where they were not.

The overland search for Franklin was entrusted to
Sir John Kichardson assisted by Dr. John Rae.
These gentlemen left Liverpool ]\[arch 25th, 184S,
and reached the Hudson's Bay Com])any tei'T'itory,
via New York and Mcmtreal. Proceeding thence to
Great Slave Lake by the usual rout*^, they crossed it,

llICHAnDSON AND KAK*8 EXrKDITION.

307

and entered the Mackenzie River, July 21st. The
sea waa readied early in August, and here Escjuimanx
were met in great numbers — all anxious to trade, or
steal, as ()])iH)rtunity offered ; but of Franklin or his
shijjs they knew nothing.

After <'ntering the Arc-tie Ocean, Tllchard son coasted
eastward for some eight hundred miles, lioping to
reach and ascend the Coppermine llivtu'; bat when
near its mouth, ice prevented further ju-ogi-css of the
boats, and tlu'y were hauled into a safe jMwition, as
far as the elements Avere C(mcerned, and abandoned
Avith nearly all their contents. It was sul)se(|uently
ascertained that the goods were ai)i»ropi-iated ])y the
Esquimaux, who also destroyed the boats to secure
the iron and copper used in their construction.

The party now proceeded on foot to the Copper-
mine lliver and up its valley, and reached Fort Con-
fidence on Great Bear Lake, Sept. lath. Here they
passed the winter. The next summer. Dr. Kae with
six men descended the Coj)permine for the ]nir{)ose
of searching the coasts of Wollaston and Victoria
Land; but the strait was so full of ice that he could
not cross it, and the party returned to Fort Confidence
at the close of August. Dr. Richardsou left the fort
on the 7th of May, and reached Liverpool in Novem-
ber after an absence of nineteen months. Not the
slightest information of Franklin had been obtained;
but provisions and letters Avere buried in several
places, and signal posts indicating thi' i>reciNe s])ots
set up to attract the attention of the castaways if
they chanced to come that Avay.

The expedition ])y Avay of Bering's Strait Avas put
under command of Captain Henry Kellett, of the
ship Herald, which was then in the Pacific. On

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308

SEAKCIIES FOR FRANKL».

ISi 'j

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receiving instructions from home to that effect, Kel-
lett proceeded to Kotzebiie Sound, but returned to
winter at the Sandwich Islands. Another vessel, the
Phjver, commanded by Thomaa E. L. Moore, started
from England January 1st, 1848, to join tlie Herald,
and passed the winter of 1848-9 at Noovel, Kam-
chatka.

On the 14th of July, 1849, the Plover anchored off
Chamisso Island, Kotzebue Sound, the appointed
rendezvous, where she was joined the next day by
the Herald, and by the yacht Nancy Dawson, in
wdiich its owner, Robert Shedden, had started on a
pleasure trip around the world. While in Cliina, Mr.
Shedden heard of the intended expedition, and resolved
to Join it in the search for Franklin.

On the 18th, the three vessels sailed north and on
the 25th had reached Icy Cape. At this ])oint an
expedition of four boats under Lieut. Pullei.i, accom-
panied by the yacht, proceeded up the coast ns far as
Dease's Inlet. The yacht and two of the boats then
returned to the ships, Avhich meantime liad r*i\iised to
the north until ice was encountt-rt-d. Lie it. Pullen,
with the other two boats, continued the search easterly
to the mouth of the Mackenzie, whic-h he ji^c<'nded,
reaching Fort Simpson on the l-'Uh of October. Here
he wintered ; and in the following season lie descend-
ed the river, and remained on the sea coast till the
first of Sej)tember. Returning to Fort Simpson he
proceeded to England, .'ind again joined in the search
as commander of the North Star.

In S<'})tember, the three \essels rendezvoused in
Kotzebue Sound, and on the 29th of^that month,
leaving the Plover to winter there, the Herald and
the Nancy Dawson started soxith. The gallant Shed-

THE HERALD AND PLOVER.

309

den, who had token an active and daring part in the
sinnnier's search, died at Mazatlan fs )on afterwiird.

In July, 1850, the Herahl again j /ined the Plover
at the rendezvous, and the two vessels started north
together, Lut on encountering ice separated. The
coast between Icy Cape and Point Barrow Avas care-
fully examined hj the Plover. The two vessels met
again in August, and fell in with the Enterprise —
Captain Collinson — wl ich had just arrived to join in
the search. When winter came on the Herald sailed
for England, and the Plover anchored in Grantley
llarLor, At a subsequent date the Plover also re-
turned home.

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»7W|PW^WI^W"

CHAPTER XXIV.
SEARCHES FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

(expeditions of 1850.)

Frv'E years had now elapsed since Franklin left
England, and not a -word had been heard from liim
since the Prince of Wales parted from the Erebus and
Terror in Baffin's Bay. Hopes were howev^er enter-
tained that the missing explorers were still alive, and
the desire to rescue them became intense. The search,
in which the United States now joined, was accord-
ingly renewed with increased vigor. Several fresh
expeditions were dispatched from England to the
scene of action. One of them consisting of two ships,
tlie Enterprise and Investigator, under Collinson and
McClure, sailed for Bering's Strait, via Cape Horn ;
and t)thers, whose history is given in this chapter,
took tlie old route up Baffin's Bay.

The most important of these expeditions via Baffin's
Bay, was entrusted to the command of Captain II. T.
Austin, and comprised two ships — the Resolute and
Assistance — and two screw steamers — the Pioneer
and Intre|)id. These vessels were commanded respect-
ively by Captain Austin, Ca^jtain E Onminney, Lieut.
S. Oslx.rne, and Lieut. B. Cator. Caj)(ain Austin's
squadron sailed from England in May, 18D0, its par-

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ticular miss
ton Chann€
The seas
navigation,
ville Bay, d
The Assist?
tion of the i
reached Ca
Channel, w
lost expedit
ing vessels,
shared in tli
Soon afte
were in th(
Beechey Isl
were found
and the gra\
tliat the ere'
made their
Advance, ca
lin, and las
subse(|uent
Leaving
tin's squadiN
Island and
frozen in tin
excui'siuns \
Onnnaney ^\
teen sledges
— two hun<
t'.xplored.
sails were
large kites \
liigh, these

AUSTIN S SQUADRON.

311

ticular mission being to search the shores of Welling-
ton Channel, and Melville Island.

The season proved an unfavorable one for Arctic
navigation, and the ships, being beset l)y ice in Alel-
ville Bay, did not reach Lancaster Sound till August.
The Assistance and Intrepid undertook the examina-
tion of the north shores of this sound, and on the 23d
reached Cape Riley, at the entrance to AVellington
Channel, where were found the first traces of the
lost expedition. The Rescue, one of the U. S, ex])lor-
ing vessels, Avas also at Cape Riley at the time and
shared in this discovery.

Soon afterward several ships of other expeditions
Avere in the neighborhood of Cape Riley ; and on
Beecliey Island, three miles distant from the cape,
were found very interesting relics of Franklin's party,
and the graves of three of liis men. All went to slunv
that the crcAvs of the Erebus and TeiTor had here
made their first winter-quarters. Dr. Kane, of the
Advance, carefully examined all these traces of Frank-
lin, and his descriptions thereof will be found in a
siibseipient chajiter of this book.

Leaving Beechey Island and sailing westerly, Aus-
tin's squadron reached a position bet\veen CoruAvallis
Island and (Iriffitb's Island where the vessels were
frozen in the ice fur the wintei'. In the spring, sledge
oxcui'.sions were made along Parry's Strait, (-aj)tain
Oinmaney m ith one hundred and fou'' men and four-
teen sledges, traveled four hundred and eighty miles
— two hundred and five of which hii 1 never been
explored. In this Journey, occupying sixty days,
sails were occasionally hoisted on the sledgt's, and
large kites were also attached. When the wind w;is
high, these aids propelled the sledgi; very rapidly,

i.-lu^-

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN-,

l|i|

and the wliole of the party then rode ; but when the
wind fell, tlie sledges, with their provisions and stores,
had to be dragged l)y main force over the ice Ijy the
men harnessed to them.

A second sledge excursion, under Lieut. McClin-
tock, traveled seven hundred and sixty miles, discov-
ered forty miles of coast, and achieved the fui'thest
westing that had ever been attained in this part of
the Polar Sea — a point in latitude 74'' 38^ and longi-
tude ll^'' 20 ^ To the north of Bank's Land and at
a distance of about seventy miles, he discovered a
range of land apparently running nearly due Avest.
Following the coast of Melville Island to the north-
east, he entered Liddon Gulf, and here saw fragnients
of coal of good quality. In June he found Parry's
encampment of 1820, and the " strong but light cart"
in which Parry carried his tent and stores, and the
kettle containing the cylinder in which was enclosed
Pai'iy's record. Placing the kettle over the fire, the
cylinder was thawed out and the record cai'efuUy
unfolded ; but nothing but the date could be distin-
guished. McClintock then struck across the land to
Winter Harbor, another of Parry's encampments,
which evidently had not been visited since 1820.
The inscription there cut on a large sandstone boul-
der was still legible. On the Gth of June he started
to return to the ship, and reached it July 4th.

These searches having resulted in firulinfj; no traces
of the p]rel)us and Terror west and north of the mouth
of "Wellington Channel, Austin concluded that they
had probably steered for the Polar Sea through .lones"
Sound, and he therefore visited that locality with his
two steamers. After going up the sound some forty-
five miles he was arrested by a fixed banier of ict .

Mhen
Vance,
Ross
years
made
winter(
Wh(

rier pi;

stilted

hu.

in a

West gf

would

sift JOHN ROSS S EXPEDITION.

313

He found no traces of Franklin's party, and, conclud-
ing that any fui'tlier effcrt would be useless, he set
sail for England where he arrived in the autumn of
1851.

Among the searchers for Franldin was the veteran
Sir John Ross, who sailed from England, April, 1850,
in a small vessel called the Felix, accompanied Ity his
own yacht, the Mary, as a tender.

Sir John overtook Austin's squadron off the coast
of Greenland on the 11th of August, and on the l.'3th
fell in with some Esquimaux near Cape Yoi-k, who
told him, that in the winter of 1846 two ships were
crushed in the ice a little further up the coast, and
their crews, some of whom wore epaulets, killed liy
the natives. A subsequent investigation led Austin
to believe that the whole story was untrue ; but Ross,
long after his return to England, adhered to his theory
that the lost explorers perished in Bathn's Bay in the
manner indicated by the Esquimaux.

Ross, however, continued the sean^h as previously
arranged with Austin, and on the 19th of August
when off Admirality Inlet, was overtaken by the Ad-
vance, Lieut. De Haven, at just about the spot where
Ross had been picked up by the Isabella seventeen
years before. Ross bore a part in the discoveries
made at Cape Riley and vicinity, and subsequently
wintered in the ice near Austin's ships.

When Ross left England a lady gave him four car-
rier pigeons, two of which he was to libei'ate at a
stated time, and the other two when he found Frank-
liu, Ross sent off the first pair on the 6th of October
in a basket suspended to a balloon, during a north-
west gale. By a slow-match arrangement the birds
would be liberated at the end of twenty-four houre.

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314

SEARCHES FOE FKA^KLIN.

On the 13tli of October a pigeon arrived at the dove-
cot of the lady, which she believed to be one of those
given to Ross. It brought no message, but that was
believed to have been lost during the long transit.

Another of the expeditions of 1850 was fitted out
wholly through the efforts of I^ady Franklin, and
mostly at her expense. It consisted of a ship and a
brig, the Lady Franklin and the Sophia, and wa3
placed in charge of Captain Penny, who had had much
Arctic experience as master of a whaling ship.

Although the expedition was an independent one,
Penny co-operated with the others, and after partici-
pating in the search at Cape Riley his vessels were
frozen up for the winter a few miles easterly of Aus-
tin's squadron.

In the spring, Captain Penny undertook the search
of Wellington Channel, and on the 17th of April six
sledge parties started under his general superintend-
ence. The principal discovery was a wide strait to
the noith of Cornwallis Island, which was named
Victoria Channel.

Full of faith that Franklin had gone up this chan-
nel Penny hastened back to the ships for a boat, wliii'h
he mounted on sledges, and after incredible fatigues
and tantalizing delays, he launched on the channel
and examined three hundred and ten miles of the
coast, when, his provisions failing, he was compelled
reluctantly to retrace his course. His perseverance
on this expedition entitles him to an honorable name
among Arctic explorers.

On the 12th of August, 1851, the Lady Franklin
and Sophia, again free from the ice-grip, wv.m started
homeward, and arrived safely in England about the
middle of September.

•ahe prince albert.

315

. Supplementary to Captain Penny's expedition was
that of the schooner Prince Albert under Captain
Forsyth. Lady Franklin had still some funds left,
and thought they could not be better invested than
in equipping another vessel to go in search of her
lost husband. Making use of all her available means
she defrayed about two-thirds of the cost of this
expedition, and her friends paid the balance. Captain
Forsyth was ably assisted by Commander W. P.
Snow, and both were volunteers, Avho desired no fur-
ther compensation than the satisfaction of rendering
aid to a noble man and an equally noble lady. They
were instructed to examine the shores of Prince Re-
gent's Inlet, which at the time Franklin sailed was
supposed to communicate with the Polar Sea through
Dease's Strait.

Captain Forsyth sailed from Aberdeen on the 5th
of June, and on the 21st of August arrived off i*ort
Leopold. Here he landed, and found that the house
constructed by Sir John Ross was in good condition
to furnish a retreat for Arctic adventures, and the
stores were abundant and in good order.

Losing no time here, the Prince Alljert boldly en-
tered Prince Regent's Inlet. When they were sailing
past Batty Bay the crew were greatly excited by hear-
ing what they supposed was the firing of a gun on
shore. The officers directed their ghisses to the land,
but nothing human was to be seen. The howitzer
was fired, but there was no response, and relucttintly
tliey coneluded that the noise they had heard Avas
occasioned by the falling of a rock or masses of ice.
When cff Fury Beach, the schooner's pi"ogress was
stopped by a dense fog, and when this cleared the
vessel was found in a bight of ice within a few yards

mmm

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316

SJ:aRCIIES fob FnANKLIN.

of a hummooky field, in which not one crack of open
water could be seen from the crow's-nest. Forsyth
and Snow concluded that their mission to Boothia
was effectually thwarted for that season, and turning
the bow of the Prince Albeii; northward, proceeded
to the vicinity of Cape Riley, Avhere they fell in with
several vessels of the English and Ameiican expe-
ditions. Learning of the discoveries which had been
made there but a day or two previously, they Joined
in the search, and then, with some of the relics of
Franklin's party, started homeward where they arrived
on the 1st of October.

One other vessel which was in Barrow's Straits in
1850 should here be mentioned. The North Star
left England in 1849, with stores for the expedition
of James C. Ross, but she was beset by ice in Jilel-
ville Bay and drifted up the coast of Greenland, wliere
she wintered in lat. TB'* 33'. Four of her crew tiied
before she escaped from the ice. She arrived at lort
Leopold, Aug. 13th, but finding the harbor full of
ice, proceeded to Navy Board Inlet near Wollaston
Land, where she put on the mainland her surplus
stores and fuel. Then scudding before a gale, she
sailed through Lancaster Sound, and arrived in Scot-
land on the 28th of September, 1850.

I! ■' ? r

CHAPTER XXV.
SEARCHES FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

(discovery of a north-west passage.)

The Bering's Strait Expedition referred to in the
last chapter, consisted of two ships, the Enterprise, Cap-
tain Richard Collinson, and the Investigator, Command-
er Robert McClure. These brave men sailed on their
benevolent and hazardous mission, J inuary 20th, 1850,
and made a safe and s])eedy passage to Bering's Strait.
On the 28th of August Collinson had reached a posi-
tion north of Point Barrow, but being unable to pene-
trate further on account of the ice, he sailed for Gran tley
Harbor, where the Plover was preparing her winter-
quarters. Here an unsuccessful attempt was made to
get the Enterprise over the bar at the mouth of the
harbor; and after consulting Avlth Captains Kellett
and Moore, of the Herald and Plover, Captain Collin'
son sailed for Hong Kong, proposing to renew the
attem])t to get north in the spring.

Meantime the Investigator, having outsailed the
Enterprise, fell in with the Herald, July 31st, off
Point Hope, niul was seen by the Plover, August 5th,
1850. in Lit. 70° 44', bearing gallantly to the north
under a press of sail. Nothing further was heard
of MoClure in England until the Autumn of 1858,

317

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318

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN.

when Lieut. Cresswell, of the Investigator, arrived
there with information that McCiui'e and his crew
had reached Beechey Island, having discovered the
long sought for North-west passage.

After passing Point Barrow, some men were sent
ashore to erect a cairn and bury a notice that the
Investigator had passed. They were met by three
natives who gave the usual distant sign of friendship
by raising their arms three times over their heads,
and when in close proximity the less agreeable one of
rubbing noses. They had seen the masts of the
Investigator the previous evening and wondered at
the sight, thinking them to be trees in motion. They
were very friendly but could give no information of
Franklin, and McClure concluded that none of his
crew had ever been in that vicinity. " The natives,"
says McClure, "are a kind and merry race, and when
we gave them presents, we told them that we were
looking for our lost brothers, and if they saw any
white men in distress, the^ were to be veiy kind; to
which they assented by saying that they would, and
would give them plenty of deer's flesh."

On the 10th of August, Colville River Was passed,
and the color of its waters was discernible at a dis-
tance of ten miles from the shore. The Es(|uimanx
were numerous about the mouth of this river and
apparently had never seen white men before, as they
manifested great curiosity and had no articles of
European manufacture. They were eager for traffic,
sharp at a bargain, and not slow in thieving. Seeing
some of the sailors cutting tobacco in pieces to give
in exchange for salmon trout, they began to cut the
fish also into pieces, and while McClure ^vas placing
a present in the right hand of the chief, he felt the

CRUISE OF THE INVESTIGATOR.

319

fellow's left hand picl<ing his pocket. The chief
laughed heartily when detected, and seemed to think
it no crime.

On the 21st of Aug., the Investigator passed the
mouth of the Mackenzie liiver, and soon afterward
reached AVarren Point. As sonn? mitives were here
seen on shore, a boat put off with dispatches which
McClui'e Avished to have forwardetl to the Hudson's
Bay Company's posts on this river. Instead of making
the usual fi'iendly sign the natives waved off the
boats with the most menacing gestures, and Avere
only pacified when the interpreter, in full native
costume, explained the object of the Investigator. It
was found that these Estpiimaux had no intercourse
with those on the Mackenzie, being at war with them.
A brass button suspended from the ear of one of the
chiefs excited much curiosity, and he told this story
of its history : It had belonged to a white man who
had been killed by a native. The stranger was one
of a party which had landed at Point Warren and
there built a house, and then gone inland. The man
killed had strryed from his companions, and the chief
and his son had buried him ui)on a hill at a little
distance. McClure '.nvestigated this matter thoroughly,
hut could not ascertain when the murder was com-
mitted, nor find the grave. He found, however, the
remnants of two huts, Avhich appeared to have been
built long before Franklin's expedition set out.

All along this coast the natives were at first hostile,
but invariably became friendly after a little manen-
vering on the part of the interpi-eter, avIio generally
succeeded in so in<i:ratiatin£: himself that the Avhite
men were treated kindly and often invited to partake
of native hospitality. Arctic delicacies, such as salmon,

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8EARCUBS FOB FRANKLIN.

venison and blubber, were liberally bestowed upon
the officers and crew. The interpreter so won over
one old chief, that he was invited to remain with tlie
tribe forever ; as an inducement for him to do so, the
chief's daughter, a pretty damsel of fifteen years,
was propounded as a wife, with a dowry of a tent
and a complete fitting out in the highest Esf^uimaux
style.

On the 0th of Sejitember, high land was discovered
to the northeast. Hitherto the Investigator had been
sailing along a shore which had been ti-aver.sed by
Franklin, Back, Simpson, and others, on foot and in
boats ; but the land which now appeared on tlie left
was terra incinjuita. McClure therefore hove anchor,
and on landing took formal possession in the name of
Queen Victoria, calling it "Baring's Island." It was
afterwards discovered that they did not land on an
island, but on the southern shore )f Bank's Land.
The name of the coast was accordingly changed to
Baring's Land. ' , ' • i

McChire now sailed along the easterly coast of
Bank's Land, up Prince of Wales Strait, and on the
17th of September was within thirty miles of Melville
Sound, whose waters connect with Barrow's Strait
and Lancaster Sound. Here in latitude 7.'{*^ 10' and
longitude 117'' 10' the ice in which the ship wjia be-
set ceased to drift to the nortli, new ice began to
form, and everything indicated that the Investigator
was fixed for the winter. Soon afterward, however,
the ship was carried by a tumultuous drift of the ice
thirty miles to the south, and on the L'Hth, was again
swept northward in close proximity to tlie cliffs of
Princess Royal Island. These cliifs rise ])ei'jH'ndicu-
|arly fi'om the sea to a height of foui* hundred feet,

DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE.

321

and as the ship drifted towards them one old sailor
remarked to a comrade : — " The old craft will double
up like an old basket when she gets alongside of them
rocks."

But a kind Providence saved the vessel, and she
was swe])t past the island without striking the cliffs,
and on the 3()th of September brought up near the
advanced position which she had reached on the 17th ;
and hei-e the crew of the Investigator passed the
winter of 1850-51.

On the 21st of October, 1850, McClure with six
men and a sledge started in the direction of Melville
Sound. On the 24th a cape wjvs seen in the distance
towards which their course was directed, an<l on the
night of the 25th they encamped only two miles from
it.

The next day opened with a cloudless sky, and
McClure started early, hoping to obtain sight of a sea
which would connect his discoveries with those of
Parry. At an altitude of six hundred feet above ihe
water-level, he impatiently waited for light enough to
discover whether the long sought North-west ])assage
from the Atlantic to the Pacific had been found.

As the sun's light increased the outline of the chores
became distinctly visible. Bank's Land terminated
about twelve miles away. At the north lay the
frozen waters of Melville Sound, and the eyes of the
eagei- beholders embraced a distance which })recluded
the jmssibility of any land lying in that direction
between them and Melville Island. McClure was
satisHed that he had discovered the North-west pas-
sage ; he named the hill from which he gazed Mount
Observation, and ascertained that it was in latitude
73*^ 30', and longitude 114" 39'. From a point in

W ■!

322

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN.

f i

Melville. Sound to be seen from Mount Observation,
Parry had sailed eastward into Baffin's Bay and thence
home ; and McCIure had sailed easterly from Bering's
Sti'jiit almost to Parry's starting point and into \vatei*s
connecting therewith. The great problem for the
solution of which so many Arctic explorers had risked
their lives was now solved. ' ' ' •

A large cairn was erected, a record of the discovery
placed therein, and then came the fatiguing return
journey to the Investigator, during which McClure
came near perishing. When within a few miles of
the Investigator he pushed on ahead of his paity who
were slowly drawing the sledge, that he might tell
his comrades the glorious news ; but night overtook
him ere he reached the vessel, and with it came a
dense mist which obscured everything. He pushed
on, guiding his course by the direction of the wind,
until repeated falls over the rough ice admonished
him of the dano;er of broken bones.

" I now climbed," says McClure, " on a mass of
squeezed-up ice in the hope of seeing my party, siiould
they pass near, or of attracting the attention of some
one on board the vessel by firing my fowling-])iece.
Unfortunately I had no other ammunition than what
it was loaded with. After waiting for an hour
patiently, I was rejoiced to see through the mist the
glare of a blue light, evidently burnt in the direction
in wiiich I had left the sledge. I immediately fired
to denote my position, but my fire was unobserved,
and both barrels being discharge<l I was unahle to
repeat the signal. My only ho[)e now rested on the
ship's answering, but nothing was to be seen, and
theie seemed no j^robability of my having any other
iheiter fur the night that what the floe afforded.

MoCLUBe's NiaUT ADVENllJKE.

323

" It was now half-past eight. There were eleven
hours of night before me, a temperature 15* below
zero, ])ear8 prowling about, and I with an unloaded
gun in my liands. The sledge party might, however,
reach thj ship, and, finding I had not arrived, search
would ')e made and help be sent ; so I walked to and
fro upon my hummock until, I suppose, it must have
been ehiven o'clock, when that hope fled likewise.
Descending from the top of the slab of ice upon a\ hich
I had clambered, I found under its lee a famous bed
of soft, dry snow, and thoroughly tired out, I threw
myself upon it and slept for j)erhaps three hours,
when uj)on opening my eyes, I fancied I saw the flash
of a rocket. Jumping ui)on my feet I found that the
mist had cleared off, and that the stai-s and aurora
l)()realis were shining in all the splendoi* of an Arctic
night. Although unable to see the islands or the
ship, I wandered about the ice in different directions
until daylight, when, to my great mortification, I
fmind I had passed the ship fully the distance of four
mih.'s."

]\IcClure finally reached the Investigator ])efore the
jirrival of the sledge-party, and great was tlie rejoicing
on board at the news of the discovery of the Xorth-
^ve8t ]iassage.

During the winter and spring, sledge-parties were
sent out in various directions, but no traces of Fi'ank-
lin were found and no imj)ortant geographical discov-
eries made. Reindeer, musk-ox and other animals
were occasionally met with all througli the long Arc-
tic night, and McClure concluded that it was a mistake
to suppose that these inhabitants of the Arctic Archi-
pelago migrated south to avoid the extreme cold of
the winters.

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824

8EARCTIE8 FOR FUANKLIN.

In July, 1851, the ice-floe in wbicli the ship Imd
rested began to break up, and on the 17th the whip
was once more free. But she enjoyed her liberty for
only a short time, being soon captured by the pack-
ice and again curried back and forth through Prince
of Wales St ait as on the previous year. The situa-
tion was aggravating in the extreme. At times only
twenty-five or thirty miles separated McCluie and his
crew from an open sea, through which, if they could
only reach it, they might sail to Baffin's Bay and
England the same summer. The alternative was to
pass another gloomy and hazardous winter amid the
ice. . : .,..;■; ■ .<• ',,

But all attempts to get the ship further to the
north-east than it was diifted by the ice [troved
unsuccessful ; and it turned out that the North-west
passage was not much of a passage after all, so far as
the Investigator was concerned. The great trouble
was, that an ice-bridge several miles in length
obstructed the way. i> > ;-. . , i '

McClure now decided to retrace his steps if possible
to the southerly point of Banks' Land and to sail up
its western coast. In this attempt he was so success-
ful, that on the 19th of August he had i)assed Point
Kellett, and was raj)idly i)r(>gressing northward
through a lane of open water nearly five miles wide.
Soon after this the lead became veiy narrow and
much obstructed by floating ice, while the j>ack, be-
tween which and a precij)itous coast they were sail-
ing, was of fearful thickness — extending fifty feet
below the water, which was very deep, and rising in
places into hills a hundred feet high. The situation
was full of peril, for had the ice set towards tlie
abrupt cliffs along which they were sailing, nothing
could have saved the ship.

LIFE AT MBROT BAY.

326

On the 20th of August, the Investigator was fast
l)etween the ice and the beach at the north-west cor-
ner of Banks' Land, and remained so till the 29th,
when the immense floe to which she had been fastened
was raised edgeways out of the water by the crowding
of the suiTounding ice, and lifted perpendicularly
some thirty feet close to the ship's bows. It seemed
as if the ship must capsize, and had the ice toppled
over, as appeared likely, it would have sunk her.
But the floe, after frightful oscillations, righted itself
and drifted onward. At another time the wreck of
the Investigator seemed certain, and all that MeClure
could hope for was " that the ship might be thrown
uj) sufticiently to serve as an asylum for the winter."

At length on the 24th of SeptemT)er, the ex^jlorei-s
drifted into a large bay on the northern shores of
Banks' Land, where they found a secure harbor, and
here they passed the winter. In gratitude for past
deliverances ]\IcClure called the place Mercy Bay.
Game was abundant, and hunting jiarties rambled
over the hills almost daily throughout the winter,
excepting when prevented by occasional snow-storms,
or when it was too dark for shootini'. Some of the
hills were three hinidred feet high with wild and
picturesque g<u'ges between them. On their sides
abuiulance of wood was found, and in many places
layers of trees were visil)le, some ])rotruding a dozen
feet. One of the largest of these trunks measured
nineteen inches in diameter.

The hunters met with various adventures, and one
poor negro followed a wounded deer so far that he
hecame bewildered and could not retiace his steps,
lie was so frightened out of his senses, that when
found he stood ciying, fancying himself frozen to

• H

■i-r.

826

SEAKC1IE8 FOE FRANKLIN.

death, and could not be induced to make any exer-
tion to return. In spite of his prayer to be let alone
to die, his comrade carried and rolled liim down tlie
hills to the ship, where he soon recovered his strength
and senses.

In April, 1852, a sledge journey was made across
Banks' Strait to Winter Harbor on Melville Island,
where Parrv had wintered. Here a cairn was found
containing information that Lieut. McClintock of the
Intrepid had been there on a previous summer. In
this same cairn McClure deposited a notice of liis own
visit, and of the situation of the Investigator at
Mercy Bay. Tliis information subsequently led to
the rescue of himself and crew.

During the summer of 1852 the scurvy made its
appearance among the crew. On the 1st of July six
of the men were confined by it to their beds, and
numbers more began to feel its symptoms. To add
to their troubles the summer proved a very cold one,
and before the close of July it became pretty manifest
that the Investigator must spend another long winter's
night in her present moorings. The grip of the ice
was worse than the grip of the Tartar. During July
and August the crew were daily employed in gather-
ing sorrel which grew in the vicinity ; eaten as a salad
or boiled, it was found to be a most valuable aiitiscor-
butic, and proved an efficient medicine for the scurvy
patients. Sledging parties were also sent out in hopes
to accomplish the great mission of the Investigator —
the finding of Franklin ; but not a trace of his party
was discovered.

" Although," says McClure, " we had already been
twelve months upon two-thirds allowance, it was
necessary to make preparations for meeting eighteen

the shi
of the :
m great
ger witi
he saw
those di
resource

So J)

spring
for carr}
decided
officei's
liberate

RELIEF AT HAND.

827

months more ; a very severe depriv/vtion and constitu-
tionul test, but one which the service we were enii)loy-
ed upon called for, the vessel heing as sound as the
day she entered the ice; it would, therefore, be dis-
creditable to desert her in 1858, when a favorable
season would run her through the straits and admit of
reaching England in safety, where the successful
achievement of the long-sought-for and almost liope-
less discovery of the Noith-west passage would be
received with a satisfaction that would amply com-
pensate for the sacrifices made and hardshi])s endured
in its most trying and tedious accomplishment."

In November the ship was housed over, and l)anl<ed
up with ice and snow, and preparations completed
for spending a second winter at Mercy Bay. The
crew kej)t up their s|)irits; hunting was again the
order of the day ; and deer, hares, and ptarmigan were
plenty. Christmas was celebrated with great echif,
and all vied to make it a cheerful and liappy one.
Each mess was gayly illuminated, and decorated with
original jtaintings by the lower-deck artist, exhibiting
the ship in her perihms positions during the ti-ansit
of the Polar Sea, and divers other subjects. Dainties
in great profusion gi'aced the lower deck, and a stran-
ger witnessing the scene would hardly suppose that
he saw a crew which had passed over t\vo years in
those dreary regions, depending entirely on their own
resources.

So passed away the winter of 1S52-8; and when

spring came the men were all making preparations

for carrying out a plan which ISEcClure had previously

decided on. One-half of the crew and some of the

officers were to remain with the ship and endeavor to

liberate it during the summer. The rest of the men

.1 1

I :

:i ;

328

seahciiej^ rou franklin.

were to start for England — a part by way of Macken-
zie River and Canada, and a part by way of Baffin's
Bay. All Avere sad at the prospect of separation, for
the sojourn and the journeys were alike full of gloom,
and the death, April 5th, of a comrade who had pois-
oned himself, added to the general depression of spii'its.
But unexpected relief was at hand, and its an'ival can
be best described in McClure's own woi'ds : —

" While walking near the ship, in conversation with
the first lieutenant upon the subject of digging a grare
for the man who died yesterday, and discussing how
we could cut a grave in the ground whilst it was so
hardly frozen, wcf perceived a figure walking I'apidly
towards us from the rough ice at the enti-ance of the
bay. From his pace and gestures we both naturally
supposed, at first, that he was some one of our party
pursued by a bear ; but, as we approached him, doubts
arose us to who it could be. He was certainly unlike
any of our men ; but, recollecting that it was possible
some one might be trying a new traveling-dress pre-
])aratory to the departure of our sledges, and certaiij
that no one else was near, we continued to advance.

" When within about two hundred yards of us, the
strange figure threw up his arms, and made gesticula-
tions resembling those used by Esquimaux, besides
shouting at the top of his voice words which, fimn
the wind and intense excitement of the moment,
sounded like a wild screech : and this brought us both
fairly to a stand-still. The stranger came quietly on,
and we saw thathis face was as black (from lamp-smoke)
as ebony ; and really, at the moment, we iniglit be
pardoned for wondering whether he was a denizen
of this or the other world ; as it was, Ave gallantly
stood our ground, and, had the skies fallen upon us,

TIIE INVE8TIOATOB DESERTED.

829

we could hardly have been more astonished than
when the dark-faced stranger called out, Tm Lieu-
tenant Pini, late of the Herald, and now in the Reso-
lute. Captain Kellett is in her, at Dealy Island.'

" To ruHh at and seize him by the hand was the
fii-st impulse, for the heart was too full for the tongue
to speak. The announcement of relief being close at
hand, when none Mas supposed to be even within the
Arctic Circle, was too sudden, unexpected, and joyous,
for oui' niin<ls to comi)rehend it at once. The news
flew with lightning rapidity ; the ship was all in com-
motion ; the sick, forgetful of their maladies, leaped
from their hammocks ; the artificers dropped their
tools, and the lower deck Avas cleared of men ; for
they all rushed for the hatchway, to be assured that
a stranger was actually among them, and that his tale
was ti'ue. Despondency fled thoship, and Lieut. Pirn
received a welcome — pure, lieaHy, and grateful — that
lie A\ ill surely remember and cherish to the end* of his
days."

Lieut. Pirn's companions on this journey sov^n
arrived at the shij), with the Fitzjamea, a small
sledge drawn by dogs. On the 8th of April they set
out to ivturn to the Keaolute, accomjianied ])y ]\IcClure
and some of his men, and reached their shi]) on the
lOtli. On the 2d of May, an officer arrived from the
Investigator witli news of the death of two more of
her crew. McClure, Avith the sui-geon of the Resolute,
then returned to his ship, intending to send home all
the crew Avho Avei'e unfitted for service, and to allow
such others as Avished to accompany them to do so.
Witli the balance he hoped to save his vessel ; but
on consulting the creAv only four Avere willing to
remain, although all the officers volunteered to stand

;,v!'

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= I

330

8EAUCIIHS von KKANKLIX,

by their nliip. After landing Itonts and stores for f!io
use of Colliiison, Franklin, or any other explon'r, the
colors were hoisted to the main-nuist on the 3(1 of
June, 18r)3, and the oftieers and crew, in all sixty
rr.en, bade farewell to the gallant Investigator and
started for Dealy Island.

Aft-r sharing the foHunes of Captain Kcllett's
slii[)s, the IJcsolnte an<l Intrepid, until A})ril, ]H')4,
Cap+ in jNfcChire and his men started with sledge^,
for lieechey Island, where they took np (pinrtcrs on
the North Star. When that ship, later in the season,
sailed for England with the crews of five desertetl
vessels, the brave discoverers of a North-west jkis-
sage were among the number.

It will be remenibered by the reader, that raiit.iiii
Collinson of the Enter[)rise, not succeeding in filtering
the Polar Sea in the fall of IS"))), went to Hong Kong
to winter. In ISol he sailed north, doubU'd Point
Barrow, and f(dlowing the track of the Investigator
through the Continental Channel and uj) Pi-lnce of
AVales Strait, jjenetrated a few niiles fnrther noith than
McClure had gone. But as no passage through the
ice could be found, he sailed southerly and passed the
winter of 18r)l-2 at Walker's l?ay, <»n tlu; eastern
side (»f the entrance of Prince of AVales Strait. Search
exjx'ditions were sent out, and portions of Banks'
Land, Albert Land, and Victoria Land examined.

During the next sunnner, Collinson took his ship
southerly and easterly through Dolphin and Union
Strait and Dease Strait, and passed the winter of IH")-
-3 at Cambridge Bay, on the southern coast of N ic-
toria Land. From this point sledge parties wei-e sent
out to explore the western shoi'es of Victoria Strait.
Had they crossed this Strait to King William's Lund,

RKCKNT DEATH OF MoCLURE.

331

tlroir scarcli for trnoos of the lost explorers would have
heeii iiiorc! succcHsfiil.

liciiii^ imal)le to fonu' jmssat^e tliroiigli the ice to
tlie eastward the next M-asoii, Collinson started for
lieriii^'s Strait, Imt *^io Knterpris*! wan cauglit in the
iee lu't'ore reacjiiug i (tint Uarv,>\v, and n thii-d winter
was ])assi'd on tlu? noith.i-u coast of Anieriea.

The exi)l(tits of IVtrUlure were duly appreeiatcil l»y
his eouiitrynien. lie re<'eived the hon*^: •■ of kniglit-
hood, and his comniission as Cajtt.'i'ii was <lated Itm'k
to the day when, from a liill on Hanks' Land, lie
gazed on a continuous ocean. Oold medals were
awarded to him hy the English antl Fi-t^nch (feograjdii-
cal Societies, and a select committee of the House of
Commons resolved that the officers and crew of the
Investigator "])erformed deeds of heroism which,
though n<tt accomjtanied l)y the excitement and the
gloiy of the battlefield, yet rival in bravi'ry and
devotion to duty, the highest ami most successful
achievement of war," A reward of £10,000 was
granted to them as a token of national ai)prol>ation.

The recent death of Sir Robert IMcClure, which
occurred October 17th, 1873, has occasioned an ill-
timed controversy as to who is entitled to the honor
of Jirst discovering a North-west ])assage. Lady
Frauklii), mi a letter to the Times jjublished "before
McCluiv's old comrades had had time to turn from
the grave of the gicat explorer," claims the honor
for the last survivors of her husband's expedition.
The question is not a new one, but its discussion has
been generally avoided by most of the Arctic writers,
as they have felt that Franklin and McClure, if living,
would have no dis])ute about so small a matter.

iff

lis

CHAPTER XXVI.
SEARCHES FOR Sm JOHN FRANKLIN.

(second CRmSE OF TIIE PRDTCE ALBERT.)

The return of the Prince Albert in the fall of 1850
with relies of Franklin's party gave encouragement
for a continuation of the search ; and on the .'Ul of
June, 1851, the same vessel again sailed for Prince
Regent's Inlet. Captain Wm. Kennedy, formerly of
the Hudson's Ray Company, commanded the schooner,
and was assisted by Lieut. J. Bellot, an energetic and
lively young officer of the French navy, whose love
of adventure led him to offer his services to Lady
Franklin.

The crew were all picked men, and incbuhjd John
Hepburn, Franklin's faithful attendant on his first
overland journey, and other Arctic travelers. Never
was a vessel manned with a more gallant or niorj
resolute comj'any. Lady Franklin herself was ju-esent
to cheer and encourage the adventurers, as with the
English flag at the peak, and the French flag, as n
compliment to Bellot, at the fore, tlie Prince Albert
went forth amid the prayers and best wishes of all
England.

On arriving at the entrance !o Prince Regent's
Inlet that channel was found to be much obstructed

332

A NIGHT AT CAPE 8EPPINQ8.

333

by ice; but Kennedy pushed boldly in, and pene-
trated southerly along the western coast as far aa
Fury Point. lie was obliged, however, to beat a
hasty retreat, to escape being crushed by the ice which
began to drift toward the shore, and took refuge at
Poi't Bowen on the eastern coast.

To winter at this place while all their searches
were to be made on the western shore, was an idea
not to be considered ]>y Kennedy and Bellot. Accord-
ingly on the 0th of September the attempt to find a
harbor on the west side was renewed ; and when near
Port Leopold, Kennedy with four men succeeded in
reaching the shore, and on ascending the cliffs of
Cape Sej)pings, discovered that Port Leopold was
free from ice and Avould afford a good winter harbor
for the Prince Albert if it could be reached.

Descending to the shore, what was their consterna-
tion on finding that the narrow lane through which
they had rowed their gutta-percha boat was com-
pletely closed, and that the whole pack was drifting
down the inlet, carrying the ship with it. Little
could be seen or heard but the tossing, roaring and
grliuling of huge masses of ice. Night was coming
on, and to reach the ship was impossible. Nothing
could be done but to make themselves as comfortable
for the night as frozen clothts and cold winds would
allow. The boat was hauled up on shore, and under
its shelter, but wltliout Idankets or coverings of any
kind, Kennedy and liis men made the best of their
situation. No one was permitted to sleep but an
hour at a time for fear of being frozen.

With the dawn of day the shivering party ascended
the highest cliff of Caj»e Seppings and strained their
eyes in search of the Prince Albert. Not a sign of

,i 1

. ;t

■it:'

'I'

(I
i'i'

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN.

the vessel was to be seen ; aiul here they were, alone
on a Lleak coast at the coniinencenient of an An-tic
winter, without shelter, provisions or fuel, and man-
tily clad. Fortunately, Kennedy Avas aware that two
years before Sir James Ross had made a depot of pro-
visions at Whaler Point on the other side of tlie liar-
bor. To this depot the little company directed their
way, and Avei'e o\-erjoyed to find plenty of provi.sions
and the canvas hut which Koss had ei'ccted.

"■It was now," says Kennedy, "the Kith t)f Scptcin.
ber. AVinter was evidently fast setting in, and, fi(»iii
the distance the ship had been carried durinj^tliat dis-
astrous night (whether out to sea or down the inlet we
could not conjecture) there was no Intpe of our being
able to rejoin her, at least during the present season.
Tliere remained, therefore, no altei'uative but to make
up our minds to pass the winter, if necessaiy, where
we were. The first object to be attended to was the
erecting of some sort of shelter against the daily in-
creasing inclemency of the weather; and for this pur-
])ose the launcli, left by Sir James Iloss, Avas selected.
Iler mainnuist was laid on supports at tin' bow and
stern, about nine feet in height, and by s])reading two
of her sails over this a very tolerable roof was oh-
tained. A stove was .set up in the body of the boat,
with the pipes running through the roof; and we
were soon sitting by a comfortable fire, which, after
our long exj)osui'e to the wet and cold, we stood \ eiy
nuieh in need of."

('ai>tain Kennedy was not the man to sit down idle
and wait for something to turn uj). lb* immediately
began devising plans for futui'(^ operations. The first
thing was to search for the Prince Albert, and the
second was to hunt for Franklin. Before either .o-

bellot's rescue party.

335

ject could he earned out it was necessary to jM-ovide
some additional clothing and especially shoes. Ma-
terial for hoth was at hand in the shai)e of canvas,
and the party passed their days — Sundays excepted
— in making it up. To their credit, be it said, that
their Sabhaths were observed strictly as holy time,
and lie who had so wondtn-fully preserved them in
their extremity was duly honored.

A\'hil«! thus busily employed in preparations for
their ex[)loring expeditions tlu were suddenly star-
tled, on the 17th of October, by the firing -^f a ';v.n in
the direction of Cape Sep])ings. Rushing eagei-ly
from their house they discovered seven of the Prince
Albert's men, headed by Lieut. Bellot, who had come
in search of their lost ccMurades. The mutual congrat-
ulations and thanksi'ivinfjs can be better imagined
than described. Bellot reported that the Prince Al-
bert was securely moored in Batty Bay, and that he
and his meu had come up on the ice, di'agging a l)oat
with them for use if needed. Bellot had made two
previous attempts to reach Port Leopold, but had bs-en
baftlcfl once })■, deep snows, and airain l>v weakness of
the ice, thi-oui^h which the sledi^e bioke and was lost.

Five weeks had elapsed since Bellot had taken
Freiudi leave of his Ca})tain, and innvilliiigly dril'ted
off in the Prince Albert. They were weeks of anx-
iety, and the reaction of exuberant feeling was great.
The night was spent under the covering of the old
launch and her boards reverberated with sea songs
and hearty laughs, while the lost and found drank hot
chocolate and feasted on Arctic dainties.

On the 2 2d of October the whole party set out for
Batty Bay, drawing provisions and Bellot's boat on
a sh'dgi' made for the occasion. A mast Avas erected

I f

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336

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN".

!s;

and sails set, and at times, when the ice was smooth
and the wind strong, the sledge, bearing all the trav-
elers, sailed off with great rapidity. Unfortunately,
however, it broke down when near the middle of the
bay, and it was not safe to spend the night on the
treacherous ice. Darkness overtook them before
they reached land, and driving snow made progress
both difficMilt and dangerous. Cold and tired they at
length reached a flat lime-rock, where the}' Kj)read a
tent, kindled a fire, boiled some tea and made merry.

The tent proved too small to lodge thirteen men
with any comfort to themselves, and Bellot, Avliose
tact and good humor were unbounded, resolved "to
make a nifjht of it." Six men were arran<xed in a
sitting posture on each side of the tent, and had be-
tween them a space about three feet wide in wliich to
accommodate the legs of the twelve, and Ballot, who
chose "a middle passage.' All efforts to sleep were
unsuccessful and songs and raen"iment pi-evailed. For
the want of a candle-stick, each man was to hold the
candle, for fifteen minutes, and then pass it to his
neiglil>()r. The candle at length giving oui, tlio men
tried to get a little rest, but Bellot's jokes were too
good to allow it. lie afterward referred to tlie iiitrht
on the lime-stone rock, as one of enjoyment on a solid
foundati' n. Sleeping in a tent Mas not repeated, but
they passed several comfortable nights in snow houses,
and on arriving at the ship were heartily welcomed by
their comrades.

The ensuing winter was passed in the ice at Batty
Bay; and though the night was long and dark, the
cold winds howled around, and the drifting snow at
times obstructed all outdoor exercise, light, warmth
and cheerfulness prevailed in the cabin of the Priuce

A VISIT TO rUHY UEACII.

J^37

Albert, and occasionally a mock-sun, or "suu-dog," dis-
pelled the gloom.

On the oth of Januaiy 1852, Kennedy, Bellot, and
three of the crew, with a sledge drawn by dogM, stai-t-
ed on an (sxcui-sion to the south. An they ap[)roac]ied
Fury Beach the leaders impatiently i)ushed on ahead
of the sledge, and on the evening of the 8th, stood
upon the spot where they had hoped to fiiul some of
Franklin's party. "Every object distinguished by
the moonlight in the distance," says Kennedy, "be-
came animated, to our imaginations, into the forms of
our long-absent countrymen ; for, had they been im-
prisoned anywhere in the x\ictie seas, within a rea-
sonable distance of Fury Beach, here, we felt assured,
some of them, at least, would have been now. But,
alas for these fond hopes ! All was solitary and des-
olate."

" Somerset House " was still in existence ; with sad-
dened feelings Kennedy and Bellot entered its cheer-
less apartments, and kindled a fire in the same stove
which warmed the crew of Sir John Ross in the dreary
winter of 1832-3. After eating their suj)per, they
took a few hours repose ; then stai'ted back towards
the sledge party, and all returned to Batty Bay.

On the Soth of February, Kennedy again started
south, with live men e(iuipped with snow-shoes, sledges
and (logs, and ^vas ovei'taken a few days afterward
at Fury Beach, l)y Bellot witli seven men. After
drawing largely on the old stores of the ^^lry, which
were al»undant and j^ood, althouLch thirty years had
elapsed since they were left thei'e, the whole party
started southerly, on tlie "grand joui'ney," as Bellot
called it. On arriving at Brentford Bay, eight of the

^11

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338

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN.

men were sent bad:, and six men, with sledges drawn
by ilogs, continued the exploi'ations.

Near this bay a strait running westward was found,
whioli was named Bellot Strait. It separated North
Somerset from Bootliia Felix, and communicated with
Victoria Strait. Kennedy passed through it, and then
crossed Victoria Strait to Prince of Wales Land. Af-
ter continuing westAvaixt for thirteen days and reach-
ing longitude lOO*^ west without coming to any sea,
the party turned their course northward, and at last,
on tlie 4th of May, arrived at Cape A\ alker at tlie
northern extremity of Prince of AV'ales Land. But
here, as at Fury lieacl), they were much disappointed
at finding no traces of Franklin's Expedition.

From Ca])(' Walker the party started eastward, the
stock of pi'ovisioiis running very low and some of the
men being sick with the scurvy. On ari'iviiig at Cape
McClintock, they were rejoiced to find a depot of ])ro-
visions left there by Captain Ross in 1849. Contin-
uing on, they arrived at Whaler Point on the 12th and
remained there till the 27th, recruiting upon the stores
and anti-scorbutics Avhich Avere there found. On the
30th of ]\ray they reached their shij), after an absence
of nimtyseven days, during which time they had trav-
eled about eleven hundred miles.

The Prince Albert remained imprisoned in the ioe
until the Gth of August, and on being liberated sailed
for home, arriving in England on the 7th of October,
1852.

CHAPTER XXVII.
SEARCHES FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

(expeditions of 1852.)

Notwithstanding the ill-success and disappointinents
wliicli had thus far attended the searohcs for Frank-
lin, tlie whole English nation was stimulated to make
one more great effort for his rescue ; and the sj)ring of
18i32 witnessed the departure from England of the
largest expedition which had ever sailcil for the Po-
lar seas. It was commanded by Sir Edward Belcher,
and comprised a squadron of three sliij)s — the Assist-
ance — the Resolute, Captain Kellett — the North Star,
Captain Pullen ; and two steamers — the Pioneer,
Lieutenant Oshorne — and the Intre]»id, Captain Mc-
Clintock. These five vessels left England on the 2Sth
of April, and airived at Beechey Island on the 10th of
August.

At Beechey Island the ships separated. Belcher
and Osborne, with the Assistance and Pioneer, pro-
ceeded up Wellington Channel; Kellett and McClin-
tock, with the Resolute and Intre})id, sailed westerly
toward Melville Island; and the North Star remained
at Beechey Island as a depot-ship and retreat for any
of the exjdorers who might need assistance.

Belcher's two ships came to anchor in Northum-

339

i r

s4'

I- . f- !'^

nBf^^^m^m

340

SEAKCIIES FOR FRANKLIN.

II'

berland Sound on the western shores of Grinnell
Laud, in hititude 76^ 52', and here they remained
through the wiute ■ Exploring pai-ties were sent out
in every directior uring the autumn and ensuing
summer, who discovered and surveyed much new
territory. Hopes of being on Franklin's track were
occasionally raised from finding structures evidently
erected by human hands but differing from any-
thing whicli the Esquimaux Avere supposed to he
familiar with. Belcher in describing one of his jonr^
neys says: —

"Our progress was tantalizing, and attended with
deep interest and excitement. In the first place, I
discovered, on the brow of a mountain about eight
hundi'ed feet above the sea, what appeared to be a
recent and very workmanlike structure. This Avas a
dome, — or rather a double cone, or ice-house, — bnilt
of very heavy and tabular slabs, which no single per-
son could carry. It consisted of about forty courses,
eight feet in diameter, and eight feet in de])th, Avhen
cleared, but only five in height from the base of the
upper cone as we opened it.

"Most carefully was eveiy stone removed, everj''
atom of moss or earth scrutinized ; the stones at the
bottom also taken up ; but without finding a trace of
any record, or of the stmcture having been used hy
any human being. It was filled by di'ift snoAV, but
did not in any respect bear the ap})ea)'ance of having
been built more than a season. Tliis was named
' Mount Discoveiy.' "

Soon afterward two stnictures were found which

appeared to be graves. " Each," says Belcher, " was

. like tlie dome, of large selected slabs, having at each

end three separate stones, laid as we should place

UKLCIIY ISLANU.

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head aiu

that thei

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assemble

"The

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Whei

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on the

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sprinj^.

Griper

Liddon

"Parry

CAITAIN KELLKTl'S ADVENTUUKH.

341

head aiul foot stones. So thoroughly satisfied was I
that there was no delusion, I desisted from disturbing
a stone until it should be formally done by the i)arty
assembled.

" The evening following — for where the sun is so
oppressive to the eyes by day we tra\el by niglit —
we ascended the hill, and removed the stones. Not a
trace of human beinijs!"

When the Assistance and Pioneer were freed from
the ice, about the middle of July, Belcher started for
Beechey Island ; but before he could get there ice ob-
structed his passage, and his ships were frozen in for
the winter of 1853--4 at Baring's Bay.

When spring came on. Belcher determined to get
his whole command back to England that season ;
and when his two vessels were liberated from tlie ice
on the 6th of August, he ag.w.i started for Beechey
Island. But when nearly there an icefloe, extending
a distance of twenty miles between him and the open
water of Barrow's Strait, arrested his progress ; and
believing that it would be impossible to get the
Assistance and Pioneer through this ice;, Belcher and
his crews deserted them on the 26th of August 1854,
and made their way to Beechey Island.

When Captain Kellet jiarted from Belcher at
Beechey Island, in August 1852, he tool: the Resolute
and Pioneer to their winter (quarters at Dealy Island,
off the south coast of Melville Island, and immedi-
ately sent out parties to deposit provisions along the
coast for the searching expeditions of the ensuing
spring. McClintock went northerly to Ilecla and
Griper Gulf, and Lieut. Meacham went westerly to
Liddon Gulf. At Winter Harbor, ]\Ieacham visited
" Parry's Sandstone," and found on it a small cairn

Ill

'l:\\

'■• U

i f?

)i i

842

SEARCHES FOU FUANKLIN.

which McClintock Imd orooted th(! year T)eforo. On
cxaiuiiiiiig this cairn ho found a fo|>jK'r cvlliKh'r, in
which was a roll folded in a hladdcr. On opciiiiii,'
this roll, Mcachani, to his groat astonishment, found
that it had been left there April 28th, 1S52, hy
McClure of the Investigator, and that it contaiiicd an
account of the cruise of that ship since she left Ber-
ing's Strait in 1850.

This was a discoveiy indeed. The Investigator
had notheen heard from for two years, and In ■ was
information, in the hand-writing of lier commander,
that she was safely moored in Mercy Ba}', on the
opposite side of Banks' Strait, oidy six months pre-
viously. More than this — a North- west passage had
been discovered. Meacham hastened back to his ship
with the joyful news.

It Avas then too late in the season to undertake a
journey to INIercy Bay, distant one hundred ami sev-
enty miles ; but early the next spring, ]\[arch lOtli,
1853, a " forlorn hope " party of ten rnen, led by Lieut.
Pirn of the Resolute, started off across the strait to
search for the Investigator. Little hope of finding
McClure Avas entertained, as it was presumed he was
no longei" at Mercy Bay. The lal^or of dragging their
large sledge over the broken ice and hunnnocks Avas
most tedious and fatiguing; and Avhenit finally broke
doAvn, Pirn turned it back, and Avith two men and the
the little Fit/james ])ushed briskly on.

Banks' Land Avas reached at hist, and then, after
many more days of Aveary travel, the Bay of Mercy
came in vieAv. No ship Avas seen ; l)ut as the party
proceeded across the bay in search of records,
something Idack Avas noticed in the distance. On look-
ing at it through his glass, Pirn decided that it Avas

On
busy pi
to that
thing
and tlu
and his
where

OnBl
and mei
home o:
two ves
patches
Thereu

ABANDONMENT OF TITE SHIPS.

343

a whip, and liiinying on aliwul of his companions,
met liis old friend McCluro as already related.

In April, three other Hledg(! ex})editi()nH yvero. sent
out by Kellett, -whieli thoroiigldy Kearehed Mtdvillo
Island and all the land to die north and '.vest thereof.
McClintoekwaB absent one hundred and six days, and
explored twelve hundred mikis of coast; ]\Ieachaiu
traveled over a thousand miles in ninety-three day*«;
Lieut. Hamilton made a sliorter journey to the north-
east; hut none of them found any traces of Fraidvlin.

The ice around the ships did not break up till the
18th of August, and an attemj)t was tlien made to get
them to Beecliey Island ; but it ])roved unsuccessful, and
early in September they were again fast in the new
ice. For two months the ships drifted back and forth
with the floe, and then cam(^ to a stand-still in longitude
101", at a place due east of "Winter Harbor. Here they
passed the winter of 1853-4. In the spring, searches
for Franklin were renewed, and in April, Lieut, Mea-
cham found at Princess Royal Island, documents left
by Collinson in August, 1852.

On returning to the ships, Mer.cham found all hands
busy preparing to abandon tlh^m, as j)eremj)tory orders
to that eifect had been received from Belcher. Eveiy-
thing about the vessels was put in perfect order;
and then the hatclies were calked down, and Kellett
and his men started with sledges for Beechey Island
where McClure and his crew had already gone.

On Belclier's arrival at Beechev Island, the officers
and men of the five deserted sliips took passage for
home on the North Star. Just as they were starting,
two vessels — the Phoenix and Talbot, bringing dis-
patches and supplies for Belcher — hove in sight.
Thereupon, a portion of the men went aboard Captain
21

i ?

■ il' ■

344

EETUEN TO ENGLAND.

Inglefield's ships, and the three sailed for England,
where they arrived September 28th, 1854.

Of the five vessels thus abandoned in 1853-4, only
one has since been heard from. In September, 1855,
as Captain James Buddington, commander of a New
London whaler, was drifting in the ice of Baffin's Bay,
he espied through his glass a ship some twenty miles
off. For seven days the two ships gradually approach-
ed each other ; then Buddington sent four of his men
over the ice to find out what the craft was. As the
party neared the stranger, after a day's journey, they
found that she was fast in the ice, and apparently
deserted, as they saw no one and received no answer
to their shouts. A dread came over the men as they
climbed upon her decks. Everything was in order;
and over the helm wan the motto, in letters of brass,
" England expects every man to do his duty."

On descending to the cabin and striking a light,
the mystery was solved, for there they found the log-
book of the Resolute, which had broken from her
icy fetters a?:'d drifted eastward into Baffin's Bay.

The interior of the Resolute was in a bad condition,
but Buddimjton with ten of his crew carried her
safely to New London after a most un comfort al^le
voyage. The sequel is an honor to both England and
the United States. The fonner having released all
hei* claims in favor of the salvors, Congress bought
and refitted the Resolute, and sent her in charge of
officers and sailors of the U. S, Navy, to England,
where she was formally presented to Queen Victoria
in December, 185G. The whole affair was well cal-
culated to hasten an " era of good feeling " between
these two nations.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

SEARCHES FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

(expeditions of captain inglefield and dr. rae.)

Captain Inglefield sailed from England July 6th,
1852, in the steamer Isabel, to ascertain if the belief
of Sir John Ross that Franklin had lost his life on the
western shores of Greenland was well founded.

On reaching Baffin's Bay, Inglefield pushed boldly
north to Smith's Sound and examined that noble chan-
nel — which had hitherto baffled explorers — as far north
as 78" 80'. He was at first, deluded with the idea that
he had found a climate milder than that of Baffin's Bay,
Imt this delusion a violent storm soon dispelled.
Very likely the storm proved his salvation, for other-
wise he might have pushed on and been ice-anchored
where escape would have been impossible, and the
Isabel did not go prepared to pass an Arctic night.

The gale drove him l)ack none too soon, for the cold
soon became intense, and the spray froze as it broke on
the land. Icebergs and loose cakes of ice were all
around the Isabel and it was only by getting up
steam by the aid of blubber that she forced a way
out of her difficulties.

Inglefield arrived in England Nov. 4th, 1852. Ilia

345

1.: i

!: til

i '

846

SEARCHES FOR FRANKLIN.

[■ill

trip was a sliort one, but it Avas remarkably success-
ful, so far as its immediate ohject was concerned.

Early in lS5o, Captain Inglefield was .iL'-ain sent
out in command of the Phwnix and L:idy Fi-ankliii,
to reinforce ]?elclier's scpiadron, Lieut, Bellot, the
gallant young Frenclnuan Avho had figured so con-
sjjicuously in the voyage of the Prince All)ert, ac-
companied Capt. Inglefield, and tlie saddest incident
connected with the expedition was the deatli of tliis
hero. In August, 1853, Bellot volunteered to carry
dispatches from Captain Pullen of the Nortli Star,
over the ice to Sir Edward Belcher, who Avas at that
time near Cape Beecher in Wellington Channel, and
started from Beechcy Island August 12tli, Avith four
men named Harvey, Johnson, Madden, and Hook,
The ice at this season of the year is always treacher-
ous, and Bellot Avas cautioned to keep as close as
possible to the eastern shore of Wellington Cliannol.
He encouraged his men Avith his usual hilarity, and
put his oAvn shoulder to the trucking lines as they
plodded along on the ice.

Approaching Cape Grinnell, Bellot found that there
Avas a broad belt of Avater betAveen the ice and the
shore. Nothing daunted he pushed, out Avitli his In-
dia-rubber boat, to couA'ey a line to the ca])o by
Avhich the remainder of the party and the ])rovision9
could be dragged over; but the Avind blew furiously
find he could not, alone, make headway. According-
ly he remained on the ice, and ordered Ilai'vey and
]\Iadden to cross over Avith ^he line, Avhich they suc-
cessfully accomplished. Madden remained on the
shore to hold the line, and three boat loads of pm-
Aasions had been conveyed acrc^ss the Avatei' when the
ice was discovered to be on the moA;e. Harvey and

Madden

course c

did not

his wah

slide. I

to sea c

them fij

Madden

com])anio

any assist

to the shi]

they Avalk

Cape BoAv

lost com]

countenaui

the liraA^e i

Tlie ace

briefly this

they uiade

from the aJ

the Lord j^

touched,"

ation calnj

would go

a few minil

J"g of thef

ice near )>^

posite sid(

Was blow-ill

piol)ably

ice. His

there Avasj

Hogarth, y\

to terra firj

DEATH OF BELLOT.

347

Madden were both at this time on the land, but of
course could not hold on to the line, though Madden
did not Itt go till hauled into the water up to
his waist, when Bellot called to him to let her
slide. Bellot, Johnson and Hook were now drifting
to sea on a floe of ice, with a bitter wind driving
them further and further from hope of escape.
Madden and Harvey for two hours watched theii*
companions drifting away, powerless to render them
any assistance, and then began to retrace their steps
to the ship. Taking what provisions they could carry,
they walked around Griffin Bay and were rounding
Cape Bowden, Avhen to their surprise they met their
lost companions Johnson and Hook, whose sad
countenances too plainly told the story of the third,
the brave and gleeful Lieutenant.

The account they gave of Bellot's sad fate was
briefly this. After finding themselv'es fairly afloat,
they made an ice house which might protect them
from the wind, Bellot cheerfully remarking, " When
the Lord protects us not a hair of our heads shall be
touclied." They talked over the danger of their situ-
ation calmly for half an hour, when Bellot said he
would go out and see how the ice was drifting. Li
a few minutes Johnson followed but could see noth-
ing of the Lieutenant, but there was a crack in the
ice near ])y, some five fathoms wide, arid on the op-
posite side the crack lay Bellot's stick. The wind
was blowing a gale, and the gallant Frenchman was
prol)ably blown into the water, and drifted under the
ice. His companions sliouted " Bellot ! Bellot !" but
there was no response. The floe drifted to Point
Hogarth, when Johnson and Hook made their escape
to terra firma.

Mil

848

SEARCHES FOE FRANKLIN.

" Poor Bellot !" « Poor Bellot !" was the exclamation
of all, Esquimaux included, as they learned hia un-
timely end. His was a generous, noLle nature. With
sincere sympathy for Lady Franklin, he entered the
English service for the sole purpose of aiding in the
discovery of her noble husband ; and of the many who
are buried in the waters and frost-bound lands of the
Arctic regions, the memory of none is cherished more
ardently by his companions than Lieutenant Bellot.
England showed her appreciation of his services by
a liberal subscription to his family and by a monu-
ment to his memory in Greenwich Hospital.

Inglefield returned to England in the autumn of
1853. He was accompanied by Lieut. Creswell of
the Investigator, who earned home dispatches announ-
cing the discovery of a North-west Passage.

In 1853, Dr. Rae, who had made a land expedition
in 1851 in which he had thoroughly explored the
coast of North America as for east as longitude 110",
was induced to undertake a similar expedition un-
der the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company. His
former survey had made him thoroughly ac(piainted
with the coast, and had proved that he was the right
man to head another expedition. In this year he
however advanced only as far as Repulse Bay, which
he reached on the 15th of August, and then went into
winter-quarters. Ilis researches the succeeding sum-
mer, and his important discoveries, which proved
to be the key that unlocked the mysterious fate of
Sir John Franklin, are related in a succeeding chapter.

i '

CHAPTER XXIX.
THE FIRST A^IERICAN EXPEDITION.

WiiEX the year 1848 liad arrived without any
tidings of Sir Jolui Franklin or his party, Great Britain,
as heretofore stated, dispatclied three expeditions
to look for them. But peculiar drawbacks seemed
to attend their efforts, and before the beginning of
1850 they had all abandoned the search, almost with-
out attaining the first threshold of inquiry.

Their failure aroused every where the generous
sympathies of men. Science felt for its votaries, hu-
manity mourned its fellows, and an impulse, holier
and more energetic than either, invoked a crusade
of rescue. That admirable woman, the wife of Sir
John Franklin, not content with stimulating the re-
newed edorts of her own countrymen, claimed the
co-operation of the world. In letters to the President
of the United States, full of the eloquence of feeling,
she called on us, as a " kindred people, to join heart
and hand in the enterprise of snatching the lost navi-
gators from a dreary grave."

The delays incident to much of our national legis-
lation menaced the defeat of her appeal. The bill
making appropriations for the outfit of an expedition
lingered on its passage, and the season for commenc-
ing operations had nearly gone by.

i; I

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350

ORIGIN OF EXPEDITION.

At tliis juncture, a nol )le-spirited niercliunt of New
York fitted out two of liis oAvn vessels and proft'ered
tliem gratuitously to the government. Tlius pronijited
by the munificent liberality of Mr. Grinnell, Congress
hastened to take the exi)e(liti()n under its charge, and
authorized the president to detail from the navy such
necessary oflicers and seamen as might he willing to
enjjajxe in it. Tlie command was ijiven to Lieutenant
Edwin De Haven, and the two vessels, named " Ad-
vance " and " Rescue," sailed from New York on the
22d day of May, 1850.

Dr. Elisha Kent Kane, a native of Philadelphia,
already distinguished for his world-wide travels, scien-
tific enthusiasm and gallant bearing, having repeatedly
■« olunteered for the service, accomj)anied the exjtedi-
tion as its senior medical officer and naturalist, and
on his return puTdished its history in the form of a
" Personal Narrative." From this work we give, by
permission, in Dr. Kane's own words, a condensed
account of the

UNITED STATES GEINNELL EXPEDITION.

On the 12th of May, while bathing in the tepid
waters of the Gulf of Mexico, I received one of those
courteous little epistles from Washington which the
electric telegraph has made so familiar to naval offi-
cers. It detached me from the coast survey, and or-
dered ine to " proceed forthwith to New York, for duty
upon the Arctic Expedition."

kSeven and a half days later, I had accomplished my
overland journey of thirteen hundred miles, and in
forty hours more our squadron was beyond the limits
of tlie United States : the Department had calculated
my traveling time to a nicety.

THE ADVANCE AND BESCUi:.

351

A very few books and a stock of coarse woolen
clothing, re-enforced by a magnificent robe of wolf,
skins, tliat had wandered down to me from the snow-
drifts of Utah, constituted my entire outfit ; and with
these I made my report to Commodore Salter at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Aluiost within the shadow of the line-of-battle ship
North Carolina, their hulls completely hidden beneath
a projecting wharf, were two little hermit phrodite l)rigs.
Their spars had no man-of-war trigness ; their decks
were choked with half-stowed cargo ; and for size, I
felt as if I could straddle from the main hatch to the
bulwarks.

At this first sight of the Grinnell Expedition, I con-
fess that the fastidious experience of naval life on
board frigates and corvettes made me look down on
these humble vessels. They seemed to me more like
a couple of coasting schooners than a national squad-
ron bound for a perilous and distant sea. Many a
time afterward I recalled the short-sighted ignorance
of these first impressions, when some rude encounter
with the ice made comfort and dignity very secondary
thoughts.

The "Advance," my immediate home, had been orig-
inally intended for the transport of machinery. Her
timbers were heavily moulded, and her fastenings of
the most careful sort. She was fifty-three tons larger
than her consort, the " Rescue ;" yet both together
barely equaled two hundred and thirty-five tons.

Of my brother officers I can not say a word. I am
so intimately bound to them by the kindly and un-
broken associations of friend and mess-mate, that I
shrink from any other mention of them than such as
my narrative requires. All told, our little corps of

'.!

352

LEAVE NEW YORK HARBOR.

officers numbered four for each ship, including that
non-effective limb, the doctor. Our two crews, with
the aid of a cook and steward, counted twelve and
thirteen ; giving a total of but thirty-three.

ADVANCE. "♦

Officerg.

lAeuUnant Commanding — Edwin J. De Haven, commanding the expedition.
Passed Midshipman — William H. Murdaugh, acting master and first officer.
Midshipman — William I. Lovell, second officer.

£. K. Kane, M.D., passed assistant surgeon.

RESCUE.

Officers.

Aeltng Master — .Samuel P. Griffin, commanding the Rescue.

Passed Midshipman — Robert R. Carter, acting master and first officer.

Boalswain — Henry Urooks. second officer.

lieiijamin Vreeland, M.D., assistant surgeon.

About one o'clock on the 22d of May, the asthmatic
oV^ steam-tug that was to be our escort to the sea
moved slowly off. Our adieux from the Navy Yard
were silent enough. We cost our country no compli-
mentary gunpowder; and it was not until we got
abreast of the city that the crowded wharves and
shipping showed how much that bigger community
sympathized with our undertaking. Cheers and hur-
ras followed us till we had passed the Biittery, and
the f(ury-boats and steamers came out of their track
to salute us in the bay.

The sky was overcast before we lost sight of the
spire of old Trinity ; and by evening it had clouded
over so rapidly, that it was evident we had to look for
a dirty night outside. Off Sandy Hook the Wind fresh-
ened, and the sea grew so rough, that we were forced
to part abruptly from the friends who had kept us

ADVANCE a:(d kescl'e at kavy.vabd.

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THE GOOD-BY.

355

company. We were eating and drinking in our little
cabin, when the summons came for them to hurry up
instantly and leap aboard the boat. The same heavy
squall which made us cast loose so suddenly the cable
of the steamer gathered upon us tlie night and the
storm together ; and in a few minutes our transition
was complete, from harbor life and home associations
to the discomforts and hardships of our career.

The dill'erence struck me, and not quite pleasantly,
as I climbed over straw and rubbish into the little pe-
culium which was to be my resting-place for so long
a time. The cabin, which made the homestead of four
human beings, was somewhat less in dimensions than
a penitentiary cell. There was just room enough for
two berths of six feet each on a side ; and the area
between, which is known to naval men as " the coun-
try," seemed completely filled up with the hinged ta-
ble, the four camp-stools, and the lockers. A hanging
lamp, that creaked uneasily on its " gimbals," illus-
trated through the mist some long rows of crockery
shelves and the dripping step-ladder that led directly
from the wet deck above. Every thing spoke of cheer-
less discomfort and narrow restraint.

By the next day the storm had abated. We were
out of sight of land, but had not yet parted with the
last of our well-wishers. A beautiful pilot-boat, the
Washington, with Mr. Grinnell and his sons on board
continued to bear us company. But on the 25th we
saw the white flag hoisted as the signal of farewell.
We closed up our letters and took them aboard, drank
healths, shook hands — and the wind being fair, were
out of sight of the schooner before evening.

I now began, with an instinct of future exigencies,
to fortify my retreat. The only spot I could call my

85G

CllEATURE COMFORTS.

own was tlie bertli I have spoken of before. It was
a sort ol' hunk — a rijjht-angled excavation, of six feet
by two feet eii^Mit in horizontal dimensions, K;t into
the side of the vessel, with a height of somotliing less
than a yard. My iirst care was to keep water out, my
second to make it warm. A bundle of tacks, and a
few yards of India-rubber cloth, soon made me an im-
penetrable casing over the entire wood-work. Upon
this were laid my Mormon wolf-.skin and a somewhat
ostentatious Astracan fur cloak, n relic of former travel.
Two little wooden shelves held my scanty library; u
third supported a reading lamp, or, upon occasion, a
Berzelius' argaiul, to be lighted when the dampness
made an increiix' of heat necessary. My watch ticked
from its particular nail, and a more noiseless monitor,
my thermometer, occupied another. My ink-bottle
was sus})onded, pendulum fashion, from a hook, and to
one long string was fastened, like the ladle of a street-
pump, my entire toilet, a tooth-brush, a comb, and a
hair-brush.

Now, when all these distributions had been happily
accomplished, and 1 crawled in from the wet, and cold,
and disorder of without, through a slit in the India-
rubber cloth, to the very centre of my complicated re-
sources, it would be hard for any one lo realize the
quantity of coml'ort which 1 felt I had manui'actured,
My lamp burned brightly; little or no water distilled
from the roof; my furs warmed me into satisfaction;
and I realized that I was sweating myself out of my
preliminary cold, and could temper down at pleasure
the abruptness of my acclimation.

From this time I began my journal. At first its
entries were little else than a selfish record of personal
discomforts. It was less than a fortnight since J was

OFF NEWFOUNDLAND.

857

umlor tlio sky of Florida, looking out on the live oak
with its boarded moss, and breathing the magnolia.
Coinlortahlo as my bunk was, companid with the deck,
1 was conseious that, on the whole, 1 had not bettered
my quarters.

But with the 7th of June came fine, bright, bracung
weather. We were ofTNewfoundliind, getting along
well over a smooth sea. We had been looking at the
low hills near Cape Race, when, about noon, a great
mass of whiteness was seen floating in tlie sunshine.
It wjis our hrst iceberg. It was in shape an oblong
cube, and iiboiit twice as large as Girard College. Its
color was an unmixed, but not daz/ling white : indeed,
it seemed entirely coated with snow of such unsullied,
unreflecting purity, that, as we passed within a hund-
red yards of it, not a glitter reached us. It reminded
me of a great nuirble monolith, only awaiting the chisel
to stand out in peristyle and pediment a floating Par-
thenon. There was something very imposing in the
impassive tranquillity with which it received the lash-
ings of the sea.

The next day we were off St. John's, surrounded by
bergs, which nearly blockaded the harbor. A boat's
crew of six brawiiy Saxon inen rowed out nine miles
to meet us, and oiler their services as pilots. They
were disappointed when we told them we were " bound
for Greenland ;" but their hearty countenances bright-
ened into a glow when we added, " in search of Sir
John Franklin."

We ran into an iceberg the night after, and carried
away our jib-boom and martingale: it was our first
adventure with these mountains of the sea. AVe
thumped against it for a few seconds, but slid ofi'
smoothly enough into open w'ater afterward.

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THE ABOTIO DAT.

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We were now drawing near to Davis's Straits, and
the names which recorded our progress upon the charts
were full of Arctic associations. The Meta Incognita
of Frobisher and the Cape of God's Mercy greeted us
from the American coast : Cape Farewell was on our
starboard quarter, and the '* Land of Desolation" nearly
abeam.

Our enemies, the icebersrs — for we had not yet
learned to regirrd them &? friends — made their appear-
ance again on the 1 6th. One of them was an irreg-
ular quadrangle, at least a quarter of a mile long in
its presenting face.

The night had now left us : we were in the contin-
uous sunlight of the Arctic summer. I copy the en-
tries from my journal of the 17th.

"We are just ' turning in,' that is, seeking our den
for sleep. It has been a long day, but to me a God-
send, so clear and fogless. My time-piece points to
half past nine, and yet the sunshine is streaming down
the little hatchway.

"Our Arctic day has commenced. Last night we
read the thermometer without a lantern, and the
binnacle was not lighted up. To-day the sun sets
after ten, to rise again before two ; and during the
bright twilight interval he will dip but a few degrees
below the horizon. We have followed him for some
time past in one scarcely varying track of brightness.
The words night and day begin to puzzle me, as I rec-
ognize the arbitrary character of the hour cycles that
have borne these names. Indeed, 1 miss that sootliing
tranquillizer, the dear old darkness, and can hardly, as
I give way to sleep, bid the mental good-night which
travelers like to send from their darkened pillows to
friends at home.

THE SLKKKRTOPPES.

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ENTERINO DISCO.

UlSCd HITS,

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THE SUKKERTOPPEN.

361

On the 20th an unknown schooner caine within the
same dome of mist with ourselves. We had not seen
a sail since leaving Newfoundland, and the sight
pleased us. We showed our colors, but the little craft
declined a reciprocation.

On the same day, j utting up above the misty hori-
ion, we sighted the mountainous coast of Greenland.
It was a bold antiphrasis that gave such a vernal title
to this birth-place of icebergs. Old Crantz, the quaint-
est, and, in many things, the most exact of the mis-
sionary authorities, says that it got the name from the
Norsemen, because it was greener than Iceland — a poor
compliment, certainly, to the land of the Geysers I

We first made the coast near Sukkertoppen, a re-
markable peak, called so, perhaps, because its form is
not unlike that of a sugar-loaf, perhaps because its
top is whitened with the snow. Mountains that mark
their unbroken profile on the distant sky are very apt
to suggest these fanciful remembrances to the naviga-
tor ; and it is probably this which makes their names
so frequently characteristic.

This peak is a noted landmark, and gives its name
to tlie entire district it overlooks. Our own observa-
tions confirm those of Graah and Ross, which place it
in latitude 65° 22' north, longitude 53° 05' west. It
may be seen under ordinary circumstances many miles
out to sea.

We were favored in our view of the Sukkertoppen.
We had approached it through an atmosphere of fog ;
and when the morning of the 23d gave us a clear sky,
we found ourselves close upon the beach, so jlose that
we could see the white surf mingling with the snow
streaks. A more rugged and inhospitable region never
met my eye. Its unyielding expression differed from

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362

THE SUKKERTOPPEN.

any that belongs to the recognized desert, the Sahara,
or the South American Arridas ; for in these tropical
wastes there is rarely wanting some group of Euphor-
bia or stunted Gum Arabic trees, to qualify by their
contrast the general barrenness. It was startling to
see, beneath a smiling sun and upon the level of the
all-fertilizing sea, an entire country without an ap-
parent trace of vegetable life.

On the 24th, the snn did not pass below the horizon.
We had already beguv to realize that power of adap-
tation to a new siate of things, which seems to be a
distinguishing characteristic of man. We marked our
day by its routine. Though the temptation to avoid
a regular bed-hour was sometimes irresistible, yet sev-
en bells always found us washing by turns at our one
tin wash-basin : at eight bells we breakfasted ; at
eight again we called to grog; two hours afterward
we met at dinner ; and at six o'clock in the afternoon
we came with laudable regularity to our salt junk and
coffee.

Our daily reckoning kept us advised of the recur-
ring noonday, the meridian starting-point of sea-life;
and our indefatigable master had his unvarying hour
for winding up and comparing the chronometers. It
is hard not to nuirk the regulated steps of time, where
such a man-of-war rontine prevails ; and I can scarce-
ly understand the necessity for the twenty-four hours'
registering dial-plate, which Parry and others carried
T^ith them, to avert the disastrous consequences of a
twelve hours' skip in their polar reckonings.

We had now been a month and a day out from New
York. Our iinmediate destination was the Crown
Prince Islands, more generally known by the misno-
mer of the Whale Fish. This little group .'s situated

CROTTN PRINCE ISLANDS.

363

in the Bay of Disco, thirty miles south of the island
of that name.

The entrance to the anchorage from the southwest
is between two islands, and the harbor, which is com-
pletely sheltered from ice, is formed, as will be seen
from the sketch, by the conjunction of a third. On
turning the corner, we suddenly came upon a wood-
en store-house for oil and skins ; and opposite to it,
a clumsy-looking collier, moored stem and stern by
hawsers leading to rocks on either side of the channel.
Soon after, we were boarded by Lieutenant Power, of
the British navy, and from him we learned that the
clumsy craft was the Emma Eugenia, a provision
transport chartered by the Admiralty, and that in less
than a week she would take our letters tp England.

We learned, too, that the British relief squadron
under Commodore Austin had sailed the day before
for the regions of search. They had left England on
the Gth of May, or seventeen days before our own de-
parture from New York.

While we were standing upon deck, waiting for
the boat to be manned which was to take us to the
shore, something like a large Newfoundland dog was
seen moving rapidly through the water. As it ap-
proached, we could see a horn-like prolongation bulg-
ing from its chest, and every now and then a queer
movenient, as of two flapping wings, which, acting
alternately on either side, seemed to urge it through
the water. Almost immediately it was alongside of
us, and then we realized what was the much talked-
of kayack of the G reenlanders.

It was a canoe-shaped frame- work, carefully and f».
tirely covered with tensely-stretched seal-skins, beau-
tiful in model, and graceful as the nautilus, to which

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KAYACKS.

Y. 7.

it has been compared. AVith the exception of an ellip.
tical hole, nearly in its centre, to receive its occupant,
it was both air and water tight. Into this hole was
wedged its human freight, a black-locked Esquimaux,
enveloped in an undressed seal-skin, drawn tightly
around the head and wrists, and fastened, where it
met the kayack, about an elevated rim made for the
purpose, over which it slipped like a bladder over the
lip of a jar. • " '

The length of the kayack was about eighteen feet,
tapering fore and aft to an absolute point. The beam
was but twenty-one inches. When laden, as we saw
it, the top or deck was at its centre but two inches
by measurement above the water-line. The waves
often broke completely over it. A double-bladed oar,
grasped in the middle, was the sole propeller. It -wifis
wonderful to see how rapidly the will of the kayacker
communicated itself to his little bark. One impulse
seemed to control both. Indeed, even for a careful
observer, it was hard to say where the boat ended or
the man commenced ; the rider seemed one with his
frail craft, an amphibious realization of the centaur,
or a practical improvement upon the merman.

These boats, not only as specimens of beautiful na-
val architecture, but from their controlling influence
upon the fortunes of their owners, became to me sub-
jects of careful study. I will revert to them at an-
other time. As we rowed to the shore, crowds of them
followed us, hanging like Mother Carey's chickens in
our wake, and just outside the sweep of our oars.

We landed at a small cove formed by two protrud-
ing masses of coarsely granular feldspar. Some forty
odd souls, the men, women, and children of the entire
settlement, received us. The men were in the front

THE LANDING.

365

rank ; the women, Avith their infants on their backs,
came next : and behind them, in yelling phalanx, the
children. Still further back were crowds of dogs,
seated on their haunches, and howling in unison with
their masters.

The one feeling which, I venture to say, pervaded
us all, to the momentary exclusion of every thing else,
was disgust. Offal was strewn around Avithout regard
to position ; scabs of drying seal-meat were spread over
the rocks ; oil and blubber smeared every thing, from
the dogs' coats to their masters' ; animal retuse tainted
all we saAv ; and Ave afterwai'd found, Avhile botaniz-
ing among the snow valleys, bones of the seal, walrus,
and whale, buried in the mosses.

But if filth characterized the ojien air, Avhat was it
in the habitations ! One poor family had escaped to
their summer tent, pitched upon an adjacent rock that
overlooked the sea. Within a little area of six feet
by eight, I counted a father, mother, grandfather, and
four children, a tea-kettle, a rude box, two rifles, and
a litter of puppies.

This island is used by the Danes as a soi-t of fishing
station, where one European, generally a carpenter or
cooper, presides over a few families of Esquimaux, who
live by the chase of the seal. This functionary had
a hut built of timber, which we visited. Except the
oil-house, Avhich we had observed before, it Avas the
only Avooden edifice.

The natives, if the amalgamation of Dane and Es-
quimaux can be called such, spend their summer in
the reindeer tent, their winters in the semi-subterra-
nean hut. These last have not been materially im-
proved since the days of Egede and Faln'icius. A
square inclosure of stone or turf is raftered over Avith

^\ }

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366

THE DWELLNGS.

drift-wood or whalebones, and then roofed in with
earth, skins, mosses, and hroken-up kayack frames.
One small aperture of eighteen inches square, cover-
ed with the scraped intestines of the seal, forms the
window ; and a long, tunnel-like entry, opening to the
south, and not exceeding three feet in height, leads
to a skin-covered door. Inside, perched upon an ele-
vated dais or stall, with an earthen lamp to establish
the "focus," several families reside together.

CHART or THE WHALE-FiaU ISLANDS.

LIEVELY.

367

Our commander intended to remain at the Crown
Prince Islands no longer than was absolutely neces-
sary for our consort, the Rescue, to rejoin us; but,
upon reviewing our hurried preparation for the hard-
ships of the winter, he determined, Avith characteristic
forethought, to send a boat party to the settlement of
Lievely, or Godhavn, on the neighboring island of
Disco, for the double purpose of collecting information
and purchasing a stock of flu's. The execution of
this duty he devolved upon me.

We started on the 27th, Mr. Lovell, myself, an Es-
quimaux pilot, and a crew of five men. As we rowed
along the narrow channels before we emerged from
this rocky group, I observed for the first time that
extreme transparency of the water which has so often
been alluded to by autliors as characteristic of the Po-
lar Seas. At the depth of ten fathoms every feature
of the bottom was distinctly visible.

Even for one who has seen the crimson dulses and
coral groves of the equatorial zones, this arctic growth
had its rival beauties. Enormous bottle-green fronds
were waving their ungainly lengths above a labyrinth-
ine jungle of snake-like stems; and far down, where
the claws of the fucus had grappled the round gneis-
ses, gieat glaring lime patches shone like upset white-
wash upon a home grassplot.

It was a rough sail outside. The bergs were nu-
merous ; and the heavy sea way and eddying current,
sweeping like a mill-race along the southern face of
the island, made us barely able to double the entrance
to tlie little harbor. We did double it, howevei', and
by a sudden transition found ourselves in a quiet land-
locked basin, shadowed by wall-like hills.

Snow, as usual, covered the lower slopes j but, cheer-

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3(38

DISCO.

ful in spite of its cold envelope, rose a group. of rude
houses, mottling the sky Avith the comfortable smoke
of their huge chiumeys. Among the most conspicu-
ous of these was one antique and gable fronted, with
timbers so heavy and besmeared with tar, that it
seemed as if built from the stranded wreck of a vessel.
Little man-of-wa». port-holes, recessed into its wooden
sides, and a flag-staff, as tall as the mast of a jolly-
boat, gave it dignity. This was the house of the
" Royal Inspector of the Northern portions of Davis's
Straits;" whose occupant — well and kindly remem-
bered by all of us — no less than the royal inspector
himself, stood awaiting our landing.

The incumbent, Mr. Olrik, was an accomplished and
hospitable gentleman, well read in the natural sci-
ences, and an acute observer. In a few minutes we
were seated by a ponderous stove, and in a few more
discussing a hot Eider duck and a bottle of Latour.

Upon commencing my negotiations as to furs, the
object of my journey, 1 learned that the reindeer do
not abound on the island of Disco as in the days of
Crantz and Egede ; though to the south, about Bunke
Land, and the fiords around Ilolsteinberg, and to the
north of the Waigat, they are still very numerous.
Nevertheless, by drunmiing up the resources of the
settlement, we obtained a supply of second-hand late
summer skins ; and with these, aided by the seal, soon
fitted out a wardrobe.

Of Disco, save its Esquimaux huts, its oil-house, its
smith-shop, its little school, and its gubernatorial man-
sion, I can say but little. It is the largest circum-
navigable island on the coast of Greenland. Its long
diameter is from the northwest to southeast, and its
eastern edge is in a continuous line with the coast to

INSI'KCTOKS' IIOL'SK, LIKVELY.

AMONO THE nERoa

I III

the north and
strait, called
bay.

So much
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We loft tl]
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southwest en
through a ci
July, early ii
field-ice. Fr
acteristic vo:

DISCO.

871

the north and south. It is rendered insular by a large
strait, called the Waigat, which inosculates with the
bay.

So much for Disco. Paul Zacharcus, long-haired,
swarthy, Chiistian Paul, said that the wind was fair:
Lovcll, like a good .«ailor, exercised his authority over
the doctor: the furs were packed, my sketches and
wet hortus siccus properly combined, and we started
again for our little brig.

We left the Whale-fieh Islands on the 29th, in com-
pany with the Rescue. On the 30th we doubled the
southwest cape of Disco, and stood to the northward,
through n crowd of noble icebergs. On the first of
July, early in the ruorning, we encountered our first
field-ice. From this date really commenced the char-
acteristic voyaging of a Polar cruise.

: (

[if

CHAPTER XXX.

THE FIRST AMERICAN EXPEDITION.

(continued.)

"July 1. This morning was called on deck at 4 A.M.
by our commander.

"About two hundred yarr" to the windward, form-
ing a loo-shore, was a vast plane of undulating ico, in
nowise differing from that which we see in the Dela-
ware when mid-winter is contending with the ice-
boats. There was the same crackling, and grinding,
and splashing, but the indehnite extent — an ocean in-
stead of a river— multiplied it to a din unspoakal^le ;
and Avith it came a strange undertone accompaniment,
a not discordant drone. This was the floe ice ; per-
haps a tongue from the ' Great Pack,' through which
we are now every day expecting to force our Avay. A
great number of bergs, of shapes the most sirnplo and
most com])licated, of colors blue, white, and earth-
stained, wore tangled in this floating field. Siu'ii.
however, was the inertia of the huge masses, that the
sheet ice piled itself up about them as on fixed rocks.

"The sea immediately around, saving the ground-
swell, was smooth as a mill-pond ; but it -was studded
over with dark, protruding little globules, about the
size of hens' eggs, producing an effect like the dimples
of so many overgrown rain-drops fallen on the water.
These, as I afterward found, were rounded fVaginents
of transparent and fresh-water ice, the debris and de-

(372)

tritus of tl
ten miles

"At 9 F
tered agaii
berg. As
us some he

"At 11 V
wind, found
a noted sea

How far
we saw dh
the deep r
Hearing mi(
and threw
large bergs
those in th
distance ob;

Omenak'i
the largest
the mountf
form so ma
inland term
supposed bj
sounds, whi
enter fioui

It is up
trap, that tl
have nuule .
bio locality
the glo))e.
comj)letely
myself coun
than two h
from the dei

OMENAK S FIORD.

375

tritus of the bergs. "We sailed along this field about
ten miles

" At 9 P. M. the fogs settled around us, and we en-
tered again upon an area full of floating masses of
berg. As it was impossible to avoid them, tlicy gave
us some heavy thumps.

"At 11 we cleared the floes, and, favored with a free
wind, found ourselves nearly opposite Omenak's Fiord,
a noted seat of iceberg gi'owtli and distriljution."

How far we were from land I could not tell ; but
we saw distinctly tho configuration of the hills and
the deep recesses of the fiord The sun, although
nearing midni ' t, was five degrees above the horizon,
and threw its rich coloring over the snow. Many
large bergs were moving ni procession from the fiord,
those in the foreground lu full sunshino, those in the
distance oljscured by the shadow of tluir parent hills.

Omenak's Fiord, known as Jaco1)'s Bigh' is one of
the largest of those strange clefts, w hich. penetrating
the mountain range at right angii s to its long axis,
form so majestic a feature of Greenland scenery. Its
inland termination has never been reach- I ; and it is
supposed by Scoresby to be continuoi' with the large
sounds, which on a corresponding parallel (70'' 40')
enter from the eastern coast.

It is up this fiord, probably in the chasms of the
trap, that those enormous glaciers accumulate which
have made Jacob's Bight, perliai)s, the most remarka-
ble locality in the genesis of icel)ergs on the face of
the glo))e. It is not uncommon to have the shore here
com})letely lilocked in by these gigantic monsters: I
myself counted in one evening, the od of July, no less
than two hundred and forty of priuuiry magnitude,
from the decks of our vessel.

! J

!' 1'

If.

' il

376

FORMATION OF ICEBERGS.

The glaciers -wliicli abut upon this sound are prob-
ably ofl'sets from an interior mer de glace. The val-
leys or canals which conduct these offsets were de-
scribed to me as singularly rectilinear and uniform in
diameter, a fact which derives ready confirmation from
the known confiij;uration of a dioritic country. Now
the protrusi(ra of these abutting faces into the Avaters
of the 80und has been a subject of observation among
both Danes and Esquimaux. Places about Jacob's
Harbor, remembered as the former seats of habitation,
are now overrun by glaciers ; and Mr. Olrik told me
of a naked escarpment of ice, twelve hundred feet
high, which he had seen protruding nearly half a mile
into the sea. ■

The materials thus afforded in redundant profusion
are rapidly converted into icebergs. The water at the
bases of these dill's is very deep — I have in my note-
book well-established instances of three hundred fath-
oms ; and the pyramidal structure of the trap is such
as to favor a precipitous coast line. The glacier, thus
exposed to a saline water base of a temperature above
the freezing point, and to an undermiuiug wave ac-
tion, aided by tides and winds, is of course speedily
detached by its own gravitation.

Jul}/ 2. The next day we passed this fiord and stood
on oui course beyond an hnposing headland, known
on tln' charts as Ca[)e Cranstowu, through a sea un-
obstrinted by iloe ice, but abounding in bergs.

In the afternoon the wind subsided iuto a mere
cats-paw, and we were enabled to visit several of the
icebergs. Certain it is that no objects ever impressed
me more. There was something about them so slum-
berous and so pure, so massive yet so evanescent, so
majestic in their cheerless beauty, without, after all,

ICEBERG SCENERY.

377

any of the salient points which give character to de-
scription, that they ahnost seemed to me the mate-
rial for a dream, rather than things to be definitely
painted in words.

The first that we approached was entirely inaccess-
ible. Our commander, in whose estimates of distance
and magnitude I have great confidence, made it nearly
a mile in circumference.

The next was a monster ice mountain, at least two
hundred feet high, irregularly polyhedral in shape,
and its surface diversified with hill and dale. Upon
this one we landed. I had never appreciated before
the glorious variety of iceberg scenery. The sea at
the base of this berg was dashing into hollow caves
of pure and intense ultramarine ; and to leeward the
quiet water lit the eye down to a long, spindle-shaped
root of milky whiteness, which seemed to dye the sea
as it descended, until the blue and white were mixed
in a pale turkois. Above, and high enough to give
an expression akin to sublimity, were bristling crags.

The general color of a berg I have before compared
to frosted silver. But when its fractures are very ex-
tensive, tiie exposed faces have a very brilliant lustre.
Nothing can be more exquisite than a fresh, cleanly-
fractured berg surface.

A'oyagers speak of the effects of A rctic refraction in
language as exact and mathematical as their own cor-
rection tables. It ahrost seems as if their minute ob-
servations of dip-sectors and repeating-circles had left
them no scope for picturesque sublimity. This may
excuse a. literal transcript from my diary, which runs
perhaps into the other extreme.

"Friday, 11 P.M. A strip of horizon, commencing
about 8° to the east of the sun, and between it and

;

SI' ' %

III

IjU'

378

W0NDEE8 OF REFRACTION.

the land, resembled an extended plain, covered with
the debris of ruined cities. No effort of imagination
was necessary for me to travel from the true watery
horizon to the liilse one of refraction above it, and
there to see huge structures lining an aerial ocean-
margin. Some of rusty, Egyptian, rubbish-clogged
propyla, and hypoethral courts — some tapering and
columnar, like Palmyra and Baalbec — some with
architrave and portico, like Telmessus or Athens, or
else vague and grotto-like, such as dreamy memories
recalled of Ellora and Carli.

" I can hardly realize it as I write ; but it was no
trick of fancy. The things were there half an hour
ago. I saw them, cjipricious, versatile, full of fonns,
but bright and definite as the phases of sober life.
And as my eyes ran round upon the marvelous and
varying scene, every one of these well-rcmcnibcred
cities rose before me, built up by some suggestive feat-
ure of the ice.

" An iceberg is one of God's own buildings, preach-
ing its lessons of humility to the miniature structures
of man. Its material, one colossal Pentelicus; its mass,
the representative of power in repose ; its distribution,
simulating every architectural type. It makes one
smile at those classical remnants which our own pe-
riod reproduces in its Madeleines, Walhallas, and Gi-
rard colleges, like university poems in the dead lan-
guages. Still, we can compare them with the iceberg;
for the ssime standard measures both, as it does Cliim-
bora/.o and the Hill of Ilowth. But this thing of re-
fraction is supernatural througliout. The wildest frolic
of an opium-eater s revery is nothing to the phantas-
magoria of the sky to-night. Karnaks of ice, turned
upside down, were resting upon rainbow-colored ped-

■ml

OFF UPERNAVIK.

379

estals : great needles, obelisks of pure whiteness, shot
up above their false horizons, and, after an hour-glass-
like contraction at their point of union with their du-
plicated images, lost themselves in the blue of the
upper sky.

"While I was looking — the sextant useless in my
hand, for I could not think of angles — a blurred and
wavy change came over the fantastic picture. Pris-
matic tintings, too vague to admit of dioptric analysis,
began to margin my architectural marbles, and the
scene faded like one of Fresnel's dissolving vicAvs.
Suddenl}', by a flash, they reappeared in full beauty ;
and, just as I was beginning to note in my memo-
randum-book the changes which this brief interval
had produced, they went out entirely, and left a nearly
clear horizon."

The 6th of July found us in latitude 72° 54', beat-
ing to windward, as usual, between " the pack " and
the land. This land was of some interest to us, for
we were now in the neighborhood of the Danish set-
tlement of Upernavik.

With the exception of one subordinate station, eight-
een miles further to the north, this is the last of the
Danish settlements. It is the jumping-ofl' place of Arc-
tic navigators — our last point of communication with
the outside world. Here the British explorers put the
date to their oflicial reports, and send home their last
letters of good-by. We sent ours without the delay
of seeking the little port ; for a couple of kayacks
boarded us twenty miles out to sea, and for a few bis-
cuits gladly took charge of our dispatches. The hon-
esty of these poor Esquimaux is provci'bial. Letters
committed to their care are delivered with unerring
safety to the superintendent of the port or station.

... .^

^ '

I :

:-iM

! ■ 1

i I

I '

I '^It j

-.*•■■

380

FAST IN THE ICE.

We were boarded, too, by an oomiak, or woman's
boat, returning from a successful seal hunt. From
the crew, consisting of three women and four men,
we purchased a goodly stock of eider eggs and three
young seals.

July 7. We had now passed the seventy-third de-
gree of latitude without being materially retarded by
ice. The weather was one unbroken sunshine, and
worthier of the Bay of Naples than Baffin's. The
coast on our right hand consisted of low islands, so
grouped as to resemble continuous land. To our left
was a coast of a different character — the ice.

On the morning of the 7th, a large vacant sheet of
water showed itself to the westward, penetrating the
ice as far as the eye could reach ; and from the top-
mast-head we could see the southern margin of this
ice losing itself in a clear, watery horizon. It Avas a
strong temptation. Our commander deterniincd to
try for a passage through.

" We now entered fairly the so-thought open water,
keeping the shore on our starboard beam, and steering
for the northeast and north, at a rate of six knots,
through an apparently unobstructed sea. But the
sanguine anticipations of our commander Avere soon
to be moderated. By four in the afternoon, after plac-
ing at least fifty miles between us' and the coast, the
leads began to close around us. Fearing a sepanition
from the Rescue, we took her in tow and continued
our efforts ; but from 5 P. M. imtil the termination of
the day, our progress was absolutely nothing. The
morning of the 8th opened upon us fast in summer
ice.

^^ July 9. Although we commenced bright and early
to warp our way through the impacted ice, we found,

" 1'llALK.lNU.

KAYACKS.

OOMIAK, OR WOMAN S DOAT.

I I

i-i!

I i

Lsi t!*

*M 5>

after mucl
about thre
'beset/ an
rencAv our

What tl
plain, for tl
some otliei
know that
sea on a f'r
a quiet ri^
swing at ai
in these A:

Let us 1
two of the
aiul head! I
about two
the eaptaii
" Somethin
iceberg on
the ice ; o
taking the
station on

Before }'
and near i
cent fragni

Nov; coi
work with
The brig's
are statiom
Presently c
mander, " ]
the yards ;
brig turns
bangs her (

ARCTIC NAVIGATION.

383

after much labor, that <he entire day's reward was
about tliree miles. We arc now again Cast, completely
* beset,' and only waiting to rest the crew before we
rene^v our efforts."

What these efforts were it may be as well to ex-
plain, for the benefit of fireside navigators, and perhaps
some others. Those who go down to tiie sea in ships
know that it is easy enough to drive along in a clear
sea on a free wind, or to haul into dock, or to warp up
a quiet river, butting aside the lazy vessels as they
swing at anchor. How do we sail, and haul, and warp
in these Arctic Seas !

Let us begin by imagining a vessel, or, for variety,
two of them, speeding along at eight knots an hour,
and heading directly for a long, low margin of ice
about two miles off. "D'ye see any opening?" cries
tiie captain, hailing an officer on the foretopsail-yard.
" Something like ' a lead ' a little to leeward of that
iceberg on our port-bow." In a little while we near
the ice ; our light sails are got in, our conunander
taking the place of the officer, Avho has resumed his
station on the deck.

Before you, in a plain of solid ice, is a huge iceberg,
and near it a black, zigzag canal, checkered with re-
cent fragments.

Nov; commences the process of "conning." Such
work with the helm is not often seen in ordinary seas.
The brig's head is pointed for the open gap ; the watch
are stationed at the braces ; a sort of silence prevails.
Presently comes down the stentorian voice of our com-
mander, " Ilard-a-starboard," and at the same moment
the yards yield to the ready haul at the braces. The
brig turns her nose into a sudden indentation, and
bangs her quarter against a big lump of " swashing "

:} hi:

B :

■y\

I ■■

384

AllCTIC NAVIGATION.

ice. " Steady there ! " For half a minute not a sound,
until a second yell — "Down, down! lurddown!" and
then we rub, and scrape, and jam, and thrust aside,
and are thrust aside ; but somehow or other lind our-
selves in an open canal, losing itself in the distance.
This is "a lead."

As we move on. congratulating ourselves — if we
think about the thing at all — that we are " good " for
a few hundred yards more, a sudden oxclamation, ad-
dressed to nobody, but suflficientl ' divtinctive, comes
from the yard-arm (we'll call it "pshaw! "), and, look-
ing ahead, we see that our "lead" is getting narrower,
its sides edging toward each other — it is losing its
straightness. At the same moment comes a compli-
cated succession of orders : " Ilehu-a-starboard ! "
"Port!" "Easv!" "So!" " Stead t'e-fc-ce/" "Hard-
a-port! " " Hard, hard, hard ! " (scrape, scratch, thump! )
"Eugh!' an anomalous grunt, and we are jammed
fast between two great ice-fields of unknown extent.
The captain comes down, and we all go quietly to
supper.

Next come some processes unconnected with the
sails, our wings. These Avill explain, after Arctic
fashion, the terms "heave," and "w^irp," and "track,"
and " haul," for we are now beset in ice, and what lit-
tle wind we have is dead ahead. A couple of hands,
under orders, of course, seize an iron hook or " ice-an-
chor," of which we have two sizes, one of forty, and
another of about a hundred pounds. With this they
jump from the bows, and " plant it " in the ice alicad,
close to the edge of the crack, along which we wi.sli
to force our way. Once fast, you slip a hawser around
its smaller end, and secure it from slips by a " mous-
ing" of rope-yarn. The slack of the hawser is passi'd

;

HEAVING AND WARPING.

385

around the shaft of our patent winch — an apparatus
of cogs and levers standing in our bows — and every
thing, in far less time than it has taken me to describe
it, is ready for " heaving."

Then comes the hard work. The hawser is hauled
taut; the strain is increased; everybody, captain, cook,
steward, and doctor, is taking a spell at the " pump
handles" or overhauling the warping gear ; for dignity
'^loes not take care of its hands in the middle pack ;
until at last, if the floes be not too obdurate, they
separate by the wedge action of our bows, and we
ibrcc our way into a little cleft, whicli is kept open on
either side by the vessel's beam. But the quiescence,
the equilil)rium of the ice, which allows it to he thus
severed at its line of junction, is rare enougli. Often-
times wo heave, and haul, and sweat, and, aft (>r parting
ii ton-inch hawser, go to bed wet, and ti vd, iind dis-
contented, with nothing but experience to pay for our
toil. This is " warping.''

But let us suppose that, after many hours of this
sort of unprofitable labor, the floes release tlieir press-
ure, or t.ie ice becomes frail and light. '• Get ready
the lines! " Out jumps an imfortunate with a forty-
pound " hook " ui)on his shoulder, and, after one or two
(luckings, tumbles over the ice and plants his anchor
on a distant cape, in line with our wished-for direction.
The poor fellow has done more than carry his anchor;
for a long white cord has been securely fastened to it,
which they "pay out" from aboard ship as occasion
requires. It passes inboard through a block, and then,
with a iew artistic turns, around the capstan. Its
"slack" or loose end is carried to a little windlass at
our main-mast. Now comes the Avarping again. The

lirst or heavy warping we called " heaving : " this last

1 i

386

PROSPECT OF ESCAPE.

is a civilized performance; "all hands" walking round
with the capstan-bars to the click of its iron pauls, or
else, if the watch he fresh, to a jolly chorus of sailors'

songs.

I-.

We have made a few hundred yards of this light
warping, when the floes, never at rest, open into a tort-
uous canal again. We can dispense with the slow
traction of the capstan. The same whalc-liiie is
passed out ahead, and a party of hmnan horses take
us in tow. Each man — or horse, if you })lease — has
a canvas strap passing over his shoulder and fastened
to the tow-line; or. nautically, as this is a cliapter ex-
planatory of terms, " toggled to the warp." This har-
nessing is no slight comfort to hands Avet Avith water
at the Ireezing point ; and with its aid they tug along,
sometimes at a Aveary walk, and sometimes at a dog-
trot. This is '• tracking."

When we coidd neither "heave," nor "warp," nor
" track," nor sail, we resorted to all sorts of useless ex-
pedients, such as sawing, cutting, and vainly striving
to force our way into a more hopeful neighl)orhood.
It Avas long before experience taught us to sjiare our-
selves this useless labor.

We had been three weeks comjdetely imprisoned,
and the season for useful search was rapidly Hitting
by, when, on the 27th of July, came the dawning
promise of escape.

A steady breeze had been bloAving for several days
from the ncjrtliAvard and westAvard, and under its in-
fluence the ice had so relaxed, that, had not tiie wind
Infcn dead ahead, Ave should liave attemped snil".
(hu- tk)e surface, disturbed by these ncAV inllucnoos
gave us a constantly-shifting topography. It Avas cu-
rious to sec the rapidity of the transformations. At

one mome

with a wo

our bows I

post clogg-e

lanes were

hecoming j

for five inir

But chan

lowering, th

fallen eiglit

Late on t\

day of unpr<

eastward.

like Avater w

30m. P.M. w

leeiiiigs of jo

wind soon i'n

along to the i

Broken floes

sides of us; h

l^ored tJifoug!

Bay.

^fter a littl

though our wi

liardly be calj

set in, makini

ows indeed hyl

T'le ice, toe

rotten, haJf-thl

heavy floes ei/

'^'Pf-med to staj

I^rcsentiy A\f

'■6«, on a jpe

^vas JIG Jieip fJ

BORING.

387

one moment we were closed in by ice three feet thick,
with a worn-down berg fifty feet deep on our beam ;
our bows buried in hummocky masses, and our stern-
post clogged with frozen sludge : in ten minutes open
lanes were radiating from us in every direction, cracks
becoming rivers, and puddles lakes : warping ahead
for five minutes, every thing around us was ice again.

But changes were going on. The sky had become
lowering, the gulls had left us, and the barometer had
fallen eight tenths since the day before.

Late on the afternoon of the 28th, after another long
day of unprofitable warping, the wind shifted to the
eas>tward. The floes opened still wider, something
like water was visible to the north and east, and at 9h.
80m. P.M. we " cast off," set our main-sail, and, with
feelings of joyous relief, began to bore the ice. This
wind soon freshened to a southeaster, and we dashed
along to the northeast in a sea studded with icebergs.
Broken floes running out into " streams" were on all
sides of us ; but, only too glad to be once more free, we
bored through them for the inshore circuit of Melville
Bay.

After a little while tlie horizon thickened ; and al-
though our wind, surrounded as we were b\ ice, could
hardly be called a gale, heavy undulations began to
set in, making an uncomfortable sea, rendered danger-
ous indeed by the v'lwashing ice and a growiiig fog.

The ice, too, after a little while, was no longer the
rotten, half-thawed material of the middle pack, but
heavy floes eight or ten feet of solid thickness, which
seemed to stand out from the shore.

Presently we found ourselves, urged by wind iind
sea, on a lee ridge of undulating fragments. There
was no help for it : with grinding crash we entered its

; ;*

^ i

■ 'i

388

MELVILLE BAIT.

tumultuous margin. Before we had bored into it more
than ten yards, we were on the edge of a nearly sub-
merged iceberg, which, not being large enough to re-
sist the swell, rolled fearfully. The sea dashed in an
angry surf over its inclined sides, rattling the icy frag-
ments or " brash" against its irregular surface. Our
position reminded me of the scenes so well described
by Beechy in the voyage of the Dorothea and Trent.
For a time we were awkwardly placed, but Wvi bored
through ; and the Rescue, after skirting the same ob-
struction, managed also to get through without damage.

We continued to run along with our top-saii yard
on the cap, but the growing fog made it impossible to
keep on our course very long. After several encoun-
ters with the floating hummocks, we succeeded in ty-
ing fast to a heavy floe, which seemed to be connected
with the land, and were thus moored within that mys-
terious circuit known as Melville Bay.

It is during the transit of this bay that most of
the catastrophes occur which have made the statistics
of tlie whalers so fearful. It was here, about twenty
miles to the south of us, that in one year more than
one thousand human beings were cast shelterless upon
the ice, their ships ground up before their eyes. It is
rarely that a season goes by in which the passage is
attempted without disaster.

The inshore side of the indentation is lined by ti
sv/eep of glacier, through which here and there tlio
dark headlands of the coast force themselves with se-
vere contrast. Outside of this, the shore, if we can
call it such, is again lined witii a heavy ledge ot
ground ice, thicker and more permanent tlian that iu
motion. This extends out for miles, forming an icy
margin or beach, known technically as the " land ice,"

or " the ftif

through w

action, rcce

and curren

canal alon^

barrier of c

Our initi

on^nous en

scene o{ n(

throiigh wh

drifted by u

tj escape tl

Iniagine a

down upon

The imm

eighteen mil

the glacier.

tioes. and hu

tery conflict,

and hushed b

had vvitnosse

wont out w

more clo.seh'l

at the ed
times twi

teuti

gos
-mt}J

rgs firmly

Oil was

^vhicli wern d
wt' couKl noM

oft

»i Mie.so st
iHMM, nie

and I'orty fee
it M-as th<

founded u

s a

liilf! '

BERGS.

889

or " the fast." Against this margin, the great " drift"
through which we had been passing exerts a remitting
action, receding sometimes under the influence of wind
and currents so as to open a tortuous and uncertain
canal along its edge-, at others closing against it in a
barrier of contending floes and bergs.

Our initiation into the mysteries of this region was
onnnous enough. It blew a gale. The offing was a
scene of noisy contention, obscured by a dense fog,
throiigh which rose the tops of the icebergs as they
drifted by us. Twice in the night we were called up
ij escape these bergs by warping out of their path.
Imagine a mass as large as the Parthenon bearing
down upon you before a storm-wind !

The immediate site of our anchorage was about
eighteen miles from the Black Hills, which rose above
the ghicier. It was truly an iron-bound coast, bergs,
Hoes, and hummock ridges, in all the disarray of win-
tery conflict, cemented in a basis of ice ten feet thick,
and lashed by an angry sea. It was the first time I
had witnessed the stupendous results of ice action. I
went out with Captain De Haven to observe them
more closely. The hummocks had piled themselves
at the edges of the floes in a set of rugged walls, some-
times twenty feet high ; and here and there were ice-
bergs firmly incorporated in the vast plain. Our at-
tention was of course directed more anxiously to those
which were drii'ting at large upon the open water; but
we could not help being impressed by the solid majes-
ty of these stationary mountains. The height of one
of tiHMii, measured by the sextant, was two hundred
and I'orty feet.

It was the motion of the floating bergs that sur-
rounded us at this time, which first gave me the idea

1 1

r ■■ <

iX '\M

\nu

fi\-

■ it-

\i\k

390

A RACE.

of a great under-current to the northward. Their drift
followed some system of advance entirely independent
of the wind, and not apparently at variance with the
received views of a great southern current. On the
night of the 30th, while the surface ice or floe was
drifting to the southward with the wind, the hergs
were making a northern progress, crushing through
the floes in the very eye of the hreeze at a measured
rate of a mile and a half an hour. The disproportion
that uniformly suhsists hetween the submerged and
upper masses of a floating berg makes it a good index
of the deep sea current, especially when its movement
is against the wind. 1 noticed very many ice-mount-
ains traveling to the north in opposition to both wind
and surface ice. One of them we recognized five days
afterward, nearly a hundred mixes on its northern
journey.

In the so-called night, "all hands" were turned to,
and the old system of warping was renewed. The
unyielding ice made it a slow process, but enough
was gained to give us an entrance to some clear wa-
ter about a mile in apparent length. While we were
warping, one of these current-driven bergs kept us
constant company, and at one time it was a regular
race between us, for the narrow passage we were
striving to reach would have been completely barri-
caded if our icy opponent had got ahead.

This exciting race, against wind and drift, and with
the Rescue in tow, was at its height when we reached
a point where, by warping around our opponent, we
might be able to nuike sail. Three active men were
instantly dispatched to prepare the warps. One took
charge of the hawser, and another of the iron crow or
chisel which is used to cut the hole; the third, a

brawny se
ing the an
solid ice, w
ran across
about twic
rest. One
mass, a sec
and chain
anchor and
ciful Godse
so cleanly
fractured si
along with
^y the capts
safe on boai
our cruise, v
"August 2
About 2 P.j\J
enabled us tc
tie airs for a
losing what
our i'ri(!2id th
ft^v viirds as
"iVe have
have lo.st the
conios back
circuit oi' Mp;
spangled jH'K
% on his til
parison j'Voiu
^hi,s aljout s
tive at tho b
floors,' as the/
but ^ir,"

OUR PROSTECTS.

391

brawny seaman, named Costa, was in the act of lift-
ing the anchor and driving it by main force into the
soKd ice, when, with a roar like near thunder, a crack
ran across the berg, and almost instantly a segment
about twice the size of our ship was severed from the
rest. One man remained oscillating on the principal
mass, a second escaped by jumping to the back ropes
and chain shrouds of the bowsprit ; but poor Costa !
anchor and all, disappeared in the chasm ! By a mer-
ciful Godsend, the sunken fragment had broken off
so cleanly that, when it rose, it scraped against the
fractured surface, and brought up its living freight
along with it. Scared half to death, he was caught
by the captain as he passed the jib-boom, and brought
safe on board. This incident, coming thus early in
our cruise, was a useful warning.

^^ August 2. 'Warping!' Tired of the very word?
About 2 P.M. a lead, less obstructed than its fellows,
enabled us to crowd on the canvas, and sail with gen-
tle airs lor about two miles to the eastward, and then,
losing what little wind we had, we tied up again to
our friend the land ice ; the little Rescue, as usual, a
few yards astern.

"We have learned to love tlie sunshine, though we
have lost the night that gives it value to others. It
comes back to us this ev(Miing, after the gale, with a
circuit of sparkling and imaginative beauty, like the
spangled petticoat of a. ballet-dancer in full twirl to a
boy on his first visit to thj opera. 1 borrow the com-
parison from one of my mess-mates; but, in truth, all
this about sunsliine and warmth is only compara-
tive at the best, for, though writing on deck> 'out of
doors,' as they say at home, the thermometers give us
but 43'\"

J -t

:i: -I

! \

; 't

; i

; 1

1 '1

H 1 I!
IJ

■ ^

392

Melville's monument.

The bergs were an interesting subject of sudy. I
counted one morning no less than two hundred and
ten of them from our decks, forming a beaded line from
theN.N.W.totheS.S.E.

^'August 10. Another day of sunshine. Were we
in the Mediterranean, there could not be a warmer
sky. It ends with the sky though ; for our thermom-
eters fell at four A.M. to 24°. A careful set of observa-
tions with Green's standard thermometers gave 18°
as the difference between the sunshine and shade at
noonday. The young ice was nearly an inch thick.
Myriads of Auks were seen, and the usual supply duly
slaughtered.

"Melville's Mcnument appeared to-day under a new
phase, rising out from the surrounding floe ice, either
a salient peninsula or an isolated rock.

"The land ice measured but five feet seven inches,
the reduced growth, probably, of a single season. The
open leads multiply, for we made under sail about
fifteen miles N.N.W."

As the next day glided in, the skies became over-
cast, and the wind rose. Mist gathered about the
horizon, shutting out the icebergs. The floes, which
had opened before with a slender wind from the north-
ward, now shed off" dusty wreaths of snow, and began
to close rapidly.

Moving along in our little river passage, we ob-
served it growing almost too narrow for navigation,
and every now and then, where a projecting cape
stretched out toward this advancing ice, we had to
run the gauntlet between tlie opposing margins.

It is under these circumstances, with a gale prob-
ably outside, and a fog gathering around, that the
whalers, less strengthened than ourselves, and taught

HUMMOCKING.

393

by a fearful experience, seek protecting bights among
the floes or cut harbors in the ice. For us, the word
dehiv did not enter into our commander's tlioughts.
We liad not purchased caution by disaster ; and it
was essential to success that we should niake the
most of this Godsend, a "slant" from the southeast.

We pushed on ; but the Rescue, less fortunate than
ourselves, could not follow. She was jammed in be-
tween two closing surfaces. We 'were looking out
for a temporary niche in which to secure ourselves,
when we were challenged to the bear hunt 1 have
spoken of a few pages back.

Upon regaining the deck with Mr. Lovell's prize, we
were struck with the indications of a brooding wind
outside. The ice was closing in every direction ; and
our nuister, Mr. Murdaugh, had no alternative but to
tie up and await events. The Rescue did the same,
some three hundred yards to the southward.

By five A.M., a projecting edge of tlie outside floe
came into contact with our own, at a point midway
between the two vessels. This assailing floe was three
feet eight inches thick, perhaps a mile in diameter,
and moving at a rate of a knot an hour. Its weight
was some two or three millions of tons. So irresistible
was its momentum, that, as it impinged against the
solid margin of the land ice, there was no recoil, no in-
terruption to its progress. The elastic material cor-
rugated before the enormous pressure ; then craclced,
then crumbled, and at last rose, the lesser over the
greater, sliding up in great inclined planes: and these,
again, breaking by their weigit and their continued
impulse, toppled over in long lines of fragmentary ice.

Thi* imposing process of dynanucs is called
"Hummocking." Its most striking feature was it:f

■tm ,1

894

A PINCH.

H'W

unswerving, unchecked continuousness. The mere
commotion was hardly proportioned either to the in-
tensity of the force or the tremendous effects which it
produced. Tables of white marble were thrust into
the air, as if by invisible machinery.

First, an inclined face would rise, say ten feet ; then
you would hear a grinding, tooth-pulling crunch : it
has cracked at its base, and a second is sliding up
upon it. Over this, again, comes a third ; and here-
upon the first breaks down, carrying with it the sec-
ond ; and just as you are expecting to see the whole
pile disappear, up comes a fourth, larger than any of
the rest, and converts all its predecessors into a cha-
otic mass of crushed nuirble. Now the fragments thus
comminuted are about the size of an old-l'ashioned
Concstoga wagon, and the line thus eating its way is
several hundred yards long.

The action soon began to near our brig, which now,
fast by a heavy cable, stood bows on awaiting the
onset. It was an uncomfortable time for us, as we
momentarily expected it to " nip" her sides, or bear
her down with the pressure. But, thanks to the in-
verted wedge action of her bows, she shot out like a
squeezed water-melon seed, snapping her hawser like
pack-thread, and backing into wider quarters. The
Rescue was borne almost to her beam ends, but event-
ually rose upon the ice.

We cast off again about 7 A.M. ; and after a weari-
some day of warping, tracking, towing, ajid sailing,
advanced some six or eight miles, along a coast-line
of hills to the northeast, edged with glaciers.

The currents were such as to entirely destroy our
steerage way. Our rudder was for a time •iseless;
and the surface water was covered by ripple marks

THE DEVILS T11IMH.

!1'''

w'hicli flov
13th tho s(
as other en
lore, lined,
ice ; and fr
ol' those lii
heretofore
hnes. Am
jerking lit
and liniaeii
too, were b
the Burgoi

The sho
again rose :
as tiiey re(
We had tri
in a nearly
to lose it.
ready.

"GP.M
floating in
it is you ('ill
ently conies
enoo, and c
you 800 phi
notliiugelsf
naiHoil it, be
for Mulcihei
of the poles
your satisfa-
it contracts
^vise, and, p
of colossal
black globe

ANurvL lift:.

nns

vvliicli flowed in strangely looping curves. On the
I3th the sea uhoundt'd with lil'e. Ccloehili, as well
as other entomostracan forms which 1 had not seen be-
fore, lined, and, in I'act, tinted the margins of the floe
ice : and (or tlie first time I noticed among them some
of those liigher orders of crustacean life, which had
heretofore been only found adhering to our warping
lines. Among these were asellus and idotea, and that
jerking little amphipod, the gammarus. AcalophsB
and limaeina; abounded in the quiet leads. The birds,
too, were back with us, tlu- moUemoke, the Ivory gull,
the Burgomaster, and the torn .

The shore, which wo had been s( long skirting,
again rose into mountains ; on whose southern flanks,
as they receded, w^e could still see the great glacier.
We had traced it all the way from the Devil's Thumb
in a nearly continuous circuit; now we were about
to lose it The icebergs had sensibly diminishoil al-
ready.

"6 P.INI Refraction again! There is a black globe
floating in the air, about :r north of the sun. What
it is you can not tell. Is it a bird or a balloon ? Pres-
ently comes a sort of shimmering about its circismfer-
enee, and on a sudden it changes its shape. Noav
you see plainly w^hat it is. It is a grand piano, and
nothing else. Too quick this time ! You had hardly
na)iied it, before it was an anvil — an anvil large enough
for Mulcil;er and his Cyclops to beat out the loadstone
of the poles. You have not got it quite adjusted to
your satisfaction, before your anvil itself is changing;
it contracts itself centrewise, and rounds itself end-
wise, and, presto, it has made itself duplicate — a })air
of coloss-il dumb-bells. A moment! and it is the
black globe again."

3" I

■> ,

i li

ijijt

306

REFRACTION.

About an hour after this necromantic juggle, the
whole liorizon became distorted: great bergs lifted
themselves above it, and a pearly sky and penrly
water blended with each other in such a way, that
you could not determine where the one began or the
otlier ended. Your ship was in the concave of a vast
sphere ; ice shapes of indescribable variety around you,
floating, like yourself, on nothingness; tlie flight of a
bird as apparent in the deeps of the sea as in the
continuous element above. Nothing could be more
curiously beautiful than our consort the Kescue, as
she lay in mid -space, duplicated by her secondary im-
age.

This unequally refractive condition continued on
into the next day ; diminishing as the sun approached
his merulian altitude, but again coming back in the
afternoon with augmented intensity. The appearance
at night was more wonderful than it had been on the
12th. I am desirous to give the impressions it nuvde
on me at the moment, and I therefore copy again
from my journal, without erasing or modifying a sin-
gle line.

^^ August 13. To-night, at ten o'clock, we were op-
posite a striking cliff, supposed to be Cape Melville,
when, attracted by the irregular radiation from the
sun, then about two hours from the lowest point of
his curve, I saw suddenly flaring up all around him
the siirns of active combustion. Great volumes of
black smoke rose above the horizon, narrowing and
expanding as it rolled away. Black specks, to which
the eye, by its compensation for distance, gave the size
of nuisses, mingled with it, rising and falling, appear-
ing and disappearing; and above all this was the pe-
culiar w^avin y movement of air, rarefied by an adjacent

REFRACTION.

nor

heat. The wliole intervening atmosphere was dis-
tiirhed and flickering.

*' August 15. The Rescue, which has proved herself
a dull .sailer, had lagged astern of us, when our master,
Mr. INIurdaugh, ohserved the signal of 'men asjiore'
flying Iroin her peak. We were now as far north as
latitude 75° 58', and the idea of human life someiiow
or other involuntarily connected itself with disaster.
A boat was hastily stocked with provisions and dis-
patched for the shore. Two men were thore upon
the land ice, gesticulating in grotesque and not very
decent pantomime — genuino, unmitigated I'^squiniaux.
Verging on 7G° is a far northern limit for human life;
yet these poor animals were as fat as the bears which
we killed a few days ago. Their hair, inane-like,
flowed over their oily cheeks, and their countenances
had the true prognathous character seen so rarely
among the adulterated breeds of the Danish settle-
ments. They were jolly, laughing fellows, full of so-
cial feeling. Their dress consisted of a bear-skin pair
of breeches, considerably the worse for wear; a seal-
skin jacket, hooded, but not pointed at its skirt ; and
a pair of coarsely-stitched seal-hide boots. They were
armed with a lance, harpoon, and air-bladder, for spear-
ing seals upon the land floe. The kaiack, with its
host of resources, they seemed unacquainted with.

"When questioned by Mr. Murdaugh, to whom I
owe these details, they indicated five huts, or 1am-
ilies, or individuals, toward a sort of valley between
two hills. They were ignorant of the use of bread,
and rejected salt beef; but they appeared familiar
with ships, and would have gladly invited themselves
to visit us, if the oflicer had not inhospitably declined
the honor."

\'\

I i

I i;

fW9>> I > •iipavmmi^ifpa

398

FROZEN FAMILIES.

It was not very far from Cape York that we met
thtse men. They belonged, probably, to the same de-
tached parties of seal and fish catching coast nomads,
that were met by Sir John Ross in his voyage of 1819,
and wliom he designated, fancifully enough, as the
"Arctic IlighUmders."

Eleven years after his visit, some boat-crews, from
a whaler which had escaped the ice disasters of 1830,
landed at nearly the same spot, and made for a group
of huts. They w^ere struck as they approached them
to find no beaten snow-tracks about the entrance, nor
any of the more unsavory indications of an Esquimaux
homestead. The riddle was read when they lii'ttnl up
the skill curtain, that served to cover at once doorway
and window. Grouped around an oil less laui}). in the
attitudes of life, were four or five human corpses, with
darkened lip and sunken eyeball ; but all else preserved
in perf^iiuial ice. The frozen dog lay beside his frozen
iruister, and the child, stark and stiff, in the reindeer
hood which enveloped the frozen mother. The cause
was a mystery, f<M* the hunting apparatus was near
them, and the bay abounds with seals,the habitual luod,
and light, ajid fire of the Esquimaux. Perhaps the ex-
cessive cold had shu*. off" their supplies for a time by
closing the ice-holeii — perhaps an epidemic had strick-
en them. Some three or four huts that were near had
the same melancholy furniture of extinct life.

■IQUIMAUX ON BNOW-SHUL

TIIJ

We sa
fortable i
^P(^'n sue)
ingthtu'l
the Nortl
■\vere no ]
shore, oi" t
ingsuhsti
3n a .sh(
Beverlev.'
fhe C()a,«'
'Tprecip,
big slow] >
wiild distil
rock, whi!
of defridi
w'ith a bnl
could iio(
gave to til
ilieJocalitf
excuse thil
^lis vera(!itj

But it
i'lg the

CHAPTER XXXI.
THE FHIST AMEKICAN EXPEDITION.

(cOKTimJED.)

AVe sailed along the coast quiet!)', but with the com-
fortable exciteinent of expee+ation. We tuid not yet
seen such open water, and v/ere jiionientaniy expect-
ing the change, of course, which wa.s to lead us through
the North Water to Lancaster Sound. The glaciers
were no longer near the water-line ; but an escnrped
shore, of the usual primary structure, gave us a pleas-
ing substitute.

In a short time we reached the " Crimson Cliffs of
Beverley," the seat of the often-described "red snow."
The coast was high and rugged, the sea-line broken
by precipitous sections and choked by detritus. Sail-
insr slowly along, at a distance of about ten miles, we
could distinctly see outcropping fa ce> of red fcldspathit;
rock, whikt in depending positions, between the cones
of detritus, the scanty patches of snow were tinwd
with a brick-dust or brown stain. As j^et indc d we
could not see the "Crimson" of Sir John Koss. wiio
gave to this spot its somewhat euphonious title ; but
the locality was not without indications which should
exvus(! t!u> gallant navigator from imputation*; againit
ins veracity of narrative.

But it fell calm, and I had an op^K^rtuuity of visit-
ing the shore. The place where we landed was in

400

THE CRIMSON CLIFFS.

latitude 76° 04' N., nearly. It was a little cove, bor-
dered on one side by a glacier ; on the other, watered
by distillations from it, and. green with kixuriant
mosses. It was, indeetl, a f^iiry little spot, brightened,
perhaps, by its contrast with the icy element, on which
I had been floating lor a month and a half belbre ; yet
even now, as it comes back to me in beautiful com-
panionship with many sweet pla^'^'s of the earth, lam
sure that its charms were real.

The glacier Cciine dovvn by a twisted circuit from a
deep valley, which it nearly filled. As it approached
the sea, it seemed unable to spread itself over the horse-
shoe-like expansion in which we stod ; but, retaining
still the impress marks of its own little valley birth-
place, it rose up in a huge dome-like escarpment, one
side frozen to the I'lifFs, the other a wall beside us, and
the end a rounded mass protruding into the sea.

Close by the foot of its precipitous face, in a fur-
rowed water-course, was a mountain torrent, which,
emerging from the point at which the glacier met the
hill, came dashing wildly over the rocks, green with
the mosses and carices of Arctic vegetation ; while
from the dome-like summit a stream, that had tun-
neled its way through the ice from the valley still
higher above, burst out like a fountain, and fell in a
cascade of foam- whitened water into the sea.

To return to the " Crimson Cliffs.^' We found tho
red snow in greatest abundance upon a talus fronting
to the southwest, Avhu'h stretched ol)li([uely across the
glacier at the seat of its emergence from the valley.
It was hei'e in great abundance, staining the sui'face
in patches six or eight yards in diameter. Similar
patches were to be seen at short inters als extending
up the valley.

Its co](

bled, M'itl

served cr;

over tlie s

nearly cIk

came bro^

in a glass

Its colo

scraping a

the snow I

which per

some eight

At 4 P.J

some pleas.

name of " |

the north vvj

traca and c.

i'lg. Tiie p

One mile fr

bottom, at t\

"fiIIuj,"M-

tiie west, ^Yi

Al)oufc e

niidwa)' ))et

f<»regi'ou2id

we could

foamiii<r ton

B} nicjiiis

so clos<. that

A few ineh(

die shilling

!i ^vhaif. T

«s to liatlie

J^ink, deiiei

t 11 a ■

Bessie's cove.

401

Its color was a deep but not bright red. It resem-
bled, with its accoiupanying impurities, criislied pre-
served cranberries, with the seed and capsule strewn
over the snow. It imparted to paper drawn o\^er it a
nearly cherry-red, or perhaps crimson stain, which be-
came brown with exposure; and a handlYil thawed
in a glass tumbler resembled muddy claret.

Its coloring matter was evidently soluble; for, on
scraping away the surface, we found that it had dyed
the snow beneath with a pure and beautiful rose color,
which penetrated, v.'ith a gradually softening tint
some eight inches below the surface.

At 4 P.M. we left this interesting spot, for which
some pleasant associations had suggested to me the
name of " Bessie's Cove," and commenced beating to
the northward. The sea was crowded with entomos-
traca and clios, on which myriads of Auks were feed-
ing. The prospects of open water were most cheering.
One mile from the shore, we got soundings in rocky
bottom, at twenty-three fathoms, and then, wishing to
"fill nj)'' with water before attempting our |\ass;ig'e to
the Avest, we stood close in, seeking a favoral le spot.

About eleven o'clock we were attracted by a bight
midway between Cajies York and Dudley Diggs. Its
foregroinid was of rugged syenitic rocks, and ovei' these
we could distinctly see the water rushnig down in a
t'oamiiig torrent. Here ^vas a watering-place.

By means of our old friends the wai'])s, we hauled in
so clo^c that the sides of our vessels touched t iie rocks.
\ feu inelu's oily intervened between our keel and
the shining |f-l)l)Ies, We could jump on shore as from
ii wharf. The sun was so low at this midnight hour
lis to loathe everything in m atmosphere of Italian
pink, dcliciously unlike the Virctic regions. The recess

':l i

I ;

rli

I 1

402

AN ARCTIC GARDEN

til ^ .;

was In blackest shadow, but the cliffs wliicli foniied
the walls of the cove rose up into full siuishine. The
Auks croAvded these rocks in myriads. So, -with gun
and sextant, I started on a tramp.

The cove itself measured but six hundred yards from
bluff to bluff. It was recessed in a regular ellipse, or
rather horseshoe, around which the strongly-featured
gneisses, relieved, as usual, with the outcroppings of
feldspar, formed lofty mural precipices. I estimated
their mean elevation at twelve hundred feet. At their
bases a mass of schistose rubbish had accumuhited.

I have described this recess as a perfect horseshoe :
it was not exactly such, for at its northeast end a rug-
ged little water-feeder, formed by the melting snows,
sent down a stream of foam which buried itself under
the frozen surface of a lake. Yet to the eye it was a
nearly absolute theatre, this little cove, and its arena
a moss-covered succession of terraces, each of indescrib-
able richness.

Strange as it seemed, on the immediate level of snow
and ice, the constant infiltrations, aided by solar rever-
beration, had made an Arctic garden-spot, Tlie sur-
face of the moss, owing, probably, to the extreme altern-
ations of heat and cold, was divided into regular hex-
agons and other polyhedral figures, and scattered over
these, nestling between the tufts, and forming little
groups on their southern faces, was a quiet, unobtru-
siA'e community of Alpine flowering plants. The weak-
ness of individual growth allowed no ambitious species
to overpower its neighbor, so that inany families were
crowded together in a ricli flower-bed. In ii little space
that I could cover with my pea-jacket, the veined leaves
of the I'yrola wpic peeping out among chickweeds jukI
saxifrages, the sorrel and Uanunculus. I even I'ouml a

\SS^'

i.UUKJ.NU t'tiil WATER.

HK.St^lK .M ruVK

poor gen
thing ar(
portions.
As thi;
that hem
began to
birches ;
shoe, an(
of debris,
Slirubs
only type
tilings ha
the elem
above my
alleys ant
inipressiv
saw the
and in fri
wild hone
sylvan ia ^
button-ho
marabou 1
Strange
willows,
a trefoil c
althea, ju
lannta, a
like an un
by cliiW-1
inhospital
surface —
moss whi(
1 had s(
evasions <

FLORULA.

405

poor gentian, stunted and reduced, but still, like every
thing around it, in all the perfection of miniature pro-
portions.

As this mossy parterre approached the rocky walls
that hemmed it in, tussocks of sedges and coarse grass
began to show themselves, mixed with heaths and
birches; and still further on, at the margin of the horse-
shoe, and fringing its union with the stupendous piles
of debris, came an annulus of Arctic shrubs and trees.

Shrubs and trees ! the words recall a smile, for they
only typed those natives of another zone. The poor
things had lost their uprightness, and learned to escape
the elements by trail iufj along the rocks. Few rose

•J Do

abov^e my shoes, and none above my ankles ; yet shady
alleys and heaven-pointing avenues could not be more
impressive examples of creative adaptation. Here I
saw the bleaberry {Vacciniimi uUginosum) in flower
and in fruit — I could cover it with a wine-glass ; the
wild honeysuckle [Azalea procumhens) of our Penn-
sylvania woods — I could stick the entire plant in my
button-hole ; the Andromeda tetragona, like a green
marabou feather.

Strangest among these transformations came the
willows. One, the Salix hcrbacea, hardly larger than
a trefoil clover; another, the S. glauca, like a young
altliea, just bursting from its seed. A third, the <S'.
lanata, a triton among these boreal minnows, looked
like an unfortunate garter-snake, bound hero and there
by claw-like radicles, which, unable to penetrate the
inhospitable soil, had spread themselves out upon the
surlace — traps for the broken lichens and fostering
inoss which formed its scanty mould.

1 had several opportunities, while taking sextant el-
evations of the headlands, to measure the moss-beds

■■^ff

III

406

MOSS-BEDS.

of this cove, "both by sections where streams from the
lake had left denuded faces, and by piercing through
them with a pointed staff'. These mosses formed an
investing mould, built up layer upon layer, until it had
attained a mean depth of five feet. At one place, near
the sea line, it was seven feet ; and even here the slow
processes of Arctic decomposition had not entirely de-
stroyed the delicate radicles and stems. The fronds
of the pioneering lichens were still recognizable, en-
tangled among the rest.

Yet these little layers represented, in their diminu-
tive stratification, the deposits of vegetable periods. I
counted sixty-eight in the greatest section.* Those
chemical processes by which nature converts our au-
tumnal leaves into pabulum for future growths work
slowly here.

My companions were already firing away at the
Auks, whi(ih covered in great numbers the debris of
fallen rock. This was deposited at an excessive in-
clination, sometimes as great as 47° ; its talus, some
three hundred feet in height, cutting in cone-like proc-
esses against the mural faces of the cliff.

There was something about this great inclined plane,
with its enormous fragments, their wild distribution,
and steep angle of deposit, almost fearfully character-
istic of the destructive agencies of Arctic congelation.
I had never seen, not even at the bases of the mural
traps of India and South America — or better, perhaps,
than either, our own Connecticut — such evidences of
active degradation. It is not to the geologist alone

* I copy the number of these layers as I find it marked in my journal ; yci
I do so, not without some fear that I may be misled by the cliirograjjliy of a
very hurried note. My recollections are of a very large number, yet not so
iarge as that which my respect for the littera scripia induces me to retain in
ihe text.

that thes

of chano

the exisi

friction c

on with s

edges am

have beei

ley. We

ters."# [

tatioii of J

there, and

tion .'

On the ;
Auks had I
though far
^edg'hngs ^
and the irn
(ionatiintly i
study tile ^
gnuiU iit t
one of the
; ofinydosce
TJie aufi-
"nich Jess
i"S"-pole su
fi'i'i file fra^
^^'jfii a reso
P'"ir, liovve
^enoath, an
entire suvi'm
as it may &,

'to

trivial.

"ly 1

"rated velot

AUKS' NESTS.

407

that these tains and debris are impressive. They tell
of changes which have begun and been going on since
the existence of the earth in its present state by the
friction of time against its surface; and they carry us
on vv^ith solemn force to the period when the dehiscent
edges and mountain ravines of this same earth shall
have been worn down into rounded hill and gentle val-
ley. Well may they be called "geological chronome-
ters."* They point with impressive finger to the ro-
tation of years. The dial-plate and the index are both
there, and human wisdom almost deciphers the nota-
tion !

On the steeper flanks of these rocky cones the little
Auks had built their nests. The season of incubation,
though far advanced, had not gone by, for the young
fledglings A-ere looking down upon me in thousands;
and the mothers, with crops full of provender, were
constantly arriving from the sea. Urged by a wish to
study the domestic habits of these little Arctic emi-
grants at their homestead, I foolishly clambered up to
one of their most popular colonies, without thinking
of my descent.

Tlie angle of deposit was already very great, not
much less than 50° ; and as I moved on, with a walk-
ing-pole substituted for my gun, I was not surprised to
find the fragments receding under my feet, and rolling,
with a resounding crash, to the plain below. Stop-
ping, however, to regain my breath, I found that above,
beneath, around me, every thing was in motion. The
entire surface seemed to be sliding down. Ridiculous
as it may seem to dwell upon a matter apparently so
trivial, my position became one of danger. The accel-
erated velocity of the masses caused them to leap off

' • jMantf U's " Wonders of Geology."

I I

lit :

« i-

408

TRAPPING THE AUKS.

' t!

■t¥.

ill deflected lines. Several uncomfortable fragments
had already passed by me, some even over my head,
and my walking-pole was jerked from my hands and
buried in the ruins. Thus helpless, I commenced my
own half-involuntary descent, expecting momentarily
to follow my pole, when my eye caught a projecting
outcrop of feldspar, against which the strong current
split into two minor streams. This, with some hard
jumps, I succeeded in reaching.

As I sat upon the temporary security of this little
rock, surrounded by falling fragments, and awaiting
their slow adjustment to a new equilibrium before I
ventured to descend, I was struck with the Arctic orig-
inality of every thing around. It was midnight, and
the sun, now to the north, was hidden by the rocks ;
but the whole atmosphere was pink with light. Over
head and around me whirled innumerable crowds of
Auks and Ivory gulls, screeching with execrable clam-
or, almost in contact with my person.

The calm which had given us these two days of
shore rambles left us suddenly on the 18th. We stood
towards Wolstenholmo Sound, and bore across to the
west in more open water than we had seen for several
weeks. It was now beyond doubt that we were to
winter somewhere among the scenes of Arctic trial.
We were past the barrier, heading direct for Lancas-
ter Sound, with the motion of waves once more under
us, and a breeze aloft. As I refer to my journal, 1 see
how the tone of feeling rose among our little party.
We began again with something of confidence to con-
nect the probable results with the objects of the ex-
pedition. We had lost three weeks off the Devil's
Tongue, the British steamers were far ahead of us in
point of time, and their superior ability and practice

GOOD-BY TO BAFFIN.

409

would still keep them in the advance ; and we were
ignorant of their course and intended scheme ol' search.
We had dreamed hefore this, and pleasantly enough,
of fellowship with them in our efforts, dividing be-
tween us the hazards of the way, and perhaps in the
long winter holding with them the cheery intercourse
of kindred sympathies. We waked now to the prob-
abilities of passing the dark days alone. Yet fairly on
the way, an energetic commander, a united ship's com-
pany, the wind freshening, our well-tried little ice-
boat now groping her way like a blind man through
fog and bergs, and now dashing on as if reckless of ail
but success — it was impossible to repress a sentiment
almost akin to the so-called joyous excitement of con-
flict.

We were bidding good-by to "ye goode baye of old
William Baffin ;" and as we looked round with .a fare-
well remembrance upon the still water, the diminished
icebergs, and the constant sun which had served us so
long and faithfully, we felt that the bay had used us
kindly.

Though I had read a good deal in the voyagers'
books about Baffin's Bay, I had strangely and entirely
misconceived the prominent features of its summer
scenery. There is a combination of warmth and cold
in the tone of its landscapes, a daring, eccentric vari-
ety of forms, an intense clearness, almost energy of ex-
pression, which might tax Turner and Stanfield to-
gether to reproduce them with an approach to truth.
How could they trace the features of the iceberg, melt-
ing into shapes so boldly marked, yet so undefined ; or
body forth its cold varieties of unshaded white, or the
azur(; dare-obscure of the ice-chasm! There are the
black hills, blocs upon ^oiling snow; the ice-plain, mar-

■i:: ri

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

>° C<'x

1.0

I.I

1.25

lb 118

— 6'

12.0

1.8

14. 11.6

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEaSTER.N.Y 14580

(716) 873-4503

•s^

-f^

«'-

I.'*?'

i/x

410

CONTINUOUS DAYLIGHT.

gined with glaciers, and jutting out in capos from the
cliffed shore : there is the still blue water. Or, il' yon
want action instead of repose, here is the crashing floe,
the grinding hummock, and the monumental berg lis-
ing above both ! itself, though perishable, a seeming
pormanency compared with the ephemeral ruins that
baat against its sides.

All this is attempered by the warm glazing of a tint-
ed atmosphere. The sky of Baffin's Bay, though but
eight hundred miles from the Polar limit of all north-
eianess, is as warm as the Bay of Naples after a June
rain. What artist, then, could give this mysterious
union of warm atmosphere and cold landscape ?

The perpetual daylight had continued up to this
moment with unabated glare. The sun had reached
his north meridian altitude some days befort^, but the
eve Was liardly aware of change. Midnight had a
softened character, like the low summer's sun at home,
but there was no twilight.

At first the novelty of this great unvarying day
made it pleasing. It was curious to see the "mid-
night Arctic sun set into sunrise," and pleasant t<j find
that, whether you ate or slept, or idled or toiled, the
•mme d;iylight was alnays there. No irksome night
forced u].')n you its s} stem of comj)ulsory altcrn.iHons.
I could (line nt midnight, sup at breakfast-time, and
go to bed at noonday ; and but for an apparatus of
coils and cogs, called a watch, would have been uo
wiser and no worse.

My feeling was at first an extravagant sense of un-
defined relief, of some vague resti'aint removed. I
seemed to have thrown off the slavery of hours. In
fact, I coidd hardly realize its entirety. The? astral
lamps, standing, dust-covered, on our lockers — 1 ani

quoting

things ol

My lot

sugar- nia

I had bee

portion ol

riods of J)

had mouri

1 miss the

have been

of emotion

fess to, 1)01

ternation o

great cond

lo those M

how kindly

urged by tl

task, now II

six months

men, the ci

screen wliic

nant tlie de

rest!

"A//nrifst

Aneroid ilij

I was cjillc

couple of V,

Were shorte

twelve, the

"P aloiifr sid

only know v

itudes of Ai

Captain I'cii

as ourselves.

CONTINUOUS DAYLIGHT.

411

quoting the words of my journal — puzzled me, as
things obsolete and fanciful.

My lot had been cast in the zone of liriodendrons and
sugar-maples, in the nearly midway latitude of 40°.
I had boon habituated to day and night; and every
portion of these two great divisions had for tne its pe-
riods of peculiar association. Even in the tropics, I
had inounied the lost twilight. How much more did
1 miss the soothing darkness, of which twilight should
have been the precursor! I began to feel, with more
of emotion than a man writing for others likes to con-
fess to, how admirable, as a systematic law, is the al-
ternation of day and night — words that type the two
great conditions of living nature, action and repose.
To those who with daily labor earn the daily bread,
how kindly the season of sleep! To the drone who,
urged by the waning daylight, hastens the deferred
task, now fortunate that his procrastination has not a
six months' morrow ! To the brain- workers amciig
men, the enthusiasts, who bear irksomely the dark
screen which falls upon their day-dreams, how benig-
nant the dear night blessing, which enforces reluctant
rest!

"Atffriist 19. The wind continuoil freshening, the
Aneroid ilillingtwo tenths in the night. About eight
I was called by our master, with the Jiews that a
couple of vessels were folhnving in our wake. We
were shortening sail for our consort; and by half past
twelve, llie larger stranger, the Lady Franklin, came
up along side of us. A cordial greeting, snch as those
only know who have been pelted for weeks in the sol-
itudes of Arctic ice — and we learned that this was
Captain PcMiny's squa<lron, bound on the same pursuit
as ourselves. A hurried interchange of news followed.

412 CAPTAIN penny's SQUADUON.

The ice in Molville Bay had hothered botli parties
aliko ; (loiTnnodoro Austin, with his steanior tenders,
was ilircc days ago at Carey's Islands, a {rronp near-
ly as lii;,'h as 77" north latitude; the North Star, the
Tnissinjj provision transport of last sunmicr, was safe
somewhere in Lancaster Sound, probably at Leopold
Island. For the rest, God speed !

"As she slowly forged ahead, there came over the
rough sea that good old EngHsh hurra, which we in.
herit on our side the water. ' Three cheers, iiearty,
with a will!' indicating us much of brotherhood as
sympathy. * Stand aloft, boys !' and we gave back the
greeting. One cheer more of acknowledgment on each
side, and the sister flags separated, each o'l its errand
of mercy.

*' The sea is short and excessive. Every thing on
deck, even anchors and quarter- boats, have ' fetched
away,' and the little cabin is half afloat. The Rescue
is staggering under heavy sail astern of us. AV^e are
making six or seven knois an hour. Murdaugh is
ahead, looking out for ice and rocks; De Haven con-
ning the ship.

"All at once a high mountain shore rises before us,
and a couple of isolated rocks show themselves, not
more than a quarter of a mile ahead, white with break-
ers. Both vessels are laid to."

The storm reminded me of a Mexican " norther."
It was not till the afternoon of the next day that we
were able to resume our track, under a douhlcreefed
top-sail, stay-sail, and spencer. We were, of course,
without observation still, and could only reckon that
we had passed the Cunningham Mountains and Cape
Warrender.

About three o'clock in the morning of the 21st, on-

SIR JOHN KU8S.

413

other sail was reported ahead, a top-sail schooner, tow-
ing after her what appeared to he a launch, decked
over.

" When I reached the deck, we were nearly up to
her, for we had shaken out our reefs, and m jre driving
before the wind, shipping seas at every roll. The lit-
tle schooner was under a single close-reefed top-sail, and
seemed fluttering over the waves like a crippled bird.
Presently an old fellow, with a cloak tossed over his
night gear, appeared in the lee gangway, and saluted
with a voice that rose above the winds.

"It was the Felix, commanded by that practical
Arctic veteran, Sir John Ross. I shall never forget the
heartiness with which the hailing olficer sang out, in
the midst of our dialogue, * You and 1 are ahead of them
all.' It was so indeed. Austin, with two vessels, was
at Pond's Bay ; Penny was somewhere in the gale ;
ami others of Austin's squadron were exploring the
north side of the Sound. The Felix and the Advance
were on the lead.

" Before we separated, Sir John Ross came on deck,
and stood at the side of his officer, lie was a square-
built num, apparently very little stricken in years, and
well al>ie to bear his part in the toils and hazards of
life. He has been wounded in four several engage-
ments — twice desperately — and is scarred from head
to foot. lie has conducted two Polar expeditions al-
ready, and performed in one of them the unparalleled
feat of wintering four years in Arctic snows. And
here he is again, in a flimsy cockle-shell, after contrib-
uting his purse and his influence, embarked himself in
the crusade of search for a lost comrade. We met him
off Admiralty Inlet, just about the spot at which he
was picked up seventeen years before."

414

THE PRINCE ALBERT.

: 1

Soon after midnight, the land became visible on the
north side of the Sound. We had passed Cape Charles
Yorke and Cape Crawfurd, and were fanning along
sluggishly with all the sail we could crowd for Port
Leopold.

It was the next day, however, before we c ime in
sight of the island, and it was nearly spent when we
found ourselves slowly approaching Whaler Point, the
seat of the harbor. Our way had been remarkably
clear of ice for some days, and we were vexed to find,
therefore, that a firm and rugged barrier extended along
the western shore of the inlet, and apparently across
the entrance we were seeking.

It was a great relief to us to see, at half past six in
the evening, a top-sail schooner working toward us
through the ice. She boarded us at ten, and proved
to be Lady Franklin's own search- vessel, the Prince
Albert.

This was a very pleasant meeting. Captain For-
syth, who commanded the Albert, and Mr. Snow, who
acted as a sort of adjutant under him, were very agree-
able gentlemen. They spent some hours with us,
which Mr. vSnow has remembered kindly in the journal
he has published since his return to England. Their
little vessel was mich less perfectly fitted than ours to
encounter the perils of the ice ; but in one respect at
least their expedition resembled our own. Tiiey had
to rough it : to use a Western phrase, they had no fan-
cy fixings — nothing but what a hasty outfit and a lim-
ited purse could supply. They were now bound for
Cape llennell, after which they proposed making a
sledge excursion over the lower Boothian and Cock-
burne lands.

The North Star, they told us, had been -caught by

1 ' !

CAPE RILEY.

413

the ice last season in the neighborhood of our own first
imprisonment, off the Devil's Thumb. After a peril-
ous drift, she had succeeded in entering Wolstenholme
Sound, whence, after a tedious winter, she had only re-
cently arrived at Port Bowen.

They followed in our wake the next day as we push-
ed through many streams of ice across the strait. We
sighted the shore about five miles to the west of Cape
Hurd very closely; a miserable wilderness, rising in
terraces of broken-down limestone, arranged between
the hills like a vast tlu atre.

On the 25th, still beating through the ice off Ilad-
stock Bay, we discovered on Cape Riley two cairns,
one of them, the riiost conspicuous, with a flag-staff and
ball. A couple of hours after, we were near enough
to land. The cape itself is a low projecting tongue of
limestone, but at a short distance behind it the cliff
rises to the height of some eight hundred feet. We
found a tin canister within the larger cairn, contain-
ing the information that Captain Ommanney had been
there two days before us, with the Assistance and In-
trepid, belonging to Captain Austin's squadron, and
had discovered traces of an encampment, and other
indications "that some party belonging to her Britan-
nic majesty's service had been dettiined at this spot."
Similar traces, it was added, had been found also on
Beechy Island, a projection on the channel side some
ten miles from Cape Riley.

Our consort, the Rescue, as we afterward learned,
had shared in this discovery, though the British com-
mander's inscription in the cairn, as well as his ofli-
cial reports, might lead perhaps to a different conclu-
sion. Captain Griflin, in fact, landed with Captain
Ommanney, and the traces were registered while the
two officers were in company.

1 1

1 !

41C

FRANKLIN S ENCAMPMENT.

I inspected these different traces very carefully, and
noted what I observed at the moment. The appear-
ances which connect them with the story of Sir John
Franklin have been described by others; but there
may still be interest in a description of them made
while they were under my eye. I transcribe it word
for word from my journal.

" On a tongue of fossiliferous limestone, fronting to-
ward the west on a little indentation of the water, and
shielded from the north by the precipitous cliffs, are
five distinct remnants of habitation.

" Nearest the cliffs, four circular mounds or henp-
ings-up of the crumbled limestone, aided by larger
stones placed at the outer edge, as if to protect tl.e
leash of a tent. Two larger stones, with an interval
of two feet, fronting the west, mark the places of en-
trance.

" Several large square stones, so arranged as to serve
probably for a fire-place. These have been tumbled
over by parties before us.

** More distant from the cliffs, yet in line with the
four already described, is a larger inclosure ; the door
facing south, and looking toward the strait : this so-
called door is simply an entrance made of large stones
placed one above the other. The inclosure itself tri-
angular; its northern side about eighteen inches high,
built up of flat stones. Some bird bones and one rib
of a seal were found exactly in the centre of this tri-
angle, as if a party had sat round it eating ; and the
top of a preserved meat case, much rusted, was found
in the same phice. I picked up a piece of canvas or
duck on the cliff side, well worn by the weather : the
sailors recognized it at once as the gore of a pair of
trowsers.

"Afift:
may imvc
perfect th)

"On th
the triant'

FRANKLIN S ENCAMPMENT.

417

" A fifth circle is discernible nearer the cliffs, which
may have belonged to the same party. It was less
perfect than the others, and seemed of an older date.

" On the beach, some twenty or thirty yards from
the triangular inclosure, were several pieces of pine
wood ahoiit four inches long, painted green, and white,
and black, and, in one instance, puttied ; evidently
parts of a boat, and apparently collected as kindling
wood,"

The indications were meagre, but the conclusion
they led to was irresistible. They could not be the
work of Esquinmux : the whole character of them con-
tradicted it: and the only European who could have
visited Cape Kiley was Parry, twenty-eight years be-
fore ; and we knew from his journal that he had not
encamped here. Then, again, Omnumney's discovery
of like vestiges on Beechy Island, just on the track of
a party moving in either direction between it and the
channel : all these speak of a land party from Frank-
Un's squadron.

Our commander resolved to press onward along the
eastern shore ofWellington Channel. W^e were un-
der weigh in the early morning of tlie 2Glh, and work-
ing along with our consort toward Beeciiy — I drop
the "Island," for it is more strictly a peninsula or a
promontory (jf limestone, as high and abrupt as that
at Capo HiUiy, connected with what we call the main
by a low isthmus. Still further on we passed Cape
Spencer ; then a fine bluff point, called by Parry Point
Innes ; and further on again, the treiul being to the
east of north, we saw the low tongue, Cape Bowden.
Parry merely sighted these points from a distance, so
that the shore line has never been traced. I sketch-
ed it myself with some care; but the running survey

■*■]■■

418

FRANKLIN S ENCAMPMENT.

of this celebrated explorer had left nothing to alter.
To the north of Cape Innes, though the coast retains
the same geognostical character, the bluff pronioiito-
ties subside into low hills, between which the beach,
composed of coarse silicious limestone, sweeps in long
curvilinear terraces. Measuring some of those rudely
afterward, I found that the elevation of the highest
plateau did not exceed forty feet.

Our way northward was along an ice channel close
under the eastern shore, and bounded on the other side
by the ice-pack, at a distance varying from a quarter
of a mile to a mile and three quarters. Off Cape Spen-
cer the way soomed more open, widening perhaps to
two miles, and showing something like continued free
water to the north and west. Here we met Captain
Penny, with the Lady Franklin and Sophia, lie told
us that the channel was completely shut in ahead by
a compact ice biirrier, which connected itself with that
to the west, describing a horseshoe bend. lie thought
a southwester wns coming on, and counseled us to pre-
pare for the chances of an impactment. The go-ahead
determination which characterized our commander
made us test the correctness of his advice. We push-
ed on, tracked the horseshoe circuit of the ice without
finding an outlet, and were glad to labor back again
almost in the teeth of a gale.

Captain Penny had occupied the time more profita-
bly. In company with Dr. Goodsir, an enthusiastic
explorer and highly educated gentleman, whose broth-
er wns an astistant surgeon on board the missing ves-
sels, he had been examining the shore. On the ridge
of limestone, between Cape Spencer and Point limes,
they had come across additional proofs that Sir John's
party had been here — very important these proofs as

FRANKLIN S ENCAMPMENT.

419

extending the line along the shore over which the par-
ty must have moved from Cape Riley.

Among the articles they had found were tin canis-
ters, witii tlie London maker's lahel ; scraps ol' news-
paper, bearing the date 1844 ; a paper fragment, with
the words "until called" on it, seemingly part of a
watch order ; and two other fragments, each with the
name of one of Franklin's officers written on it in pen-
cil.

On the 27th, the chances of this narrow and capri-
cious navigation had gathered five of the searching
vessels, under three different commands, within the
same quarter of a mile — Sir John Ross', Penny's, and
our own. Both Ross and Penny had made th(? effort
to push through the sound to the west, but found a
great belt of ice, reaching in an almost regular cres-
cent from Leopold's Island across to the northern shore,
about half a mile from the entrance of the channel.
Captain Ommanney, with the Intrepid and Assistance,
had been less fortunate. He had att(^mpted to break
his way through the barrier, but it had closed on him,
and he was now fast, within fifteen miles of us, to the
west.

After breakfast, our commander and myself took a
boat to visit the traces discovered yesterday by Cap-
tain Penny. Taking the Lady Franklin in our way,
we met Sir John Ross and Commander Phillips, and
a conference naturally took place upon the best plans
for concerted operations. I was very much struck
with the gallant disinterestedness of spirit which was
shown by all the officers in this discussion. Penny,
an energetic, practical fellow, sketched out at once a
plan of action for each vessel of the party. He hiiti-
self would take the western search ; Ross should run

S I ( . 1*

420

THE GRAVES.

over to Prince Regent's Sound, communicate the newH
to the Prince Albert, and so relieve that little vessel
from the now unnecessary perils of her intended expe-
dition ; and we were to press through the first open-
ings in the ice by Wellington Channel, to the north
and east.

It was wisely determined by brave old Sir John
that he would leave the Mary, his tender of twelve
tons, at a little itilet near the point, to serve as a fall.
back in case we should lose our vesfjls or become
sealed up in permanent ice, and De Haven and Penny
engaged their respective shares of her outfit, in the
ibhape of some barrels of beef and flour. Sir John
Ross, I think, had just lefl us to go on board his little
craft, and I was still talking over our projects with
Captain Penny, when a messenger was reported, uiak-
ing all speed to us over the ice.

The news he brought was thrilling. " Graves, Cap-
tain Penny ! graves ! Franklin's winter quarters ! '
"We were instantly in motion. Captain De Haven,
Captain Penny, Commander Phillips, and myself, johi-
ed by a party from the Rescue, hurried on over the ice,
"and, scrambling along the loose and rugged slope that
extends from Beechy to the shore, came, after a weary
walk, to the crest of the isthmus. Here, amid the ster^
lie uniformity of snow and slate, were the head-boards
of three graves, made after the old orthodox fashion of
gravestones at home. The mounds which adjoined
them were arranged with some pretensions to symme-
try, coped and defended with limestone slabs. They
occupied a line facing toward Cape Riley, which was
distinctly visible across a little cove at the distance of
Bome four hundred yards.

The first, or that most to the southward, is nearest to

the fror
t'on, cut

e sec

The third
so welJ finij
of stone- WO]
?rave.|ike. ii

in h

'ippier h

"Departed

184G!" Fra

^hen he occi

Two large [

«^ne a iittiel

tlieni was a

THE ORATES.

421

the front in the nocompanying sketch. Its inscrip-
tion, cut in by a chisel, ran thus :

"Sacred
to the ,

rrn" niorjr
of
W. BiAiNc, R. M.,
H. M. S. Erebus,
lied April 3 1, 1846, »

aged 33 years.
Chooao ye this day whom ye will serve.'

Joshua, ch. zxiv., 16."

The second was :

" Sacred to the memory of

John Hartnell, A. B. of H. M. S.

Erebus,

aged 23 years.

'Thus saith the Lord, consider your ways.'

Haggai, i , 7."

The third and hist of these memorials was not quite
80 well finished as the others. The mound was not
of stone- work, but its general appearance was more
grave-like, more like the sleeping-place of Christians
in happier lands. It was inscribed :

" Sacred

the memory

John Torbinotow,

who departed this life

January 1st, A.D. 1840,

on board of

H. M. ship Terror,

aged 20 years."

•'Departed this life on board the Terror, 1st January,
1846!" Franklin's ships, then, had not been wrecked
when he occupied the encampment at Beechy !

Two large stones were imbedded in the friable lime-
stone a little to the left of these sad records, and near
them was a piece of wood, more than a foot in diam-

¥■

i I

422

MOUNDS.

eter, and two feet eifj^ht inches liigli, wliicli had evi-
dently served for an anvil-block : the marks were un-
mistakable. Near it again, but still more to the east,
and thierefore nearer the beach, was a large blackened
space, covered with coal cinders, iron nails, spikes,
hinges, rings, clearly the remains of the armorer's forge.
Still nearer the beach, but more to the south, was the
carpenter's shop, its marks equally distinctive.

Leaving "the graves," and walking toward Wei-
lington Straits, about four hundred yards, or perhaps
less, we came to a mound, or rather a series of mounds,
which, considering the Arctic character of the surface
at this spot, must have been a work of labor. It in-
closed one nearly elliptical area, and one other, which,
though separated from the first by a lesser mound,
appeared to be connected with it. The spaces thus
inclosed abounded in fragmentary remains. Among
them I saw a stocking without a foot, sewed up at its
edge, and a mitten not so much the worse for use as
to have been without value to its owner. Siiavings
of wood were strewed freely on the southern side of
the mound, as if they had been collected there by the
continued labor of artificers, and not far from these, a
few hundred yards lower down, was tlio remnant of a
garden. Weighing all the signs carefully, I had no
doubt that this was some central shore establishment,
connected with the squadron, and that the lesser area
was used as an observatory, for it had largo stones
fixed as if to support instruments, and the scantling
props still stuck in the frozen soil.

Travelling on about a quarter of a mile further, and
in the same direction, we came upon a deposit of more
than six hundred preserved-meat cans, arninged in
regular order. They had been emptied, and were now

tRACES.

423

filled with limestone pebbles, perhaps to serve as con-
venient ballast on boating expeditions.

These were among the more obvious vestiges of Sir
John Franklin's party. The minor indications about
the ground were innumerable : fragments of canvas,
rope, cordage, sail-cloth, tarpaulins ; of casks, iron-work,
wood, rough and carved ; of clothing, such as a blank-
et lined by long stitches with common cotton stuff,
and made into a sort ol rude coat ; paper in scraps,
white, waste, and journal ; a small key ; a few odds
and ends of brass- work, such as might be part of the
furniture of a locker ; in a word, the numberless re-
liquiaj of a winter resting-place. One of the papers,
which I have preserved, has on it the notation of an
astronomical sight, worked out to Greenwich time.

With all this, not a written memorandum, or point-
ing cross, or even the vaguest intimation of the condi-
tion or intentions of the party. The traces found at
Cape Riley and Beechy were still more baffling. The
cairn was mounted on a high and conspicuous portion
of the shore, and evidently intended to attract observa-
tion ; but, though several parties examined it, digging
round it in every direction, not a single particle of in-
formation could be gieaned. This is remarkable; and
for so able and practiced an Arctic commander as Sir
John Franklin, an incomprehensible omission.

In a narrow interval between the hills which come
down toward Beechy Island, the searching parties of
the Rescue and Mr.Murdaugh of our own vessel found
the tracks of a sledge clearly defined, and unmistaka-
ble both as to character and direction. They pointed
to the eastern shores of Wellington Sound, in tlie same
general course with the traces discovered by Penny
between Cape Spencer and Point Innes.

424

CONCLUSIONS.

Similar traces were seen toward Caswell's Tower
and Cape Riley, which gave additional proofs of sys-
tematic journeyings. They could be traced through
the coiuiniuuted limestone shingle in the direction of
Cape Spencer ; and at intervals further on were scraps
of paper, lucifer matches, and even the cinders of the
temporary fire. The sledge parties must have been
regularly organised, for their course had evidently been
the subject of a previous reconnqissance. I observed
their runner tracks not only in the limestone crust,
but upon some snow slopes further to the north. It
was startling to see the evidences of a travel nearly
six years old, preserved in intaglio on a material so
perishable. •

The snows of the Arctic regions, by alternations of
congelation and thaw, acquire sometimes an ice-like
durability; but these traces had been covered by the
after-snows of five winters. They pointed, like the
Sastrugi, or snow- waves of tho Siberians, to the march-
es of the lost company.

Mr. Griffin, who performed a journey of research
along this coast toward the north, found at intervals,
almost to Cape Bowden, traces of a passing party. A
corked bottle, quite empty, was among these, llcach-
ing a point beyond Cape Bowden, he discovered the
indentation or bay which now bears his name, and on
whose opposite shores the coast was again seen.

It is clear to my own mind that a systematic recon-
noissance was undertaken by Franklin of the upper
waters of the Wellington, and that it had for its object
an exploration in that direction as soon as the ice
would permit.

There were some features about this deserted home*
Biead inexpressibly touching. The frozen trough of an

old Wat

for the (

Jack m

though

as the H

t^e garde

describes

that Wen

plies a pi

makes it

ioiind a pi

dry, \^hh

thorn froii

measure t\

could be be

Arctic trav

^or them, l

hurry.

Tile facU
'^een so ab
cused twin
it Was iinpc
stood upon [
*^"t' such as)
«J^J'fe.ss it li[
hi the thii
^'O'l^ort, the
promontory
'■('""■•lijied oiij
"^'""^flfig.^^hl
also tliere.
these crews
t«r In the Yi\
'^t aji encain[

CONCLUSIONS.

425

old water channel had served as the wash-house stream
for the crews of the lost squadron. The tuhs, such as
Jack makes by sawing in half the beef barrels, al-
though no longer fed by the melted snows, remained
as the washers had left them five years ago. The lit-
tle garden, too: I did not see it; but Lieutenant Osborn
describes it as still showing the mosses and anemones
that werQ transplanted by its framers. A garden im-
plies a purpose either to remain or to return : he who
makes it is looking to the future. The same officer
found a pair of Cashmere gloves, carefully "laid out to
dry, with two small stones upon the palms to keep
them from blowing away." It would be wrong to
measure the value of these gloves by the price they
could be bought for in Bond Street or Broadway. The
Arctic traveler they belonged to intended to come back
for them, and did not probably forget them in his
hurry.

The facts I have mentioned, almost all of them, have
been so ably analyzed already, that I might be ex-
cused from venturing any deductions of my own. But
it was impossible to review the circumstances as > e
stood upon the ground without forming an '^pinion ;
and such as mine was, it is perhaps best that 1 should
express it here,

lu the first place, it is plain that Sir John Franklin's
consort, the Terror, wintered in 1845-G at or near the
promontory of Beechy ; that at least part of her crew
roMiained on board of her; and that some of the crew
ol'the fiag-ship, the Erebus, if not the sliip herself, were
also there. It is also phiin tiuit a part of one or both
these crews was occupied during a portion of the win-
ter in the various pursuits of an organized squadron,
at an encampment o' the isthmus I have described,

I: l|l»:| I

mm
i'lti

i'ii

4i>G

CONJECTURE.

a position which coinmniided a full view of Lancaster
Sound to the east of soutli, and of Wellington Chan-
nel extending north. It may be fairly inferred, also,
that the general health of the crews had not sufl'ered
severely, three only having died out of a hundred and
thirty odd ; and that in addition to the ordinary details
of duty, they were occupied in conducting and comput-
ing astronomical observations, making sledges, prepar-
ing their little anti-scorbutic garden patches, and ex-
ploring the eastern shore of the channel. Many facts
that we ourselves observed made it seem probable that
Franklin had not, in the lirst instance, been able to
prosecute his instructions for the Western search ; and
the examinations made so I'uUy since by Captain Aus-
tin's officers have proved that he never reached Cape
Walker, Banks' Land, Melville Island, Prince Regent's
Inlet, or any point of the sound considerably to the
west or southwest. The whole story of our combined
operations in and about the channel shows that it is
along its eastern margin that the water-leads occur
most frequently : natural causes of general Application
may be assigned for this, some of which will readily
suggest themselves to the physicist; but I have only
to do here with the recognized fact.

So far I think we proceed safely. The rest is con-
jectural. Let us suppose the season for renewed prog-
ress to be approaching; Franklin and his crews, with
their vessels, one or both, looking out anxiously from
their narrow isthmus for the first openings of the ice.
They come : a gale of wind has severed the pack, and
the drift begins. The first clear water that would meet
his eye would be close to the shore on which he had
his encampment. Would he wait till the continued
drift had made the navigation practicable in Lancas-

*er Soun
regions oi
out a Jo,

through 1

^'ho knov

ills deterij

h puhiiHh

think the (

already pj,

ourselves t

north in ^

that .sojne J

hej'ond. .JV.

influence foi

ing luivigatt

lead to close,

the ob.servat(

tablisliinont

understand h

^^^^<^\ yet no

shore ; Jiow n

h's blanket o

his lost key.

some explaiii

know wJiat 1

fendaiit on ju

'>oin a weary

of energetic a

CONJECTURE.

427

ter Sound, and then retrace his steps to try the upper
regions of Baffin's Bay, which he could not reach with-
out a long circuit ; or would he press to the north
through the open lead that lay before him ( Those
who know Franklin's character, his declared opinions,
his determined purpose, so well portrayed in the late-
ly publishetl letters of one of his officers, will hardly
think the question difficult to answer : his sledges had
already pioneered the way. AV^e, the searchers, were
ourselves tempted, by the insidious openings to the
north in Wellington Channel, to push on in the hope
that some lucky chance might point us to an outlet
beyond. »Might not the same temptation have hud its
influence for Sir John Franklin ? A careful and dar-
ing navigator, such as he was, would not wait for the
lead to close. I can iuiagine the dispatch with which
the observatory would be dismantled, the armorer's es-
tablishment broken up, and the camp vacated. 1 can
understand how the preserved meat cans, not very val-
uable, yet not worthless, might be left piled upon the
shore ; how '" «» man might leave his mittens, another
his blanket coat, and a third hurry over the search for
his lost key. And if 1 were required to conjecture
some explanation of the empty signal cairn, I do not
know what I could refer it to but the excitement at-
tendant on just such a sudden and unexpected release
ironi a weary imprisonment, and the instant prospect
of energetic and perilous adventure.

I I!

CHAPTER XXXII.
THE FIRST AMERICAN EXPEDITION.

(cONTHnJED.)

"August 28. Strange enough, during the night,
Captain Austin, of her majesty's search squadron, with
Lis flag-ship the Resolute, entered the same little in-
dentation in which five of us were moored before. His
steam-tender, the Pioneer, grounded off the point of
Beechy Island, and is now in sight, canted over by the
ice nearly to her beam ends.

" I called this morning on Sir John Ross, and had a
long talk with him. He said that, as far back as 1847,
anticipating the ' detention' of Sir John Franklin — I
use his own word — he had volunteered his services for
an expedition of retrieve, asking for the purpose four
small vessels, something like our own ; but no one list-
ened to him. A^oiunteering again in 1848, he was
told that his nephew's claim to the service had re-
ceived a recognition ; whereupon his own was with-
drawn. • I told Sir John,' said Ross, ' that my own ex-
perience in these seas proved that all these sounds and
inlets may, by the caprice or even the routine of sea-
sons, be closed so as to prevent any egress, and that a
missing or shut-off party must have some means of
falling back. It was thus I saved myself from the
abandoned Victory by a previously constructed house
for wintering, and a boat for temporary refuge.' All
this, he says, he pressed on Sir John Franklin before

he set out
the seat o
it/ he add
to be foJJo
the party,
sent out on
Sound in t
leased, cont
Barrow's St
journal, tho
disproved bj
and Jangnag
characteristi(
" I next vi
how their pe
ter contrastet
i had to sha:
when I saw h
pie with the
judge of it by
the British sq
power to cope
have nothing I
" The office!
cordiality of ra
tiemanly, wel|l
the history of f
of personal resi
»eet an old J
admirably artiJ
otints, at Mr. |
When we werJ
'caJ jungles of]
cycas, and baml

VISIT TO THE RESOLUTE.

429

he set out, and he thinks that IMelville Island is now
the seat of such a house-asylum. ' For, depend upon
it,' he added, ' Franklin will be expecting some of us
to be following on his traces. Now, may it be that
the party, whose winter quarters we have disco ve'red,
sent out only exploring detachments along Wellington
Sound in the spring, and then, when themselves re-
leased, continued on to the west, by Cape Hotham and
Barrow's Straits V I have given this extract from my
journal, though the theory it suggests has since been
disproved by Lieutenant M'Clintock, because the tone
and language of Sir John Ross may be regarded as
characteristic of this manly old seaman.

" I next visited the Resolute. I shall not here say
how their perfect organization and provision for win-
ter contrasted with those of our own little expedition.
I had to shake off a feeling almost of despondency
when I saw how much better fitted they were to grap.
pie with the grim enemy. Cold. Winter, if we may
judge of it by the clothing and warming appliances of
the British squadron, must be something beyond our
power to cope with ; for, in comparison with them, we
have nothing, absolutely nothing.

" The officers received me, for I was alone, with the
cordiality of recognized brotherhood. They are a gen-
tlemanly, well-educated set of men, t'^oroughly up to
the history of what has been done by others, and full
of personal resource. Among them I was rejoiced to
meet an old acquaintance, Lieutenant Brown, whose
admirably artistic sketches I had seen in Haghe's lith-
otints, at Mr. Grinnell's, before leaving New York.
When we were together last, it was among the trop.
leal jungles of Luzon, surrounded by the palm, the
cycas, and bamboo, in the glowing extreme of A'egeta.

I I

430

VISIT TO PENNir.

ble exuberance : here we are met once more, in the
stinted region of lichen and mosses. He was then a
junior, under Sir Edward Belcher : I — what I am yet.
The lights and shadows of a naval life are nowhe
betfer, and, alas ! nowhere worse displayed, than j
these remote accidental greetings.

*' Returning, I paid a visit to Penny's vessels, and
formed a very agreeable acquaintance with the med-
ical officer, Dr. U. Anstruther Goodsir, a brother of as.
sistiuit surgeon Goodsir of Franklin's flag-ship.

** In commemoration of the gathering of the search-
ing squadrons within the little cove of Beechy Point,
Commodore Austin has named it, very appropriately.
Union Bay. It is here the Mary is deposited as an
asylum to fall back upon in case of disaster.

*' The sun is traveling rapidly to the south, so that
our recently glaring midnight is now a twilight gloom.
The coloring over the hills at Point Innes this even-
ing was sombre, but in deep reds; and the sky had an
inhospitable coldness. It made me thoughtful to see
the long shadows stretching out upon the snow toward
the isthmus of the Graves.

" The wind is from the north and westward, and the
ice is so driven in around us as to grate and groan
against the sides of our little vessel. The masses,
though small, are very thick, and by the surging of
the sea have been rubbed as round as pebbles. They
make an abominable noise."

The remaining days of August were not character-
ized by any incident of note. We had the same al-
ternations of progress and retreat through the ice as
before, and without sensibly advancing toward the
western shore, which it was now our object to reach.
The next extracts from my journal are of the date of
September 3d.

"After
ice, we fii
and begun
the fieJ(J.
eastern sIk
coa.stsofC
seals— nine
cheeks — ar
" Ti,o ice
have jriet a\
is sometime
ground and
that they ris
them forty f
ieading — a j
a»d one tha
iund party tl
to tlie eccent
he a sleeples.'

De IJaven to
were fa^t wi<
now, tliough
and there/ore
niasses under
ward trend di
not borne do\^
^y in slow pro
*o say the lea;
up-piled block;
and to won del
niain-yard or
hummocks wt,
*>"* a littlo pn
«hied them off.

ICE DRIFTIMO.

" After floating down, warping, to avoid the loose
ice, we finally cast ofl" in comparatively open water,
and began heating toward Cape Spencer to get round
the field. Once there, we got along finely, sinking the
eastern shore by degrees, and nearing the undelineated
coasts of Cornwallis Island. White whales, narwhals,
seals — among them the Phoca leonina with his puffed
cheeks — and two bears, were seen.

*' The ice is tremendous, far ahead of any thing we
have met with. The thickness of the upraised tables
is sometimes fourteen feet ; and the hummocks are so
ground and distorted by the rude attrition of the floes,
that they rise up in cones like crushed sugar, some of
them forty feet high. But that the queer life we are
leading — a life of constant exposure and excitement,
and one that seems more like the * roughing it' of a
land party than the life of shipboard — has inured us
lo the eccentric fancies of the ice, our position would
be a sleepless one. « *

*^ September 4, 2 A.M. Was awakened by Captain
De Haven to look at the ice : an impressive sight. We
were fast with three anchors to the main floe ; and
now, though the wind was still from the northward,
and therefore in opposition to the drift, the floating
masses under the action of the tide came with a west-
ward trend directly past us. Fortunately, they were
not borne down upon the vessels ; but, as they went
by in slow procession to the west, our sensations were,
to say the least, sensations. It was very grand to see
up-piled blocks twenty feet and more above our heads,
and to wonder whether this fellow would strike our
main-yard or clear our stern. Some of the moving
hummocks were thirty feet high. They grazed us ;
but a little projection of the main field to windward
shied them off".

(

i
I

(

1 '

t 1 1;

432

ICE FORMINO.

"We were seated cosily around our little table in
the cabin, imagining our harbor of land ice perlectly
secure, when we were startled by a crash. We rush,
ed on deck just in time to see the solid floe to wind-
ward part in the middle, liberate itself from its attach-
ment to the shore, and bear down upon us with the
full energy of the storm. Our lee bristled ominously
half a ship's length from us, and to the east was the
main drift. The Rescue was first caught, nipped
astern, and lifted bodily out of water; fortunately, she
withstood the pressure, and rising till she snapped her
cable, launched into open water, crushing the young
ice before her. The Advance, by hard warping, drew
a little closer to the cove ; and, a moment after, the ice
drove by, j ust clearing our stern. Commodore Austin's
vessels were imprisoned in the moving fragments, and
carried helplessly past us. In a very little while they
were some four miles off."

The summer was now leaving us rapidly. The
thermometer had been at 21° and 23° for several nights,
and scarcely rose above 32° in the daytime. Our lit-
tle harbor at Barlow's Inlet was completely blocked
in by heavy masses ; the new ice gave plenty of sport
to the skaters ; but on shipboard it was uncomfortably
cold. As yet we had no fires Below; and, after draw-
ing around me the India-rubber curtains of my berth,
with my lamp burning inside, I frequently wrote my
journal in a freezing temperature. "This is not very
cold, no doubt" — I quote from an entry of the 8th —
"not very cold to your forty-five minus men of Arctic
winters ; but to us poor devils from the zone of the
liriodendrons and peaches, it is rather cool for the
September month of water-melons. My bear with his
arsenic swabs is a solid lump, and some birds that

RENDEZVOUS.

433

are waiting to be skinned are absolutely rigid with
frost."

In the afternoon of this day, the 8tli, we went to
work, all hands, officers included, to cut up the young
ice and tow it out into the current: once there, the drift
carried it rapidly to the south. We cleared away in
this manner a space of some forty yards square, and at
five the next morning were rewarded by being again
under weigh. We were past Cape Hotham by break-
fast-time on the 9th, and in the afternoon were beat-
ing to the west in Lancaster Sound.

" The sound presented a novel spectacle to us ; the
young ice glazing it over, so as to form a viscid sea of
sludge and tickly-benders, from the northern shore to
the pack, a distance of at least ten miles. This was
mingled with the drift floes from Wellington Chan-
nel ; and in them, steaming away manfully, were the
Resolute and Pioneer. The wind was dead ahead ;
yet, but for the new ice, there was a clear sea to the
west. What, then, was our mortification, first, to see
our pack-bound neighbors force themselves from their
prison and steam ahead dead in the wind's eye, and,
next, to be overhauled by Penny, and passed by both
his brigs. We are now the last of all the searchers,
except perhaps old Sir John, who is probably yet in
Union Bay, or at least east of the straits.

" The shores along which we are passing are of the
same configuration with the coast to the east of Beechy
Islapd ; the cliffs, however, are not so high, and their
bluff appearance is relieved occasionally by terraces
and shingle beach. The lithological characters of the
limestone appear to be the same.

" We are all together here, on a single track but lit-
tle wider than the Delaware or Hudson. There is no

(

434

RENDEZVOUS.

gettiu<r out of it, for tho slioro is on one side and the
fixed ice close on the other. All have the lead of us,
and we are working only to save a distance. Ornman-
ney must be near Melville by this time: pleasant,
very!

"Closing memoranda for the day: 1. I have the
rheumatism in my knees ; 2. I left a bag containing
my dross suit of uniforms, and, what is worse, my win-
ter suit of furs, and with them my double-barrel gun,
on board Austin's vessel. The gale of the 7th has
carried him and them out of sight.

" September 10. Unaccountable, most unaccounta-
ble, the caprices of this ice-locked region ! Here we
are again all together, even Ommanney with the rest.
The Resolute, Intrepid, Assistance, Pioneer, Lady
Franklin, Sophia, Advance, and Rescue ; Austin, Om-
manney, Penny, and De Haven, all anchored to the
' fast' ofl' Griffith's Island. Tho way to the west com-
pletely shut out."

"September 1 1, Wednesday. Snow, light and fleecy,
covering the decks, and carried by our clothes into our
little cabin. The moisture of the atmosphere con-
denses over the beams, and tricikles down over the
lockers and bedding. We are still alonjj side of the
fixed ice off Griffith's Island, and the British squad-
ron under Commodore Austin are clustered together
within three hundred yards of us. Penny, like an in-
defatigable old trump, as he is, is out, pushing, work-
ing, groping in the fog. The sludge ice, that had
driven in around us and almost congealed under our
stern, is now by the ebb of tho tide, or at least its
change, carried out again, although the wind still sets
toward the floe.

A OALB.

'* At three the Rescue parted her cable's hold, and
was carried out to sea, leaving two men, her boat, and
her anchors behind. We snapped our stern-cablo, lost
our aiu'iior, swung out, but fortunately lield by the
forward lino. All the English vessels were in similar
peril, the Pioneer beinjy at one time actually free ; and
Commodore Austin, who in the Resolute occupied the
head of tho lino, was in momentary fear of coming
down upon us. Altogether I have seldom seen a night
of proater trial. Tho wind roared over the snow Hoes,
and every thing bout the vessel froze into heavy ice
stalactites. Had the main floe parted, we had been
carried down with the liberated ice. Fortunately, ev-
ery thing held ; and here we are, safe and sound. The
Rescue was last seen beating to windward ugainst the
gale, probably seeking a lee under Griffith's Island.
This nioiiiiiig the snow continues in the form of a fine
cuttinjjf dril't, the water freezes wherever it touches,
and the thennometer has been at no time above 17".

"Srpteinbcr 12, 10 P.M. Just from deck. IIow very
dismal every thing seems ! The snow is driven like
sand upon a level reach, ' fted up in long curve lines,
and then obscuring the atmosphere with a white dark-
ness. The wind, too, is howling in a shrill minor,
singing across the hummock ridges. The eight ves-
sels are no longer here. The Rescue is driven out to
sea, and poor Penny is probably to the southward.
Five black masses, however, their cordnge defined by
rhne and snow, are seen with their snouts shoved into
the shore of ice : cables, chains, and anchors are cov-
ered feet below the drift, and the ships adhere mys-
terious?ly, their tackle completely invisible. Should
any of us break away, the gale would carry us into
streams of heavy floating ice ; aud our running rig.

! t

436

THE GALE.

ging is so coated with icicles as to make it impossible
to work it. The thernioiueter stands at 1 r.

"At this temperature the young ice lorms in spite
of the increasing movement of the waves, stretching
out from the floe in long, zigzag lines of smoothness
resembling watered silk. The loose ice seems to havo
a southerly and easterly drift ; and, from the increas-
ing distance of Griffith's Island, seen during occasional
intervals, we are evidently moving en masse to the
south.

"Now when you remember that we are in open
sea, attached to precarious ice, and surrounded by
floating streams ; that the coast is unknown, and the
ice forming inshore, so as to make harbors, if we knew
of them, inaccessible, you may suppose that our posi-
tion is far from pleasant. One harbor was discovered
by a lieutenant of the Assistance some days ago, and
named Assistance Harbor, but that is out of the ques-
tion ; the wind is not only a gale, but ahead. Had
we the quarters of Capua before us, we should be un-
able to reach them. It is a windward shore.

"11 P.M. Captain De Haven reports ice forming
fast: extra anchors are out; thermometer fS". The
British squadron, under Austin, have fires in full blast;
we are without them still.

"12M. In bed, reading or trying to read. The gale
has increased ; the Hoes are in upon us I'rom the east-
ward ; and it is evident that we are all of us driftin|J[
bodily, God knows where, for we have no means of
taking observations.

" September 13, 10 A.M. Found, on awaking, that
at about three this morning the squadron commenced
getting under weigh. The rime-coated rigging was
cleared ; the hawsers thashed ; the ice-clogged boats

FOR GRIFFITH S ISLAND.

437

hauled in ; the steamers steamed, and off went the
rest of us as we might. This step was not taken a
whit too soon, if it be ordained that we are yet in
time ; for the stream-ice covers the entire horizon, anil
the large floe or main which we have deserted is bare-
ly separated from the drifting masses. The Rescue is
now the object of our search. Could she be found,
the captain has determined to turn his steps home-
ward.

"11 20 A.M. We are working, I. e., beating our way
in the narrow leads intervening irregularly between
the main ice and the drift. We have gained at least
two miles to windward of Austin's squadron, who are
unable, in spite of steamers, to move along these dan-
gerous passages like ourselves. Our object is to reach
Griffith's Ishind, from which we have drifted some fif-
teen miles with the main ice, and then look out for
our lost consort.

"The lowest temperature last night was +5°, but
the wind makes it colder to sensation. We are grind-
ing through newly-formed ico three inches thick ; the
perfect consolidation being prevented by its motion and
the wind. Even in the little fireless cabin in which
I now write, water and coffee are freezing, and the
morcury stands at 29°.

"The navigation is certainly exciting.' I have nev-
er seen a description in my Arctic readings of any
thing like this. We are literally running for our lives,
surrounded by the imminent hazards of sudden con-
solidation in an open sea. All minor perils, nips,
bumps, and sunken bergs are discarded ; we are stag-
goring along under all sail, forcing our way wliilo we
can. One thump, received since I commenced writ-
ing, jerked the time-keeper from our binnacle down

438

ORDER FOR RETURN.

the cabin hatch, and, but for our strong bows, seven
and a half solid feet, would have stove us in. Anotli-
er time, we cleared a tongue of the main pack by rid-
ing it down at eight knots. Commodore Austin seems
caught by the closing floes. This is really sharp work.

"4 P.M. We continued beating toward Grillith's Is-
land, till, by doubling a tongue of ice, we were able to
force our way. The English seemed to watch our
movements, and almost to follow in our wake, till we
came to a comp.aratively open space, about the area of
Washington Square, where we stood off and on, the
ice beinp" too close upon the eastern end of Griffith's
Island to permit us to pass. Our companions in tiiis
little vacancy were Captain Ommanney's Assistance ;
Osborne's steam tender the Pioneer, and Kater's steam-
er the Intrepid. Commodore Austin's vessel was to
the southward, entangled in the moving ice, but mo-
mentarily n caring the open leads.

While thus boxing about on one of our tacks, we
neared the north edge of our little opening, and were
hailed by the Assistance with the glad intelligence of the
Rescue close under tlie island. Our captain, who was
at his usual post, conning the ship from the foretop-
sail yard, made her out at the same time, and immedi-
ately determined upon boring the intervening ice.
This was done successfully, the brig bearing the hiird
knocks nobly. Strange to »ay, the English vessels,
now joined by Austin, followed in our wake — a com-
pliment, certainly, to De Haven's ice-mastershij).

We were no sooner through, than signal was made
to the Rescue to * cast off,' and our ensign Avas run up
from the peak : the captain had determined upon at-
tempting a return to the United States.

In a little while we had the Rescue in tow, and were

headin
it afte;

THE EESCDE NIPPED.

439

heading to the east. She had had a fearful night of
it after leaving us. She beat about, short-handed,
clogged with ice, and with the thermometer at 8°.
The snow fell heavily, and the rigging was a solid, al-
most unmanageable lump. Steering, or rather beating,
she made, on the evening of the 12th, the southern
edge of Griffith's Island, and by good luck and excel-
lent management succeeded in holding to the land
hummocks. She had split her rudder post so as to
m.ike her unworhahle, and now we have her in tow.
An anchor with its fluke snapped — her best bower ;
and her little boat, stove in by the ice, was cut adrift.

We were now homeward bound, but a saddened
homeward bound for all of us. The vessels of our
gallant brethren soon lost themselves in the mist, and
we steered our course with a fresh breeze for Cape
Ilotham.

The night gave us now three hours of complete
darkness. It was danger to run on, yet equally dan-
ger to pause. Grim winter was following close upon
our heols ; and even the captain, sanguine and fear-
less in emergency as he always proved himself, as he
saw the tenacious fields of sludge and pancake thick-
enino, around us, bet^an to feel anxious. Mine was a
jumble of sensations. I had been desirous to the last
(loun-ee that we might remain on the field of search,
and could hardly be dissatisfied at what promised to
realize my wish. Yet I had hoped that our wintering
Would be near our English friends, that in case of
ti -ihle or disease Ave might mutually sustain each
other. But the interval of fiftv miles between us, in
tlieso inhospitable deserts, was as complete a separa-
tion as an entire <>ontinent ; and I confess that I look-
ed at the dark shadows closing around Barlow's Inlet^

; !

440

FROZEN IN.

the prison from which Ave cut ourselves on the seventh,
just six days before, with feelings as sombre as the
landscape itself

The sound of our vessel crunchhig her way throuf>-h
the new ice is not easy to be described. It was not
like the grinding of the old formed ice, nor wius it
the slushy scraping of sludge. We may all of us re-
member, in the skating frolics of early days, the pecu-
liar reverberating outcry of a ])ebble, as we tossed it
from us along the edges of an old mill-dam, and heard
it dying away in echoes almost musical. Imagine
such a. tone as this, combined with the whir of rapid
motion, and the rasping noise of close-grained suj^ar.
I was listening to the sound in my little den, after a
.sorrowful day, close upon zero, trying to warm up my
stiflened limbs. Presently it grew less, then increased,
then stopped, then went on again, bvit jerking and ir-
regular; and then it waned, and waned, and waned
away to silence.

Down came the captain : " Doctor, the ice has caught
us : we are frozen up." On went my furs at once. As
I readied the deck, the Avind Avas there blowing stiff,
and the sails Avere fdled and pufling with it. It was
not yet dark enougli to hide the smooth surface of ioe
that fdled up the horizon, holding tlie American expe-
dition in search of Sir John Franklin imbedded in its
centre. There Ave Avere, literally frozen tight in the
mid-channel of Wellington's Straits.

The region, Avhich ten days before Avas teeming with
animal life, Avas now ahnost deserted. We saAV but
one narAvhal and a fcAV seal. Tlie Ivory gull too, a
solitary traveler, occasionally flitted by us; but the
season had evidently wrouglit its change.

Several flocks uf the snow bunting had passed over

DRIFTING.

441

u$ while we were attached to the main ice off Griffith's
Island, and a single raven was seen from the Rescue
at lier holding grounds. The Brent geese, however,
the dovekies, the divers, indeed all the anat'dte, the
white whales, the walrus, the hearded and m hirsute
seal, the Avhito hear, whatever gave us life and inci-
dent, had vanished.

For some days after this, an ohscurity of fog and
snow made it imi^ossihle to see more than a few hun-
dred yards from the ship. The little area remained
fust hound, tlie ice bearing us readily, though a very
slight motion against the sides of the vessel seemed
to show that it was not perfectly attached to the shores.
But as I stood on deck in the afternoon of the 16th,
watching the coast to the east of us, as the clouds
cleared away for the first time, it struck me that its
configuration was unknown to me. By-and by, Cape
Beechy, the isthmus of the Graves, loomed up ; and
we then found that we were a little to the north of
Cape Bowden.

The next two days this northward drift continued
without remission. The wind blew strong from the
southward and eastward, sometimes approaching to a
gale ; but the ice-pack around us retained its tenacity,
and incrcascil rapidly in thickness.

Yet every now and then we could see that at some
short distance it was broken by small pools of water,
which would ho effaced again, soon after they were
formed, by an external pressure. At these times our
vessels underwent a nipi»ing on a small scale. The
smoother ice-field that luld us would be driven in, pil-
ng itself in miniature hummocks about us, sometimes
higher than our decks, and much too near them to
leave us a sense of security against their further ad-

liJ

■')\

K ■

442

NIPPINGS.

vance. The noises, too, of whining puppies and swarm-
ing bees made part of these demonstrations, much as
when the heavier masses were at work, but shriller
perhaps, and more clamorous.

I was ai'oused at midnight of the ICth by one of
these onsets of the enemy, crunching and creaking
against the ship's sides till the masses ground them-
selves to powder. Our vessel was trembling like an
ague-fit under the pressure ; and when s) pinched that
she could not vibrate any longer between the driving
and the stationary fields, making a quick, liberating
jump above them that rattled the movables fore and
aft As it wore on toward morning, the ice, now ten
inches thick, kept crowding upon us with increased
energy ; and the whole of the 17th was passed in a
succession of conflicts with it.

The 18th began with a nipping that promised more
of danger. The banks of ice rose one above another
till they reached the line of our bulwarks. This, too,
continued through the dav, sometimes lulliu"- for a
while into comparative repose, but recurring after a
few minutes of partial intermission. While I was
watching this angry contest of the ice-tables, as they
clashed together in the darkness of early dawn, I saw
for the first time the luminous appearance, which has
been described by voyagers as attending the collision
of bergs. It was very marked ; as decided a phos-
phorescence as that of the fire-fly, or the fox-fire of the
Virginia meadows.

Still, amid all the tumult, our drift was toward the
north. From the bearings of the coast, badly obtained
through the fogs, it was quite evident that we had
passed beyond any thing recorded on the charts. Cape
Bowden, Parry's furthest headland, was at least twen-

DRIFT TO TUE NORTHWARD.

443

ty-five miles south of us; and our old landmarks, Cape
Hotliam and Beecliy, had entirely disappeared. Even
the high blufis of Barlow's Inlet had gone. I hardly
know why it was so, but this inlet had some how or
other been for me an object of special aversion : the
naked desolation of its frost-bitten limestone, the cav-
ernous recess of its cliffs, the cheerlessness of its dark
shadows, had connected it, from the first day I saw it,
with some dimly-remembered feeling of pain. But
how glad we should all of us have been, as we floated
along in hopeless isolation, to find a way open to its
grim but protecting barriers.

" Sejof ember 20. I have been keeping the first watch,
and anxiously observing the ice ; for I am no sailor,
and in emergency can only wake my comrades. The
darkness is complete.

" We are now, poor devils ! drifting northward again.
Creatures of habit, those who were anxious have for-
gotten anxiety : glued fast here in a moving mass, we
eat, and drink, and sleep, unmindful of the morrow.
It is almost beyond a doubt that, if we find our way
through the contingencies of this Arctic autumn, we
must spend our winter in open sea. Many miles to
the south, Captain Back passed a memorable term of
vigil and exposure. Here, however, I do not antici-
pate such encounters with drifting floes as are spoken
of in Hudson's Bay. The centre of greatest cold is
too near us and the communication with open sea too
distant.

"I was in the act of writing the above, when a stari-
ling sensation, resembling the spring of a well-di-awn
bow, announced a fresh movement. Running on deck,
I found it blowing a furious gale, and the ice again in
motion. I use the word motion inaccurately. The

444

IN WELLINGTON CHANNEL.

field, of which we are a part, is always in motion;
that is, drifting with wind or current. It is only when
other ice boars down a[)on our own, or our own ice is
borne in against other floes, that pressure and resist-
ance make us conscious of motion.

'* The ice was again in motion. The great expanse
of recently-formed solidity, already bristling with hum-
mocks, had up to this moment resisted the enormous
incidence of a heavy gale. Suddenly, however, the
pressure increasing beyond its strength, it yielded.
The twang of a bow-string is the only thing I can
compare it to. In a single instant the brond field was
rent asunder, cracked in every conceivaljie direction,
tables ground against tables, and masses piled over
masses. The sea seemed to be churning ice.

" By the time I had yoked my neck in its scrape,
and got up upon deck, the ice had piled up a couple
of feet above our bulwarks. In less than another min-
ute it had toppled over again, and we were floating
hel^ilessly in a confused mass of broken fragments.
Fortunately the Rescue remained fixed ; our haw.ser
was fast to her stern, and by it we were brought side
by side again. Nigiit passed anxiously; i. e., slept in
my clothes, and dreamed of being presented to Queen
Victoria.

I am reluctant to burden my pages with tlie wild,
-but scarcely varied incidents of our continued drift
through Wellington Channel. We were yet to be fiir
miliarized with the strife of the ice-tables, now broken
up into tumbling masses, and piling themselves in
angry confusion against our sides — now fixed in cha-
otic disarray by the fields of new ice that imbedded
them in a single night — again, perhaps, opening in
treacherous pools, only to close round us with a force

FIGHTING THE ENEMY.

445

that threatened to grind our brigs to powder. I shall
have occasion enough to speak of these things here-
after. I give now a few extracts from my journal;
some of which may perhaps have interest of a differ-
ent character, though they cannot escape the sadden-
mg monotony of the scenes that were about us.

I begin with a partial break-up that occurred on the
23d.

^^ Septimher 2^. How shall I describe to you this
pressure, its fearfulness and sublimity ! Nothing that
I have seen or read of approaches it. The voices of
the ice and the heavy swash of the overturned hum-
mock-tables are at this moment dinning in my ears.
'AH hands' are on deck figliting our grim enemy.

" Fourteen inches of solid ice thickness, with some
half dozen of snow, are, with the slow miiform advance
of a mighty propelHng power, driving in upon our ves-
sel. As they strike her, the semi-plastic mass is im-
pressed with a mould of her side, and then, urged on
by the force behind, slides upward, and rises in groat
vertical tables. When these attain their utmost height,
still pressed on by others, they topple over, and form
a great embankment of fallen tables. At the same
time others take a downward direction, and when
pushed on, as in the other case, form a similar pile un-
derneath. The side on which one or the other of these
actions takes place for the time, varies with the direc-
tion of the force, the strength of the opposite or resist-
ing side, the inclination of the vessel, and tlie weight
of the superincumbent mounds; and as these condi-
tions follow each other in varying succession, the ves-
sel becomes perfectly imbedded after a little Avhile in
crumbling and fractured ice.

"Perhaps no vessel has ever been in this position

pif

1 1

446

TRAPPING FOXES.

but our own. With matured ice, nothing of iron or
wood could resist such pressure. As for the British
vessels, their size would make it next to impossible
for them to stand. Back's * Winter' is the only thing
I have road of that reminds me of our present predica-
ment. No vessel has ever been caught by winter in
these waters.

" We are lifted bodily eighteen inches out of water.
The hummocks are reared up around the ship, so as
to rise in some cases a couple of feet above our bul-
warks — five feet above our deck. They are very often
ten and twelve feet high. All hands are out, laboring
with picks and crowbars to overturn the fragments
that threaten to overwhelm us. Add to this darkness,
snow, cold, and the absolute destitution of surrounding
shores.

" September 2G. The hummocks around us still re-
main witliout apparent motion, heaped up like snow-
covered barriers of street rioters. We are wedged in
a huge mass of tables, completely out of water, cra-
dled by ice. I wish it would give us an even keel.
We are eighteen inches higher on one quarter than
the other.

" Afar off, skipping from hummock to hummock, I
saw a black fox. Poor desolate devil! what did he,
so far from his recorded home, seven miles from even
the naked snow-hills of this dreary wilderness ? In
the ni^ht-time I heard him bark. They set a trap for
him ; but I secretly placed a bigger bait outside, with-
out a snare-loop or trigger. In the morning it was
gone, and the dead-fall had fallen upon no fox. How
the poor, hungry thing must have enjoyed his supper!

Our position, at the end of September, thanks to
the rapidly increasing cold, gave promise of a certain

FIXED FOR THE WINTER.

447

degree of security and rest. The Advance had been
driven, by the superior momentum of the lloos that
pressed us on one side, some two hundred and fifty
feet into the mass of less resisting floes on the other;
the Rescue meanwhile remaining stationary ; and the
two vessels were fixed for a time on two adjacent sides
of a rectangle, and close to each other.

We felt that we were fixed for the winter. Wo ar-
ranged our rude embankments of ice and snow around
us, began to deposit our stores within them, and got
out our felt covering that was to serve as our winter
roof. The temperature was severe, ranging from 1° 5,
and 4° to -{- 10° : but the men worked with the energy
and hope too, of pioneer settlers, when building up
their first home in our Western forests.

" October 1, Tuesday. To-day the work of breaking
hold commenced. The coal immediately under the
main hatch was passed up in buckets, and some five
tons piled upon the ice. The quarter-boats were hauled
about twenty pp.ces from our port-bow, and the sails
covered and stacked ; in short, all hands were at work
preparing for the winter. Little had we calculated
the caprices of Arctic ice.

' About ten o'clock A. M. a large crack opened nearly
east and west, running as far as the eye could see,
sometimes crossing the ice-pools, and sometimes break-
ing along the hummock ridges. The sun and moon
will be in conjunction on the 3d; we had notice, there-
fore, that the spring tides are in action.

" Captain Griffin had been dispatched with Mr. Lov-
ell before this, to establish on the shore the site for a
depot of provisions : at one o'clock a signal was made
to recall them. At two P.M., seeing a seal, I ran out
upon the ice j but losing him, was tempted to continue

448

Ice p k n I n o .

•

on about a mile to the eastward. The Avind, which
had been from the westward all the nxornin^, now
ishifted to the southward, and the ice-table.s bej^an to
be again in motion. The humming ofhres and up-
heaving hunnnocks, together with exploding cracks,
warned me back to the vessel.

"At 3.20, while we were at dinner, conunenting
with some anxiety upon the condition of things with-
out, that immi.st-akable monitor, the ' yountj jnipp'ns*
began. Runing on deck, we found a large fissure,
nearly due north and south, in line with tlif Advance.
A few minutes after, the entire floe on our starboard side
was moving, and the ice breaking up in every direction.

"The emergency was startling enough. All hands
tnrned to, officers included. The poor land party, re-
turning at this moment, tired and dinnerless, went to
work with the rest. Vreeland and myself worked like
horses. Before dark, every thing was on board except
the coal ; and of this, such weie the lui wearied ellbrts
of our crew, that we lost b'..t '. ton or two.

" October 3. I write at midnight. Leaving the deck,
where 1 have been tramping the cold out ol my joints,
I come below to our little cabin. As I open the hatch,
every thing seems bathed in dirty milk. A cloud of
vapor gushes out at every chink, and, as tlie cold air
travels down, it is seen condensing deeper and deeper.
The thermometer above is at 7° below zero.

" The brig and the ice around her are covered by a
strange black obscurity — not a mist, nor a haze, but a
peculiar, w.aving, palpable, unnjitural darkness: it is
the frost-smoke of Arctic winters. Its range is very
low. Climbing to the yard-arm, some thirty feet above
the deck, I looked o\-er a great horizon of black smoke,
and above me saw the blue heavens without a blemish.

« Octo

pools ; t

siiorerf lo(

the pure

inkiiiess, .

wash, pa.H

ice. The

f*hip, a lor

where the

i^ere, nftt

( i'o.s.sing, I

mocks, wai

"A.S I V

down in wi

turpentine I

J» crapy mi

"To .shoe
tactics of „i
'« iio fun, I
tionle.s.s juk
musket in \|
zero. But,'
overgrown
missed. Atl
came again, f
nance betw
e.vpre.ssion
g"iin-murder(|
one. God i

''Octohfr.
'"?, and th
c'iink and en
the mercurj
What if the

fillOOTINO SEAL.

449

" October 4. The open pools cnn no longer bo called
pools; they nre great rivers, whose hiiiiuiiock-lined
shores louk dimly through the ha/x. Contrasted with
tiie pure white snow, their waters are black even to
inkiness, and the silent tides, undisturbed by rii)ple or
Avash, pass beneath a pasty f hn of constuntly Ibiining
ice. Tiie thermometer is at 10'^. Away I'rom the
8hi[), a long way, I walked over the older ice to a spot
where the open river was as wide as the Delaware.
Here, after some crevice-jumping and tlckly-hender
crossing, 1 set myself behind a little rampart of liura-
niocks, watching for seals.

" As I watched, the smoke, the frost-smoke, came
down in wreaths, like the lambent tongues of burning
turpentine seen without a blaze. I was soon enveloped
in crapy mist.

" To shoot seal, one must practice the p]squimaux
tactics of much patience and complete inunobility. It
is no fun, 1 assure you after full experience, to sit mo-
tionless and noiseless as a statue, with a cold iron
musket in your hands, and the thermometer 10° below
zero. But. by-and-by I was rewarded by seeing some
overgrown Greenland calves come within shot. I
missed. After another hour of cold expectation, they
came again. Very strange are tiiese seal. A counte-
nance between the dog and the mild African ape — an
expression so like that of humanity, that it makes
pun-murderers hesitate. At last, at long shot, I hit
one. God forgive me !

" Odohtr G, Sunday. A dismal day; the wind howl-
ing, and the snow, fine as flour, drifting into every
chink and cranny. The cold quite a nuisance, although
the mercury is up again to -j-G°. It is blowing a gale,
What if the floe^ in which we are providentially glued.

lia

450

AGAIN DRIFTING,

should take it into its liead to break off, and carry us
on a cruise before the wind !

" 12 Midnight. They report us adrift. Wind a gale
from the northward and westward. An odd cruise
this! The American expedition fast in a lump of ice
about as big as Washington Square, and driving, like
the shanty on a raft, before a howling gale.

" Ociobtr 8. To-day seemed like a wave of the liand-
kerchief from our receding summer. Winter is in every
thing. Yet the skies came back to us with warm ochres
and pinks, and the sun, albeit from a lowly altitude,
shone out in full brightness. It was a mockery of
warmth, however, scarcely worthy the unpretending
sincerity of the great planet ; for the mercury, exposed
to the full radiiince of his deceitful glare, rose but two
degrees from -f-T'' to 9°. In spite of this, the day was
beautiful to remoml)or, as a type of the sort of thing
which Ave once shared with the world from which we
are shut out; a parting picture, to think about during
the long night. These dark days, or rather the dark
day, will soon be on us. The noon shadows of our
long masts almost lose themselves in the distance.

"A little white fox was caught alive in a trap this
morning. He was an jistute-visaged little scamp ; and
although the chrins of captivity, made of spnn-j'arn
and loatiier, set hardly upon him, he could spare
abundant leisure for bear bones and snow. II3 would
drink no water. Ilis cry resemi)led the inter-parox-
ysmal yell of a very small boy un Icrgoing spanking.
The note came with an impulsive vehemence, tint
expressed not only fear and pain, but a very tolerable
spice of anger and ill-temper.

" He was soon reconciled, however. TUc very next
day he was tan;^ enough to feed from the hand, and

TAMING A FOX.

451

had lost all that startled wilJiiess of look which is sup-
posed to characterize his tribe. He was e\idently un-
used to man, and without the educated instinct of
flight. Twice, Avhen suflered to escape from the ves-
sel, he was caught iu our traps the same night. In-
deed, the white foxes of this region — we caught more
than thirty of them — seemed to look at us Avith more
curiosity than fear. They would come directly to the
ship's side ; and, though startled at first when we fired
at tiiem, soon came back. They even suHercd us to
approach them almost '/ithin reach of the hand, ran
around us, as we gave the halloo, in a narrow circle,
but stopped as soon as we Avere still, and stared us in-
quisitively in the face. One little fellow, when we let
him loose on the ice after keeping liim prisoner for a
day or two. scampered back again incontinently to his
cubby-hole on the deck. There may be matter of re-
flection for the naturalist in this. Has tliis animal no
natural enemy but fimine and coM ? The foxes ceased
to visit us soon after this, owing probably to the un-
certain ice between us and the shore : tliev are shrewd
ice-mnsters.

We remained during the rest of this month ice-cra-
dled, and drifting id)Out near the outlet oC Wcdlington
Channel. Our thoughts turned irresistibly to the
broad expanse of Lancaster vSound, which lay wild and
ruji-iicd before us, and to tlie increasing' probii])ility
iliat it was to be our field of trial during the long dark
winter— ])erhaps our final home.

With this feeling came an increasing desire to com-
iniiui'i'.te with our late associates of Union Bay. I
IuhI volun;eere(l some weeks before to make thistu. >
t'l'st', and had busied myself with arrangements to i-ar-
!■)' it out The Rescue's India-rubber boat was to car-

!' 11

462

A PROPOSED EXCURSION.

ry the party through the leads, and, once at the sliore,
three men were to press on -with a light teat and a
few days' provisions. The project, iini)r;icti(.'iil)l<: per-
haps from the first, Avas foiled for a time, by a vexa-
tious incident. I had made my tent of lliiii cotton
cloth, so that it weighed, when completed, but four-
teen pounds, soaking it thoroughly in a oompo.sition
of caoutchouc, ether, and linseed oil, the last in quan-
tity. After it was finished and nearly dried, I wrap-
ped it up in a dry covering of coarse muslin, and placed
it for the night in a locked closet, at some distance
from the cook's gallej^ where the temperature was be-
tween 80° and 9U°. In the morning it was destroyed.
The wrapper was there, retaining its form, and not
discolored ; but the outer folds of the tent were smok-
ing; and, as I unrolled it, fold after fold sliuwcd more
and more marks of combustion, till at the centre it
was absolutely charred. There was neither Ihinie nor
spark.

The moon made its appearance on the I'lth of Oc-
tober. At first it was like a bonfire, warming up the
ice with a red glare ; but afterward, on tlie 15th, when
it rose to the height of 4^^, it silvered the hummocks
and frozen leads, and gave a softened lustre to the
snow, thrfMigh which our two little brigs stood out in
black and solitarv contrast. The stars s(><'inod to liave
lost their twinkle, and to shine with concentrated
brightness as if through gimlet-holes in the col)alt can-
opy. 1'he frost-smoke scarcely left the Held of view.
It generally hung hi wreaths around the hori/on ; hut
it sometimes took eccentric forms; and .juc niilt. I
remember, it piled itself into a column a' the wes<, a:; i
Aquila flamed above it like a tall beacon-light.

The n

with the

Beeohy L

'^S mass(

' f' us as

' others

and the (

sound, our

h'^art of th

ol' a contin

" Novenii

cradle, safej

'"arg'ia is g

"^""G^t h ah-ei

fi"ffin'.^ Bay

ours ha^ hr

"lOhths ;-;;,,i

froze r .p >?--.

Soun. ;■-,> ,.

'lel, one .j.

'>n'^)v again \

^'m\s\y varieci

"On deck]

'laze, land ! .

we felt like

the vertical A

the .. ',r,, ji

^"Pe i--., KetfJ

"There is (f

expedition i.s

'^^(•rastosearl
^'^'^^^ is an uglj

DRIFTING.

453

The month of November found us osciUatinr' still
with the winds and currents in the neighborhood of
Beechy Island. Helpless as we were among the float-
ng masses, we began to look upon the floe that car-
'<d us as a protecting barrier against the approaches
f*, . i others less friendly ; and as the month advanced,
and the chances increased of our passing into the
sound, our apprehensions of being frozen up in .the
heart of the ice-pack gave place to the opposite fear
of a continuous drift.

^^ November 29. The doubt is gone. Our floe, ice-
cradle, safeguard, has been thrown round. Its eastern
margin is grinding its way to the northward, and the
west is already pointing to the south. Our bow is to
Bi»ffin\s Bay, and we are traveling toward it. So far,
ours has been a mysterious journeying. For two
months ; .. \ raore, not a sail has fluttered from our
frozer p > - yet we have passed from Lancaster
Souuv info ' ■ e highest latitude of Wellington Chan-
nel, one .i« -er attained before, and have been borne
back again past our point of starting, along a capri.
ciously varied line of drift.

"On deck; looming up in the very midst of the
haze, land ! so high and close on our port beam, that
we feU like men under a precipice. We could see
the vertical crevices in the limestone, the recesses con-
trast 1, - in bhick shadow. What land is this? Is it
the ' rri line of Cape Riley, or have we reached
Cape i;., Kotts if

"There is one thing tolerably certain : the Grinnell
expedition is quite as likely to be searched for here-
after as to search. Poor Sir John Franklin ! this night-
ilril't is an ugly omen. *

454

THE AURORA.

iv.

" Do yon remember, in the Spanish coasting craft,
down abot ^ <r^elona and the Balearics, the queer
little picture^ lint Nicholas we used to see pasted
up over the loci^.i" — a sort of mythic effigy, which the
owner looked upon pretty much as some of our old
commodores do the barometer, a mysterious some-
thing, which he sneers at in fair weather, but is sure,
in tjie strong faith of ignorance, to appeal to in foul !
Well, very much such a Saint Anthony have we down
in the cabin here, staring us always in the face. Not
a vermilion-daubed puerility, with a glory in Du^^ch
leaf stretching from ear to ear ; but a good, genuine,
hearty representative of English flesh and blood, a
mouth that speaks of strong energies as well as a
kindly heart, and an eye — the other one is spoiled in
the lithography — that looks stern will. Many a time
in the night have I discoursed with him, as he looked
out on me from his gutta percha frame — * Sir John
Franklin ; presented by his wife ;' and sometimes 1
have imagined how and where I was yet to shake the
glorious old voyager by the hand. I see him now
while I am writing ; his face is darkened by the lamp-
smcke that serves us for daylight and air, and he seems
almost disheartened. So far as help and hope of it
are afloat in this little vessel. Sir John, well you may
be!

"It is Sunday: we have had religious service as
usual, and after it that relic of effete absurdity, the
reading of the * Rules and Regulations,'

"We had the auiura about 7 P.M. The thermom-
eter at —33*^ and falling ; barometer, Aneroid, 30°. ''^ ■

'^December 2. Drifting down the sound. Every
thing getting ready for the chance of a hurried good-
by to our vessels. Pork, and sugar, and bread put up

in smal]

knapsacJ

aminunit

this thera

while We

"This J

quires a n

dered that

"lany lifctj,

derstand U

^'ith the ]

hashed bun(

^ny stocking

"4 P.M.

to say we i

crack ahead

*^ie grinding

^as cut dow

A BREAK-UP.

455

in small bags to fling on the ice. Every man his
knapsack and change of clothing. Arms, bear-knives,
ammunition out on deck, and sledges loaded. Yet
this thermometer, at —30°, tells us to stick to the ship
while we can.

" This packing up of one's carpet-bag in a hurry re-
quires a mighty discreet memory. I have often won-
dered that seamen in pushing off from a wreck left so
many little wants unprovided for ; but I think I un-
derstand it now. After bestowing away my boots,
with the rest of a walking wardrobe, in a snugly-
lashed bundle, I discovered by accident that I had left
my stockings behind. .

**4 P.M. Brooks comes down while we are dining
to say we are driving east like a race-horse, and a
crack ahead : * All hands on deck !' We had heard
the grindings last night, and our floe in the morning
was cut down to a diameter of three hundred yards:
we had little to spare of it. But the new chasm is
there, already flfteen feet wide, and about twenty-five
paces from our bows, stretching across at right angles
with the old cleft of October the 2d.

" Our floe, released from its more bulky portion, seems
to be making rapidly toward the shore. This, how-
ever, may be owing to the separated mass having
an opposite motion, for the darkness is intense. Our
largest snow-house is carried away ; the disconsolate
little cupola, with its flag of red bunting, should it sur-
vive the winter, may puzzle conjectures for our En-
glish brethren.

"Mr. Griffin and myself walked through the gloom
to the seat of hummock action abeam of the Rescue.

The next four days were full of excitement and
anxiety. One crack after another passed across our

456

CRISIS.

floe, still reducing its dimensions, and at one time
bringing down our vessel again to an even keel. An
hour afterward, the chasms would close around us with
a sound like escaping steam. Again they v/ould open
under some mysterious influence ; a field of ice from
two to lour inches thick would cover them ; and then,
without an apparent change of causes, the separated
sides would come together with an explosion like a
mortar, craunching the newly-formed field, and driving
it headlong in fragments for fifty feet upon the floe till
it piled against our bulwarks. Every thing betokened
a crisis. Sledges, boats, packages of all sorts, were dis-
posed in order: contingencies were met as they ap-
proached by new delegations of duty ; every man was
at work, officer and seaman alike ; for necessity, when
it spares no one, is essentially democratic, even on ship-
board. The Rescue, crippled and thrown away from
us to the further side of a chasm, was deserted, and
her company consolidated with ours. Our own brig
groaned and quivered under the pressure against her
sides. I give my diary for December 7.

^^ December 7, Saturday. The danger which sur-
rounds us is so immediate, that in the bustle of prep-
aration for emergency I could not spend a moment
upon my journal. Now the little knapsack is made
up again, and the blanket sewed and strapped. The
little home Bible at hand, and the ice-clothes ready
for a j ump.

.' ir>

D«c. I.

l>«c.4.

" The abov

positions and

" The ice, a

io clo.se at 11

^vas driven to

At 1 P.M. tliis

I'lP.M. lla

quiescent whe

menced with a

irresistible.

% journal c
noting, as it ill.
ed succession o.
the floe, and as]
bration, it seem
on her beam-e
called out to "
It occurred to oil
been put out, ai
would be burne(,
ing himself bac
ftjund two perse
J>een relieved fr.
quietly seated i
quietly waiting
nie," he said ; "
the ice without

'lUl

CRISIS.

457

Dec 6.

Dec.

" The above is a rougli idea of our last three days'
positions and changes.

" The ice, as I have sketched it, December 7, began
to close at 11 A.M., and, at the same time, the brig
was driA'en toward the open crack of December 4 (f).
At 1 P.M. this closed on us w^ith fearful nipping.

" 1 P.]\I. Ran on deck. The ice was comparatively
quiescent when I attempted to write ; but it recom-
menced with a steady pressure, which must soon f)rove
irresistible.

My journal does not tell the story ; but it is worth
noting, as it illustrates the sedative effect of a protract-
ed succession of hazards. Our brig had just mounted
the floe, and as we stood on the ice watching her vi-
bration, it seemed so certain that she must come over
on her beam-ends, that our old boatswain, Brooks,
called out to "stand from under." At this moment
it occurred to one of the officers that the fires had not
been put out, and that the stores remaining on board
would be burned by the falling of the stoves. Swing-
ing himself back to the deck, and rushing below, he
found two persons in the cabin ; the officer who had
been relieved from watch-duty a few minutes before,
quietly seated at the mess-table, and the steward as
quietly waiting on him. " You are a meal ahead of
me," he said ; *' you didn't think I was going out upon
the ice without my dinner." ,

ii -i

3 • ':

ir.!

' i\

i\ i\

458

A RACE OF PALE PACES.

'^December 21, Saturday. To-day at noon we saw,
dimly looming up from the redness of the southern
horizon, a low range of hills ; among them some cones
of great height, mountains of a character differing from
the naked tahle-lands of the northern coast. The land
on the other side of Croker's Bay, with one high head-
land, supposed to be Cape "VVarrender, is in view.
From all of which it is clear that we are drifting reg.
ularly on toward Baffin's Bay.

"An opening occurred last night in the ice to the
northward. It is not more than a hundred yards from
us, and it is already seventy wide.

" Our men aie hard at work preparing for the Christ-
mas theatre, the arrangements exclusively their own.
But to-morrow is a day more welcome than Christmas
— the solstitial day of greatest darkness, from which
we may begin to date our returning light. It makes
a man feel badly to see the faces around him bleach-
ing into waxen paleness. Until to-day, as a looking-
glass does not enter into an Arctic toilet, I thought I
was the exception, and out of delicacy said nothing
about it to my comrades. One of them, introducing
the topic j ust now, told me, with an utter unconscious-
ness of his own ghostliness, that I was the palest of
the party. So it is, * All men think all men,' kc.
Why, the good fellow is as white as a cut potato !"

In truth, we were all of us at this time undergoing
changes unconsciously. The hazy obscurity of the
nights we had gone through made them darker than
the corresponding nights of Parry. The complexions
of my comrades, and my own too, as I found soon after-
ward, were toned down to a peculiar waxy paleness.
Our eyes were more recessed, and strangely clear.
Complaints of shortness of breath became gen'?iii.l.

THE MIDNIGHT OF THE YEAR,

459

"December 22, Sunday. The solstice ! — the midnight
of the year ! It commences with a now movement in
the ice, the open lead of yesterday piling up into hum-
mocks on our port-beam. No harm done.

"The wind is from the west, increasing in fresh-
ness since early in the morning. The weather over-
cast ; even the moon unseen, and no indications of our
drift. We could not read print, not even large news-
paper type, at noonday. We have been unable to leave
the ship unarmed for some time on account of the
bears. We remember the story of poor Barentz, one
of our early predecessors. One of our crew, Blinn, a
phlegmatic Dutchman, walked out to-day toward the
lead, a few hundred yards oif, in search of a seal-hole.
Suddenly a seal rose close by him in the sludge-ice :
he raised his gun to fire ; and, at the same instant, a
large bear jumped over the floe, and by a dive followed
the seal. Blinn's musket snapped. He was glad fa
get on board again.

^^ December 25. *Y' Christmas of jr* Arctic cruisers!'
Our Christmas passed without a lack of the good things
of this lile. * Goodies' we had galore ; but that best
of earthly blessings, the communion of loved sympa-
thies, these Arctic cruisers had not. It was curious to
observe tlie depressing influences of each man's home
thoughts, and absolutely saddening the effort of each
man to impose upon his neighbor and be very boon and
jolly. We joked incessantly, but badly, and laughed
incessantly, but badly too ; ate of good things, and
drank up a moiety of our Heidsiek ; and then we sang
negro songs, wanting only tune, measure, and harmony,
but abounding in noise ; and after a closing bumper
to Mr. Grinnell, adjourned with creditable jollity from
table to the theatre. > j . . • . . a

PI r

B.I

■

l:\ *

f ,'

i.y-i

;' "'«

460

CHRISTMAS FROLICS.

. ;'

"It was on deck, of course, but veiled from the sky
^ by our felt covering. A large ship's ensign, stretched
from the caboose to the bulwarks, was understood to
hide the stuge, and certain meat-casks and candle-
boxes represented the parquet. The thermometei'
gave us —6° at first; but the favoring elements soon
changed this to the more comfortable temperature of
-4°.

"Never had I enjoyed the tawdry qnackery of the
stage half so much. The theatre has always been to
me a wretched simulation of realities ; and I have too
little sympathy with the unreal to find pleasure in it
long. Not so our Arctic theatre : it was one continual
frolic from beginning to end.

: " The ' Blue Devils :' God bless us ! but it was very,
very funny. None knew their parts, and the prompter
could not read glibly enough to do his office. Every
thing, whether jocose, or indignant, or commonplace,
or pathetic, was delivered in a high-tragedy monotone
of despair ; five words at a time, or more or less, ac-
cording to the facilities of the prompting. Megrim,
with a pair of seal-skin boots, bestowed his gold upon
the gentle Annette ; and Annette, nearly six feet high,
received it with mastodonio grace. Annette was an
Irishman named Daly ; and I might defy liuman be-
ing to hear her, while balanced on the heel ol' her boot,
exclaim, in rich masculine brogue, * Och, feather !' with-
out roaring. Bruce took the Landlord, Benson was
James, and the gentle Annette and the wealthy Me-
grim were taken by Messrs. Daly and Johnson.

"After this followed the Star Spangled Banner; then
a complicated Marseillaise by our French cook, Hen-
ri ; then a sailor's hornpipe by the diversely-talented
Bruce ; the orchestra — Stewart, playing out the inter-

vals on tin
fact, we V
foot-race in
purses of a

inain-bruce,
feebly throi
" But eve
gifting was
stocking ajj
» piece of C
qucst—a Je^
other hand, J
bottles of Cc
*Jon. So p
mum, -iQo .

"J^ecemder :

rejoice at the

taken convinc(

Tenting upon a

continued influ

perature and ft

tarus can not 1

t|utytourgea«
the dry heat of
of them uninte
^e«bJe. Thesh
f our officers e
inend Loveli, oi
«';t^o". Thesy
still increasing,
^'■e glowing paj
^cejuJing- a Judl
!fe"is to be crel
^ear, dear sun,

THE DRIFT.

461

vals on the Jews-harp from the top of a hird-cask. In
fact, we were very happy fellows. We had had a
foot-race in the morning over the midnight ice for three
purses of a flannel shirt each, and a splicing of the
main-brace. The day was night, the stars shining
feebly through the mist.

" But even here that kindly custom of Christmas-
gifting was not forgotten. I found in my morning
stocking a jack-knife, symbolical of my altered looks,
a piece of Castile soap — this last article in great re-
quest — a Jews-harp, and a string of beads! On the
other hand, I prescribed from the medical stores two
bottles of Cognac, to protect the mess from indiges-
tion. So passed Christmas. Thermometer, mini-
mum, — 16°; maximum, -7°. Wind west.

"Dece7nber 28, Saturday. From my very soul do I
rejoice at the coming sun. Evidences not to be mis-
taken convince me that the health of our crew, never
resting upon a very sound basis, must sink under the
continued influences of darkness and cold. The tem-
perature and foulness of air in the between-deck Tar-
tarus can not be amended, otherwise it would be my
duty to urge a change. Between the smoke of lamps,
the dry heat of stoves, and the fumes of the galley, all
of them unintermitting, what wonder that we grow
feeble. The short race of Christmas-day knocked up
all our officers except Griffin. It pained me to see my
friend Lovell, our strongest man, fainting with the ex-
ertion. The symptoms of scurvy among the crew are
still increasing, and becoming more' general. Faces
are growing pale; strojig men pant for breath upon
ascending a ladder ; and an indolence akin to apathy
seems to be creeping over us. I long for the light.
Dear, dear sun, no wonder you are worshiped !

]■!

■ 'n

"'*M

J 1p1

462

RETURNING LIGHT.

" 11. Can read ordinary over-sized print. Started
on a walk, the first time for twenty-odd days. SaAv
the groat load, and traveled it for a couple of miles
exj)andiii<j into a plain of recent ice.

"]\I. Passed noon on the ice. Can read diamond
typo. Stars of the first magnitude only visible. Sat-
urn magnificent !

"1 r.lNI. With difficulty read large type. The
clouds gathering in black stratus over the red light
to the south.

" 2. The heavens studded with stars in their group-
ingfj. Night is again over every thing, although the
minor stars are not yet seen.

"Since the first of this month, we have drifted in
solitude one hundred and seventy miles, skirting the
nortliorn shores of Lancaster Sound. Baffin's Bay is
ahfjid of lis, its current setting strong toward the south.
"What will be the result when the mighty masses of
these two Arctic seas come together !"

lS51,Jam(art/ 1, Wednesday. The first day of 1851
set in cold, the thermometer at —28°, and closing at
—31°. We celebrated it by an extra dinner, a plum-
cak'^ Tinfrostod for the occasion, and a couple of our re-
siduary bottles of wine. But there was no joy in our
merriment : we were weary of the night, as those who
watch for the morning.

It was not till the 3d that the red southern zone
continued long enough to give us assurance of advanc-
ing day. Then, for at least three hours, the twilight
enabled us to walk without stumbling. I had a feel-
ing of racy enjoyment as I found myself once more
away from the ship, ranging among the floes, and
watching the rivalry of day with night in the zenith.
There was the sunward horizon, with its evenly-dis-

EiailTH OF JANUARY-

463

tributed bands of primitive colors, blending softly into
the clear blue overhead ; and then, by an almost magio
transition, night occupying the western sky. Stars
of the first magnitude, and a wandering planet here
and there, shone dimly near the debatable line ; but
a little further on were all the stars in their glory.
The northern firmament had the familiar beauty of a
pure winter night at home. The Pleiades glittered
" like a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver-braid,"
and the great stars that hang about the heads of Orion
and Taurus were as intensely bright as if day was not
looking out upon them from the other quarter of the
sky. 1 had never seen night and day dividing the
hemisphere so beautifully between them.

On the 8th we had, of course, our national festivi-
ties, and remembered freshly the hero who consecrated
the day in our annals. The evening brought the the-
atricals again, with extempore interludes, and a hearty
splicing of the main-brace. It was something new,
and not thoroughly gladsome, this commemoration of
the victory at New Orleans under a Polar sky. * There
were men not two hundred miles from us, now our
partners in a nobler contest, who had bled in this very
battle. But we made the best of the occasion ; and
if others some degrees further to the south celebrated
it more warmly, we had the thermometer on our side,
with its -20°, a normal temperature for the " lauda-
tur et alget."

But the sun was now gradually coming up toward
the horizon : every day at meridian, and for an hour
before and after, we were able to trace our progress
eastward by some known headland. "We had passed
Cape Castlereagh and Cape Warrender in succession,
and were close on the meridian of Cape Osborn. The

1 ^

..s.

46i

OUR FLOE.

disruptions of the ice which we had encountered so
iar, had always been at the periods of spring-tide. The
sun and moon were in conjunction on tlie 21st of De-
cember ; and, adopting Captain Parry's observation,
that the greatest etfiux was always within five days
■?fter the new moon, we had looked with some anxiety
to the closing weeks of that month. But tbey had
gone by without any unusual movement; and there
needed oidy an equally kind visitation of the January
mooi: to give us our final struggle with the Baffin's
Bay ice by daylight.

Yet I had remarked that the southern shore of Lan-
caster Sound extended much further out to the east-
ward than the northern did ; and I had argued that
we might begin to feel the current of Baffin's Bay in
a vpry few days, though we were still considerably
t.. tlie west of a line drawn from one cape to the other.
The question received its solution without waiting for
the moon.

I give from my journal our position in the ice on the
11th of 'January :

^^ January 11, Saturday. The floe in which we are
now imbedded has been steadily increasing in solid-
ity for more than a month. Since the 8th of Decem-
ber, not a fracture or collision has occurred to mar its
growth. The eye can not embrace its extent. Even
from the mast-head you look over an unbour.uo'l ex-
panse of naked ice, bristling with contorted spires, and
ridged by elevated axes of hummocks. The land on
either side rises above our icy horizon ; but to the eai^
and west, there is no such interception to our wiutery-
uess.

"The brig remains as she was tossed at our provi.
dential escape of last month, her nose burrowing in the

■,_ ■-* -^ ft *

THE ADVANCE I.N KEUKLAKY.

niil .11

1 m

n\4 \\

WIMKH l^ Tilt I'At'K.

11:

'<,:.

! u

snow, and
Walking d^
tains, too, hi
been bankij
warmth, and
admits us t\
stores, hastil
expected he|
remnant of >
Rescue is sol
The next
morning was
to make out
westerly, as i
hops to a hre
when a sudd
Running out
opened betwc
in a zigzag c
to the southw
become a clui
ued to widen,
water about
into a broad s
through whit
two vessels be
Night closed i
yards nnd st
bow, two hu
wind increasi
My journa
intervals ; bii
"Januari/ '.
since one o't

COMMOTION OF THE ICE.

467

snow, and her stern perched high ahove the ruhbish.
Walking deck is an up and down hill work. She re-
tains, too, her list to starboard. Her bare sides have
been banked over again with snow to increase the
warmth, and a formidable flight of nine ice-block steps
admits us to the door- way of her winter cover. The
stores, hastily thrown out from the vessel when we
expected her to go to pieces, are still upon the little
remnant of old floe on our port or northern side. The
Kescue is some hundred yards otf to the south of east."
The next day things underwent a change. The
morning was a misty one, giving us just light enough
to make out objects that were near the ship ; the wind
westerly, as it had been for some time, freshening \
haps to a breeze. The day went on quietly till noon,
when a sudden shock brought us all up to the deck.
Running out upon the ice, we found that a crack had
opened between us and the Rescue, and was extending
in a zigzag course from the northward and eastward
to the southward and westward. At one o'clock it had
become a chasm eight feet in width ; and as it contin-
ued to widen, we observed a distinct undulation of the
water about its edges. At three, it had expanded
into a broad sheet of water, filmed over by young ice,
through which the portions of the floe that bore our
two vessels began to move obliquely toward each other.
Night closed round us, with the chasm reduced to forty
yards and still narrowing; the Rescue on her port-
bow, two hundred yards from her late position; the
wind increasing, and the thermometer at —19°.

My journal for the next day was written at broken
intervals ; but I give it without ch.Mige of form:

"Janttari/ 13, 4 A.M. All hands have been on deck
since one o'clock, strapped and harnessed for a fare-

*;5

■♦.Vk'

4G8

COMMOTION OF THE ICE.

well march. The water-lane of yesterday is covered
by Ibur-inch ice ; the floes at its margin more than
three feet thick. These have been closing for some
time by a sliding, grinding movement, one upon the
other ; but every now and then coming together more
directly, the thinner ice clattering between them, and
marking their new outline with hummock ridges.
They have been fairly in contact for the last hour : we
fee' their pressure extending to us through the elastic
floe in which we are cradled. There is a quivering,
vibratory hum about the timbers of the brig, and ev-
ery now and then a harsh rubbing creak along her
sides, like waxed cork on a mahogany table. The
hummocks are driven to within four feet of our coun-
ter, and stand there looming fourteen feet high through
tho darkness. It has been a horrible commotion so
fi-r, with one wild, booming, agonized note, ir.ade up
of a thousand discords ; and now comes the deep still-
nt'ss after it, the mysterious ice-pulse, as if the ener-
gies were gathering lor another strife.

" Ci A.M. Another pulse ! the vibration greater than
•we have ever yet liad it. If our little brig had an an-
imated centre of sensation, and some rude force had
torn a nerve-trunk, she could not feel it more — she
fa.rly shudders. Looking out to the north, this ice
eeems to heave up slowly against the sky in black
hills ; and as we watch them rolling toward us, the
hills sink again, and a distorted plain o. ;ubbish luelts
before us into the night. Ours is the contrast of ut-
ter helplessness witli illimitable power.

" 9.50 A.M. Brooks and myself ti'ok advantage of
the twilight at nine o'clock to cross the hununocky
fields to tiie Rescue. I can not convey an ini])iossion
of the altered aspects of the floe. Our frozen lane has

disappeare

ice is Jieuf

rubbish, oJ

decks of t

spoke sad J J

seen in eve

hatclivvay,

ffood-foJJow!

the snow cr

" The Rei

how and fon

iier advejitu]

forced up, br

't'e, after nipj

tKree I'oot abc

as our first a;

question now

^»y action th

<io\vn or cru.sl

"The ice iu

i»to small ai]

iig-uin.st a crag]

^^■i<li its reservl

^''des, memorial

pliances and n|

'-"■J'ied a^vay b|

fie boar is ilo\

"e;";'y hajfani

"TJie thenni

''t ^j'uos so VOlJ

''«'^'- five men'
(^ur stores.

" y 1M\I. M\\
^"i^'e lialf past

ICE COMMOTION.

4G9

disappeared, and along the line of its recent course the
ice is lieaped up in blocks, tables, lumps, powder, and
rubbish, often fifteen feet high. Snow covered the
decks of the little vessel, and the disorder about it
spoke sadly of desertion. Foot-prints of foxes were
seen in every imaginable corner; and near the little
hatchway, where we had often sat in comfortable
good-fellowship, the tracks of a large bear had broken
the snow crust in his efforts to get below.

" The Rescue has met the pressure upon her port-
bow and fore-foot. Her bowsprit, already maimed by
her adventure off Grifiith's Island, is now completely
forced up, broken short off at the gammoning. The
ice, after nipping her severely, has piled up round her
tlLice feet above the bulwarks. We had looked to her
as our first asylum of retreat; but that is out of the
question now; she can not rise as we have done, and
any action that would peril us again must bear her
down or crush her laterally.

"The ice immediately about the Advance is broken
into small anguhir pieces, as if it liad been dushed
against a crag of granite. Our camp out on the iloe,
with its reserve of provisions and a hundred things be-
sides, memorials of scenes we haA-e gone through, or ap-
phances and means lor hazards ahead of us, has been
carried away bodily. My noble specimen of the Arc-
tic bear is floating, with an escort of bread barrels,
nearly half a mile olf.

"The thermometer records only -17° ; but it blows
at times so very fiercely that I have never felt it so
cold : five men were frost-bilten in the attempt to save
our stores.

" 9 P.M. AVe have had no renewal of the pressure

mce half past six this morning. AVe are turning in;

[III]

470

ICE COMMOTION.

]

the wind blowing a fresh breeze, weather misty, ther.
mometer at —23°."

The night brought no further change ; but toward
morning the cracks, that formed before this a sort of
net- work all about the vessel, began to open. The
cause was not apparent : the wind had lulled, and we
saw no movement of the floes. We had again the
same voices of complaint from the ship, but they were
much feebler than yesterday; and in about an hoar
the ice broke up all round her, leaving an open space
of about a foot to port, indented with the mould of her
form. The brig was loose once more at the sides ; but
she remained suspended by the bows and stern from
hummocks built up like trestles, and canted forward
still five feet ami a quarter out of level. Every thing
else was fairly afloat: even the India-rubber boat,
which during our troubles had found a resting-place
on a sound projection of the floe close by us, had to
be taken in.

This, I may say, was a fearful position ; but the
thermometer, at a mean of — 23° and — 24°, soon
brought back the solid character of our floating raft.
In less than two days every thing about us was as
firmly fixed as ever. But the whole topography of the
ice was changed, and its new configuration attested
the violence of the elements it had been exposed to.
Nothing can be conceived more completely embodying
inhospitable desolation. From mast-head the eye trav-
eled wearily over a broad champaigne of undulating
ice, crowned at its ridges with broken masses, like
breakers frozen as they rolled toward the beach. Be-
yond these, you lost by degrees the distinctions of sur-
face. It was a great plain, blotched by dark, jagged
shadows, and relieved only here and there by a hill

rCE COMMOTION.

471

of upheaved rnbbish. Still further in the distance
came an unvarying uniformity of shade, cutting with
.5a\\'-toothed edge against a desolate sky.

Yet there needed no after-surA^ey of the ice-field to
prove to us what majestic forces had been at work
upon it. At one time on the 13th, the hummock-
ridge astern advanced Avith a steady march upon the
A'cssel. Twice it rested, and advanced again — a dense
wall of ice, thirty feet broad at the base and twelve
feet high, tumbling huge fragments from its crest, yet
incM'easing in mass at each new effort. We had ceased
to hope ; when a merciful interposition arrested it, so
close against our counter that there was scarcely room
for a man to pass between. Haifa minute of progress
more, and it would have buried us all. As we drifted
along five months afterward, this stupendous memento
of controlling power was still hnnging over our stern.

AVe had lost all indications of a shore, and had ob-
viously passed within the influences of Baffin's Bay.
Wo were on the meridian of I'j'^; yet, though the re-
cent commotions could be referred to nothing else but
the conflict of the two currents, we had made very
little southing, if any, and had seen no bergs. But on
the 14th the wind edged round a little more to the
northward, and at six o'clock in the morning of the
loth we could hear a squeexing iioise among tlie icc-
ficKls in that direction. By this time we had become
learned interpreters of the ice- voices. Of course, we
renewed our preparations for whatever might be com-
ing. Every man arranged his knapsack and blanket-
bag over again with the practiced discretion of an ex-
pert. Our extra clothing sledge, carefully repacked,
was made free on deck. The India-rubber boat, only
useful in this solid waste for crossing occasional chasms,
was launched out upon the ice for the third time.

472

THE DOG-STAR,

The appearances which heralded the sun's return
had a degree of interest for us which it is not easy to
express in words. I have referred more than once al-
ready to the effects of the long-continued night on the
health of our crowded ship's company. It was even
more painful to notice its influence on their temper und
spirits. Among the officers this was less observable.
Our mess seemed determined, come what might, to
maintain toward each other that honest courtesy of
manner, which those who have sailed on long voyages
together know to be the rarest and most difficult proof
of mutual respect. There were of course seasons
when each had his home thoughts, and revolved per-
haps the growing probabilities that some other Arctic
search party might seek in vain hereafter for a memo-
rial of our own ; yet these were never topics of con-
versation. I do not remember to have been saddened
by a boding word during all the trials of our cruise.

With the men, however, it was dilferent. More de-
ficientin the resources of education, and less restrained
by conventional usages or the principle of honor IVom
communicating to each other what they felt, all sym-
pathized in the imaginary terrors which each one con-
jured up.

We were called up one CA'ening by the deck- watch
to see for ourselves a " ball of fire floating up and down
above the ice-field." It was there sure enough, a disk
of reddish flame, varying a little in its outline, and
flickering in the horizon like a revolving light at a dis-
tance. I was at first as much puzzled as the men;
but ghmcing at Orion, I soon saw that it was nothing
else than our old dog-star friend, bright Sirius, cunie
back to us. Itefraction had raised him above the hills,
so as to bring him to view a little sooner than we ex-
pected. His color was rather more lurid than when

ie left u

^^ne, seei

^^orizontt

ofthoiaj

i^or sot

changing

^'e/i/ietl, tl

as Weil as

iines ofstn

longed-for ;

% journaj

*'ic! hazard

*^iiit they si

t^ifiJi twelve

tJiis morning
^viioJe vault"
f-^'^'^Pt Cape,
^ionzon wa.s
''^^''^^r an abse
^•'"S'Gd on boj
clieers for a r
^i'e saJJow-vi3
.^^''''- ti'e ice ;,

'''*''' J»e In, oj

^'<^'« fti«hion, I J

^'"'•"s of the el

^^''"•<' ^iie no A

yi^'' the thenl

t'iereibre, to k

^'"^^'"- Ithoul
01"- WiWe eircjJ
'^"f dear, bri^rh^

APPROACH OF DAY.

473

lie left us, and the refraction, besides distorting his out-
line, seemed to have given him the same oblateness or
horizontal expansion which we observe in the disks
of the larger phiriets when nearing the horizon.

For some days the sun-clouds at the south had been
changing their character. Their edges bepame better
defined, their extremities dentated, their color deeper
as well as warmer; and from the spaces between the
lines of stratus burst out a blaze of glory, typical of the
longed-for sun. He came at last : it was on the 29th.
My journal must tell the story of his welcoming, at
the hazard of its seeming extravagance : I am content
that they shall criticise it who have drifted for more
than twelve weeks under the night of a Pokir sky.

'•''January 29. Going on deck after breakfast at eight
this morning, I found the dawning far advanced. The
whole vault was bedewed with the coming day ; and,
except Capella, the stars were gone. The southern
horizon was clear. We were certain to see the sun,
after an absence of eighty-six days. It had been ar-
ranged on board that all hands should give him three
cheers for a greeting; but I was in no mood to join
the sallow- visaged party. I took my gun, and walked
over the ice about a mile away from the ship to a sol-
itary spot, where a great big hummock almost hem-
med me in, opening only to the south. There, Par-
see fashion, I drank in the rosy light, and watched the
horns of the crescent extending themselves round to-
ward the north. There was hardly a breath of wind,
with the thermometer at only —19^, and it was easy,
therelbro, to keep warm by walking gently up and
down. I thought over and named aloud every one of
our little circle, F. and M., T. and P., B. and J., and
our dear, bright little W. ; wondered a while whether

ll)!|

Itj!

474

SUNRISE, NOON, AND SUNSET.

there were not some more to be remembered, and called
up one friend or relative after another, but always came
back to the circle I began with.

" Very soon the deep crimson blush, lightening into
a focus of incandescent white, showed me that the
hour was close at hand. Mounting upon a crag, I saw
the crews of our one ship formed in lino upon the ice.
My mind was still tracing the familiar chain of home
affections, and the chances that this one or the other
of its links might be broken already. I bethought me
of the Sortes Yirgilianaj of my school-boy days : I took
a piece of candle paper pasteboard, cut it with my
bowie-knife into a little carbine target, and on one
side of this marked all our names in pencil, and on the
other a little star. Presently the sun came: never,
till the grave-sod or the ice covers me, may I forego
this blessing of blessings again ! I looked at him
thankfully with a great globus in my throat. Then
came the shout from the ship — three shouts — cheering
the sun. I fixed my little star-target to the floe, walk-
ed backward till it became nearly invisible ; and then,
just as the completed orb fluttered upon the horizon,
fired my * salut.^ I cut M in half, and knocked the T
out of Tom. They shall draw lots for it if ever I get
home ; for many, many years may come and go again
before the shot of an American rifle signalizes in the
winter of Baffin's Bay the conjunction of sunrise, noon-
day, cndi sunset.

^^ January 30. The crew determined to celebrate 'El
regresado del sol,' which, according to old Costa, our
Mahonese seaman, was a mojre holy day than Christ-
mas or All-Saints. Mr. Bruce, the diversely talented,
favored us with a new line of theatrical exhibition, a
divertissement o{ HlOVlxg^Mc composition, 'The Country-

man's firs-
^ ^opy the

^"0 he perf,
January, the
Pantomime,

A Song .

Countryman.,
i-and/ady

Servant

harlequin.
"IdAfan ...'"'
Rejected Lover I
Coiumbine ,

^<'''" to be open^
^0 admittance to i

^'Je strictest

THE PLAY. 475

man's jfirst Visit to Town ;' followed by a pantomime.
I copy the play-bill from the original as it was tacked
against the main-mast :

AROTZO THEATRE.

To be performed, on the night of Thursday, the 30th day of
January, the Comio Play of the Countryman. After which, a
Pantomime.

To begin with
A Song By R. Bruce.

THE GOUNTRTOIAN.

Countryman R. Baggs.

Landlady ..C. Berry.

Servant T. Dunning.

FANTOmiOIE.

Harlequin James Johnson.

Old Man R. Bruce.

Rejected Lover A. C jnot.

Columbine James Smith.

Dcors to be opened at 8 o'clock. Curtain to rise a quarter past 8 punctually
No admittance to Children ; and no Ladies admitted without an escort.

Stage Manager,

S. BENJAMIN.

The strictest order will be observed both inside and outside.

We sat dovvn as usual on the preserved-meat boxes,
which were placed on deck, ready strapped and beck-
eted [nautice for trunk-handled) for flinging out upon
the ice. The affair was altogether creditable, how-
ever, and every body enjoyed it. Here is an outline
of the pantomime, alter the manner of the newspapers.
All old man (Mr. Bruce) possessed mysterious, semi,
magical, and wholly comical influence over a rejected

470

TilE PLAY.

lover (M. Augiiste Canot, ship's cook), and ColuinLine
(Mr. Sinitli) exorcised the same over the okl man.
HarU'quiii (^Ir. Jolinson), liowover, by the aul of a
split-shinglo ^van(l and the charms of his " moth^'
wear." secures the adections of Cohunbiue, cajoles the
okl man, persecutes the forlorn lover, and carries off
the pri/.o of love; the fair Columbine, who had been
industriously chewing tobacco, and twirling on the
heel of her boot to keep herself warm, giving him a
sentimental kiss as she left the stage. A still more
sentimental song, sunjj in seal-skin br(Md<s and a ^' nor-
icestcr,^' and a potation all round of hot-spiced rum
toddy, concluded the entertainments.

"It isAVashington's birth-day, when 'hearts should
be glad;' but we have no wine for the dinner-table,
and are too sick for artificial merriment without it.
Our crew, however, good patriotic wretclies, got up a
theatrical performance, ' The Irish Attorney ;' Pierce
O'llara taken by the admirable Bruce, our Crichtoii.
The ship's thermometer outside was at —46°. Inside,
among audience and actors, by aid of lungs, lamps,
and housings, we got as high as 30° below zero, only
sixty-two below the freezing point! ! probably the low-
est atmospheric record of a theatrical representation.

" It was a strange thing altogether. The conden-
sation was so excessive that we could barely see the
performers : they walked in a cloud of vapor. Any
extra Aehemence of delivery was accompanied by vol-
umes of smoke. The hands steamed. AVhen an excit-
ed Thespian took (-(Fhis hat, it smoked like a dish of
potatoes. When he stood expect int, nmsing a reply,
the vapor wreathed in little curls from his neck. This
was thirty degrees lower than the lowest of Parry's
North Georgian performances.

The I

t'iGr.iioin,
Cold at

terrijpted,

the Jicces*

ibrt Avas n

times hard

«^ew, to ol

ercise vons.

the snow,
obtained a
S^ih and dui
ground and ;
t''e floos, aiti
, ^Vith all t:
feeble certaij
s«"rvy advaf]
often Warded
^ted itself in
/*:^f sad to e^

^vliich ro,i,sto(|

Tiie.'^o, of

'"^'o'lo ; out of

•;'c'eraf,,J o.,„,,.

•strange fo ^ay

officers Were 'a'.

'^0""d.s opened

f barely.reuie,
"'■earns.

^^J^beciosooff

^^^i^icrease,ancl

T II E S U ]t V Y .

Tho lowest temperature we recorded diirin<y the
cruise Wiis on the 22d of this month, when the ship's
ther.iiometer giive us —46°; my oflship spirit, -52°.

Cohl as it was, our mid-day exercise was never in-
terruptcd, unless by wind and drift storms. We felt
the necessity of active exercise; and although the ef-
fort was accompanied with pains in the joints, some-
times liardly bearable, we mannged, both officers and
crew, to obtain at least three hou^s a day. The ex-
ercise 1 insisted of foot-ball and sliding, followed by
regui. '• y, lines of romps, leap-frog, and tumbling in
the snow. By shoveling away near the vessel, we
obtained a fine bare surface of fresh ice, extremely
glib Jiiid durable. On this we constructed a skating-
ground cind admirable slides. I walked regularly over
the floes, although the snows were nearly impassable.

With all this, aided by hosts of hygienic resources,
feeble certainly, but still the best at my command,
scurvy advanced steadily. This fearful disease, so
often warded off when in a direct attack, now exhib-
ited itself in a cachexy, a depraA'ed condition of sys-
tem sad to encounter. Pain«, diffuse, and non-loca-
table, were combined with an apathy and 'assitude
which resisted all attempts at healthy excitement.

These, of course, were not confined to the crew
alone : out of twenty-four men, but five were without
ulcerated gums and blotched limbs ; and ol'these live,
stranire to sav, four were cooks and stewards. All the
officers were assailed. Old pains were renewed, old
wounds opened ; even old bruises and sprains, received
at barely-remembered periods back, came to us like
dreams.

The close of the month found this state of thin<i-s on
the increase, and tho strength of the party still waning.

CHAPTER XXXIIL

THE FIEST AMERICAN EXPEDITION.

(cONTIXrET).)

Our brig was still restiiif^ on lier craiDe, and her
consort on the floe a short distance off. wh«^n tii(! lirst
month of spriiifr came to greet us. ^\ C had passed
the latitude ol'T^^

To prepare for our elosing struggle willi the ice-
fields, or at least divide its hazards, it M-as determmed
to refit the Rescue. To get at h(>r hull, a pir was
sunk in the ice around ber, large enough lor four men
to Avork in iit a time, ant etglit feet deep, so as to ex-
pose her stern, and leave only eighteen iuches of the
keel indx'ddetl. This novel dry-dock answered per-
fectly. The hull was inspected, and the work of re-
pair M'iis pressed so assiduously, thot in three days the
stern-post was in its place, and the new bowsprit ready
for shipping. AVe had now the chances of two ships
again "u case of disaster.

Tli9 19th gave us a change of scene. I was aroused
from my morning sleep by the familiiir voice of Mr.
Murdaugh, as he hurried along the half-(h^ck: "Ice
opening" — ''Open leads off our starboard (quarter" —
*' Frost-sinoke all around us!" Five mitintes after-
ward, Henri had been summoned from the gaih^y ; and,
carbine in hand, I was tumbling over the hunnnocks,

A OALE.

479

''March 20. Thursday, the 20th of March, opens
with a gale, a rejjiihir gale. On reaching deck after
breakfast, I Ibund the wind from the southeast; the
lliernioineter at zero, and rising. These southeast
storms are looked upon as having an important iiifhi-
ence on the ice. They are always warm, and hy tlie
sea which they excite at the southern margin of the
pack, have a great eifect in breaking the lioes. Mr.
Olrik told me that they were anxiously looked for on
the Greenland coast as precursors of open water. The
(late of the southeast gale last year, at Uppernavik,
was April 2oth. Our thermometer gave +o^ at noon-
day, + 7^^ at one, and +8° at three o'clock!!

"This is the heaviest storm we have had since en-
tering Lancaster Sound, exactlv seven months and a
day ago. The snow is whirled in such quantities,
that oar thick felt housing seems as if of gau/e: it
not only covers our decks, but drives into our clothes
like line dust or Hour. A plated thermometer was in-
visible fourteen feet from the eye: from the distance
of ten paces otf on our quarter, a white opacity cov-
ers every thing, the compass-stand, fox-traps, and all
beyond: the Rescue, of course, is completely hidden.
This heavy snow-drift exceeds any thing that 1 had
conceived, although many of my Arctic English I'riends
had discoursed to me eloquently about their perils and
discumiorts. As to facing it in a stationary position,
nothing human could; lor a man would be buried in
ten minutes. Even in reaching our little Tusculum,
we tumble up to our middle, in places where a few
ininutes beti)re the very ice was laid bare. The en-
tire topograiiliy of our ice is changing constantly.
" 7 i*.M. ' The wind is howling.'

::^l

•Ih

■,ll.i

H-

480

AN ESCAPE.

*' March 23, Siinduy. After divine service, started
for the ice-opening's. AVe are now in the centre of
an area, which we estimated roughly as four )iiiles
from north to south, and a little more east and west.
On reaching' what was yesterday's sea-beach, I was
forced to recant in a measure my convictions as to
the force of the opposing floes.

"A new crack was reported at one o'clock, about
the tliird of a mile from our ship; and the bearings of
the sun showed that our brig had, for the first time
since enter! ug Bafiin's Bay, rotated considerably to
the northward. Here were two subjects for examin-
ation. So, as soon as dinner was over, I started v/ith
Davis and Willie, two of my scurvy henclnneii, on
a walk to tlie openings. Beaching the recent crack,
we found the ice five feet four inches thick, and the
black water, in a clear streak a foot wide, running to
tlie east and west. I had often read of Esquimaux
being carried off by the separation of these great floes;
but, knowing that our guns could call assistance from
the brig, we jumped over and hurried on. We were
well paid.

" I was tempted to stay too long. The Mind sprang
up suddenly. The floe began to move, 1 thought of
the crack between me and the ship, and started off.
The walking, however, was very heavy, and my scur-
vy patients stilf in the extensors. By the time I
reached the crack, it had openeil into a chasm, and
a river as broad as the W^issahiccon ran between nie
and our ship. After some little anxiety — not much
— 1 saw our captain ordering a party to our rclicl.
The sledges soon appeared, dragged by a willing par-
ty; the India rubber boat was lowered into the lead,
and the party ferried over.

cause /or i

f'ojio so, I ■

ii^ore of my

so earelesjj)

movement, a

"in the V

^^'^th the c/ia
the ice. 7^jjj

''(^cessible to,

^^'G gulls wen

'"g: back we j

'« tlie iuhipiai

'I'^'^oeiated in^^:

inhnhlt an ice-

"iiies frr,,,! tiie

nfi^sinnnmerab

^I'^^'i. Yet thi

"^^''1 predatory

^^'^^ as Jumger

^'"^l^s^'t'to these

" "i'iiere i,s j^oj

'"^^''^ge; never ul

]'^^'''n>--tnhleneJ
'" ^^'iiristinas t][
^'\^'^'' y-^i-o, morj
"^■'^'«- Jt! perpet,
'I iievcr-ondin.r

^'•''Wo trave^J
J>-o:-cn uuiy yiJ

'"'■ ^«H)ernation )|
great winter."

r L A T I N O BEAKS

"April 21, Monday. I have more than common
cause for thankJulness. A mere accident kept me
from startin<j last niffht to secure our bear. Had 1
done so, I would probably have spared you reading
more of my journal. The ice over which we traveled
so carelessly on Saturday has become, by a sudden
movement, a mass of floating rubbish.

"]n the walk of this morning, which startled me
with the cliange, I ^aw for the first time a seal upon
the ice. This looks very summer-like, lie w^as not
accessible to our guns. To day, ibr the first time too,
the gulls were flyi)ig over the renovated water. Com-
mg back we saw fresh bear tracks. How woiulerful
is the adiiptation which enables a quadruped, to us
associated inseparably with a land existence, thus to
inhabit an ice-covered ocean. We an; at least eighty
miles from the nearest land, Capo Kator; and chan-
nels innumerable must intervene between us and terra
flrnui. Yet this majestic animal, dependent upon his
own predatory resources alone, and, defying cold as
well as hunger, guided by a superb instinct, confides
himself to these solitary, unstable ice-fields.

"There is something very grand about this tawny
savage; never leaving this utter destitution, this frigid
iidio.'-pitablcness — (^mpling in May, and bringing forth
in Christmas lime — a gestation carried on all of it
below zero, more than half of it in Arctic darkness —
living in perpetual snow, and dependent for life upon
a never-ending activity — using the frozen water as
a raft to traverse the open seas, that I he water un-
frozen may yield hin\ the means of life. No time
for lulxMiiation has this Polar tiger: his life is one
great winter."

482

TnE BREAK-UP.

"June 5, Thursday. We notice again this morn-
ing the movement in the trench alongside. The float-
ing scum of rubbish advances and recedes with a reg-
ularity that can only be due to some equable undula-
tion from without to the north. We continue perch-
ed up, just as we were after our great lift of last De-
cember. A more careful measurement than we had
made before, gave us yesterday, between our height
aft and depression forward, a difference of level of 6
feet 4 mches. This inclination tells in a length of
83 feet — about one in thirteen.

" P.M. The BREAK-UP AT LAST ! A little after five
this afternoon, Mr. Griffin left us for the Rescue, after

rurijciui'iiv (JK riiE kk'k. mav :tl.

A. Ailvancp. II n. MiorUT dmnintfr, 3J nilloi.

R. Ilisiuc. c C. I,(i[u<T iliiiiiii'liT, 5i miles,

UiRtanre between Iho vcaHclx. 500 jarJ^.

THE RESCUE FREE.

483

making a short visit. He had hardly gone before I
heard a htiil and its answer, boih of them in a tone of
more excitement than we had been used to for some
time past ; and the next moment, the cry, ' Ice cra6k-
ing ahead !'

" Murdaugh and myself reached the deck just in
time to see De Haven crossing our gangway. We fol-
lowed. Imagine our feelings when, midway between
the two vessels, we saw Griffin with the ice separat-
ing before him, and at the same instant found a crack
tracing its way between us, and the water spinning
up to the surface. ' Stick by the floe. Gcod-by !
What news for home?' said he. One jump across
the chasm, a hearty God - bless - you shake of the
hand, a long jump back, and a little river divided our
party.

*' Griffin made his way along one fissure and over
another. We followed a lead that was open to our
starboard beam, each man for himself. In half a
minute or less came the outcry, * She's breaking out ;
all hands aboard !' and within ten minutes from Grif-
fin's first hail, while we were yet scrambling into our
little Ark of Refuge, the whole area about us was di-
vided by irregular chasms in every direction.

"All this was o,t half past five. At six I took a
bird's-eye sketch from aloft. Many of the fissures were
already some twenty paces across. Conflicting forces
were at work e\^ery where ; one round-lutuse moving
here, another in an opposite direction, the two vessels
parting company. Since the night of our Lancastei:
Sound commotion, months ago, the Rescue had not
changed her bearing : she was alieady on our port-
beam. Every thing was change.

•'Our brig, however, had not yet found an even keel.

I 1

i vmi

sHI

i-^'ii

484

THE ADVANCE.

milD's-KYE VIEW OF FI.OE, JISE S.

A. Adviinci!. I). Finn aclliprlii)! to itic Ailviinro.

R. Hescuc. (', Piiili liciwicii brigs belorc brciik-up.

n n. iltiinriiurks.

The eiinrmons masses of ico, tliriist iindnr lior stern by
the ac'lioii of repoated pressures, had ghiod tlicmselvos
togotlier so eonipletely, tliat %vc remained cradled in a
mass of ice oxceediiifj tw(!n1v-fi\e feet in solid depth.
Many of these tables were liberated by the swell, and
rose nnijestieally from their recesses, striking the ship,
and tluni escaping above the surface for a moment,
with a sudden vault.

"To add to the novelty of our situation, two cracks
coming toirether obliquedy, met a few yards astern ol
us, cleaving through the heavy ice.

"June 5
floating si)
tween tw(
daugh wei:
adhering t(
his weight
iy promoni
barely time
nails in tin
tumbled up
into clear v
hardly reali
we have be
work so louj
"9 P.M. .
the nortluva
renewed the
regularly an:
ea.st\vard. "
under weigli
fog caused u
are now fast
ress at six. m
" From th
obtained frej
since the Jot
hquefied wif j
(biys: think
family!

It had bp(>
■should refresi
on back to ]\|
'Souml, and
Was no one

AN EVEN KEEL.

485

"June 8, Sunday. Even keel again!! Once more
floating ship-fiisliion, in a ship's element. It was be-
tween twelve and one o'clock this morning. Mur-
daugh went down upon the fragment, w^hich was still
adhering to our starboard side. He had hardly rested
his weight upon it, when, wdth certain hurried, scarce-
ly premonitory grindings, it cleared itself. He had
barely time to scramble up the brig's side, tearing his
nails in the effort, before, with crash and turmoil, it
tumbled up to the surface, letting us down once more
into clear water. When I reached the deck, I could
hardly realize the level, horizontal condition of things,
we have been accustomed to this up and down hill
work so long.

" 9 P.M. At 1 o'clock P.M. the wind freshened from
the northward, enough to make sail. We cast off, and
renewed the old times process of boring, standing ir-
regularly among the fragments to the southward and
eastward. We received some heavy bumps, but kept
under weigh until 6 P.M., when an impenetrable ice-
fog caused us to haul up to a heavy lioe, to which we
are now fast by three anchors. AVe estimate our prog-
ress at six miles. The Rescue is not visible.

"From the heavy floe to which we are secured we
obtained fresh t/iawcd water. This is the first time
since the loth of September that I have drunk water
liquefied without fire. Eight months and twenty-four
days : think of that, dear strawberry and cream eating
family !

It had been detornniiod by our commander that we
should refresh at AVlialo Fish Islands, and thou hast-
en back to IMolvillo ]>ay, the Tsorth Water, Lancaster
Sound, and AVellington Channel ; and certainly there
was no one on board who did not enter heart and soul

V" !

486

KRONPRINSEjr.

into the scheme. It was in pursuance of ".t that we
were now hending our course to the east.

Tlie circumstances that surrounded us, the daily in-
cidents, our destination and purpose, were the same as
when approaching the Sukkertoppen a year belbre.
There were the same majestic fleets of hergs, the same
legions of birds of the same varieties, the same anx-
ious look-out, and rapid conning, and fearless cncoun-
ter of ice-fields. Every thing was unchanged, except
the glowing confidence of young health at the outset
of adventure. We had taken our seasoning: the ex-
perience of a winter's drift had quieted some of our en-
thusiasm. But. we felt, as veterans at the close of :
campaign, that with recruited strength we should be
better fitted for the service than ever. All, therefore,
looked at the well-remenibered cliffs, that hung over
Kronprinsen, with the sentiment of men approaching
home for the time, and its needed welcomes.

We reached them on the 16th. Mr. Murdaugh, and
myself, and four men, and three bottles of rum, were
disjuitched to communicate with the shore. As we
rowed in to the landing-place, the great dikes of in-
jected syenite stood out red and warm against the
cold gray gneiss, and the moss gullies met us like fa-
miliar grass-plots. Esquimaux crowded the rocks, and
dogs barked, and children yelled. A few lusty pulls,
and after nine months of drilt, and toil,- and scurvy,
we were once more on terra firma.

God forgive me the revulsion of unthankfulness!
I ought to have dilated with gratitude for my lot.

AV^inter had been severe. The season hiiriicd. The
birds had not yet begun to breed. Faces were worn,
and forms bent. Every body was coughing. In one
hut, a summer lodge of reindeer and seal skins, was

a dead chil
ed at a coi
once washe
ther leaned
two Jittle si
natural and
. I g'ave the
a pair of se
we rowed b
we were unci
We were
It was a shoi
were all of i
ground to co
course. We
and seal, to i
fisli, a Zejwdc
pork-baited Ji]
sort we could
sinall-beer; ai
tliem the polk
turn. But on
we were work]

We passed
terraced sumni
tan ; the grooiil
?reat dockyardi
which they wel
^'oy. They vvc
Wound our wai
otiier would col
pie set to be t\
W'e had the wh]
^^Jver; at anotj

AT OODHAVEN.

487

a dead. child. It was many months since I had look-
ed at a corpse. The poor little thing had heen for
once washed clean, and looked cheerfully. The fa-
ther leaned over it weeping, for it was a hoy; and
two little sisters were making lamentiition in a most
natural and savage w^ay.

I gave the corpse a string of hlue heads, and hoiight
a pair of seal-skin hoots for twenty-five cents ; and
we rowed back to tlie brig. In a very little while
we were under sail for Godhaven.

AVe were hut five days recruiting at Godhaven,
It was a shorter stay than we had expected; but we
were all of us too anxious to regain the searching
ground to complain. We made the most of it, of
course. We ate inordinately of eider, and codfisli,
and seal, to say nothing of a hideous-looking toad
fish, a Lepodogaster, that insisted on patronizing our
pork -baited lines; chewed bitter herbs, too, of every
sort we could get; drank largely of the smallest of
small-beer; and danced with the natives, teaching
them the polka, and learning the pee-oo-too-ka in re-
turn. But on the 22d, by six o'clock in the morning,
we were working our way again to the north.

We passed the hills of Disco in review, \\\i\\ their
terraced summits, simulating the Ghauts of Ilindos-
tan; the green-stone cliffs round Omenak's Fiord, the
great dockyard of bergs; and CapeCranstoun, arouiid
which they were clustered like a fleet waiting for con-
voy. They were of majestic proportions; and as w^e
wound our way tortuously among them, one after an-
other would come into the field of view, like a tem-
ple set to be the terminus of a vista. At one time
we had the whole Acropolis looking down upon us in
silver; at another, our Philadelpia copy of the Par-

488

BEIIOS.

thenon, the monumental Bank of the United States,
stood out nlone. Then, aj^ain, some venerahle Cathe-
dral, with its deep vaults and hoary helfries, would
spread itself across the sky; or perhaps some wild
conihination of architectural impossibilities.

We moved so slowly that I had time to sketch sev-
eral of these dreamy fabrics. The one which is en-
graved on the o]jposite page was an irregular quad-
rangle, projected at the extremity of a series of ice-
structures, like the promontory that ends an isthuuis :
it was crowned with ramparts turreted by frac^turos;
and at the water-line a great barreled arch went back
into a cavern, that might have fabled as the haunt of
sea-kings or smugglers.

Off" Storoe, a white fox (C lagojms) came to us on
the loose ice: his legs and the tip of his tail were
black. lie was the first we had seen on the Green-
land coast.

He was followed the next day by a party of Esqui-
maux, who visited us from Proven, dragging their ka-
yacks and themselves over seven miles of the pack,
and then paddling merrily on board. For two glasses
of rum and a sorry ration of salt-pork, they kept turn-
ing somersets by the dozen, making their egg-shell
skills revolve sideways by a touch of the paddle, and
hardly disappearing under the water before they were
heads up again, and at the gangway to swallow their
reward.

The inshore ice opened on the thirtieth, and toward
evening we left the hospitable moorage of our iceberg,
and made for the low, rounded rocks, which the Ilosky
pointed out to us as the seat of the settlement. The
boats were out to tow us clear of the floating rubbish,
as the light and variable winds made their help nec-

essary, a:
^Sf^, whei
plf^.-isant ,

cousin, .Mil

III),': f.-i

liii'sfu

The bapti

erafed tJio.se

^lot conform

ininntos, to

covered witlj

tJow tJieir H

tive and inct]

»»^um], theJ

They vol unfj

h' that fJi,J

"ig- liquids, i
'^'i' J»nd jMiidd
^^"•'^pihiljfy
^'/"•d tack, a^

^ion at oiK'o
Jt is not M

Company.

^vitiiout an

ESQUIMAUX GUESTS.

489

essary, and we were slowly approRcliing our anchor-
ago, wlu-ii a rough yawl hoarded us. SIio Itroiight a
pleasant company, Unas the schoolmaster and parish
priest, TiOuisa his sister, the genth; Amalia, liOuisa's
cousin, and some others of humbler note.

The baptismal waters had but superficially regen-
erated these savages: their deportment, at least, did
not conform to our nicest canons. For the fir^t five
niinntes, to be snre, the ladies kept their fnc s close
covered with their hands, only withdrawing them to
blow their noses, which they did in the most primi-
tive and picturesque manner. But their modesty thtis
assured, tln^y felt that it needed no further illustralion.
They volunteered a dance, avowed to us confidenlial-
ly that lliey had educated tastes — Amalia that she
smoked, Louisa that she tolerated the more enliven-
ing liquids, and both that their exercise in the open
air had n\iu\o a slight refection altogether acceptable.
Hospitality is the virtue of these wild regions: our
luu-d tack, and cranberries, and rum were in requisi-
tion at once.

It is not for the host to tell tales of his after-dinner
company. But the truth of history may be satisfied
^vjthout an intimation that our guests paid niggard

■<■ >

:i .

490

PROVEN.

•I- " . . .i

honors to the jolly god of a milder clime. The veri-
est prince, of bottle memories, would not have quar-
reled with their heel-taps. * *. *

AVe were inside the rocky islands of Proven harbor
as our watches told us that another day had begun.
The time was come for parting. The ladies shed a
few kindly tears as we handed them to the stern-
seats: their learned kinsman took a recumbent posi-
tion below the thwarts, which i'avored a continuance
of his nap; and the rest of the party were bestowed
with seaman-like address — all but one unfortunate
gentleman, who, having protracted his festive devo-
tions longer than usual, had resolved not to " go honiq
till morning."

The case was a difhcult one; hut there was no l''>lp
for it. As the sailors passed him to the bottom of the
hoat, and again out upon the beach, he made the air
vocal with his indignant outcries. The dogs — I have
told you of the dogs of these settlements, how they
welcomed our first arrival — joined their nmsic with
his. The Provenese came chattering out into the
cold, like chickens startled from their roost. The gov-
ernor was roused by the uproar. And in the midst
of it all, our little weather-beati'u flotilla ran up the
first American flag that had been seen in the port of
Proven.

The port of Proven is securely sheltered by its mon-
ster hills. But they can not be said to smile a wel-
come upon the navigator.

Summer comes slowly upon Proven. When we
arrived, the slopes of the hills were heavily patched
with snow, and the surface, where it sho\ved itself,
was frozen dry. The water-line was toothed with
fangs of broken ice, which scraped against th*: beach

THE HOUSE OF PROVEN.

491

as the tides rose and fell; and an iceberg somehow
or other had Ibnnd its way into the little port. It
was a hiirniles.s lump, too deep sunk to float into dan-
gerous nearness; and its spire rose pleasantly, like a
villaj^fo church.

^'■July 3. I am writing in the 'Hosky' House of
Cristiansen. Cristiansen is tho Danish governor of
Proven, and this house ol' Cristiansen is the House of
Proven. Its owner is a simple and shrewd old Dane,
hale and vigorous, thirty-one of whose sixty-four win-
ters have been spent within the Arctic circle, north of
70° N. Lord in his lonely region — his four sons and
five subonlinates, oilmen, the only white faces about
him, except w hen he visits Uppernavik — the good old
man has the satisfaction of knowing no superior. His
habits are three fourths Esquimaux, one eighth Dan.
ish, and the remainder Provenish, or peculiarly his
own. liis wile is a half-breed, and his i'amiiy, in lan-
guage and aspect, completely Esquimaux.

" When the long, dark winter comes, he exchanges
books with his friend the priest of Uppernavik. ' The
Dant/ IVMUiing Magazin,' and ' The History of the Uni-
tas Fratrum,' take the place of certain well-thumbed,
ancient, sentimental novels; and sometimes the priest
comes in person to tenant the ' spare room,' which
makes it very pleasant, ' for we talk Danish.'

"Except this spare room, w^hich elsewhere would
be called the lol't of the house, its only apartment is
the one in which I am. And here eat, and drink, and
cook, and sleep, and live, not only Cristiansen and all .
his descendants, but his wife's mother, and her chil-
dren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who are
growing up about her. It is fifteen feet broad by six-
teen long, with just height enouj^h for a grenadier,

!]■

1 ; i 1

-'I--

492

THE FAMILY.

without his cap, to stand erect, and not touch the
beams. The frame of the house is of Norway pine,
coated with tar, with its interspaces cauiked with moss,
and small window-panes inserted in a deep casing of
wood.

" The most striking decorative feature is a ledge or
shelf of pine plank, of varying width, Avhich runs round
three of its sides. Its capacity is wonderful. It is
the sofa and bed, on which the entire united fanuly
find room to loll and sleep ; and upon it now are hud-
dled, besides a navy doctor and his writing board, one
ink-bottle, sundry articles of food and refreshment, one
sleeping child, one lot of babies not in the least asleep,
one canary-bird cage with its exotic and most sorrow-
ful little prisoner, and an infinite variety of other ar-
ticles too tedious to mention, comprising seal-skins,
boots, bottles, jumpers, glasses, crockery both of kitch-
en and nursery, coffee-pots, dog-skin socks canvas pil-
lows, an eider-down comforter, and a sick bitch with
a youthful family of whining puppies.

" Una, the second daughter, has been sick and un-
der treatment; and she is now hard at \vurk with her
sisters, Anna, Sara, and Cristina, on a tribute of grati-
tude to her doctor. They have been busy all the
morning whipping ond stitching the seal-skins with
reindeer tendon thref.d. My present is to bo a oiu-
plete suit of ladies' apparel, made of the richest seal-
skin, according to the standard mode of Proven, which
may always be presumed to be the ' latest winter fash-
ion.' It is a really elegant dress. To some the unmen-
tionables might savor of nuiscularity ; but having seen
something of a more polite society, my feminine asso-
ciations are not restricted to petticoats. Extremes meet
ill the Esq^uimaux of Greenland and Ama;',(M\s of Paris.

one
tole
sons

^m'^

ESQUIMAUX LIl'E.

" Tlio large family is a happy ^■f^\A^~

one: .so .small a home coiikl not f'l ^ ~-._;^

tolerate a ([iiarrelsome mess. The '

sons, the men Cristiansens, brave \j ft^^r ,^. Jr"

493

isteS-i***-^

iiud stalwart fellows, practiced in the kayack, and the
.sledge, and the whale-net, adroit with the harpoon and
expert with the rifle, are constant at the chase, and
bring home their spoil, with the honest pride becoming
good }M-nvi(lers of their household. And the women,
in tin if nur.sing, cooking, tailoring, and hou.sekeeping,
are, I suppose, faithful enough. But what favorable
impression that the nnnd gets through other chaimels
can coniend against the information of tlie nose ! Or-
gan t»f the aristocracy, critic and inagisfcr moru/n of
all civili/iition, censor th:>t heeds neit li(>r nrgument not
remonstrance — the nose, alas ! it bids n:e record, liiat
to all their possible godliness cleanliness is not super-
added.

"During the short .summer of dayliglit — it is one
of the many apparent vestiges, among this peojile, of
ancient nonuidic habits — the whole family gather joy-

fl •

i !■

494

ESQUIMAUX LIFE.

ously in the summer's lodge, a tent of seal or reindeer
skin, pitched out of doors. Then the room has its an-
nual ventilation, and its cooking and chamber furni-
ture are less liable tQ.be confounded. For the winter
the arrangement is this : on three sides of the room,
close by the ledge I have spoken of, stand as many
large pans of porous steatite or serpentine, elevated on
slight wooden tripods. These, fiUed with seal-blub-
ber^ and garnished with moss round the edge to serve
as a wick, unite the functions of chandelier and stove.
They who quarrel with an ill-trimmed lamp at home
should be disciplined by one of them. Each boils its
half-gallon kettle of coffee in twenty minutes, and
smokes — like a small chimney on fire ; and the three
burn together. There is no flue, or fire-place, or open-
ing of escape.

"On the remaining side of the room stand a valued
table and throe chairs; and with these, liUe a buhl
cabinet or fancy etagere, conspicuous in its modest
corner, a tub. It is the steeping-tub for curing. skins.
Its contents require active fermeiitation to fit them for
their office; and, to judge from the odor, the process
had been going on successfully."

"V^'e warped out to sea again on the afternoon of the
thirJ, with our friend the cooper for jiilot ; the entire
seltlement turning out upon the rocks to wish us good-
by, and remaining there till they looked in the dis-
tance like a herd of seal. But we found no opening
in the pack, and came back again to Proven on the
fourth, not sorry, as the weather was thirkoning, to
pass our festival inside the little port.

Our celebration was of the primitive order. AVe
saluted the town with one of tlio largest })alanced
stones, which we rolled down from the did' ahovo;

A NIGHT SCENE.

495

and made an eggf-nogg of eider eggs ; and the men
had a llosky ball ; and, in a word, we all did our best
to make the day differ from other days — which at-
tempt failed. Still, God ever bless the fourth!

The sixth was Sunday, and we attended church in
the mor)iing at the schoolmaster's. The service con-
sisted of a long-winded hymn, and a longer winded
seniiou, in the Esquimaux — surely the longest of long-
winded languages. The congregation were some two
do/en men and women, not counting our party.

Vt'o put to sea in the afternoon. The weather was
soft and warm on shore ; but outside it was perfectly
delightful : no wind — the streams of ice beyond en-
forcing a most perfect calm upon the water ; the ther-
mometer in the sunshine frequently as high as 7G°,
and never sinking below 30^ in the shade. I basked
on deck all night, sleeping in the sun.

And such a night! I saw the moon at.midni;'ht,
while the sun was sliinting along the tinted hor'vA^m,
and duplicated by reflection from the water below it:
the dark bergs to seaward had outlines of silver; and
two wild cataracts on the shore-side were filling from
ice-backed cliffs twelve hundre<l feet into the sea.

' M

'■ I

H '^J

M ir li

1 K^llV • !'

Hi'

m^tK

496

BRITISH WHALERS.

Juli/ 7. I was awakened from my dreamy sleep to
receive tlie visits of a couple ol' boats that were work-
ing slowly to us through the floes. An English face —
two English faces — twelve English faces : what a hap-
py sight ! We had had no one but ourselves to speak
our own tongue to for three hundred days, and were
as glad to listen to it as if we had been serving out
the time in the penitentiary of silence at Auburn or
Siug-8i ng. Their broad North Briton was music. It
was not the oflensive dialect of the provincial English-
man, with the affectation of speaking his language
correctly ; but a strong and manly home-brew of the
best language in the world for words of sincere and
hearty good-will. They had to turn up their noses
at our seal's-liver breakfast; but, when they heard of
our winter trials, they stuffed down the seal without
tasting it. I felt sorry after they were off, that I had
not taken their names down every one.

The whaling vessels to w'^ich they returned were
in the freer water outside the "hore stream, the .Jane
O'Boness, Captain John Walker > and the Pacific, Cap-
tain Patterson.

Tni: next day, beating hard to windward, we made
Uppornavik again. The scenery around it v.'i^.s very
striking, exhibiting some magnificent mural sections
of gneiss raid slates. The entering headland was some
fifteen hundred feet high. We found all the hills
pat(!hed with snow to the water's edge, where their
bases are abraded by the moving floes from one year's
end to another.

Mr. iMurdaugh and myself visited the town ; that is
to say, the priest's house, the governor's house, the oil
house, the school-church house, and siindr\ native
]wi<. T!ie M'ood-cut at the bottom of page 4W giv- <

UPPER NAVIK.

497

the interior of one of them, in which we superintend-
ed the manufacture of a dish of coffee.

We were received by the governor, accompanied hy
an okl friend of ours from Proven, a sort of secretary
there, " pienty-scribe-'em" as he styled liimself Tlie
okl gentleman had arrived at two that morning, in a
wliale-boat, with his stalwart sons, after thirty-two
miles of pulling through the ice against the wind.
" Keesey ver bod," he said ; *' the ice was very bad,"

The governor, superior in tone to Cristiansen, who
is a self-made man, welcomed us with fine Danish
good-breeding, and there is no good-breeding better.
We found him out to be a desperate conservative, fear-
ful of nothing but change. His house was after the
fashion of Mr. Moldrop's, of Godhaven, and scrupu-
lously clean. Coffee Avas served ; and we had the
honor of being introduced to three young ladies of the
half-breed, absolutely with frocks on. I thought I
could see that one of them had pantalettes of seal-skin
peeping out from under her skirt, and a wiser critic
than myself might have said that all their dresses were
somewhat antique of fashion. But they met us, on
the other hand, with a lady-like disregard of our own
outlandish costume ; and though our language was
somewhat composite in its idiom, for I understand nei-
ther the Danish nor the Hosky, and they understood
very little English, we managed to keep rip quite an
animated conversation. It was very pleasant to re-
lapse i 1 their company for a while, into the manners
of society at home.

We saw also the family of Petersen, Penny's dog
and Esquinuiux manager, all neat and pleasing per-
sons ; tlie sons, frank, nuinly fellows, and the eldest
daughter really quite refined and pretty. But wo did

a ^

)? 1

is a

498

BAFFIN S ISLAND.S.

Piwr- ■

not remain long. Our Aberdeen friend-s had transfer,
red to us a full supply of newspapers which they had
brought for Penny : so, after prescribing for the gov-
ernor's child, and receiving a dog-skin jumper for my
fee, we returned on board to review the annals of the
outer world for the past year.

We now pursued our way very smoothly. We had
delightful weather ; not the best, indeed, for men whose
errand lay ahead, but still very welcome to those who
had roughed it of late so severely. Summer was con-
centrating all its strength and beauty in the long, sun-
encircled day.

Both our vessels were carrying home Esquimaux
dogs. By continued kindness and over-feeding, I suc-
ceeded in quite changing the nature of ours: both
Disco and Hosky were on the high road to civilization.
But those on board the Rescue and the Albert were
still as wild as jackals: let loose upon the ice, it was
almost impossible to catch them again. One after-
noon, a little below the Devil's Thumb, when the dogs
of the Albert were out on the floe for exercise, a sud-
den breeze allowed her to work to windward through
an open lead. One poor dog was left behind. Boats
were sent out to recover him, and we all tried by voice
and jTf'sture to coax- him townrd us. But the luilf
savage, though he stood gazing at us wildly when we
were at a distance, ran skulking and wolf-like as soon
as we wem ^ear. AVe were forced at last to abandon
him to his fate. We could see him for hours, a dark
speck upon the white floe ; and afterward, as far oft'
as the spy-glass served, still with his head raised and
his body thrown back on his haunches. Worse than
this ; such was the quiet expanse of ice and water,
that we heard the poor creature's howling, waxing

ogs
ud-

ioice

ulou
IcUu-k
tV
ind
than
k'liter,
Lx'mg

GOOD-DY TO THE I'BINCE ALBERT, MELVILLE BAY.

^', /|'tji.K.JtiLi(\)*;i(V.-:.iA.4,,AiJ^<

INTtlllUH Ol-' A .VATlVl; HLT. 1 1'I'E11NA\1K.

Ill

't!

ESQUIMAUX UOGS.

-501

fairfter and lainter, for eight hours after we left the
ice.

The truhiing of these animals hy the natives is of
the most ungracious sort. I never heard a kind ac-
cent from an Esquimaux to his dog. The driver's
wliip of walrus hide, some twenty feet long, a stone
or a lump of ice skillfully directed, an imprecation
loud and sharp, made emphatic by the fist or foot, and
a grudged ration of seal's meat, make up the winter's
entertainment of an Esquimaux team. In the sum-
mer the dogs run at large and cater for themselves.

I remarked that there were comparatively few of
them at Holsteinberg, and was told a melancholy sto-
ry to account for it. It seems that the governor,
and priest, and fisherman keep goats, veritable goats,
housed in a fire-warmed apartment in winter, tmd al-
lowed the rest of the year to crop the grasses of the
snow valleys. Now the half-tutored, unfed Esqui-
maux dog would eat a goat, bones, skin, and, for aught
I know, horns. The diet was too expensive. It be-
came a grave question, therefore, how to reconcile the
incompatibilities of dog and goat. The matter was
settled very summarily. When the green season of
sunshine and plenty came, the dogs were sent to a
rocky islet, a. sort of St. Helena establishment, about
a mile from the main, with permission to live by their
wits ; and the goats remained to browse and grow fat
at large. The results were tragical. Tiio dogs were
afflicted with sore famine. Great life battles began ;
the strong keeping tliemselves alive by eating the
weak. By this terrible process of gradual reduction,
the colony was resolved into some four or five scarred
veterans, whose nightly combats disturbed even the
milk drinkers at the settlement.

I'l

1 ;■
ii

I mi

■V \

11. ■■'

i ■■ ! !

.1;

f: i

502

iiT

AN lCE-TKA.r.

1 re. aays after t.e ^^^ZX^tZ

neaved our luaed '-*";!* t, a tnd o'ar labyrinth

Thumb. But here *;1^~^„ '„„, ^,y, and wea-

of bergs attended us .MM^^ „„,„nandor had

,ying us with tUe,. ■.""""'X'^^p^thized in it-how

tut one thought, and ««;" J^^ts position at tire

e„„,d our little sduaxhon X^erwise no lack of

searching grounds! "« ,. intricate ones, with

incidents. There ^/J^** Vie, „f light, one of

Wrds. , . wd left us. We were

But the spirit of the ^nt had ^^^^ ^^^^

close upon the ""'>f; f ^rid of this vexatious en-
,,eeks remained ^'f *"f„Vtncaster Sound, com-
• anglement, press on *™";^j^ t„„ cirannel, and re-
plete our explorations ■^j'^^^""S ^^^^ ^^^^^ „„

Ln to the open ^'""f *° 3 been fimen in last
;::f;''7ldirtwert iTa'perfect ice-trap, unable

to win an inch of P'OS'^''^ ^ t„„. As long ago as

We were ^"*°»* *^^,Xktlnrined to make south,
thehm^UergoodolUhd^^^^

despairing f .J»' "^" " .„ ^.^j attached to the old land-
eleventh, while wo ««'» i^'^ „ ,,„,,, „,„! di.ap-

floe, she found ■«'^/^"^y '" ^i^u Ua'nlly talk of
peared on the thirteen ■ ^e c ^^ ^^ ,„

the regrets we all '>''* 'f !°;' »y ^ear their broken-
„ie that for days after ^jXt" The Garb of Old
hearted little hand-organ gi mding i •

Gael.

IS ing un(

BERG PRACTURT:.

503

"VVo perlmps tliouf^ht of their departure the more,
becjuise it implied something of uncertainty as to our
own fate. They had avowedly left us, fearless and
enterprising as they were, to escape from hazai'ds that
we were continuing to brave, Mr. Leask, their vet-
eran ice-master, thought, when he left us, that if ^ve
followed the northern leads there was almost a cer-
tainty of our being caught, like the Swan, and the
York, and a host of others before us. A pleasant neigh-
borhood, truly ! Here perished the ships of '47. Here
the North Star was beset in '48 ; hereabout, the year
before last, the Lady Jane, and the Superior, and the
Prince of Wales ; and, coming to our own experience
of last year, here it was, in this very devil's hole,
that M'e wore out our three weeks' imprisonment.

Moreover, the season was more advanced than last
year's had been. The. thermometer, which stood at
noon in the shade at 54°, sunk in the evening hours
to 30°.

"August 17, Sunday. The same revolving wall of
bergs meets us to tlie west, but the glacier on llie other
side is partially hidden by a new procession insJiore.
While profaning the day by an attempt to sketch these
sublime monuments of creative power in my drawing-
book, I was interrupted by a heavy undulation, roll-
ing under the brig, and passing on to the solid inshore
floe. It was followed by a number of others, coming
in qu'ck succession, and breaking up the floe drift in
every direction. The action continued for some min-
utes. It must have been caused by some very large
and probably irregular berg overturning at a distance;
but it was without noise, and indeed without premo-
nition of any sort. The direction of the wave where
it struck us was from the northwest. Up to this mo-

\ r f '

' 1 f^<

\h }

Hi- ' •'!■

■ i

'ill

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

£~^'

I/.

1.0

I.I

1^ 1^ 112.2

til
lb

1.8

1.25 1.4

1.6

.4 6" -

Hiotographic

Sciences

Corporation

33 WIST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY. MStO

(716) S72-4S03

504

THE OPENING.

ment, all the heavy heaving and warping of to-day
had been without any effect. Now the floes separated
as if by magic: there was relaxation every where; and
we made at least two hundred yards before the ice
closed again.

" This afternoon, the captain, with Murdaugh and
myself, walked and climbed over this same ice, to
make a reconnoissance of the region beyond the bergs.
By the aid of boat-hooks and some slippery jumping
we achieved it, and were at last able to climb one of
the imprisoning bergs, and look from its crest to the
other side.

*' It was a sermon such as uninspired man has never
preached. There, there, far down below us, there was
the open water, stretching wide away to the south;
placid. and bright, bearing on its glazed surface fleets
of bergs and rafts of floes, but open water still ; and
yet further on, the unbroken water-sky. Our little
brig was under us, the tiny fretwork of her spars traced
clean and sharp against the arena of ice ; but, thank
God ! she is nearing the gates of her prison-house. De
Haven was right. One quarter of a mile ! Now, lads,
for the warps again !

" Midnight. We are out : at ten minutes past eleven
we shipped our rudder, the first time in three weeks;
and rhade sail, the first time since the 26111 of July.

"AV^e owe it all to a relaxation of the floes. The
wind was from the northward : the bergs that hemmed
in the loose drift around us yielded a little toward the
west, and the skreed began to separate. The main-
brace was spliced ; springs took the place of warps ;
and the men went gallantly to their work. They
were as anxious to get out as any of us.

"At last we reached an opening : two immense

bergs, ov(

water-Iin

Shall we

and capsi

of anchor

down men

sels as oui

pendulous

ven gave i

of the Dev

^'August

o{^ us : she

commodore

the United

The gam

Sound was

riddled cre^

North Baffii

After ouI

sailed to one

casks. The

'"ff so, but 1

after a closii

Jioineward.

"Nation to t

^^''r'l, in tlie

navik for a

^^'ith the
most norther
''^720 47'.th
Arctic circle
renewed our
once in ever]
penhagen.
•ness of Gree

THE ESCAPE.

505

bergs, overhanging and ragged ; and down toward the
water-line, an opening het'veen them like a gateway.
Shall we pass ? We have seen so many disruptions,
and capsizings, and accidents of all sorts in this work
of anchor-planting : sometimes a mere breath brings
down masses that would bury half a dozen such ves-
sels as ours ; and these bergs are so water- washed and
pendulous. Murdaugh waited for the order. De Ha-
ven gave it; and, in deep silence, we passed the Gades
of the Devil's Trfip.

"August 19, Tuesday. The Rescue is close astern
of us : she got through about noon yesterday. Our
commodore has resolved on an immediate return to
the United States."

The game had been played out fairly. Lancaster
Sound was out of the question ; and for our scurvy-
riddled crew, a nine months' winter in the ice of
North Baffin would have been disastrous.

After our escape from the congregated bergs, we
sailovi to one at a little distance, and tilled our water-
casks. The berg crumbled and fell while we won; do-
ing so, but nobody was hurt ; and in two days inorf,
after a closing skirmish with the ice-pack, wo headed
homeward. On the twentieth we made our last sal-
utation to the Devil's Thumb ; and on the twoiity-
tliird, in the evening, we were near enoun^h to T^ppor-
navik for a little boating party of us to make it a visit.

With the exception of Kangiartsoak, this is the
most northern of the Danish settlements. Its latitude
is 72° 47', three hundred and seventy miles within the
Arctic circle. But reaching it, we felt as if we had
renewed our communication ^th the world ; for here,
once in every year, comes the*olitary trader from (Co-
penhagen. We had become so familiar with the drear-
iness of Greenland, that the glaring red gables of the

606 THE aOVEKKOK's M.«».0«.

„„J the white curiosity, which stooJ f-r
three houses, ■'"J *« J^„^ ^,,, absolutely cheetu.g
a steeple above the churc^^ ^^^^ ^^^,^,^ ,„,, ,

«„d we lanae.1 P<>°' J"'^^' „,,, kicked among the

''"J::^plt»e„tonce,„o.eJhe.o^^^^^^^^^^^^
to V.ove„ ; the Dan.h^sh.p had .^^ ^^^

priest had gone to P'"';^' „, „ uiudly wcl-

l:ranO»teET:s':^1. hospitalities or..

mansion. rp^^g mansion was far

from picturesque. It was

a square block of heavy

timber, running nito a

high-peak gable. lUe

roof was of tarred can-

vas, laid over boards;

^^^^^^ ..^^ the wooden walls coated

^^^^^^^^ . ^ _,i A little paUng,

.vith tar, and painted -.^1°-"' about ttn feet of pre
.vhite and gardeu.hke jndo^;'! ''^"^^^ ^^^^^^^,

pared soil, 77fj,:,tXst«'t gathered ou ti.en,,

which, in sp't'of*""?*' v„, of orucilbrs, green r^ul-
.ve could detect a few buncle^o' g„den, the d.^-

i»Ues, and t'-'^P-'^P'. "Tier's residence,
tinetive appendage "f .«'« ^? "^ „,■ ,Uose at Di..;o
Inside the house-.t s - l^^.,„„,,ed vestibule

THE FEAST.

507

tall, black cylinder, such as I have seen in the Baltic
cities, standing like a column in the corner : the next,
a platoon of tobacco-pipes paraded against the wall :
the next — let me be honest, it was the first — a table,
with a clean white cloth, and plates, knives, and forks,
all equally clean. Overhead hang beams as heavy
as the carlines of a ship's cabin : below is an uncov-
ered floor of scrupulous polish : the windows are re-
cessed, glazed in small squares, and opening, door-like,
behind muslin curtains : the walls canvas, painted,
and decorated with a few prints altogether remarkable
for intensity of color. The looking-glass ; I reserve it
for more special mention. It was not very large, but
it was the first we had encountered since we came
into the regions of ice. " To see ourselves as others
see us" is not always the prayer of an intelligent self-
love. Sharp-visaged, staring, weather-beaten old men,
wrinkle-marked, tawny-baarded, haggard-iooking: the
boys of Uppernavik are better bred than the New York-
ers, or they would have mobbed us.

The ladies — they were ladies, they knew no superi-
ors ; they were self-possessed, hospitable ; they wore
frocks, and they did not laugh at us — the ladies spread
the meal, coffee, loons' eggs, brown bread, and a wel-
come. We ate like jail-birds. At last came ' He crown-
ing act of hospitality ; on the bottom of a blue saucer,
radiating like the spokes of a wheel or the sticks of a
Dehiware's camp-fire, crisp, pale, yet blushing at their
tips, and crowned each with its little verdant tuft —
ten radishes f Talk of the mango of Luzon and the
nmngostiue of Borneo, the oherimoya of Peru, the pine
of Sumatra, the seckel-pear of Schuylkill meadows ;
but the palate must cease to have a memory before I
yield a place to any of them alongside the ten radishes
of Uppernavik.

508

THE KAYAOK.

On tlie twenty-fiftli wc reached the "Wlmle-fisli
Islands, and at six in the evening were near enough
to be towed in Ly our boats and anclior off Kronpfin-
sen. Flocks of kayacks hung about our vessel, like
birds about a floating spar. We thought tlieni more
sprightly and active than the Es<piiniaux we had 1 teen
among ; but perhaps it is as unfair to judge of the Es-
quimaux without his kayack as of a sloth off his tree.
There was a bright boy among them, under ten years
of age, Avho could manage a little craft they had built
for him admirably.

The common length of the kayack is about eight-
teen feet, its breadth on deck some twenty-one inches
and its depth ten inches in the middle, just such as to
allow its occupant to sit with his feet extended on the
bottom and his hips below the deck.

Its frame is light enough to startle all our notions
of naval construction, and it is covered with nothing
but tanned seal-hide. Yet in this egg-shell fabric the
Esquimaux luivigator habituaily, and fearlessly, and
successfully too, v«incounters risks which his more civ-
ilized rivals in the seal-hunt, the men of New Bedford

and Stonington, would righlfuUy shrink from. I am
not sure that I can make su('h a description of ifs pro-
portions and structure as a tdiip-builder would under-
stand ; but the drawings I annex have been made
carefully from one of the best models, and maybe re-
lied on for all the information that cim be gathered
firoiu them.

ITS CONSTRUCTION.

509

The skeleton consists ol" three hnigitiidinal strips of
wood on each side — it would be wrong to call them
timbers, for they are rarely thicker than a common
plastering lath — stretching from end to end, and
shieldetl at the stem and stern by cutwaters of bone.
The upper of these, the gunwale, if I may call it so, is
somewhat stouter than the others.
The bottom is framed by three sim-
ilar longitudinal strips. These are
crossed by other strips or hoops,
wliich perform the office of knees and ribs : they are
placed at a distance of not more than eight to ten
inches from one another. Wherever the parts of this
frame- work meet or cross, they are bound together
with reindeer tendon very artistically. The g(uieral
outline is, I think, given accurately in the sketch on
the opposite page.

Over this little basket-work of wood is stretched the
coating of seal hides, which also covers the deck, very
neatly sewed with tendon, and firmly glued at the
edges by a composition of reindeer horn scraped and
liquefied in oil. A Atirnish made of the same mate-
rials is used to protect the whole exterior.

The pah, or man-hole, as we would term it, is very

510

THE IMPLEMENTS.

nearly in the centre of the little vessel, soiuetimes a
few inches tovmrd the stern. It is circular or nearly
so, wide enough to let the kayacker squeeze his hips
through it, and no more. It has a riui or lip, secured
upon the gunwale, and rising a couple of inches above
the deck, so as to permit the navigator to bind it wa-
ter-tight around his person. Immediately in front of
him is his as-say-leut, or line stand, surmounted by a
reel, with the sealing-line snugly coiled about it, and
revolving on its centre with the slightest touch. He
has his harpoon and his lances strapped at his side;
his rifle, if he owns one, stowed away securely be.
tween decks.

Just behind the kayacker rests his bladder- float or

air-bag, an air-tight sack of
seal-skin, always kept inflat-
ed, and fastened to the sealing-
line. It performs the double
office of a buoy, and a bnnik
or drag to retard tha motion of the prey after it is
struck.

The harpoon, or principal lance (unahh), is also at-

I bi.

tached to the sealing-line. It is a most ingenious de-
vice. The rod or staff" is divided at right angles in

two pieces, which
are neatly jointed
or hinged with ten-
don strips, but so braced by the manner in which the
tendon is made to cross and bind in the lashing, that,
except when the two parts are severed by lateral press-
ure, they form but a single shaft. The point, gener-

P^ttce, but
Thu.s, vvlie
shaft e.scjin
*''e grain ]
carriod froe
■^t the ri

^"s staff, u ,

fi*s itself on tl
a good frrip J
i^om it, and i
drawing back

OF THE KAYACKER.

611

ally an arrow-head of
bone, lias a socket to
receive the end of the
A shaft: it disenj^nges it-
self readily from its
place, but still remains fast to the end of tiio line.
Thus, when the kayacker has struck his prey, the
shaft escHpes the risk of breaking from a pull Hgainst
the gniin by bending at the joint, and the point is
carried free by the animal as he dives.

At the riglit centre of gravity ol' the harpoon, that
point, I mean, at which a cudgel-player would grasp
his staff, u neatly-arranged restiis or holder [noon-sok)

OUTKinE UK IIAIK jy THE >00\-.sOK.

IIB.

l.talDE OB SECTION OK THE NOn,\-SOK.

fits itself on the shaft. It serves to give the kayacker
a good grip when casting his weapon, but slides off
from it, and is left in the hand, at the moment of
drawing back his arm. The bird javelin {neti-ve-ak),

ain.

«I^

the seal lanc(! (ah-gnu-ve-to), and the rude hun< ing-knife

[ka-poot), will be easily understood from my sketches.

ti».

512

THE KATACKGR.

The paddle (pa-uh-teet), about which a knowing
Eiiquimaux will waste as many words as a sporting
gentleman upon a double-barreled Manton or a bridle-
bit of peculiar fancy, is in every respect a beautifully
considered instrument. It never exceeds seven feet
in length. It is double-bladed, and its central por-
tion, which receives the hands, presents an ellipsoid
face, well adapted to a secure grasp. The blades are
four inches in width, and some two feet in length,
forming very nearly sections of a cone. Their edges
and tips are carefully guarded from the cutting action
of the ice by the ivory of the walrus or narwhal.

Thus constructed and furnished, its seal-skin cover-
ing renewed every year, the kayack is the life, and
pastime, and pride of its owner. He carries it on his
shoulder into the surf, clad in his water-proof seal-skin
dress, belted close round the neck, his hood firmly set
above ; wedges himself into the man-hole, unites him-
self by a lashing to its rim, and paddles off for a frolic
outside the breakers, or it may be a seal-hunt, or to
throw his javelin at the eider, or perhaps to carry dis-
patches to some distant settlement, or to take part in
a crusade against the reindeer.

In their long excursions in search of deer, the ka-
yackers paddle their way to the nearest portage along
the coast, and shoulder their little skiff till they reach
the interior lakes. Their dexterity is admirable in the
use of their weapons. I have seen them spear the eider
on the wing and the loon as he was diving. Scud-
ding along at a rate equal to that of a five-oared whale-
boat, they fling their tiny javelin far ahead, and, with-
out interrupting their progress, seize it as they pa.ss.

The authorities of Greenland communicate con-
stantly with their different posts by means of the ka-

yack.

travel i;

ar3 exf

only di

well-rei

and lai

rook, ai

self one

ing ove

port aga

messenf

there fr

miles in

with vai

thirty-si;

It is s

as you p

and Lie)

Holstein]

Here are

illustrati

man.

Exten

the nortl

M'hich tl

with per]

of weatlj

kayacks i

passag(!sj

our vess(f

kayack

proachei

ing hims|

trough,

HIS DEXTERITY.

513

yock. On these occasions the express consists of two,
traveling together for assistance and fellowship. They
ar 3 expeditious, and proverhially reliable. They travel
only during the day. At night they land upon some
well-reinenibered solitude ; the kayack is carried up,
and laid beside the leeward face of some protecting
rock, and, after a scanty meal, the Hosky seats him-
self once more in its closely-fitting hole; then, draw-
ing over him his water-tight hood, he leans for sup-
port against the naked stone, and sleeps. One of these
messengers arrived at Holsteinberg while we were
there from Fredericfeliaab, three hundred and sixty
miles in ten days ; traveling along a tempestuous coast,
with varying winds and currents, at a mean rate of
tliirty-six miles a day.

It is said the expertness of the kayacker increases
as you proceed south. If the natives of Julianshaab
and Lichtenfels surpass those of Egedesminde and
Holsteinberg, their feats are unnecessarily wonderful.
Here are some of them, not performed as such, but
illustrating the accomplishments of a well-trained
man.

Extending out from an offsetting mountain-ridge to
the north of Holsteinberg, is a rocky reef or ledge, over
which the sea breaks heavily, and the currents run
with perplexing caprice and force. In almost all sorts
of weather, if there be only light enough to see, the
kayacks may be met playing about these surf-beaten
passages, regardless of wind, swell, or tides. When
our vessel was entering port, we were boarded by a
kayack pilot. In spite of the heavy seaway, he ap-
preached fearlessly to the side of the brig, then, pois-
ing himself on the slope of the waves, he avoided the
trough, and, passing a running bowline fore and aft

614

FEATS OF THE KAYACKER.

over his little craft, man and boat were lifted bodily
on board.

Going out to seaward, with a heavy inshore surf
rolling, is no trifle, even to well-manned whale boats
The kayticker paddles quietly out toward the break-
ers. The roaring lip of green water >/;r.iis roof like
over him. Down cowers the p'iant man, his right
shoulder buried in the water, and his hooded head
bowed upon his breast. An instant and he emerges
on the outer side with a jutting impulse, shaking the
water from his mane, and preparing for a fresh en-
counter.

The somerset, the " cantrum," as the whalers tenn
it, may be seen any hour of the day for a plug of to-
bacco or a glass of rum. I have seen it wich dilferent
degrees of address ; but one, that Mr. Miiller, the gov-
ernor of llolsteinberg, told me of, is the perfection of
dextrous overturning. The kayacker takes a stone,
OS large as he can grasp in his hand, holding the pad-
dle by the imperfect grip of the thumbs. He whirls
his hands over his head, upsets his little bark, buries
it bottom up, and rights himself on the other side,
still holding the stone.

But after all, the crowning feat is the every-day
one of catching the seal. For this the kayack is con-
structed, and it is here that its wonderful adaptation
of purpose is best displayed. Without describing the
admirable astuteness with which he finds and ap-
proaches his prey, let us suppose the kayacker close
upon a seal. The line-stand is carefully examined, the
coil adjusted, the attachments to the body of the boat
BO fixed that the slightest strain will separate them.
The bladder-float is disengaged, and the harpoon tipped
with its barb, which forms the extremity of the coil.

HTS SEAL HUNT.

515

In nn instant the kayacker has thrown hi** body
back and .«iit his weapon home. Wiiirr! goes the
little coil, anii the float is bobbing over the water —
not far, hov ever, for the barb has entered the lungs,
and thr ^ !al Uiust ri:-c for breath. Now tiie harpoon
is picked up, is head remaining in the victim; and
the knyack coiucs along. IIe'"o is required discretion
as well us address. The hunter has probably but two
weapons, a lanco and a knife. The latter he can not
part with, and even the lance brings him to closer
quarters than the safety of his craft would invite; for
the contortions of a large seal thus wounded may tear
it at some of the seams, and the merest c^revice is cer-
tain destruction. If iie has with him the light javelin
which he uses for spearing birds, he may be tenijjted
to employ it now ; but this, I believe, is not altogether
sportsmanlike.

This occasional tendency of the ice-raft to float
across the bay has given rise to some fearful accidents.
It would be difficult for fiction to exceed some of
the stories that are well authenticated of those poor
nomads.

Esquimaux who have gone out with kayack or
sledn-e have been mourned as dead. Years afterward
messages have come by the whalers of their safety in
the unknown regions of the West, and of their adop-
tion there ; but after trials too fearful to be recounted.
Some yc.irs ago — the year was mentioned, but I have
forgot it — a couple of Esquimaux, relatives, set out on
a sledge in quest of seal. The great ice-plain formed
one continuous sheet from the Greenland shore as far
as the eye could reach. During the night, one of
them, awaking from a heavy sleep, found that the wind
had shifted to the eastward. It was blowing gentlv.

516

CONCLUSION.

and could hardly have been blowing long. They har-
nessed in their dogs, urged them to their utmost speed,
and made for the land they had left. Too late! a
yawning chasm of open water lay already between.
A day was lost in frantic despair. It blew a gale,, an
offshore southeaster. The fog rose, the wind still from
the east: the shore was gone.

The story is a wild one. They reharnessed the dogs,
and turned to the west, one hundred and thirty track-
less miles of ice before them. On the third day the
dogs gave out : one of the lost men killed his fellow,
and revived the animals with his flesh. The wretch-
ed survivor at last reached the North American shore
about Merchant's Bay. Years afterward, this account
came over by a circuitous channel to the Greenland
settlement. He had married a new wife, had a new
family, a new home, a new country, from which, had
he desired it r^ever so much, there could be for him
no return.

The traditions of all the settlements have tales of
similar disaster. Yet the Esquimaux are a happy race
of people, happy so far as content and an ehistic tem-
perament go to make up happiness.

We loft the settlements of Baffin's Bay on tho Cth
of September, 1851, grateful exceedingly to tho kind-
hearted officers of the Danish posts; and after a run of
some twenty-four days, unmarked by incident, touch-
ed our native soil again at New York. Our noble
friend, Henry GrinncU, was the first to welcome us on
the pier-head.

In the
special or
conduct a
Sir John ]

Thi.s Se
New Yorl^
several st
row.s amid
the .steani-

Tlie paj

Elisliii Ken
Isaac I. ll.i
AVilliam M

Will, m Godll
Schubert, ThJ

The hisl
the return,
rank as tj
work in
inenco wl
stands in|
equally ei
The follol
can oiily 4
and a fewl

UAKPOONrao SEALS.

CHAPTER XXXIV.
DR. KANE'S SECOND EXPEDITION.

In the month of December, 1852, Dr. Kane received
gpecial orders from le Secretary of the Navy, "to
conduct an expedition to the A'ct'n seas, in search of
Sir John Frankhn."

This Second Expedition, in the brig " Advance," left
New York on the 30th day of May, 1853, escorted by
several steamers ; and, passing slowly on to the Nar-
rows amid salutes and cheers of farewell, cast of!" from
the steam-tug and put to sea.

The party, all told, consisted of eighteen persons :

Elislia Ki'iU Kane, Commander. Henry Brooks, First Oflli'ur.
Isaac I. Hayes, Surgeon. August Sontag, Astronomer.

William Morton, James McOary, John W. Wilson, Amos Bonsall.
Gt'oi-ge lliley, George Stephenson, Christian Ohlscn, Ge()rg(> Whipple,
Will, in Godfrey, Henry Goodfbllow, John Blake, Jeflerson Baker, Peter
Schubert, Thomas Hickcy.

The history of this Expedition was published after
the return of its surviving members, and at once took
rank as the most interesting and most fiiscinating
work in the catalogue of Arctic literature — an em-
inence which it to-day enjoys. Although Dr. Kane
stands in the front rank of Arctic adventurers, his
equally eminent success as an author is unquestioned.
The following extracts from "Arctic Explorations"
can oi;ly serve to give the outlines of the expedition,
and a few of the experiences of the party : • . .

519

620

DR. Kane's second expedition.

" "We entered the harbor of Fiskemaes on the 1 st of
July, amid tlie chinior of its entire population, assem-
bled on the rocks to greet us. This place has an en-
viable reputation for climate and health. Except per-
haps Ilolsteinberg, it is the dryest station upon the
coast ; and the springs which well through the mosses,
frequently remain unfrozen throughout the year.

" We found Mr. Lassen, the superintending ollicial of
the Dani.sh Company, a hearty, single-minded man,
fond of his wife, his children, and his pipe. The visit
of oiu' Ijrig was, of course, an incident to be marked in
the simple annals of his colony ; and, even before I
had shown him my official letters, from the Court of
Denmark, ho had most hospitably proffered everything
for our acconnnodation.

"Feeling tlu-t our dogs would require fresh provis-
ions, which coidd hardly be spared from our supplies on
shipboard, I availed myself of Mr. Lassen's influence
to ob^iin an Escjuimaux hunter for our party. He
recommended to me one Hans ^" nstian, a boy of nine-
teen, as an expert with the kayak and javelin ; and
after Hans had given me a touch of his quality by
spearing a bird on the wing, I engaged him. He was
fat, good-natured, and, except under the excitements'
of the hunt, as stolid and unimpressible as one of our
own Indians.

"Bidding good-liye to the governor, whose hospital-
ity we had shared liberally, we put to sea on Saturday,
the 10th, })eating to the northward and westward in
the teeth of a heavy gale.

" On the 10th we passed the promontory of Swarte-
huk, and were welcomed the next day at Pro\ en by
my old friend Christiansen, the superintendent, and
found his^ family much as I left them three years

FASTENKD TO AS ICEBERa.

FAKTIKO nAWBKRS OFF GOOIiSESP LFDOK.

before. F:
man, and i
a Danish
patient, Ar
quimaux, a
Madame (
many otlic
warni-hean

" August
small rotte
now be car
to the nort

« 2 A. M.
has begun
around us, i
south. At I
line to be (
four hours'
is a movinfj
it keeps its
loose ice dv
water for a

"About
and, esp3'in
weigh, and
The men \
the (Iocs in

" On our
spectacle, v
have made
over the n
" fast friend
part of its i
great respl
and rubies i

DR. KANE S SECOND EXPEDITION.

523

before. Frederick, his son, had married a native wo-
man, and added a summer tent, a half-breed boy, and
a Danish rifle to his stock of vahiables. My former
patient, Anna, had united fortunes with a fatrfaced Es-
quimaux, and was the mother of a chul)l)y little girl.
Madame Christiansen, who coimted all these and so
many others as her happy progeny, was hearty and
warm-hearted as ever.

"August 1. Beset thoroughly with drifting ice,
sm.all rotten floe-i)iece3. But ibr our berg, we would
now be carried to the south ; as it is, we drift with it,
to the north and cast.

" 2 A. M. The continued pressure against our berg
has begun to aft'ect it ; and, like the great Hoc all
around us, it has takin up its line of march toward the
south. At the risk of being entangled, I ordered a ligho
line to be carried out to a much larger berg, and, after
four hours' labor, made fast to it securely. This l)erg
is a moving breakwater, and of gigantic proportions:
it keeps its course steadily toward the north, while the
loose ice drifts by on each side, leaving a wake of black
water for a mile behind us.

"About 10 r. M. the iuuncdiate danger was past;
and, espying a lead to the noitheast, we got under
weigh, and pushed over in spite of the drifting trash.
The men worked with a will, and we bored through
the floes in excellent style.

"On our road we were favored with a gorgeous
spectacle, which hardly any excitement of peril could
have made us overlook. The midnight sun came out
over the northern crest of the great berg, our late
" fast friend," kindling variously-colored fires on every
part of its surface, and making the ice around us one
great resplendency of gcmwork, blazing carbuncles,
and rubies and molten gold.

624

ARCTIC PILLARS OF nERCULES.

** August 6. Cape Alexander and Capo Isabella, the
headland ^f Smith's Sound, are now in sight ; on
the righ /e have an array of cliffs, whose frowning
grandeur might dignify the entrance to the proudest
of southern seas. T should say they would average
from four to five hundred yards in height, with some
of their precipices eight hundred feet at a single step.
They have been until now the Arctic pillars of Hercu-
les ; and they look down on us as if they challenged
our right to pass. Even the sailors are impressed, as
we move under their dark shadow.

"August 20. By Saturday morning it blew a
perfect hurricane. We had seen it coming, and were
ready with three good hawsers out ahead, and all
things snug on board.

" Still it came on heavier and heavier, and the ice
began to drive more wildly than I thought I had ever
seen it. I had just turned in to warm and dry myself
during a momentary lull, and was stretching myself
out in my bunk, when I heard the sharp twanging
snap of a cord. Our six-inch hawser had parted, and
we were swinging by the two others ; the gale roaring
like a lion to the southward.

" Half a minute more, and ' twang, twang ! ' came a
second report. I knew it was the whale-line by the
shrillness of the ring. Our noble ten-inch manilla still
held on. I Avas hurrying my last sock into its seal-
skin boot, when McGary came waddling down the
companion-ladder : — ' Captain Kane, she won't hold
much longer: it's blowmg the devil himself, and I am
afraid to surge.'

" The manilla cable was proving its excellence when
I reached the deck ; and the crew, as they gathered
round me were loud in its praises. We could hear its

deep

the r

the (

noise

lowed

ice, a I

**B

in our

■which

was a

them ;

be das

might r

the stoi

they w(

arated J

hopes ri

and inti

some ui

wind af

Almost

Were no|

they wel

it must

"Just)

berg caj

thought [

viJle Bajl

side us,

slope, ani

anxious f

tlie pale]

us bravcj

flanks, J

DR. KANE S SECOND EXPEDITION.

525

the runnin<^-geiir and inoiininj^ ol' th

the (leath-.song

The

strands

deep Eolian chant, swelling through all the rattle of

slirouds. It was
gave way, with the
noise of a shotted gun ; and in the smoke that fol-
lowed their recoil, we were dragged out by the wild
ice, at its mercy.

" But a new enemy came in sight ahead. Directly
in our way, just beyond the line of floe-ice against
which we were alternately sliding and thumping,
was a group of bergs. We had no power to avoid
them ; and the only question was whether we were to
be dashed in pieces against them, or whether they
might not offer us some providential nook of refuge from
the storm. But, as we nearcd them, we perceived that
they weie at some distance from the floe-edge, and sep-
arated from it by an interval of open water. Our
hopes rose, as the gale drove us toward this passage,
and into it; and we were ready to exult, when, from
some unexplained cause, — probably an eddy of the
wind against the lofty ice-walls, — we lost our headway.
Almost at the same moment, we saw that the bergs
were not at rest; that with a momentum of their own
they were bearing down upon the other ice, and that
it must be our fate to be crushed between the two.

"Just then, abroad sconce-piece or low water-washed
berg came driving up from the southward. The
thought flashed upon me of one of our escapes in Mel-
ville Bay ; and as the sconce moved rapidly close along-
side U.S, McGary managed to plant an anchor on its
slope, and hold on to it by a whale-line. It was an
anxious moment. Our noble tow-horse, whiter than
the pale horse that seemed to be pursuing us, hauled
us bravely on ; the spray dashing over his windward
flanks, and his forehead ploughing up the lesser ice, as

623

RENSSELAER nAROOR.

if in scorn. The bergs encroached upon us as we ad.
vanced : our channel narrowed to width of perhaps
forty feet: we braced the yards to clear the iuipeud-
ing ice-walls.

" We passed clear ; but it was a close shave, — so
close that our port quarter-boat would have been
crushed if we had not taken it in Crom the davits, — and
found ourselves under the lee of a berg, in a compara-
tively open lead. Never did heart-tired men acknowl-
edge with more gratitude their merciful deliverance
from a wretched death."

After forcing a passage for a week longer, with a
constant repetition of the scenes just described, Dr.
Kane held a grand council with his officers, and with
one exception, Henry Brooks, they were in favor of
returning southward to winter. Not being able to
take the same view, Dr. Kane announced his intention
of working towards the northern headlan^ of the bay :
once there, he would put the brig into winter harbor
at the first suitable place. In his decision they all
cheerfully acquiesced. Finally, on the 7th of Sep
tembcr, the " Advance " was anchored in Rensselaer
Harbor, and by the 10th, was firmly frozen in. " The
same ice is around her still."

Preparations for the winter's residence at this place
were at once commenced; journeys were made
towards the interior, and a party of seven men set
off September 20th, dragging a sledge load of pcni-
mican, to establish the first of a chain of provision de-
pots along th^! coast, for the benefit of exploring par-
ties to be sent out the next spring. On the 10th of
October, Kane with a dog team, and Blake on skates,
started off to look for the absent party, who had not
returned when expected.

"lia^tr 'f.^v.

nV . iKADLAND. — INSFICTINQ A lUBBOB.

KENS8KLAER IIAKBOK.

CAMP ON THE FLOES.

529

" On the morning of tlio 15th, nbout two hours be-
fore the liite .sunrise, as I was pri'iJaring to climb a
berg IVoin which I might hnve a sight of the road
ahead, I perceived far off upon the white snow a dark
object, which not only moved, but altered its shape
strange!}', — new expanding into a long black line,
now wav'ng, now gathering itself up into a compact
mass. It was tlie returning sledge party. They had
seen our black tent of Kedar, and ferried across to
seek it.

'• They were most welcome ; for their absence, in the
fer.rl'uUy open state of the ice, had fdled me with
a]>pr(hensions. AVe could not distinguish each
other, as we drew near in the twilight; and my
first good news of them was when I heard that they
were singing. On they came, and at last I Avas able
to count their voices, one by one. Thank God, seven!
Poor John Blake was so breathless with gratulation,
that I could not get liim to blow his signal-horn. "We
gave them, instead, the good old Anglo-Saxon greet-
ing, " three cheers ! " and in a few minutes were among
them. • '

" They liad camped one night \mder the lee of some
large icebergs, and within hearing of the grand artil-
lery of the glacier. The floe on which their tent was
pitched was of recent and transparent ice ; and the
party, too tired to seek a safer asylum, had turned in
to rest; when, with a crack like the snap of a gigantic
whip, the ice opened directly beneath them. This was,
as nearly as they could estimate the time, at about
one o'clock in the morning. The darknes" was in,-
tensc ; and the cold, about 10° below zero, was in-
creased by a Aviud which blew from the northeast over
the glacier. They gathered together their tent and

630

CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES.

sleeping furs, and lashed them according to the best
of their ability, upon the sledge.

"Repeated intonations warned them that the ice was
breaking up ; a swell, evidently produced from the av-
alanches from the glacier, caused the platform on
which they stood to rock to and fro.

" November IG. Poor Hans has been sorely home-
sick. Three days ago he bundled up his clothes and
took his rifle to bid us all good-bye. It turns out that be-
sides hisuiothcr, there is another one of the softer sex
at Fiskernaes that the boy's heart is dreaming of He
looked as wretched as any lover of a milder clime. I
hope I have treated his nostalgia successfully, by giv-
ing him first a dose of salts, and secondly, ])romotion.
He lias now all the dignity of henchman. He har-
nesses my dogs, builds my traps, and walks >\ itli me
on my ice-tramps; and, except hunting, is excused
from all other duty. He is really attached to me, and
as happy as a fat man ought to be.

'December 15. AVe have lost tlie last vestige
of our mid-day twilight. We cannot see print, and
hardly paper: the fingers cannot be counted a foot
from the eyes. Noonday and midnight are alike, and,
except a vague glimmer on the sky that seems to de-
fine the hill outline to the south, avc have nothing
to tell us that this Arctic Avorld of ours has a sun. In
one week more we shall reach the midnight of the
year,

" December 2G. Our anxieties for old Grim miiilit
have interfered with almost any thing else ; but thoy
could not arrest our celebration of yesterday. Dr.
Hayes made us a well-studied oration, and Morton a
capital punch; add to these a dinner of marled l)ecf,
—we have two pieces left, for the sun's return and the

Four

rount

tered

"Ji

so afl]

that I

I Wen I

not pc

glimiiK

panes c

puzzled

whatevi

land do;

instantl;

satis/act

and foi-I(

of-f-lO^'
ness, ho\]
them of
stinct or
or to ox
the I;in(
_ "Feb
silverjno-
and to-d
of my j);
est walk
iniprisuiu
made lilt

iny objeei

jectiiio-

batliino-

"Man.l
at the sJer

THE RETURNING SUN.

531

Fourtli of July, — and a bumper of champagne all
rouiKi ; and the elements of our frolic are all regis-
tered.

*' January 20. This morning at five o'clock — ^for I am
so ailiicted with the insomnium of this eternal night
that I rise at any time between midnight and noon —
I went upon deck. It Avas absolutely dark ; the cold
not permitting a swinging lamp. There was not a
glimmer came to me through the ice-crusted v.indow-
panes of the cabin. While I was feeling my way, half
puz/.led as to the best method of steering clear of
whatever might be before me, two of my Newfound-
land dogs put their cold noses against my hand, and
instantly conunenced the most exuberant antics of
satislaction. It then occurred to me how very dreary
and forlorn must these poor animals be, at atmosphere
of + IC in-doors and — 50° without, — living in dark-
ness, howling at an accidental light, as if it reminded
them of the moon, — and with nothing, either of in-
stinct or sensation, to tell them of the passing hours,
or to explain the long-lost daylight. They shall see
the lanterns more frequently.

" Febniary 1. We have seen the sun, for some days,
silvering the ice between the headlands of the l)ay;
and to-day, toward noon, I started out to be tlie tirst
of my pai'ty to welcome him l)ack. It was tlie long-
est walk and toughest climb that I have had since our
imprisonment; and scurvy and general debility have
made me ' short o' wind.' But 1 managed to attain
my object. 1 saw him once more ; and upon a pro-
jecting crag nestled in the sunshine. It was like
bathing in ])erfumed water.

"Marcli 13. Since January, we have been working
at the sledges and other preparations for travel. The

682

SUDDEN ALARM.

death of my dogs, the rugged obstacles of the ice,
and the intense cold have ol^liged mo to reorganize our
whole equipment. We have had to disciird all our
India-rubber fancy-work : canvas shoe-making, fur-
socking sewing, carpentering, arc all going on ; and
the cabin, our only fire-warmed apartment, is the
work-shop, kitchen, parlor, and hall.

"Not a man now, except Pierre and Morton, is ex-
empt from scurvy ; and, as I look around upon the pa?e
faces and haggard looks of my comrades, I feel that we
are fighting the battle of life at disadvantage, and that
an Arctic night and an Arctic day ago a man more
rapidly and harshly than a year anywhere else in all
this weary world.

" March 20. I saw the depot part}' off yesterday.
They gave the usual three cheers, with three for my-
self. I gave them the whole of my ])rother's wed-
ding calcc, and my last two bottles of Port, and they
pulled the sledge vhey Avere harnessed to famoiisly.
The party were seen by McGaryfrom aloft, at noon to-
day, moving ea-siij^, and about twelve miles from the
brig.

" We were at work cheerfully, sewing away at the
skins of some moccasins by the l)laze of our lamps,
when, toward midnight of the 31st, we henrd tiie noise
of steps above, and the next minute Sonta^-, Olilsen,
and Petersen came down into the ca])in. Their man-
ner startled me even more than their unexpected ap-
pearance on board. They were swollen and haggard,
and hardly able to speak.

Their story was a fearful one. They had left their
com])anions in the ice, risking tin ir own lives to Itring
us the news : Brotjks, Baker, Wilson, imd Pierre were
all lying frozen and disabled. Where ? They could

IN THE TKNT.

l.NNACLV IIKlKi.

THE RR8CUR PABTT.

not t

nortli

when

and I

agfiin

They

were

hard!

whicl

an 111

even

on m^

looke(

his lai

ates, I

but h

with 1

«T]

were ;

a hiiist

lie"w

pemm

our a

bag, h

we W(

nine i

on GUI

men tl

other i

beadec

ward;

hours 1

LOST ON THE FLOES.

536

not tell : somewhere in among the hummocks to the
north and east; it was drifting heavily round them
when they parted. Irish Tom had stayed by to feed
and care for the others ; l)ut the chances were sorely
against them. It was in vain to question them further.
They had evidently traveled a great distance, for they
were sinking with fatigue and hunger, and could
hardly be rallied enough to tell us the direction in
which they had come.

*' My first impidse was to move on the instant with
an unencumbered party : a rescue, to be effective or
even hopeful, could not be too prompt. What pressed
on my mind most was, where the sufTcrers wore to be
looked for among the drifts. Ohlsen seemed to have
his facidties rather more at command than his associ-
ates, and I thought that he might assist us as a guide ;
but he was sinking with exhaustion, and if he went
with us we must carry him.

" There was not a moment to be lost. AYhile some
were still busy with the new-comers, and getting ready
a hasty meal, others were rigging out the " Little Wil-
lie " with a buftlilo-cover, a small tent, and a package of
pemmican ; and, as soon as we could hurry through
our arrangements, Ohlsen was strapped on in a fur
bag, his legs wrapped indog-skinsandeider down, and
we went off upon the ice. Our party consisted of
nine men and myself We carried only the clothes
on our backs.

" A well-known peculiar tower of ice, called by the
men the " Pinnacly Berg," served as our first landmark:
other icebergs of collossal size, which stretched in long
beaded lines across the bay, helped to guide us after-
ward ; and it was not until we had traveled for sixteen
hours that we began to lose our way.

536

THE RESCUE PARTY.

"Pushing ahead of the pnrty, and clambering over
some rugged ice-piles, L came to a long level floe, which
1 thought might probably have attracted the eyes of
weary men in circumstances like our own. It was a
light conjectiu'e, but it was enough to turn the scale,
for there was no other to balance it. I gave orders to
abandon the sledge, and disjierso in search of foot-
marks. We raised our tent, placed our pemmican in
cache, except a small allowance for each man to carry
on his person ; and poor Ohlsen, now just able to keep
his legs, was liberated from his bag. The thermome-
ter had fallen by this time to— 49°.3, and the wind
was setting in sharply from the northwest. It was
out of the question to halt : it required brisk exer-
cise to keep us from freezing. I could not even melt
ice for water ; and, at these temperatures, any resort
to snoAV for the puipose of alliiying thirst was fol-
lowed Ijy bloody lips and tongue : it burnt like
cau^itic.

" It was indispensable then that we should move on,
looking out f(jr traces as we went. Yet when the men
were ordered to spread themselves, so as to multiply
the chances, though they all obeyed heartily, some
painful imjjress of solitary danger, or perhaps it may
have been the varying configuration of the ice-field,
kept them closing up contiiuially into a single group.
The strange manner in which some of us wore alfected
I now attribute as much to shattered nerves as to the
direct inlhience of the cold. Men like McCrary and
Bonsall, who had stood out our severest marches, were
seized with trembling fits and short breath ; and, in
spite of all my efforts to keep up an example of sound
bearing, I fainted twice on the snow.

*' We had been nearly eighteen hours out without

water

it was

saw a

effaced

whethe

which 1

we tijK

mocks,

with re]

Americji

down a

pole Jiar

disabled

THE WANDEKEllS FOUND.

537

water or food, when a new hope cheered us. I think
it was Hans, our Esquimaux hunter, who thought he
saw a broad sledge-track. The drift had nearly
effaced it, and we were some of us doubtful at first
whether it was not one of thoi^e accidental riils
which the gales make in the surface snow. But, as
we traced it on to the deep snow among the hum-
mocks, we were led to footsteps ; and, following those
with religious care, we at last came in sight of a small
American Hag fluttering from a hummock, and lower
down a little Masonic banner hanging from a tent-
pole hardly above the drift. It was the camp of our
disabled comrades : we reached it after an unbroken
march of twenty-<me hours.

" The little tent was nearlv covered. I Avas not anions:
the first to come up; but, when I reached the tent cur-
tain, the men wore standing in silent file on each side
of it. With more kindness and delicacy of feeling
than is often supposed to belong to sailors, but which
is almost characteristic, they intimated their wish that
I should go in alone. As I crawled in, and, coming
upon the darkness, heard before me the burst of welcome
gladness that came from the four poor fellows strotciied
on their backs, and then for the first time the cheer
outside, my weakness and my gratitude together al-
most overcame me. " They had expected me : they
were sure I would come ! "

" We w'cre now fifteen souls ; the thermometer sev-
enty-five degrees below the freezing point ; and our
sole accommodation a tent barely able to contain eight
persons : more than half our party were obliged to
keep from freezing by walking outside while the oth-
ers slept. We could not halo long. Each of us took
a turn of two hours' sleep ; and we prepared for our
homeward march.

. 1

538

PERILS OF THE RETURN.

"We took with us notliingbut the tent, furs to pro-
tect the rescued party, and food for a journey of fifty
hours. E\erything else was abandoned. Two hirge
buffalo-bags, each made of four skins, were doubled
up, so as to form a sort of sack, lined on each side by
fur, closed at the bottom but opened at the top. This
was laid on the sledge ; the tent, smootldy folded,
serving as a floor. The sick with their limbs sewed
up carefidly in reindeer-skins wore placed upon the
bed of buffalo-robes, in a halfi-eclining posture ; other
skins and blanket-bags were thrown above them ; and
the whole litter was lashed together so as to allow but
a single opening opposite the mouth for breathing.

" This necessary work cost us a great deal of time and
effort ; but it was essential to the lives of the suffer-
ers. It took us no less than four hours to strip and
refresh them, and then to enable them in the manner
I have described. It was completed at last, however;
all hands stood round ; and after repeating a short
prayer, we set out on our retreat.

"And yet our march for the first six hours was very
cheering. We made by vigorous pulls and lifts nearly
a mile an hour, and reached the new floes before we
were absolutely weary. Our sledge sustained the
trial admirably. Ohlsen, restored by hope, walked
steadily at the leading belt of the sledge-lines ; and I
began to feel certain of reaching our half-way station
of the day before, where we had left our tent. But
we were still nine miles from it, when, almost without
premonition, we all became aware of an alarming fail-
ure of our energies.

" Bonsall and Morton, two of our stoutest men, came
to me, begging permission to sleep : " they were not
cold : the wind did not enter them now : a little sleep

Was a]

nearly

iiad hit

Jast, Jo

fused to

hut it w

jV'ered, (

be avoid

"We
hands wt
obliged t
(whisky)
the cover
Hans, wit J
. crowded ii
^ng the pai
t'ome on i
William G
ion. My .1
some ice ai
"The /Jo,
I cannot U
miles; for
bad little
about four
posing on e
tbey must
these hour;
gone tlirou,
senses, and
what precei,
us, however
before us a;
McGary ha.

MEN GIVING OUT.

539

was all they wanted." Presently Hans was found
nearly stiff under a drift ; and Thomas, bolt upright,
had his eyes closed, and could hardly articuhite. At
last, John Blake threw himself on the snow, and re-
fused to rise. They did not complain of feeling cold;
but it was in vain that I wrestled, boxed, ran, argued,
jeered, or reprimanded : an immediate halt could not
be avoided.

"We pitched our tent with much difficulty. Our
hands were tuo powerless to strike a lire : we wore
obliged to do without water or food. Even the spirits
(whisky) had fro/.on at the men's feet, under all
the coverings. We put Bonsall, Ohlsen, Thomas, and
Hans, with the other sick meu, well inside the tent, and
. crowded in as many others as we could. Then, leav-
ing the party in charge of ]Mr. McGary, with orders to
come on after four hours' rest, I pushed ahead with
William Godfrey, who volunteered to be my couipan-
ion. My aim was to reach the halfway tent, and thaw
some ice and pemtuican before the otiiers arrived.

" The floe was of level ice, and the Avalking excellent.
I cannot tell how long it took us to make the nine
miles; for we were in a strange sort of stupor, and
had little apprehension of time. It was probably
about four hours. We kept ourselves awake by im-
posing on each other a continued articulation of words;
they must have been incoherent enough. I recall
these hours as among the most wretched I have ever
gone through : Ave were neither of us in our right
senses, and retained a very confused recollection of
what preceded our arrival at the tent. We both of
us, however, remember a bear, who walked leisurely
before us and tore up as he went a jumper that Mr.
McGary had improvidently thrown off the day before.

:!■

640

A BIVOUAC.

He tore it into shreds and rolled it into a ball, but
never offered to interfere with our progress. I remem-
ber this, and with it a confused scntiuiont that our tent
and bullalo-robes might proljably share the same fate.
Godfrey, with whom the memory of this day's work
may atone for many faults of later time, had a better
eye than myself; and, looking some miles ahead, he
could see that our tent was undergoing the same un-
ceremonious treatment. I thought I saw it too, but
we were so drunken with cold that we strode on
steadily, and, for aught 1 know, without quickening
our pace.

" Probably our approach saved the contents of the
tent; for when we reached it the tent Avas uninjured,
though the bear had overturned it, tossing the buffalo-
robes and peramican into the snow ; we missed only a
couple of blanket-bogs. What we recollect, however,
and perhaps all we recollect, is, that we had great
difficulty in raising it. We crawled into our reindeer
sleeping- bags, without speaking, and for the next
three hours slept on in a dreamy but intense slum-
ber.

" We were able to melt water and get some soup
cooked before the rest of our party arrived ; it took
them but five hours to walk the nine miles. They
were doing well, and considering the circumstances, in
wonderful spirits. The day was most providentially
windless, with a clear sun. All enjoyed the refresh-
ment we had got ready : the crippled were repacked
in their robes ; and we sped briskly toward the hum-
mock ridges which lay between us and the Pinnacly
Berg.

" Our halts multiplied and we fell half-«leeping on
the snow. I could not prevent it. Strange to say, it re-

freshec
makinf
and I
men in
the sle(
Wakofiil
«%(
TJie si(i-l
an invaJ
served c
longer r
the brio*
«Isay
cided pro
and had
the circui
in a dreai
that we h
have beer
on the me
ftnd reach
fallen ren
vvith punc
him to Di
Pe terser
two miles
with the r(
not reme
judicious
called for,
usual fiicti
from strabi]
amj)utatioi
sequences i

RELIEF FROM THE BRIG.

641

freshed us. I ventured upon the experiment myself,
making Riley wake me at the end of three minutes ;
and I felt so much benefited by it that I timed the
men in the same way. They sat on the runners of
the sledge, fell asleep instantly, and were forced to
wakef'iihioss when their three minutes were out.

" By eight in the evening we emerged from the floes.
The sight of the Pinnacly Berg revived us. Brandy,
an invaluable resource in emergency, had already bi'cn
served out in tablespoonful doses. We now took a
longer rest, and a last but stouter dram, and reached
the brig at 1 p. m., we believe without a halt.

" I say we believe ; and here perhaps is the most de-
cided proof of our sufferings : we Avere quite delirious,
and had ceased to entertain a sane apprehension of
the circumstances about us. We moved on like men
in a dre.'im. Our footmarks seen afterward showed
that we had steered a bee-line for the brig. It must
have been by a sort of instinct, for it left no impress
on the memory. Bonsall was sent staggering ahead,
and reached the brig, God knows how, for he had
fallen repeatedly at the track-lines ; but he delivered
with punctilious accuracy the messages I had sent by
him to Dr. Hayes.

Petersen and Whipple came out to meet us about
two miles from the brig. They brought my dog-team,
with the restoratives I had sent for by Bonsall. I do
not remember their coming. Dr. Hayes entered with
judicious energy upon the treatment our condition
called for, administering morphine freel}', after the
usual frictions next. Mr. Ohlsen sufl'ered some time
from strabismus and blindness : two others imderwent
amputation of part of the foot, without unpleasant con-
sequences ; and two died in spite of all our efforts.

642

ESQUIMAUX VISITORS.

" We were watching in the morning at Baker's death-
bed, when one of our deck-wateh, who had been cut-
thig ice for the melter, came hurrying down into the
cabin with the report, " People halloing anhore ! " I
went up, followed by as many as could mount the
gangway ; and there they were, on all sides of our
rocky harbor, dotting the snow-shores and emerging
from the blackness of the cliffs, — wild and uncouth but
evidently human beings.

" As we gathered on the deck, they rose upon the
more elevated fragments of the land-ice, standing
singly and conspicuously like the figures in a tableau
of the opera, and distributing themselves around al-
most in a half-circle. They were vociferating as if to
attract our attention, or perhaps only to give vent to
their surprise ; but I could make nothing out of their
cries, except "Iloah, ha ha! "and '• Ka, kaah! ha,
kiirdi ! " repeated over and over again.

" There was light enough for me to see that they
brandislied no weapons, and wore only tossing their
heads and arms about in violent gesticulations. A
more unexcited inspection showed us, too, that their
numbers were not as y-reat nor their size as Patago-
nian as some of us had been disposed to fancy at first.
In a word, 1 was satisfied that they were natives of the
country ; and calling Petersen from his bunk to be my
interpreter, I proceeded, unarmed and waving my
open hands, toward a stout figure who made him-
self conspicuous and seemed to have a greater number
near him than the rest. He evidcntl}- understood the
movement, for he at once, like a brave fellow, leaped
down upon the floe and advanced to meet me fully
half-way.

" He was nearly a head taller than myself, extremely

W\ '\

^?J

'^':c*.

LOADING THE KA.M11.

riHal HEKTINU WITH KailUlMAUX.

INTERVIEW WITH METEK.

545

powerful and well-built, with s-v\-artliy complexion and
piercing black ejes. His dress was a hooded capote
or jumper of mixed white and blue fox-pelts, arranged
with something of fancy, and booted trousers of white
bear-skin, which at the end of the foot were made to
terminate with the claws of the animal.

"Although this was the first time he had ever seen a
white man, he went with me fearlessly ; his compan-
ions staying behind on the ice. Hickey took them
out what ho esteemed our greatest delicacies, — slices
of good wheat bread, and corned pork, with exorbitant
lumps of white sugar; but they refused to touch them.
Thoy had evidently no apprehension of open violence
from us. I found afterward that several among them
were singly a match for the white bear and the walrus,
and that they thought us a very pale-faced crew.

" Being satisfied with my int rview in the cabin, I
sent out word that the rest might be admitted to the
shii) ; and, although they, of course, could not know
how their chief had been dealt with, some nine or ten
of them followed with boisterous readiness upon the
bidding. Otuers in the mean time, as if disposed to
give us their company for the full time of a visit,
brought up from behind the land-ice as many .ns fifty-
six fine dogs, with their sledges, and secured tliem
within two hundred feet of the brii;:, driving their
lances into the ice, and picketing the dogs to tliem by
the seal-skin traces. The sledges were made up of
small IVaguients of porous bone, admiral)ly knit to-
gether ])v thoiigsof hide ; the runners, which glistened
Uke burnished steel, were of highly-polished ivory,
obtamecl from. the tusks of the walrus. The oply arms
they carried were knives, concealed in their boots ;
but their lances, which were lashed to the sledges,
were qui^e a formidable weapon.

546

DEATH OP BAKER.

"In the morning they wore anxious to go ; lout I had
given orders to detain them for a parting interview
with myself. U roM^ltod in a treaty, brief in its terms,
that it might oc f.* ; • ■ c remembered, and mutually
beneficial, that i. .tnij^lit possibly be kept. I tried to
make them undei'stand what a powerful Prospero they
had had for a host, and how beneficent he would prove
himself so long as they did his bidding. And as an
earnest of my favor, I bought all the walrus-meat they
had to spare, and four of their dogs, enriching them
in return with needles and beads and a treasure of old
cask-staves.

" In the fullness of their gratitude, they pledged
themselves emphatically to li^^tvirn in a few days with
more meat, and to allow me to a?e their dogs and .^ledges
for my excursions to the or'i I then gave them
leave to go. They yoi\ d ^ ^aoir dogs in less than
two minutes, got oA their s^l-'ige?, cracked their two-
fathom-and-a-half-lons^ seal-sk^;; hip, and were off
down the ice to tlie southwest at a rate of seven knots
an hour.

"May 28, Sunday. Our day of rest and devotion.
It was a fortnight ago last Friday since our poor friend
Pierre died. For nearly two months he had been strug-
gling against the ci.'. \y with a resolute will and
mirthful spirit, that .'\ :;i^I sure of victory. But he
sunk in spite of them.

"The last offices were rendered to hiin with the
same cvful ceremonial that wo ol)serve(l at Biik(>r"s
funei .a. There were fewer to walk in the procession ;
but the body was encased in a decent pine coflin and
carried to Observatory Island, where it was placed
side-by-side with that of his messmate. Neither could
yet be buried ; but it is hardly necessary to any that

the

to ml

itself

fount

teacll

own

trapi

and

hopoj

the ^1
Dr. if

comjj
my

((

RETURN OF DR. HATES.

547

the frost has embalmed their remains. Dr. Hayes read
the chapter from Job which has consigned so many to
their last resting-place, and a little snow was sprinkled
upon the face of the coffin. Pierre was a volunteer not
only of our general expedition, but of the party with
which he met his deatli-blow. He was a gallant man,
a universal favorite on board, always singing some
B^ranger ballad or other, and so elastic in his merri-
ment that even in his last sickness he cheered all that
were about him."

"May 30. It is a year ago to-day since we left
New York. I am not as sanguine aslAvas then: time
and experience have chastened me. There is every
thing about me to check enthusiasm and moderate
hope. I am here in forced inaction, a broken-down
man, oppressed by cares, with many dangers before
me, and still under the shadow of a hard wearing win-
ter, which has crushed two of my l)cst associates.

"My mind never reaHzes the complete catastrophe,
the destruction of all Franklin's crews. I picture thorn
to myself broken into detachments, and my mind fixes
itself on one little group of some thirty, who have
found the open spot of some tidal edd}^, and under th<»
teachings of some Esquimaux or perhaps one of their
own Greenland whalers, have sot bravely to work, and
trapped the fox, speared the boar, and killed the seal
and walrus and wliide. I think of them ever with
hope. I sicken not to be able to reach them.

"June 1, Thursdav. At ten o'clock this momiufr
the wail of the dogs outside announced the return of
Dr. Ilayos and William GodfroA'. IJoth t)f them wore
completely .«now-blind,and the doctor had to be led to
my bedside to make his report.

"June 27. McGary and Bonsall are back with

548

ADVTKTURE WITH A BEAR.

Hickey and Riley. They arrived List evening: all
well, except that the snow has effected their eye-sight
badly, owing to the scorbutic condition of vheir sys-
tems. Mr. McGary is entirely blind, and I fear will
be found slow to cure. They have done admirably.
They bring back a continued series of observations,
perfectly well kept up, for the further authentication
of our surve}'.

" This is evidently the season when the bears are
in most abundance. Their tracks were ever}- where,
both on shore and upon the floes. One of them had
the audacity to attempt intruding itself upon the
party during one of their halts upon the ice ; and Bon-
sall tells a good ttory of the manner in which they re-
ceived and returned his salutation, but without in any
degree disturbing the unwelcome visitor ; specially
unwelcome at that time and place, for all tlie guns
had been left on the sledge, a little distance off, and
there was not t-o much as a walking-pole inside. There
was of course something of natiual confusion in the
little council of war. The first impulse Avas to make
a rush for the arms ; but this was soon decided to be
very doubtfully jjracticable, if at all, for the bear,
having satisfied himself with his observations of the
exterior, now presented himself at the tent-opening.
Sundry volleys of lucifer matches and some im-

romptu torches of newspapers were fired without

prompti

alarming him, and, after a little while, he planted him-
self at the doorway and began making his supper
upon the carcass of a sCal which had been shot the
day before.

"Tom Ilickey was the first to bethink him of the
military device of a sortie from the postern, and, cut-
ting a hole with his knife, crawled out at the rear of

TKNT ON TlIK KLOKS.

IHi: UEAK I.N C'AMl

OATHERINO MOSS.

the ten

one of

the ins

Well ac

retreat

and Toi

ward, s(

coinrad(

sent a b

emj.

«Itw

10th of

tant SOI

servants

from afn

speed wl

their arri

and Mor

poor Jen

"Thej

the Greal

of travel.

the hays ;

would ha

field, but

by the be

•' As Mc

tween Sir

line, the ci

of porphj

ing diflicu;

in hopes o

cot\<t bovc

and more <

ADVENTURES OP MORTON AND HANS. 551

the tent. Here he extricated a boat-hook, that formed
one of the supporters of the ridge-pole, and made it
the instrmnent of a right valorous attack. A blow
well administered on the nose caused the animal to
retreat for the moment a few paces, beyond the sledge,
and Tom, calculating his distance nicely, sprang "or-
ward, seized a rifle, and fell back in safety upon his
comrades. In a few seconds more, Mr. Bonsall had
sent a ball through «,nd through the body of his en-
emy.

" It was with no slight joy that on the evening of the
10th of July, while walking with Mr. Bonsall, a dis-
tant sound of dogs caught my ear. Those fliithful
servants geneially bayed their full-mouthed welcome
from afar off, but they always dashed in with a wild
speed which made their outcry a direct precursor of
their arrival. Not so these well-worn travelers. Hans
and Morton staggered beside the limping dogs, and
poor Jenny was riding as a passenger upon the sledge.

" They left the brig on the 3d of June, and reached
the Great Glacier on the 15th, after only twelve days
of travel. They showed great judgment in passing
tlie baj's ; and, although impeded by the heavy snows,
would have been able to remain much longer in the
field, but for the destruction of our provision-depots
by the bears.

" As Morton, leaving Hans and his dogs, p{^.ssed be-
tween Sir John Franklin Island and the nam »v beach-
lino, tlie coast became more wall-like, and dark masses
of porphyritic rock abutted into the sea. With grow-
ing difficulty, he managed to climb from rock to rock,
in hopes of dovibling the promontory and sighting the
coa4 beyond, but the water kept encroaching more
and more on his track.

552

THE OPEN SEA,

" It must have been an imposing sight, as he stood at
this termination of his journey, looking out upon the
great waste of waters before him. Not a " speck of
ice," to use his own words, could be seen. There, from a
height of five hundred and eighty feet, which com-
manded a horizon of almost forty miles, his ears were
gladdened with the novel music of dashing waves;
and a surf, breaking in among the rocks at his feet,
stayed his further progress. ,

" Beyond this cape all is surmise. The high ridges
to the northwest dwindled oft* into low blue knobs,
which blended finally with the air. Morton called
the cape, which baffled his labors, after his command-
er ; but I have given it the more enduring name of
Cape Constitution.

"All the sledge-parties were now once more aboard
ship, and the season of Arctic travel has ended. For
more than ten months we had been imprisoned in ice,
and throughout all that period, except during the en-
forced holiday of the midwinter darkness or while
repairing from actual disaster, had been constantly in
the field. The summer Avas wearing on, but still the
ice did not break up as it should. As far as we could
see, it remained inflexibly solid between us and the
North Water of Baffin's Bay. f;

" The alternative of abandoning the vessel at this
early stage of our absence, even were it possible,
would, I feel, be dishonoring ; but, revolving the ques-
tion as one of practicability alone, I would not under-
take it. In the first place how are we to get along
with our sick and newly-amputated men ? It is a
drear v distance at the best to Upernavik of Beechy
Island, our only seats of refuge, and a precarious trav-
erse if we were all of us fit for moving ; but we are

MOttTOS AND UASa ESTERINO THE CHASSKL.

■ M

MORTOS AUn HAS3 LEAVING KESSEDT CHANNEL.

ATTEMPT TO REACH BEECHY ISLAND. 555

hardly one-half in efficiency of what we count in
number. Besides, how can I desert the brig while
there is still a chance of saving her ? There is no use
of noting j3ro3 ar.a cows; my mind is made upj I will
not do it."

About the middle of July, Dr. Kane, with five vol-
unteers, started southward hoping to be able to reach
Beechy Island, and to communicate with some one of
the English ships searching for Franklin. The trip was
made in a boat which was dragged to the water, and
was exciting and dangerous. On the 31st of July,
when within ten miles of Cape Parry, they were stop-
ped by a solid mass of ice which lay directly across
their path. On climbing an iceberg they found that
all within a radius of thirty miles was an impenetrable
sea of ice. Further attempts to proceed being useless,
they returned to the brig, halting at Northumberland
and Littleton Islands, where they feasted on auks and
scurvy grass.

Littleton Island will ever be a locality of great in-
terest, as the hii-' h irbor of the Polaris was on the
the main land opposite, and the place where her crew,
after a long residence, started southward in June, 1873.

"August 18. Reduced our allowance of wood to
six pounds a meal. This, among eighteen mouths, is
one-third of a pound of fuel for each. It allows us
coffee twice a day, and soup once. Our fare besides
this is cold pork boiled in quantity and eaten as re-
quired. This sort of thing works badly; but I must
save coal for other emergencies. I see 'darkness
ahead.'

"August 20, Sunday. Rest for all hands. The
daily prayer is no longer ' Lord accept our gratitude
and bless our undertaking,' but 'Lord accept our

656

SIGNAL CAIRN.

gratitude and restore us to our homes.' The ice
shows no change: after a boat and foot journey
around the entire southeastern curve of tlie bay, no
signs !

" I determined to place upon Observatory Island a
large signal-beacon or cairn, and to bury under it doc-
uments which, in cr if disaster to our party, would
convey to any w night seek us intelligence

of our proceedings and our fate. The memory of the
first winter quarters of Sir John Franklin, and the
painful feelings vith Avhich, while standing by the
graves of his dead, I had four years before sought for
written signs pointing to the fate of the living, made
me careful to avoid a similar neglect.

"A conspicuous spot was selected upon a cliff looking
out upon the icy desert, and on a broad face of rock
the words

ADVAN"CE,

' '■'■': A. D. 1853-54,

were painted in letters which could bo read at a dis-
tance. A pyramid of heavy stones, perched above it,
was marked with the Christian symbol of the cross.
It was not without a holier sentiment than that of
mere utility that I pkced under this the collinsof our
two poor comrades. It was our beacon and their
gravestone.

" Near this a hole was worked into the rock, and a
paper, enclosed in glass, sealed in with melted lead.

" It read as follows : — '

"Brig Adtance, August 14, 1854.

"E. K. Kane, with his comrades, Henry Brooks,
Johu Wall Wilson, James McGary, I. I. Hayes, Chris-

paiKJ

thrc

east]

been

was

treni

rent

and!

u \

the

pen

mei

THE RECORD,

D57

tinn Ohlseii, Atnos Bonsall, Ilcnry Gooil follow, August
Sontiig, Willitiui Morton, J. Ctirl rolerscn, (Jeoigo
Stephenson, JefTerson Temple Baker, (Jeorge Kiley,
Peter Sehubert, George Whipple, John Bltike, Thomas
Ilickey, William Godfrey, and Hans Christian, mem-
bers of the Second Grmnell Expedition in search of
Sir John Franklin and the missing crews of the Erohus
and Terror, were forced into this harbor while endeav-
oring to bore the ice to the north and east.

" They were frozen in on the 8th of September,
1853, and liberated

"During this period the labors of the expedition
have delineated nine hundred and sixty miles of coast-
line, without developing any ti'acesof the missing ships
or the slightest information bearing iipon their Aite.
The amount of travel to effect this exi)loration ex-
ceeded two thousand miles, all of which was upon foot
or by the aid of dogs.

"Greenland has been traced to its northern face,
whence it is connected with the farther north of the
opposite coast by a great glacier. This coast has been
charted as high as lat. 82° 27'. Smith's Sound ex-
pands into a capacious bay: it has been surve^'ed
throughout its entii-e extent. From its northern and
eastern corner, in lat. 80° 10', lung. G0°, a channel has
been discovered and followed until farther progress
was checked bv water free from ice. This channel
trended nearly due north, and expanded into an a])pa-
rently open sea, which abounded with birds and bears
and marine life.

"The death of the dogs during the winter threw
the travel essential to the above discoveries upon the
personal efforts of the officers and men. The sum-
mer finds them much broken in health and strength.

558

TUB COUNCIL.

" Jefferson Temple Baker, and Peter Schubert died
from injuries received from cold while in manly per-
formance of their duty. Their remains are deposited
under a cairn at the north point of Ol)!servatory
Island.

" The site of the observatory is seventy-six Enp^'-h
feet from the northernmost salient point of this island,
in a direction S. 14° E. Its position is in hit. 78° 37 10",
long. 70° 40'. The mean tidal level is twent\-nine
feet below the highest point upon this island. Both
of these sites are fur*'or designated l>y copper bolts
sealed with melted lead into holes upon the rocks.

"On the 12th of August, 1804, the brig Avarped from
her position, and, after passing inside the croup of
islands, fastened to the outer floe about a uiile to the
northwest, where she is now aAvaiting further changes
in the ice.

"Signed,

«E. K. Kane,

" Coninianding ExpeiUtion.
"Fox-Trap Toixt, August 14, 1854."

" August 24. At noon to-day I had all hands called,
and explained to them frankly the considerations
which have determined me to remain where we are.
I endeavored to show them that an escape to open
water could not succeed, and that the ellort must be
exceedingly bazardous: I alluded to our duties to the
ship : in a word,I advised them strenuously to forego the
project. I then told them that I should freely give my
permission to such as were desirous of making the at-
tempt, but that I should require them to jilace them-
selves under the command of officers selected by them
before setting out, and to renounce in writing all

PORTION OF CREW START 3 0UTH. 559

claims upon myself find the rest who were resolved
to stay by the vessel. Having done this, I directed
the roll to be called, and each man to answer for him-
self

" In the result, eight out of the seventeen survivors
of my party resolved to stand by the brig. It is just
that I should record their names. They were Henry
Bi'ooks, James McGary, J. W. Wilson, Henry Goodfel-
low, William Morton, Christian Ohlsen, Thomas Ilick-
ey, Hans Christian.

" I divided to the others their portion of our re-
sources justly and e\'t?i liberally; and tliey left us on
Monday, the 28th, with every appliance our narrow
circumstances could furnish to specnl and guard them.
One of them, George Kiley, returned a few days af-
terward ; but weary months went by before we saw
the rest again. Tiiey carried with them a written as-
surance of a brother's welcome should they be driven
back ; and this assurance wa."^ redeemed when hard
trials had prepared them to share again our fortunes.

'■ The party moved off with the elastic step of men
confident in their purpose, a id were out of sight in a
few hours. As we lost them among the hummocks, the
stern realities of our condition pressed themselves upon
us anew. The reduced numbers of our party, the help-
lessness of many, tlie waning efficiency of all, the im-
pending winter with its cold, dark night, our penury
of resource.s, the dreary sense of increased isolation, —
these made the staple of our thougni>>. For a time,
Sir John Franklin and his party, our daily topic
through so many months, gave place to the question
of our own fortunes, — how we were to escape, how to
live. The summer had gone, the harvest was ended,
and We did not care to finish the seuteuce.

m'.

11
111

s s

560

THE ARREST.

" When the three visitors came to us near the end of
Au<^ust, I established them in a tent below deck, with
a copper lamp, a cooking-basin, and a liberal supply of
slush for fuel. I left them under guard when 1 went
to bod at two in the morning, contentedly eating and
cooking and eating again without the promise of an in-
termission. An A'.uoiican or an European would have
slept after such a debauch till the recognized hour for
hock and sclt/.er-water. But our guests managed to elude
the officer of the deck and escape unsearched. They
repaid my liberality by stealing not only the lamp,
boiler, and cooking-pot they had used for the feast, but
Nannook also, my best dog. If the rest of my team
had not been worn down by over-travel, no doubt they
Avould have taken them all. Besides this, we discov-
ered the next morning that they had found the buifa-
lo-robes and Indian-rubber cloth which McGary had
left a few days before on the ice-foot near Six-mile
Ravine, and had added the whole to the spoils of their
visit.

" I was puzzled how to inflict punishment, but saw
that I must act vi<i!;()rouslv, even at a venture, I des-
patched my two best walkers, Morton and Kiley, as
soon as I heard of the theft of tiie stores, witli orders
to make all speed to Anoatok, and overtake the thieves,
who, I thonglit, would probably halt there to »• st.
They found young Myouk milking himself quite ''orn-
fortable in tlic hut, in company with Sievu, the wife of
Metek, and Aningna, the wife of Marsinga^ and ray
bufiido-robes already tailored into kapetahs on tlnir
backs.

" A continued search of the premises recovered the
cooking-utensils, and a number of other things of
greater or less value that we had not missed from the

"KDY CUAXXEL.

t 1

VIEW ntO.M CAPK CONSTITUTION.

brig. "^

law del

■where,

laden a>

besides

board,

brig.

«Th

they c

guard i

apprel

since

were \

for kc'

had n

and V,

range I

sions.

Him

and (

rant,

days

tary

ghoid

right

arriv

of el

kniv

W00(

cove
«]
dire(
ing

THE PUNISUMENT.

56^

brig. With the prompt ceremonial which outraged
haw delights in among the officials of the police every-
where, the women were stripped and tied ; and then,
laden with their stolen goods and as much walrus-beef
besides from their own stores as would pay for their
board, they were marched on the instant back to the
brig.

"The thirty miles was a hard walk for them; but
they did not complain, nor did their constabulary
guardians, who had marched thirty miles already to
apprehend them. It was hardly twenty-four hours
since they left the brig with their booty before they
were prisoners in the hold, with a dreadfid white man
for keeper, who never addressed to them a word that
had not all the terrors of an unintelligible reproof,
and ^\ hose scom'I, I flatter myself, exhibited a well-ar-
ranged variety of menacing and demoniacal expres-
sions.

" They had not even the companionship of Myouk.
Him I had despatched to Metek, ' head-man of Etah,
and others," with the message of a melo-dramatic ty-
rant, to negotiate for their ransom. For five long
days the women had to sigh and sing and cry in soli-
tary converse, — their ajipetlte continuing excellent, it
shoidd be remarked, though mourning the while a
rightfully-lm2)endlng doom. At last the great Metek
arrived, lie brought with him Ootuniah, another man
of elevated social position, and quite a slcdge-load of
knives, tin cups, and other stolen goods, refuse of
wood and scraps of Iron, the sinful prizes of many
covetlngs.

" I m;iy pass over our peace conferences and the in-
direct advantages which I of course derived from hav-
ing the opposing powers represented in my OAvn cap-

;[

564

THE TREATY.

itaL But the spiondors of our Arctic centre of civil-
ization, with its wonders of art and science, — our " fire-
death " ordnance included, — could not all of them im-
press Metek so much as the intimations he had re-
ceived of our superior physical endowments.

"The protocol was arranged without difficulty,
though not without the accustomed number of ad-
^ journments for festivity and repose. It abounded in
protestations of power, fearlessness, and good-will by
each of the contracting parties, Avhich meant as much
as such protestations usually do on both sides the
Arctic circle.

" On the part of the Inuit, the Esquimaux, they
were after tliis fashion : —

"'We promise that we will not steal. AVe promise
we will bring you fresh meat. We promise we will
sell or lend you dogs. We Avill keep you company
whenever you want us, and show you where to find
the game."

" On the part of the Kablunah, the white men, the
stipulation was this ample equivalent : —

" ' AYe promise that we will not vi.~it you with death
or sorcery, nor do you any hurt or mischief whatsoev-
er. We will shoot for you on our hunls. You shall
be made welcome aboard ship. We will give you
presents of needles, pins, two kinds of knife, a hoop,
three bits of hard wood, some fat, an awl, and some
sewing-thread ; and we will trade with you of these
and every thing else you want for walrus and seal-
meat of the first quality."

" And the closing formula mi<^ht have read, if the
Esquimaux political system had inchided reading
among its qualifications for diplomacy, in this time-
consecrated and, in civilized regions, veracious assuiv
ance : —

chi]

tol
she
of

OUR WTLD ALLIES.

565

We, the high contracting parties pledge ourselves
now and forever brothers and friends.'

" This treaty — which, though I have spoken of it
jocosely, was really an affair of much interest to us —
was ratified with Hans and Morton as my accredited
representatives, by a full assembly of the people at
Etah. All our future intercourse was conducted by it.
It was not solemnized by any oath ; but it was never
broken. We went to and fro between the villages
and the brig, paid our visits of courtesy and necessity
on both sides, met each other in hunting parties on
the floe and the ice-foot, organized a general community
of interests, and really, I believe, established some
personal attachments deserving of the name. As long
as we remained prisoners of the ice, we were indebted
to them for invaluable counsel in relation to our hunt-
ing expeditions ; and in the joint hunt we shared alike,
according to their own laws. Our dogs were in one
sense common property ; and often have they robbed
themselves to offer supplies of food to our starving toains.
They gave us supplies of meat at critical periods : we
were able to do as much for them. They learned to
look on us only ..s beneftictors ; and, I know, mourned
our departure bitterly.

" September 22. I am off for the walrus-grounds
with our wild allies. It will be my sixth trip. I know
the country and its landmai'ks now as well as any of
them, and can name every rock and chasm and wa-
tercourse, in night or fog, just as I could the familiar
spots about the dear Old Mills whore I passed my
childhood.

" September 29. I returned last night from Anoa-
tok, after a journey of nuich risk an exposure, that I
should have avoided but for the msuperable obstinacy
of our savage friends.

566 HUNTING EXCURSION WITH MYOUK.

"I set out for the walrus grounds at noon, by the
track of the ' Wind Point ' of Anoatok, known to us as
Esquimaux Point. I took the light sledge, and, in ad-
dition to the five of my available team, harnessed in
two animals belonging to the Esquimaux, Ootuniah,
Myouk, and the dark stranger accompanied me, with
Morton tmd Hans.

"At about 10 P.M., we had lost the land, and, while
driving the dogs rapidly, all of us running alongside of
them, wo took a wrong direction, and traveled out
toward the floating ice of the Sound. We had to
keep moving, for we could not camp in the gale, that
blew around us so fiercely that we could scarcely hold
down the sledge. But we moved with caution, feeling
our way witR the tent-poles, which I distributed
among the party f )r the purpose. A murmur had
reached my ear for some time in tlie cadetices of the
storm, steadier and deeper, I thought, than the tone
of the wind : on a sudden it struck me that 1 heard
the noise of waves, and that we must be coming close
on the open Avater. I had hardly time for the hurried
order, 'Tiu'n the dogs,' before a wreath of wet frost-
smoke swojit over us, and the sea showed itself, with a
great fringe of foam, hardly a quarter of a mile ahead.
We could now guess our position and its dangers. The
ice was breaking up before the storm, and it was not
certiiin that even a direct retreat in the face of the
gale would extricate us.

"It was pitchy dark. I persuaded Ootuniah, the
eldest of the Esquimaux, to have a tent-pole lashed
horizontally across his shoidders. I gave him the end
of a lino, whicli I had fastened at the other end round
my waist. The rest of the party followed him. At
last one after another succeeded in clambering after
me upon the ice-foot, driving the dogs before them.

ESCIUIMAIX irUT,

WILO 1)0U TEAM,

AN ESQUIMAUX HOMESTEAD,

569

"Providence Imd been our guide. The shore on
which we landeil was Anoatok, not four hundred yards
from the familiar Esquimaux homestead. With a
shout of joy, each man in his own dialect, we hastened
to the ' wind-loved spot;' and in less than an hour, our
lamps burning cheerfully, we were discussing a famous
stew of walrus-steaks, none the less relished for an
unbroken ice-walk of forty-eight miles and twenty
haltless hours.

" Time had done its work on the igloli of Anoatok,
as among the palatial structures of more southern
deserts. The entire front of the donic had fallen in,
closhig up the tossut, and finx^ing us to enter at the
solitary window above it. The breach was large
enough to admit a sledge team; but our Arctic
comrades showed no anxiety to close it up. Their
clothes saturated with the frerzins" water of the floes,
these iron men gathered themselves i-ound the blub-
ber-fire and steamed away in apparent comfort. The
only depjtrture from their practised routine, which the
bleak night and open roof seemed to suggest to them,
was that they did not strip themselves naked liefore
coming into the hut, and hang up their vestments in
the air to dry, like a votive oflering to the god of the
sea.

" The chant and the feed and the ceremony all com-
pleted, ITans, Morton, and myself crawled feet-foremost
mto our buffalo-bag, and Ootuniah, Awahtok, and M}'-
cuk flung themselves outside the skin between us.
The last I heard of them or anvthing else was the re-
newed chorus of ' Nalegak ! nalegak I nalegak-soak ! '
mingling itself sleepily in my drea-ms with school-boy
memories of Aristophanes and The Frogs. I slept

eleven houra

570

A BEAR-FIGHT.

"Oc+obcr 7. Lively Bensaiion, as they say in the
land of olives, and champagne. * Nannook, nannook !'
— ' A bear, a bear ! ' — Hans and Morton in a breath !

"To the scandal of our domestic regulations, the
guns were all impracticable. While the men were load-
ing and capping anew, I seized my pillow-companion
six-shooter, and ran on deck. A niedium-si/cd bear,
with a four months' cub, was i . active warfare with
our dogs. They were hangi \"' - n her skirts, and she
with wonderful alertness was i)icking out one victim
after another, snatching him by the nape of the neck,
and flinging him many feet or rather yards, by a
barely perceptible movement of her head.

" Tudla, our master dog, was already hors de combat :
he had been tossed twice. Jenny, just as I emerged
from the hatch, was making an extraordinary somer-
set of some eight fathoms, and alighted senseless.
Old Whitcy, stanch, but not bear-wise, had been the
first in the battle : he was yelping in helplessness on
the snow.

"It seemed as if the controversy was adjourned and
Nannook evidently thought so ; for she turned oil" to
our l)eef-barrels, and began in the most unconcerned
manner to turn them over and nose out their fatness.

"October 11. There is no need of looking at the
thermometer and comparing registers, to show how
far this season has advanced beyond its fellow of last
year. The ice-foot is more easily read, and quite as
certain.

" The under part of it is covered now with long sta-
lactitic columns of ice, unlike the ordinary icicle in
shape, for they have the characteristic bulge of the
carbonate-of-lime stalactite. They look like the fan-
tastic columns hanging from the roof of a frozen tem-

•

}

,» ,

AWAIITOK S nUT.

571

pie, the (lark recess behind them giving all the effect
of a grotto. Tliere is one that brings back to me
saddened memories of Elephaiita and the merry
friends that bore me company under its rock-chiselled
portico. The fig-trees and the palms, and the gallant
major's curries and his old India ale, are wanting in
the picture. Sometimes again it is a canopy fringed
with gems in the moonlight. Nothing can be purer or
more beautiful.

" Morton reached the Imts beyond Anoatok upon
the fourth day after leaving the brig. There were
four huts ; but two of them arc in ruins. Tliey were
all of them tlie homes of families only four winters
ago. Of the two which are still habitable, Myouk,
his father, mother, brother, and s-ister occupied one •
and Awahtok and Ootuniah, with their wives and three
young ones the other.

"It was evident from the meagreness of tlic larder
that the hunters of the family had work to do ; and from
some signs wliich did not escape tlie sagacity of Morton
it was plain that Myouk and his father had determined
to seek their next dinner upon the floes. Tiiey were
going upon a walrus-hunt ; and Morton, true to the
mission with which I had cliarged him, invited himself
and Hans to be of the party.

"I have not yet described one of these exciting inci-
dents of Kscpiimaux life. Morton was full of the one
he witnessed ; and his account of it when he came
back was so graphic that I sliould be glad to escape
from the egotism of personal narrative by giving it in
bis own language."

CHAPTER XXXV.

DR KANE'S SECOND EXPEDITION.

(CONTIXUED. )

Mv narrative has readied a period at which every
thiriir like progress was suspended. The increasing
cold and brisrhtening stars, tlu^ la))ors and anxieties
and sickness that pressed upon ns, — these almost en-
gross the pages of my journal. Now and then 1 find
some luarvel of Petersen's about the Ibx's dexterity as
a hunter; and Hans tells me of domestic life in South
Greenland, or of a seal-hunt and a wrecked kayack ;
or perhaps McGary repeats his thrice-told tale of hu-
mor ; but the night has closed down upon us, and we
are hibernating through it.

" Yet some of these were topics of interest. The
intense beauty of the Arctic iiniiament can hardly be
imagined. It looked close al)(»ve our heads, with its
stars magnified in glory and tiie very pkinets twiidi-
ling so much as tol)ai1iethe ol )servat ions of oin* astron-
omer. I am afraid to speak of some of these night-
scenes. I have trodden the deck and the ilocs, when
the life of earth seemed suspended, its movements, its
sounds, its coloring, its conijianiousliips ; i\nd as I
looked on the radiant hemisphere, circling above me
as if rendering worship to the unseen Center of light,
I have ejaculated in humility of spirit, ' Lord, wliat is
man that thou art mindful of bimV And thenl have

572

ARCTIC MOOSLIGIIT.

Til.' H IvKllir CANOPT

i I':

t'liiij

thought (
vohing .s
gUidden i
to us the
Avho nre
again.

the watch
light on (J
06° below
so we still
every one
ing in his
Arctic ^vin
" I wns {
fatigue of
the deck b
came on n
each, most
few minute
charity: th
Petersen, t\
August.

'•The pai

ing to tell (

ilous I'xpcri

the most sti

dition the_y

miles oH", t\h

ken, and th

anotlier pnn

first (ho ugh I

ing them.

'* I resolve

THE CABIN BY NIGHT.

575

thought of the kindly world we had left, with its re-
volving sunshine and shadow, and the other stars that
gladden it in their changes, and the hearts that warmed
to us there ; till I lost myself in memories of those
who !;rc not ; — and they bore me back to the stars
a.fam.

" December 1. I am writing at midnight. I have
the watch from eight to two. It is day in the moon-
light on deck, the thermometer getting up again to
36° below zero. As I came down to the cabin — for
80 we still call this little moss-lined igloe of ours —
every one is asleep, snoring, gritting his teeth, or talk-
ing in his dreams. This is pnthognomonic ; it tells of
Arctic winter and its companion, scurvy.

" I was asleep in the forenoon of the Tth, after the
fatigue of an extra ninht- watch, when 1 was called to
the deck by the report of 'Esquimaux sledges.' They
came on rapidly, five sledges, with teams of six dogs
eiich, most of the drivers strangers to us ; and in a
few minutes were at the brig. Their errand was of
charity : they were bringing back to us JJousall and
Petersen, two of the party that left us on the 28th of
August.

'• The ])arty had many adventures and much suffer-
ing to tell of. The_y had verified by painful and per-
ilous experience all 1 hiul anticipated for them. But
the most stirring of their announcements was the con-
dition they had left their associates iu, (wo hundred
miles off, divided iu their counsels, their energies bro-
ken, and tiieir provisions nearly gone. I reserve for
another ]iage the history of their Avanderings. My
first tliought was of the means of rescuing and reliev-
ing them.

'• 1 resolved to despatch the Esqvumaux escort at once

i lis

576 RETURN OF WITHDRAWING PARTY.

with such supplies fts our miserabl^y-impcrfcct stores
allowed, they giving theii' pledge to carry tlieni witii
all speed, and, what I felt to be much Icf^s certain, with
all honesty. We cleaned and bo'ded and packed a
hundred pounds of pork, and sewed up smaller pack-
ages of meat-biscuit, bread-dust, and tea ; and des-
patched the whole, some three hundred and fifty
pounds, hy the returning convoy. Of our own party
— those who had remained with the brig — Mcdarj^,
Hans, and myself were the only ones able to move,
and of these McGary was now faii-ly on the sick list.
We could not be absent a single day without jeopard-
ing the lives of the rest.

■ "December 12th, Tuesdrv. Brooks awoke me at
three this morning with the cry of ' Esquimaux again !'
I dressed hastily, and, groping my way over the pile
of boxes that leads up from the hold into the darkness
above, made out a group of human figure«, masked
by the hooded jumpers of the natives. They stopped
at the gangway, and, as I was a))Out to challenge, one
of them sprang fbrwaid and graspcMl my hand. It
was Doctor Hayes. A few Avords, dictated l)y suffer-
ing, certainly not by any anxiety as to his reception,
and at his bidding the whole party came upon deck.
Poor i'ellows ! I could only grasp their iiands and give
them a brother's welcome.

" The thermometer was at minus 50° ; they wera
covered with rime and snow, and were faint in u; with
hunger. It was necessary to use caution in taking
them below; for, after an exposure of such fearful in-
tensity and duration as they had gone through, the
warmth of the cabin would have prostrated them com-
pletely. They had journeyed three hundred ,\nd fifty
miles J and their last run from 'the bay near Etah,

sil
m

CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES,

5"^

some seventy miles in a right line, was through the
hummocks at this appalling temperature.

'' One by one they all came in and were housed.
Poor fellows ! as they threw open their Esquimaux gar-
ments by the stove, how they relished the scanty
luxuries which we had to offer them ! The coffee and
the meatrbiscuit soup, and the molasses and the wheat
bread, even the salt pork which our scurvy forbade
the rest of us to touch, — how they relished it all ! For
more than two months they had lived on frozen seal
and walrus-meat.

'• I cannot croAvd the details of their journey into my
diary. I have noted some of them from Dr. Hayes's
words ; but he has promised me a written report, and
1 wait for it. It Avas providential that they did not
stop for Petersen's return or rely on the engagements
which his Esquimaux attendants had made to them as
well as to us. The sletlgcs that carried our relief
of provisions passed through the Etah settlement
on some furtive project, we know not what.

'' December 25, Christmas, All together again, the
returned and 'he steadfast, we ^at down to our Christ-
mas dirner. There was more love tlian with the
stalled ox of former times ; but of herbs none. We
forgot oiu- discomforts in the blessings that adhered
to us still ; and when we thought of the long road
ahead 3f us, we thought of it hopefully. I pledged
myself" to give them their next Christtnas with their
homes ; and each of us drank his ' absent friends ' with
ferocious zeal over one-eighteenth ])avt of a bottle of
sillery — the last of its hamper, and, alas ! no longer
mousseiix.

" December 26. The moon is nearly above the
cliflsj the thermometer — 57° to — 45°, the mean of

it i :j

mmn

I !

578 ATTEMPT TO REACH THE ESQUIMAUX,

the past four days. In the midst of this cheering con-
junction, I have ahead of me a journey of a hundred
miles, to say nothing of the return. Worse than this,
I have no landmarks to guiide jiic, and must be my
own pioneei'. It is a nievcifid change of conditions
that I am the strongest :now of the whole' party, as
last winter I was the weakest. The duty of collect-
ing food is on me.

" December 28. The moon to-morrow will be for
twelve liours above the l.orizon, and so nearly circum-
polar afterward as to justify me in the attempt to
reach the Esquimaux hunting-ground about Cape Al-
exander. Every thing is ready ; and, God willing, I
start to-morrow, and pass the foar-hours' dog-halt in
the untenanted hut of Anoatok. Then we have, as
it may l>e, a fifteen, eighteen, or twenty hours' march,
run and drive, before we reach a shelter among the

heathen of the Bay.

" January 22. Busy preparing for a trip to the
lower Esquimaux settlement. The l)arometer remains
at the extraordinary height of 3085, — a bad prelude
to a journey !

"January 29. The dogs carried us to the lower
curve of the reach before breaking down. I was just
beginning to hope for an easy voyage, when Toodla
and the Big Yellow gave way nearly together; the
latter frightfully contorted by convulsions. There was
no remedy for it: the moon went down, and the
wretched night was upon us. "We groped along the
ice-foot, and, after fourteen hours' painful walking,
reached the old hut.

" A dark water-sky extended in a wedge from Lit-
tleton to a point north of the cape. Everywhere else
the lirmament was obscured by mist. The height of

THE BniO IX HER WINTER CRADLE.

APTUOACniNO THE DESERTED nUT.

THE npE.N W.VTEn.

(

THE HUT IN A STORM.

681

tlie barometer continued as we left it at the brig, and
our own sensations of warmth conN'mced us that we
were about to have a snow-storm.

" We hardly expected to meet the Esquimaux here,
and were not disappointed. Hans set to work at once
to out out blocks of snow to close up the entrance to
the hut. I carried in our blubber-lamp, food, and bed-
ding, unharnessed the dogs, and took them into the
same shelter. We were barely housed before the
storm broke upon us.

" Here, completely excluded from the knowledge of
things without, wo spent man_y miserable hours. We
could keep no note of time, and, except by the whir-
ring of the drift against the roof of our kennel, had
no information of the state of the Avoathor. Wo slept,
and cooked coffee, and drank codec, and slept, and
cooked coffee, and drank again ; and when by our tired
instincts we thought twelve hours must have passed,
we treated ourselves to a meal, — that is to say, we di-
vided impartial bites out of the raw hind-leg of a fox to
give zest to our biscuits spread with frozen tallow.
We then turned in to sleep agjun, no longer heediul
of the storm, for it had now buried us deep in with
the snow.

" In the morning — that is to say, when the com-
bined light of the noonday dawn and the circum-
polar moon permitted our escape — I found, by com-
paring the time as indicated by the Great Bear with
the present increased altitude of the moon, that we
had been pent up nearly two days. Under these cir-
cumstances we made directly for the hmmnocks, en
route for the bay. But here was a disastrous change.
The snow had accumulated under the windward sides
Of the inclined tables to a hight so excessive that we

A it
nil

682

HANS Discouu \ '; ed.

buried sledge, dogs, and drivers, in the efibrt to work
through. It was all in vain tiiat Hans and I har-
nessed ourselves to, or lifted, levered, twisted, and
pulled. Utterly exhausted and sick, I was oMiijed to
give it up. The darkness closed in again, and with
difficulty we regained the igloe.

"The ensuing night brought a return to hard freez-
ing temperatures. Our luxurious and doAvny coverlet
was a stilf, clotted lump of ice. In spite of our double
lamp, it was a miserable halt. Our provisions grew
short; the snow kept on falling, and we had still forty-
six miles between us and the Esquimaux.

"I determined to try the land ice l)y Fog Inlet;
and we worked four hours upon this without a breath-
ing-spell, — utterly in vain. My poor Es(]uimaux,
Hans, adventurous and buoyant as he was, began to
cry like a child. Sick, worn out, strength gone, dogs
fast and floundering, I am not asliamed to admit that
as I thought of the sick men on board, my own equa-
nimity also was at fault.

" We had not been able to got the dogs out, when
the big moon appeared above the water-smoke. A
familiar hill, ' Old Beacon Knob,' was near. I scram-
bled to its top and reconnoitered the coast aroimd it.
The ridge about Cape Ilatherton seemed to jut out of
a perfect chaos of broken ice. The water — that inex-
plicable North Water — was there, a long black wedge,
overhung by crapy wreaths of smoke, running to the
northward and eastward. Better than all jet, — could
I be deceived? — a trough through the hummock-
ridges, and level plains of ice stretching to the south.

"Hans heard my halloo, and came up to confirm me.
But for our disabled dogs and the waning moon-light,
we could easily have made our journey. It was with

eif

thd

of I

h'M

th^

en<

DAY DREAMS.

583

a reioi(!r'(l heart that I made my \\i\y l)ack to our mis-
erable little cavern, and re.stulled it;^ gaping entrance
with the snuw. We had no blubber, and <>: course no
fire; but I knew we could gain the brig, and that, after
refreshing the dogs and ourselves, we could now as-
suredly reach the settlements.

"Fel)runry 12. llaiis is off for his hunting-hidge,
'over the hills and far away,' beyond Charlotte AVood
Fiord. T^(! tliinks he can brinijr back a deer, and the
chances arc worth tlie trial. W«! can manage the small
hunt, Petersen and I, till he comes l)ack unless we
break down too. liit I do not like these symptoms
of mine, and Petersen is very far from the man he
was. We had a tramp to-day, both of us, after an im-
aginary deer, — a hcnnisoak that has jjeen su])posod for
the last three days to be hunting the neighborhood
of the waterpools of the brig lioTd, and have come
back jaded and sad. If Hans gives way, tjod help
us!"

" We worked on board — those of us who could Avork
at all — at arranging a new gangway w'ith a more gen-
tle slope, to let some of the paity crawl up from their
hospital into the air. We were six, all told, out of
eighteen, wdio ooidd affect to hunt, cook, or nurse.

" Meanwhile we tried to dream of commerce with
the Esquimaux, and open water and home. For myself,
my thoughts liave occupation enough in the question
of our closing labors. I never lost my hope. I looked
to the coming spring as fidl of responsibilities ; but 1
had bodily strength and moral tone enough to look
through them to the end. A trust, based on experi-
ence as well as on promises, buoyed me up at the
worst of times. Call it fatalism, as you ignorantly
may, there is that in the story of every eventful life

584

THE COMING DAWN.

which teaches the inefTiciency of human means and
the present control of a Supreme Agency. See how
often rehef has come at the moment of extremitv, in
forms strangely imsouglit, ahnost at the time iniwel-
eome ; see, still more, how the back has been strength-
ened to its increasing burden, and the heart cheered
by some unconscious influence of an imsien P'^wer.

'' February 21. To-day the crests of the northeast
headland were gilded by true sunshine, and all who
were able assembled on deck to greet it. Tlie sun
rose above the horizon, though still screened from our
eyes by interveninu,- hills. Although the powerful re-
fraction of Polar latitudes hei-alds his direct appear-
ance by brilliant light, this is as far I'cmoved from
the glorious tints of day as it is from the mere twi-
light. •Nevertheless, for the past trn days we have
been watching the gi-owiug waruith ol' our landscape,
as it emerged from burled shadow, through all the
stages of distinctness of an India-ink washing, step by
step, into the sharp, bold definition of our desolate
harbor scer«e. Wo have marked every dash of color
which the great Painter in his benevolence vouchsafed
to us; and now the empurpled blues, clear, mnnistak-
able, the spreading lake, the flickering j-ellow : peer-
ing at all these, poor wretches ! everything seemed
superlative luster and imsurpassable glory. We had
BO grovelled in darkness that we oversaw the light.

"February 22. Washington's birthday : all our col-
ors flying in the new sunlight. A day of good omen,
even to the sojourners among the ice. Hans comes
in vith great news. lie has had a shot at our ben-
nes( ak, a long shot ; but it reached him. The ani-
mal made oft' at a slow run, but we are sure of him
now. This same deer has been hanging round the

AHCTIC 8KA-0l'LLS.

EIDKR ISLAM) DUCKS.

JOYFUL NEWS.

587

lako nt the fiord through all the diin returning twi-
light; and so many stories were told ol' his a[)pear-
ance and movements tiiat he liad almost grown into a
myth.

" 23. Hans was out early this morning on the trail
of the wounded deer. Rliina, the least barbarous of
our .sle«lge-dogs. assisted liim. lie was back by noon
with the joyful new.', 'The tukkuk dead only two
miles np big fiord !' The ct}^ found its way through
the hatch, and eam»r lack in a broken huzxa from the
sick men.

" Feln'uary 25, Sunday. The day of rest for those
to whom rest can Lo ; the day of grateful recognition
for all! John, our volunteer cook of yesterday, is
down : Morton, who could crawl out of bed to play
baker for the party, and stood to it manfully ^^esterday,
is down too. I have just one man left to help me in
caring for the sick. Hans and Petersou, thank Hod!
have vitality enough left to bear the toils of the hunt.
One is out with his rifle, the other searching the
traps.

"To-day, blessed be the Great Author of Light ! I
have once moi-e looked upon the sun. I was stand-
ing on deck, thiuklug over our prospects, when a fa-
miliar berg, which had long been hid in sliadow,
flashed out in sun-birth. I kneTr this I)erg right mcU :
it st(Jod between Chai-lotte W(K>d Fiord and Little
Willie's Moniunent. One vtvn- and one (la\ au'O I
traveled toward it from Fern Rock to catch the sun-
shine. Then I had to climb th< hills beyond, to get
th(! luxury' of basking in its brightness; ItuI now,
though the sun was but n >iugle dcgi'ec above the true
horizon, it was so much elevated by refraction tliat the
sheen stretched across the trough of the liord like a

• i:

■i

Id .Ji

688

A SUN-WORSUIPER.

■■\ h\:

m^^.

flaming tongue. I could not or would not resist the in-
fluence. It Avas a Sunday act of worship : I started off at
an even run, and caught him as lit rolled slowly along
the horizon, and before he sank. I Avas again the first
of my party to rejoice and meditate in sunshine. It
is the third sun I have seen rise for a moment above
the lonff" nityhtof an Arctic wiiuer.

" I spare myself as well as the readers of this hast-
ily-compiled volume, when I pass summarily over the
details of our condition at this time.

"I look back at it with recollections like those of a
nightmare. Yet I was ])orne up wonderfidly. I never
doubted for an instant that the same Providence which
had guarded us through the long darkness of Avinter
was still watching over us for good, and that it was
yet in reserve for us — for some ; I dared not hope for
all — to bear back the tidings of our rescue to a Chris-
tian land. But how I did not see.

" TvA'o attempts have been made by my orders, in
February, to conunuuicate with the E,s(|uimaux at
their huts. Both Avere failures. Peterson, Hans, and
Godfrey came back to denounce the journey as im-
practicable. I know better: the experience of my
two attempts in the midst of the darkness satisfies me
that at this period of the year, the thing can be done ;
and, if I might venture to leave our sick-bay for a
week, I Avould ])rove it. ]3ut tlierc; iire disjiositions
and influences here around me, scarcely latent, yet re-
pressed by my presence, Avhich make it my duty at all
hazards to sta}^ Avhere I am.

"On tlie 6th of March, I made the desperate ven-
ture of sending olY my only trusted and efl'ective
huntsman on a sk!(lge-journey to find the Esquimaux
of Etah. He tool' ,vith him our tAvo surviving dogs

FAMINE AT ETAH.

589

in our lightest sledge. In three or at furthest four
days more, I counted on his return. No language can
express the anxiety with which our poor suli'eriug
crew awaited it.

"March 10. Hans has not yet returned ; so that
he must have reached the settlement, flis orders
were, it" no meat be obtained of the Esquimaux,
to borrow their dogs and tiy for bears along the open
water. In this resource I have conlitlence. The days
are magnificent.

" .... I had hardly written the above, when
' Bim, him, him. V sounded iVora the deck, mixed with
the chorus of our returning dogs. The next minute
Hans and myself wei'e shaking hands.

'•He had much to tell us; to men in our condition,
Hans was as a man from cities. We of the wilderness
flocked around him to hear the news. Sugar-teats of
raw meat are passed around. 'Speak loud, Hans,
that they may hear in tlu' bunks.'

" The 'wind-loved' Ano itok he had reached on the
first night after leaving the l)rig: no Esquimaux there
of course ; and he slept not ^^ .i'-rnly at a temperature
of 5o° belli w zero. On tiie eveuing of the next day
he reached Etah Bay, and was hailed with joyous wel-
come. But a new phase of Esquimaux life had come
upon its indok'ut, hapi)y. blubber-fed denizens. In-
stead of plump, greasy cliildren, and round-cheeked
matrons Hans saw aroinid liim lean figures of misery:
the men looked hard and bony, and tlie children shriv-
elled in the hoods wbich cradled lliem at their nu)th-
crs' backs Eamiue iiad been among them ; and the
skin of a young sea-unicorn, lately caught, was all
that remained to them of food. Even their dogs, their
main reliance for the hunt and for an escape to some

II J

i \\

■ 1
1 1

II !i

!",,

590

A WALRUS HUNT.

more favored camping-ground, had fallen a sacrifice
to hunger. Only four remained out of thirty : the
rest had been eaten.

" Hans behaved well, and carried out my orders in
their full spirit. He proposed to aid them in the wal-
rus-hunt. They smiled at first with true Indian con-
tempt : but when they saw my Marston rifie^ which
he had with him, they changed their tone.

" I have not time to detail Hans's adventurous hunt,
equally important to the scurvied sick of Rensselaer
and the starving residents of Etah Bay. Metek
speared a medium-sized walrus, and Hans gave him no
less than five Marston balls before he gave up his
struggles. The beast was carried ])ack in triumph,
and all hands fed as if they could never know famine

again.

'•'I had directed Hans to endeavor to engage Myouk,
if he could, to assist him in hunting. A most thnely
thought: for the moi'ning's work mfide them re-
ceive the invitation as a great favor. Hans got his
share of the meat, and returned to the brig accompa-
nied by the boy, who is now under my care on board.
This imp — for he ia full of tlio devil — has alwiiys had
a relishing fancy for tlie kicks and cuffs with which I
recall the forks and teaspoons when they get astray ;
and, to tell the truth, he ahvays takes care to earn
them. He is very happy, but so Avasted by hunger
that the work of fattening him will be a costly one.
Poor little fi-llow! born to toil and necessity and peril ;
stern luinter «- he already is, the lines of bis face are
still solt and child-like.

"March 25. Refraction with all its magic is back
upon us; the ' Delectable Mountahis' appear again;
and, as the sun has now worked his way to the margin

?, H{

■mmjin « 1, 1 1

'Ifice
the

?rs in
; wal-
1 con-
wliich

1 hunt,
<selaev
jNIctek
lihn no

\\p his
•iumph,

famine

Myonk,
t thnely
.\ciu rc-
ccit his
iccoinpa-
»n board,
vnys had
wli'u'li I
t astray ;
e tooarn
y himger
ostly one.
i\\^(\ povii -,
IS laco art'

v'lc y hack
T.r UL«:ain ;
he margin

'M^m

■mm

THE DELECTABLE MOUNTAINS.

593

of the northwestern horizon, we can see the blaze
stealing out from the black portals of these uplifted
hills, as if there were truly beyond it a celestial gate.

" I do not know what preposterous working of brain
led me to compare this northwestern ridge to Bun-
yan's Delectable Mountains ; but there was a time only
one year ago, when I used to gaze upon them with an
eye of real longing. Very often, when they rose phan-
tom-like into the sky, I would plan schemes by which
to reach them, work over mentally my hard pilgrim-
age across the ice, and my escape I'rom Doubting
Castle to this scene of triumph and reward. Once
upon your coasts, inaccessible mountains, I would
reach the Northern Ocean and gather together the rem-
nants ol poor Franklin's company. These would be to
me the orchards and vineyards and running fountains.
The ' Lord of the Hill would see in me a pilgrim.'
' Leaning upon our staves, as is common with weary pil-
grims when they stand to talk with any by the way,' we
would look down upon an open polar sea, refulgent
with northern sunshine.

" April 2. At eleven o'clock this morning Mr. Bon-
sall rej)orted a man about a mile from the Ijrig, appa-
rently lurking on the ice-foot. 1 thought it was Hans,
and we l)otli went foiward to meet him. As we drew
closer we discovered our sledge and dog-team near
where he stood j but the man turned and ran to the
south.

"I pursued him, leaving Mr. Bonsall, who carried a
Sharps' ritle, bohind ; and the man, whom 1 now recog-
nized to be (jiodfrey, seeing me advance alone, stopped
and met me. He told me that he had been to the
south as far as Northuml)erland Island ; that Hans was
lying sick at Etab, in consequence of exposure ; that

. Si

^! U

594

THE DESERTER ESCAPES.

he himself had made up his mind to go back and
spend the rest of his hfe with Kahitunah and the Es-
quimaux; and that neither persuasion nor force should
divert him from this purpose.

" U})on my presenting a pistol, I succeeded in forc-
ing him back to the gangway of the brig; but he re-
fused to go further; and, being loth to injure him, I
left him under the guardianship of JNIr. Bonsall's
weapon while T went on board for irons ; for both Bon-
sell and myself were barely able to walk, and utterly
incapable of controUitig him by manual force and Peter-
sen was out hunting : the rest, thirteen in all, are
down with scurvy. I had just reached the deck when
he turned to run. Mr. Bonsall's i)istol failed at the
cap. I jumped at once to the gun-stand ; but my
first ride, affected by the cold^ went off in the act of
cocking, and a second, aimed hi haste at long but
practicable distance, missed the fugitive. He made
good his escape before we could lay hold of another
weapon.

"lam now more anxious than ever about ILans.
The past conduct of Godfrey on board, and his mutin-
ous desertion, make me aware that he is capable of
daring wrong as well as deception. One thing is plain.
This man at large and his comrade still on board, the
safety of the whole company exacts t!:e sternest ob-
servance of discipline. I have called irfl hands, and an-
nounced it as a standing order of tbe shi]),and one to be
observed inflexiblj^, that desertion, or the attempt to
desert, shall be met at once by the sternest penalty.
I have no alternative.

April 3. To-day I detained Petersen from his hunt
and took a holiday rest myself, — that is to say, went

to bed and sweated : to-morrow I promise as much

for Bonsall.

•

fir

tbi:

whi(|

.'It, i[

by t

.•-■nllj

ainoi

hearl

homi

not

A MORNING IN THE CABIN.

595

« While here in bed I will give the routine of a day
in this spring-tinio of year :

"At 7:30 call 'all hands;' which means that one of
the well trio waken the other two. Tiiis order is
obeyed slowly. Tlie commander confesses for liinisclf
that the breakfast is well-nigh upon the table before he
gets his stiff ankles to the floor. Looking nmund, he
sees the usual mosaic of sleepers as ingeniously dove-
tailed and crowded together as the campers-out in a
buffalo-bag. He winds his way through thorn, and, as
he does so, some stereotyped remarks are interchanged.
'Thomas!' — our ex-cook, now side by side Avitli the
first officer of the expedition, — 'Thomas, turn out!'
' Eugh-ng, sir. ' Turn out ; get up.* Ys-sir;' (sits bolt
upright, and rubs his eyes.) 'How d'you feel, Mr.
Ohlsen ?' ' Better, sir.' ' Ilow've you passed the night,
Mr. Brooks?' 'Middlin', sir.' And after a diversified
series of spavined elTorts, the m3'stical number forms
its triangle at the table.

*' It still stands in its simple dignity, an unclothed
platform of boards, with a pile of plates in the center.
Near these is a virtuoso collection of cups grouped in a
tumidus or cairn, commencing philosophically at the
base Avith heavy stoneware, and ending with battered
tin: the absolute pinnacle a debased dredging box,
which makes a bad goblet, being unpleasantly sharp
at its rim. At one end of this table, partly hid
by the beer-barrel, stands Petersen ; at the side. Bon-
sai) ; and a lime-juice cask opposite makes my seat.
We are all standino;: a momentarv hush is made
among the sick ; and the daily prayer comes with one
heart: — 'Accept our gratitude, and restore us to our
homes.'

'* The act of devotion over, wo sit down, and look-
not at the breakfast, but at each other.

!«'

if.]

, ' '

i : i

596

SHUNGHU'S DAUGHTER.

"April 10, Tuesday. I left the brig at 10 J a.m.,
with but five dogs and a load so light as to be hardly
felt. My dogs, in spite of low feeding, carried me
sixty-four miles in eleven hours.

" Faithful Hans ! Dear good follower and friend !
I was out on the floes just beyond the headlands of
our old ' Refuge Harbor,' when I made out a black
far in to shoreward. Refraction will deceive a novice
on the ice ; but we have learned to bailie refraction.
By sighting the suspected object with your rifle at rest,
you soon detect motion. It was a living animal — a
man. Shoreward went the sledge; off sprang the
dogs ten miles an hour, their driver yelling the famil-
iar provocative to speed, ' Nannook ! nannook!' 'A
bear! a bear!' at the top of his lungs.

" There was no room for mistaking the methodical
steal-stalking gait of Hans. He hardly varied from it
as we came near ; but in about fifteen minutes we
were shaking hands and jabbering, in a patois of Es-
quimaux and English, our mutual news. The poor
fellow had been really ill : five days down with severe
pains of limbs have left him still a 'little veek ;'
which means with Hans well used up. I stuck him
on the sledge and carried him to Anoatok.

" In this sickness, he told me, he was waited on
most carefully at the settlement. A young daughter
of Sliunghu elected herself his nurse, and her sympa-
thies find smiles have, I fear, made an impression on
his heart which a certain damsel near Upernavik
might be sorry to hear of

" April 18. I am just off a two hundred miles' jour-
ney, bringing back my deserter, and, what is perhaps
quite as important, a sledge-load of choice walrus-
cuts.

cc
m

CAPTURE OF OUR DESERTER.

597

" I found from ITana that his negotiation for the dogs
had failed, and that unless I could do something by
individual persuasion I must give up my scheme of a
closing exploration to the north. I learned too that
Godfrey was playing the great r-uin at Etah, defying
recapture ; and I was not willing to trust the influence
he might exert on my relations with the tribe. I de-
termined that he should return to the brig.

"I began by stratagem. I placed a pair of foot-
cuffs on Metek's sledge, and, after looking carefully to
my body-companion six-shooter, invited myself to ride
back with him to Etah. His nephew remained on
board in chai'ge of Hans, and I disguised myself so
well in my nessak that, as we moved off, I could
easily have passed for the boy Paulik, whose place I
had taken.

" As our eighty miles drew to an end, and that
which we call the settlement came close in view, its
population streamed out to welcome their chief's re-
turn. Among the first and most prominent was the
individual whom I desired to meet, waving his hand
and shouting *Tima!' as loudly as the choicest sav-
age of them all. An instant later, and I was at his
ear, with a short phrase of salutation and its appro-
priate gesture. He yielded unconditionally at once,
and, after walking and running by turns for some
eighty miles before the sledge, with a short respite at
Anoatok, is now a prisoner on board.

" My remaining errand at Etah was almost as suc-
cessful. The inmates of the burrows swarmed around
me as I arrived. * Nalegak ! nalegak ! tima I ' was
yelled in chorus : never seemed people more anxious
to piopitiate, or more pleased with an unexpected
visit. But they were airily clad, and it blew a north-

ih;

10'

If I !'

;U--iH

■r

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)

1.0

I.I

1.25

2.8

25
2.2

2.0

1.8

U IIIIIL6

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

33 WIST MAIN STRf ET

WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80

(716) 873-4S03

■ ^—^^—^■^•m

698

A VISIT TO ETAn.

wester ; and they soon crowded back into their ant-
hill. Meantime preparations were making for my in-
door reception, and after a little while Metek and my-
self crawled in on hands and knees, through an extra-
ordinary tossut thirty paces long. As I emerged on
the inside, the salute of ' nalegak' was repeated with
an increase of energy that was anything but pleas-
ant. .

"There were guests before me, — six sturdy deni-
zens of the neighboring settlement. They had been
overtaken by the storm Avhile hunting, and were al-
ready crowded upon the central dais of honor. They
united in the yell of welcome, and I soon found my-
self gasping the anmioniacal steam of some fourteen
vigorous, amply-fed, unwashed, unclothed fellow-lodg-
ers. No hy|)erbolo could exaggerate that which in
serious earnest I give as the truth. The platform meas-
ured but s'jven feet in breadth by six in deptli, thj
shape being semi elliptical. Upon this, including
children and excluding myself, were bestowed thir-
teen persons.

"The kotluk of each matron was glowing with a
flamc: sixteen inches long. A tlipper-quarter of Aval-
rus, which lay frozen on the floor of the netek, Avas cut
into s :eaks ; and the kolopsuis began to smoke with a
burden of ten or fifteen pounds ajjiece. Metck, with a
little amateur aid I'rom sc ne of the sleepers, emptied
these without my assistance. I had the most cordial
invitation to precede them ; but I had seen enough of
the culinary regime to render it impossible. I broke
my fast on a handful of frozen liver-nuts that Bill
brouj'ht mo, and, bursting out into a profuse perspira-
tion, 1 stripped like the rest, threw my well-tired car-
cass across Mrs. Eider-duck's extremities, put her left*

TIIK ATHK on SKAL-IKH.K.

WaI-HIH SI'OllTlNd

A NOBLE SAVAGE.

601

hand baby under my armpit, pillowed my head onMy-
ouk's sonie\fliat warm stomach, and thus, an honored
guest and in the place of honor, fell asleep.

"We continued toiling on with our complicated pre-
parations till the evening of the 24th, when Hans
, came back well laden with walrus-meat. Three of the
Esquimaux accompanied him, each with his sletlge and
dog-team fuU}'^ equipped for a hunt. The leader of
the party, Kalutunah, was a noble savago, greatly supe-
rior in every thing to the others of his race. He
greeted me with respectful courtesy, 3'et as one who
might rightfully expect an equal measure of it in re-
turn, and, after a short interchange of salutations, seat-
ed himself in the post of honov at my side.

" I waited of course till the company had fed and
slept, for among savages especially haste is indecoroas,
and then, after distributing a few presents, opened to
them my project of a northern exploration. Kalutu-
nah received his knife and needles with a'Kuyanaka,'
'I thank you:' the lirst thanks I have heard from a
native of this upper region. He called me his friend,
— ' Asaknoteet,' ' I love you well,' — and would be happy,
he said, to join the ' nalegak-soak ' in a hunt.

" We started with a wild yell of dogs and men
in chorus, Kalutunah and myself leading. We halted
about thirty miles north of the brig, after edging
along the coast about thirty miles to the eastward.
Here kShanihu l)urrowed into a snow-bank and slept,
the thermonu^ter standing at — 80°. The rest of us
turned in to lunch.

"The journey begun :ii:;iii) its the loast closed, and
we should have ac(oniplished my wishes had it not
been for the untoward inlluence of sundry l)ears. The
tracks of these animals were becoming more and more

602

A BEAK HUNT.

numerous as we rounded one iceberg after another ;
and we could see the beds they had worn in the snow
while watching for seal. These swayed the dogs from
their courae : yet we kept edging onward ; and when
in sight of the northern coast, about thirty miles from
the central peak of the ' Thret Brothers,' I saw a deep
band of stratus lying over the hori/.oii in the direction
of Kennedy Channel. This water-sky indicated the
continued opening of the channel, and made me more
deeply anxious to proceed. But at tiiis moment our
dogs encountered a large male bear in the act of de-
vouring a seal. The impulse was irresistible: I lost
all control over both dogs and drivers. They
seemed dead to every thing but the passion o^ pur-
suit. OfT thoy sped with incredible swiftness ; the
Esquimaux clinging to their sledges and clioering
their dogs with loud cries o^ ' Nannook !' A mad, wild
chase, wilder than German legend, — the dog^, \V(dves;
the drivers, devils. After a furious run the animal
was brought to bay ; the lance and the rifle did their
work, and we halted for a general feed. The dogs
gorged themselves, the drivers did as much, and we
buried the remainder of the carcass in the snow.

" We took a four hoiys' sleep on the oj)en ice, the
most uncomfortable that 1 remember. Our fatigue
had made U3 dispense with the snow-house; and
though I was heavily clad in a full suit of furs, and
squeezed myself in between Kalutunah and Shanghu,
I could not bear the inten.se temperature. I rose in
the morning stiff and sore. I mention it as a trait of
nobleness on the part of Kalutunah, which I appreci-
ated very sensibly at the time, that, seeing me sufTer,
he took his kapetah from his back and placed it
around my feet. * •

ENTERPRISING HUNTERS.

603

" Tlie next day I tried again to mai\e my f iends
Btecr to the nnrtlnvard. liiit the bcais were most nu-
merous upon the (Ireenland side; and thoy determined
to push on toward the ghicier. All my remonstran-
ces and urgent entreaties were iniavailing to make
them resmno tlieir promised route.

" I found now that my projected survey of the
northern coast must he abandoned, at least for the
time. My next wish was to get back to the brig, and
to negotiate with Metek for a purchase or loan of
his dogs as my last chance, liut c-von this was not
reodily gratilied. All of Saturday was spent in bear-
hunting. The natives, as indomitable as their dogs,
made the entire circuit of Dallas Bay, and finally
halted again under one of the islands which group
themselves between the headlands of Advance Bay
and at the base of the glacier."

CHAPTER XXXn.

DR. KANE'S SECOND EXPEDITION.

V (continued.)

" The (letailetl prej)aratlons for our escape would
have Uttle interest for the general reader ; but they
were so arduous and so important that I cannot pass
them by without a special notice. They had been
begun from an early day of the fall, and had not been
entirely intennittod during our severest winter-trials.

" Recogni/.ing the importance of acting directly upon
the men's minds, my lirst step now was to issue a gen-
eral order appointing a certain day, the 17th of May,
for setting out. Every man had twenty-four hours
given hhn to select and get ready his eight pounds
of personal elTocts. After that, his time was to cease
to be liji own for any purpose.

'•I tri^id my best also to fix and diffn.'^e impressions
that we were going home. But in this I was not al-
ways successful : I was displea.sed, indeed, wiih the
moody indilforencc with which many went about the
tasks to which I put them. The completeness of my
preparations I know had its influence ; but there were
many doul)tcrs. Some were convinced that my only
ol>jcct Avas to move farther south, retaining tlie brig,
however, as a home to retreat to. Others whispered
that I wanted to transport the sick to the hunting-
grounds and other resources of the lower settlements^

604

K
o
o

PREPARATIONS FOR STARTING SOUTH. 607

which I had such difficulty in preventing the muti-
nous from Hccuring for themselves alone. A lew of a
more cheerful spirit thought I had resolved to make
for some point of look-out, in the hope of a rescue by
whalers or English expedition parties which were suj)-
posed still to be within the Arctic circle. The number
is unfortunately small of thos-* human beings whom
calamity elevates.

" There was no sign of affectation of spirited enthusi-
asm upon the memorable day when we first adjusted the
boats to their cradlos on the sledges and moved them
off to the ice-foot. But the ice immediatcl}' around
the vessel was smooth; and, as the boats had not re-
ceived their lading, the first labor was an easy one.
As the runners moved, the gloom of several ^ounte-
nanoes was perceptibly liglitened. The cioakers had
protested that we could not stir an inch. These cheer-
ing remarks always reach a commander's ears, and I
look good care of course to make the outset contra-
dict them. By the time Ave reached the end of our
little level, the tone had improved wonderfully, and
we were prepared for the effort of crossing the suc-
cessive lines of the belt-ice and forcing a way through
the smashed material which interj)Osed between us and
the ice-foot.

" This was a work of great difficvdty, and sorrowfully
exhausting to the poor fellows not yet accustomed to
heave together. But in the end 1 had the satisfaction,
before twenty-four hours were over, of seeing our lit-
tle arks of safety linulcd upon the IultIkm' |)lniu>of the
icefoot, in full trim for ornamental exhibition from
the brig ; their neat canvas housing rigged tentrfash-
ion over the entire length of each ; a jaunty little flag
made out of one of the commander's obsolete linen

608

PAEEWELL TO THE DRIG.

ehirtH, decorated in stripes from a disused article of
statioiierv, the red ink-bottle, and with ii verv little of
the bliu'ba^ in the star-spangled corner. All liandn
after this returned on board: I had ready for them
the best supper our supplies allorded, and they
turned in with nunds i)repared for their dej)arture next
day.

" Our last farewell to the brig was made with more
solenniity. The entire ship's comj)any was collected
in our dismantled winter-chamber, to take part in the
ceremonial. It was Sunday. Our moss walls had
been torn down, and the wood that supported them
burned. Our beds were dlTat the boa's. The galley
was unfurnished and cold. Every thing about the lit-
tle den of refuge was desolate.

"We read prayers and a chapter of the Bible; and
then, all standing silently round, I look Sir John
Franklin's portrait from its frame and cased it in an
India-rubber scroll. I next read the reports of inspec-
tion and scurvy which had been made by the several
commissioners organized for the purpose, all of them
testifying to the necessities under which I was a"bout
to act, I then addres.sed the party : I did not afi'ect
to disguise the difhculties that were before us; but I
assured them that they could all be overcome by en-
ergy and subordination to command: and that the
thirteen hundred miles of ice and water that lay be-
tween us and North Greenland could be traversed
with safety for most of us and hope for all.

" I was met with a right spirit. After a short con-
ference, an engagement was drawn up l)y one of the
officers, and brought to me, with the signatures of all
the company, without an exception.

" We then went upon deck : the flags were hoisted

■■■•■pWB^il^H

THE SICK AT ANOATOK.

611

and hauled down again, and our party walked once or
twice around the bri^, looking at her timbers and ex-
changing comments upon the scars which reminded
them of every stage of her dismantling. Our figure-
head — the fair Augusta, the little blue girl with pink
cheeks, who had lost her ])reast by an iceljerg and her
nose by a nip oft" Bedevilled Reach — was taken from
our bows and placed aboard the ' Hope.' ' She is at
any rate wood,' said the men, when I hesitated nbout
giving them the additional burden ; ' and if \\e can-
not carry her far we can burn her.'

"As I review my notes of the first few days of our
ice-jouruey, I find them full of uicidcnts interesting
and even momentous when they occurred, but which
cannot claim a place in this narrative. The sledges
were advancing slowly, the men often discouraged,
and now and then one giving way under the unaccus-
tomed labor; the sick at Anoatok always dreary in
their solitude, and suHering, pinhaps, under an exacer-
bation of disease, or, like the rest of us, from a pen-
ury of appropriate food. Things looked gloomy
enough at times.

"Taklnowith me Morton, mv faithful adjutant al-
ways, I hurried on to the brig. It was in the full
glare of noon that we ciitered the Jimiliar curve of
Rensselaer Buy, The black spars of our deserted
vessel cut sharply against the shores ; there was the
deepl_y marked snow-track that led to Observatory
Island and the graves of poor IJakor and Schubert,
with their cairn and it-^ white-cross Ix-ac^on: everything
looked as when we defiled in I'unenil prueession round
the cliffs a year before. But, as we came close upon
the brig and drove our dogs up the gangway, along
which Bonsall and myself had staggered so often with

■

612

APPROACH TO ETAH.

our daily loads of ice, we beared the rustling of wings,
and a large raven sailed away in the air past Sylvia
Headland. It was old Magog, one of a jiair that had
cautiously haunted near our brig during the last two
years. He had already appropriated our homestead.

" We lighted fires in the galley, melted pork, baked
a large batch of bread, gathered together a quantity
Oi beans and dried apples, somewhat damaged but still
eatable, and by the time our dogs had fed and rested,
we were ready for the return. I gave a last look at
the desolate galley-stove, the representative of our
long winter's fire-side, at the still bright coppers now
full of frozen water, the theodolite, the chart-box, and
poor Wilson's guitar, — one more at the remnant of
the old moss walls, the useless daguerreotypes, and the
skeletons of dog and deer and bear and musk-ox, —
stoppered in the rigging ; — and, that done, whipped
up my dogs so much after the manner of a sentimen-
talizing Christian, that our pagan Metek raised a
prayer in their behalf

"It was quite late in the evening when I drew near
Etah. I mean that it was verging on to our midnight,
the sun being low in the heavens, and the air breath-
ing that solenin stillness which belongs to tlie sleeping-
time of birds and plants. I had not ((uite reached
the little settlement when loud sounds of laughter
came to my ear ; and, turning the cape, I burst sud-
denly upon an encampment of the inhabitants.

" Some thirty men, women, and children, were gath-
ered together upon a little face of offal-stained rock.
Except a bank of moss, which broke the wind-draught,
from the fiord, they were entirely without protection
from the weather, though the temperature was 5° be-
low zero. The huts were completly deserted, the

A MIDNIGHT FESTIVAL.

613

snow tossut had fallen in, and the window was as free
and open as summer to the purifying air. Every liv-
ing thing about the settlement was out upon the bare
rocks.

" Rudest of gypsies, how they squalled, and laughed,
and snored, and rolled about! Souie were sucking
bird-skins, others were boiling incredible numbers of
auks in huge soapstone pots, and two youngsters, cry-
ing, at the top of their voices, ' Oopeg'^oak ! Oopeg-
soak!' were lighting for an owl. It ^,as the only
specimen that I had seen except on the wing ; but, be-
fore I could secure it, they had torn it limb from limb,
and were eating its warm flesh and blood, their faces
buried among its dishevelled feathers.

" The scene was redolent of plenty and ignorance,
the dolcefar niente of the short-lived Esquimaux sum-
mer. Pro\ ision for the dark winter was furthest from
their thoughts ; for, although the rocks Avere patched
with sun-dried birds, a single hunting party from Pe-
teravik could have eaten up their entire supphes in a
single night.

"Before I left Etah ».n my return, I took an early
stroll with Sip-su, the handsome boy,' to the lake back
of my old traveling-route, and directly under the Hico
of the glacier.

" He led me first to the play-ground, where all his
young friends of the settlement were busy in one of
their sports. Each of them had a Avalrus-rib for a
goiph or shinny-stick, and they were contending to
drive a hurley, m;i(le out of the round knol) of ii flip-
per joint, up a liank of frozen snow. Koars of laugh-
ter greeted the impatient striker as he missed his blow
at the shining ball, and eager cries told how close the
match was drawing to an end. They were counting

■!

mufi^mmmimmmmmimmmmm

614

THE SICK IMPROVING.

on the fingers of both hands, eight, eight, eight : the
game is ten.

"Strange, — the thought intruded itself, but there
was no wisdom in it, — strange that these famine-
pinched wanderers of the ice should rejoice in sports
and playthings like the children of our own smiling
sky, and that parents shoidd fashion for them
toy sledges, and harpoons, and nets, miniature em-
blems of a life of suffering and peril ! how strange this
joyous merriment under the monitory shadow of these
jagged ice-cliffs ! My spirit was oppressed as I imag-
ined the possibility of our tarrying longer in these fro-
zen regions ; but it was ordinary life with these other
children of the same Creator, and they were playing
as unconcerned as the birds that circled above our
heads. ' Fear not, therefore : ye are of more value
than many sparrows.'

" I was glad when I reached the sick-station to find
things so much better. Everybody was stronger, and,
as a consequence, more cheerful. They had learned
housekeeping with its courtesies as well as comforts.
Their kotluk would have done credit to Aningnah her-
self: they had a dish of tea for us, and a lump of wal-
rus; and they bestirred themselves real housewife-
fashion, to give us the warm place and make us com-
fortable. I was right sorry to leave them, for the
snow outside was drifting with the gale ; but after a
little while the dogs struck the ti*aek of the sledges,
and, following it with imerring instinct, did not slacken
their pace till they had brought us to our compan-
ions on the floe.

" They had wisely halted on account of the storm,
and, with their three little boats drawn up side by side
for mutual protection, had been lying to for the past

OUT IN A GALE.

615

two days, tightly housed, and moored fast by whale-
lines to the ice. But the drifts had almost buried the
' Hope,' which was the windward boat ; and when I
saw the burly form of Brooks emerging from the
snow-covered roof, I could have fancied it a walrus
rising through the ice.

" Six Esquimaux, three of them Avomen, — the ugly
beauty, Nessark's wife, at the head of them, — had
come off to the boats for shelter from the gale. They
seemed so entirely deferential, and to recognize with
such simple trust our mutual relations of alliance, that
I resolved to drive down to Etah with Petersen as iii-
terpreter, and formally claim assistance, according to
their own laws, on the ground of our established
brotherhood.

" Our dogs moved slowly, and the discolored ice ad-
monished me to make long circuits. As we neared
Littleton Island, the wind blew so fiercely from the
southwest, that I determined to take the in-shore chan-
nel and attempt to make the settlement over land.
But I was hardly under the lee of the islniid, when
there broke upon us one of the most fearful gales I
have ever experienced. It had the character and the
force of a cyclone. The dogs were literally blown
from their harness, and it was only by throwing our-
selves oil our faces that we saved ourselves from being
swept away : it seemed as if the ice must give way.
We availed ourselves of a momentary lull to shoulder
the sledge, and, calling the allrighted dogs around
us, made for the rocks of Eider Island, and, after the
most exhausting exertions, succeded in gaining terra
firma.

" We struck a headland on the main shore, where a
dark hornblende rock, perhaps thirty feet high, had

616

COMIC misi:ry.

formed a barricade, behind which the drifts piled them-
selves ; and into this mound of snow "we had just
strength enough left to dig a burrow. We knew it
soon after as Cape Misery.

"The dogs and sledge were dragged in, and Peter-
sen and myself, reclining 'spoon-fashion,' cowered
among them. The snow piled over us all, and we were
very soon so roofed in and quilted round that the
storm seemed to rage far outside of us. We could
only hear the wind droning like a great fly-wheel, ex-
cept when a surge of grecater malignity would sweep
up over our burial-place and sift the snow upon the
surface like hail. Our greatest entmy here was
warmth. Our fur jumpers had been lilerally torn off
our backs by the wind; but tliu iniitcd respiration of
dogs and men melted the snow around us, and we
were soon Avet to the skin.

" Is it possible to imagine a juncture of more comic
annoyance than that which now introduced itself
among the terrors of our position V Toodla, our mas-
ter-dog, was seized with a violent fit : and, as their
custom is, his companions indulged in a family con-
flict upon the occasion, which was only uHnJiated, after
much effort, at the sacrifice of all that remained of
Petersen's pantaloons and drawers.

" We had all the longing for repose that accompa-
nies extreme prostration, and had been fearing every
moment that the combatants would bring the snow
down upon us. At last down came our whole canopy,
and we were exposed in an instant to the fury of the
elements. 1 do not think, often as 1 have gone up on
deck from a close cabin in a gale at sea, that 1 was
ever more struck with the extreme noise and tumult
of a storm.

BOAT CAMP IS A STOKJt.

GOOIl-UVE 10 TIIK Ki-yUlMAUX.

]

I i

A CRYSTAL PALACE.

619

" Once more snowed up, — for the drift built its crys-
tal pjilaec rapidly about us, — we renininod cramped
and soetliing till our appetites reminded us of the ne-
cessities of the inner man. To breast the gale was
simply impossible ; the alternative was to drive before
it to the north and east. Forty miles of floundering
travel brought us in twenty hours to the party on the
floes,

" Still passing slowly on (\{\y after day, — I am reluc-
tant to borrow from my journal the details of anxiety
and embarrassment with which it abounds throughout
this period, — we came at last to the unmistakable
neighborhood of the open water. We were off Peki-
iitlik, the largest of the Littleton Island group, oppo-
site 'Kosoak,' the Great River. Jlere Mr. Wilson and
George Whipple rejoined us, under the faithful charge
of old Nessark. It was with truly thankful hearts
we united in our pra3''ers that evening.

** One only was absent of all the party that re-
mained on our rolls. Hans, the kind son and ardent
young lover of Fiskernaes, my well-trusted friend, had
been missing for nearly two months. I am loth to
tell the story as I believe it, for it may not be the
true one, after all, and I would not intimate an unwar-
ranted doubt of the constancy of bojdsh love. But
I must explain, as far as I can at least, why he was not
with us when we fu'st looked at the open water. Just
before my departure for my April hunt, Hans came to
me with a long face, asking permission to visit Peteravik :
'he had no boots, and wanted to lay in a stock of
walrus-hide for solos: he did not need the dogs ; he
would rather walk.' It was a long march, but he
was well practised in it, and I consented, of course.

" Hans the faithful — ^yet, I fear, the faithless — was

620

AT THE OPEN WATER.

last seen upon a native sledge, driving south from Peter-
avik with a maiden at his side, and professedly bound
to a new principality at Uwarrow Suk-suk, high up
Murchison's Sound. Alas for Hans, the married man !

"June 16. Our boats are at the open water. We
see its deep indigo horizon, and hear its roar against
the icy beach. Its scent is in our nostrils and
our hearts. Our camp is but three-quarters of a
mile from the sea : it is at the northern curve of the
North Baffin polynia. We must reach it at the south-
em sweep of Etah Bay, about three miles from Cape
Alexander. A dark lieadland defines the spot. It is
more marked than the southern entrance of Smith's
Straits. How magnificently the surf beats against its
sides.

"The Esquimaux are camped by our side, — the
whole settlement of Etah congregated around the 'big
caldron ' of Cape Alexander, to bid us good-bye. There
are Metek and Nualik his wife, our old acquaintance
Mrs. Eider-duck, and their five children, conuucncing
with Myoulc, my body-guard, and ending with the
ventricose little Accomodah. There is Nessark and
Anak his wife ; and Tellcrk the ' Right Arm,' and Ain-
aunalik his wife ; and Sip su, and Marsumah and An-
ingnah — and who not? 1 can name them every one,
and they know us as well. We have found brothers
in a strange land.

" Efich one has a knife, or a file, or a saw, or some such
treasured keepsake ; and the children have a lump of
soap, the greatest of all great medicines. The merry Httle
urchins break in upon me even now as I am Writing :
— ^'Kuyanake, kuyanake, Nalegak-soak!' ' Thank you,
thank you, big chief!* while Myouk is crowding fresh
presents of raw birds on me as if I could eat forever,

GOOD-BYE TO TUB ESQUIMAUX. 621

and poor Aningnah is crying beside the tent-curtain,
wiping' her eyes on a bird-skin.

"IJut see! more of theui are coming up — boys ten
years old pushing forward babies on their sledges.
The whole nation is gypsying with us upon the icy
meadows.

" VVe cook for them in our big camp-kettle ; they
Bleep in the Red Eric ; a berg close at lumd supplies
them with water: and thus, rich in all thut they value,
— sleep and food and drink and companionship, — Avith
their treasured short-lived sunmier sun above them,
the bean idiol and sum of Esquimaux blessings, they
eeem supremely happy.

" Poor creatures ! it is only six months ago that
starvation was among them: many of the faces
around me have not yet lost the lines of wasting sus-
pense. The walrus-season is again of doubtful produc-
tiveiiess, and they are cut off from their brethren to
the south, at Netelik and Appah, until winter rebuilds
the avenue of ice. With all th's, no thoughts of the
future cross them. Babies squall, and women chatter,
and the men weave their long yarns with peals of rat-
tling hearty laughter between.

" They listened with breathless interest, closing their
circle round me ; and, as Petersen described the big
ussuk, the white whale, the bear, and the long open
water hunts with the kayak and the rifle, they looked
at each other with a significance not to be misunder-
stood.

" It was in the soft subdued \\<^\\i of a Sunday evoning,
June 17, that, after hauling our boats with much hard
labor through hummocks, we stood beside the open sea-
way. Before midnight we had launched the Red Eric,
and given three cheers for Henry Grinnell and * home-
ward bound,' unfurling all our flags.

622

EMIiAHKATION.

"But we were not yet to embark; for the gale
which had been long brooding now began to dash a
heavy whid-lijrper against the lloe, and obUged us to
retreat belbre it, hauling our boats back with each
fresh breakage of the ice. It rose more fiercely, and
we were obliged to give way before it still more. Our
goods, whicii had been stacked upon tlie ice, had to be
carried farther inward. AVe worked our way back thuB,
step by step, beiore the Ineaking ic •, lor about two
hundred yards. At last it became apparent that the
men must sleep and rest, or sink ; nud, giving up for
the present all thoughts of embarkin^', I hauled the
boats at once nearly a mile from the water's edge,
where a large iceberg was frozen tight in the does.

"The gale died away to a calm, and the water be-
came as tranquil as if the gale had never been. All
hands were called to jjrepare for embarking. The
boats were stowed, and the cargo divided between
them equally ; the sledges inilashed and slung outside
the gunwales; and on Thursday the 19th, at 4 p.m.,
with the bay as smooth as a garden-lake, I put off in
the Faith. She was followed by the lied Erie on our
quarter, and the Hope astern.

" We crossed Murchison Channel on the 23d, and
encamped for the night on the land-tloe at the base of
Cape Perry ; a hard day's travel, partly by tracking over
ice, partly through tortuous and zigzag leads. The
next day brought us to the nei<;hborhood of Fitz Clar-
ence Rock, one of the most interesting monuments
that rear themselves along this dreary coast : in a re-
gion more familiar to men, it would be a landmark to
the navigator. It rises from a field of ice like an Egyp-
tian pyramid surmounted by an obelisk.

« While the men slept after their weary labor. Mo-

A SADDENING VIEW.

628

Gary and myself cllnibod the ))erg for a view uhoad.
It was a saddening' one. Every thiiiif nliowed liovv in-
tense the last winter had been. We were elose upon
the 1st of July, and had a riyht to look for the North
Water of the whalers where we now hu«l solid i(!e or
close paek, botii of them nhnost equally unliivorable
to oiu' progress. Far ofT in t!kO distanee — how fnr I
could not measure — rose the Dalrymple Koek, pro-
jecting from the lofty precipice of the island aliead ;
but hetwein us and it the land ice spread itself from
the base of iSaunder'ei Island unbroken to the Far
South.

"The imperfect diet of the party was showing itself
more and more in the decline of their muscular
power. They seemed scarcely aware of it themselves,
and referred the dilliculty they found in dragging and
pushing, to something unconnnon about the ice or
sledge rather than to their own weakness. But, as
we endeavored to renew our labors through the morn-
ing fog, belted in on all sides by ice-fields so distorted
and rugged as to defy our eftbrts to cross them, the
truth Kcemed to burst ui)on every one. We had lost
the feeling of hunger, and were almost satisfied with
our pasty broth and the large draughts of tea which
accompani(>d it. I was anxious to send our small
boat, the Paic, across to the lunime hill of Appah,
where I knew from the Es(juimaux wo should find
plenty of birds; but the strength of the party was
insufhcient to drag her.

"We were soic'y (!i.<]io;irton(>d, nnd could cnly wiiit
for the fog to rise, in the hope of some smoother plat-
form than that which w;is about lis, or some lead
that might save us the painful labor of tracking. I had
climbed the iceberg ; and tiiere was nothing in view ex-
cept Dalrymple Rock, with its red brassy flic «' tower-

624

BREAK-UP OF THE FLOE.

ing in the unknown distance. Bi>t I hardly got back
to my boat, before a gale struck us from the north-
west, and a floe, taking upon a tongue of ice about a
mile to the north of us, began to swing upon it like
a pivot and close slowly in upon our narrow resting-
place.

"At first our own floe also w.as driven before the
wind ; but in a little whde it encountered the stationary
ice at the foot of the very rock itself On the instant
the wildest imaginable ruin rose around us. The men
sprang mechanically each one to his station, bearing
back the boats and stores ; but I gave up for the mo-
ment all hope of our escape. It was not a nip, such as is
familiar to Arctic navigators; but the whole platform,
where we stood and for luuuh-eds of Viirds on every
side of us, crumbled and crushed and iiik'd and tossed
itself madly under the press'ire. I do not believe
that of our little body of men, all of them disciplined
in trials, able to measure danger wliiie coudiatting it,
— I do not believe there is one who this day can ex-
plain how or why — hardly when, in fact — we found
ourselves afloat. We only know that in the midst of
a clamor utterly indescribable, through which the bray-
ing of a thousand trumpets could no more have been
heard than the voice of a man, wo were shaken and
raised and whirled and let down again in a swelling
waste of broken hummocks, and, as the men grasped
their boat-hooks in the stillness tluit followed, the
boats eddied away in a tumultuous skreed of ice and
snow and water.

"We were borne along in this manner rs long as
the \uil)roken renmant of the in-shore floe continued
revolving, — utterly powerless, and catching a glimpse
every now and then of the brazen headland that

WEARY MANS UEaT.

625

looked clown on us through the pnowy sky. At last
the floe brought up .against t!io rocks, the looser frag-
ments thnt hung round it began to separate, and we
were able by oars and boat-hooks to force our battered
little flotilla clear of them. To our joyful surprise,
we sO!)n found ourselves in a stretc'i of the land-water
wide enough to give us rowing room, and with the as-
sured promise of land close ahead.

''At thre • o'clock the tide was liiirh enough for us to
scale the ice-clifl! One by one we pulled up the boats
upon a narrow shelf, the whole sixteen of us uniting at
each pull. We were too much worn down to un-
load ; but a deep and narrow gorue opened in the
cliffs almost at the spot where we clambered up; and,
as we pushed the boats into it on an even keel, the
rocks seemed to close above our heads, \m!il an abrupt
turn in the course of the ravine placed a protecting
cliff between us and the gale. A\'e were completely
encaved.

'•'Just as we had brought in the last boat, the Red
.Eric, and were shoring her up wiih blocks of ice, a
lon<i:-unheard but familiar and uu:uistakal>le sound
startled and gladdened our ears, and a Hock of ciders
flecking the sky for a moment pnsscd swiftly in front
of us. AYe knew that we must be at their breedinii-
grounds; and as we turned in wet and hungry to our
long coveted sleep, it was only to dream of eggs and
abundance.

"On the 3d of July, the wind began to moderate,
though the snow still fell lu'a\I]y; nml the next nioin-
ing, after a i)atriotlc egg-nog, the liquor borrowed
grudgingl}' from our alcohol-flask, and diluted till it
was Avorthy of temperance praise, — we lowered our
boats, and bade a grateful farewell to ' Weary Man's

■

\r^

626

THE ESQUIMAUX EDEN.

Rest' We rowed to the southeast end of Wosten-
holnie Island ; but the tide left us there, and we moved
to the ice- foot

" Our descent to the coast followed the margin of the
fast ice. After passing the Crimson Clifl" of Sir John
Ross, it wore almost the dress of a holiday excursion,
— a rude one perhaps, but truly one in leeling. Our
course, except whore a protruding glacier interfered
with it, was nearly' parallel to the shore. The birds
along it were rejoicing in the youni;- summer, and
when we halted it was upon some green-clothed cape
near a stream of water from the ice-field above. Our
sportsmen would clamber up the clifts and come back
laden Avith litlle auks; great generous fires of turf,
that cost nothing but the toil of gathering, blazed
merrily ; and our happy oarsmen, alter a long day's
work, made easy by the promise ahead, would stretch
themselves in the sun^diine and dream happily away
till called to the morning wash and prayers. We en-
joyed it the more, for we all of us knew that it could

not last , . ,, , t

* * * * * *

" I was awakened one evening from a weary sleep
in my fox-skins, to discover that we had fairly lost our
w^ay. The ollicer at the helm of the leading boat,
misled by the irregular shape of a large ieeljerg that
crossed his track, had lost the nuiin lead some time
before, and was .steering shoreward far out of the true
course. The little canal in which he had loeked us
was hardly two boats'-lengths across, and lost llself not
far oil' in a feeble /igzag both behind and before us:
it was evidently dosing, and we could not retreat

"Without apprising the men of our misadventure, I
ordered the bouts hauled up, aud, under pretence of

LOST AMONG BERGS,

629

drying the clotliing and stores, made a camp on the
ice. A few hours after, the weather cleared enough
for the first time to allow a aIcw of the distance, and
McGary and myseF climbed a berg some three hundred
feet high for t ,e purpose. It was truly fearl'ul : we
were deep in the recesses of the bay, surrounded on all
sides by stupendous icebergs and tangled floe-pieces.
My sturdy second oHicer, not naturally impresdble,and
long accustomed to the vicissitudes of whaling life,
shed tears at the prospect. There was but one thing
to be (lone : cost what it might, we must harness our
sledges again and retrace our way to the Avcstward.

■ip * * T* •)? ^p *

" Things grew worse and Avorse with us : the old
difficulty of breathing came back again, and our feet
swelled to such an extent that we were obliged to cut
open our canvas boots.

" It must be remembered that we were now in the
open bay, in the full line of the great ice-drift to the
Atlantic, and in boats so frail and unseaworthy as to
require constimt bailing to keep them afloat.

" It was at this crisis of our fortunes that we saw a
large seal floating — as is the custom of these animals
— ou a sn)all patch of ice, and seemingly asleep. It
was an ussuk, and so large that I at first mistook it
for a walrus. Signal was made for the IIo})e to follow
astern, and, trembling with anxiety, we prepared to
crawl down upon him.

" Petersen, with the largo English rifle, was stationed
in the ])0W, and stockiuLi's were (]r;i\vu o\c'r the oars
as mufflers. As we neared the aniuial, our excitement
became so intense that the men could hardly keep
stroke. I had a sot of signals for such occasions^
which spared ua the noise of the voice ; and when

I' '.i

630

THE seal! tue seal!

about three hundred yards off, the oars were taken in,
and we moved on in deep silence with a single scull
astern.

" lie was not asleep, for he reared his head when we
were almost within ritie-shot ; and to this day I can
remember the hard, careworn, almost despairing ex-
pression of the men's thin faces as they saw him
move : their lives depended on his capture.

" I depressed my hand nervously, ns a signal for
Petersen to fire. McGajy hung upon his oar, and the
boat slowly but noiselessly sagging ahead, seemed to
me within certain range. Looking at Petersen I saw
that the poor fellow was paralyzed by his anxiety,
trying vainly to obtain a rest for his gun against the
cut-water of the boat. The seal rose on his fore-flip-
pers, gazed at us for a moment with frightened curi-
osity, and coiled himself for a plunge. At that in.
stant, simultaneously with the crack of our rifle, he
relaxed his long length on the ice, and, at the very
brink of the water, his head fell helpless to one side.

"I would have ordered another shot, but no disci-
pline could have controlled the men. With a wild
yell, each vociferating according to his own impulse,
they urged both boats upon the liocs. A crowd of
hands seized the seal and bore him up to safer ice.
The men seemed half craz}^ : I had not realized how
much we were reduced by absolute famine. They ran
over the floe, crying and laughing and brandishing
their knives. It was not five minutes before every
man was sucking his bloody fingers or mouthing long
strips of raw blubber.

" This was our last experience of the disagreeable
effects of hunger. In the words of George Stephen-
son, * The charm was broken, and the dogs were safe.*

TERRA FIRMA

631

The dogs I have said little ahout, for none of us
liked to think of them. The poor creatures Toodla
and Whitej had been taken with us as last resources
against starvation. They were, as McGary worded it,
' meat on the hoof,' and • able to cany their own fat
over the floes.' Once, near Weary Man's Ecst, I had
been on the point of killing them ; but they had been
the leaders of the winter's team, and we could not
bear the sacrifice.

"'Terra finna ! Terra firma !' How very pleasant it
was to look upon, and with what a tingle of excited
thankfulness we drew near it! A little time to seek a
cove among the wrinkled hills, a little time to ex-
change congratulations, and then our battered boats
were haided high arid dry upon the rocks, and our
party, with hearts full of our deliverance, lay down
to rest.

" Thus it was that at one of our sleeping-halts upon
the rocks — for we still adhered to the old routine —
Petersen awoke me with a story. He liad just seen
and recognized a native, who, in his frail h.iyiik, was
evidently seeking eider-down among the islands. The
man had once been an inmate of his famih*. ' Paul
Zacharias, don't 30U know me ? I'm Carl Petersen !'
' No,' said the man ; *• his wile says he's dead ;' and,
with a stolid expression of wonder, he stared for a
moment at the long beard that loomed at him through
the fog, and paddled away with all the energy of
fright.

"Two days after this, a mist had settled down upon
the islands which embayed us, and wlun it lilted we
found ourselves rowing, in lazy time, under the shadow
of Karkamoot. Just then a familiar somid came to
us over the water. We had often listened tc the

! '-I

'■iF

632

DANNEMARKE RS

! I

pcreeoliing of the gulls or the bark of the fox, and
mistaken it for the 'Iluk'of the Esquimaux; hut
this had about it an inflection not to be mistaken, for
it died away in the familiar cadence of a 'halloo.'

"'Listen, Petersen! oars, men!' 'What is it?' —
and he listened quietly at first, and then, trembling,
said, in a half whisper, 'Dannemarkers!'

" I remember this, the first tone of Christian voice
which had greeted our return to the world. IIow we
all stood up and peered into the distant nooks; .and
how the cry came to us again, just as, having i^ccn
nothing, we were doubting whether the whole was
not a dream ; and tlien how, with long sweeps, the
white ash cracking under the spring of the rowers,
we stood for the cape that the sound proceeded from,
and how nervously we scanned the green spots which
our experience, grown now into instinct, told us would
be the likely camping-ground of wayfarers.

" By-and-l)}^ — for we must have been pulling a good
half hour — the single mast of a small shallop showed
itself; and Petersen, who had been very quiet and
grave, burst out into an incoherent fit of crying, only
relieved by broken exclamations of mingled Danish
and English. "Tis the Uiiernavik oil-boat! The
Fraulein Flaischer ! Carlie Mo.ssyn, the assistant cooper^
must be on his road to Kingatok for blubber. The
Mariano (the one annual ship) has come, and Carlie
Mossyn ' and here he did it all over again, gulp-
ing down his words and wringing his hands.

" It was Carlie Mossyn, sure enough. The quiet
routine of a Danish settlement is the same year after
year, and Petersen had hit upon the exact state of
things. The Marine was at Proven, and Carlie Mos-
syn had come up in the Fraulein Flaischer to get the
year's supply of blubber from Kingatok.

• '

■. ■*

iil

CAPE WVI.rOMK.

iti-.r

.^:

Wil

III

Ol'R KIH8T KAYAK.

AT THE SETTLEMENT.

633

" Ilero wo first ji^ot our cloudy vai^uo idea of what
had passed in tlic big world during our al)sence. The
friction of its fierce rotation had not much disturbed
this little outpost of civilization, and we thought it a
sort of l)lun(ler as he told us that France and England
were leagued with the Mussulman against the (Jreek
Church. lie was a good Lutheran, this assistant
cooper, and all news with him had a theological com-
plexion. ■ ' . •

" ' What of America ? eh, Petersen ? ' — and we all
looked, waiting ior him to interpret the answer.

"* America V ' said Carlie ; ' we don't know much of
that country here, for they have no whalers on the
coast ; but a steamer and a barque passed up a fort-
night ago, and have gone o.ut into the ice to seek your
party.

" How gently all the lore of this man oozed out of
him ! he seemed an oracle, as, with hot-tingling fin-
gers pressed against the gunwale of the boat, we
listened to his words. *Sebastopol ain't taken.'
Wiiere and what was Sebastopol ?

" But ' Sir John Franklin ? ' There we were at home
again, — our own delusive little specialty rose upper-
most. Franklin's party, or traces of the dead which
represented it, had been found nearly a thousand miles
to the south of where we had been searching for them.
He knew it ; for the priesl (Pastor Kraag) had a Ger-
man newspaper which told all about it And so we 'out
oars ' again and rowed into the fogs.

" Another sleeping-halt has passed, nnd we have all
washed clean at the fresh-water basins and furbished
up our ragged furs and woolens. Kasarsoak, the snow
top of Sanderson's Hope, shows itself above the mists
and we heai;the yelling of the dogs. Petersen had

634

THE WELCOME.

been foreman of the settlement, and he calls my at-
tention, with a sort of pride, to the tolling of the
workmen's bell. It is six o'clock. We are Hearing
the end of our trials. Can it be a dream ?

" We hugged the land by the big harbor, turned the
corner by the old brew-house, and, in the midst of a
crowd of children, hauled our bouts lor the last time
upon the rocks.

"For ei;,dity-four days we had lived in the open air.
Our habits were hard and weather-worn. We could
not remain within the four walls of a house without
a distressing sense of fuffocation. JJiit we drank
coffee that night before many a hospitable threshold^
and listened again and again to the iiyiiui of wel-
come, which, sung by many voices, greeted our deliv-
erance."

" On the 16th we left Upeniavik in the Mariane,
a stanch but antiquated little barque, imder the com-
mand of Ciiptain Ammondson, who promised to drop
us at tbi> r'i'etland Islands. Our little boat, the Faith,
which was regarded by all of us as a precious relic,
took passage along with us. Kxcept the furs on our
backs and the documents that recorded our laliors and
our trials, it was all we brought back of the Advance
aud her fortunes."

THE FAITH.

CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE IIARTSTENE RELIEF EXPEDITION.

An expedition for tlie relief of Dr. Kane und his
party, comnmnded by Lieut. ILniry J. Hartstene, sailed
from New York, May 31st, 1855, precisely two years
after the departure of the Advance from the same
port. It was sent out by authf rity of Congress, and
consisted of two vessels, the bark Release and propeller
Arctic, M'hich penetrated northward as far as Etah,
where the seai'chers met some of Dr. Kane's Esquimaux
fnends, including the "elfin youtli " and " stern waims
hunter " Myouk.

Dr. John K. Kane, a younger brother of the exjilorer,
accompanied the expedition, and prepared a graphic
and spirited sketch thereof, which was published in
Putnum^s Magazine for May, I80G, from which the
following extracts are taken : —

" Myouk was very quick in understanding us, and
equally ready in inventing modes of conveying intelli-
gence. Lea<l-pencil and paper were called inio requisi-
tion. I took out my note-book, drew a rough sketch
of a brig, and shoAVcd it to Lim. 1T(> at once said
'Dokto Kayen,' and pointed to tlie north. 1 then drew
a reversed sketch, and pointed south. But Myouk,
shaking his head, began to sway his? body backward
and forward, to imitate rowing; then said Dokto
36 635

;!*

1 1

iij

■«:

686

NARRATIVE OF JOHN K. KANE.

Kayen again, and pointed south. On tliis, I drew
a whole fleet of boats, and invited him to point out
how many of these he refen'ed to. He took the pencil
from my hand, and altered the sterns of two into sharp-
pointed ones, and then held up two fingers, to indicate
that there were two of such. I now drew carefully two
whale-boats ; he made signs of approval, as much as to
say that was the thing ; and, incontinently squatting
down, imitated the voice and gestures of a dog-driver,
cracking an imaginary whip, and crying hup-hup-hup,
at the top of his voice. After which perfomi.ance he
laughed immoderately, and, again pointing south, said
Dokto Kaven.

" I was not certain as to his meaning ; but, on my
drawing a picture of a dog-team, he went through the
whole performance afresh, and showed the most extrav-
agant signs of delight at being inderstood. We found
out how many dog-sledges and how many men there
were of the doctor's party, in the same manner. We
examined several other natives separately, and they all
told the same story ; nor could Ave confuse them as to
the number of men and boats ; they were all clear on
that head. Nineteen, they made it, neither more nor
less. We tried our best to make them say that the
boats had gone north, and the vessel south ; but with-
out success. Myouk, on one occasion, being hard
pressed, stoj)ped his ears, so as, at least, to secure him-
self from being supposed to assent to what he had not
learning or language enough to controvert.

" At length, a bright thought struck him. lie ran
down to the beach, and got two white stones ; laid
them on the ground, and, pointing to the floatin^j
masses of ice in the bay, signified to usthatthise rep*
■"esented the ice. Next, he took a common clay pipe

TTAREATTVE OF JOHN K. KANE.

637

of Mr. Lovell's, and, pointing to the north, saitl, vomiak
sooak, or big ship, 'vomiak sooak, Dokto Kayen.' He
next pushed the pipe up between the pebbles, and then
pressed them together till the pipe was crushed. Lastly,
he pointed to the south, and began imitating the rowing
of a boat, the cracking of whips, and the hup-hupping
of a dog-driver, vociferating, at intervals, *Dokto Kayen,
he ! he ! he !' We tried our best to find out how long
it had been since the Dokto Kayens had left them,
for it was evident that this was their name for the
whole.paiiy ; but we could not make them understand.
They Avould only tell us that their guests had been
with them for some time. This they did by pointing
to the south, and then following the track of the sun
till it reached the north ; then after stretching them-
selves out on the .ground and closing their eyes as if
in sleep, they would again point to the south, rise up,
go down to the lake and pretend to wash their faces.
" ""vVe had di'if ted so far to the south that Lievely was
nearer than Upernavik, and Captain Hartstene deter-
mined to pi it in there. It cleared aAvay beaiitifnlly
towards morning, and we were all on the decks, ad-
miring tlie clear water and the fantastic shapes of the
water- washed icebergs. All hands were in high spirits,
the gale had blown in the right direction, and in a
few hours we should be in Lievel}', The rocks of
itsland-locked harbor were already in sight. We Avere
discussing our news by anticipatic^n when the man in
the crow's nest cried out, "A brig in the harbor !" and
the next minute, before 'AC had time to ('(inpratuLite
each other on tlie chance of sending lel:tei*s home, tliat
she had hoisted American colors — a delicate comj)li-
ment, -we thought, ou the part of our friends, the

: ill m

Dan

es.

638

NARRATIVE OF JOHN K. KANE.

" I believe our captain was about to rettn'n it, a\ hen,
to our surprise, she hoisted another flag, the veritable
one which had gone out with the Advance, beaiing
the name of Mr. Heniy Grir nell. Atthesani' mov-'nt,
two boats were seen rounding the point, and [.ui!h:*j
towards us. Did they contain our lost frienci.s Yef,;
the sailors had settled that. * Those are Yankees, sir ;
no Danes ever feathered their oars that way,' said an
old Avhaler to nie.

" For those who had friends among the missing
paiiy, the fe^v minutes that followed Avere of .bitter
anxiety ; for the men in the boats were long-bearded
and Aveather-beaten ; they had strange, wild costumes ;
there was no possibility of recognition. Dr. Kane,
standing ujiright in the stern of the first boat, with his
spy-glass slung round his neck, was the first identified ;
then the big form of Mr. Brooks ; in another moment
all hands of them were on board of us.

" It was curious to watch the effects of the excite-
ment in different people, — the intense quietude of s^^rae
the boisterous delight of others ; how one man would
l)ecome intensely loquacious, another would do nothing
but laugh, and a third would creep away to some out-
of-the-way corner, as if he were afraid of sliowing how
he felt. IIow hungry they all were for news, and
liow eagerly they tore open the home letters : mos* •. '
them, poor fellows, had pleasant tidings, and all wera
pi'(^pared to make the best of bad ones. We Avere II.
the harbor, Avith a fleet of kayaks dancing in welcome
around and behind us, bef'ie r'ae greetings were half
ended, for they repeated cheniPGiv .y over and over

agam.

"Our old friend, Mr. Olrik, was Avith the new
comers, and as^happy as the rest. His hospitality,

NAEBATIVE OP JOHN K. KANE.

639

when we reached the shore, was absolutely boundless ;
and his house and table were always at our service.
Altogether, I never passed three more delightful days
than those last days at Lievely. Balls eveiy night ;
feasts and junlietings every day ; and, pleasantest of
all, those dear home-like tea-tables, with shining tea-
urn and clear, white sugar, round which we sat, wait-
ing for the water to boil, and talking of Russia and
the Czar, and the world outside the Circle ; while
Mrs, Olrik would look up from her worsted- work, and
the children pressed round me to see the horses and
dogs I was drawing for them. It was enough to make
one forget his red flannel shirt and rough Arctic rig ;
Melville Bay and the pack seemed fables.

" But our stay in Lievely ended. The propeller got
up steam, and, taking our bark and the Danish brig
Marianne in tow, steamed out of the harbor. All the
inhabitants of the town were on the shore to see the
last of us. Our visit had been as memorable an in-
cident to them as to ourselves. AVhere ten dollars is
a large marriage dower. Jack's liberality of expendi-
tui'e seemed absolutely royal. There were moistened
eyes among them, for they are essentially kind-hearted ;
and even the roar of our cannon, in answer to the
Danish salute, though it resounded splentlidly among
the hills, was scarcely heeded, as they stood, with
folded arms, watching us disappear in the distance."

'•m

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
FRANKLIN'S FATE DISCOVERED.

78°

TT"

70"

75"

74°

73«

7J»

The fall of 1854 witnessed the return of the last of
all the expeditions which had been sent from England
to search for Franklin. The task had been a long and
disheartening one ; for with the exception of the dis-
covery in 1850, of Franklin's winter-quarters in 1845-
46 under Beechey Island, no clue to the whereabouts
of his ships or party had been found. Six years of
search had, however, made known the entire geog-
raphy of the regions of Arctic America, and with the
exception of a small portion around King William's
Land, every coast and harbor had been examined.
The unsearched ground would have been more easily
accessible to the various expeditions than many of
the more remote regions visited by them ; but by a
strange fatality, all the explorers turned back short of
the goal, because they found no cairn, no trace, no
record to induce them to push on towards it.

But hardly had men declared the solution of the
fate of the lost expedition a hopeless task, when, in
October 1854, from tlio shores of Pi-ince Roijrf'nt's
Inlet, appeared a tiiiveler. Dr. llae, bringing conclu-
sive proofs that tlie unsearched region was the scene
of the disasters which overwhelmed Franklin and his

men. Dr. Rae, in his land expedition of 1853-4, met

641

643

DB. RAE S DISCO'SrEEIES.

at Pelly Bay, on the 17th of May 1854, a party of
Esquimaux who had in their possession articles which
he identified as having belonged to Franklin's party.
The following is Dr. Ilae's account of the informa-
tion which he obtained from these Esquimaux : —

"In the spring, four seasons back, 1850, about forty
* white men,' were seen traveling southward over the ice
and dragging a boat with them, by some Esquimaux, who
were killing seals near the north shore of King William's
Land, which is a large island. None of the party could
speak the Esquimaux language intelligibly, but by signs the
natives were made to understand that their ship, or ships,
had been crushed by the ice, and that they were now going
to where they expected to find deer to shoot. From the
appearance of the men, all of whom except one officer looked
thin, they were then supposed to be getting short of provis-
ions, and purchased a small seal from the natives. At a later
date the same season, but previous to the breaking up of the
ice, the bodies of some thirty persons were discovered on the
continent, and five on an island near it, about a long day's
"journey to the N. W. of a large stream, which can be no
other than Back's Great Fish River, as its description and
that of the low shore in the neighborhood of Point Ogle and
Montreal Island, agree exactly with that of Sir George I>ack.
Some of the bodies had been buried, (probably those of the
first victims of famine,) some were in a tent or tents, others
under the boat, which had been turned over to form a shelter,
and several lay scattered about in different directions. Of
those found on the island, one was supposed to have been an
officer, as he had a telesco])e strapped over his shoulders, and
his double-barrelled gun lay underneath him.

" From the mutilated state of many of the coqjses, and
the contents of the kettles, it is evident that our wretched
countrymen had been driven to the last resource — cannibal-
ism — as a means of prolonging existence.

" There appeared to have been an abiiiidmt stock of ammu-
nition, as the powder was emptied in a heap on the ground
by the natives out of the kegs or cases containing it ; and a

ANDERSON S EXPEDITION.

643

nii-
und
d a

quantity of ball and shot was found below higli-water mark,
having probably been left on the ice close to the beach.
There must have been a number of watches, compasses, tele-
scopes, guns, (several double-barrelled,) &c., all of which
appear to have been broken up, as I saw pieces of those dif-
ferent articles with the Esquimaux, together with some sil-
ver spoons and forks. I purchased as many as I could get.
A list of the most important of these I enclose, with a rough
sketch of the crests and initials on the forks and spoons.

"None of the Esquimaux with whom I conversed had seen
the ' whites,' nor had they ever been at the place where, the
bodies were found, but had their information from those who
had been there, and who had seen the party when traveling."

The next season, 1855, Mr. Anderson, an officer of
the Hudson's Bay Company, descended the Fish River •
but, altliough traces were found to prove tliat some
portions of the crews of the Erebus and Terror had
actually landed on the banks of that river, and traces
of them existed up as far as Franklin's Rapids, no
additional information was obtained by the party.

In 1856, Lady Franklin petitioned the Government
to make a final effort to find the lost ships, and sug-
gested that the Resolute, which had recently been pre-
sented by the United States, might be devoted to the
purpose. A memorial to the same effect, signed by
the leading scientific men, explorers and naval officers
of England, accompanied the petition. It was not
until April 1857 that the decisive answer was given,
that after so many failures, the Government did not
feel justified in sending out more brave men to encoun-
ter fresh dangers in a cause Avhicli was viewed as hope-
less.

Lady Franklin now determined to send out another
private expedition, and for that purpose purchased
and refitted the steam yacht Fox. Capt. F. S. McClin-

f':

644

THE FOX EXPEDinOBr.

tock, wlio had seen mucli service in the frozen reahn,
willingly accepted, without pay, the command. He had
experienced officers and a crew of twenty-one gallant
men. Carl Petersen, a Dane who had served with Pen-
ny and Kane, hastened from his home at Copenha-
gen, where he had been only six days after an absence of
a year, to join the expedition as interpreter. Various
circumstances combined to retard the departure of
the Fox, and it was not till July 1857 that she left
the shores of merry England behind her and started
on her long and perilous voyage.

Melville Bay was reached about the middle of Au-
gust. Here the Fox was beset by the ice and frozen
in, and was not released until the next April. Mean-
time she had drifted in the midst of a slow-marching
pack which ever rolls from the Pole to the Equator,
a distance of twelve hundred miles to the south. Stai-t-
ing northward again on the 7th of May, from Hoi-
Steinberg, Greenland, the Fox reached Beechey Island
by the middle of August. Here McClintock set up a
marble tablet to the memoiy of the lost explorers.
This monument had been constructed in New York
City at the request of Lady Franklin, under the direc-
tion of Mr. Grinnell, and was taken to Greenland by
the Hartstein Expedition, for the purpose of being
erected at Beechey Island. But as Lieut. Haiistein
did not visit that locality the tablet was left at God-
havn, and there found by McClintock, who carried it
to its destination. It was placed upon the raised
flagged square, in the centre of which stands the cen-
otaph recording the names of those who perished in
Belcher's Expedition, and near a small tablet which
had been erected to the meriory of Bellot. The
inscription was as follows : —

stor
pus
side
fixe(
Wa
diat

FRANKLIN 8 MONUMENT.

645

TO THE MEMORY OP

PRANKLIN,
CROZIER, FITZJAMES,

AND ALL THEIR

GALLANT BROTHER OFFICERS AND FAITHFUL

C0UPANIUN8 WHO HAVE SUFFERED AND PERIBIIKD

IN THE CAUSE OF SCIENCE AND

THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY.

THIS TABLET

IS ERECTED NEAR THE SPOT WHERE

THET PASSED THEIR FIRST ARCTIC

■WINTER, AND WHENCE TIIET 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 WHO HAS LOST, IN THE HEROIO

LEADER OF THE EXPEDITION, THE MOST.

DEVOTED AND AFFECTIONATE OF

HUSBANDS.

" AND SO HE BRINOETH THEM UNTO THE
HAVEN WHERE THEY WOULD BE."
1865.

This atone has been entrusted to be affixed in its place by the Offiecrs and
Crew of the American Expedition, commanded by Lieut. U. J. Uurtstcin, in
search of Dr. Kiinc and liis companions.

This Tablet having been left at Disco by the
Amcricaw Expedition, which was unable to
reach Beeehey Island, in 185S, was put on
board the Discovery Yacht Fox, and is now
, ,^ setup here by Captain McClintock, R. N.,

commanding the final expedition of search
' for ascertaining the fate of Sir John Franklin ' .

and his companions, 1868.

After replenishing his stock of provisions from the
stores left by the previous expedition, McClintock
pushed on, and turning into Peel Sound on the west
side of Somerset, was brought up, August 17th, by
fixed ice at a point twenty-five miles south of Cape
Walker. Bafiled, but not disheartened, he imme-
diately retraced his steps, and passing down Prince

646

WINTER m BELLOT STRAIT.

Regent's Inlet, arrived on the 20tli at the eastern
entrance of Ballot Strait.

The scene in that strait was enough to daunt men
less accustomed to such dangers. On either side were
pi'ecipitous walls of granite, topped by mountains
covered with snow, while to a ad fro, in the space
between them, the ice was grinding and churning
under the influence of a fierce tide. Liko a terrier at
a rat-hole, the staunch Fox waited for an opportunity
to run the gauntlet through this strait into the Avestern
sea which led to King William's Land. On the 6th
of September they succeeded in reaching the western
entrance to the strait, but were then stopped by a
belt of ice wluch stretched across the path and was
held fast by a group of small islands.

The winter of 1858-9 now set in, and all hope of
reaching the open* water had to be abandoned, although
it Avas sej)arated from the Fox only by an ice-field six
miles wide. Here Avas passed an unusually cold and
stormy Avinter ; and the resources of Boothia yielded
them in fresli food only eight reindeer, tAvo bears, and
eigliteen seals. In February,- several sledge parties
were sent out in diiferent directions; McClintock,
who Avent southerly, met forty-five Esquimaux, and
during a sojourn of four days among them learned
that " several years ago a sliip Avas crushed by the
ice off the north sliore of King William's Land ; that
her people landed and Avent aAvay to the Great Fish
Eiver, Avhere they died." These natives had a quan-
tity of Avood from a boat left by the "starving Avhite
men " on the Great liiA^er.

On the 2d of April, Captain McClintock, Cajitain
Young, and Lieutenant Hobson, each Avith tAvo sledges,
started from the Fox to search for the lost ships.

dii

TIDINGS OF THE EXPEDITION.

647

Young went westerly to Prince of Wales Land and
made a long journey. McClintock and Hobson went
together as far as the Magnetic Pole, and on the way
there, learned from some natives that the second ves-
sel had been drifted on shore by the ice in the fall of
the same year when the other ship was crushed.

Leaving Hobson to search the west coast of King
William's Land, McClintock with Petersen undei-took
to go down the east side thereof, direct to the Fish
River. On his way thither, he met a party of Esqui-
maux who had been, in 1857, at the wreck spoken of
by their countrymen, and who had numerous articles
taken therefrom. An intelligent old woman said it
was in tluj fall of the year that the ship was forced
on shore ; that the starving white men had fallen on
their way to the Great River, and that their bodies
were found by her countrymen in the following
winter. She said that on board the wrecked ship
there was one dead white man, and there had been
many books as well as other things ; but all liad been
taken away, or destroyed, when she was ' ;-t it the
wreck. The destruction of one ship and the wreck
of the other appeared, so far as McClintock could
ascertain, to have occurred after their abandonment.
No Esquimaux that were met had ever before seen
a living ^^'hite man.

After meeting this party, McClintock pushed on to
Montreal Island, in the estuary of the Great Fish
River ; but he found nothinaf more than Anders^on had
reported; and in a careful scarcli of tlie .'^lioi'cs aljout
Point Ogle, and Barrow Island, he was equally unsuc-
cessful. Returninc: to Kincj William's Land he now
struck along its south-western shores, in the hope of
discovering the wreck spoken of by the natives ; but

I f

048

MoOLINTOOK'S DISCOVERIES.

ill -i

':W •"'

could see no signs thereof. When ten miles south of
Cape Ilerschel, he came upon a human skeleton
around which were fragments of European clothing.
It lay exactly as the famished seamen were said to
have fallen, with its head toward Fish River and its
face to the ground. At Cape Ilerschel, McClintock
visited the cairn which Simpson had erected in 1830,
and hoped to find therein some record ; h^ he cairn
had evidently been overhauled and pi -ed by

Esquimaux, and the record, if there had been any,
carried off.

In the meantime Hobson had made more Import-
ant discoveries. After separating from McClintock
near the Magnetic Pole on the 28th of April, he
proceeded to Cape Felix, the most northern point of
King William's Land. Here was found a large cairn
and three tents, with clothes, blankets and other
articles, but no records. Two smaller cairns were
found along the coast, but they contained nothing of
much importance.

On the Gth of May Hobson reached Point Victory
— so named by Sir James Ross who visited it in 1830.
It is on the western coast of King William's Land,
some forty miles south of Cape Felix. Here was a
large cairn ; and among some loose stones Avhich had'
fallen from its top was found a tin case enclosing a
record which gave the first authentic information as
to tiie fate of thf) lost expedition. This important
document was one of those blanks f urnit^hed to explor-
ing ships by the British Admii-alty for tlie 2)urpose
of beins: thrown overboard at sea in order to ascertain
the set of the current, etc., on which is printed in six
languages a re(j^uest that the finder will note time and
place where it was found, and forward it to the

DISCOVERT OF FBANKLIN'S CAIRN.

I l

I "

TUB OAIRN AT POINT VICTORY.

649

nearest British consul. Written on tliis paper were
two distinct records made at different , dates. The
first one, occupying the blank space left for such a
purpose, was as follows : —

38tL of May, ( II. M. Ships Erebus and Terror wintered in
1847. ( the ice in Lat. 70^ 5' N. Long. 9S« 23 ' W.

Having wintered in 1846-7 at Beechey Island, in Lat. 74*1
43' 28" N., Long. 91" 39' 15" W., after having ascended
Wellington Chainiel to Lat. 77® and returned by the west
side of Cornwallis Island.

Sir John Franklin commanding the expecHtion. All well.

Party consisting of 2 officers and 6 men left ihc ?hip8 on
Monday, 24th of May, 1847.

^9^/^ U^.

This record had been ^^^•itten by Lieut. Gore, sign-
ed by hiiiiSelf and Vreux, and left by them A-rhile on
an excursion, at a point four i. files north of Avliere it
was found. There is an >>-i'or in it Avhen it states
that the winter passed at Beechey Island was tliat of
1846-7. It should be 1845-6, as the other dates
I lainly show.

Before a year had passed, Graham Gore was dead,
and around the margin of the paper on which Avere
his words of hope and promise, other hands had
written the following : —

April 25, 184S, II. ^\. ships Terror and KrL'I)ii.s were de-
serted on the 22d April, 5 leagues N. K. W. of this, hav-
ing been beset since 12th of September, 184G. The offi-
cers and crews, consisting of 105 souls, under the com-
mand of Captain F. E. M. Crozier, landed hero in Lat.

i I

I i

650

CEOZIERS KECOED.

69® 37/ 42^', Long. 98*=* 41'. This paper was found by
Lieut. Irving, under the cairn supposed to have been built by-
Sir James Ross in 1831, four miles to the northward, where
it had been deposited by the late commander Gore, in June,
1847. Sir James lloss' pillar has not, however, been found,
and the paper has been transferred to this position, which is
that in which Sir J. Ross' pillar was erected. Sir John
Franklin died on the 11th June, 1847, and the total loss
by deaths in the expedition has been to this date, 9 officers
and 15 men.

Scattered around this cairn were large quantities
of clothing and articles of all kinds, as if these men,
aware that they were retreating for their lives, had
there abandoned everything which they considered
superfluous.

Continuing his search down the western coast,
Lieut. Ilohson, when in lat. C)!)"^ 0', al)out forty niilea
below Point Victory, noticed Avhat aj)peared to be
two jiosts rising above the snovr. On examining
them closely, he found that tlu^y were the awning
stanchions of a buried boat, and on clearing away the
snow, found in it that which fdled the beholders with
awe — portions of two human skeletons. One lay in
the bow of the boat, and had evidently been disturbed
by wob/es or other animals ; the other was enveloped

A BUBIED BOAT.

651

wvj,

with clothes and furs, and lay near the stern. Close
beside it were found five watches; and two double-
barreled guns — one barrel of each loaded and cocked
— standing muzzle upwjivds against the boat's side,
just as they Avere placed eleven years previously.

A Bible was also found, and a few religious books,
one of which — " Christian Melodies " — bore on its
title page an inscription from the donor to G. G.,
(Graham Gore.). There was also a large quantity
of clothing, an abundance of ammunition, some tea,
chocolate and tobacco, and a great variety of articles
which modern sledge-travelers in these regions would
consider a useless dead v 'ht. Silver spoons and
forks were also found, eighl «■ wliich bore Franklin's
crest, and others the initials of nine "f his otticers.
Fuel was at hand in the shape of a dr'ft-tive lyii i^
near by on the beach. Nothing in the shape of
records or journals could be discovered.

The boat was twenty-eight feet long, seven and a
half feet wide, and was mounted on a heav^ oak
sledge which was headed north. McClintock, A\ho
came upon this boat a few days after Hobson found
it, estimated the total weight of the sletlge auii -s
load at 1,400 lbs; and is of opinion that it was drawn
where it was found by a jiarty who were returning
to the ship, proliably for provisions, and that
they we .- unable to drag it any further. '

From Cape Herschel to the western extremity of
King AV^illiam's Land, the traces of the natives Avere
so numerous as to lia\t> ciMiipK'tcly effaced those of the
unfortunal ! castaways; but from this extreme point
to Cape Felix the beach was strewn with signs of
their miserable condition, like a rocky shore after
some disastrous wreck. ,

652

EETURN OF THE FOX.

" I

By the Ist of July 1859, all the search-parties had
returned to the Fox. The homeward voyage was
begun on the 9th of August, and ended on the 2 Ist
of September. Three men of the expedition had died
from disease and accident during its al)sence from
England. Numerous memorials of the lost expedition
were brought home, some of which have been de-
scribed as follows : —

" In the first case is the ' ensign ' of one of the ships, re-
duced ahiiost to shreds, but still prcservir.g its colors, and
reminding the spectators of the many cheerless days upon
which it must have fluttered sadly, but still proudly, from
the niast of the ice-bound vessel. In a corner of the same
case is also a thin tin cylinder, stained and timc-wor.i. The
casual spectator would hardly notice it, but it stands first in
imiiortance of all that has been recovered, for it contains the
record of the death of Sir John Franklin — that happy death
which saved our brave veteran all the subsequent horrors of
the journey to the Fish Kivcr. Further on are the rude
spear-heads into which the Esquimaux had fashioned the iron
they obtained from the wreck ; aiul a box-wood two-foot
rule, whitened with exposure, but with the figures on it all
as bright as the first day. This was, of course, the property
of the carjienter, who, it would appear, had, even when
starting on his dread journey, not forgotten the implement of
his trade. In the same case is a relic which will arrest the
eye of ninny a passer-by. It is the remains of a silk neck-
tie, including the bow, as carefully and elaborately tied as if
the poor wearer had been making a wedding toilette. This,
which was taken from the neek of a skeleton, is supposed to
have belonged to the ship's steward.

" There are also various articles of plate, the greater por-
tion of which is marked with Sir John Franklin's device, and
two pocket chronometers in excellent prcservution. A small
silver watch, maker's name ' A. l^lyers, London,' probably
belonged to some young mate or midshipman ; and a worm-
eaten roll of paper, upon which the single word ' Majesty '

RELICS OP FRANKLIN.

653

V small
obably
worm-
ujesty '

remains, was possibly the much-prized warrant of some stout
boatswain or quartermaster. Tliere is a little amethyst seal,
in perfect preservation, and goggles and snow-veils, to pro-
tect the eyes from the dazzling whiteness of the polar snow.
Two double-barrelled guns, covered with nist, are placed far
in on the table. They still contain the charges which were
placed in them by hands which have long since lost their
cunning. The books recovered are very few ; they would,
of course, succumb early to the rigors of exposure, — but
there is still well preserved a small edition of the ' Vicar of
Wakefield,' some religious poetry, and a French Testament,
on the fly-leaf of which is written, in a delicate female hand,
'From your attached (the appellation is obliterated) S. M. P.'
The open medicine-chest contains all its bottles and prepara-
tions very little injured, and a little cooking machine has the
fuel arranged, the sticks thrust through the bars ready for
ignition, and lucifer matches at the side, as it might have
been prepared over night fur the morning cooking. It would
be imj)ossible to exaggerate the interest and importance of
all these simple memorials ; they tell a tale that will find its
way to every heart."

From the meagre information obtained by the
various searchers for Franklin, have been drawn the
outlines of a connected account of his expedition
and its fate. The Erebus and Terror were last seen
in July 1845, in Baffin's Bay. (See Chapter XXII.)
Passing thence into Lancaster Sound, they reached
Beechey Island and ascended Wellington Channel to
lat. 77". In returning southerly they sailed around
Cornwallis Island, and under the friendly shelter of
Beechey Island reposed from their arduous lalnu's.
The Polar winter came in u[)()U them like a giant.
A shroud of snow enveloped the region, save where
sharp and clear against the hard blue sky stood out
the gaunt mountain precipices of North Devon and
the dark and frowning cliffs of Beechey Island — cliffs
too steep for even snow-flakes to hang upon.

I "^

654

THE STORT OF THE EXPEDITION.

]

The tale of energetic battle with cold, privation^
and festering monotony has been often told ; why
repeat that the officers and men under Franklin in
their first winter within the Frozen Zone, as nobly
bore the one and cheerfully combatted the other?
The ruins and traces left behind them all attest it.
The observatory, with its double embankment of
earth and stones, its neat finish, and the lavish expen-
diture of labor in pavement and pathway ; the shoot-
ing gallery under the cliff, the seats formed of stones,
the remains of pleasant picnics in empty bottles and
meat-tins strewed about: the elaborate cairn upon
the north point of Beechey — a pyramid eight feet
high, and at least six feet long on each side of the
base — constructed of old meat-tins filled Avith gravel ;
all tell the same tale of manful anxiety for physical
employment to distract the mind from suffering and
solitude.

But at length darkness and winter pass away,
sunlight and spring return, and pale faces recover
their natural hue. The gi'aves of three of the crew
who perished during the long night are paved round
by their messmates, and shells from the bay are
arranged above them; while Franklin selects, at the
request of his men, epitaphs which appeal to the
hearts of all — " Choose ye this day whom ye will
serve," etc.

The sun has ceased to set, night is as the day, the
snow has melted ; the yards are crossed, rigging set
up, sails are bent, and all signs indicate that the
disruption of the frozen surface of the sea is at hand.
The day of release arrives ; the cracks which radiate
over the floes gradually widen, then close again with
heavy nips. Presently the look-out man gives a sig-

THE STOKY OF THE EXPEDITION.

655

the

set

the

band.

diate

with

a sig-

nal that the ice is in motion. A loud hurrah wel-
comes the joyful news — a race to witness the break-up
of the ice. It moves indeed. The floe heaves and
cracks, now presses fearfully in one direction and
now in another. A dull moaning is heard as if the
very ice cried for mercy, and then, with a sharp report,
the mass is shivered into fragments. Water shows
in all directions, and the next day the ships are
sawed out, sails are set, and a cruise to the westward
begun.

At Cape Walker the ships come to anchor. An
impenetrable ice-stream, drifting easterly from PaiTy's
Sound, renders further progress in that direction
impossible. Southward stretches a promising chan-
nel leading direct to the American continent; and
down this channel — Peel Sound — the expedition
bears away. On the eastern hand rise the steep
black cliffs of North Somerset, cut here and there
with deep cleft and snow-filled ravine. On the west-
ern side, the sandstone cliffs and the sheltered coves
of Prince of Wales' Land, have donned their brightest
looks, and siren-like, lure the discoverer, by many an
unexplored bay and fiord, to delay awhile w^d visit
them. It may not be ; the Erebus and Terror press
on, for is not Cape Ilerschel of King William's Land
and the American continent ahead — are they not
fast nearing it ? Once there, will they not have dis-
covered the long-sought passage ?

Two degrees of latitude are passed over; the
passage contracts; for .iwliilc it looks as if thoy were
in a cul-de-sac ; islands locked in with one another,
excite some anxiety for a channel. The two ships
are close to each other, the eager officers and men
crowd gunwale and tops. Hepburn Island bars the

t-i

!i;i

656

THE STORY OF THE EXPEDITION".

way ; they round it. Hurrah, hurrah I the path
opens before them, the lands on either hand recede,
a sea, an open sea, is before them. They dip their
ensigns, and cheer each other in friendly congratula-
tion ; joy, joy ! another one hundred miles, and King
William's Island will rise in view. The prize is now
within their grasp, whatever be the cost.

The sailor's prayer for open water is, however, only
granted in a limited sense, for when the coast of
Prince of Wales' Island is lost to view, and they are
no longer shielded by land to the west, the great ice-
stream from Melville Island again falls upon it. The
ships pass Bellot Strait, and advance down the
edge of that ice-stream as far as latitude 71** ; then
they must enter the pack and go with it to the south-
west. Had they not already passed over two hun-
dred of the three hundred miles between Cape
Walker and Cape Herschel ? Were they the men to
flinch from a struggle for the remaining hundred
miles ?

That stiuggle commenced as the winter closed in,
and just as King William's Land was in sight the
Erebus and Terror were about twelve miles north of
Cape Felix. More dangerous and unpromising quar-
ters could hardly have fallen to their lot. Six-
teen years previously Ross had stood upon Cape Felix
in the month of May, and observed with astonishment
the fearful nature of the oceanic ice which was
pressed upon tlie shores, and had in some places been
driven inward half a mile.

The second Avinter passes away and when May
comes in, Gore and Vceux, with six men, leave the
Erebus on an excursion southward. In the cairn
built by Ross at Point Victory they deposit a record,

ith
ie,
eir
ila-
ing
ow

aly
of
are
ice-
rhe
the
hen
nth-
mil-
Jape
Q to
Ired

I in,
the

li of
[uar-

Six-
i'elix
nent

was
"been

May
B the
cairn
cord,

I r

i M„

THE ERF.BrS AND TERROR IN THE ICE-STIIKAM.

t'UNKRAL or SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

O
b

THE STORY OF THE EXPEDITION.

659

and in a week more stand on Cape llerscliel; tlien,
after gaziniij on the shores of America, tliey hasten
back to cari-y the glad tidings tliat the ships are
really in the direct channel leading to those Avaters
and shores ti'aversed ])y Franklin in former years,
and that the long-sought passage is at last discovered.

Alas ! why do their shipmates meet the Hushed
travelers with sorrow inii)rinted on pale countenances ?
Why, as they cheer at the glad tidings they hring,
does the tear suffuse the eye of these rough and hardy
men ? Theii- chief lies on his death-bed ; a long
career of honor and of worth is drawing to its close.
The sliout of victory, which cheered the last hours of
Nelson and of Wolfe, rang not less heartily round
the bed of the gallant Franklin, and lit up that kind
eye Avith its last gleam of triumph. Like another
Moses, he fell Avhen his work was accomplished with
the creat oltject of his life in view.

A toll for tlie brave — the drooping ensigns of Eng-
land trail only half-mast ; officers and men Avith sad
faces walk lightly as if they feared to disturb the
mortal remains of iiim they love so much. The sol-
emn jx'.-il of tlie ship's bell rever})erates amongst the
masses of solid ice ; a grouj) of affectionate followers
stand around a huge chasm in the ice, and Fitejames
reads the service for the dead over the grave of Frank-
lin.

The sumuKM' wears away, and at last the ice-stream
again moves slowly to the soulli. Ten miles, t\venty
miles thirty miles ai'c .•ici'oiii|ilis]ic(l, tli»)nL!,'h notafoot
of open water has l)een seen. Then the new ice
begins to form, the drift diminishes, and Avhen fifteen
miles north of Cajx; Yictoiy and only ninety miles
from the continent the ships are again stationary, and

II i

nil

:'; ! 'i

; lil

s.,

660

THE STOKY Ol' THE EXPEDITION.

the winter of 1847-48 closeH around tlieso forloin and
now desperate men.

The sun of 1848 rises a(j- in ujxm the imprison- k1
exjiedition, and never did it look doAvn on a sadder
sight. Nine officers and twelve men have ])erished
during the past winter; the survivors one hundred
and five in nunil)er, a wan, lialf-starved crew, must
leave the ships and escape for their lives. Sledges
are leaded with such articles as they suppose -may be
of use. Two large hoats are rigged on sledges, and
in them the sick and disabled are placed. Car.. ^'<^
taken to have plenty of guns, po^vder, and shot, for
provisions are scarce, and they hope to find deer in
the i-egion of the Great Fish Kiver.

On the 22d of April, 1848, the men fell into the
drag-ropes of their sledges and boats ; the colors were
hoisted on the ships, three cheers were given, and
without a blush at deserting the Erebus and TeiTor,
Crozier and Fitzjames lead the "vvay to the nearest
land named Cape Victory. It took three dajs to travel
these fifteen miles, and already the sad conviction was
peeping upon them that they had over-estimated
their j)hysical strength. Around the large cairn at
Point Victory the shivering men cast away every-
thing -that could be spared. Unrolling the record
left hei'e in the previous year by Lieut. Gore, Fitz-
james wrote around its margin those few but gra})hic
words which tell all we shall ever know of this last
page in their history.

In spite of frost-bites and fatigue the party presses
on. They must keep moving southward or their pro-
visions will be gone before they reach the continent.
Day In- day they grow weaker and weaker under the
toil of dragging their sledges and disabled comrades

THE STORY OP THE EXPEDITION.

661

through the deej) snow and over tlie nigfjed ice, and
at last, Avhen lialf Avuy between Point V^ictory and
Cape Ilerscliel it becomes api)arent tliat if any are to
be saved there must b(^ a division of the parties and
that tlie sick and weak must stay behind or return
to the sliips. One of the large boats is here turned
with her l)ow northward, some stay witli it, and all
that is known of their fate is, that years afterward
the boat was found buried in tlie snow with two
skelet«>ns liierein ; and that the wandering Es(|uimaux
found another skeleton in on(f of the ships.

The stronger portion of the divided crews pushed
southward and reached the cairn on Cape ITerschel;
no one had visited it since it Avas erected by Dease
and Simpson in 1830. Ten miks further on at least
one of them died, " with his face to the ground and his
head toward Fish River;" and little else is known of
this " forlorn hope " than the information collected
from the Escpiimaux by Dr. Rae, and given at com-
mencement of this chapter. It is probable that the
survivors, under Fitzjames, pushed on to perish in the
wilds of the Hudson's Bay Territory. Capt. Hall,
however, after visiting King William's Land, conclu-
ded that none of the j^arty ever reached the conti-
nent. The results of his seai'chea for Franklin are
given in another chapter.

The point at which the fatal imprisonment of the
Erebus and Terror in 184G took place, was only
ninety miles from the liniit reached by Dease and
Simpson. Ninety miles more of open water, and
Franklin and his heroic followers would not only have
won the prize for Avhicli they had so bravel)- strug-
gled, but have gained their homes to enjoy their well-
merited honors. Such, however, was not to be the case.

I SI

«p

662

THE STOKY OF THE EXPEDITION.

" They were to discover the great Liglnvay between
the Pacific and the Atlantic. It was given tliem to
win for their country a discovery for which she had
risked her sons and lavishly spent her wealth through
many centiii'ies; hut they were to die in accomplish-
ing their last great earthly task ; and, still more
strange, but for the energy and devotion of the wife
of their chief and leader, it Avould in all pro1)al>ility
never have been known, that they w.m'c indeed the
first discoverers of the North-Avest Passage." The
shores along which they fled are sacred to their mem-
ory, and 1)ear the name-* of Franklin, Crozier, Fitz-
james, Little, Irving, Gore, Hodgson. Fairholm, and
other members of the lost expedition.

m 'i

i \\

CHAI^EK XXXIX.
ARCTIC SIBEKIA AND ITS EXPLORERS.

SibKRTA, tlie entire iiortliern part of Asia, was for
Tituries the hattle-field of the Russians and Tartars,
and its ex]doration may he dated from the period
when tlie Russians freed themselves fi'om tlie yoke of
their contpierors. In 1580, u l)ody of wandei'ins; Cos-
saclvs, searL;hing for sal )le furs, crossed the Ui'al Moun-
tains, and found a Tartar kingdom of Avliich SiLir
was the cajiital. A struggle ensued, the Russian
power sprt'ad, and in less than one hundi'ed years a
few Cossack hunters had, Ly their exertions and the
advantage which the possession of fire-arms gave
them, added to Russia a territory larger in extent
than all Euro])e.

Siberia is rich in mines, fossil ivory, and saLle, but
it is chieily noted as being the great Russian ])cniten-
tiary, to Avhicli criminals and all Avho have fallen
under the dis[)U'asure of the government are banished.
]\[any a wretched exile, the victim of state intrigues
and despotism, has here dragged out a miserable
existence; and hundreds of uuhapjiy Poles, whose
greatest crime was a devotion to thcii- oppi-esscd
native land, have been |>crj)crual]y hanislicd to these
dreary regions. The worst criminals are sent to the
mines ; the other exiles are furnished with snuill farm-

003

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■ f'

■' 1

;i ^

|i;

ill!

■i ii

664

SIBERIAN EXILES.

ii!-

ing outfits .111(1 left to their own resources. They
have contributed greatly to the improvement and
civilization of the country, and many of them are
contented, happy, and evuii wealthy iu their compul-
sory homes.

The discovery of the shores of the Polar ocean, from
Bering's Strait westerly to Nova Zemhla (145 degrees
of longitude) is due to the Russians. Those shores
are, perhaps, the most desolate on the wliole Arctic
circle. Tiie SiT)erian rivers — the 01)i, the Yenisei, the
Lena, the Indigirka and Kolyma — rise in tlie Altai
mountains, and flow in their upj^er courses, through
forests of tall trees. But, Itefore they reach the Polar
ocean, they traverse a dreary region of frozen swamp,
which is l)arely habitable, called the tundra. Here
the land is frozen for many feet below the surface.
The rivers, during times of flood, bring down vast
quantities of uprooted trees, which line their b.'.nks
in immense masses, and are eventually c:u-i'ied into
the Polar sea, to be drifted away with the current
which flows from east to west along the Siberian
coast.

The endeavors of the Russians to double the extreme
northern points of Siberia — Capes Taimyr and Chel-
yuskin, the latter in 77" .'■)()' N.,— have hitherto
been unsuccessful. Tlu; Russians, in veiy early times,
constantly w(Mit from Archangel to the mouth of the
01)i, creeping along between the land and ice in the sea
of Kara, and usually hauling their boats, or /oflias,
across the isthmus l)et\veen Kara Bay and the Gulf of
the Obi. In the last century several e\])editions
were sent by the Russian (Jovernnient in the jame
direction, and v«!ssels reached the intuith of the
Pyasina, on the west side of the northern point of

VOYAGE OF DDSIINEP.

665

Siberia, and tlie Kliatangu on tlie east side. But no
navigator has ever doubled tliat most nortlieru cape
of the Asiatic continent.

From the mouth of the Lena eastward, vessels have
fre(iuently I'eached the river Kolyma, but the doubling
of the ca})e^ still farther east has l)eeu attended with
great difficulty. Nijni Kolymsk, near the mouth of
the Kolyma, was founded in 1G44, by a Cossack
named Michael Staduchiu ; and, in 1048, another Cos-
sack named Simon Deshnef c(jui])ped an expedition
there, consisting of tlii'ee small craft which were
broad, flat-bottomed, decked vessels, about seventy feet
long, ^vith botli sails and oars. He rounded Cape
Chelagf^koi, ])assed through the strait afterwards
named after Bering the explorer, and reached the
Gnlf of Anadyi". ]\Iost of his men died of hunger;
but Deshnef himself succeeded in establishing a wal-
rus fishery in the Anadyi-.

Peter the Gi-eat desired that the whole northern
coast of Siberia should Ix; explored by sea, and he
died a few days after giving his instructions to
Captain Vitus Bering Avith his own hand, in 1725.
Bering was a Dune, in the llussian service. He Avas
desj)atclied from St. Petersburg to the furtliest point
of Siberia with sailors and shipwrights, and two
vessels were built at Okhotsk and in Kamchatka, the
" Gabriel " and the " Foituna." In July, 1 728, he sailed
from the river of Kamchatka, and examined the coast
for some distance to the north war. I, ascertaining the
existence of a strait Ix'tween Asia and America. In
Septend)er, 1740, Beiiug sailed again from Okhc^tsk,
in a vessel called the " St. Paul," with another in com-
pany, called the "St. Peter," commanded by Lieut,
^hirikof. George W. Steller embarked with Bering

666

BERING S DISCOVERIES.

as naturalist of the expedition. The two ships sepa-
rated soon after sailinsj and did not meet ao;ain.

In June, 1741, they discovered the American coast,
and that magnificent peak, named by Bering Mount St.
Elias. The Aleutian Islands were explored, but
scurvy broke out amongst the crews; Bering also
was attacked by it, and in November his ship was
wrecked on an island which was named after the ill-
fated discoverer himself, who was carried on shore,
and placed in a sort of pit or cavern dug in the side
of a sand-hill. Here he was almost buried alive, for
the sand was continually rolling down, and he
requested that it might not be removed, as it kept
him warm. In this miserable condition poor Bering
died, December 8th, 1741.

Steller was naturally anxious to procure supplies
of animal food for his scurvy-stricken patients, and
he carefully examined into the natural histf)ry of the
island. He attributed the cure of thf»se who recov-
ered, to the flesh of the sea-otter. Thirty of the crew
died on the island, and the forty-five survivors escaped
to Kamchatka in a little vessel l)iiilt from the wreck
of the *'St. Paul." The most remarkable and inter-
esting event of this voyage was the discovery by
Steller of a rare and solitary species of manatee or
sea-cow, called Hytitia Stelleres. It has since l)een
hunted and probably exterminated, for no specimen
has ])een seen for more than seventy years. This
creature had a sort of bark an inch thick, composed
of fibres or tubes perpendicular on the skin, and so
hard that steel could penetrate it with diflficulty. It
lived on sea-weed.

In 1734, Lieut. Muravief sailed from Archangel
towards the river Obi, but was stopped by the ice

CHELTU8K1N S EXPLORATIONS.

667

in the sea of Kara. In 1738, however, Lieut's. Malgyn
and Shurakoft' douLled the promontory witli great
difficulty and reached tlie mouth of the 0])i. The
next step "was to sail from the Obi to the Yenisei.
This was effected in the same yeai" l)y Lieut. Koshelef.
In the same memorable year for Siberian ex])loration,
the pilot Menin sailed from the Yenisei towards the
Lena, but Avas stopped by the ice at the mouth of the
Pyasina, and returned unsuccessful,

Tliree years before, in 1735, Lieut. Pronchishchef
made a similar attempt from the eastern side. He
sailed down the Lena from Yakutsk, accompanied by
his wife, Init was hampered by ice, which only left a
passage of two hundred yards along the coast, and
was at last (>l)liged to winter at the mouth of the
Olenek. The following year he reached the mouth
of the Khatanga, and pushed beyond it, but found
himself at last closely beset near Cape Chelyuskin, his
extreme northern point being 77*^ 25'. He and his
wife died at the winter-quarters, near the mouth of the
Olenek, and the command devolv^ed upon Lieut.
Chel}'uskin avIio retui-ned. In May, 1740, Lieut.
Laptef found fixed and impenetrable ice in the same
place, and rtiturned convinced of the im[)ossibility of
sailing round Ca])e Taimyr. But in 17-12, Chelyuskin
reached the northernmost point of the continent in
sledges, in latitude 77^* 31' N., doubled it, and
returned to the mouth of tlie Taimyr. This cape is
noAV kn(nvn as Cape Chelyuskin.

After Bering's Strait, the most important discov-
eiy of the Russians during the last ceutur}- N\as that
of the Islaiuls of New Siberia in the Polar ocean,
opposite the coast between the mouths of the Lena
and ludigirka. In March, 1770, a merchant named

!li

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tV/.l.

668

THE NEW SIBERIA ISLANDS.

I: .

Lialvhof saw a large herd of reindeer coming over tlie
ice from the north, which induced him to start with
sledges early in April, to trace the tracks they had
left. After a joui-ney of fifty miles over the ice, he
discovered three large islands, and the following year
obtained the exclusive right from the Empress Cathe-
rine to dig for mammoth bones on them.

Immense alluvial deposits, filled with wood and
the fossil bones of animals, are found throughout the
shores of Arctic Siberia ; but in the cliffs or " wood
hills" of the New Siberia Islands these deposits are
still more j^lentiful. For years after their first dis-
covery the seekers for fossil ivory annually resorted
to these islands; and, in 1821, the fossil ivory thus
procured weighed twenty thousand lbs. Iledenstrom,
a Russian oflicer, residing at Yakutsk, Avas employed
by the Governmenc to siirvey the !New Siberia
Islands in 1809, and occupied three years in their
exploration. He reported, in 1810, that, to the north-
ward of these islands during three years, he was
always stopped at a short distance from the land by
weak ice.

In March, 1821, Lieut.Anjou, afterwards Admiral,
went across the ice with dog sledges, to the Kotelnoi
Island. He then traveled over the ice to the north-
ward in April, and saw vapor rising to the north-west
when at a distance of forty-two miles from Kotelnoi
(lat. 70* 38'), which led him to suppose that there
was open watt/ in that direction. But Wrangell tells
us tliat when the ice cracks, even in places where it
is thick and solid, vaporization immediately ensues,
which is more or less dense according to the tempera-
ture of the atmosphere.

In March, 1823, Anjou again crossed to the New

ANJOU 8 TRAVELS.

669

Siberia Islands. Open sea, with drifting masses of
ice, was seen on the 26th, the ice drifting from east
to west. The frequenters of the islands believe this
current to be the e})b tide. On the 9th of April he
started over the ice to the eastward, and met with
thin ice on the 14th, at a distance of sixty miles; but
lines of imi)assable hummocks obliged him to make
for the mainland.

Anjou arrived at the conviction that all efforts to
advance by the ice to any considerable distance from
land would prove unavailing, owing to the thinness
of the ice and to the open water within twenty to
thirty miles of the islands. His expedition, however,
effected a complete survey of this interesting group.
The sea between the islands and Siberia is not com-
pletely frozen over nntil the end of October, and the
coasts are free by the end of July. Throughout the
summer the sea is covered with fields of ice, drifting
to and fro with Avinclt: and currents.

While Anjou was conducting these explorations,
Wrangell Avas prosecuting similar researches from his
head-quarters at Nijni Kolymsk, near the mouth of
the Kolyma, to reach which place he had traveled
overland from St. Petersburg, a distance of nearly
five thousand miles. On the way he passed through
Yakutsk, a flourishing city of four thousand inhabi-
tants, situated on the Lena River, and a commercial
center of the fur and ivory trade. Its dwellings con-
sist chiefly of Yourts, with turf-covered roofs, doors of

skins, and windows of \ro. During the month of

January the thermometer stands on an average of
45^ l)elow zero. According to Sir Edward Brewster,
Yakutsk is near the " Asiatic pole of cold," one of
the two coldest points on the globe.

670

WRANGELL 8 EXPLORATIONS.

"WrrtTigell made four journeys on the Polar Sea, ac-
complished in dog sledges called narti. The runners
are of Lirchwood, and the upper surface of the
sledge of willow shoots woven together. All the
parts are fastened together with hide thongs. When
in use the sledges are turned over, and water is poured
on the runners to produce a thin ci-ust of ice, which
glides easily over the snow, and the icy runner is
called wodiat. As spiing advances it of course be-
comes useless, and whalebone is sometimes substituted.

"Wrancjoll considered March to be the best time of
the year for sledging, when it is easier Avork for the
dogs. A well-loaded sledge required a team of twelve
dogs, which were fed on frozen heri'ings. The men
wore reindeer-skin shirts, great li'uthern boots lined
with fnr, a fur cap, and reindeer-skin gloves. The
party had a conical tent of reindeer-skin, with a light
framework of six poles; and, when they encamped,
they lighted a fire in the centre of it, and were half
smothered. Each man aiept on a bear-skin, and a
reindeer-skin coverlet was provided for every two.

In his first journey, during March, 1820, Wrangell
explored the coast from the mouth of the Kolyma to
Cape Chelagskoi. His second journey was undertaken
in order to see how far he could go over the ice to the
northward away from the Siberian coast, and he
started March 27th, 1821. At a distance of two miles
from the shore, the party had to cross a chain of high
and rugged hummocks five miles wide, })eyond which
there was an extensive plain of ice. AVrangell con-
tinued to advance to the northward for a distance of
one hundred and forty miles, Avhen he found the ice
to be very thin and weak, owing to large patches of
brine that were lodged on the snow. There were

SKILL OF SIBERIAN SLEDGE-DH VERS.

G71

craclcs in every direction, thronqliAvhicli the sea- water
came up, and tlie ice was seai*cel} a foot thick. It
was therefore deemed prudent to commence a retreat
on the 4tli of Apiil.

In approachin;^ the 'oast again, they had to cross
ranges of hummocks of gi'eeiiisli-bhie colored ice,
often eighty and ninety feet in height, denoting tre-
memhius pressure during the winter. Wrangell
returned to Kijni Kolymsk April tiStli, after an ab-
sence of thirty-six days, during which hue he had
traveh'd over eight hundred miles. He w;i- mufh
struck during this journey at the wonderful skill dis-
played by the sledge-drivers in finding their way by
watching the wave-like stripes of snow, formed by
the wind, which are called in Sib«'iia SastnKjL The
ridges always indicate the quarter from which the
prevailing winds IjIow. The inhabitants of the tun-
dras often travel over several hundred mile^ with no
other guide than these sastrvgi. They know by
experience at what angle they must cross the greater
and lesser waves of snow, in order to aiTive at their
destination, and they never fail. It often ha]>pen9
that the true, permanent sastnigi have been obliter-
ated by others produced by temporary winds ; Init the
traveler is not deceived tliere])y ; his practised eye
detects che change, he carefully removes the recently
drifted snow, and corrects his course by the lower
sastnigi, and by the angle formed by the two.

On his third Jouraey "Wrangell started northward
from the coast March ^(^\]\, 1822, cliioHy with the
ol)ject of ascertaining the truth of a native report that
there was high land in tliat direction. After travel-
ing for many days over very difficult hummocks, the
party came to such weak ice, broken up by so many

111

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III

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672

WBANGELLi* LAST JOUKNET.

cracks, tlmt Wmngell supposed the open sea must be
at haiul, and deemed it prudent to return, when one
hundred and seventy mih'S from th<' huid. On this
journey he traveled over nine hundred miles.

Wrangell's fourth and last journey was conumniced
Mareh 14th, 1823, and Cape Clielagskoi was reached
on the 18th. A Tuski chief here informed hini that,
from an adjacent part of the coast, on a dear sum^
mer s day, snow-covered mountains might be descried
at a great distance to the north, and that herds of
reindeer sometimes came across the iee of the sea,
probably from thence. The nrtives concur in stating
that Cape Jakan is tlie nearest point to this northern
land. The party struck off across the ice to the
northward when they had gone a little beyond Cape
Clielagskoi ; but a violent gale of wind cracked and
broke \ip the ice, which was only three feet thick,
placing them in considerable danger. As they ad-
vanced it became thinner, and they only succeeded in
crossing the cracks, just frozen over, in safety, owing
to the incredibly swift running of the dogs. Wran.
gell was obliged to turn back at a distance of seventy
miles from the land, and in reaching it they had to
ferry themselves across nuuiy cracks, on j)ieces of ice,
the ilogs swimming and t<nving. To the west the sea
appeared completely o])en, with floating ice, and dark
vapors ascending from it obscured the horizon. Lanes
of water were opening in all directions, and, without
a boat, the little party w^as placed in a position of
extreme danger. A gale of wind dashed the pieces
of ic«; against each other with a loud, crashing noise,
and split many of the floes into fragments. The dogs
saved them. They dashed wii ily and swiftly towards
the land, and reached it on the 27th.

WRANOELL LAND.

673

Wrangell contiimod the coast survey for some time
longer, un«l returned to Nijiii Kolynisk May lOtli,
ai't(4' an absence of seventy-eight days, liaving traveled
over fifteen hundred and thirty miles. Thus ended
the SiM'ies of attempts to reach the unknown north-
ern land, whicli, tliough not seen by him, Wrangell
still thinks may jjossibly exist. It was sighted by
Captain Kellett, and afterwards, in 1807, by Captain
Long, an Amei'ican whaler, who approached from
Bering's Sti'ait; and it is now marked on the maps as
AVi'angell Land. On WrangelTs map it is stated
that the mountains are visible, from Cape Jakan, in
clear summer weather.

Li 1843, Middendorf was sent to explore the
regions which terminate in Cape Taimyr, by land.
He descended the river Khatanga, and reached the
Taimyr lake in June. Li August he arrived at the
shores of the Polar Sea, and sighted Cape Taimyr,
■whence he saw open Avater, and no ice-blink in any
direction. Tie found the rise and fall of the tide to
be as much as thirty-six feet. His visit was, how-
evei', in the very height of the short Arctic sununer.

The observations of lledenstrom, Anjou, and Wran-
gell, have led Russian geographers to the conclusion
that there is a part of the Polar ocean always an open
sea, extending from some twenty miles north of the
New Siberia Islands to about the same distance off
the coast of the continent between Cape Chelagskoi
and Cape North. This oj)inion rests on the instances
in which these e\|)l(>r<Ms, in ^Farcli and April,
encountered either o])en water covered with louse
floes or very thin ice, indicative of its immediate
vicinity, at different j)oints of this line. Wrangell
considered that the fact of the northerly winds being

ill

i! ?!

674

THE "great RUSSIAN POLYNIA."

sufficiently damp to wet tlie clothes of his party, was a
further corroboi'tition of the existence of an open sea in
that direction. In summer, the current along the Sibe-
rian coast is from east to west, and in autumn from west
to east. On the breaking up of the ice in the great
Siberian rivers their waters help to drive the floes
froni the coast, and the westerly current then carries
them in hea\ily-]^acked. masses towards the Atlantic,
and millions of tons of ice are thus sent to swell the
size of the polar pack, and are annually melted
between Greenland and Nova Zembla.

Wrangell, using an allowable poetical license, has
called tlie open ^vater off the Siberian coast "the
wid«^ immeasurable ocean;" and ever since the "great
Polynia of the Russians " has been a jdirase on which
geographical theorists have founded the wildest spec-
ulations. Now, in all parts of the Arctic regions
the ice is more or les'; in motion during the summer,
so that the observation of oj)en Ava':er by Middendoi-f,
near Cape Taimyr in Auijust, is nothing i-emarkaMe.

There can be no reason to d)ubt that, owing to
strons: ciin'ents and y'ales of winds, the ice is in
motion off the coast of Siberia ^-cy early in the
sjjring, giving rise to polynias, or lanes and pools
of water ; ])ut there is nothing in the observations of
the, Russian ex])lorers to warrant the belief in a
"wide immeasural)le ocean." The rising vapor, so
often mentioned by Anjou, is caused by tidal cracks
in tlie ice, and is no proof of an open sea ; and the
phenomena of damp winds and rotten ice ])etoken
just what Anj<tu saw — a limited ex2)anse of sea,
covered ^v•ith drifting floes. There is no evidence
whati!ver that the Siberian Polynia ^f the early sjjring
is of greater extent th'^u ihe prevalence of gales of
wind and currents wo'd"' easily explain.

^■VWHJI'IIW!!);

THE EXPLOPATION OF THE YENISEI.

675

The latest lliissi i exj)lorii)g acliievcineut in
Siberia lias Ix'eu the examinati'm, in ISOd, of the
mouth of the Yenisei, by Ilerr Schmidt, made in con-
sequence of the alleged discovery of a mammoth
skeleton in the vicinity of the lower Yenisei Uivcr.
An interesting fact in connection witli this river, is
the immense ([uantity of drift-wood lying on either
side of its banks. About the low lands of tlic rstuarv
the wood lies scattei'ed al)out, and, mixed with loam
and sand, foi-nis the chief component of the numerous
islands studded about the mouth. In many j)laces
peat-moss is to l)e found, and stems oi trees, which
prove that vegetation formerly spread further north
tlian now. Here, as well as in most parts of Sil)eria,
the larch {Larix Siblrica^ marks the commenrement of
forest gi'owth.

* I

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V':

CHAPTER XL.
TRAVELS IN ALASKA.

The territory of Alaska, piircliased by tlie United
States in 1867, is a wide and interesting field for dis-
covery. Visited occasionally for two centuries by
navigators and traders, little more was kno\vn of it
in the civilized world than the outline of its coast ;
but its annexation to our country has turned our
attention to it, and caused more accurate details of its
characteristics and resources to be brought within
our reach.

This vast domain, for which the Russian Govern-
ment received some seven million dollars, contains
500,000 square miles, a large proportion of which is
uninhabited and uninhabitable. The southern part
is peopled by Esquimaux, Indians aiid Russians,
and has natural productions of much value. Its for-
ests and mineral wealth are much like those of the
neighboring British territory. There are im]iortant
cod-tisheries along various portions of the coast ; and
salmon al)ound in all the rivers. The fur-trade has
always been great, and if protected by ])roper laws
may continue to be a source of wealth to its owners.

The Aleutian Islands comprise a valuable })orti(m
of the Alaskan ]>urchase, and besides some commei'cial
importance have many points of interest, including

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geysers, hot springs, and volcanoes. Tlio imtivcs liave
a curious way of capturing whales, 'i'lu y Muround
one with boats, and throw into hhn so many liarjjoons
to wliich ])ladders filled with air are attach(>d, that he
is obliged to float on the surface, and is then easily
killed Avith lances.

Much of our information respecting tlie interior of
Alaska, was gained by AVilliani II. Dall and Frederick
Whymper, Avho traveled there in ISOO, under the aus-
pices of the Western Union Telegraj)]! Comjiany.
The object of the exploration was to find a suitable
route for a telegraph line from IJering's Strait to
San Francisco, wliich was to be a jiart of an inter-
continental line, in case the Atlantic cables should
fail.

The Yukon River which the explorers ascended
six hundred miles, is one of the greatest streams in
the worhl. The Amazon, the ]\Iississij>pi, and per-
hajis the La Plata, alone surpass it. For a distance
of seventeen hundred miles from its mouth, its aver-
age width is more than a mile, and v.liile it courses
through the centre of Alaska, it rises far to the south
in British America, near the sources of the Mac-
kenzie. The larger portion of it is frozen over during
eight months of the year, but in summer it is navi-
gable far above Fort Yukon. Its course in Alaska
is mainly toward the west, but at Nulato, the most
northernly trading-] lost of the Russians, it turns and
flows toward the south, and falls into the sea just
south of Norton's Sound.

Mr. AVhym])er was accom])anied by five m hite men
and three Indians. They were e(iuii)ped with four
sledges and twenty dogs. These dogs were not of
the best kind, but had many characteristics of the

I'
I

678

UP THE YUKON.

wolf. Their food was mostly fish, but they would
eat anything that afforded nutriment.

The party started from Unalachleet on Norton's
Sound, soon after the late sunrise of Oct. 27th. The
temperature was 2'^ above zero; but the snow was
still loose, and the rivers not yet thickly frozen, so
that their progress at first was slow and tedious.

At noon on Nov. 11th, after an overland journey
of one hundred and seventy miles, they saw before
them a broad and level expanse of snow, which
marked their arrival at the Yukon River. Reaching
soon after the Indian village of Coltog, they rested
there two days. The houses of tliis vilhige were
underground, with an entrance by a short shaft and
tunnel. In the roof, which was arched al)ove ground,
was the only other opening — a hole for the escape of
smoke from the fire. The dogs enjoyed the warmth
of the dome, and sometimes fell through to the fire
below. When the fire was burnt out, and the
smoke-hole was covered with a skin, in oi-der to re-
tain the heat, there -was no ventilation and the scents
were manifold and abominable.

The party set out again on the lltli. The river
wound about so much that they crossed it several
times to escape long curves. Their \v:\y was greatly
obstructed by masses of ice rising in invgular heaps;
but even this track was preferable to that on land,
for in the forests the dogs would constantly run the
sledge against stnni]is, and Avait for the men to free it,
and indest'i'iiding hills the sledge would overtake the
dogs, tangle theii" harness, and run ovei- them.

After a day's journey of twenty-five miles, the trav-
elers encamped in an empty Indian house. They
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seven miles, met a train of sledges with Rus^ians and
Indians, avIio, turning back, went with theiu to Nuhito.
Here their quarters were clean and coin2)aratively
comfortaljle. The trading-post is on the north hank
of the Yukon, on a flat stretch of land, at the mouth
of a considerable tributary. There are large trees for
building purposes, a rich soil, and in the short sunnuer,
luxuriant grass and innumerable l>erries. Water is
brousjht on a sledije from a hole in tiie ice of the riv-

O CD

er a quarter of a mile from the post ; and l)y wicker-
baskets let down in the water through the ice, large
quantities of iish are caught.

The coldest day was December oth when the
thermometer stood at 5S'^ below zero. Yet the men
did not feel the severity cf cold, for the Avind did not
blow; whereas a slight wind, when the temperature
was only a few degrees below zero, seemed to search
out every little seam or tear in their clothing, and
cause special suffering to "nose, ears, and angles
generally." The shortest day, Decemlxu" 21st, enjoyed
only an hour and fifty minutes of sunlight. Christ-
mas was celebrated with such a feast as the circum-
stances allowed. Fine Auroral lights, the sports of
hunting and fishing, trading, and amateur theatricals,
diversified the winter sojourn at Nulato.

Early in April indication of sununer were seen.
On the Oth flies appeared; on the 10th the Avillows
were seen budding; on the SiSth tlie first goose
arrived from the south. The ri\er hegan to thaw
May 5th, and broke up ou the I'Jth; masses of ice
rushed past for several days, and on the 24th the
stream was mostly clear. The Russians were now
ready for a trip to an Indian trading-place two hun-
di-ed and forty miles up the stream. They had a

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680

A WINTER AT NULATO.

large skin boat, fitted with rudder and sails, and
capable of carrying two tons of goods and jjrovisions.
The Americans accompanied them with a smaller
1)oat and a cargo of about seven hundred pounds.
These vessels would recover from a collision with
snags or ice which would sink vessels made of bark.

The summer came on apace. Ice lingered in the
river till May 27th, but on June 5 th, the thermome-
ter at noon stood at 80'' in the shade, and the heat
compelled the men to lie by for a time.

At the Indian village referred to, the Kussians
stopped, and Mr. Whymper's party presently jour-
neyed on. Moose hunting was common in portions of
the river. The days were extremely long, and there
was no light but the twilight. Fort Yukon was
reached on June 23d, the party having traveled six
hundred miles in twenty-nine days. The Fort is a
trading-post of the Hudson's Bay Company, who buy
the privilege of holding it within the l^ounds of vVlaska.
The most striking scene at this place is the fur-room,
in which can be seen thousands of marten-skins hang-
ing from the beams, and huge piles of common furs.

On the 8th of July, the party began to descend the
river. The current bore them on at the rate of a
hundred miles a day. They landed only two or
three times a day to prepare their tea and fish, and
making six hundred miles in about six days,
arrived at Nuluto. Here, receiving orders to return
to St. Michael, they Avent on down the river. The
region beloAV Nulato is poorer in vegetation and is
seldom visited by travelers. The northern or Aphoon
mouth is the easiest navigated, and through it the
travelers reached the sea, having come from Fort
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681

days. Two days more of sailin.<T brought tliem to
St. Michael.

The Co-Yukon Indians living near the Yukon
above Nulato, are more savage than most tribes, and
lightly value' human life. Tombs at Nulato still
mark the nuissacre of forty Indians and part of the
guard in 1851. The dead are inten-ed in ()])long
boxes raised on posts, and are moni-ned by the women
for a year. The people superstitious] y save bones of
animals, thinking that if they were given to the dogs
or burned, their fishing and hunting could not be
successful. They catch reindeer by driving them into
an enclosure, whose sides are made of stakes ^vith
loops between them, where they are shot. Intemper-
ance is almost unknown among these Indians. They
barter furs for porcelain beads, combs, looking-glasses
and knives. In the spring they all wear wooden
goggles when hunting or traveling, to shield their
eyes from the blinding glare of the snow ; narrow
slits before the eyes give sufficient light for sight.

The Co-Yukon dialect has no resemblance to the
language s]K)ken at the coast, but resembles that of
some of the tribes of northeastern Asia, where these
Indians probaldy originated. The Yukon tiibes are
more nearly allied to the true North American Indian.

Sitka, or New Archangel, the capital of Alaska, is
8ituate<l on an island discovered in 1741 by Tschiri-
kofl', the companion of Bering. Formerly it was
exclusively the head-quarters of the Russian American
Fur Company, and the residence of the governor, who
was the autocrat of all the Russians in America. It
is now a town of considerable importance.

CHAPTER XU.
DR. HAYES' EXPEDinOK

The name of Dr. Isaac I. Hayes is already familiar
to the reader and to his countrymen. A native of
Pennsylvania, immediately after his graduation at the
University of Pennsylvania, at the early age of twenty-
one, he joined the Second Expedition of Dr. Kane as
surgeon and naturalist. Of the important services
which he rendered this expedition, Dr. Kane has left
ample testimony. The two men warmly sympathized,
and by sharing each others trials and labors light-
ened their mutual burdens. AVhen by mutual con-
sent, a portion of the crew of the Advance left that
vessel to attempt to reach the Da.;ish settlements of
Lower Greenland, Dr. Hayes led the withdrawing
party, which was obliged to return to the brig after
penetrating some distance southward.

Undaunted by the perils and hardships of his
first voyage, or by the untimely death of his late
commander. Dr. Hayes was full of zeal for another
expedition. His faith was strong that he could live
in the Polar regions as well as the Esquimaux, and
could even penetrate to the North Pole. It Avas diffi-
cult to inspire others with the same zeal and faith.
His friends und the public generally, received his
propositions coolly. The game did not seem worthy

682

imiliar
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HAYES EXPEDITIOIf.

G83

ms\

of the chase. The many lives already lost, the many
sufferings endured, and the vast property sacrificed in
the Arctic Seas without commensurate results, \vere
certahdy not encouraging for future o])erations.

Not so thought the doctor. After liaving experi-
enced tlie rigors of the Frigid Zone for two long
winters, lie was satisfied that white men could live
there permanently, relying solely on tlie supplies which
the country furnished for sup[»ort. Ilis faith and
perseverance! were finally crowned with such a degree
of success that his friends, after five years of imj)ortu-
nity, fitted him out with a snuill schooner, which he
may be said to have argued into being; for he went
around the countiy lecturing on his favorite proiject
and wt)uld not be denied.

The schooner, Spring Hill, was at length purchased,
her name changed to " United States " and Dr. Hayes
])laced in conunand. The plan of the expedition was
his own, and may be best stated in his own words:
"My object was to complete the survey of the north
coasts of Greeidand, and to make such exi)lorations as
I might find i)racticable in the direction of the Xorth
Pole."

Full of hope and in the highest spirits, Dr. Hayes
and his littlj i)arty set sail from Boston, July 7th,
18(30, steering directly for the outer capes of New-
foundland, and so prosperous was the voyage that
tlie " United States" reached the bold promontory of
Swarte Tluk within the Arctic Circle, Aug. 2d. Here
she was becalmed ; and Dr. Hayes' graphic pen gives
this beautiful description of the scene here witnessed : —

"The air was warm, almost as a summer's night at
home, and yet there Avere the icebergs and the bleak
mountains with which the fancy, in this land of green

684

hates' expedition.

hills and waving forests, can associate nothing but
cold repulsiveness. The sky was bright and soft, and
strangely inspiring as the skies of Italy. The bergs
had wholly lost their chilly aspect, and glittering in
the blaze of tlie brilliant heavens, seemed in the dis-
tance like masses of burnished metal or solid flame.
Nearer at hand, they were huge blocks of Parian
marble, inlaid with mammoth gems of pearl and opal.
One in particular exhibited the perfection of the
grand. Its form was not unlike that of the Coli-
seum, and it lay so far away that half its height was
buried beneath the line of blood-red waters. The sun,
slowly rolling along the ht)rizon, passed behind it,
and it seenuid as if the old Roman ruin had suddenly
taken fire."

After several narrow escapes from nips and icebergs,
the " United States," was compelled to take up her
winter-quarters at Port Foulke on the Greenland
coast, about twenty miles south of Rensselaer Harbor.
The neighborhood abounded with game, and to this
fact and to the great good cheer which i-eigned on
the schooner, the crew were indebted for the uniform
good health which they enjoyed during the winter.
The dogs were not so fortunate. These pined away
and died during the long night as they did on Kane's
expedition. Dogs have not the consolations of hope,
and cannot endure the artificial life of ship-board as
well as men.

Fortunately the Esquimaux were able to furnish some
fresli dog teams, and early in April, 1861, Dr. Hayes
started out into the icy wilderness. The Greenland
shore proving j»erfectly impassable, he resolved to
cross over the sound to Grinnell Land and try to
ascend that coast. Of the difficulties encountered no

hates' expedition.

685

one unacquainted with Arctic travel can foi-ra any
adequate idea. They were enough to appall and dis-
courage at the start even the strongest and most reso-
lute of travelers.

After toiling on for twenty-five days, Hayes found
that he was not half way over the sound and that
his men were breaking down from fatigue. Selecting
therefore three of the most robust and courageous,
Jensen, McDonald and KnoiT, he sent the remainder
back to the schooner, and with these and fourteen
dogs, he boldly piessed on to Grinnell Land, which
he reached in fourteen days.

The journey along the coast was little less fatigu-
ing, and he had advanced only five days when Jensen,
the strongest man in the party, gave out utterly
exhausted. Leaving him in charge of McDonald, Dr.
Hayes pushed on with Knorr for his only companion,
and, May 18th, reached a deep l)ay Avhere rotten ice
and wide seams put a veto to further progress. He
had the satisfaction of seeing on the opposite side of
the bay Mount Parry, and farther on Cape Union
— then the most northern known land. The return
to Port Foulke was safely accomplished.

The schooner having l)een released from the ice. Dr.
Hayes made an effort, July 12tli, to sail across to Grin-
nell Land; but finding his little vessel too crippled to
force her way through the pack ice, he was compelled
to head her for home, where lie arrived in October.

Dr. Hayes subsequently published a very interest-
ing history of his expedition in a book called "The
Open Polar Sea." He has still faith that there is
such a sea, and that it can be navigated. No man
living is better qualified to lead the way thither.
39

11
'I I

CHAPTER XLII.
CAPTAIN HALL'S FIRST TWO EXPEDITIONS.

Charles Francis Hall whose life of adventures
and self-denial has closed under circumstances which
command for him the admiration and sympathy of
his countrymen, was a native of New England, born in
1821. lie received but a limited education, learned
the trade of a blacksmith, and followed that business
for several years. Subsequently he migrated to Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, where he appears to have engaged in
various pursuits. He had a taste for scientific study
and inventions, and was at one time greatly interested
in caloric engines. Engaging in the manufacture of
engraved seals he acquired skill as an engraver and
draughtsman. Connected with this business he dealt
in stationery, and published an advertising sheet
called " 2he Occasional^ From his experience in
this incipient journalism he was endjoldened to stait
" The Penny Press^'' which under his successors ac-
quired a large circulation.

The fate of Sir John Franklin was about this time
exciting the interest of the world, and the subject of
Arctic discovery next absorbed Hall's attention. He
carefully watched all the various expeditions sent out
for Franklin's relief, and finally felt a desire to join
in the search. With this object in view he began to

686

HALLS FIRST EXPEDITION.

687

fit himself for a life in the Frozen Zone, by sleeping
under a tant at Mount Adams during the winter
montha

The tidings brought by McClintock led Hall to
believe that some of Fi'anklin's men were still alive
and could be found ; and it seemed to liim as if he
was " called " to try and do the work. So he deci-
ded to do it. After laying his plans before his Cin-
cinnati friends, he went to New York, interested
Mr. Grinnell in his scheme, and at a meeting of the
Geographical Society, introduced himself as a man
who " wanted to go and find the bones of Sir John
Franklin."

Mr. Hall was not in any sense of the word a schol-
ar, nor was he a navigator; he was a plain unobtru-
sive man, and measured by the current conventional-
isms, would have made a poor figure in a company of
gentlemen. But he was endowed with a physical
constitution of exceptional vigor and endurance ; able
to meet all conditions of life, whether among people
civilized or savage ; and possessed of a vast deal of
patience, good nature, and kindness of heart.

His first expedition north was a singularly modest
one, and its plan was unique. He did not propose to
break through the ice of unknown frozen seas ; but to
be set down alone on the shores contiguous to the
waters where Avhales are found, and thence, wdth
Esquimaux guides, to find his way to King William's
Land, where he believed, among a people so primitive,
the traditions of Franklin's fate would certainly sur-
vive.

Various articles of outfit and about one thousand
dollars were donated by friends of the undertaking ;
Williams and Havens of New London offered to

688

hall's first expxdition.

transpoi c the traveler and his outfit free of charge in
one of their wlmling-ships ; and on the 29th of May,
1800, Hall Willed in the " George Henry," commanded
by Capt. S. O. Buddington and bound for the Arctic
wllialing-grounds. A Hmall schooner, the "A i. lit,"
formerly the "Rescue" of Kane's fir"t expedition,
sailed with the George Henry as a tender. An Esqui-
maux named Kudlago, who had come to the United
States with Buddington, and on whom Hall greatly
relied for assistance, died on his passage home ; his
last words were " Do you see ice ? "

After touching at Holsteinberg, Greenland, Bud-
dington crossed Davis' Strait, and on the 17t?) of
August, anchored his vessel in a small bay just north
of the entrance to Frobisher's Bay. Here and in this
neighborhood the whalers commenced operations, and
Hall began his acquaintance with the natives who
were scattered along the coast On the 18th of Sep-
tember, Capt. Tyson arrived in the Georgiana, and
Hall relates instances of the kind and unselfish dis-
position which he manifested, while competing with
Buddington's men in catching whales. Soon after-
ward a fearful gale came on, during which the Rescue
was wrecked ; the Georgiana was driven ashore and
narrowly escaped ; and a large whale-boat belonging
to Hall, in which he expected to make long trips, was
destroyed. The George Henry escaped, but was wreck-
ed on her next voyage about two years later.

In November, Hall made the acquaintance of
Ebierbing, a noted hunter und pilot, and Tookoolito
his wife. They were of the Esquimaux or "Innuit"
aristocracy, had visited England, could speak the
English language, and the lady's voice was " low and
sweet." They became attached to Hall, were his

hall's first expedition.

689

constant guides ii»"l compfinions, went with him to
the United States on his return, ncconiivmicd him in
his subsequent jounuys, nud are now l)Mtt'r known
as "Joe " and " » annali."

The George Henry remained safely in lier quarters
through the winter, ah. I was not released from her icy
fetters till the I7th of July, 1861; ])ut even then,
intervening ice prevented Buddington fiom reaching
open water where he wished to cruine for u hales.

Meantime Hall had been much ashoi-e, makinir
short journeys along the coast and living in the huts
of the natives to ac«[uire their language and hal)its of
life. He now planned a longer trip, and on the 9th of
August, left the George Henry in a whale-boat rowed
by six natives to explore Frobisher's Strait. He re-
turned to the ship on the 27th of September, and in
reply to his first question, — "How many whales se-
cured? " was informed, " Not one." Such is the " fish-
erman's luck " which sometimes attends our whalers.

In this excursion Hall ascertained that Frobisher's
Strait is in fact a bay ; and it is touching to see the
value which, in the absence of more important geo-
graphical discoveries he placed on this achievemenc.
He was also greatly elated at finding what he sup-
posed *o be relics of Frobisher's Expedition — coal,
iron, etc. ; these simjde memorials not only brought
back the presence of those stalwart and adventurous
Englishmen who visited the " Jleta Incognitia " three
hundred years before, but gave to him a sense of com-
panionship in his lonely ramblings over its desolate
wilds. He also found a tradition of this early expe-
dition alive among the natives. There had been
handed down to them the memory of white men who
had ..orae in ships and lived for a while among them ;

|i ii

690

HALL 8 FIRST EXPEDITIOK.

and this fact confirmed Hall in his impression of tlie
value of tradition, through which, in the absence of
literature, important historical events like the wreck
of Franklin's ships, were not lost among them.

The researches of Ilall during this expedition were
confined to a small extent of territory laying several
degrees Lelow the Arctic Circle ; but it would be
unjust to estimate his services by the limit of latitude
which he reached. His experiences enabled him to
become a competent authority in matters pertaining
to the inhabitants of the region, and he has thrown
much light upon their customs and mode of living.
In eating they are gluttons of tlie highest order.
Hall seems to have kept himself from their excesses,
but to have fully endorsed their tastes, and he is often
emphatic in eulogizing their abominable dishes.

Although the Innuits are kind and hospitable to
each othe-' when all are living and well, they are sin-
gularly stony-hearted towards the sick and dying.
Especially to their women this coolness is most nkourn-
ful. When one of the poor creatures seems nigh to
death, they leave her alone in one of the snow-Louses,
putting near her a few of the articles which a\\\ most
Decessaiy for life, and then remain in other houses,
abstaining from labor, till the poor sufferer passes
away. Hall tried to b?t the example of Christian
kindness to them in caring for the sick ; but almost in
vain. The Esquimaux are a singularly conservative
peojde, and Avhatever their ancestors ii!d, they think
they must do. To any remonstrance against their
habits they used always to answer, " The old Innuits
did so ; " and that settled the matter.

Captain Buddington intended to start for home in
the fall of 1861, and all Avere greatly disappointed

\,*

HALL'S SECOND EXPEDITION.

691

when it was found, very unexpectedly, tliat heavy
pack ice was already drifting down across the entrance
of the bay. "Our fate is sealed," said Buddington;
" another winter here ; we are already imprisoned."

Another long winter was passed by the George
Heniy and her crew at Field Bay. As provisions
were short on the ship, portions of the men were
quartered uj)()n the natives, but generally found the
privations of Innuit life harder to bear than a short
allowance of food on the vessel. One man froze his
feet so badly that Buddington was obliged to ampu-
tate his toes, which he did skillfully. Others of the
crew arrived at the ship nearly dead Avith hunger.
One who got lost was searched for by Hall and Bud-
dington and found dead on the ice.

On the 8th of the succeeding August, the George
Henry again floated fi'ee, and the next day started for
home. Hall was accompanied by his Es(]uimaux
friends, and th.eir infant boy Tukeliketa who died
soon after his arrival in the Uiiited States.

After a stay of nearly two years in his native coun-
try, Captain Hall again started north, July 3()th, 18G4,
to renew his accpiaintance with the lunuits. With
Joe and Hannah he to».k passage in tlie Monticello,
Captain Buddington, and the party was landed on
the nortliern coasts of Hudson's Bay. Of his five
years' residence in this region, little is known ;
although he was most of the time in conununication
with whalingshlps, and received fi'om them such
suj)j)lies as he needed. He ])enetrated north as fiir
as Hecla and Fury Strait visited King William's
Land, and returne(l to the United States in 1800. -

In a letter to Henry Grinnell written at Bepulse
Bay, June '20th, 180'.), Captain Hall gives the follow-

1 1-

692

hall's second EXPEDITION".

ing account of his journeys and the results of his
search for Franklin : —

" This day I have returned from a sledf^e journey of ninety
days to and from King William's Land. It was my pui-pose,
and every preparation was made, to make this journey last
season, but my attention then having been called to ^Melville
Peninsula, in the vicinity of Fury and Ilecla Straits, where
native report had it that white men had been seen, I directed
my expedition there, by way of Am-i-toke, Oog-lik Isle, Ig-
loo-lik, with the ardent liopo and expectation of rescuing
alive some of Sir John Franklin's lost conipatiions. The
result of the journey was the finding of the tcnting-place of
a few white men, and a stone pillar they had erected close by
it at the bottom of Parry Bay, which is some fifty miles south
of the western outlet of Fury and Ilecla Straits, and the vis-
iting of several places where white men and their traces had
been seen by natives of Ig-loo-lik and vicinity in or about
the years 1806-67.

" The result of my sledge journey to King William's Land
may be summed up thus: None of Sir John Franklin's com-
panions ever reached or died on Montreal Island. It was
late in July, 1848, that Crozier and his party, of aI)out forty
or forty-five, passed down the west "coast of King William's
Land, in the vicinity of Cape Ilerschcl. The party was drag-
ging two sledges on the sea ice, which was nearly in its last
stage of dissoliUjion, one a large sledge laden with an awning-
covered boat, and the other a small one laden with ])rovision8
and camp material. Just before Crozier and party arrived
at Cape Ilerschel they were met by four families of natives,
and both parties went into camp near each other. Two
Esquimaux men, who wjre of the native party, gave me
much sad but deeply interesting information. Some of it
stirred my heart with sadness, intermingled with rage, for it
was a confession that the}', with their companions, did
secretly and hastily abandon Crozier and hi.s party to suflTer
and die for need of fresh provisions, when in truth it ' as in
their power to save every man alive.

" The next trace of Crozier and his party is to be found in

HALL S SECOND EXPEDITION.

693

found in

the skeleton which McClintock discovered <a little helow, to
the southward and eastward of Cape UcMscliel. This was
never found by the natives. The next tiace is a camping-
place on the sea-shore of King William's Land, about three
miles eastward of Pfeiffer Ilivcr, where two mvn died and
received Christian burial. At this place li.sh-hones were
found by the natives, which showed that Crozier and his
party had caught, while there, a species of fish excellent for
food, vi,!! which the sea there abounds. Tlie next trace of
this party occurs some five or six .ailes eastward, on a long,
low point of King William's Land, wlicre one num died and
was buried. Then about south-south-east, two and a half
miles farther, the next trace occurs on Todd's Inlet, west of
Point iriciiardson, on some low land that is an island or a
part of the main land, as the tide may be. Here the awning-
covered boat and the remains of about thirty or thirty -five of
Crozier's ])arty were found.

" In the spring of 1849, a large tent was found by some of
the natives whom I saw, the floor of which was completely
covered with the remains of white men. Close by were two
graves. This tent was a little way inland from the head of
Terror Bay.

" In the spring of 1861, when the snow was nearly all gone,
an Esquiujanx party, conducted by a native well known
throughout northern regions, found two boats, with many
skeletons in and about them. One of those boats had been
previously discovered by McClintock ; the other was Wing
from one-quarter to one-half mile distant, and must have been
completely entombed in the snow at the time ^[cClintock's
parties wero there, or they most assuredly would have seen
it. In and al)Out this boat, l)esides the many skeletons allud-
ed to, were found many relics.

"The same year that the Erebus and Terror wore abandoned,
one of them consummated the great Xorth-west passage, having
five men aboard. The evidence of the exact nund)er is cir-
cumstantial. Everything about this North-west passage ship
of Sir John Franklin's expedition, was in complete order;
four boats were hanging high up at the ship's sides and one
was on the quarter-deck j the vessel was in its winter housing

■ ;

694

HALL S SECOND EXPEDITION.

of Bail or tent cloth. Tliia vessel was fonnd by the Ook-joo-
lik natives, near O'Reilly Island, lat. 68 deg. 30 niin. north,
long. 99 deg. 8 min. west, early in the spring of 184l>, it being
frozen in the midst of a smooth and unbroken lloe of ice of
only one winter's formation.

" To complete the history of Sir John Franklin's last expe-
dition, one must spend a summer on King Williiinrs Land,
with a considerable party, whose only business bliuiikl be to
make searches for records which beyond doubt lie Ituried on
that island. I am certain, from what I have heard the
natives say, and from what I saw myself, that little or nothing
more can be gained by making searches there when the
island is clothed in its winter garb, for the Esiniiuiaiix have
made search after search, over all the coast of Kin^' William's
Land, on either side, from its southern extreme up to Cape
Felix, the northern point, for anything and evcrvthing that
belonged to the comi)anions of Sir John Franklin, and these
searches have been made when the snow had nearly all disap-
peared from the land.

" My sledge coin[mny from Repulse Bay to King William's
Land consisted of eleven souls, all Efaquimanx. Although
they are as unu'nablo as eagles by nature, yet by their aid
alone I was enablud to reach points othe. v< ..e inaccessible,
and when there to gain uuich important information relative
to the fate of Sir John Franklin's expedition. 1 tMod hard
to accomplish far more tlui'i 1 did, btit not one of the com-
pany would, on any account whatever, consent to remain
with me in that country and make a summer tcurch over that
island, which, from information I had gained of the natives,
I had reason to suppose would be rewarded by the discovery
of the whole of the manuscript records that had accumulated
in that great expedition, and been deposited in a vault a lit-
tle way inland or eastward of Cape Victory. Knowing, as I
now do, the character of the Es(juimaux in that ]>art of the
country in which King William's Land is situated, I cannot
wonder at nor blame the Repulse Bay luitivcs for their refn-
eal to remain there, as I desired. It is quite probable that
had we renuiined, as I wished, no one of us would ever have
got out of the country alive, llow could we expect, if we

HALL S SECOND EXPEDITION.

695

had got into straightened circumstances, that we eliould have
received better treatment Irom tlie Esquimaux of thatcoimtry
than the one hundred and iive souls who were under the com-
mand of the heroic Crozier, some time after the landing on
King William's Land ?

" Could I and my party, with reasonable safety, have
remained to make a summer search on King William's Land,
it is not only probable that we should have recovered the
logs and journals of Sir John Franklin's exprditiou, but have
gathered up and entombed the remains of nearly one hundred
of his companions, for they lie about the places where the
three boats have been found, and at the large camping-place
at the head of Terror Bay and the three other ])lact'8 that I
liave already mentioned. In the cove, Avest side of Point
Richardson, however, Nature herself has opened her bosom
and given sepulture to the remains of the immortal heroes
that have died there.

" Wherever I found that Sir John Franklin's companions
had died I erected mimuments, then fired salutes and waved
tlie Star-Spangled Banner over them, in n)emory and respect
of the great and true discoverers of the Xorth-west passage.

" I could have gathered great quantities — a very great
variety — of relies of Sir John Franklin's expoditi(jn, tor they
are now possessed by natives all over the Arctp regions that
I visited or heard of, from Pond's Bay to Mackenzie River.
As it was, I had to be satisfied with taking upon our sledges
about one hundred and twenty-five ]>ouiuls total weight of
relics from natives about King William's Land."

CHAPTER XLni.
THE POLARIS EXPEDITION.

On Capt. Hall's return from liis second residence
among the Esquimaux, lie wisely concluded that a
seven years' search for relics of Sir John Franklin,
whose fate had previously been pretty definitely ascer-
tained, had exhausted that field of Arctic adventure,
and he tiu'ued his attention to the project of a scientific
expeilition toward the North Pole under Government
auspices. His persistent efforts to arouse a national
interest in the enterprise were at length successful, and
Congress appropriated $50,000 for defraying the ex-
penses of an expedition to be sent out in a go vernment
vessel undsr his coihraand.

Captain Hall's plans of operation, as stated byliim
in a lecture given in December, 1870, and reported in
the New Yoi'h World, were in part as follows : —

"Crossing Baflin's Bay, lie will go to Smith's Is-
land, and from thence westward through Jones Sound,
following it for about two hundred miles ; then, after
getting that distance, he will turn to the north, and
go as far as practicable before winter sets in, and
hopes to get as far as 80''. There he \\\\\ Avinter, and
in the spnng of 1872, with all his preparations com-
plete, he will start on a grand sledge journey to the
pole.

CAPTAIN HALL 8 PLANS.

697

" He believes that in sledge traveling lie is an adept.
The natives are very expert in those matters ; but he
thinks he has improved somewhat on them. He has
gone through a full course in the Arctic college, and
thinks he has little to learn in the matter of sledge
traveling. This journey, he expects, "will occupy from
ninety to one hundred days, relying entirely for sup-
port on the provisions obtained on the way. He will
take with hiiu on this journey about half of his crew,
leaving the rest to subsist on whales, seals, and wal-
ruses, or anything else they can obtain.

" Eveiy man in his party will be a picked man.
His sailing master has had twenty years' experience
in the Arctic Seas, and has full faith in him and the
enterprise. His fii"st and second officers have each
had ten years' Arctic experience.

"All of his crew will be trained to live as the
Esquimaux do, and then they can stand the cold ; but
they must eat raw meat, and stick to train-oil. He
(Captain Hall) has eaten in one day fifteen jwunds
of raw meat, washed down with two and a half pints
of train-oil. While men thus live they can defy King
Cold. A whale in those regions is a Godsend ; one
whale is equal to 600 oxen, and affords the best eat-
ing that he has ever enjoyed. In fact, he has always
enjoyed his food better in the Arctic regions than
anywhere else ; and even here among civilized people
the old longing for raAV meat comes on him so strong
sometimes, that he goes away to his closet where no
one can see him and has a good feed of raw meat.
And there is a virtue in it which it loses when
cooked."

The steamer Periwinkle having been designated
for the service, was rechristened the Polaris — the

698

THE POLARIS AKD ITEU CREW.

Latin word for North Star, — and under the supervision
of Capt. Hull wj ited Tip at Washington in the most
thorotigh niannt , The vessel was rigged as a top-
sail schooner and her measurement was 400 tons.

The Polaris steamed out of New York harbor on
the aftemof)n of June 29th 1870, having on board the
following persons ; — • ''-'■'_

Cliarlufl Francis Flail, Commander. Dr. Gmil Besscis, ZoologUt,

R. W. D. Bryan, Astronomer nnd Chaplain. F. Moycr, Meteorologist.
■ Sidney 0. Buddington, Saiiiiig-maBtcr. George E. Tyson, Ass't Navigator.

Hubbard C. Cliostcr, First Mate. Wiiliiim Morton, Second Mate.

Emil Schumann, Chief Engineer, A. A. Odcll, Assi»-tant Engineer.

W. F. Campbell, John W. Booth, Firemen.

John Heron, StcwArd ; William Jackson, Cook ; Natimn J. Coffin, Carpenter.

nermann Siemons, Frederick Auting, J. W. C. Kruger, Henry IIol)by, Joseph B.
Manch, Oustavua Linguist, Peter Johnson, William Ninderaan, Frederick Jamka,
Noah Hayes, Seamen.

Joe, £s({uimaux Interpreter and Hunter; Hannah, Interpreter and Seamstress;
Punna, adopted daughter of Joe and Hannah.

Dr. Bessels was a German savant, who had acquired
Arctic experience in a voyage to Spitsbergen. Meyer,
a native of Prussia, had been detailed from the U. S.
Signal-service liureau to accompany the expedition.
Morton was well known as the discoverer of the
" Open Polar sea ; " he accompanied Kane on his two
Arctic voyages, and was with him in Havana at the
time of liis death.

Cai)tain Buddington, was a sailor of great experi-
ence having followed the sea from boyhood. At the
age of thirteen he acted as cook on a fishing smack in
the Gulf of Mexico ; afterwards he caught mackerel,
and cod-fish in more eastern waters, and while yet a
boy went on a whaling ship to the Southern Pacific.
When the ship was ready to go home, he joined an
empty whaler which had just come to the fishing,
grounds, and returned as her mate, having been absent
from home for a period of six years.

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fllTRTCn OF OTTIcmS.

699

When Bn(l<lington sailed ngaiii it wna ns master of
a wlialing ves;iel, and he had followed that husineaa
ever since, making eleven voyagen to the Arctic seas,
extending over a period of twonty-thveo years. He
commanded the "John Ilenr)," the ship which gave
Hall a free passage outward ;)nd liomeward on his
first journey to the North, and had e\erbeen on friend-
ly terms with the explorer.

Hall knew Rnd<lington well, having spent much
time at his home in Groton, C\>nn., Avhere he was al-
ways welcome as an old friend of the family. In his
pnl)li>*h('d book he speaks of him as "my noble
friend," and relates several circnmstances which go to
show that he considered Buddington to be what he
doubtless was, a brave, capr' ' ) and humane man, un-
8urj)assed by any one tis a safe Ai-ctic navigator.

It was these qualities which led Captain Hall to
select Buddington as navigator of the Polaris. It is
said that he at fii'st reluctantly consented to go, as he
had not much interest in an expedition made, as he
considered, fen* no practical puii)oses ; but the large
pay offered, costly presents, the promise of a pension
to his wife in case of his death, and the chance for
fame if the voyage proved successfid, succeeded in
fascinating him, and he sailed with the expedition.

Captain Tyson, too, was an old whaleman and had
been on several voyages. lie had resided in New
London since 1853, and Ilall had tiiere consulted
with him in reference to his first journey north.
Soon afterward he sailed as master of the Georgiana,
and this ship and the John Ileniy anchored for a
while in the same Greenland harbor, where the
acquaintance was renewed. When Tyson made his
first tri}) to sea, Buddington was mate of the vessel in
which he sailed.

700 BKCEPnON BY THE OEOORAPHIOAL SOCIETY.

Tyson supplied Captain Hall with provisions and
a boat at licpulse Bay in 1865. He sailed in the
Polaris at the urgent request of Hall, without any
stated office, but his appointment as assistant naviga-
tor was sent on by the steamer Congress and reached
him at Disco.

Joe and Hannah were the American names of
Hall's Esquimaux fnends Ebierbing and Tookoolito,
who, since their second an'ival in the Unit> d States,
had ])een living in Groton near the residence of Cap-
tain Buddington. Mr. Chester, the first mate of the
Polaris — an enterprising, reliable, and very capable
man — was also a resident of Groton.

A reception of Captain Hall and his officers by the
American Geographical Society of New Yoik, came
off at the rooms of the society three days before the
departure of the Polaris. An address was made by
the president of the society, Hon. Charles P. Daly,
and Mr. Henry Grinnell presented a flag to Captain
Hall, in the following speech : —

"This is quite a noted flag, and has seen peril by
sea and ice. In 1838 it went with Wilkes' expedi-
tion to a higher latitude toward the Southern Pole
than any American flag ever went before. In 1850
the flag was presented to me by Lieu+enant Walker,
who took it to the Southern regions, with the request
that I would loan it to De Haven. He took it to a
higher latitude in the Northern regions than any
other flag had ever been. Dr. Kane took it, with
another expedition, to a still higher northern latitude.
When Dr. Hayes went on his expedition I loaned it
again to him, and he carried it about thirty-seven
miles higher than an American flag hed ever been
before.

A FAMOUS FLAO.

701

*' Now I give it to you, sir. Take it to the North
Pole, and Ijriiig it back a year from next October."

Captain Hall on ifceiving the flag said : —

" I really feel from the bottom of my soul that this
flag, in the spring of 1872, will flcat over a new
world ; a new world ^ in which the North Pule star is
its crowning jewei."

Captain Hull also made an address, in which he
spoke of the Arctic regions as his home, which he
loved dearly, among whose storms, winds, glaciers,
and icebergs he seemed to be in an earthly heaven or
a heavenly earth. lie said that he had chosen his
own men, and that they would stand by him through
thick and thin to the last extremity. lie gratefully
acknowledged the assistance which he had received
while planning and preparing the expedition, and
complimented the 41 st Congress as follows: —

" I called upon the congressmen, republicans and
democrats. The encouragement that I received from
all was overwhelming ; and I must say to you here
to-night, speaking the truth, that never in my life
did I believe that there were so many good — glorious
good — souls as I found there in the Congress of the
United States, You have no idea of the tasks they
perform — of their incessant labor."

The Polaris stopped at New London, left there on
the 3d of July, and arrived at St. John's, Newfound-
land, on the 11th, where the party were hosi)itably
entertained. During their stay here a reception and
banquet were given to the officers at the house of the
Governor; and the exi)lorers left on the 10th, accom-
panied by thc! good wishes of the inhabitants.

On the 27th of July the Polaris entered the harbor
of Fiskernaes, Greenland, the birth-place of Hans
40

■ i,

i !:

702

TIIE EXPEDITION AT TIPERNAVIK.

Christian, whose services Capt. Hall wished to secure.
Hans, however, was not there, hut at a settlement
further north. Continuing on, the explorers reached
Holsteinberg on the 31st, and there met Captain Von
Otter's Swedish Arctic Expedition which was theu
on its way home.

Leaving Holsteinberg on the 3d of August, the
Polaris anchored the next day off the port of God-
haven or Lievely, on the island of Disco, and there
awaited the arrival of the U. S. steamship Congress,
wliich had been sent to carry coal and provisions for
the use of the expedition.

While at Disco dissensions arose among some of
the officers of the Polaris as to their respective rank
and duties ; but the arrival of the Congress had a
salutary effect, and through the interference of Ct {ii-
mander Davenport of that steamer, a good under-
standing was apparently re-established.

The Polaris left Godhavn on the 17th of August,
amid thb cheers of the crew of the Congress, and ar-
rived the next day at Upernavik where she took on
board Hans Christian, the Esquimaux who had accom-
panied Drs. Kane and Hayes in their voyages to the
North, with his wife and three children ; also some
dogs, seal-skins and coal. On the 2l8t the voyage
north was resumed, and at Tessuisak, which was
reached the next day. Captain Hall made his last
adieu to the civilized world in the following letter,
which reached its destination by way of Copenhagen
in just about one year after it was written. Notliing
later respecting the expedition was known by civilized
people until a. portion of the crew were rescued from
the ice nearly two years 8ub8ec[ueutly, as related in
next chapter.

ss»»»»'~^-=

HALLS LETTER FEOM TESSUISAK.

Latitude 73° 21 '10", Longitude 56«> 54' 5^' W.,")
United States Steamship Polaris,

ToSSAO OK TeSSUISAK, GltEENLAND, (

August 22(1, 1871.

Sir — I have the honor to report my proceedings
since the dates (August 20th and 2l8t) of ray last
communication, written at Upernavik. It was
half -past eiglit P. M. of August 21st when we left
the harbor of Upernavik, having on board Govern-
or Elberg, of whom I made j^revious mention, and
several of his people, bound for this place on a vis-
it. After steaming twelve miles to the northwest and
westAvard we hauled up in front of a small island
settlement called King-i-toke, where Governor Elberg
and myself, Avith a boat's crcAv, went ashore to pur-
chase dogs, furs and other re(piisites for the expe-
dition. I was able, after considerable difficulty, to
get eleven dogs to add to the number already pos-
sessed by the Polaris. Having spent two hours at
King-i-toke we returned aboard.

At one A. M., August 22d, we renewed our voyage
for Tossac, making our way, by the aid of good na-
tive pilots, among the numei'ous reefs, rocks and
islands with which Upernavik and vicinity abound.
At half-past five A. M. of the 2 2d we arrived at Tos-
sac. At once I called on Jensen, and to my astonish-
ment and disappointment found that a mistake had
been made in any one of us expecting that his consent
could be obtained to leave his home at the present
time.

By the full consent and co-operation of the govern-
ment authorities of Denmark resident in Greenland,
I have concluded a contract with Hans Christian, by
which he enters the service of the United States North

m -

in*::

:! i

704

hall's letter from TES8UISAK.

Polar Expedition as dog driver, hunter and servant.
The wife and three children are to accompany Hans.
The prospects of the expedition are fine — the weather
beautiful, clear and unexceptionally warm. Every
preparation has been made to bid farewell to civiliza-
tion for several yeara, if need be, to accomplish our
purpose. Our coal bunkers are not only full, but we
have fully ten tons on deck, besides wood, planks, tar
and rosin in considerable quantities, that can be used
for steaming purposes in any emergency. Never was
an Arctic expedition more completely fitted out than
this.

The progress of the Polaris so far has been quite
favorable, making exceedingly good passages from
port to port — first from Washington to New York,
thence to New London; then to St. John's, N. F., and
thence to Greenland. First to Fiskernaes, then to Hoi-
Steinberg, thence to Godhavn, Upernavik, and this
port (Tossac), the last link binding us to the land of
civilization. The actual steaming or sjiiling time of
the Polaris from Washington to New York Avas sixty
hours, and from the latter place to this — the most
northern civilized settlement of the world, unless there
be one for us to discover at or near the North Pole —
has been twenty days seven hours and thirty minutes.
There is every reason to rejoice that ('V(M'ytliing per-
taining to the expedition, under the rulings of High
Heaven, is in a far more prosperous and substantially
successful condition than even I had hoped or prayed
for. We are making every eifort to leave here to-mor-
row. I will at the latest moment resume my place in
continuinc' this communicaticm.

Evening, August 23d, 1871. — We did not get under
way to-day, as expected, because a heavy, dark fog
has prevailed all day, and the same now continues.

HALL'S GOOD-BYE TO CIVILIZATIOIT.

ro5

The venture of steaming out into a sea of undefined
reefs and sunken rocks, under the present circum-
stances, could not be undertaken. The full number
of dogs (sixty) required for the expedition, is now
made up. At the several ports of Greenland where
we have 8top[)ed we have been successful in obtaining
proper food for the dogs.

Aug. 24: 1 P. M. — The fog continues, and we cannot
wait for its dispersion, for a longer delay will make
it doubtful of the expedition securing the veiy high
latitude I desire to obtain before enterinij into winter
quarters. A g(K>d pilot has offered to do his very best
in conducting the Polaris outside of the most imminent
danger of the r^efs and rocks. Now, half-past one
P. M., the anchor of the Polaris has Just been weighed,
and not again ^vill it go down till, as I trust and pray,
a higher, a far higher latitude has been attained than
ever before by civilized man. Governor Elberg is
about accom[);inying us out of the harbor and seaAvard.
He leaves us when the pilot does.

Governor Lowertz Elberg has rendered to this ex-
pedition much service, and long will I remember him
for his great kindness. I am sure you and my coun-
tiy will fully api)i'eciate the hosj)ita]ity and co-opera-
tion of the Diinish officials in Greenland as relating to
our North Polar Expedition.

Now, at a ([uarter past two, the Polaris bids adieu
to civili;iatioii.

Governor Mllteig leaves lis, promising to take these
despatches b;ick to Upernavik and to send them to
our Minister at Copenhagen by the next ship, Avhich
opportunity may not be until next year. God be with

us. Yours ever,

C. F. HALL

To Gkokok M. Robeson, Secretary of the Navy,
Washington.

)%
??

CHAPTER XLIV.

ADRIFT ON THE FLOES.

• Ox the 30th day of April, A. D. 1873, as the steamei
Tigress, of St. John's, Newfouiulhmd, Avas steaming
some forty miles off the coast of Labrador on a sealing
expedition, she was hailed, about five o'clock iii the
morning, by an Ej^quimaux, wlio padilled alongside in
bis kyak and called the attention of her crew to a
group of miserable looking men, women, and children,
who were adrift on an ice floe, near Avhich, in a dense
fog, the steamer had providentially come.

The Tigress immediately headed for the castaways,
her crew giving and receiving hearty cheers as they
drew near. Two boats were immediately sent off,
and the whole party were soon on board the steamer,
where Capt. Bartlett and his crew of one hundred
and twenty Newfoundland fishermen treated them
with much hospitality and kindness,
; The rescued party num})ered ninetct'ii persons, ten
white men and nine Es<piimaux. Brictly, tlieir story
was a feai-ful and thrilling one. They Avere a ])oi-tion
of the ofticers and crew of the Arctic steamer Polaiis,
and the Esquimaux connected with the Expedition.
They were separated from their steamer on the night
. of Oct, 15th, during a snow storm and a heavy gale
which had suddenly driven the vessel off' from the ice

e steamei
steaming
. a sealing
L;k iii the
jngside in
crew to a
I children,
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castaways,
rs as they
r sent off,
e steamer,
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ited them

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1 a ])ortion
er Tolaris,
Ixpedition.
I the night
heavy gale
om the ice

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PICKED UP BY TIIK TIGRESS.

707

floe to which she was fastened, leaving the pai-ty
behind on tlie ice. Not being able to regain the ship
or to reach the land, they ha<i remained on the floes
for one hundred and ninety-six days, duiing which
time, exposed to hunger, and the winds, waves, and
frozen convnilsions of an Arctic winter, they had
drifted southerly some fifteen hundred miles. Capt.
Hall died on board the Polaris on the 8th day of
November, 1871, and was buried in a frozen grave.
Of the fate of the ship and the balance of the crew
they knew nothing.

As the Tigress had not secured a full complement
of seals she continued northward for several days,
encountering heavy drifting ice, but meeting with
poor success in catching seals. On the 7tli of May she
was headed south, and arrived at Bay Roberts, a fish-
ing port near St. John's, on the 9th of May.

Here the Tigress remained till the 12th of May,
The party went ashore, and were veiy kindly received
by the inhabitants. Tliey were also visited by many
gentlemen from St. John's, including the ubicpiitous
correspondent of the Neio York Herald^ and through
his enterprise the sad news of the death of Capt. Hall
appeared in that paper of May 10th. The news of
the disaster to the Arctic Eirpedition reached St. John's
on the 9th of May, and the U. S. Consul immediately
telegraphed to Washington, D. C, an official announce-
ment thereof.

The inhabitants of St. John's have a thorough
knowledge of the dangers of the Arctic Seas, and M^ere
able to understand the sufferings and privations which
the abandoned mariners must have endured ere they
were rescued. Therefore the arrival of the Tigress
with the survivors was impatiently expected at that

708

EXCITEMENT AT ST. JOHN 8

poi-t, and no sooner had the ship dropped anchor in
the harbor on the 12th, than crowds, putting off in
hoats, l)esieged the decks, and overwhelmed the stran-
gers Avith intense curiosity and toiTents of questions
as to tlie origin of their strange condition, and the
unparalleled jiowei's of endurance which had brought
them triumphantly through so many stupendous penla

But if the excitement on board the vessel was consid-
erable, the scene as the boats approached the shore
was one of wildest enthusiasm. It happened that
there was ice in the harbor, which in certain places
obstructed their passage, and as the boats' heads were
turned one way or another to obtain an entrance,
dense columns of people of all classes moved up and
down the cpiays lining the water of the harbor, accord-
ing as the course seemed to be directed to one point
or another.

At the landing an impetuous inish was made to
obtain a view of the novel strangers. The Esquimaux
children were carried through the streets on the
shoulders of some of the prominent citizens, and the
whole party was escorted to homes which had been
previously provided for them by the U. S. Consul,
Avho had been instnicted by the Hon. George M.
Robeson, Secretaiy of the Navy, to advance money
and every requisite assistance to the long suffering
mariners.

The rescued party consisted of the following per-
sons : Geoi'ge E. Tyson, assistant navigator ; Frederick
Meyer, meteorologist ; J. W. C. Kruger, G. W. Lin-
quist, Frederick Auntiny, Peter Johnson, Frederick
Jamka, and William Linderman, seamen ; John Her-
ron, stcAvard ; William Jackson, cook ; and the follow-
ing Esquimaux : Joe, his mfe Hannah, and his adopted

HANS AND HIS FAMILY.

709

daughter Punna ; Hans Christian, his -wife, and his
children Augustina, Tobias, Lucci, and a l)aby which
was born on board the Polaris only two months before
the company parted from that vessel. This child was
baptized during the stay of its parents at St.John's.

With the exception of Hans and his interesting
family, all of these persons were members of the expe-
dition from its start. Hans, his wife, and three chil-
dren, joined it at Upernavik. This is the same Hans
who accompanied Dr. Kane on his second expedition,
diu'ing the trying vicissitudes of which he acted well
his part. He subsequently went with Dr. Hayes'
expedition, and has figured in Sunday-school literature
as the devout Moravian. When Dr. Kane's party last
saw Hans he was driving south with Shang-hu's pretty
daughter by his side, and it is presumed that she is
the present Mrs. Hans.

The news of the death of Capt. Hall caused sorrow
throughout the country ; while the meagre story of
the drift on the ice excited deep and al)sor])ing inter-
est, mingled with doubts as to its truth. It was
claimed that such experiences were unparalleled and
highly improbable ; and reasoning from the strange
separation from the ship, the reticence of Capt. Tyson,
the discoi'd among the officers at Disco, and the suspi-
cious circumstances attending the death of Capt. Hall,
the public began to believe that there had l)een foul
play somewhere. Not a few accepted the theory that
Hall had been poisoned by some one remaining behind
with the ship, and that Capt. Buddington had will-
fully deserted those who, at his own command, had
betaken themselves to the ice. The friends of Bud-
dington claimed, on the other hand, that back of all
was a story of mutiny and desertion which would

SUSPICIONS OP FOUL PLAY — THE FROLIO.

only he brought to hght by the return of the Polaris.

Tinder these circumstances, and in view of the fact
that the Polaris had been sent out by the Government,
and that it might be in need of assistance, it was con-
sidered of great importance that the authorities at
Washington should be put, as soon as possible, in
possession of full and reliable knowledge of all the
facts of the case. The Secretary of the Navy there-
fore, in the absence of any regular communication
with St. John's, sent the U. S. Steamer Frolic, Com-
mander C. M. Schoonmaker, to bring the party direct
to Washington. She sailed from New York, for that
purpose, May 15th.

The Frolic arrived at St. John's, May 23d. Taking
the Polaris party on board, she started on her home-
ward trip on the 28th, and arrived at the Washington
Na\^ Yard on the 5th of June. Commander Schoon-
maker reported that he had had no troul)le with his
charge, and that they were all well-behaved, orderly
people. lie had formed a very favorable opinion of
Capt. Tyson, and considered him a remarkably intelli-
gent man.

Orders were given that no person should be allowed
to communicate with any one on the Frolic, and an
examination of the Polaris party was commenced the
same afternoon at the navy yard before the Secretary
of the Nax-y, Commodore William Reynolds, Professor
Spencer F. Baird of the Smithsonian Institution, and
Capt. H. W. Ilowgate of the Signal Service. The
investigation lasted six days and was veiy thorough,
each member of the party being separately examined
under oath, excepting Mrs. Hans Christian, Punny,
and the little Christians. The results of this investi-
gation will be given at length in following chapters.

)lari8.
e fact
raent,
,9 con-
ies at
)le, in
all the
tliere-
ication
!, Com-
■ direct
or that

Taking
r home-
hington
Schoon-
,vith his
orderly
inion of
iutelli-

CHAPTER XLV.
THE STORY OF THE ICEDRIFT PARTY.

Backicd by a ghieier uiul fronted 1 )y a l);iy, Tessiiisak,
the nu)>t northeni abode of civilized man, lias the
characttM'istic features of an Es(|uiinaux village; dirt
and grease all the jear ai'ound, dark for four months,
accessible through tlie floating ice of an Arctic Sum-
mer for only two. But Tessuisak has an importance
of its own. Here Arctic explorers cut the last link
that binds them to home and friends, lieie the Polaris
cast off from civilization, August 24tli, 1871, and here
the history of the ex^iedition as told by the rescued
survivors of the ice-drift beijins.

For three days the sliij) steamed up Smith's Sound
through the usual perils of Arctic navigation. Past
Kane's ^vinter-quarters and the abandoned Advance;
through the bero-s Avith Avhich the uieat Humboldt
Glacier on the right filled the sea; now dodging a
berg and now sailing past a floe the stout ship Avent
on, "going against ice like one berg going against
another'' says one of the sailors enthusiastically.
Already farther than any vessel had ever sailed to
the Avest of Greenland, she still kept to the North
through Kennedy's Channel, till Kane's " Open Polar
Sea " was proved a bay and named after the vessel
that first cut its waters ; till Cape Lieber, for ten

,1*

ill ^'^"

m '

r 1 <

1 ■

:«

ifr^

Hi
M

712

THE I'OLAUIS IN Illflll LATITUDE.

yeai-s the limit of northern discovery, IlayeH* final
ncliievenient, lay untern, — on, through u hundred miles
of new discoveries, into Robeson's Channel, now firet
named.

On Wednesday, August 30th, the mints of ap-
jM'oaching ice-fields shut around the vessel, and her
engines were stopped ; she lay beset by ice at a
higher latitude than any ship had ever been — 82'''16'.
Parry's sledges, after Aveeks of toil, had ])enetrated
but thirty-four miles farther. The coveted [)rize of a
life-time lay almost within Captain Hall's i,n!isp. The
Pole, over \vhich he had fondly dreamed of anchoring
the vessel he conunanded, was but five hundied and
twenty-nine miles away — only four days' sail, and he
had gone nearly twice the distance in the week
before. The an eather was warm ; six weeks of the
long day were still his. A gale from the south, a
bold dash thi-ongh an opening lead, and the Polaris
might furl iier sails in the starlit calm of a Polar sea.

After being tied to a floe for a few hours the
Polaris steamed eastward, where Ilall in a small boat
examined an inlet, but as the place was not suitable
for a harbor he called it Repulse Bay. He then
steamed westward and fastened to a floe for the night.
After a council of officers, in which Buddington was
in favor of gaining a winter harbor without delay, an
unsuccessful attempt was made to penetrate north,
and as a residt, the Polaris was soon helpless in the
midst of the paclc, and for four days drifted southerly
with it.

When released from the ice the Polaris was headed
eastward, and, at a small inlet of Polaris liay, found
a tolerably secure anchorage in the lee of a stranded
ice-berg in latitude 81''38^ Only ten days had

elapsed si

nien('('(| ; I

the little ii

tlie hospit

Providence

an Arctic t

ing on the

his flag, "ii

dent of tlie

In a few

ice. 'J^lie s

Iiigh, protoc

and brown,

two thousa

wliich bouii

Polar Star i

nieasuremen

degrees nori

Capt. Hall

The mounta

crests fifteeii

out the suil

horizon.

The sidesi
and her dvdi
The dog?), fl
and placed
week. The
New York,
of seventeen!
shore, and tl
an Arctic ni]
Three or fj
they were bl

TUANK GOD nARBOR,

VI 3

elapsed since tlio voyage from Tessuisak was com-
menced ; but the <laiigers escaped were eiioiigli to give
the little inlet it's name of Tliank God TLirbor, and
the hospitable berg was dignified witli the title of
Providence lierg. At midnight, in the full light of
an Arctic summer, Captain Hall made a formal land-
ing on the cojist he had discovered, and raised over it
l)is flag, " in the name of the Lord, and for the Presi-
dent of the LTnited States."

In a f(!W days the Polaris was firmly frozen in the
ice. The sloj)ing side of Providence Berg, sixty feet
high, protected the vessel seaward. High cliffs, l)ai'e
and brown, rose landward to the height of nearly
two thousand feet, and sank away into the hills
which bounded a broad and wide shore plain. The
Polar Star stood so nearly in the zenith that actual
measui'emeut was required to prove it to be eight
degrees north. In the coming spring and summer
Capt. Ilall hoped to place it directly over his head.
The mountains of inner Greenland lifted their white
ci'ests fifteen miles away, and alr'^ady began to shut
out the sunlio-ht in its circlinif march around the
horizon.

The sides of the Polaris were banked with snow
and her deck' roofed from stem to stern with canvas.
The dogs, fifty-four in numbei', were tiK^en ashore
and placed in kennels, where they were fed twicu a
week. The o1)servatory, a frame building inade in
New York, -was erected on the cliffs at an elevation
of seventeen hundred feet. Provisions were put on
shore, and the other usual preparations for spending
an Arctic night in high latitudes completed.

Three or four weeks of daylight still remained and
they were busily employed. Hans and Joe brought

:r .3

hr:

714

HALL S JOUBNEY TO THE NORTH.

in musk-oxen, hares, lemmings, and specimens of a
small burrowing rat. White foxes were found in
large numbers. The valleys bore bright-colored
flowers, red and blue being the prevailing tints, and
trailing willows — the only representatives of the trees
of a warmer clime. The sea swarmed with the minute
life of an Arctic ocean, and the air was populous with
the birds with which previous chapters have made
the reader familiar.

As he survej'^ed all these tokens of a still Avaxmer
climate further north, it must have been with no
ordinary hopes of auccess that Captain Hall looked
forward to the sledge Journeys of the coming spring;
and preliminary thereto he left the Polaris on the
10th of October, accompanied by Mr. Chester, Joe
and Hans, with two sledges and fourteen dogs. '

Setting out on this expedition, the first step taken
by Captain Hall fell upon land more northern than
white man's foot had ever before touched. In the
progress of the journey — unhappily the last that
Captain Hall ^va8 to make toward the Pole — he dis-
covered a river, a lake, and a large inlet which he
named Newman's Bay. At Cape Brevoort, he
rested, and there wrote his last dispatch to the
Secretary of the Navy, the original draft of which
was found, in his own handwriting, in his writing-
desk, on its examination in Washington after it was
delivered to the Secretary of the Navy by Joe, who
had kept tlie desk in his custody from the time it was
picked up on the ice, after the separation of the
rescued party from the ship. This dispatch is as
follows: — . ;

HALL 8 LAST DISPATCIL

of a
ind in

olored
:8, and
e trees
ninute
IS witli
! made

vaimer
itli no
looked
spring ;
on the

p taken

rn than
In the
t that

-he dis-
lich he

ort, he

to the

Avhich

writing-

r it was

)P, who

; it was

of the

ch is as

Sixth Snow-house Encampment, Cape Brevoobt.
North side Entrance to Newman's Bay,
{latitude 82* 3' north, longitude 61» 20' west),

October 20, 1871.

" To THE Honorable Secretary of the United States
Navy, George M. Robkson :

"Myself tirul party, consisting of Mr. Chester, first mate,
my Esquimaux Joe, and Greenland Esquiuiiiux Hans, left
the ship in winter quarters, Thank God Harbor, latitude 81®
38' north, longitude 61* 44' west, at meridian of October 10,
on a journey by two sledges, drawn by fourteen dugs, to
discover, if ]5ossible, a feasible route inland for my sledge
journey next sp'-itig to reach the North Pole, purposing to
adopt such a route, if found, better than a route over the
old floes and hummocks of the strait, which I have denomi-
nated Jlobeson Strait, after the honorable Secretary of the
United States Navy.

"We arrived on the evening of October 17, saving dis-
covered a lake and a river on our way ; the latter, our route,
a most serpentine one, which led us on to this bay, fifteen
miles distant from here, southward and eastward. From
the top of an icel)erg, near the mouth of said river,
we could see that this bay, which I have named after
Rev. Dr. Newman, extended to the highland eastward
and southward of that position about fifteen miles, making
the extent of iS'cwiijan's Bay, from its headland or cape,
full thirty miles.

"The south capo is a high, bold, and noble headland. I
have named it Sunmer Headland, after Hon. Charles Sumner,
the orator and United States Senator; and the north cape,
Brevoort Cape, after J. Carson Brevoort, a strong friend to
Arctic discoveries.

" On arriving hero we found the mouth of Newman's Bay
open water, having numerous seals in it, bobbing up their
heads; this open water making close both to Sumner Head-
land and Capo Brevoort, and the ice of Robeson Strait oa
the move, thus debarring all possible chance of extending
our journey on the ice up the strait.

l! ■' \

III

I t

•iP

716

hall's last dispatch.

i\ i

" Thft nioTintainoiia iand (none other about here) will not
admit of our journeying further north, and as the time of
our expected abseuc: avi,.-' r.nderstood to be for two weeks,
wfi commence our roi n.' '^rrow morning. To-day we

arg storm-bound to th ■! our aixUi encampment.

•' From Cape Brevoort we can see land extending on the
west side of the strait to th«> north 22° west, and distant
about seventy miles, thus making land we discover as far as
latitude 83" 5' north.

"There is appearance of land further north, and extending
more easterly than what I have just noted, but a peculiar
dark nimbus cloud that constantly hangs over what seems
may be land prevents my making a full determination.

" On August 30, the Polaris made her greatest northing
latitude 82° 29' north ; but after several attempts to get her
further north, she became beset, wlior v,o were drifted down
to about latitude 8i° 30', "When ■. jponing occurred we
steamed out of the pack and ! i;dn i.-rbor September 3,
where the Polaris is. [Corii r •! \lo manuscript here
burned off.]

" Up to the time I and my (jari) 'O^' he ship all have
been well, and continv.o with high hopes of accouiplishing
our great mission.

" We find this a much warmer country than we expected.
From Cape Alexander the mountains on either side of the
Kennedy Channel and Robeson Strait wo found entirely
bare of snow and ice, with the i^xception of a glacier that we
saw covering about latitude •■. ^ 30' east side the strait, and
extending in a east-northen.s, Viri^ction as far as can bo seen
from the mountains by Polaris .'^ •.

" We have found that the country abounds with life, and
sealjj, s'avuo, ,T;cn?e, ducks, musk-cattle, rabbits, wolves, foxus,
be.Nrj, partri(v ', Icnnnings, etc. Our scalers have shot twt)
seals in the open water while at this encampment. Our long
Arctic night commenced October 13, having seen only the
upper limb of the sun above the glacier at meridian October
12. This dispatch to Secretary of the Navy I finislicl this
moment, 8.23 p. m., having written it in ink in our snowliut,

DEATH OF CAPTAIN HALL.

I -will not

time of

'0 weeks,

0-day we

ig on tlie
id distant
r as far as

extending
a peculiar
;hat seems
tion.

t nortiiing,
s to get ber
•ifted down
)ccnrred we
sptember 3,
iscript here

ip all have
coniplishing

c expected.

Bide of tlie
;nd entirely
,cier that we
le strait, and
i can be seen

ntb life, and
•olvcs, foxo!*,
ivc Bbot two
t. Our b»"t?
seen only the
diiin October
tinisbed this
ur snow- but,

lihe thermometer outside minus 7°. Yesterday all day the
thermometer minus 20 to 23°; that is, 20® minus to 23®
minus Fahrenheit."

"Copy of dispatch placed in pillar, Brevoort Cape,
October 21, 1871."

Captain Hall had hoped, when he left the Polaris
on this journey, to advance noi-thward at least a hun-
dred miles ; but after having gone about fifty lie Avas
compelled, by the condition of the chore and of the ice
and by the state of the climate, to return and await
the approach of spring for another attempt. He
reached the ship on the 24th of October, appar-
ently in his usual health, but was attacked the same
day with sickness of the stomach and vomiting; and,
taking to his bed, the next day was found to be se-
riously ill. Dr. Bessels attended him professionally,
and he recovered sufficiently to leave his bed, to move
about his cabin a little, and to attempt to attend to
business ; but he soon had a relapse, became again de-
lirious, and died on the 8th of November 1871, from
attacks of apoplexy, a8 was generally reported and
believed.

Dui'ing his illness, Captain Hall was nursed by the
faithful and affectionate Hannah, and she and her
liusband were greatly grieved at the loss of their old
and well-tried friend. The following is her account
of his sickness : —

" About an hour after getting on bonvd, Captain
Hall sent the little girl to call me up. I found Mr.
Morton undressing him and washing his feet. Cap-
tain Hall was sick. He spoke about being sick and
vomiting, I asked him if he had got cold. He said
he felt well enough in the morning. Next day very

sick. Worse than last night. I observed him close.

Bii.t'

?Ili':i

3 'i

iit

■

■f '

ill /J!

JOE S STORY.

He was very sleepy. He felt bail. Did not say
much.

" After lie had been bad about the head he began
to get better. Then he talked about the coffee. ^ aid
it made him sick. Too sweet for him. When some-
thing was the matter with his head, and he was hal-
looing and talking, he talked of somebody having
poisoned him, but only when he was crazy. I do not
b.elieve any body b "d poisoned him."

Joe, who acjompanied Capt. Hall to Newman's
Bay, gives the following account of his sickness and
death : —

"I had driven sledge very hard, and after supper
went to sleep down stairs. Captain Hall did not eat
supper, l>ut only took cup of coffee. I did not see
Mm that night. 'I saw him next morning, Sunday
morning. He did not speak. He remained abed.
After breakfast he asked to speak to me. He says,
'Very sick last night.' I asked him ' What is the mat-
ter.' He says, ' I do not know. I took a cup of coffee.
In a little while very sick and vomiting.' He Avas
sick the first time two or three days. Complained
of stomach, headache, and bone-nche. After he got
better I go see him every da}' — ever}' night. After a
while something the matter with head. Did not
know anything. Perhaps crazy. I tried to speak
him. He did not know me. I wish to stay with him.
Captain Hall called me to stay with him. After he
got better, I asked him what made him sick. He
says, * I don't know.' Everybody went to breakfast.
I staid with him. I said I was very glad lie was
better. He said 'I have been sick. Don't know
whether I will live or not.' I asked l-'.m, * Do you
know what is matter ? ' He says, ' I can't tell what

t say-
began

^aid

some-
is hal-
having
do not

Oman's

ess and

supper
not eat
not see
Sunday
d abed.
le says,
the mat-
)f coffee.
lie was
iiplalued
L- he got
After a
Did not
to speak
vlth him.
After he
aek. He
breakfast.
lI he -vvas
I't know
^ ' Do yon
tell what

li
w

r
P
it.

11 :

■M

ml-

tfi:

'Is

i 1

1 11^

ill

FUNERAL OF CAPTAIN HALL.

719

is the matter. Bad stomach. Very bad stomach.'
After getting breakfast I wanted to find out what
waa the matter with him. A man came down into
the cabin, and he said notliing to me more. After
that Hannah talked to him. Every morning I was
absent seal-hunting. I overheard Captain Budding-
ton talk about Captain Hall. I wanted to hear.
Captain Buddington said he was sick again. Did
not know me. Once in a while he called, ' Halloo,
Joe ! ' Then did not know me. Two nights he wa3
very sick. Died two nights and one day after."

It takes two days to dig a grave ^vith picks and
ice-chisels and axes in the flint-like ground, and on
the third day after his death, the crew, dressed in
their Arctic clothing and with lanterns in their hands,
bear to their long rest the remains of their loved and
honored commander. The bier, covered with the
national flags, rests on a sledge which the men, in
procession, two by two, draw gently by the rope. Fol-
lo^ving the sledge, the Escpiiiiiaux straggle on in
bewilderment and grief at the scene. The flag on
the observatory droops at half-mast, and the ice-bound
waters of Polaris Bay shimmer in the clear Uglit of
the stars and in the more fitfid gleams of the
evanescent Auroras. At the grave, by tlie light of
" lanterns dimly burning," Mr. Bryan reads the fune-
ral services.

A rude head-board marks the shallow resting-
place of the lost explorer. For long months round i ,
sweeps the un setting sun in the long circles of an
Arctic day, and over it shines the Polar star. It is
fitting that they, and they alone, should keep watch
and ward over the grave of one who so nearly stolo
fi'om Nature, secrets which their eyes alone have
rested on.

720

THE WINTER AT POLABIS BAT.

Ten days after Captain Hall's burial, the Polaris
felt the first real dangers of Arctic navigation. For
forty-eight hours a severe gale accompanied by a
snow-storm swept from the north-east, and the ice
around the ship began to crack and the snow-wall,
laboriously banked as a protection • for the winter, to
settle. The next day the ice broke all around ^.he
vessel, the snow-wall sunk out of sight, and in the ice
that crashed in about the ship from the shore, her
port anchor ceased to hold. It was a moment of
intense peril. In the darkness of a whirling snow-
storm and an Arctic night, so dense that ol)jects
twenty feet distant were invisible, she was drifting —
drifting, with the sloping wall of Providence Berg
full in her lee. Her starboard anchor rattled down,
but the Polaris dragged two anchors as easily as she
had one. Forced on by the ice, and driven by the
moving hurricane, the crew watched momentarily for
the wall of sloping ice that was to wreck or save
their craft. For two hours they kept their watch
through the wreathing snow. The vessel was less
than half its own length from the berg when the
great white wall that rose half-mast high above them
was discovered by the anxious crew.

Providence Berg was again their salvation. Vol-
unteers were called for to moor the ship to the berg.
William Linderman, seaman, jierformed the danger-
ous duty. Cutting steps in the smooth icy slope
with a hatchet, he fastened an ice-hook. Other lines
were made fast aft in the same manner, by fastening
heavy iron hooks, weighing seventy-five pounds, in
the berg, and the vessel rode once more in safety.
Some of *he stores and three of the sleighs, one a
companion of Dr. Kane, were lost in the breaking ice;
fortunately the dogs were in safety on board.

THE WINTER AT POLARIS BAT.

721

A week later and another gale broke from a di-
rectly opposite quarter — the south-west. The iceberg
to which they had moored in their peril seemed
likely to prove their destruction. Ice from the strait
without crowded in upon it. The immense mass
moved slowly toward the little steamer which lay moor-
ed twenty feet from its base. Under the enormous
pressure the great block of ice broke. It must have
sounded like the crack of doom to the seamen, who
saw their only protection from southerly gales part-
ing before them. Half of the berg drifted on to the
vessel. The ice had been piled high and deep behind
her by the previous gale. There was small chance of
moving shoreward. When the nip came she rose
bodily in the air. Foot by foot, her timbers crack-
ing, her seams opening, her whole frame quivering in
the terrible embrace, the Polaris rose. A projecting
spur struck her, and the ship went over till her deck
was too steep to walk upon. There on her beam
ends she lay the winter through.

The long winter wore away. There was little to
relieve the dreary monotony of enforced idleness.
The steep, sloping deck was roofed ^vith canvas and
dimly lighted by a lantern. Below, there was
warmth, comfort, and comparative luxury. No better
proof of the thorough and careful equipment of the
Polaris, or of the excellence of the stores, and we
may add of the discipline of her commander, in spite
of testimony to the contrary, need be given, than the
fact that the whole winter passed without a case of
scurvy. Some few symptoms were felt, but they all
disappeared under treatment.

Without the vessel, silence, cold, desolation, reign-
ed supreme. By the side of the steamer rose the

122

OUTSIDE THE SHIP.

jagged and splintered sides of the berg, gleaming
brightly in the moonlight, reddened by auroral flash-
es, or standing white and ghostly under the stars.
Across the heaped and broken shore-ice a well trod-
den path led to the ob8ervator}^ Hourly observa-
tions were hekl there, and the path was a familiar one ;
but when a storm came, and the berg faded out of
sight, and the whole atmosphere was full of diiv-
ing snow so fine that it sifted through clothing and
could only be kept out by furs, men staggered
along the familiar track, scarcely able to reach the
ship, but a few yards off. Near by were the huts
in which the Esquimaux of the expedition passed
the winter.

The Polaris lay undisturbed on her icy dock, but
teriific gales kept the strait ice in motion. Bergs
were continually sweeping it clear of ice and at no
time was it closed by ice more than a few weeks old.
The entire mass showed clear signs of a drift south-
ward. This fact and the drift-wood discovered in a
journey afterwards undertaken, prove that Smith
Sound and the chain of straits above it, all communi-
cate at length Avith open water. To reach this, if
possible, in boats was now the object of the exjilorers.

The work was begun promptly. In the darkness
of the last week in January, Dr. Bessels pushed to
the north in a sledge with eight dogs and two mem-
bers of the crew. Nine miles away they were checked
by an ice-bound cape, which they could not climb,
and returned, having noted only that the ice in the
strait was drifting loosely in the current. The next
day another party made an attempt along the mount-
ain chain, but with equal ill-success. The steep ice-
clad cliffs could not be scaled. It was too plainly

EETUENINO DAT.

728

the niglit wlien no man can work. They must wait
for daylight.

A month later, Febiniary 28th, as noon drew near,
there came a glad che*^: from the little eonij)any.
For a hundred and thirty-four days they had timed
the hours l)y their watches, by the stars, by the moon,
by everything except daylight; and now the stars
faded utterly away, and the sun rose over the glisten-
ing peaks of the mountains that had fringed for a
month past the twilight of the coming day. In a
few moments the sun was gone. But the long dark-
ness was over. The greatest extreme of cold was yet
to come ; there were yet four months of weary wait-
ing in the ice; but henceforth daily the sun rose
above the horizon, and the diaries and conversations
of the men all take a more cheerful turn.

Early in March Hans patience was rewarded by a
seal, and before April was gone nearly all the game
had returned. Strangely enough the musk-oxen came
from the north-west. These animals were smaller than
those found in Labrador, and > 'thout the strong musky
smell which makes their flesl: .xipalatable. "With their
long, sliaggv hair and short, sharp horns, they seemed
formidable antagonists, and generally adoi)ted the
same tactics which they use when attacked by wolves.
Standing in pairs they would rush forward a few
feet towards the hunters, and then spring back again.
When one fell the other defended him, till he too
was stnick down by a bullet. As spring advanced
they were foiuid with their calves, but the young
were rarely perceived till the dams were shot down,
as they took refuge when attacked directly under the
older animals, and were entirely concealed by the
long hair which came to the ground. Several bears

■ p ;i

i; I

>M.i

Hi;,: ;;i

'■

12A

BEAR irUNTINO.

were killed, all smaller than their brethren of South-
ern Greenland. The tenacity of life which the dogs
displayed was wonderful. Caught up by an enraged
bear and flung against clumps of ice, stunned,
and left for dead, they were sure to limp into camp
the next day, but little the worse for the experience.

Three exploring expeditions were undertaken — two
on sledges and one ^ ')oat. The first in April,
comprising Dr. Besse '^r. Bryan, Hans and Joe,
pushed forty miles to the south, and linked the dis-
coveries of the " Polaris " with those of the " Advance."

Drawn by eight powerful wolfish dogs, the explorers
pushed on till stopped by open water along the shore,
and by the steep coast. Two fiords were passed and
mapped to their termination. These deep and nar-
row indentations of the sea are as jirominent a feat-
ure of the Greenland as of the Norwegian coast.
The two explored were surrounded by glaciers and
filled with icebergs. Their sides rose steeply from
the water, often to a height of nearly seven hundred feet.
These lake-like inlets are of rare beauty and of pecu-
liar geological interest, but were a serious bar to the
rapid exploration of the coast. A month later a
double expedition was sent northward to survey
Newman's Bay and search for open water.

On shore the snow was rapidly melting, and the
valleys and ravines were' rushing torrents of water.
Dangerous crevasses in the glaciers which must be
crossed made further travel by sleighs out of the ques-
tion. Journeys with boats were therefore attempted,
and it is scarcely possible to exaggerate the pluck
and persistence exhibited therein. One party had
encamped for the night on an ice-field a mile from
shore, when they were suddenly awakened by

EXCURSIONS TO THE NOUTH.

OUtll'

dogs
raged
nned,
camp
ience.
— two
April,
d Joe,
he dis-
prance."
plorers
; shore,
ied and
,nd nar-
b a feat-
Q coast,
ers and
ly from
red feet,
of pecu-
ir to the

later a
survey

and the
)f water,
must be
the ques-
tempted,
Hi pluck
vrty had
nile from
ened by

another field drifting down on them. In an instant
the smooth field on which they were, seamed and
cracked in every direction. HunimockH sprang up
under tlieir feet. Great cakes of ice rose twenty,
thirty feet in the air, and fell with a deafening crash.
The ice opened and the party were se})arate(l, two on
one piece, whil the boat and crew were on another.
In another instant the boat itself lay flat beneath
a fragment of an iceberg which had moved into the
field. Nothing daunted, the party returned to the
vessel, and in four days were afloat in a canvas boat.
For two weeks, the two crews of four men each,
accompanied by Tyson, Chester, Bessels, and Meyers,
continued tlieir dangerous work.

It was the old, old story of Arctic adventure.
Leads opening to close again in a short time. A few
miles of northing gained by hard rowing and an
encampment made, only to find in the morning that
the whole floe had been drifting south. The melting
ice was covered with water, and their sleeping-ljags
were nightly soaked. The fuel was so nearly
exhausted that coffee could be prepared but once a
day, and the pemmican and preserved meat were eaten
cold. Ceaseless care was needed to preserve the
boats from a second accident. Often the lives of the
party would hang on the few minutes of rowing
needed to reach some safe sheet before the pack-
ice, drifting down on them, had crushed boat and
crew.

Two of the pai*ty returned to the ship June 27th,
to obtain provisions. They found her sinking. Steam
])umps were running sixteen hours out of the twenty-
four to keep her afloat. In May, when the ice first
began to melt, she had begun to leak, uiid ever since

iM'i

1-1

I'JfPlij

IM\\

12G

EXCURSIONS TO THE NORTH.

seemed to fill as she settled. She soon flor.ted freely,
and her condition improving, an unsuccessful attempt
was made to run to the north to take on tlie boats.
Hans was then sent, with orders to the excursionists
to return as soon as possible ; but it was three w eks
before all had come Ijack.

On the 14:th of August, the Polaris turned home-
ward. The voyage u}) had l)een accomplished in a
week ; it Avas to be eight mouths before even a part
of the ship's crew would be rescued from the ice.
August passed, September wore away day by day,
October was half ovei, and the good shij) still
fought a vain battle with ice-floes and bergs. She
entered leads only to have her timbers strained by
nips. The young ice encased the vessel, and .lo open-
ing came through the floes beyond. The ship steadily
became more unseaworthy. Preparatiojis wave made
for leaving her at an instant's notice.

On the night of the 15th of October 1S72, in about
latitude TO*-' 35', during a violent gale of wind and
snow, the Polaris was beset by a tremendous pressure
of ice, wiiich was forced under h(!r and finally threw
her over on her beam ends. Captain liuddiugton
ordered the provisions, stores and matei'ials, which
had bv'en previously arranged in readiness '>n the
deck, to be thrown overboard on the ice, and directed
that Tyson and half the* crew should go upon the ice
and carry these stores upon a thicker })art r\' the floe,
where they would l)e coni])ai'atively safe. He also
sent all the Es<juiinaux with their kayaks out of tlie
ship, and lowered the two reniarning boats ui)on the
floe. While thus engaged, in the darkness of an
Arctic night and in tlie midst of a flerce gale, the
hawsers of the Polaris failed to hold her, and she

freely,
vttempt
^ boats,
•sionists
e v eks

l1 liome-
led iu a
1 a part

the ice.

\>y *lay,
hip still
i-os. She
i-aiiHid \>y
I no open-
p steadily
vere made

>, iu about
^vind and
IS pressure
ally threw
u(UViuu;ton
uls, ^vhich
t^H "U the
id cVuec'ted
pou the ioe
(>t" the iloe,
\ He also
,mt of the
ts up<»n the
<ness of an
CO gale, the
ler, aud she

DESERTED BY THE POLAIUS.

727

broke adrift from the floe and in a few minutes was
out of sight of the party on the ice.

At the time of this involuntary separation there
were nineteen persons on the ice, but some of tlie men
and a large share of the provisions Avere on j)ieces of
ice separate from tlie floe. The men \vere all secui-ed,
but much valuable food was lost. The party on the
floe rolled themselves up in musk-ox skins and
passed the night as best they could. Captain Tyson
kept guard, and walked the ice, watching anxiously
for the morning and looking eagerly for the Polaris.
The morning came, but with it came no sign of the
ship.

The next day the party made several attempts to
reach the land with the boats, but failed, notwith-
standing their most persistent efforts, owing to the
obstruction of the ice and the violence of the wind.
During this day the Polaris came in sight to the
northward, apparently coming toward the floe under
steam and sails. A blanket was hoisted on an oar,
and displayed '.'om the top of a hunnnock, aud other
signals made ro attract the attention of Captain Bud-
dington, and strong hopes were entertained by the
shipless mariners that they would be rescued. They
were doomed to disappointment. The Polaris ap-
proached so near that they could distinguish her
escape-pipe, and they plainly saw her down to her
rail ; but she altered her course and disap])eared
behind an island. Again in the course of the cia^y
tlie Polaris was discovered with her sails furled,
apparently at anchor neai- an island. It -was very
natural that Tyson and his party in their desperate
circumstances, should conclude that Buddington was
either over cautious as to his own safety or indiffer-

till' .

in '■"

ffl \fwi'

ti!

728

THE DRIFT SOUTHWARD.

ent to ilieirs, but it must be remembered that the
Polaris was in a leaking condition and without a
single boat of any kind, while the ice-bound company
had two boats, the kayaks, and a scow in their posses-
sion.

Shortly after the Polaris had been sighted a second
time, a violent gale from the north-east sprang up,
and the floe drifted away to the southward, with
these nineteen persons still upon it. The floe was
originally of a circular shape and about five miles in
diameter. Captain Tyson estimated its thickness to
vary from ten to thirty feet. Much of its surface
w\as covered with snow and there were hillocks and
dejiressions.

Fortunately a pretty good stock of provisions had
been saved, and the Esquimaux made some snow
huts in which the party lived and kept their stores.
These huts, four in number, were built in the shape
of an old-fashioned straw bee-hive, about six feet
higli, with a hole at the bottom large enough for the
men to crawl in. Some old canvas served for
a flooring on which musk-ox skins were ])laced for
beds, and other skins answered for bed-clothes.
Some pemmican cans were used for lamps ; seals fur-
nished the oil ; and moss, or canvas took the place of
wicking. Mr. Meyer made some weights out of shot,
and daily rations were dealt out, eleven ounces being
allowed to each jierson.

The discipline of the party does not apjn'ar to have
been of th(f best; indeed, Ca])t. Tyson states that
there was little or nothing that could be called disci,
pline. Every one did as he pleased, and it is not
strange that Hannah, surrounded as she Avas by armed
and at times hungry men, sufl'ered terribly from fears

THE BESCUE.

t^9

of what miglit happen if the provisions gave out
entirely. Still all knew that their salvation depended
npon union and mutual cooperation, and there Avas a
discipline of circumstances, if not of morals and law.

On the 1st of April, iinding their icy quarters much
reduced by the breaking up of the floe, they launched
their boat into open water and pulled towards the
Avest, in oi'der, if possible, to gain the coast. At times
meeting ice too closely packed to get through, they
were compelled to haul the boat upon it, launching
her again as soon as a lead opened to the westward
or southward. In this Ma}' they passed a month of
weary and ' sperate endeavor.

Toward m* close of April their provisions Avere
almost exhausted, and they Avere one day absolutely
reduced to less than a biscuit aj)ie<e and a mouthful
of pemmican, when a bear, scenting them on the ice,
approached them and Avas shot, and tl" y ^^el•e thus
rescued from starvation. Revi\ id by this gootl for-
tune, and strengthened by their neAv supply of fresh
meat, they struggled on till the last day of April,
1873, AA'hen they Avere rescued by the Tigress.

The incidents of this most •x* .ordinary A'oyage
of six-and-a-half months on float uig ice, as related in
the diary of John Herron, are given in a subsequent
cliapter, and in all the records of adventure there is
nothing of greater interest.

The safe deliverance of the entire party — men,
AA'omen and children — seems at first almost a miracle,
but is due in a great measure to the sj)ecial means of
escape from danger Avhich the Frozen Zone furnishes.
The friendly ice-floe abounded Avith material for
building shelter from the storm and cold, Avhile it
drifted the castaAvays into the vicinity of passing

730

JOE AKD HANS.

ships, and through a region where the presence of
seal and other Arctic animals enabled the skillful
hunters, Joe and Hans — to whom the balance of the
party are indebted under Providence for their pres-
ervation — to eke out the supply of provisions which
would otherwise have been exhausted. In any other
section, a boat's crew thus left in mid-ocean at such a
distance from relief, must almost certainly have per-
ished.

• v* 'O

;

:>■.■,>

;

r-^.i'\

,■,..>

CHAPTER XLVI.

JOURNAL OF HERMANN SIEMANS, A SAH..
OR OF THE STEAMER POLARIS.

Ajiong the articles remaining on the ice-floe at the
time when the Polaris was separated from a portion
of its crew, was a diary kept from the commencement
of the voyage by Hermann Siemans. This diary was
picked up by tTie ice-drift party, and has special inter-
est from the wonderful manner in Avhich it was pre-
served and as being an intelligent histoiy of the
expedition — as far as it goes — by a common sailor who
had the foretliought and disposition to keep a record
of passing events. It Avas Avritten in German, and
has been translated into English by E. R, Knobb
Esq. The most interesting portions are given below.

The spirit of dependence upon Providence, and the
habitual recognition of God's mercies are noticeable
throughout, wliile the petition on starting, breathing
the spirit of resignation to whatever might occur, is a
touching indication that there was at least one person
in the expedition of strong faith and fervent prayer.

PRATER WHEN STARTING. ' •

" All-knowino Father, on Thee I call and pray, that

Thou mayest look upon us in Thy mercy and may be

731

; • n

■4 ■ !l

s 1 !

732

JOURNAL OF HERMANN SIEMANS.

with US in this cmise to the icy North. Thou only
knowest whether we ever on earth shall see again
our beloved, or whether we shall soon lay down our
pilgrim's staff. I pray Thee to direct the hearts of
all of us, that all on this ship may always bo^v before
Thee. Let our eyes always be directed toward the
heights of Golgotha, where Thou hast borne the bur-
den of our sins. Lead us to endeavor to gain that
which only is needed, that we nay all say together,
we know that our Redeemer liveth. Then, even if
the iceberg covers our mortal part, or the fierce polar
bear tears it, we shall have Thee, Saviour, the best
guide of our heart's ship. Hear my j)rayer in Thy
great mercy, and for the Saviour Jesus Christ's sake.
Amen.

June 29th. — At 6 p. m. we left New York, and arrived on
the following day at 11^ a. m., at New London, where we
dropped anchor. In the evening we had divine service on
board, in which quite a number of members of the Baptist
congregation participated.

July 3d. — ^Wo left New London, with fine weather.

Sunday, 9tli. — We had divine service from 11 to 12 a. m.,
and Captain Hall promised to have it, with God's aid, every
Sunday. I was heartily glad that the name of our Heavenly
Father should thus be hallowed.

Monday, 10th. — We saw the coast of Newfoundland.

11th. — Several heavy blocks of ice were passed. At noon,
we entered the harbor of Saint John's, in which there were
two icebergs.

On the 19th, we left Saint John's, with God's aid all well
and contented.

On the 27th, we saw the west coast of Greenland and a
great number of icebergs — some near the coast. At 3 p. m. a
pilot boarded us in a kayak. At 5:30 p. m. we came to in
the harbor of Fiskernaes. Greenland, wliich I then saw for
the first time, is truly a sterile, mountainous country. This

JOVBNAL OF HEBMANN SILMAKS.

733

u only
} again
v^n our
arts of
before
ard the
he bur-
lin that
jgether,
even if
ce polar
he best
in Thy
it's sake.

rrlved on
wliera we
service on
le Baptist

ler.
12 a. m.,
aid, every
Heavenly

land.

At noon,
there were

id all well

■land and a
U 3 p. m. a
came to in
icu saw for
itry. This

Danish settlement consists of twenty houses and huts, with
ahout seventy people. The houses of the governor had a
decent appearance, being of wood ; but the huts of the Es-
quimaux were composed of pieces of sod, with so low an en-
trance that the people could only creep into them ; a few
were covered with seal-skin ; the interior looked very poor.
The natives live almost entirely on fish ; they are quite Intel-
ligent, and there is more brotherly love between them than
in many Christian communities. Their garments are made
of seal and reindeer skin ; their boots are generally lined
with feathers. The women wear jackets and pants like those
of the male, but they are distinguished by a black head-
cover, through the top of which the hair hangs out in a plait,
interwoven with red ribbon ; they also wear short boots,
while those of the men are long.

Saturday, 29th. — We left Fiskernaes with beautiful weather.
At four hours we passed Lichtenfels, where two German
missionaries live.

July 31st. — We entered the harbor of Holsteinborg, where
we counted sixteen huts and fifty people.

August 3d. — We left Holsteinborg, and in the morning of
the 4th we came in sight of Disco Island. At 2 p. m. a
pilot came on board, and at 3 p. m. we anchored off Godhavn.
This settlement contains twenty-seven houses, with about
seventy people.

Sunday, 6th. — Captain Hall wit! some of us visited the
church, where also thirty Esquimaux attended.

10th. — The United States ship Congress arrived from New
York, with provisions and coal for us.

17th. — We received some Esquimaux dogs, which are to
draw the sleighs in our excursions. At noon. Rev. Newman
of Washington and Rev. Bryan of the Congress came
on board ; the former preached a sermon and prayed with
lis. At 2 p. m. we left Godhavn with fair weather, and
passed the same day many icebergs, which compelled us to
ctiange frequently the course.

On the 18th, we entered the harbor of Upernavik. This
settlement consists of twenty-two houses, inhabited by sixty

\'^Vv\

734

JOURNAL OF HERMANN SIEMANS.

people. The Esquimaux appeared more dirty the farther
north we came ; most of them looked as if they had been
smoked. Here Hans came on board, with his wife and three
children.

20th. — Toward evening, I ascended a hill, where I prayed
some hours to G-od and my Redeemer, and thought of my
distant dear. ,1 also visited the burial-places, which lay scat-
tered over the mountains, some almost near the tops, where
it must have been difficult to carry the bodies. The coffins
of rough wood were merely placed on the surface, and
covered with rock. The weight of the latter had burst the
lids of some, so that the bodies could be seen. The Esqui-
maux told us that bodies which had been buried very many
years appeared exactly as when buried. Fonnerly the law
was, among the Esquimaux, that at the death of the parents,
the eldest son inherited the property. It is said that some
of them have enticed their parents into the mountains, and
then thrown stones upon them, under which they still lie
buried.

21st. — We received on board eight tons of coal, and more
dogs and seal-skins. At Y p. m. the governor came onboard,
intending to accompany us to Teseuisak. At 8 we left Up-
ernavik with fair weather, and arrived at 11 off Kingituk,
where the captain and the governor lauded to visit tlie gov-
ernor of that place, retuniing at one o'clock with twelve
dogs. "We then proceeded, and came to on the 22d in Tessu-
isak Harbor,

24rth. — We left Tessuisak, the northernmost settlement.
In the evening of the 25th, we narrowly escaped running in
the darkness with full steam-power against a large iceberg.
In the night, from the 25th to the 26th, we were surrounded
closely by drift-ice and icebergs, but with God's aid were
able to work through them.

On the 2Tth, we passed the harbor where Kane wintered in
1860 ; and at 9 p. m. the winter harbor of Kane in 1853 to
1855 bore east, distant 14 miles. No vessel but our Polaris
has ever penetrated farther north on the west coast of Green-
land. Proceeding farther, we encountered great quantities

JOURNAL OF HERMANN 8IEMAN8.

735

farther
id been
id three

; prayed
t of my
lay 8cat-
8, where
18 coffins
ace, and
bnrst the
le Esqiii-
3ry many
f the law
e parents,
that some
tains, and
jy still lie

and more
B on board,
ve left Up-

Ivingituk,
lit tlie gov-

ith twelve
:d in Tessu-

Bcttlement.
running in
go iceberg.
Bxirrounded
's aid were

wintered in
in 1853 to
our Polaris
ist of Green-
it quantities

of ice, through which we pushed on north. At 11 p. m. we
passed Cape Constitution, the northernmost point reached by
Dr. Kane, in 1854, in sleighs, where he believed to have seen
the open Polar Sea. On the 29th, we reached Capo Lieber,
discovered in 1860 by Hayes, on a sleigh excursion. No one
has ever been farther on the Grinnell Land side ; hero our
discoveries were to begin. The distance of the coasts from
each other, in the narrow part of the strait, is about 40 miles.
The land is mountainous and high. At 4: p. m. fog set in,
and at 6 we were compelled to stop the engines, as we were
surrounded by great ice-fields, to one of which we fastened
the ship by ice-anchors and hawsers. At 7 i">. ni. the fog
lifted, and we could see both coasts, when we again started,
trying to press through the ice, with which the ship came fre-
quently in collision. It was very cold, the wind blowing strong
from the north. We worked along throughout the night to

6 o'clock in the morning of the 30th, when we saw firm ice
from one coast to the other. Under these circumstances, it
became important to look for a winter station, but there
seemed to be none in this vicinity. At 9.30 fog set in again
with snow, and we had again to fasten the ship to a floe,
where we lay to 7i p. m., when we saw some clear water
near the Greenland coast, for which wc directed our course.
Believing to see a small bay, a boat was lowered and the
place examined, but it proved too exiwsed for the ship. We
worked along the coast until midnight, when fog compelled
us to fasten the ship.

31st. — We started and continued the search for the entire
day, but in vain. At 4 p. m. we directed tlie course for the
Grinnell Land coast, but the ice prevented us from reaching
it. At 5 p. m. we made fast to a great floe.

September Ist. — We saw in the morning a small opening
through which we worked the vessel about the distance of a
mile nearer to the coast, where we had again to make fast, as
we could then not move the ship in any direction. Toward

7 p. m. a strong easterly wind arose, setting the stream with
the ice against us, the smaller pieces of the latter drifting
faster than the floe to which the ship was tied. This pres-

f'i

ill ■■:

736

JOUBKAL OF HERMANN SIEMANS.

rare broke the haweers at the bow and tlie stem, and lifted
one Bide of the ship almost bodily on the floe to M'hich we
lay, imperiling her greatly. As the ice pressing from all
sides aronnd ns had a thickness of at least twenty feet, it be-
came imperative to provide for emergencies. Provisions and
stores were carried on deck, and guns, cartridges, two suits foi
each person, <&c., placed within easy reach, so as to land them
on the ice in case the ship should be crushed. Toward 9
p. m. the wind abated, the ice ceased to press, and remained
quiet throughout the night. The following day, in the morn-
ing, we unshipped the propeller, in order to save it from be-
ing broken. At 2 p. m. the pressure of the ice began again,
huge masses approaching the ship. All hands were now em-
ployed landing provisions and fuel on the ice, in two places,
so that one part might be saved in case the ice should break
near the other.

Sunday, 3d. — Divine service was attended to from 11 to 12,
as usual. The snow fell so thickly as to allow us only occa-
sionally to see the coa t of Greenland, although it was dis-
tant only two miles. We now drifted quite briskly south.
Ship and crew appeared to be a ready prey to the ice. But
there is a God who aids and saves from death ; to Ilim I
trusted between these icebergs and ice-fields, although I know
that I do not deserve all the good He grants me.

September 4th. — At 9 a. m. open water appeared at a few
places, when everything was quickly shipped again. At 9.30
p. m. steam was ready, and we began to work toward the
coast cf Greenland where the wind had broken the ice and
caused an opening. At midnight Captain Hall landed with
five of us, and planted, in the name of the LoTd, and for the
President of the United States, the American flag on the land
which we had discovered. We then returned on. board and
let go the anchor at 12.30 a. m. on the 6th of September.
■ The place examined proved to be but a bend of the coast ;
we therefore took advantage of the open water caused by the
easterly wind along the coast, and resumed our searcii for a
harbor southward, but not finding any better place ■we re-
turned in the Qvening to the anchorage.

1 lifted
lich we
rora all
it, it be-
ons and
Buits foi
nd tliem
oward 9
einaiued
;ie rtiorn-
from be-
an again,
now cm-
iro places,
uld break

1 11 to 12,
only occa-
it was dia-
ikly south,
ice. But
to Ilim I
igh I know

3d at a few
At 9.30
:oward the
he ice and
anded with
and for the
on the land
..board and
September.
; the coast;
lUHcd by the
search for a
place we re-

JOURNAL OF HERMANN SIEMANg.

737

7th. — We lifted the anchor, and steamed about sixty yards
closer in-shore, behind an iceberg which had grounded in 13
fathoms wt*ter, and promised to protect us against southerly
and, in part, also westerly winds.

Sunday, 10th. — We could not use boats any longer, and in
a few hours the ice grew thick enough to carry us with the
food for the dogs, that had been housed on shore. After
divine service. Captain Hall told us that he would call the
place Thank God Harbor, as the Lord had not only carried
us through tlie dangers of the ice, but also protected us
against the imminent peril of an explosion of the snuiU boil-
ers, which had not been fed with water, through the neglect
of the tireman.

11th. — The ice had grown so firm that we could employ
the sleighs.

The 12th was cold, and snow fell, the wind blowing strong.
Until then the twilight had remained on the southern horizon
throughout the nights, but these now grew longer, and soon
we would have, in the midst of the Greenland mountains,
the long winter night. But why should we fear the darkness
around us, if light remains only in our hearts ? Yes, my
Lord, if I have only Thee, I do not care for heaven or earth.

Sunday, 17th. — After divine service. Captain Hall enjoined
us to work hand in hand, like brethren, in order to reach our
aim for which we had started, lie said that he firmly be-
lieved it to be God's will that all of the wonderful earth not
yet known should be discovered.

18th. — Dr. Bessels, with the first mate, Joe, and Hans,
fitaited on a sleigh, drawn by eight dogs, on a hunting excur-
sion.

On the 23d, the sun showed a large halo. At divine ser-
vice, on Sunday the 24th, the sermon and prayer were read
by Mr. Bryan ; they had been prepared by Kev. Dr. New-
man expressly for the exped-tion. At 2 p. m. the hunting
party of Dr. Bessels returned with a musk-ox.

October 1st. (Sunday.) — The gale ceased, and the weather
remained beautiful throughout the day. After divine service,
Captain Hall informed us we were, from that day, to assemble

' '1. 'I

ill

I ■,

738

JOURNAL OF IIEBMANN 8IEMANS.

each morning at 8.30 in his cabin for prayer. How good it
is to 81 -vo under a commander ii \','ho8e heart the Saviour
has begun the work 1 Wo should always bear in mind that
each day and each hour carries us nearer to the end of our
pilgrimage, where we have to lay down our staif. I pray
the Lord to open my eyes that; I may look to Ilim with spir-
ited confidence.

9th. — After much labor we now had carried all our things
safely on the hill. About noon of this day, Captain Hall,
accompanied by Mr. Chester, Joe, 'iid Hans, started on two
sleighs drawn by sixteen dogs n nr expedition for the pur-
pose of reconnoitering in the direcuou toward the pole.

IStlir — One boat had already been transported to the shore;
we now cai-ried there a second, also coal, wood, and other
things, so that a stock would bu un shore in case an accident
should happen to the vessel. Up to then all hands were in
good health, for which I daily thanked the Lord. God, I
pray Thee, let me always be obedient to the teachings of Thy
holy word with ever greater cheerfulness. May never doubt
or mockery destroy the consolation alive in my breast. Let
my whole life be a praise of Thee. The earth is everywhere
the Lord's ; there is evidence even in the highest North that
an almighty and all-wise Creator has made it.

13th. — We saw the sun rise for the last time in 1871.

18tli. — Began building a snow-wall around the ship.

21st. — We spread over the ship a snow-tent of stout sail-
cloth, leaving only a small opening for ingress. Daylight
shortened rapidly.

Tuesday, the 24th, at 1.30 p. ra., Captain Hall returned
with Mr. Chester, Joe, and Hans. Captain Hall had not
felt well for the last three days, and laid down to bed imme-
diately. He vomited, had cramps, and a violent headache.
They had encountered on the expedition severe cold, and
nufifered greatly. They had not been able to go farther than
fifty miles from the ship in a N.E. direction.

28th. — It grew dangerous with the captain, his illness in-
creasing steadily. Prayers and divine service were held for-
ward for his recovery. The prayers which I sent incessantly

r good it
Saviour
lind tliat
d of our
, 1 pray
vitli spir-

ur things
ain Hall,
d on two
r tl>e piir-
pole.

the shore ;
and other
,n accident
»dB were iti
d. God, I
ngs of Tliy
lever doubt
)reast. Let
everywhere
North that

1871.
Bhip.

f Btout Bail-
Daylight

all returned
all had not
) bed imme-
it headache,
re cold, and
farther than

lis illness in-
ere held for-
t incessantly

JOURNAL OF HERMANN 8IEMANS.

to the throne of the Almighty did not satisfy me ; I, poor
sinner, was anxious to kneel with him before God, and to
pray for mercy.

Nov. let. — The captain appeared to grow better, as he spoke
as sensibly as any uf us.

2d. — Tlie weather was beautiful and calm, although severely
cold. The snow-wall around the ship was seven to eight feet
thick, and of the same height as the snow-tent. The snow
was carried to the ship in sleighs from banks which formed
sometimes near the bhip, sometimes at a distance from it.

Nov. 5th. — Captain Hall grew again worse ; in the Avander-
ings of his mind he said that somebody intended to shoot or
poison him.

On the 7th, Captain Hall lay in a very miserable state, the
entire body being insensible to the touch. In tlie evening
he was entirely unconscious of what occurred around him or
was done with him. At 3.25 on the morning of Xov. 8th, his
Boul left the mortal body. After his death a coffin was im-
mediately made, into which he was placed at 4 p. m. We
also began to dig a grave, working at it Wednesday and
Thursday. The earth was mixed with rock, and frozen so
hard that, although using axes and pikes, we could dig only
two feet deep. It was done with the light of a lanteni.

Friday, tho lOth, at 11.30 a. m., we placed the coqise into
the ground. Captain Hall had reached, as I was told, the
age of iifty years. His body rests in the far North, where no
civilized human being has ever laid down his head for eternal
rest, as the i:)lace lies 5C2 n;iles from the North Pole. Thus
his wish to die in the far North, and to rest where he had
lived eight years, has been fulfilled. May his remains lie in
peace till the day of resurrection.

Sunday, the l!)th, after divine service Captain Bord (Bud-
dington ?) announced that the morning prayers would bo dis-
continued, as Mr. Bryan was otherwise engaged ; each should
pray by himself. I, jioor benighted sinner, must confess that
I have to contend many an hour with enemies within myself
and outside, but hope does not Ipave me. When kneeling
fer north in a dark corner, or beneath the starry heaven on »

111

; i

1) .*

aj:V

740

JOURNAL OF HERMANN 8IEMAN9.

!^!

floe, I look with confidence to the mountains from which I
expect aid. Although not being able to show a Bingle deed
by which I may stand before the just Judge, I trust to the
Lord's mercy.

Monday, the 20th, at 4 in the morning, intending to examine
the tide-gauge, I was carried away by the storm and thrown
upon the ice, whicli was covered with water; only with great
difiiculty rould I reach the opening where the observations
were made. The snow-drift did hardly permit oj^eniug the
eyes. It blew so violently that the ship was thrown upon
one side, bursting the snow-wall. At 9 a. m., Mr. Meyer left
the vessel to look tor Dr. Eessels, who had been till night in
the observatory on shore ; he was driven back al>out twenty
times while endeavoring to creep up the hill, but finally reached
the house. Joe and Hans followed, and at 10.30 all fouj" suc-
ceeded in reaching the ship.

2l6t. — At b a. m., the ico broke all around us, and we were
in great peril ; the snow-drift, besides, made it so dark that
we could not see anything at a distance of five paces. We
let go the second anchor; no\erthcless, the ship drifted, but
luckily toward the iceberg near which we lay, and which had
been named by Captain Ilall, Providence Mount. Some of
us jumped over the few tloes between us and the iceberg,
climbed upon it, and succeeded in fastening three ice-anchors,
to which the ship was secured by hawsers.

25th. — In order to bring the ship, which tinis far lay at the
extreme of the iceberg, more toward the center of its long side,
where it would be better ])rotected, an opening was sawed
into the ice, through which she was moved one hundred and
twenty feet.

Sundaj', the 26th, divine service was held, but Captain
Bord announced tlnit atteiulance was not compulsory, but he
would prefer tiiat all should attend.

2!Sth. — At 8 p. m. a snow-storm set in from S, S.W., which
soon grew violent, and at 1 o'clock had attained a force of
fort^'-two miles per hour, pressing the ice from the strait
against our iceberg, which burst and parted in two ; thua
weakened, it was pushed against the ship, shaking her all

JOURNAL OF HERMANN BIEJIANS.

741

ivhiclx I
pie deed
; to the

examine
. thrown
ith great
ervations
iiing the
wn upon
lever left
night m
It twenty
ly reached
1 fom* Buc-

(1 ^ve were

dark that

,aees. We

1 rifted, hut

wliichhad

Sonic of

le Iceberg,

ce-anehors,

111- hiy at the
s long Bide,
was sawed
indred and

Mit Captain
)ry, but he

,W., which
11 f(in.'e of
|i the strait
tw(.) ; thus

,r her all

over and making her crack in all seams. AVith ebb-tide the
ship keeled over on one side, while the foot of the iceberg
pushed beneath her, so as to raise her two and a half feet.
She careened so heavily that it was difficult to walk on deck.
In this perilous condition it was thought proper to carry
apparel and other stores on shore, as also to placo the Esqui-
maux women and children in the observatory.

13tli. — There has, perhaps, never been an expedition the
members of which did live so peacefully as we, Tlie Navy
Department had directed that, in case of Captain Hall's death,
Captain Buddington should take command of the shii) and
Dr. Bessels direct the scientific matters and the sleigh expedi-
tions. Should the two disagree, Captain Buddington had to
carry the vessel home as directly as ])ossible. As long as
Captain Buddington held the command, he treated every-
body properly ; the first officer is also an honorable man, who
knows how to handle people.

Sunday the '24:th. — In the evening (Christmas Eve) all
hands were invited into the cabin, but I did not feel at home
there, Ca])taiu Ilall not being any more in our midst.

On Christmas-day, the 25th, the weather was tine. I was
astonislied that there was no divine service, but, 1 believe, in
America it is more of a feast-day than a holy-day.

28th. — The ship still careened somewhat with the ri!~e and
fall of tide, as part of the keel was still resting on the foot
of the iceberg. We tried to break the latter by blasting, but
did not succeed, the ice being too strong.

January 1st, 1872. — I thanked the Heave ily Father, M-ho
stood by us last year through so many ])eiils, and granted us
to live into the new year, except the dear captain, C. F. Hall,
who now rests in the cold earth of (ireenland.

24th. — Dr. Bessels, with two of the crew, loft tho vessel in
a sleigh drawn by eight dogs, to ascertain how far the open
water extended nortii ; they could only proceed nine miles
nori h of the vessel, where the watei' was still perfectly open ;
their further ])rogresa was stopped by a cape, which they
could not pass nor climb, as it was too steep and too much
covered by ice. At 5 p. m. thoy returnou ou board.

liii-M

;t i

'r.-^

.<;

^lil

JOTJIINAL OF HERMANN SIEMAN8.

:l 'IM

:3i t

Feb. 28th — At noon we saw the sun for the first time in 1872,
after one hundred and thirty-eight days of darlcness. It was
truly a long dreary night which we had passed, by the Lord's
aid, in midst of icebergs and ice-fields. That day I visited
Captain Hall's grave, as T iiad frequently done. How would
he have enjoyed it to see again God's sun.

April 8th — Dr. Bessel's party returned ; all well, bringing
as trophies the carcasses of a seal and a polar bear. After
the examination of the fiord and starting back TU)i\'h, Joe sud-
denly saw the bear ; both jumped from the sleigh with their
rifles, taking hold of the dogs, Joe of five, the doctor of three.
But these, when they saw the fierce beast coming towai.ls
them, conld not be kept back, and had to be set loose, when
tliey at once made furiously for the bear. After fighting
them for five minutes, the latter made for Joe, who allowed
it to approach within sixty paces, when he fired, reloaded
quickly, and with a second ball finished the beast, which had
just started for him again atTter recovering froin the shock.
Two of the dogs had kept back, but the other six fought
bravely ; one of them was thrown by a blow from the paw
of the powerful beast so violently against an icc-clum]) that
it was left for dead on tiie place, but the next morning it liad
returned to the snow-hut.

June 5th — The ship rising steadily above the ice under the
influence of the warm weather, which now melted the snow
and ice rapidly, we discovered a dangerous leak on the star-
board side of the stem at the six-foot mark, where two plunks
had s])lit from the careening of the ship.

6th. — We endeavored to stop the leak, but could not do
much, as the stem proved to have broken too deep below the
■water-line.

10th. — Preparations were mode for anotlior expedition in
the patent sailcloth boat, and in the afternoon Dr. Bessels,
Capt. Tyson and foin* men left in it.

The Polaris wo will hardly keep afloat, as she settles by de-
grees deeper the more the iceupofJi which the ship rests melts.
6he now makes considerable water, and there are probably
luore damaged places under the bow beneath the water-line.

1872,
[t was
Lord's
visited
would

ringing
After
oe sud-
tU their
)f three,
towai Is
13, when
lighting

allowed
reloaded
liich had
le Bhoclc.
X fought
I the paw
,\m\]) that

ng it had

inider the
tho snow
i\ tho star-
wo planks

Id not do
below the

leditlon in
)r. Bcsseb,

ttles by de-
[•C8t8 melts.
•e prohably
water-line.

JOURNAL OF HERMANN SIEMA^-S.

743

12th. — "We left the ship and reached at noon the place north
cf Cape Liibken where our boats stood.

15th. — The Ptronjsij wind having opened the water consider-
ably, we pushed the boat into the water and rowed until Y
iu the evening, when we reached the other party, which had
left Monday, on a great ice-field, at the mouth of Newman's
Bay, where the ice had not yet broken up.

23d. — In the morning we at last saw, nortli of us, a strip of
open water, and left the field immediately, but had hardly
rowed two and a half miles when heavy pack-ioe advanced
upon us rapidly. As wo could not find in the vicinity an
ice-field for a station, the harder of the firm ice being covered
by packed ice, we were compelled to row back half a mile,
where we met one, and had barely time to draw the boat
upon it. The other party had done the same half a mile south
of us.

26th and 27th. — Stormy, with snow-squalls and fog, the ice
continually drifting south. As provisions became short and
the fuel was almost entirely consumed, R. Kriiger and I, at
Mr. Chester's wish, started for an attempt of reaching the
ship by the land, in order to get more provisions. We went
by Newman's Bay, and it was truly a severe task to climb
over the high mountains and through the deep ravines where
the sharp stones, split by the frost, cut through our Esqui-
maux boots. We made the di-stance, however, in twelve
hours. The ice in Polaris Bay had, for the greater part,
broken up, and the vessel lay in open water, in her old berth
close to Providence Mount, which still was aground ; but she
wjvs in a poor condition, making so nnich water that the pumps
had to be worked for sixteen hours out of twenty-four. As
there were nbw, besides the cook and we two, no sailors on
hoard able to steer tho vessel, Captain Buddington, would
not perniit us to leave again ; he attempted to take the vessel
to the boats, as the water appeared to be pretty open. At
noon of that day, the ice-anchors were taken in and the ship
proceeded north with steam and under sail, but M'e had hardly
made half the distance to Newman's Bay when she was
brought up by great ice-fields and heavily-packed ice drifting

ifr

.4^-: *

744

JOURNAL OF HERMANN BIEMAN8.

down upon her. During the niglit she was permitted to drift
under shortened sail with the ice in the strait to the south-
ward.

29th. — In the morning, we again attempted to push on
north, but failed. At 11 a. m. Hans was landed at a ravine
north of Cape Liibken, in order to inform Mr. Chester and
Captain Tyson that they must come with their boats back on
board as early as possible. The ship then returned to Provi-
dence Mount.

30th. — We succeeded by great labor, in fishing the anchor
which had now been lying on the bottom for nine months
and had imbedded deeply into the mud.

July 1st. — We set Captain IlaU's grave in order, covering
it with stones, so that the earth could not bo blown off, and
planting a sign-board with the name cut in. That was the
last we could do for our beloved commander.

At 8 p. m. Dr. Bessels returned with Hans from Newman's
Bay. They had a hard travel for twenty -seven hours, having
searched long in a ravine for a place where they could climb
up, but with great difficulty. Mr. Chester, having besides
Mr. Meyer only two men, was anxious that another should
be sent him ; but Captain Buddington thought the land-route
to be now too dangerous, as the water had begun to pour
powerfully from the mountains into the great ravine, lie
preferred another attempt to reach the party with the ship,
starting at midnight under steam and sail.

At 1 o'clock the wind changed to a gale from the N., and
at 2 p. m., not having made half the distarce, Ave came to
the border of ice, which, closely packed, was drifting against
us. The coast was there too steep to climb it. We set sail,
and permitted the vessel to drift. At noon of the following
day we were off the ravine where Hans had been landed
before. As one man could not go well alone, I was sent with
him. Considerable snow was still lying on the mountains.
We landed at 1 p. m. with a tmall sleigh fortrans])orting the
bread, fuel, and other small things which the party was in
need of, but we had not gone the third part of the distance
when the sleigh broke, and we were compelled to carr/ each

to drift

BOUth-

ush on

ravine

iter and

back on

Provi-

e anchor
; months

covering

1 off, and
; was the

Nfewman's
.1-3, having
uld climb
\(T besides
ler should
land-route
u to pour
iviue. He
the ship,

\e N., and
e came to
itig against
le set sail,
) following
.en landed
iis Bont with

mountains,
iporting the
arty was in

10 d' stance
carr/ each

JOUBNAL OF HERMANN 8IEMAN8.

sixty to seventy pounds on our backs over tiie steep mountains
and through the deep ravines. It was the most trying travel
I ever liad in ray life. In some of the ravines the water
reached almost to our arm-pits, and we had then to climb up
their sides on our hands and knees ; but with God's aid we
reached, at 4 o'clock in the morning of Thursday, tlie 4th of
July, safely, the boat, after thirty-nine hours, during thirty-
eight of which I had no dry foot. Since we had left them
they had no chance to move either north or south. "We
carried a letter of Captain Buddington to IMr. Chester, in
which tlie former stated that if, after consultation with Captain
Tyson, they chose to continue their attempt of pushing north
in the boats he was not the man to prevent it, but in his
opinion it was preferable that they should return on board,
as there was better prospect to push on north in the steamer,
should a chance offer, than in the boats ; we would then be
able to free the ship from the water by the hand-pumps
instead of the pumps connected with the engine, the coals for
which were almost exhausted.

July 5th. — Mr. Chester was anxious to reach in the boats
at least the 83d degree of latitude, from whence he intended
to proceed farther with the sleighs on Grinnell Land, which
extended north ; but Captain Tyson preferred to go on board,
after securing his boat and stores on the southern coast of
Newman's Bay in a ravine, one and a half miles inside of
Cape Sumner, It took from Friday, 11 a. m., to Saturday,
9 p. m., to move the boat with the stores to the ])lace selected
by Captain Tyson, in which two men narrowly escaped
drowning, Uaving thus secured the boat, Captain Tyson's
party went overland on I)oard. In the succeeding night rain
fell some hours, for the Urst time in 1872.

10th. — At 4 p. m. the ice opened a little to the southward,
and Mr. Chester concluded to take advantage of it for going
on board, as there appeared to be now no chances whatever
for proceeding north in the boat. At G p. m. the boat was
pushed into the water, and we started, but had hardly rowed
two and a half miles when we were compelled, on account
of the drift-ice besetting us again closely, to draw the boat
on a small ice-field.

ill rl

1 '*

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-i- i

M ■■ ■ ' P

'iii''1

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746

JOXTRSAL OF nERMATTN" SIEMANS.

13th. — There being no prospect that tne ice would soon
open and allow us to proceed, Mr. Chester deemed it advisa-
ble to land the boat and stores by the sleighs and take us on
board overland. At 2.30 p. m. everything was on the sleighs,
and we started. The wind increased and, together with the
roughness of the ice, made progress so diflficult that it became
necessary to lighten the sleighs ; we dropped the sleeping-bags
and some clothing. When half a mile from the shore, we left
the sleighs in order to get the things which we had dropped,
and land them first. An hour after midnight, at last, we
reached the land at Captain Tyson's boat, thoroughly wet
and almost broken down. To save the sleigh and boat now
was impossible, as it blew so violently, with snow and rain
squalls, that at times we could hardly keep on our feet. We
pitched the tents of Captain Tyson, took a scanty meal, and
lay down. But soon the tents were blown away. We then
lay down in the boat, which had a canvas cover. There was,
however, but little rest for us, as in the morning (14th) the
boat, with everything in it, we included, was, by a terrible
squall, carried a distance over the ground and thrown against
rocks, by which two planks were broken, so that it now had
a great hole in the bottom. We quickly jumped out tc
secure it, but it was caught by another gust and turned bot-
tom up. By drawing a line several fold around the boat and
fastening the ends to heavy rocks we finally succeeded in
securing it. A quantity of clothing and light things, how-
ever, had been blown into the water. We then curried the
tents a distance into the ravine, v/here we pitched them
under the lee of the cliffs, and could now, at 9 p. m., seek
the rest we so badly needed.

15th. — During the night, the ice had parted entirely from
the coast, so that we conld not get at our boat and the sleigh.

16th. — We tried in vain to reach the boat. As there was
no chance for it before the wind would veer round to the
north and set the ice again to the shore, Mr. Chester directed
Meyer, Jainke, and Kruger to go on board, while he and I
remained to save the beat, if possible, with the Ixtrd's will.

17th. — Mr. Chester and I went along the coast trying to

JOURNAL OP fiERMANN SIEMANS.

747

soon
ivisa-
\i8 on
eighs,
h the
ecame
g-bags
we left
apped,
ist, we
ily wet
vt now
id rain
t. "We
jal, and
re then
;re was,
tth) the

terrible '
I against
low had
I out tc
led bot-

3oat and
ceded in
, how-

ried the
Lcd them

m., seek

rely from
he sleigh.
;hcre was
id to the
sr directed
he and I
rd's will-
trying to

find a place where we could get to the boat. At Cape Sum-
mer, we at last espied a chance and succeeded happily,
although with great danger, in crossing the broken ice and
reaching the field upon which our boat was still standing ; at
6 p. m. it was safely on the shore.

July 22d. — As the strait continued to be beset by ice, and
our provisions began to fail, Mr. Chester concluded to go
with me oh board the ship, leaving the boat, with its contents,
where it now was. We reached the ship at 11.20 p. m.

In consequence of the great pressure of the packed ice,
which had, by the southwesterly gales, been driven in great
quantities into Polaris Bay, Providence Mount had, on the
20th during the flood-tide, parted, and the broken pieces
had pressed the vessel upon the strand, where at low water
she had been lying so much on one side that the water almost
reached the deck. But when we came on board she had,
with God's help, been floated again, aud appeared not to have
been damaged by it.

25th. — In the afternoon Captain Buddington disconnected
the pumps of the engine and divided all hands, the women
and children excepted, into three watches, each of four hours,
for pumping by hand. But after having been ashore she
made not so mwh water by far as previously, some of the
parted seams having probably closed again.

August 12th. — In the morning, the wife of Hans gave
birth to a boy.

In the afternoon the ice began to loosen and some strips of
open water appeared. At 4.40 p. m. the vessel left Polaris
Bay with northerly wind. We worked during the succeed-
ing night, with great difficurty, through the ice until 8 a. m.
of the next day, when we were compelled, by the density of
the ice, to fasten the vessel to a large floe near a small island
on the Grinnell Land side. We were now without ground-
tackle. The boats left at Newman's Bay we missed very
badly. We drifted that day with the ice slowly to the south-
ward, there being no wind, and the weather beautiful. In
the night, when wo saw near us a strip of open water which
Appeared to extend several miles to the southward, wo made

III
ill

If!

'.:i ii ij

illi
i^ i 1

ffi TJ-I* 'J f I

Hi,.,

Pt:|

(t!
.A

\ '•■'■

Ii ' ■'

748

JOURNAL OF HEBMAITN SIEMAKS.

repeated attempts, with the fall power of the engine, to break
through the ice surrounding us, but could not succeed, and
had to tie the vessel up again.

14th. — At 2 p. m. we passed Cape Constitution, in latitude
80^ 30' N., and worked steadily on until 11.30 p. ni., when
the ice had closed in again, and nothing remained but to tie
up to an ice-field.

18th. — We still lay tied to the same floe to which we had
fastened on "Wednesday ; beset by heavy ice in which no
opening was visible.

2l8t. — At noon the fires were drawn, as both boilers leaked
and had to be repaired. We had now to work the pumps
by hand, the ship making twice as much water as in Polaris
Bay, as she had received many hard knocks since we left.

27th. — We had now for some days been almost stationary,
probably because the ice had packed in the narrow part of
Smith's Sound. In the evening the ship was towed between
the fields about a quarter of a mile.

29th.— Beautiful calm weather. In the evening we again
saw a large stretch of open water. The fires were instantly
lighted, and we laborod throughout the night with the full
power of steam, and besides all hands outside the vessel on
the ice, but could only carry the ship within about one hun-
dred and fifty yards of the open water, where, at 5.30 a. m.,
■we were compelled to tie her up again.

September 5th. — ^We tried to stop the leaks of the vessel
without success.

30th. — There were this morning quite a number of open
places north and south of the ship, and also near her the ice
began to work with great noise ;' but the fields still incasing
her prevented us from reaching the opening to the south-
ward. Since August 15, when we tied up the ship to the
ice in latitude 80^ 02' N., we had drifted, in one and a half
months, 60 miles to the southward.

2d. — We were about twenty-three miles N. W. of Kane's
winter-quarters, and could see the harbor plainly in a clear
sky. The ice still very unquiet.

October 3d. — Began to erect a house on the ice-field to

JOURNAL OF HERMANN 8EEMAN8.

749

which the ship was fastened, as the latter was in great danger
of being crushed, and, moreover, the winter now approached
fast.

7th. — Mild, with light northerly breeze. Worked on the
house, and carried ice into the ship, which Mr. Schumann
intended to use for the small boiler working the pumps, as
the salt water had crystalized in it to a great extent. In the
afternoon Joe shot a seal and discovered that he had been
tracked the day before close to the ship by a polar bear,
which the dogs had not scented, the wind being against
them ; they are generally very keen in this respect.

9th. — We carried a store of bread into the house. In the
afternoon one of the crew saw a polar bear between the ice-
fields, at a distance of a mile from the ship.

12th. — We had a gale from the N. E., with cold temper-
ature. Much open water. Drifted more rapidly to the
south. We were now about three miles from the coast of
Greenland.

)l:i]: !

■p '

? i

'«>'

•

h :

CHAPTER XLVII.
JOHN HERRON'S DIARY.

John Herron, steward of tlie Polaris Expedition,
was one of the party separated from the sliip and sub-
sequently rescued by the Tigress. JMr. Herron kept
a journal of the incidents and experiences of the ice
drift, which extended from October 15th, 1872, to the
ensuing May, and it is in every respect highly cred-
itable to him. All the important and interesting por-
tions of this document are given below :

October 15. Gale from the S. W. ; s-liip made fast to floe ;
bergs pressed in and ni])pcd the ship until \vc thought slie
was going down ; threw pnnisions ovei'l)oard, and nineteen
souls got on the floe to receive them and haul them up on the
ice. A large berg came sailing down, struck the floe, shiv-
ered it to pieces, and freed the ship. She was out of sight
in five minutes. Wo were afloat on different pieces of ice.
Wo had two boats. Our men were picked up, myself among
them, and landed on the main floe, which we found to be
cracked in many places. We remained shivering all night.
Saved very little provisions.

Oct. 10. The berg that did so much damage half mile to
the N. 1']. of us. Plenty of open water. We lost no time in
launching; the boats, getting the provisions in, and pullinif
around llic Ijcrg, when we saw the Polaris, .'^he had steam
up, and succeeded in getting a harbor. She got under the
lee of au island, and came down with sails set — jib, foresail,

750

JOHN IJKUKON 8 DIARY.

751

pedition.
and sub-
on kept
f the ice
2, to the
rlily cred-
sting por-

ust to floe ;
houglit she
nl nineteen
in np on the
V. Uoc, shiv-

ivit of sight
lic'i'es of ice.

self amouj?

f.nnut to he
dig all night.

I half mile to
it no time in
and l'n^l'"'n
lie had stoani
yt under the
-jib, foresail,

mainsail, and staysail. She must have seen us as Ihe island
was four or five miles off. We expected her to save us,
as there was plenty of open water, lieset with iee, wliich I
think sli(> could have gotten through. In the i-vcning we
staried with the boats for shore. Had we reached it we could
have walked on board in one hour, but the ice set in so fast
when near the sljore that we could not pull through it. We
had ii narrow escape in jumping from piece to piece, with the
painter in hand, until we reached the floe. We dragged the
boat two or three hund' mI yards, to a high place, wliere we
thought .she Wduld lie secure until mcrning, and made for our
provisions, wliich were on a distant part of tlie floe. We
were too much worn out with hniiL r and fatigue to bring
lier ahnig to-night, and it is nearly dark. We cannot see
our other boat or our provisions. The snow-drift has cov-
ered our late tracks.

Oct. 17. Strong wind from the S. E. The ice broke up
again. Our boat and everything we have left aio going.
We are afloat on a very small piece, with very little provis-
ions left. It is blowing a gale and threatens to be a very
severe night.

Oct. 21. Building snow houses; finished one; we sleep
in it to-night.

Oct. 22. Weather very thick ; snow falling. Building
snow-houses for the Esquimaux, and one more for ourselves, as
the first i.s too small.

Oct. 23. With the aid of our marine-glass, to our great
joy, we discovered in the distance a boat, and at some dis-
tance therefrom, the tent. The ice for a few miles between
us and the floe whicli they are on is very thin, but we must
risk it, as we have six bags of bread there, fort3'-five pound-
cans of pemmican, and two dozen cans of meat. Returned
to headquarters weak, but thankful to God. Eojoicing in our
good fortune, we treated ourselves to a good supper, thank-
ing God for our increase in stores.

Oct. 24. Four men made another trip to the tent to bring
some planks with which to make a sleigh.

752

JUUN II£HUON a DIARY.

Oct. 25. Half of tlio men have gone to tho tent with the
sled muilc this morning, diniwn by the doga. Tho rest of us
arc remaining here by tho boat ready to shove off in case
tiu) ice should oix;n. Evening tho men returned with a sleii-
load of poles. All well.

Oct. 29. This morning very cold and stormy, but clear.
Tlio land in sight all the time. Wo have got our cook-house
at work. All well.

Oct. 31. Sent Joe and Hans with a dog-team to see how
tlie ice will stand, as we intend starting to-morrow for shore.
We have eaten as much as we could to-day to get strength
for tho journey. We have been living very poorly so as to
make our provisions last six months.

November 1. Started to-day for the large floe four miles
distant, and one-third of the distance, I should say, to the
shore. After a hard day's work we succeeded in getting two
boats and our provisions otT, also one sleigh-load of bed-cov-
ering, skins, and canvas, and some poles ; leaving three bags
of coals, the only ones we liave left.

Nov. 2. This morning wc were surprised to find the ice
open all around us. We started before daylight with tlic
dogs and sled, not knowing what had happened until we had
nearly driven into the water.

Nov. 3. This morning snow-storm. Building snow-houses.
All well. No chance now of getting ashore ; must now give
that up.

Nov. 6. Joe caught a seal, which has been a godsend.
Wc are having a feast to-night, three-fourths of a pound of
food being our allowance. Mr. Meyer made a pack of cards
from some thick pajier, and wc are now playing euchre.
Plenty of water around us. We are a good deal further from
the land, and arc drifting south pretty smart.

i^ov. 10. Wind strong ; snow drifting. We are drifting
fast la the south. The west land is not to be seen. The Es-
quimoax are out hunting. Joe has returned late ; Hans has
not C' mie yet. Joe and Robert have gone in search of
him. He had left the floe for another one, and with great

JOHN HERRON's diary.

753

ith the
jt of us
in case
I a sled-
it clear,
jk-liouse

see how
or shore,
strength
j^ 80 as to

our miles
ay, to the
ctthig two
)l' bcd-cov-
thrcc bags

tnd the ice
it with tlie
util we had

now-houses.
ist now give

a godsend-

a pound of

ack of cards

ying euchre.

further from

c arc drifting!
icn. ThcEs-
tc ; Hans has
in search of
ud with great

difficulty found his way back very hitc. They saw him com-
ing, dressed in skins and covered with snow, and took him
for an ioc-bcar ; loaded their pistols and made ready, when,
to their joy, they found it v. as Hans.

Nov. 10. Calm, but thick. Joo saw three seals yester-
day, and a foxtrack, but got nothing. Wc have nolliing to
feed our dogs on ; they got at the provision to-day ; we shot
five, leaving four ; shot some two weeks since. Lining our
new hut with canvas.

Nov. 21. The natives caught two seals ; they shot three,
but lost one of them in the young ice. We moved into our
new house to-day. We shot two dogs — they got at our pro-
visions ; we have two left.

Nov. 28. Thanksgiving to-day ; wo have had a feast —
four pint-cans of mock-turtle soup, six pint-cans of green corn,
made into scouch. Afternoon : three ounces of bread and
the last of our chocolate ; our day's feast. All well.

December 1. Calm, but little light. This month out and
wc can hope for the best, as daylight will begin to como
upon U8. Fred saw the bear to-day, but being alone dared
not go for him.

Dec. 2. Boiled some seal-skin to-day and ate it — l)lubber,
hair, and tough skin. The men ate it ; I coukl not. The
liair is too thick, and we have no means of getting it off.

Dec. 5. The fox came too near to-day ; Bill Lindemann
shot him ; skiiuicd and cut him up for cooking. Fox in this
country is all hair and tail.

Dec. 6. The ix)or fox was devoured to-day by seven of the
men who liked it ; they had a mouthful each for tiieir share ;
1 did not think it worth while myself to commence with so
small an allowance, .so I did not try Mr. Fox.

Dec. 7. If wc keep on this way we will be otT the island
of Disco in March. AH in good health. The only thing that
troubles us is hunger ; that is very severe. We feel «ome-
times as though we could eat each other. Very weak, but
please God we will weather it all. - , r

754

joiixV herron's diary.

i If

Dec. IB. Hans caught a small white fox in a trap yester-
day. The nights are brilliant, cold, and clear. The scene is
charming, if we were only in a position to appreciate it.

Dec. 20. Joe found a crack yesterday, and three seals.
Too dark to slioot. It is a good thing to have game under-
neath us. It would, be much better to have them on tlie floe,
for starving men. To-morrow will be our choicest day — then
the sun returns.

Dec. 21. To-day clear ; light wind. The shortest day, so
cheer up ! In tliree weeks we will have daylight. Then we
hope to catch game.

Dec. 22. Calm and clear as a bell ; the best twilight we
have seen for a month. It must have been cloudy, or we are
drifting S. fast. Our spirits are up, but the body weak ; 15°
below zero.

Dec. 25. This is a day of jubilee at home, and certainly
here for us ; for, aeside the approaching daylight, wliich we
feel tliankCul to God for sparing us to see, we had quite a
feast to-day.

Dec. 29. Joe shot a seal, which is a godsend, as we are
pretty weak. Tt is breezing up strong. We have had a good
supper ; thank Cod.

January 1, 1873. Clondy ; no water; 29° below zero.
Poor dinner for New- Year's Day — mouldy bread and short
allowance.

Jan. 3. Twenty-three degrees below zero ; very cloudy;
strong wind : cannot leave the hut.

Jan. 5. To-day fell in with two bear-tracks, Imt cannot
find ili»!m. If wo could kill one of these fellows it would
set us all riglit.

Jan. 7. Light wind. Mr. Meyer took an observation last
night ; latitude 72'^ 7'; longitude HO" 40' 45''. The news wns
so good that I treated myself to an extra pipe of tobai'oo at
12 o'clock last night. The tobacco is getting very short, so
that I liave to be very saving this month. We are obliged
to Cfio'v our monls with a lamp — pretty slow work. Good
noi'Iiern lights last night.

am
iio\n
Han,'
Fo
I se
Show
falls
is so
Iiiit
fallini
there
Oi^st

JOHN IlEllRON S DIARY.

755

zero,
short

ion last
ows was
baceo at
short, 80
obliiTPd

. (lood

Jan. 8, Light wind ; 29° below zero. No water yet.
Hans's little ])oy litis been very poorly for some time back. I
hope he will get better soon.

Jan. 15. Blowing a gale. Snow drifting very badly.
Our dogs had an encounter with two l)ears. One of the dogs
got cut when some distance from the floe.

Jan. 16. No wind; very tliiek. TIip glass ranges from
26° to 81° below zero. Hans caught a seal to-day ; thank
God! for- we were very weak. Our light would have been
finished to-morrow, and our t,(X)ki);g also. But God sent this
seal to save us ; thanks to His iKj-ly name ! It has been so
all the time. Just as we we<e jtlayed out something came
along. I am afraid I have a touch of tlie scurvy. A little
raw meat will drive it out, I hojx;. Hans's boy is no better.
I hope it will do him good also.

Jan. 19. Clear ; light wind ; S9° below zero. Tiie sun
has made his apjx'arance to-day. I gave him three cheers,
hoping we may he able to start a month from now. Thank
God lor this day ! we have long wished to see it. The sun
has brought us luck in (lie way of a sea! Joe caught. The
finest displ.'iv of northern lights that I ever saw came otf to-
night. They had to go about six miles to-day to open water,
where they saw many seals.

Jan. 20. Wo havi' not seen the E. shore yet. I liope to
see the island of Disco; the laud is very high there, but I
am afraid we will di'ift past it. Wc cannot help mirselvcs,
however. We are in the hands of God, and I am thankful.
Hans shot a dovekie. I hope lie will give it to his bfw.

Foltruary 4. A gale from the W. ; very thick snow-drift.
I seldom see it snow iiere, for when it is biow,n<r hard the
Show comes like flour with tlic wind. Wiietbf-r the snow-
falls or the wind takes it up from the ice I cannot t<^ll, but it
is so fine and thick you cannot sec. There is no leaving the
hnt in such weuihci-, as the snow is always eitiier drifting or
falling with the blow, no matter from what quater. Then
there is no going out, as it fiUs the ice and will penetrate al-
most anything. The temperature to-day has been from 16°

:i;i

,< I !l

1 Jl

756

JOHN riERRON S DIARY.

frt'

to 10° below zero. All are well, thank God, but me. I have
a slifrht touch of the scurvy, and feel veiy ailing, but, please
God, it will soon leave me.

Feb. 14. Very strong wind; thick, and snow drifting.
We are having a long spell of bad weather. Hans caught a
seal to day, which will give us another meal. Saw a fox to-
day-near the huts, but not -' '. 'nough to get a shot at him.
Joe hit three unicorns to-da_5 , •'it I am afraid our cliance to
get one is small.

Feb. IG. Saw plenty of whales : wish they would take
their departure ; they frighten the seals away which we are
now so badly in want of; our provisions are gelting very low.
When you take a glass and look round, you see the ice in the
distance piled up as high as a ship's mast, so that it seems
impossible to travel over it — certainly not with a boat — and
no land to be seen yet. Wo want water to escape, and, please
God, we will get it when the time comes. All well.

Feb. 10. The welcome cry this morning was " Land ho !"
to westward. Cape Walsingham. Now we will be out of the
narrows. The straits commence to widen here so that vve
can travel S. fast if we cannot reach land.

Feb. 20. Water around ; cannot see land. The seals are
very scarce here. Wo must soon get a good lead of water
running in-shore., and so escape, or kill |)lentyof seals to live
on, else our time in this world will bo short. Bni God's will
be done.

Fel). 24. Land is twenty miles off, I should say, and we
appear to be leaving it. My advice is to start lor it — making
a sleigh out of some spare slcins, blading it with jji'ovision.s
and clothing, and tlio kayak to fciry us across thccraciis:
also, anuniniition for hunting purjioses when we get on shore.
By that means we could leave the boat and travel light, for
it is my opinion that we will never get the lioat over the ico
any distnnce. We seem to have left the sealing-gronnd. We
cannot catcii aiiytliing to speak of, iind we hiiv<i only tiu'cc
weeks' ]*rovisions left. Captain Tyson and some of tiie men
are afraid to venture ia-shorc, and unwilling to leave tlw

!'! .11

JOHN HERRON S DIARY.

757

1 \iavc
, please

Irifting.
•w^\\t a
a fox to-
at liii"-
haixce to

mid talvC
;U \vc aic
vcvy low.
ico in the
it seems
b(r,it— and
uul, please

Ll.

Land ho '•"
: out of the
. so tbat *ve

,c seals are

,\ „f water

:als to live

God's will

soy. and we
it— nuikiug

\ provisions

tlu.' cracks;

,ot, on shore.

,va li^ht, for

ovi-r the i<^c
-M round. "*-'
v... only three
,e of the men

to leave th«

boat ; go wo have made up our minds to stay, come down in
our provisions, and trust in God, liopin^j; we may drift on a
better sealing-ground, and thus live thro\igli it. J askt-d (he
Esquimaux's opinions about it — what they would do if they
had not us to influence them. They told me tliey would start
for land directly Iheysaw it. They do not like to speak their
muids openly for fear something miglit liiijipon — mcuning
they would be blamed for it ; so they are silent, following
only the advice and opinions of others. Joe is very much to
be praised, also his wife Hannah. Wc may thank them
and God for our lives and the good health we arc m.
We could never have gotten through this far without them.
If wc ever get out of this difficulty, they can never be paid
too much. Joe caught a very small seal, which makes the
eighth this month. Northern lights very brilliant to-night.
All well.

Feb. 2G. A crack of water to the I']. Land to be seen.
Wc are coming down on our provisions one-half; that is as
low as. we can come and keep life, and will be a few ounces a
day.

March 1. We are drifting S, fast ; cai just sec the moun-
tains in the N. W. Sometimes Peter favo -s us with a sailor's
yarn Avhen we lie down at night ; that is, when wc have
had a meal of seal-meat. All other nights we arc quiet
enough.

March 2. Splendid display of northern liglits these last
two niglits. To-day God lias sent us food in abuntlance.
Joe shot an oogjook, one of the largest kind ; plenty of meat
and oil ; aiul forty-two dovekies. It took all bands to tlrag
liim home That was a good Sunday's work ; dragging the
fine fellow to the Imt, and thanking God for His mercies.
Begins to breeze up, and the snow d-iits pietty lively. All
well and happy.

Marcli T). Ulowing a f ;alc from the X. W. Snow drifting ;
cannot get out. Joe went out in the last blow; it seems to
me he cannot stay in; he is a llrst-ratn fellow; we Mouhl
have been dead men long since bad it not been for him.

"'i "■

758

JOHN HERRON S DIARY.

: «

U )

I '

Mai'ch 7. The gale abated this morning. Stiff breeze
yet, and snow drifting. Immense icebergs all around the floe.
There was a fearful noise all last night, which kept us awake.
The floe was cracking, splitting, and working in the most
fearful manner, just lilic a park of artillery and musketry. I
expected to sec it split into a thousand pieces every moment.
I feel very bad yet in my head and stomach. The liver of
bear and oogjook, they say, is very dangerous to eat. But
what is a hungry man to do?

March 11. Blowing a strong gale yet. All hands were
np last night and dressed, ready for a jump, for the ice was
splitting, cracking and making a fearful noise all night. To-
day has been a fearful day — cannot see, for snow-drift. We
know the floe is broken into small pieces. We are afloat —
jumping and kicking about. This is not very pleasant. 'My
hope is in God.

March 12. Last night was a fearful night of suspense —
ice creaking and breaking ; the gale roaring, and the water
swashing. But where ? We know it is around us, but can-
not see anything. Since one o'clock this morning tlic wind
has been going down, tliauk God, and now I can hco around.
A nice picture ! Everytliing broken up into small pieces ;
the best piece we are on. The liouses are nearly covered.
Afternoon : It has calmed down to a fine day, with a light
breeze.

March 17. Saw a bear this morning, and gave chase, be-
fore six o'clock. After a very exciting run of over two
hours, he got over a large space of water, and we had
to give him np. Saw a wliale and three seals, l)ut gut noth-
ing.

xVfarch 20. Water tln'ee miles off". Joe caught four seals
to-day and Hans one — the first of tlie kind ; tlioy call them
bladder-nose ; tliey an- buggers to figlit. I do not know how
far S. we shnll Imvetheni; wo have just struck tiieir ground.
Tliey are s[ liiidid sea) — much larger than (In- others. It
is very dangerous jroing out no far ; the ice is so weak, and
it is so near spring-tide.

Apr I

li'K'lt I,
^110 )i|

JOHN HEREON S DIARY.

759

•ceze
floe,
vake.
most

•y. 1

iinent.
ver of
But

Is were
ice was
it. To-
:t. We
afloat —
ut. 'My

spense — •
lie water
, \)ut can-
the wind
c around.

over
Id wc

gi)t 1

mow n

(llluM-9.

I) sveak,

March 27. Went out to-day to the old place, but was
forced to come back. Esquimaux and all pretty lively. It
is so dangerous we will have to wait until after spring-tide.
A very agreeable surprise to-night, while at supper. A bear
came to the hut. Of course, he died ; we buried him in the
snow until morning.

March 28. Skinned and cut up the bear ; he is a fine
young one, very tender and fat, weighing, I should say, 700
or 800 pounds. We are making some sausages from liim,
which are very good, I think. 1 think it is the sweetest and
teuderest meat I ever ate. The fat cuts like gelatine.

March 29. Has been blowing very hard since last night,
and is doing so yet. Surrounded with large bergs ; the ice
broken up ; water all around. Never saw so many icebergs ;
we are completely hemmed in by them. Do not know what
distance we are from land. Nothing to be seen but the old
sight — icebergs, floes, and water.

March 30. Blowing a gale from W. N. W, ; it looks fear-
ful. Last night the sight was dreadful. I went out, and there,
within ten or twelve yards of the door of our hut, was a
very large and ugly-looking iceberg grinding a^rainst us. Our
little floe gets smaller in open water. Today wc had the
pleasure of launching the boat. We saw on a )»iecc of ice a
large seal ; we fired and thought we hit him. 'Vhcn we had
pulled there with the boat, we found a large bhuJdei-nosc and
her pup. She showed fight, but was soon killed, and, with
her pup, towed to our floe. The buck was shot, but got under
the young ice.

March Bl. We are nearly off" Cape Farewell. Last night,
ran a very lieavy sea; not a Lit of ice to be seen as far as tlie
eye aoidd reach. To-day closed around a little, but plenty
of water. Dare not venture in our open boat ; wc must
watcli and wait and trust in God.

April 1. A fearful night, last night. Cannot stay on our
lioe ; must leave it at once. Got under way at 8 a.m.; the
lx)at taking in water. Loaded too deep. Throw overboard
one hundred pounds of meat ; must throw away all our

M ;•■

i..

t,j

'■

I v

^j:

i I:

760

JOHN HERRON S DIARY.

clothes. Cannot carry anything but the tent and a few skins
to cover us with, a little meat, and our bread and pemmican.
We landed to lighten our boat ; pitched our tent, and intend
stopping all night.

April 2. Lovely last night. The floe lost several pieces.
I could not sleep for two reasons : the ice breaking up, and
too cold. Started at 5 A. M. Worked the oars for two
hours, then a breeze sprang up and increased until it blew
almost a gale. We made several narrow escapes with our
boat before we could find a piece of ice safe enough to land
, on, and when we did she was making water fast. When
emptied, we found a hole in her side, which wo are repairing
this afternoon. We are in a very bad fix.

April 3. Repaired our boat, and started. Pulled three
hours, when a breeze sprang up from N. N. W. We kept
under way until 2:80 p. M., when we had to haul up on a piece
of a floe. We were beset by the ice and could not get tlirough ;
so we encamped for the night.

April 5. Blowing a gale and a fearful sea running.
Two pieces broke from the floe. We are on one close to the
tent. At 5 a. m. removed our things to the center. Another
piece broke off carrying Joe's hut with it ; luckily it gave some
warning, so that tiioy had time to throw out some things be-
fore it parted. A dreadful day ; cannot do anything to help
ourselves. If tlie ice break up mucli more, wc must break up
witli it ; set a watch all night.

April 6. Blowing a very severe gale. Still on the same
ice ; cannot get off". At tlic mercy of the elements. Joe lost
another hut to-day. The ice, with a roar, split across the
floe, cutting Joe's hut right in two. Wc have Init a small
piece left. Cannot lie liown to-nig)it. Put a lew thinf:;»t in
the boat and now standing by for a jump ; such is the night.

A])nl 7. Still blowing a gale, with a fearful sea runninjr.
The ice split right across our tent this morning at <'> a. m.
Wiiilc getting a few ounces of bread and pemmican, we lost
our l>reakfast in scrambling out of our tent, and nearly lost
our boat, which would have been worse than losing ourselves,

li:

JOHN HEREON S DIARY.

761

jw skins
uiinican.
(1 intend

al pieces.
!«• up, and
s for two
til it blew
with oui-
rh to land
St. When
e repairing

■ullcd three
We kept
ip on a piece
ret through ;

ea running.
? close to tiie
Another
it gave some
mc tilings be-
y'tbiiig to belp
nust break up

on the same
,nta. Joe lost
,\U across tlic
^vo l>iit a small

IVw thinp^ i"
;i, is the nigW'
il sea runni"?'
■i.ingatf. A->''
unioaa, we lost
and nearly lost
osing ourselves.

We could not catch any seal after the storm set in ; so we are
obliged to starve for a while, hoping in God it will not be for
a long time. The worst of it is, wo have no blul)l)cr for the
lamp, and cannot cook, or melt any water. Evcrythino; looks
very gloomy. Set a watch ; half the men iiio lying clown,
the others walking outside the tent.

A\m\ 8. Last night, at 12 o'clock, the ice broko again,
right between the tent and the boat, which were close to-
gether, so close that a man could not walk bclweon llicra.
There the ice split, separating the boat and tent, carrying
away boat, kayak, and Mr. Meyer. Tiioro we stood, helpless,
looking at each other. It -was blowing and snowing, very
cold, and a fearfnl sea running. The ice was bi'caking, lap-
ping, and crushing. The sight was grand, bnt dreadful to
us in our position. Mr. Meyer cast the kayak adrift, but it
went to leeward of us. He can do nothing wiiji the boat
alone, so thoy arc lost i us mdess God returns them. The
natives went olF on a piece of ice with their paddles and ice-
spears. The work, looks dangerous ; we may never sec them
again. But we are lost without the boat, so that they arc as
well ofF. After an hour's struggle, we can make out, with
what little light there is, that they have reached the boat,
about half a mile oil". Tiiere they appear to be helpless —
the ice closing In all around — and we can do nothing until
dayliglit-

Daylight at last — 3 a. m. Tlicre we see fhem with the
boat ; they can do nothing with her. Tlic kayak is the same
distance in another direction. We must vcniure off; may as
well be crushed by the ice and drowned as to leniain here
without the boat. Gff wo venture, all but two, wlio dare not
make the attempt. Wo juni[) or step from one ])icce to an-
other, as the swell heaves it and the ice comes close together
— one piece being high, the other low, so that yci watch
your chance to jun»p. All who ventured reached the boat in
safety, thank God, and alter a long struggle wo got her safe to
camp again. Then we ventured for the kayak, and got it
also. Mr. Mover aud Fred Jamkins fell into the water.

i >

■ 'iv

762

JOHN HERRON 8 DIARY.

i •-

Luckily, wc had two or three dry shirts left, so that they
could change. Most every man is more or loss wet. Have
taken our tent down and pitched it on the middle of our little
piece of ice, with our boat alongside. Joe has built another
hut alongside <he tent.

Api'il 9. The sun has shown himself for a few minutes.
Mr. Meyer shot him ; latitude 55° 51' N. The sea runs very
high threatening to wash us off every minute. We are in
the hands of God ; may He pi-eserve us. The ice is much
slacker, and tlie water is coming nearer. Things look very
bad. God knows how the night will end. Evening : Washed
out of our tout; Hannah from her snow-hut. Have gotten
everything in the boat ready for a start ; she can never live
m such a sea. The sun has set very good. Land in sight.
It has cheered us up. The women and children are in the
boat. We have not a dry place to walk about nor a piece of
fresh-walcr ice to eat. The sea has swept over all. The ice
is closing in fast ; the wind and sea going down.

April 12. We are still prisoners, the ice close. Saw
some seals, but could not get them. Very hungry, and likely
to be so.

April 14. Our small piece of ice is wearing away very
fast; our little provisions are nearly finished. Things look
very dark ; starvation very near. My trust is in God ; He
will bring us through. All well.

April 16. The ice still the same ; no swell on. My
head and face have Ijecn swollen to twice theii- usual size. I
do not know the cause of it, unless it is the ice head-pillow
and the sun. We keep an hours watch at night. Some one
has been at the pennnican on their watch, and I can put iiiy
hand on the man. He did the same thing during the winter,
and on the night of the 7th I cauglit him in the act. We
have but few days' provisions left. The only thing tliat
troubles me is the thought of cannibalism. It is a fearful
thought, but may as well be looked boldly in the face as oth-
erwise. If such things are to happen we must submit. May
God save us !

JOHN HEllRON 8 DIARY.

763

it they

Have

lur little

another

minutes,
nns very
\^Q are in
; 18 much
look very
; Washed
ve gotten
never live
1 in sight,
are in the
a piece of
[. The ice

lose. ?aw
r, and likely

away very
Things look
u God ; He

f\\ on. My
■;nal size. 1
bcad-yillow
Some one
can iiut my
k the winter,
F,c act. We
thing tliat
It is a Icarful
face as otli-
lubmit. May

April 17. Wo sliot the dogs last winter for stealing the
proviisions. If 1 had my way, with the consent of all liaiids,
I would call out and shoot down that two-legged dog, who
has since been at them. I see most of the nu-n have their
faces swollen, but not so badly as nunc. All well, but grow-'
ing very weak.

April 18. Joe saw a small liole of water half a mile off.
Ho took his gun and ventured over the loose ieo. No sooner
had lie gotten there than he shot a seal, and sang out for the
kayak, as the water made rapidly. It is a nice-sized seal.
A joyful sight met our view this morning when wo turned out
— the land in sight, bearing S. W. We reluined thanks to
God for His mercy and goodness to us. We dividcid the seal
very nicely into sixteen parts. One man tluMi turned his
back, and called out the names, each man stejiping up and
taking his share.

April !20. Blowing a gale somewhere. The swell is very
heavy. The first warning we had — the man on watch
sang out at the moment — a sea struck us, and, washing over
U3, carried away everything that was loose. This happened
at 9 o'clock last night. We shipped sea after sea, five and
ten minutes after each other, carrying away everything we
had, our tent, skins, and most of our bccj-elolhing, leaving
us destitute, with only the few things we could get into the
boat. There we stood from 9 in tin? evening until 7 next
morning, enduring, I sliould say, what men never stood be-
fore. The few things wo saved, and the children, were
placed in the boat. The sea broke over us during that night
and morning. Every fifteen or twenty minutes a sea would
come, lift the Ijoat and ns with it, carry us along the ice, and
lose it strength near the edge, and somelinies on it. Then it
would take us the next fifteen minutes to got back to a safe
place, rcfidy for the next roller. So we stood that long hour,
not a word spoken but the commands to " Hold on, my hear-
ties, bear down on her, put on all your weight ;" and so we
did, bearing down and holding on like giini dcatli. Cold,
hungry, wet, and little prospect ahead. At 7 o'clock there

^!i

764

JOHN HEREON S DIARY.

camo close to iis a small piece of ice, which rode dry, and
wo determined to launcli the boat and reach it, or perish. The
cook went overhoanl but was saved. Landed there in safety,
thank God. All well. Tired and sleepy.

April 21. Lost night and yesterday all hands wet. Noth-
infj dry to jmt on to-day. There is little to dry, but we have
stripped off everything we can spare, and arc drying
them. The men arc divided into two watches, sleeping in
the boat and doing the best we can. Hunger disturbs us
most.

April 22. Weather very bad. It appears to me we are
the sport and jest of the elements. The other night they
played with us and our boat as though we were shuttlecocks.
Men would never believe, nor could pen doecribe the scenes
which we have passed through, and yet live. Here we are,
half drowned, cold and with no means of shelter. Everything
wet and no sun to dry theu^.. The scene looks bad ; nothing
to eat. Everything finished if some relief does not come
along. I do not know what will become of us. Fearful
thoughts enter my head as to the future. Mr. Meyer is starv-
ing ; he cunnot last long in this state. Joe has been off on
the ice three times to-day, the little way he can get, but has
not seen anything. Chewed on a piece of skin this morning
that was tanned and saved for clothing ; rather a tough and
tasteless breakfast. Joe ventured off on the ice the fourtli
time, and after looking a good while from a piece of icel)crg,
saw a bear coming slowly toward us. He ran back as fast as
possiljlo for his giui. All of us laid down and remained per-
fectly still, Joe and Hans going out some distance to meet
the bear. Getting behind a hummock, they waited for him.
Along came Bruin, thinking he was coming to a meal instead
of furnishing one himself. Clack, bang went two rifles, and
down went Ihuin to save a starving lot of men. The TiOrd
be praised ; this is His lieavcnly work ! V/e camiot catch
seal for the pack-ice, and we are on a l)ad sealiiig-ground.
He therefore sends a bear along where bears arc seldom seen,
and where we certainly never expected to find one. The

7, t^n^
1. The
safety,

Noth-
wc have

di-ymg
cpiug in
iturbs us

c wc arc
g\it tliey
ttlecocks.
[he scenes
i-c we are,
iverythmg
I ; nothing
not come
3. Fearful
rev is starv-
beeu off on
jet, hut has
his morning
a tougl\ and
]e tlic fourth
of iceberg,
Ick as fast as
niaincd pcr-
iuice to meet
itrd for him.
mcai instead
■0 rifles, anil
[, The I'ord
cannot catch
laling-ground.
sehlom seen,
d one. The

JOHN IIERKON S DIARY.

'G5

poor bear was hungry himself ; there was nothing in his
stomach. Jdc, poor IcUovr, looked very much down on our
account. Everything lcK)ks bj-ight again but the atmos-
phere ; it looks threatening.

April 25. Wind inei'oased to a gale last niuht from the
N. E. Raining uU night and to-day, witli si)o\v-s(]ualIs.
Launched the boat at 5 a. m. The case was dcsi)erate ; run-
ning witlx a light-built boat, damaged aa she is, jKitcliod and
scratched all over. But what were we to do ? The piece of
ice we were on had wasted away so much it would never rido
out the gale. Our danger to-day was vcr}^ great ; a gale of
wind blowing ; a erippled boat overloaded ; and a Icarl'ul sea
running, fdled with small ice as sharp as knives. I>ut, thank
God, wo came safely through it. We are all soaking wet, in
everything we liave, and no chance of drying anything. Wo
havo had neither sun nor moou for over a week. Not a sin-
gle star have I seen. All is dark and dreary, but, please
God, it will soon brighten up. We have struck the sealman's
grounds. I never saw sueli an abundance of seals before ;
tliey are in schools like the porpoise. We liaulcdup on a floe
after eight hours' pidl ; could make no westing. Shot some
seals, but they all sunk ; Joe shot them. Hard times.

April 26. Joe shot a seal last evening and broke the
charm. Hans shot one this morning. Ice very thick around.
Started at 6..30 a.m., and were beset two hours afterward.
Pulled up on a small piece of ice ; the best we could fmd.
Snowing all day. llepaircd the boat here, which it wanted,
and the weather cleared up in the afternoon. Got some
things dried a little, and half of us turned in.

April 28. Gale of wind sprang up from the W. ; heavy

sea running ; water wa^.hing over the floe. All ready and

standing by our boat all night. Xot quite so bad as the other

night. Snow-squalls all night and during the forenoon.

Launched the boat at daylight, but could get nowhere for

the ice. Heavy sea and head-wind ; blowing a gale right in

our teeth. Hauled up on a piece of ice at 6 a. m., and had

a few hom-a' sleep, b 't were threatened to be mashed to

^>^

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

^ '^^^

1.0

I.I

1.25

M. 11.6

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

33 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. USSO

(716) 872-4503

5? .. W

'«.

766

JOHN UEKUON 8 UIAKT.

pieces by some bergs, lliey are fighting quite a battle in
the water, and bearing right for us. We called the watch,
launched the boat, and got away, the wind blowing mode-
rately and the sea going down.

4:30 p. M. Steamer right ahead, and a little to the N.ofus.
We hoisted the colors, pulled until dark, trying to cut her
olT, but she does not see us. She is a sealer, bearing 8. W.
Once she appeared to be bearing right down u|)6n us, but I
supiwse she was working through the ice. What jrty she
caused ! We found a small piece of ice and boarded it for
the night. Night calm and clear. The stars are out the
first time for a week, and there is a new moon. The sea
quiet, and splendid northern lights. Divided into two
watches, four hours' sleep each. Intend to start early. Had
a goou pull this afternoon ; made some westing. Cooked
with blubber-fire. Kept a good one all night, so that we could
be seen.

April 29. Morning fine and calm ; the water quiet. At
daylight sighted the steamer five miles off. Called the watch,
launched the boat and made for her. After an hour's pull
gained on her a good deal ; another hour and we got fast in
the ice ; could get no further. Landed on a piece of ice, and
hoisted our colors from an elevated place. Mustered our
rides and pistols, and fired together, making a conHidcrablo
repoii:. Fired throe rounds and was answered by three shots,
the steamer at the same time heading for us. He headed
N., then S. E., and kept on so all day. He tried to work
through the ice, but could not. Very strange; I should
thiivk any sailing-vessel, much less a steamer, could get
through with ease. We fired several rounds and ke|)t our
colors flying, but he came no nearer. He was not over four
or five miles distant. Late in the afternoon he steamed
away, bearing S. W. We gave hira up. In the evening he
hove in sight again, but farther off. While looking at him,
another stranger hove in sight, so that we have two sealers
near, one on each side of us, and I do not expect to be picked
ap by either of them.

JOHN HERRON's diary.

767

April 80. Five a. m. ; weather thick and foggy. Glori-
ous sight when fog broke ; a steamer close to us. She sees
us and bears down on us. Wo are saved, thank God ! We
are safe on board the Tigress, of St. Jolin's, Captain Ikrt-
lett. He says the other steamer could not have seen us, as
the captain is noted for his humanity. The Tigress musters
one hundred and twenty men, the kindest and most obliging
I have ever met. Picked up in latitude 58° 86' N-.

May 1. Weather very fine. Going north, sealing. The
steamer we saw on the 2(lth was the Eagle, of St. John's,
Captain Jackmann, noted for his humanity in saving life.
He has received two medals for saving life. The captain of
this steamer says that if that man had seen us, and could not
have gotten to us with the stcnmcr, he would have sent his
men on the ice and canned us otf. Joe is in his glory, shoot-
ing seals. We are getting on first-rate, eating and slcefting.

May 2. The crew on board this steamer, one hundred
and twenty in numl)er, are like a band of brothers. They
are all Newfoundland men, and are very kind to each other.
No wrangling there ; a new thing on board sliip.

May <). Blowing fearfully all night, and continues to do
80. These steamers must be very strong ; they endure great
punishment. She is in the ice getting knocks that one would
think would go right through her, but the men seem to think
nothing of it. We are treated with the greatest kindness by
them ; they never think they are doing enough for us.

May 4. Surrounded in the ico. Gale continued last night
and this morning ; lost its force at noon. Had divine service
toKiny — the first we have had since Captain Hall's death.
We had some of the bear-meat left when the steamer came
along ; so the bear saw us out of danger and the Tigress took
us from it.

May T). The steamer beset in the ice. A man from aloft
saw a large numl)er of seals, some foiu' or five miles olT. All
hands over the side, and made for them. The captain's son
no sooner arrived there and fired the first shot than the cart-
ridge burst, and shattered his hand very badly. Some of the

,i 1

U I

■i'.:, I

■ I

I ■'

if '

''f

768

JOHN HEBRON S DIART.

men came back with him, spoiling their work for some time.
They killed seven or eight hundred seals before sunset. The
steamer could not come to their assistance, so they left them
on the ice all night.

May 6. The crew started for their seals at the first streak
of day. Nearly all of them were stolen by the other steam-
ers.

May 7. Blowing a heavy gale all night, N. W. Seven
A. M., turned her head S., and are rmming out the ice ; looks
like going home.

May 8. Will be in St. John's early in the morning, I
think 4 P. M. Wo are going to Bay Roberts first, to land the
boats and sealing-gear. Then they will start for St. John's.

May 9. Bay Roberts. Went on shore where we wore re-
ceived very kindly by the inhabitants. Tlic American consul
from Harbor Grace, and other gentlemen, came to see us,
and were very kind doing all they possibly could. We are
getting paid for our sufferings on the ice. It is a very splen-
did bay, with very neat and comfortable houses. The peo-
ple are very intelligent and kind.

•.'"'SSfl^^iS

l( i

■*s

'ii n

I i!

POLAR]

(

The 8t(
of the ice-
fate of th(
of the wn
mth her (
of Greenlf
of the Na>
to search i
As the {
vice at liis
able one, t]
the Polaris
This vessel
particularlj
price paid j
New York
ing her for
menced at 1
The Seer
Juniata, wli
a cable froi
should give

CHAPTER XLVm.

POLARIS SEARCH AND RELIEF EXPEDL

TIONS.

(cruise of the JUNIATA AND TIORES9.) ,

The story told by Cajit. Tyson and his companions
of the ice-drift, excited deep apprehensions as to the
fate of the balance of tlie Polaris crew, who, in case
of the Avreck of their ship, had jirobably gone down
>vith her or were imprisoned on the ice-bound shores
of Greenland ; and it ^^'as resolved by the Secretaiy
of the Navy that one or more vessels should be sent
to search for the missing navigatoi-s.

As the Secretary had no vessel suitable for this ser-
vice at his command he j)urchased, as the most avail-
able one, the Tigress — the same steamer which rescued
the Polaris party from the ice off the Lal)rador coast.
This vessel was built expressly for sealing, and was
particularly adapted for sailing among ice-floes. The
price paid for this ship Avas !tN()(),000. She arrived at
New York on the 28th of June, and the work of prepar-
ing her for the proposed tri}) m as inuuediately com-
menced at the Brooklyn Navy-yard.

The Secretary also directed that the U. S. steamer
Juniata, which had been fitted uj) to assist in laying
a cable from the Bermuda's to the Atlantic coast,
should give up that enterprise and be sent to the

(■'■ ■■ "

iii-*v

i,i*i

■|-f:l^

in, I

jl^is! ;

110

THE JUNIATA.

Lower Greenland settlements to assist in the search.
Preparations for her voyage were speedily made;
and with a load of coal and ample provisions, from
which she was to supply the Tigress, and the Polaris
if found, she started from New York on the 24th of
June. She was manned by one hundred and thirty
men and carried two light guns. Besides her own
boats, she carried a large steam launch intended for
expeditions further noith than the Juniata could
safely go. The follomng is a list of the principal
officers of the exjiedition : —

Daniel L. Braine, Commander.
Edgar C Merrimtn, Executive Officer. George W. DeLong, Navigator.
George E. Ide, Edward J. McClelland, Charier ^^ Cliipp, Lieutenants.
Wm. F. Bull ey, Samuel E. Comley, Sidney H. Hay, John D. Keeler, Ensigiu.
Frederick E. Upton, Master, J. J. Hunker, Midshipman.

T. 0. Walton, Surgeon. B. F. Rogers, Assistant Surgeon.

T. S. Thompson, Passed Assistant Paymaster.

The Juniata an-ived at St. John's on the 30th of
June, and after several days of additional preparations
for her hazardous trip started for the Greenland
coast, and reached Disco Island on the 2 2d of July.
Here a number of sledge dogs were procured, coal for
the Tigress landed, and other preparations for that
vessel completed. The Juniata then left Disco, July
29th, and reached Upemavik on the Slst.

As Upemavik was as far north as the Juniata could
be expected to go, her magnificent steam launch tho
" Little Juniata," was here put afloat, and thoroughly
equipped for a voyage up the coast in search of the
missing party. She was commanded on this trip by
Lt. DeLong, and her crew consisted of eight volun-
teere and an ice pilot. She steamed northwai'd on
the 2d of August, amid the enthusiastic cheers of the
Juniata crew and spectators, and reached Tessuisak
at midnight of the same day.

CBUISB OF THE UTTLE JUKIATA.

771

The next morning the Little Juniata was pushed
cautiously on, in full view of immense fields of ice and
between huge floating icebergs. On the night of the
4th they reached Duck Islands and Wilcox Head,
where they were enveloped in a dense fog, and en-
tangled in an ice-pack, through which they escaped
to the westward after a twelve hours' struggle with
the floes.

Entering Melville Bay on the 6th, they sighted
Cape York on the morning of the 8th, and headed
towards tl . land which was capped with a dense fog.
Two hours later a gale arose which increased to a
frightful tempest, and the launch was for thirty-six
hours on the edge of the ice-pack in a dangerous posi-
tion ; as it was impossible to land and no progress
could be made to the north, the explorers headed
south, and arrived off Tessuisak on the 11th, where
they met the Tigress which had arrived on the scene
of action.

The steamer Tigress left the Brooklyn Navy -yard
for her humane undertaking on the 14th of July,
at 5 P. M., amid repeated cheers from the seamen of
the "Brooklyn," "Vermont," and other ships. She
steamed slowly up the East River toward Long Island
Sound, and as she passed the Government battery it
fired one farewell shot as a parting salute. Her offi-
<Jers were as follows : —

James A. Oreer, Commander. Henry Q. W.iite, Executive Officer.

R M. Berry, Uriel Scbree, George F. Wilkins, Lieutenants.
George E. Baughman, Paymaster. J. W. Elston, Surgeon,

George E. Tyson, W. K. Chipman, Ice-masters.

The Esquimaux, Hans and his family were sent
home in the Tigress ; and Joe accompanied the expe-
dition as interpreter. His wife Hannah, with " Pun-
na," remained at Wiscasset, Maine, where she had

!!,"

W'^k

• . I'-i

■■J .

ABOUT "HANNAH."

been keeping lionse for the whole Esquimaux party,
who had been sent thither by the Government after
the investigation at Washington. The following is a
copy of a letter written by her to Mrs. Buddington, at
Groton, as published in the Springfield Hepublican.
The " old man " refers to Capt. Buddington ; his sub-
sequent safe arrival home shows that Hannah is some-
thing of a prophetess. The " eight children " means
the party under her care.

"WiscAssET, June 22d, 1873.

" Sarah Mother Buddington : — I shall never forget
you. I now try to Avrite you. I am well ; Joe well ;
Punna veiy sick for 34 days, little better now. I
like to see you once more. So good to me. I never
have time to do anything. Ilans's four children here
too. I got eight children ; no go with them home.
October 15, 1872, we come home down on ice. Old
man come by-and-by ; he well. Hannah Lito."

The same paper states that Mre. Buddington visited
Hannah at Wiscasset after the sailing of the Tigress,
and on suggesting to her that she should return to
Groton, Hannah with exceptionable Esquimaux thrift
replied : —

" What, and leave all these victuals for other people
to eat up ! No ; Punna and I shall stay till it is all
eaten."

The Tigress reached Disco, via St. John's, on tlie
4th of August, and joined the Juniata at Disco on
the 10th. Starting north the next day, the Tigi'ess
met Lt. De Long returning from his excursion, who
boarded the steamer and reported to her commander
the route and incidents of his trip. The Tigress then
steamed on across Melville Bay, and approached
Northumberland Island near which the Polaris was

1 s^

irift

)ple

tlie
on

ho
Luder
tlien

was

!■, I'

■v;

'■I \

i '*

iH:

1 ';..^

k<i;i

Si^::

S!*i''f

report
closelj
be fou
nize it
ship.

Com

vv])on 1

Kane'a

recogni

from t

after^vt

a sou II (I

boat ^v

amid gi

atioji vv

"Ise.

and mo

The I

ing tidi

wei-e no

ashore a

A cit)

^vomen ti

at the Hi

said that

expeditic

pai-ty alJ

started »

hatch.

A com
it bunks,
iustnmiei]
about in
"»g fire-arj

THE nOBESS ON THE TRAIL.

778

reported to have been last seen. This island was
closely scrutinized, but no traces of the J'' lai-is could
be found, nor could Tyson and the Esiiuimuux recog-
nize it as the locality in which they parted fiom that
ship.

Commander Greer then proceeded novtliward, and
winm near Cape Ohlseii — so nanifd fruui one of Dr.
Kane's crew who was buried near by — Capt. Tyson
recognized a rock as the one which hid the Polaris
from the view of the party left on the floe. Soon
afterward, at nine o'clock on the evening of the 14th,
a sound (»f human voices was heard in the distance. A
boat was instantly lowered and started for the shore
amid great excitement, which was mingleil with exult-
atioii when Greer exclaimed : —

" I see their house ; two tents are clearly percpptilde,
and moving figures can be seen on the mainland."

The boat returned in an hour, with the disappoint-
ing tidings that Captain Buddington and his party
were not on the coast. Commander Greer now went
ashore accompanied by Joe as interpreter, and otheiu

A crowd of Esquimaux consisting of five men, two
^vomen and two children, greeted them on their anival
at the shore, and seemed quite intelligent. They
said that they came from Pond's Bay on a hunting
expedition, and had remaineii with the Buddington
party all winter; the latter had ])uilt t\:o boats, and
started south at the time when the ducks began to
hatch.

A comfortable wooden house was found, having in
it bunks, mattresses, furniture, galley, etc. Provisions,
instruments, books and other articles were scattered
about in every direction. Ai tides of value, includ-
ing fire-arms and the ship's bell, with manuscript mat

m i

ii" (

! i

■■'HMi ■

ti¥

'7*7

774

BUDDINGTON 8 CAMP DISCOVERED.

ter and a mutilated log-book were taken aboard the
Tigress. Nothing respecting the departiiie or desti-
naliou of the crew could be found. A cairn evidently
built by them was examined, but contained only seal-
blubber.

The Esquimaux stated that Buddington had given
them his ship, but that when the ice broke up in the
middle of July, it floated into a cove and sunk. They
pointed out the place where it lay iti nine fathoms
of water with a grounded iceberg above it. These
natives had no boats and but little food, and occu-
pied two tents evidently from the Polaris. They
intimated that they would like to take a trip in the
Tigress.

This deserted camp of the Polaris crew was on the
mainland opposite Littleton Island, at the place desig-
nated by Dr. Kane as " Life Boat Cove." The i)lace
is about sixty miles north of Northumberland Island ;
the ice-floe party had been mistaken as to the locality
of their separation with the ship.

At a qiuirter i)ast two in the morning, after a halt
of only five lioui-s, the Tigress started on its return
south, and ariived at Godhavn on the 'Jotli, where
the Juniata awaited her arrival. After taking in
coal and supplies. Commander Greer started for Da-
vis's Strait and the Labrador Coast. The Juniata
steamed for St. John's, and reached there on the
morning of Sept. 10th. Here Commander Braine
reported by telegra}>h to tlie Secretary of the Navy,
who immediately directed a continuance of the search
by both vessels.

In obedience to these orders the Juniata left St.
John's on the morning of the 18th, the intention be-
ing to proceed up the Labrador Coast and then to

visi

can:

disc

the

unk

light

were

Bi'aii

answi

nient

Was a

I*o]ari

the T

aboard

"Sh

"Isi

«Yef

"We

A b(

which (

sttaniei

receivec

at Dun(

i'eeei])t

folJow

The ne^^

Vessels

Tigress ;

^'leventf
Jers.

lialt
etuni
here
vj, in

V Da-
iniiita

V tlie
lvalue
iNavy,

earoli

kt St.
I«.n ^>P-
lieu to

SIGNALING TUE JUNIATA AT NIGHT.

775

visit other places as might seem expedient. As night
came on the prospects of the voyage were gloomy and
discouraging. Ice was forming, the weather was bad,
the sea heavy, and the whereabouts of the Tigress
unknown. ^

The night was very dark, and at eleven o'clock a
light was rei)oi*ted on the poit beam. Rockets too
were v/oserved from a far-off steamer. Commander
Braine ordered the Juniata to be slowed down, and
answered the signals. There was the greatest excite-
ment on board. A steamer in this sea at this time
was a rare thing, and it was felt that news from the
Polaris was at hand. The steamer, supposed to be
the Tigress, api)roached, and at midnight was close
aboard ; soon a shout came over the water : —

"Ship ahoy!"

" Ay, ay," was answered from the Juniata.

" Is that the Juniata ?"

"Yes."

" We have tlie American Consul aboard."

A boat was immediately lowered from the Juniata,
which conveyed Consul Molloy of St. John's to that
8t« amer. He informed her commander that he had
re< eived a telegram that the Polaris crew had arrived
at Dundee, Scotland, in a whaling vessel ; and that, on
receii)t of the dispatch, he had chartered a steamer to
follow the Juniata and attempt to overtake her.
The news was received with great delight, and both
vessels returned to St. John's ; at which port the
Tigress also arrived on the 16th of October, after an
uneventful cruise in the track of the Northern wha-
lers.

i:!

!'l

CHAPTER XLIX.
THE WRECK OF THE POLARIS.

Having given an account of the organization, out-
ward voyage, and discoveries of the Polaris Expedi-
tion, the death of its commander, the wintering at
Thank God Harbor, the disastrous division of its
members, the perilous drift on the floes of a portion
of them, and the search made for the missing steamer,
it remains to follow the fortunes of the Polaris from
the 15th of October, 1872, when, with fourteen men
on board of her, she parted her hawsers and was
swept away amid the storm and darkness ; and the
story of the experiences of Capt. Buddington and
his party, may perhaps be best told in his o\vn
words : —

"At five p. M. on the 12th of August, we started
from Polaris Bay for tlie United States. We drifted
through the ice till the 29th, when we were locked
fast in the ice-pack and drifted with it. We were
still leaking fast, but the donkey engine enabled us
to keep the water under. I rigged out a house on
the floe, calculated to hold all our hands — thirty-three
in number. It was twenty-seven by twenty-four feet
and was covered with canvas. On the 0th of Octo-
ber I had bags of bread placed in it. We were still
drifting south, our position being 78" 45^' North, 72*'
15' West.

776

fort

had

floe

whi(

nip,

our g

keeli

me t

aft.

Water

"Tj

dren ;

it did

remaiE

ered o

ftlongsi

ftiel to

with r

except

sudden

made

bow ]

sJippec
adrift a

a mora(

than ha

"We

anchors,

reflectioi

soon rea(

CAPTAIN BUDDINGTON 8 NARRATIVE.

777

" On tine loth, the wind blew with a velocity of
forty miles, accompanied by a violent snow-storm. I
had another hawser passed out to the old massive
floe which had brought us down from lat. 80", and
which was our only safety. At 7.30 we had a severe
nip, from a hea\7^ old floe which passed heavily on
our starboard side, raising the vessel a few feet and
keeling her over to port. It was then reported to
me that we were making water fast and were ove
aft. Our engines could no longer cope with the
water.

" The two native Esquimaux had their wives, chil-
dren and effects on the floe, it seeming to them, as
it did indeed to all of us, the safest place. Our
remaining two whale boats — all we had — were low-
ered on the ice and hauled back to a secure place
alongside of the stores. Sufficient provisions and
fuel to last all winter were put on the ice, together
with musk-ox skins, bedding, and all the clothing
except what we wore. At half-past nine the floe
suddenly broke ; that part to which the vessel was
made fast breaking away from i.ie main body. The
bow hawser snapped like pack-thread, the anchors
slipped, and the violence of the wind sent the vessel
adrift as rapidly as if she hud been under steam. At
a moment's notice we were thus separated from more
than half the ship's company.

" We were now in a critical condition, without boats,
anchors, or hawsers; but there was no time for
reflection, as the water was gainitjg fast, and would
soon reach the furnace fires in spite of the bilge pump
which was all this time at work, assisted by the
alle''way pump ; and if we could not start the deck
puL.ps it was evident that the vessel would go down.

J •:■

■fl

J ; .. . . ■

I . ■ ■: '

ii, ' '• \

jl|iii||

778

THE POLARIS WBEOKED AlTD DESERTED.

The ice around us was fine broken " brash," which
would not bear the weight of a man. By this time
the water in the boiler was hot, and, by pouring
several bucketfiils down the pumps, we thawed them
suflSciently so as to enable us to keep the water from
gaining ; and never did men use their strength with
more energy than we did on that occasion. It was
evident we could not last long at the work, but fortu-
nately, just then, the engineers reported steam up, by
whicu additional aid we were enabled to keep the
ship afloat.

"On the morning of the 16th we found our position
a few miles north of Littleton Island, in Smith's
Straits. The gale had then subsided, and it was
shortly afterwards quite calm. We looked from the
masthead of our vessel for our companions on the floe,
but could not see anything of them whatever. The
current must have taken them in a diflferent direction
from the course the wind took us. About noon a
breeze sprung up from the north, and, opening a lead
in-shore to the east, the vessel at this time began
drifting out of the straits again. By the aid of steam
and sail I took advantage of the lead when opened
wide enough to admit me, and ran the vessel as near
shore as the ice would allow, and made fast with lines
to heavy grounded hummocka Here we were
aground at low water, there being nine feet rise of
tide at this place, which happened to be Kane's Life-
boat Cove, lat. 78«* 23^' N., long. 73« 21 ' W. We
kept an anxious lookout all the time from the mast-
head of our vessel for signs of the party ; but the
sharpest eyes on shipboard failed to see aught of them.
As, however, they had the boats, even to the little
scow, we were in hopes they would possibly be able
yet to make for us.

stem

calle(

she }

theP

aratio

the w

ions o

Esqui]

ashore

gesticu

we too

cheered

on shoi

those n

ting pre

deal of d

piece of

some of

get wet,

tile inau

change.

"Ont

Esquima

tindJy w

service.

articles

presents

expressec

that, am<

number o|

maux— a i
us for

*bandonir

PREPARING FOR WINTER.

779

''On the 17th I surveyed the ship, and found the
stem entirely broken off below the six-foot mark. I
called the officer's attention to it, who only wondered
she had kej)t afloat so long. I therefore considered
the Polaris a lost vessel, and immediately made prep-
arations for leaving her and living on shore during
the winter, getting our spare sails, coals and provis-
ions on shore. We were assisted in this by the Etah
Esquimaux, who came to us the day after we got
ashore. When these Esquimaux hove in sight,
gesticulating and hoUooing with great apparent glee,
we took them to be our castaways, and immediately
cheered most heartily in return. We put uj) a house
on shore, which was superintended by Mr. Chester,
those not engaged in building it being occupied get-
ting provisions and fuel, which they did with a great
deal of difficulty, as they had to leap from one detached
piece of ice to another all the Avay to the shore. Often
some of the party would tumble through fissures and
get wet, which was a great inconvenience, considering
the insufficient supply our wardrobe furnished for
change.

" On the morning of the 21st we had a number of
Esquimaux visitors. They came in five sledges, and
kindly went to work to assist us, proving of excellent
service. In a short time we had all the portable
articles from the ship on shore. I made them such
presents as our scanty stock would permit, and they
expressed themselves well pleased. It was fortunate
that, among other articles put on the floe, were a
number of those indispensable articles to an Esqui-
maux — a quantity of knives. On the 24th they left
us for Etah, we having completed our work for
abandoning the vessel. At six P. M. we stopped the

la. t.

I" I'

1 1.

i: f

780

VISIT FROM THE NATIVES.

steam pnmps to let her fill, and bid farewell to the
little Polaris which had penetrated through dangers
and hard knocks to a high latitude, but which was
destined not to return with the honors she had gained.
During the remainder of the month we were visited
by natives — men, women, and children.

" I sent a party to McGary's Rock in search of Dr.
Hayes' boat and provisions, but could discover no
sign of her. I was afterwards informed by the
natives, that a party from the West Land found her
five years ago and appropriated to their own use what
was serviceable to them ; the boat they discovered to
be worthless and full of holes. At high water the
lower decks of the Polaris were covered, the water
rising to within three feet of the upper deck, the ves-
sel being firm on the rocks. I was in hopes she
would remain in that position, as we had to get fuel
from her, and material for making our boats for our
. summer journey south.

" We spent the winter months of November, Decem-
ber and January in household duties — getting ice for
melting purposes, supplying galley and house stoves
with coal, and keeping passage ways to and from the
house free from snow. A great many foxes were shot.
We were visited continually by the natives, who
were suffering a great deal from cold and hunger.
Several of the families made their residence with us
for the most of the winter, building snow-huts for
themselves, where they slept. We supplied them
with a share of the provisions we had, but still they
had to kill a great many of their dogs in order to
give their children fresh meat. Two families in par-
ticular reduced their team of dogs to one, and another
family to two.

THE WINTER AT LIFE-BOAT COVE.

781

" Some of our people had slight attacks of scurvy,
principally in the gums, but in general the health of
our party remained good. The month of February
brought us daylight. On the 15th, the sun was seen
for the first time since its disappearance on the 16th
»f November. We had now to consume the bowsprit,
masts and rigging for fuel, these fortunately having
been landed. The only material for building boats
was the ceiling of the alley-ways and after-cabin — the
house on deck being used as fuel. The following
months were occupied in building boats for our jour-
ney.

" Shooting parties went out occasionally, but, with
the exception of a few hares, generally returned
unsuccessful. There was one deer killed during the
season, but a great many were seen. Although the
natives had left us some time for their respective set-
tlements and hunting grounds, they still, however,
continued to visit us ; and, as if to remind us of our
former kindness to them, which they appeared to
have appreciated, kept bringing to us quantities of
walrus liver, which made a great improvement in the
health of our party.

*' I had suitable bags made out of the foresail, and
filled them with provisions for our journey. I also
built a small boat uut of some square lumber for the
Etah natives, which will bo a great acquisition to
them in sealing and getting eggs from the islands.
By the 28th of May all our preparations were made.
I must compliment Mr. Chester, who superintended
the building of these boats. They are creditable
scows — far better structures than I thought could
have been made out of the material we had. They
are flat-bottomed, and carry considerable weight. The
45

ij.-f:

.; ( h

782

THE START HOMEWARD.

open water was by this time close up to our house.
Our provisions and what limited clothing we were to
take with us, were brought down to the water's edge
to be in readiness for embarka s. There still
remained with us two native famil ( , and during the
winter and spring we were visited by nearly all the
natives from Etah to Cape York. There were diuing
this time three deaths and one birth among the
natives. One of the former was Myouk, (mentioned
by Dr. Kane,) who was one of the first to visit us
after our vessel got on shore.

"I had intended starting on the 1st of June, but
that day being Sunday I postponed our departure
until the following day. It was then blowing a gale
of wind and we could not start with safety. In the
meantime we deposited several boxes containing
books, scientific instraments, three-box chronometers
and the pendulum, on the north side of Lifeboat Cove,
and covered them with rocks. At 1 a. m., on June
3d, I called all hands, got a hasty breakfast, and left
our house for the last time, dividing our party into
two equal parts. We then launched our boats, two
in number, placed our provisions and clothing in
them, and left Polaris Point and the scenes of our
long winter stay, for Melville Bay and Ui>ernavik.

" Having made a halt at the settlement of Etah,
which we found deserted, we reached Hakluyt
Island late on the evening of the 4th, meeting with
but little obstruction from ice. A gale of wind and
pack ice prevented us leaving until the 8th. We
then landed on Northumberland Island. The ice
impeded our further progress. At eight p. m. on the
10th, having previously made three unsuccessful
attempts to get forward, we entered a lead that

our
of J

com
tok

morn

«ncar

the si

the Ja

Wecc

and b(

of exer

a landi

same pj

there w

10.30, a

iand. 1

Blackivc
clarence
landed
met \v[ty

^^'eather.
stenhoir

entered .,
t'ons frot^

^»r boats
other.

" ^e ,1

^^tn the

^^'■p besei
'^boufc t\yel

THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD.

783

extended across the whole sound toward Cape Parry,
our intended route. We were met by a heavy body
of pack ice which completely closed us in, and were
compelled hastily to haul our loaded boats on the ice
to keep them from being cnished.

" We drifted with the pack all that night, and the
morning of the 11th found us abreast of our former
encampment We were then about four miles from
the shore. There was a small lead of water along
the land. We had to go to it or go adrift in the pack.
We commenced at once to transport our provisions
and boats over the pieces of floe. After a great . deal
of exertion and labor, we finally succeeded in getting
a landing, at 2.30, on the morning of the 11th, in the
same place we left the evening before. On the 1 2th
there was a good opening in the ice. We started at
10.30, and with a good breeze we reached the main-
land. We pulled round Cape Parry, and halted on
Blackwood Point south of Cape Parry and near Fitz-
clarence Rock. On the evening of the next day we
landed at Dalrymple Island. From this point we
met with various obstructions from ice and bad
weather. We finally succeeded in getting past Wol-
stenholm Sound and Cape York. We afterwards
entered Melville Bay, meeting with various obstruc-
tions from ice, and in some places we had to haul
our boats and effects over from the one lead to the
other.

" We were thus proceeding on our Journey south
until the morning of June 23d, when we saw a steam-
ship beset about ten miles south. We were then
about twenty-five miles south-east of Cape York, and
hauled up on the ice. The passage was completely
blocked with ice. A few hours previous to this my

784

BESOUED BY TnS BATENSCBAia.

boat got stove, having been caught between the floe
and land ice ; but we had it repaired with canvas and
tacks brought for the purpose. At this time our fuel
was very scarce, not having more than would last a
week. For some time we had but one hot meal in
twenty-four hours, reserving our fuel for melting
snow for drinking water, as we were unable to pro-
cure any off the floe.

" I sent two of our party to the vessel to let them
know of our situation. Before reaching the vessel,
however, they were met by a party of eiguteen men
from the ship — these latter having recognized a party
on the floe — who had come to render what assistance
was in their power to what they supposed was the
crew of a shipwrecked whalesliip. With the excep-
tion of two of the party, who went back to their
vessel with an account of u^, the rest came back to
the boats with the men whom I had sent. I made
immediate preparations to get on board the steamer,
the men from this vessel kindly assisting us with our
personal effects. We started at seven p. m., leaving
our boats, provisions, etc., behind, and arrived at
twelve meridian on board the whaling ship Raven-
scraig, Kirkcaldy, Scotland, William Allen, master,
bound for the West Coast on a whaling voyage.

" I cannot express myself in terms sufficiently ade-
quate of the kind reception we got from Captain
Allen, who immediately opened his own wardrobe
for our benefit. The surgeon of the ship, Mr, A. D.
Soutter, was most assiduous in his efforts to promote
our comfort — indeed, all the officers and crew vied
with each other in their efforts to riake us comfort-
able.

" We had at the time we were rescued only just

inr

INOIDENTa OF THE RESCUE.

785

commenced the difficult part of our joumey, and had
yet to make some three hutidred miles of hard travel
before we could get to a place of comparative safety.
Caj)tain Alien expressed his gratification in falling in
with us, as he and his officers expi-essed their
undoubted conviction that it would have been utterly
impossible for us to rcacli the settlements in our boats,
especially if we had in store for us anything like the
ice which the Ravenscraig encountered the previous
three weeks. It was very evident that our boats
would not have stood hauling over the ice, and to
have abandoned them and attempted to make the
joumey on foot was simply not to be entertained a sin-
gle moment. It was, therefore, lucky that the Raven-
scraig fell in with us. As I may say with safetv, it
was the saving of our lives. We were sui-priscU and
greatly rejoiced to hear of the safety of our fellow-
explorers who had got adrift from us."

Captain Allen, whose ship was fast in the ice at
the time, describes the incidents of the rescue as
follows : —

"At one o'clock a. m., on the morning of the 23d
of June, the lookout from the crow's nest reported
that a party, supposed to be Esquimaux, were making
their way over the pack ice towards the vessel. At
this time they were a long way distant, probably
thirteen or fourteen miles, and appeared to move very
slowly. By nine a. m. the strangers had advanced a
mile or two nearer, and came to a halt. We could then
just make out that they were not Esquimaux, and
could distinguish two boats, each of which displayed
a small flag on a pole. Owing to the distance and
refraction it Avas almost impossible to make this out
with certainty. Concluding they had seen us, our

786

HOSPITALITT OF A BOOTOH WHALEB.

ensign was at once hoisted as a reply signal, and we
sent off eighteen picked men to render any assistance
required, while the strangers were observed to detach
two of their number in the direction ')f the vessel.
When these met our party, the whole jmx'eded on-
wai-d to the boats, and a messenger was sent back to
inform us of the news.

" At six p. M. the entire party started for the ves-
sel, and some idea of the difficulty of traveling over
such ice may be formed from the fact that it was
twelve, midnight, before they got on board, taking
nearly seven hours to perform twelve miles distance.
This arose from the soft and slushy state of the deep
snow covering the ice, while myriads (f hujje hum-
mocks were piled everywhere over the surface, which
was alfio split up and full of treacherous holes, into
which many a flounder took place. The party on
reaching the ship was made heartily welcome, and
as comfortable as the means at our command could
supply. They appeared tired and weatherbeaten, but
in good spirits and thankful at having fallen in with
a ' Scotch whaler,' for which vessels they were on the
lookout, knowing as the commander did, that the
whalers about this time passed through Melville Bay."

After reaching the North "Water, Captain Budding-
ton and ten of his companions were transfen-ed to
the whaling steamer Arctic, and arrived at Dundee
on the 18th of September. Proceeding to Liverjiool,
they were tendered a free passage hom" by several
steamship lines,' and took passage in the City of Ant-
werp, which reached New York on the 4th of October.
The other three men were taken to Dundee in the
Intrepid, and arrived home a little later.

»;', I

pfflif I

j:::^ ^

h > .'

Ill 'I ' i

i«!l

incite

baud

tiny V

Bergei

Kohle

crew i

made f;
of 81*
in Alii
I'etui'ne
This
neitJier
frieii(|,>
est in
expedif
the G(.
and the
the conn
ditioii A\
^io too
addition,
eminent

CHAPTER L. .
GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITIONS.

Dr. Augustus Petermann, having unsuccessfully
Incited his German countrymen to join the noble
band of Arctic explorers, at his own risk fitted out a
tiny vessel called the "Germania," uhich sailed from
Bergen, INIay Sitli, 1868, under the connuand of Karl
Koldewey, a native of Hoya, in Hanover. The whole
crew aiunbered only eleven men. Being unable to
apprixK'h the east coast of Greenland, Capt. Koldewey
made tor the Spitsbergen seas, and attained a latitude
of 81* iV. He tlien sailed down Hiido2)en Strait
in Auirust, sio-htinu: the "Swedish Foreland," and
returned to Bei-gen Se])tember 30th, 1808.

This first German ex2)edition was not a success —
neither Avas it a faihu'e ; and Dr. Petermann and his
friends were not discouraijed. It awakened an inter-
est in Polar exploration Avhich resulted in a second
expedition of two vessels — a screw steamer re-named
the Germania and manned by a crew of seventeen,
and the Ijrig Ilansa, with a crew of fourteen, under
the command of C;ipt. Ilegemann. The whole expe-
dition A\as put under the command of Koldewey,
who took as his flag-ship the " Germania ;" and, in
addition, there were attaehid to botli ships several
eminent num of science, i)rovided with every requisite

787

t.\ ,i

i I'i

_jkJb_

788

DESTRUCTION OF THE HANSA.

necessary for the successful performance of their
duties. King William came down and bade them
good-bye ; a distinguished party gave them a farewell
dinner, and out of the good harbor of Bremen they
sailed Tnore Teutonico to the strains of a brass band,
on the 15th of June, 1860,

In latitude 70«" 4G', longitude 10° 51 ^, the " Ilansa,"
which had on board some of the supplies of fuel for
herself and consort, got separated from the "Germa-
nia," and was caught in the ice ; and on the 22d of
October the ice-floes, pressing on every side, crushed
her. Then, homeless in the midst of this dreary ice-
field, with the winter coming on, the crew built on the
floe, with the patent fuel, a house in whicli they took
refuge. In this strangest of all abodes they passed
Christmas — not uncheei'fully on the whole. In two
months the current had carried them south four hun-
dred miles, and though they Avere only thirty miles
from land, it was impossible to reach it. On the 27th
of November, their track-map shows that they were
just about half-way between Greenland and Iceland.
Shortly after their Christmas festivities, the floe split
and ruined their house. For some time it would
seem as if their lives hung on a thiead. But they
were destined for better things. The floe righted
again, and they left their boats, to which they had
been forced to flee, and again built their fuel house.
On the 3d of January 1870, they were close to the
Greenland coast, but could only survey it in sadness,
»■"-, the broken ice precluded the possibility of ever
reaching it.

As spring advanced their situation was more cheer-
ing in one sense, but more depressing in another.
Their ice island had now, by the lashing of the surge

and

not

thei

iun<

the j

hoati

I^'ried

of Ca

of tin

Were ,

enced

all th(

one of

faii't

She sue

*o as h

iiliil

CRtJISE OF THE GERMANIA.

789

and the melting of the ice, got reduced until it was
not more than a hundred yards in breadth. By May
their sextants told them that they Imd drifted eleven
hundred miles on their cheerless raft. Finally, on
the 14th of June, they arrived in safety in their three
boats at the Greenland Moravian Mission station of
Friedriksthal, in latitude 60®, just on the other side
of Cape Farewell. Here they met their countrymen
of the Herrnhuttian Unitas Fratrnni., and once more
were safe, after perils very similar to those experi-
enced by the Polaris ice-floe party. Notwithstanding
all their hardships none of the crew died, though
one of them became temporarily insane.

Fairer fortune attended the steam-aided " Germania."
She succeeded in sailing np the East Greenland coast
to as high as 75* 30', but in August was forced to
turn again to the southward, and m inter among the
Pendulum Islands, in latitude 74*^ 39 '. From this
central point many excursions were made, and though
at times the thermometer sank as low as 40* below
zero (of Fahrenheit), yet musk oxen — strange enough
— being abundant, they passed a not unpleasant
winter — as winters in 74* of noi'th latitude go.
Christmas was absolutely warm (pnhj 25* below zero),
and with open doors they danced and feasted as it had
been their custom to do in festive, Christmas-loving
Germany. " By starlight," says Captain Koldewey,
" we danced upon the ice ; of the evergreen Andromeda
{Cassiope tetragona) we made a Christmas tree ; the
cabin was decorated with flags, and the presents
which loving hands had prepared were laid out upon
the tables ; every one received his share, and uni-
versal mirth prevailed." " '

After this holiday time, the explorers began to

\ i

'I!
.Hi;

!i:: '

■ IK

790

IMPORTANT DI8C0VEEIE8.

think of business. The sledge equipments wore got
ready, and after one false start, a party of seven set
out, March 24th, under the command of Captain Kolde*
wey and Lieutenant Payer — one of the scientific corps
of the expedition. Dragging the provision-laden
sledge behind them, they set their faces to the north,
and after reaching a distance of one hundred and fifty
miles from the ship, want of provisions compelled
them to return. On the 27th of April, laden with
zoological, geological, and botanical collections, but
decidedly sceptical regarding the " open Polar sea,"
they regained the deck of the " Germania." A grim
cape — which has been appropriately named after
Prince Bismarck — marks the northern limit of their
discoveries.

As soon as navigation was again opened they com-
menced their explorations, and were fortunate enough
to discover (in alwut latitude 73" 15') a branching
fiord, stretching for a long distance. This they
explored between longitudes 22° and 28*^, without
reaching its termination, the leaking boiler of the
engine compelling them to return. This fiord was
named Franz Josef, in honor of Payer's sovereign.
Along its shores are peaks (Petermann's and Payer's),
respectively fourteen thousand and seven thousand
feet high. On the 11th of Septeml)er 1870, the
Germania returned to Bremen. Though the expedi-
tion failed in some of its objects it did adminihle
work for geography and science, which redounds to
the credit of the German people who supported and
the eminent men who planned and carried it out.

The Austro-Hungarian Arctic Expedition was
undertaken in 1872, and the idea was received with
enthusiasm by the whole Austrian empire. The

got
set
Me"
orps
iden
arth,
fifty
elled
with
, but
sea,"
grim
after
their

T com-
tiough
idling
they
ithout
of the
'd was
ereign.
lyer's),
ousand
rO, the
expeili-
niirahle
unds to
ted and
out.
on was
ed with
e. The

COUNT WLCZEC IN NOVA ZE't»L\

eas

ern

war

oft

with

on t]

perse

Italia

them

native

of th

and

accom

coast.

:2th,

island
botan
23d thi
ice be

jorn 8

away
Lat

a regio

by imi

thus ii

~*they I

PAYER AND WEYPRECHT'S EXPEDITION.

791

command was entrusted to Lieutenants Payer and
Weyprecht, both of whom were members of the Ger-
man expetlition under Koldewey ; they had also, in
1871, made an experimental trip to the seas east of
Spitzbergen. They now hoped to round the north-
east coast of Nova Zembla, winter at the most north-
ern point of Sibeiia, and then continue the voyage east-
ward to Bering's Strait. Captain Carlsen, the finder
of the Bar^ntz relics, joined the expedition as pilot.

The steamer 'Tegethoff' was fitted out in the Elbe,
with every modern appliance, and left Tronso harbor
on the IClth of July, 1872. Though only twenty-three
persons constituted the ship's company, yet Germans,
Italians, Slavs, Magyars, and Norsemen were among
them — Italian being the official language used. The
natives of southern Europe departed from the mouth
of the Weser with characteristic lightheartedness,
and their merry Italian airs wiled away the hours.

Count Wilczek in the yacht "Isbjorn" (Ice Bea^)
accompanied the Tegethoff as far as the Nova Zembla
coast, near which the two vessels anchored August
12th. Several excursions were made to adjoining
islands by sledge parties, who secured geological and
botanical specimens, and spoils of the chase. On the
23d the north wind set in with great force, the new
ice began to form, and the vessels parted — the Isb-
jorn starting for home, and the Tegethoff steaming
away northward.

Later, in the autumn of 1872, the explorers reached
a region of intense cold ; their shii> was surrounded
by immense fields of floating ice, firmly frozen in, and
thus imprisoned by immovable fetters, drifted slowly
— they knew not whither — until at length, on the

ill!

[i-.:-i
#■■

; ?

799

DISCOVfiBT OF FRANCIS JOSEPH LAND.

80th of August, 1873, in latitude 79^ 43', longitude
69° 33' E., they beheld, to their extreme delight a bold
rocky and hitherto unknown coast looming in the
distance. This newly discovered country they named
" Francis Joseph Land."

Although the mountains and glaciers of the new-
land could at this time be clearly descerned flora the
edge of the floe with which the fettered ship was still
drifting, it was not till the following March that sledge
paHies were able to reach and explore it ; and by the
beginning of May, 450 miles of new sea, land, and
island archipelago had been carefully noted.

On the 20th of May, 1 874, the explorers deserted the
steamer, and started homeward drawing sledges upon
which were boats; but so .ough were the hummocks
that after two months of great exertion they had only
got a few miles from the ship. Fortunately, however,
leads now opened in the ice, and they launched their
boats and succeeded in reaching the open water at
77*^ 40' N. latitude, where they were picked up by a
Russian fishing-smack and conveyed to Vardo, Nor-
w«y, where they arrived September 3rd, 1874.

For courage, energy and noble endurance as well
as for successful exploration, the members of this
expeditioQ will be long remembered. No trace of
scurvy appeared, and only one death occurred during
their absence of over two years. Bears' meat was
much of the time the only food attainable, and it was
so bad ihat the hardy Adriatic mariners declared it
'only fit for the devil on a fast day;' yet they were
never insubordinate and never despaired, but in the
very depth of winter they remembered the Arabic
proverb, ' This too will pass away.'

f i

•I t

«i

;)

ffl!

Ill

-' :|

.,1-

IA::\

" : r }

■ r. i

RRLICS OK THK DI'TCIl KXPKDITION.

at No

IV. :

remain

eastpo

Was ur

years.

Carlsen

in the :p

Hamme
tons, ca

^* Barer
standing
evident!
several
sev-eral J^
reindeer,
^^escribed
in tie c

historian

Tile hoi

^^ wint

foot duri

eUpsed.

BAHBNTZ a UOUSK AT ICG-HAVEN.

I ' h

CHAPTER LI.
SWEDISH AND NORWEGIAN EXPEDITIONS.

The story of the Dutch expedition which wintered
at Nova Zembla in 1596 has been related in Chapter
IV. This voyage of Barentz, though the first,
remained the only one which had rounded that north-
east point of Nova Zembla ; and the house of Barentz
was unvisited for two hundred and seventy-eight
years. But the spell was broken in 1871. Elling
Carlsen, a Norwegian captain, who had been engaged
in the North Sea trade for eighteen years, sailed from
Hammerfest on the 16th of May, in a sloop of sixty
tons, called the " Solid." He reached the Ice Haven
of Barentz September 7th, and on the Otli saw a house
standing at the head of the bay. The materials had
evidently belonged to a ship, and among them were
several oak beams. Round the house were standing
several large puncheons, and there were also heaps of
reindeer, seal, bear, and walrus bones. The interior is
described by Captain Carlsen exactly as represented
in the curious old drawing by Gerrit de Veer, the
historian of the Dutch Expedition.

The house in which Barentz and his gallant crew
had wintered, can never have been entered by human
foot during nearly three centuries that have since
elapsed. The row of standing bed-places along one

793

i I

I ,

794

ICB HAVEN RE-VI8ITED.

side of the room, the halberd, and the muskets, were
still in their old places. There stood the cooking-
pans over the fire-place, the old clock against the wall,
the arms and tools, the drinking vessels, the instru-
ments, and the books that had beguiled the weary
hours of that loiig night, two hundred and seventy-
eight years ago. The " History of China " points to
the goal which Barentz sought, while the " Manual
of Navigation " indicates the knowledge which guided
his effoi-ts. Stranger evidence nover told a more
deeply interesting story.

On the 4th of November, 1871, Captain Carlsen
completed his adventurous voyage by anchoring once
more at Hammerfest. The Dutch Government have
secured the numerous relics which he brought away,
for preservation in the native land of the great navi-
gator, whose countrymen feel an affectionate pride in
the {rlonorifc deeds of their " Sea fathers," and will
cherish tliese memorials of a very noble achievement
with '.urtful reverence. Many of them, like the old
clock-dial, are very valuable in an antiquarian point
of view ; but not the least interesting are the flute,
which will still give out a few notes, and the small
shoes of the poor little ship's boy who died during
the vdnter.

For several years past, Sweden and Norway have,
with a skill and resolution which do the highest
honor to the gallant Scandinavian nation, prosecuted
scientific investigations within the Arctic Circle.
The most important of their expeditions, equipped
under the superintendence of Professor Nordenskiold,
sailed from Tromso, July 21st, 1872. It was com-
posed of the steamer " Polhelm," the brig " Gladan,"
and the steamer "Onkel Adam." The "Polhelm"

was
Roya
same
her a!
den b
The
for w
larder,
sheds /
For the
trated
sail-doi
iight ic
equipm
sledges,
them fro
ers, to d
The t
gen, in
18^2; tli
V the ir
*he wintJ
one to six!
*o escape
Jn spite
tions for
hie house
On the)
*hat, at a[

fifty-eightl
visions Tvl
*hey weref
^ordenskf

NORDENSKIOLD 8 SWEDISH EXPEDITION.

795

I I

was commaiided by Lieut. Pftlanrler, of the Swedisli
Royal Navy, and manned by officers and men of the
same service. The other two vessels acconijjanied
her as transports and were to have returned to Swe-
den before the winter set in.

The ex^odition was supplied with a dwelling-house,
for winterqunrters, of six rooms, including kitchen,
larder, bathing-room, and potato cellar, and three large
sheds attached to the house, adapted for observatories.
For the sledge parties were provided pemmican, concen-
trated rum, cooking apparatus, warm sleeping bags,
sail-cloth tents, and photogene oil for fuel. Three
light iceboats, and two larger boats, formed the boat
equipment, and all were provided with ash- wood
sledges. Fifty reindeer were also shipped, most of
them from Kola, in Lapland, with exj)erienced Laj)land-
ers, to drive and attend them.

The three vessels reached Mussel Bay, Spitzber-
gen, in lat. 79" 50' north, on the 3d of September
1872; three days later they were inextricably shut in
by the ice, and the number of men to be fed through
the winter was thus suddenly increasL'd from twenty-
one to sixty-seven. Some of the reiiuleer, too, managed
to escape through the carelessness of the Laplanders.
In spite of these discouragements, however, prepara-
tions for wintering progressed briskly, and the porta-
ble house was being rapidly erected and furnished.

On the Ist of October, the startling news arrived
that, at a neighboring promontory called Grey Point,
six Norwegian fishing vessels, Avith an aggregate of
fifty-eight men, were frozen in, and that, as their pro-
visions would not last beyond the end of the year,
they were sorely in need of help from the Swedes.
Nordenskiold and his colleagues sent back word to

'I'-iiii

j!p.'l

; -1 I i

796

THE ICE-BOUND NOEWEQIANS.

tbem, that they themselves had been obliged to pro-
vide for a much larger consumption of victuals than
they had bargained for, but that they were willing,
after the 1st of December, to share their food with
them if the Norwegians would undertake to conform
strictly to the arrangements made by the leaders of
the expedition. They were further infonned that at
Ice Fiord, on the west coa^t, a house had ])een erected
at a time when it was in contemplation to establish
a colony for the purpose of working the phosphate
beds there. This house was warm and comfortable,
and well-supplied with stoves, and with a stock of pro-
visions. Eighteen of the Norwegians accordingly de-
termined to repair thither, while the remaining forty
stayed by their ships.

On the 22d of Octob'^r, Palander and five men
started with sledges to visit the imprisoue<l fishermen,
and reached Grey Point on the 24th. The eighteen
men had started for Ice Fiord about two weeks
before. Aft'^r having done what he could in the way
of advice to those left behind, Palander set out to
return on the 20th; but though the distance between
the two places is only ten miles as the crow flies, it
took no less than five days to get back to the ships.

On the 4th of November a storm arose, which dis-
persed the ice and released two of the imprisoned fish-
ing vessels, and thirty-eight of the Norwegians man-
aged to reach home after a long and perilous voyage, and
after vainly attempting to rescue their countrymen
in Ic6 Fiord. Two men, an old ice-master named
Mattilas and his cook, remained at Grey Point by the
ice-bound vessels, being unwilling to abandon then
They appear to liave endeavored subsequently to
reach Mussel Bay, as their corpses were found in ai
open boat.

ro-

ng,
nth

THE WmTBR AT MUSSEL BAT.

797

re tnen

lermeu,

jigliteen

. weeks

tbe way

b out to

between

|v flies, it I

b sliips-
-hich c\i9-
oued fisli-
aui9 man-
lyage, and
|uutvywen|
wi' named!
iutbytbe
,\ou tbeu4
tuently to|
uud iu »i

The fate of the eighteen men left in Ice Fiord was
ascertained by Captain Mack, who discovered the
dead bodies of these unfortunate fishermen, together
with a diary kept regularly from the '7th of October,
1872, to the 3d of March, 1873, and with less regu-
larity until the 19th of April.

Toward the close of April, Nordenskiold and Pal-
ander with fourteen men started north, the intention
be'ng to get as noar the Pole as possible. They made
their way to Parry Islands, crossing from the North
Oape on the ice. Here they found the ice so strong
to the northward that the idea of a long journey in
that direction was out of the question. They re-
turned to Mussel Bay on the 29th of June, after an
absence of sixty dayc, during which they encountered
very severe weather. Subsequently they again en-
deavored ti travel northward by sledges from Phipps
Island, but were prevented by lack of provisions.

Early in June tlio monotony of Mussel Bay was
enlivened V»y the arrival of the Steamship Diana, just
from England, having on board Leigh Smith's ex-
ploring party. On the 30th of June, the ice broke
ap and the Gladan immediately started for home,
whither the Polhelni soon followed her, arriving at
Troraso on the (5th of August, 1873. Although the
expedition was forced to return without having
accomplished one of its main objects — the reaching of
a very high hititude ];y raeana of sledges, — still, the
harvest of results obtained by dredging, by magnetic,
meteorological, botanical, and geological observations
is extremely rich. These throw great light on the
amount and nature of organic life within the Polar
Circle, as well as on the great ])hy8ical changes which
those regions have undergone in j)ast times.
46

•s i

798

NORDENSKIOLD'S VOYAGE TO THE TEISISEI.

In 1875, Nordenskiold projected an expedition to
the Kara Sea and Siberian rivers, and carried out his
programme successfully. With four 8<i ;"'^i«i<', com-
panions he started fiom Tromso, at i -sr, in
the Proeven, a small Norwegian sloo^ r»:.aDed by
twelve walrus-hunters, and made his way without
difficulty to the mouth of the Yenisei — " thuH inaug-
urating," he hoped, " a new and important route for
the commerce of the world."

At Dickson Harbor, as the anchoring place was
named, Nordenskiold and two of his companions, with
three sailors, left the vessel and started, Aug. 19tb,
to ascend the river in a Norland boat, the Aitva,
which had been brought for the purpose. The boat
was sunk almost to the gunwale by its load, and w ;
not in a condition to stand a heavy swell.

" With favorable wind and smooth water," says Norden d-. '
" we sailed on without any long rests in 42 hours to Cape Scha'
anskoi, where we arrived on the night before the '^loi., wt!t
through, and worn out by want of sleep. On the 7, ay we lande.l
at Krestovskoj, a now deserted simovi, which, to judge by the
number of the houses and the style in which they were fitted up
must at one time have had its prosperous period. Three houses
with flat turf-covered roofs still remained, each by itself forming
a veritable labyrinth "f rooms— living-rooms, bake-rooms, bath-
rooms, store-room for blubber, &c.,all in one. All U tehold
articles were taken away, and literally there was not t- i '■ f mnd
a nail in the wall — a sign that the inhabitants had not !:t. <uit^
but removed."

On the last day of August t\p travelers overtook a
steamer which they hai been f)(''pily pursuing for the
two ])rcviou8 days, and were rt;.eived on board by its
master, Ivan Michailovitsch Jurmenieif.

" The Eteamer Alpxanderv, a,a neither a passenger nor a cargo
boat, but formed a movable warehouse propelled by steam, the

A VOYAGE UP THE RIVER,

799

master of which was not a seaman, but a friendly merchant, who
clearly did not take much concern with navigation, but more
occupied himself with goods and trade, and was also seldom
styled by the crew captain (^Kapitan), but generally master
(Aosain). The equipment of the vessel itself, corresponded to
this state of things. The whole fore-cabin was fitted up as a
store, with shelves for the goods along the walls, a common
desk, «&c., &c. The after- saloon was employed as a counting-
bouse, writing and bedroom for the master, and was besides also
over-filled with various kinds of goods, spirit casks «Scc. There
was thus no place for passengers, and at the first instant, after
we laj' alongside the steamer, with the Swedish flag hoisted, the
' master's ' reception of us was by no means specially friendly.
At the beginning he was even not disposed to take us along.
But I had scarcely succeeded in explaining to him, by the aid of
our pilot, Feodor, and a Swedish-Russian dictionary, what sort
of people we were, and what journey we had made, before all was
completely altered, and from that moment we had in our
' master ' the most agreeable and accomodating host we could
desire.

" The nautical command on board was in the hands of two
mates of stately and original appearance, clad in long caftans ;
who each during his watch sat on a chair at the wheel, generally
smoking a cigar, and, with the most careless appearance in the
world, exchanging jokes with people descending the stream. A
man stood continually in the fore trying the depth with a long
pole ; for in order to avoid the strong current of the deep main
stream, the course was never taken on the deepest part of the
river, but as near the banks as possible — often so near that it was
almost possible to jump ashore.

" We were yet far to the north of the Arctic circle, and as
many perhaps imagine that the little known region we were now
traveling tliiough, the Siberian tundra, is a desert wilderness
covered either by ice and snow, or by an exceedingly scant moss
vegetation, it perhaps may not be unsuitable to state that this is
by no means the case. Already had the fertility of th&soil and the
iiD measurable extent and richness in grass of the pastures drawn
forth from one of our walrus-hmitcrs, a middle-aged man who is
owner of a little patch of ground among the fells in northern

. I

«00

LIFB IN ARCTIC RUSSIA.

Norway, a cr}' of envy at the splendid land our Lord had given
the ' Russian,' and of astonishment that no creature pastured, iic
scythe mowed, the grass.

'' As in the simoviea situated further to the north, the houses
in all the villages on the Yenisei are built of logs, pretty close
together, with the richly-carved gable to the street or lane.
Except for the cockroaches that crawled around everywhere, the
interiors of *he houses were very clean, and the walls were
adorned with numerous, if not very artistic, photographs and
engravings, for the most part of the Impt • i^l family, remarkable
Russian notabilities, often in generals* uniform, scenes from
Russian history, &c. Richly decorated sacred pictures were
always found placed in a corner, and before these there hung
some small oil-lamps or' little wax-lights, which were lighted on
festivals. Sometimes the floor, at least in the principal room
was covered with furs. The bedstead was generally formed of a
couch near the roof, so large that it occupied a third part or a
half of the room, and so high from the floor that a man could go
upright under it. Food was cooked in large ovens which were
fired for that purpose daily, and at the same time warmed the
houses. Fresh bread was to be had every day, and even for the
household of the poor a large brass tea-urn was a necessary
household article. One was certain to meet with a hearty and
friendly reception wherever he stepped over the threshold, and
if he stayed a short time he generall}' had to drink a glass of
tea with his host, whatever time of day it might happen to be."

After journeying on the Alexander al>out 1000
English miles, our travelers (iisembarked at the town
of Yenisseisk, on the last day of September, and re-
turned home overland by Moscow, Petersburg, Hel-
singfors, and Abo.

P\>r this voyage from Norw^ay to the mouth of the
Yenisei, whereby a sea route to Siberia was inaugu-
rated, Nordenskiold received in January, 1876, tho
thanks of the Russian government. In the same year
he made another successful voyage to the mouth of the
Yenisei, and back.

CHAPTER LII.
THE ENGLISH EXPEDITION OF 1875—76.

The success of the Polaris Expedition in wintering
in a higher latitude than ship had ever reached be-
fore, created much interest among European geogra-
phers, and in England, which had sent out no Arctic
expedition since the search for Franklin was ended,
a national expedition on a grand scale was proposed.
Lady Franklin favored simli an enterprise, and hoped
"for the credit and honor of England that the discov-
ery of the North Pole would not be left to any other
nation."

"The navy," wrote an English admiral, " needs some
action to wake it up from the sloth of routine and save
it from the canker of prolonged peace. It cries not
for mere war to gratify its desire for honorabla em-
ployment or fame. There are other aciiicvenients as
glorious as a victorious battle ; and a wise ruler and
a wise people will be careful to satisfy a craving
which is the life-blood of a profession. The rude
wooden monument to the intrepid American, standing
.alone in the Polar solitude, is at the same time a grand
memorial, a trophy, and a challenge."

Finally, in 1874, after the return of Payer and Wey-
precht, the English government decided to send out
an expedition the ensuing year, to attempt to reach

i '

1:1

802

THE ALERT AND DISCOVERY.

the North Pole by the route up Kennedy Channel
whose waters had thus far been navigated only by
American vessels. Two steamships, named " Alert "
and " Discovery," were selected and fitted up for the
perils to be encountered. Provisions for three years,
and everything that could be suggested in the way
of clothing, medicines and traveling-gear were laid in ;
and it is probable that no previous explorers had been
equipped in so methodical and liberal a manner.

Captain George Nares, a distinguished oflficer then
commanding the Challenger which was circumnavi-
gating the world for scientific purposes, was ordered
home from Hong-Kong to lead the expedition. Cap-
tain H. F. Stephenson, the second in command, was
assigned to the Discovery. The two ships were man-
ned and officered with complements, all told, of 121
souls. The popularity of the undertaking was so great
that of lieutenants alone, more than enough volunteer-
ed to have manned both vessels.

The Alert and Discovery started from Portsmouth^
May 29th, 1875, and were accompanied as far as
Disco Island by a third vessel carrying coal and stores.
Christian Peterson and Hans — Dr. Kane's fellow
tiaveiers — joined the expedition at Disco as interpre-
ter and hunter, and sixty dogs were bought. At
Upernavick, July 22nd, the explorers bade farewell
to civilization and steamed north across Melville Bay
into Smith Strait. Captain Buddington's winter
camp was visited, and some boxes of books, instru-
ments, etc. were found.

On the 19th of August the two ships were passing
up Kennedy Channel, and soon afterward they were
forced by the pack-ice into Lady Franklin Sound —

IN HIGH LATITUDE.

808

* '. I

an inlet on the west coast, opposite Thank God Har-
bor. At the entrance to this inlet, in latitude 81**
44' north, longitude 64** 45' west, the Discovery was
anchored in a sheltered position, where she remained
frozen in for nearly eleven dreary months.

Leaving Captain Stephenson in his snug winter
quarters. Captain Nares, in the Alert, steamed out of
F/iscovery Harbor, August 26th, and proceeded slow-
ly up Robeson Channel, meeting with much heavy
ice. At noon, September Isi, the ship was in latitude
82* 24 ' ; it was a higher latitude than had before been
attained by any vessel, and the ensign was hoisted at
the peak in honor of the event. The Alert had now
left Robeson Channel and fairly entered the circum-
polar sea. Further progress northward was however
impossible ; barely escaping the southern drift, the
ship was brought inside a floe-berg near the north-
eastern coast of Grinnell Land, and was soon frozen in.
Floeberg Beach, as the winter harbor of the Alert
was called, was in latitude 82'^ 24' north, longitude
61° west. The two ships were about sixty miles
apart.

Preparations for the winter were now begun.
Stores were safely housed on shore for use in case of
fire or other disaster on shipboard. The sides of the
ships were banked with snow and the decks were
covered with it. Sledging parties were sent out to
explore the surrounding regions, make deposits of
provisions for the use of the spring expeditions, and
to secure game. One of these parties was absent
nineteen days.

On the 16th of October the sun disappeared, and
the long Arctic night brooded over the explorers.

* ■,■■

^ 1

t '

I' I

804

tHE ARCTIC NIGHT.

Sledging parties had now to be abandoned, but the
usual ship discipline was kept up. The officers en-
gaged in scientific investigations, and the men spent
a portion of each day in the open air. The crew of
the Discovery constructed a skating ground, a walk a
mile in length ; and a theatre sixty feet long, with
walls of ice and snow and a roof of sail cloth, where
comedies were performed regularly. Actors were
plenty, but there was a dearth of actresses. The crew
of the Alert built a mound of snow seventy feet high,
and it was a favorite exercise to run down the slope.
Schools conducted by the officers were held evenings.
Guy Fawkes was burned on both vessels, Nov. 5th,
amid great applause ; and Christmas was appropri-
ately celebrated. Thus the winter passed pleasantly
away, and perhaps there were not in the English navy
healthier or hap})ier crews than those of the Alert
and Discovery. Hans, liowever, was evidently home-
sick. In January he became despondent, his actions
were strange, and one day he was missing. A search
was instituted, and he was tracked by the aid of
lanterns to a neighboring island, and found enscon-
sed in a hole in the snow. He was persuaded to
return to the ship, and recovered his spiiits as spring
came on.

The first of March brought back the sun — the sig-
nal for renewed activity. There had been no com-
munication between the vessels since they parted,
and Stephenson was ignorant of the whereabouts of
the Alert. Lieuts. Egerton and llawson, and Peter-
son, started south with a dog siege, March 12th, in-
tending to visit the Discov uy. On the second day
Peterson jjecame ill, and alter camping he got worse.

'■!I|

POLAKiS BAY REVISITED.

805

Having a craving for cold water he left hia tent dur-
ing the night to procure snow to swallow, and in
doing 80 both of his feet were badly frozen. The
next day was stormy, and the oj9Scers were obliged to
remain in camp; on the 15th they turned back, and
reached the Alert at night. It was found necessary
to amputate a portion of Petersen's feet, and he died
some two months later. Another attempt made by
the same officers to reach the Discovery was more
successful ; and on nearing the shi]), March 25th, the
whole crew came running toward them like rabbits
from a burrow.

Before Captain Nares started north, the U. S.
Government placed at his disposal all the stores left
in Greenland by Captain Hall's Expedition. Toward
the end of March, Lieut. Archer and Dr. Coppinger
of the Discovery, with a sledge party, were sent
across the channel to visit the winter quarters of the
American explorers at Polaris Bay, and secure any
articles of value. They found the provision depot
and its contents in good order, and made a hearty
supper from the bread and preserved meats. Many
miscellaneous articles were scattered about, including
a coil of wire, an ice-saw, a box of glass, and a small
tent. The roof of the observatoi-y was partly blown
down. In all probability no human being had set
foot upon the shores of this dreary bay since the crew
of the Polaris departed, leaving the remains of their
commander to keep watch, as it were, over the relics
of his expedition.

Another object which they saw excited more pain-
ful but far deeper interest — the grave of Captain
Hall. A piece of a cabin door caught the eye, and

806

THE ORAVE OP CAPTAIN HALL.

on approaching they found upon it the following
inscription : —

IN MEMORY
of

CHARLES FRANCIS HALL,

LATE COMMANDBB

U. S. STEAMER PCI ARIS,

NORTH POLE EXPEDITION,

DIED NOV. 8TH, 1871. AGED 60 YEArfS.

**I am the reiurrection and the life : he that beliereth in um, though h*

were dead, jret tball he lire."

On the other side wa.s engraved : —

TO THE MEMORT

C. F. HALL,

LATB COMMANDER Of

U. S. NORTH POLAR EXPEDITION.

DIED NOV. 8TH, 1871.

AGED 60 YEARS.

The letters were sunk in the wood, and everything
appeared in a good state of preservation. A large
crowbar was stuck in the grave about a foot from
the headstone, and a small flat piece of upright stone
was at the foot. A willow planted near the grave
by his comrades was alive and flourishing.

On the 13th of May following, Captain Stephenson
and a large party again crossed to th place where
Captain Hall was buried, and hoisted the Amencan
flag over the grave. At its foot they erected a brass
tablet, brought from England for the purpose, with
the following inscription : —

SACnKD TO THE MEMORY OP

CAPTAIN C. F. HALL

Of the U. S. ship < Polaris,' .

Who taerifieed hii life in the advancement of Science on Nov. 8, 1871.

Thi* tablet has been erected hy the British Polar Expedition of 1876, which,
following in his footsteps, has profited by his experience.

<•■■! 1 11'

AN EXCITING DAY.

807

As the main object of the entire expedition was to
reach the North Pole or approach to it as nearly as
possible, a sledging party under Couiiuau ler Mark-
ham was organized, to strike out boldly upon the
PalsBocrystic Sfia (or sea of ancient ice), as Captain
Nares dubbed the regions north of Grinnell Land
and Greenland, and to attain as high a latitude as
possible. Another sledge party under Lieut. Aid-
rich was to travel westward along the north shore of
Grant's Land — as the northern portion of Grinnell
Land was called.

The third of April was an exciting day at the Alert's
winter quarters. Early in the morning fifty-one of-
ficers and men, forming the northern and western
sledging parties with their supports, arranged them-
selves and their sledges in line of battle, all in high
spirits and good health, weary of the winter's inactivi-
ty and anxious for the novel work before them. On
starting they were accompanied a short distance by
Captain Nares and the few shipinates they v- kkv to
leave behind ; then cheers were exchanged, auu the
explorers disapeared in the north. The two sledg-
ing parties traveled together over the rugged floes in
a north-westerly direction for several days, making
slow progress, and on the 10th of April reached View
Hill on the north-easteni corner of Grinnell Land
where a depot of provisions had previously been es-
tablished. Here the supporting party turned back
and the exploring parties separated — Aldricli to travel
westward, and Markham to strike due north over the
frozen sea.

Markham's party, consisting of himself, Lieut. Pan',
and fifteen men, drew three sledges loaded with two

808

THE NORTH POLE PARTY.

boats and provisions for sixty-three days, and weigh-
ing together over 0000 Ihn., which was a pull of 400
lbs. for each of the crew. Their course ou the first
day was through hummocks so high that a part of
the men were continually in advance *with pickaxes
and shovels making roads, over which the sledges were
dragged by repeated journeys. "Standinr mils," as
they were called, were often necessary gh the

whole journey, when all the men graspeu v.ie ropes
firmly, and at the words of command, " one, two, three,
haul," pulled together, thus advancing the sledge a
few feet at a time.

At times there were hard gales and drifting snow,
when traveling was impossible and the men had to
stay in their tents. At other times, when the sun
shone brightly, the surface snow on the floes sparkled
and glistened with the most beautiful irridescent colors.
Symptoms of scurvy appeared soon after starting, and
on the 17th of April two of the men were so ill that
they had to be drawn on a sledge.

On the 18th of April a change was experienced in
the nature of the ice. Hitherto the floes though small
were comparatively flat and surrounded by hummocks ;
now they appeared squeezed one against the other
but with no hummocks between. They were of gi-
gantic thickness, of uneven surfaces, and covered with
deep snow. In a journey of ten hours, though ten
miles were marched, only one mile of piogress was
made. On the next day some of the floes were nine
or ten feet above the level of the iioxt, and the sledges
had • to be raised or lowered from one to the other.
In four hours, with a succession of standing pulls, only
300 yards of an advance was made ; and to lighten
the load the largest ice boat was abandoned.

ON THE PALJEOCBYSTIC SEA.

809

Subsequently there was a little improvement in the
traveling, but it soon grew worse than ever before.
Enormous hummocks were squeezed together on every
side, and from the summit of one rising more than
forty feet above the snow at its 1>aae, no floe could be
seen — nothing but uneven rangt of shapeless masses
of ice, between which the snow had accuinulnted in
drifted and surface-frozen ridges to a great depth.
Pickaxes and shovels were in constant requisition;
while the road-makers were at work the others fre-
quently shivered in their tents. The keen winds were
sometimes utilized by means of sails which were hoist-
ed on the sledges. The tracks of a hare traveling south
seventeen miles from the nearest land, were the last
vestige of animal life seen on the northward journey.

By the 2nd of May five of the crew were on the
sick list, and by the 7th the whole five had to be placed
on the sledges ; others suffered from snow-blindness.
On the 10th, four more men were taken ill ; the con-
dition of the ice showed no impi'ovement, half of the
provisions were exhausted, and Markham came to the
conclusion that he could go no further ; but he deter-
mined to remain where he was a couple of days to
make observations.

The next day the men cut a hole through some young
ice, and it was found to be sixty-four inches thick,
though the growth of only one season. The depth of
water beneath was 72 fathoms, or 432 feet, and the
bottom was clay. Though the scenery above was
appallingly desolate, with net a trace of animal or vege-
table existence, the very reverse was the case below.
A dredge was improvised, baited, and lowered in the
water. On being raised it was found to be literally

810

THE TURNING POINT.

swarming with crustaceans api)arently of two kinds.
Experiments showed that tidal movements existed.
The following is from Markham's journal of May 13th
— the last day passed at this station, the highest lati-
tude yet attained })y man : —

"Breakfasted at 8.30, immediately after which, leaving the
cooks behind at the camp to attend upon the invalids, the re-
mainder of the party, carrying the sextant and artilicial horizon,
and also the sledge, banners and colors, started nortiiward.
We had some very severe walking, struggling through snow up
vO our waists, and, occasionally, almost disappearin" through
cracks and Assures, until twenty minutes to noon, when a halt
was called. The artificial horizon was then set up, and the flags
and banners di8pla3'ed. These fluttered out bravely before »
fresL 3. W. wind, which latter was, however, decidedly cold and
unpleasant. At noon we obtained a good altitude, and pro-
claimed our latitude to be 83" 20' 26" N., exactly 399} miles
from the North Pole. On this being duly announced, three
cheers were given ; then the whole party, in the exuberance of
their spirits at having reached their turning point, sang the
" Union Jack of Old England," the " Grand Palaeocrystic Sledg-
ing Chorus," winding up, like loyal subjects, with "God save
the Queen." These little demonstratioqs had the effect of cheer-
ing the men who, nevertheless, enjoy good spirits (sic). The
instruments were then packed, the colors furled, and our steps
retraced to the camp. On our arrival the flags were hoisted on
our tents and sledges, and kept flying for the remainder of the
day. A magnum of whisky that had been sent by the Dean of
Dundee for the express purpose of being consumed in the high-
est northern latitude, was produced, and a glass of grog served
out to all. Alter supper a cigar was issued to each man, and
the day was brought lo a close with songs, even the invalids
joining in. All seemed happy, cheerful and contented."

Toward evening the travelers turned their faces
from the North Pole and started south. The return
journv^y resembled in many respects the journey north,
but there was not so much road-making to be done

THE RETURN JOURNEY.

811

as they followed their old tracks as far as possible.
When the days were dull and cloudy - and they
frequently were — sky and sea appeared all one, and
Objects could not be seen further than a few yards.
The invalids grew worse, but could have no medicine
as the lime-juice was exhausted; and the appetites of
all were diminishing daily. They hurried on toward
the provision depot as fast as possible ; but it was
slow work, for "out of thirty-four legs in the party
only five were sound." The second boi^t was soon
abandoned.

Some little incidents enlivened the tedium of the
T-oute. On the 24th — Victoria's birth-day — " the col-
ors were displayed at lunch time, the main-brace
spliced, and Her Majesty's health drank by her most
northern though not leas loyal subjects." Much inter-
est was occaioned one day by the appearance of a
little snow-b mting, which fluttered around and chirp-
ed for a few iiinutes and then fle^v away toward land.
Many of the party had not seen « uird for nine months,
and the sick men on the sL dges uncovered their
lieads to obtain a glimpse of the little warbler.

At length, June 4th, they arrived at the depot at
View Hill, and found letters from Captain Nares who
had been there the day before. Three hares which he
left and a supply of groceries were most welcome.

When again on the road, June 6th, their appear-
ance was pitiable. A few men were pulling at the
ropes, two of whom were ready to drop out of the
line at any moment from weakness ; others were strug-
gling on behind, and obliged to lie down and rest every
Imndred yards ; the remainder were lying helpless on
the sledges. It seemed unlikely that they would ever

■4

I I

lih

812

DEATH OP A SEAMAN.

reach the Alert, forty miles distant, without aid, and
Lieut. Parr volunteered to go on alone and pro<^ure it ;
he started off, lightly equipped, on the morning of
June 7th.

On the next clay one of Markham'S men died. A
grave eight feet deep was dug in the ice, and at 9 p.
m., with ensign at half-mast and the Union Jack as a
pall, the funeral procession, attended by all but four
men who were very ill, moved thither; the burial
service was read, and the remains consigned to their
icy resting-place. A rude cross was placed at the
head of the grave, with the following inscription : —
" Beneath this cross lie buried the remains of George
Porter, R. M. A., who died on June 8th, 1876. Thy
will be done.*'

The journey was resumed on the 9th, and at about
11 p. m. an object was described moving rapidly
among the hummocks ; it was a dog team. The colors
were hoisted, but the men overcome by their feelings,
could hardly raise a cheer. Well and faithfully had
Parr redeemed his promise. lie reached the Alert at
(i p. m. on the 8th, and Dr. Moss and Lieut. May
started at once with a dog sledge and medicine and
food.

Greatly refreshed and encouraged the party march-
ed on the next day, and soon met Captain Is' ares and
a number of men. The new-comers took charge of
the sledges and invalids and started south, hut Mark-
hum and a few of his comrades stuck to their ropes
until the Alert was reached, June 14th, after an absence
of sev enty-two days.

The nunil)erof English miles actually traveled by
the North Pole party in going and returninu: was 601 ;

and

the

It n

aJva

Lieut

View

the n

dui'in^
across
James
a Jon or t

sledge ,
and tur

f '^

THE WESTERN EXPLORING PARTY.

813

•I

and yet they only attained a distance of 73 miles trom
the ship, and about 30 miles from the nearest land.
It must be remembered that almost eveiy mile of
advance involved several miles of laborious traveling.

The western exploring party of seven men under
Lieut. Aldrich, after separating from Markham at
View Hill, April 11th, started westward to explore
the north shore of Grinnell Land. The motto was
^'•Fortitudo Vincet,^^ and bravely was it exerajilified
during the journey. At the start they struck inland
across Cape Joseph Henry, v a\ ihe 15th reached
James Ross Bay. The course vvn^ then northwesterly
along the shore of the clrcumpolar sea. A apporting
sledge accompanied Aldrich as far as Gitfar<' Point,
and turned back April 25th. The snow was deep and
traveling very laborious and slow.

On the 1st of May, Aldrich reached a lofty penk
shaped like a sugar loaf, 1 800 feet in height, draped
in eternal white, and tei-minating in a promontory
rising 800 feet almost perpendicularly from the sea.
This promontory was in latitude 83*^ 71 'north, and
longitude 70^ 10' west — the most northerly land that
has ever been visited by man. Its general appearance
was worthy of its position, and it has been appropri-
ately named Oape Columbia. The travelers camped
at its base, on a hard snow-drift twelve feet deep.

Aldrich continued on in a westerly and then in a
south-westerly direction along the coast until May
18th, when he reached the limit of his Journsy. He
was then in Yelverton Bay, in latitude 82*^ 16' north,
and longitude 85*^ 33' west, and 270 miles from the
Alert. The coast trended to the south, and nothing
could be seen to the north and west but a sea of hum-
47

■

[ I i \ I

;i ; :

THE QBEEMLAND EXPLORING PARTY.

mocks. All was dreary solitude, with no stir of ani-
mal life and nothing to relieve the dead monotony of
white.

The explorers turned back May 19th ; most of them
wei'e suffering from scurvy, and traveling was pain-
ful and tedious. One month later, when near View
Hill, they were met by a relief party with much-need-
ed supplies. They reached the Alert June 25th, after
an absence of eighty-two days, during which time
they had traveled 708 miles.

The coast line of Grant Land consists of a steep
shore, with many promontories, peninsulas, aid inden-
tations. The cliffs vary in height from 300 to 1000
feet. The interior contains many elevated summits
which do not seem to form continuous chains; those
farthest to the west were called Challenger Mountains.

The ex[)loration of the northern shores of Green-
land was assigned to Lieut. Beaumont of the Discov-
ery. He left his ship April 6th, proceeded to the
Alert, and on the 20th started eastward across Robe-
son Channel. He was accompanied by Lieut. Rawson,
and had fourteen men and two sledges. He I'eached
Repulse Harbor, April 27th, and then traveled north
easterly on the se.'i ice through drifted snows, as the
rugged cliffs and ic-eofthe s'uoremade it impossible to
travel on land. I*rogre8S was distressingly slow.

On the 4th of May they reached Stanton Cape, be-
yond which was a fine bay surrounded by clift'-^-
Soon afterward James Hand, one of the crew, was
attacked by scurvy, and on the 11th of May, when
near Cape Brj'ant, Rawson turned back with one sledge
carrying the sick man. Beaumont continued on
through deep snow until May 2l8t, when he too was

fro

(

MEETING AT BEPtTLSE HARBOR.

815

Bol>e-
awson,
•eached
north
as the
jsibleto

ow.

ape,

he-

m^-

ew,

^vas

^y, v^hell

iiesledg^'
iiued on

too

-vs-as

obliged to turn back. His men were suffering greatly
from scurvy, and two of them had to be carried.

On the 12th of June, Beaumont's paity arrived at
Repulse Harbor. Then they started for the Alert ;
but being stopped by open water they stmck for
Polaris Bay ; and on the 2oth, when wearily ^'ending
their way across Polaris Promontory toward Thank
God Harbor, they were delighted to meet Dr. Coppin-
ger, Rawson and Hans with a dog team. A halt was
ordered, and the Doctor attended to the sick and
supplied them with lime-juice, etc.

Rawson's report was not a very pleasing one.
After parting with Beaumont, May 13th, he had
struggled southward to Thank God Harbor, where
Hand died early in June. On the 7th, Dr. Coppinger's
party arrived from the Discovery, and were much
surprised to find who was there and to learn the sad
news. On the next day they buried their dead com-
rade near the grave of Captain Hall.

On the 28th of June, Dr. Coppinger with the dog
sledge took two of the sick men to the depot at Polaris
Bay, but for one of them rest and relief came too late.
Paul died on the 29th, and was buried beside his
comrade Hand. The sledge flags were half-mast high
and three volleys were fired over their graves.

The remainder of Beaumont's party were brought
on by the dog team July 1st. Hans caught .seals,
whose flesh was most beneficial for the sick men, and
several ducks and geese were shot. Messengers were
sent to the Discovery, and on the 19th, Captain
Stephenson and six men arrived bearing all the med-
ical comforts at their command. The sick men re-
covered rapidly, and on the 8th of August a final

I: Ml

816

BETUBN OF THE EXPLORERS.

adieu was bidden to Thank God Harbor. The ice
was beginning to break up, and the passage across the
channel tedious and diflScult ; it was often necessary
to cross open water from one drifting floe to another
in the ice boat. Finally, the travelers reached Dis-
covery Harbor, August 14th, and saw the Alert
(which had been released from the ice July 31st)
moored near their own ship. Beaumont's party had
been absent about 132 days, during which they had
traveled 453 miles ; the highest latitude he reached was
lower than that where the Alert wintered.

The explorers reached England near the close of
October, and were enthusiastically welcomed. Many
of the oflScers were promoted to higher ranks in the
navy, and Captain Nares received the honor of
knighthood.

During the absence of the expedition. Captain Allen
Young was deputed by the Admirality to visit the
northern seas, and give any aid that he could to the
explorers. He left England, May 1876, in his yacht
Pandora, and cruised about the northern part of
BafiSin's Bay, but saw no signs of the Expedition.

CHAPTER LIII.

NORDENSKIOLD'S NORTH-EAST PASSAGE
EXPEDITION, 1878—80.

Adolf Erik Nordenskiold the veteran Arctic
explorer who has recently acquired additional fame
by making a voyage from Europe to Asia through
the northern aeas — thus discovering the long-sought
North-east Passage, was born at Helsingfors, the cap-
itol of Finland, Nov, 18th, 1832. The race from which
he sprang has long been noted for the possession of
remarkable qualities, among which an ardent love of
nature and of scientific research was prominent. In
1710, one of his ancestors, hearing that the plague had
broken out all over Finland, protected himself against
the epidemic in a very peculiar way. He loaded a
vessel with provisions and other supplies, went on
board with all his family, and cruised about in the
open sea for several mouths, taking care to have no
communication with the land.

Nordenskiold's father was a well-known naturalist,

chief of the mining department of Finland ; his son

often accompanied him in mineralogical excursions and

thereby acquired skill in recognizing and collecting

minerals, and in the use of the blowpipe. When, in

1849, he entered the University of Helsingfors, he

devoted himself largely to the study of chemistry,

817

iir

818

NORDENSKIOLD— THE VEQA AND HER CREW.

mineralogy and geology ; and he continued his scien-
tific researches in after life.

In 1857 he left Finland in consequence of political
trouble with the Governor General, and was not per-
mitted to return to his native land until the displace-
ment, in 1862, of the official whom he had innocently
offended. In 1858 he made his first Arctic voyage as
geologist of Torell's expedition to Spitzbergen, and
on his return he was appointed Professor and Inten-
dent of the mineralogical department of the Riks-
Museum at Stockholm. In 1861 and subsequently he
was connected with several Arctic expeditions, some
of which have been described in a previous chapter.

After the exploration of the Kara Sea, and the
vdyages to the great Siberian rivers, in 1875 and 1876,
it was natural that Nordenskiold should turn a long-
ing eye to the unexplored sea skirting the northern
coast of Asia, and that the old enterprise of effecting
a North-east passage to Asia should be revived.

Nordenskiold's new expedition was planned on a
larger scale than any of his previous ones. The cost
thereof was estimated at £20,000, to which sum Mr.
Oscar Dickson, the King of Sweden, and Mr. A. Sib-
iriakoff were the principal contributors. The bark-
rigged whale-steamer Vega, built of oak, 150 feet long
over deck, with a breadth of 29 feet in the widest
place and a depth in the hold of 16 feet, was bought
for the expedition. The crew consisted of 18 seamen
of the Swedish navy, selected from 200 who volun-
teered their services, and three Norwegian walrus-
hunters.

In this memorable expedition Nordenskiold was
accompanied by Lieut. A. A. L. Palander, commander

n
m
P<

re{

oft

thre
sei I

V51 » "

A 8AM0YEDB VILLAGE.

819

im Mr.
Sib-
bark-
5t long
■widest

»ougiit
Iseanien

volun-
iwalrus-

Lld vras
Imander

of the Vega, and Lieut. Brusewitz, second in com-
mand — both officers of the Swedish navy ; Dr. Kjell-
man, botanist; Dr. Stuxberg, geologist ; and Dr. A.
Penguist, medical officer. By special request of their
respective governments, Lieut. Bove of the Italian
navy, Lieut. Hovgaard of the Danish navy, and Lieut.
Nordquirit of the Imperial Eussian family's battalion
of sharpshooters also joined in the expedition.

The Vega was accompanied part of her voyage by
three other vessels ; as far as the mouth of the Yeni-
sei by the steamer Fraser and the sailing vessel Em-
press, laden with coal, salt, tobacco and iron ; and
as far as the mouth of the Lena by a small steamer of
the same name, commanded by Captain Johannesen.

The explorers left Tromso, July 21st, 1878. Nova
Zembla was sighted on the 29th, and on the 3()th the
Vega, having steamed along the coast to Jugor Straits,
anchored at a Samoyede village. Here some house-
hold articles, dresses &c., were purchased of the in-
habitants, and one old woman was persuaded to sell
some of the idols which are worshipped by the tribe,
although they are professedly Christians, and take
part in Christian worship. The idols were all differ-
ent in appearance. One consisted of a stone, which
by the help of brightly-colored patches had been made
into a sort of doll ; another was a similar doll with a
piece of copper plate for a face ; and a third was a
little skin doll ornamented with ear-rings and pearls.
These idols, which are still regarded with reverence
by the Samoyedes, in general resemble the rag dolls
which peasant children make for themselves without
the help of the toy shops of towns.

The following day the vessels of the expedition pass-

Is - 4

SiO

DICKSON HARBOR— CAPB CHELYUSKIN.

ed through Jugor Straits into the Kara Sea, and on the
6th of August all were anchored in Dickson Harbor at
the mouth of the Yenisei. The Fraser and Express
subsequently ascended the river some 500 miles, and
returned home with full cargoes of wheat, rye, oats
and tallow.

On the 10th of August the Vega and Lena resumed
their eastward voyage and on the next day fell in with
bay ice, which did not, however, impede navigation.
From the 14th to the 18th of August the vessels lay
at anchor, waiting for clear weather, in a splendid
harbor situated in the strait between Taimyr Island
and the mainland, which was named Actinia Haven
from the number of actinia which the dredge brought
up from the bottom. The land was free of snow and
covered with a grey-green vegetation consisting of
gras" 3, mosses and lichens.

On the 19th the vessels continued their course along
the coast of the Chelyuskin Peninsula, through a
dense fog, which occasionally lightened up so that the
contour of the land could be distiniruished. Thev
steamed past an extensive field of unbroken ice oc-
cupying a bay on the western side of the peninsula,
and at length an ice-free promontory glinted out
through the fog in the north-east. In a short time
the Vega and Lena were anchored in a little bay
open to the north and ice-free, that cuts the promon-
tory in two. Flags were hoisted and a salute fired.
The first object of the voyage had been attained — the
northernmost point of the old world, variously called
Cape Chelyuskin, Cape Severo, and North-east Cape,

The air had cleared and the cape lay before them
lighted up by the sun and free from snow. A large

ar
ar
an

AT THS MOUTH OF THE LENA.

881

Polar bear was seen parading the beach with eyes
and nose turned toward the bay to inspect the new
arrival ; frightened by their salute it took to flight
and escaped the balls of the Swedes.

Cape Chelyuskin forms a low promontory, divided
into two parts by the bay in which the vessels had
anchored. The moat northern point is in 77*^ 41 '
north latitude. Inland the mountains appeared to
rise gradually to a height of 1000 feet.

At noon on the 20th the vessels sailed on, meeting
with much drift-ice, and the floes soon increased in
size till progress through them was almost impossible.
Open water was again reached on the 28rd, and with
a fresh breeze the vessels moved rapidly along with-
out the aid of steam over a perfectly smooth sea.
High, picturesque mountains were seen inland. On
the 24th, Preobrasehenski Island at the mouth of the
Chatanga was sighted ; this island was found to be of
chalk formation.

On arriving at the mouth of the Lena, a favorable
wind and an open sea induced Nordenskiold to con-
tinue on without stopping, and the Vega and the Lena
accordingly parted on the night between the 27th and
28th of August — the former to sail direct to Fadeyev,
one of the New Siberian Islands, the latter to ascend
the Lena.

A pilot had been engaged to descend the Lena and
await the arrival of the vessel, but Captain Johannes-
en could discover no flag-staff or signal tower, and was
left to his own resources. He took his vessel safely
through the delta of the river, and ascended the river
to Yakutsk, where he arrived the 21st of September.
Despatches from Nordenskiold were sent on to Irkutsk

' »

'ill 1

•99

NAVIOATINO THE LENA.

and a telegram from that tc vn on the 16th of Octo'b^ir,
announced to the civilized world the rounding of Cape
Chelyuskin, and the navigation of the Lena by a
steamer from the Atlantic.

When Nordenakiold parted from the Lena he hoped
to reach Bering's Straits by the end of September ; but
weoks and months passed, and nothing was heard of
the Vega until December, when two American
whalers, returned from St. Lawrence Bay, rejortetl
that they had been informed by two ti ust-wortiiy
natives, that they had seen a Russian war-ship frozen
in north of East Cape, some forty miles from land.
This vessel, supposed by the natives to be Russian,
was immediately identified as the Vega, and a lively
but unnecessary concern for the safety of the explorers
was generally felt. Months again passed without
further intelligence, when, in the middle of May, 1879,
dispatches were received from the expedition with
information that the Vega was frozen in at a distance
of 120 miles from Bering's Straits. Meantime, Mr. A.
Sibiriakoff had started' to search for the explorcre in
the steamer " Nordenskiold."

After parting from the Lena the Vega steered in a
northeasterly direction toward the New Siberian
Islands, and on the 31st of August passed through
the sound which separates the most southerly one from
the mainland. Eastward there was an open channel
along the coast ; continuous ice-fields stretched away
to the northward.

Cape Chelagskqi was reached Sept. 6th, and here
were met the first natives seen since leavinjr Juffor
Straits. A halt was made, and two boat-loads came
on board. Their language was unintelligable, except-

1|!'^

FROZSN IN— THE WINTER HABBOB.

828

ing tliat one boy could count ten in English. After
this the explorers were in daily communication with
the inhabitants along the coast.

On the 7th of Sept. progress forward was impossi-
ble, and Nordenskiold and his comrades landed at the
invitation of the natives, who received them in a very
fiiendly manner, and offered whatever the dwellings
contaiLvid. Food was abundant, and in one tent
reindeer flesh was boiling in a large cast-iron pot.
Children were plenty, and were well-treated and
healthy. "When carried about on the shoulders of
the men and women they were wrapped up in furs,
but inside of the tents they were completely naked,
and would sometimes run out doors in that condition.

On the 11th the Vega proceeded on her voyage,
but on the 12th was obliged to anchor again near the
point of a promontory on which Was a village of
eighteen tents. On the 18th the Vega again started,
making alow progress and frequent stops, and by the
28th was firmly frozen in.

The winter-harbor was situated 120 miles from
Bering's Straits, one mile from land, and in the imme-
diate neighborhood of three tent villages called Yint-
len, Pitlekajo, and Irigononk, and at a point frequently
visited by vessels from the Pacific.

" When we were frozen in," says Nordenskiold, " there was
ice-free water some minutes farther east. A single hour's steam-
ing of the Vega at full speed had probably been sufficient to
traverse this distance, and a day earlier the drift-ice at this point
would no have formed any serious obstacle to the advance of
the vessel."

" During the month of October the ice had increased so much
in strength that a house of ice was built on shore, with the view of
making magnetical observations there. A tent was now drawn

824

LIFE AMID THE ICE.

over the ship, the riggino' having been lowered, and a thick
covering of snow was laid on the deck, while other necessary
preparations to lessen the effects of an Arctic winter were made.
Every Saturday evening lectures were delivered on suitable
subjects. In the cabins of the officers and the crew, as well as
in the middle deck, lamps were kept burning all day long. On
no occasion was daylight quite wanting, and even on the short-
est day, although the sun did not rise above the horizon, there
was a couple of hours' dajiight. The sport during the winter was
very poor. The bears kept away, wolves were seen but could
not be got at, and the hares and ptarmigans being white were
very diflicult to slioot on the snow ; but during the spring the
sport became excellent. The gales were especially violent dur-
ing the months of October and November, and the blocks of ice
rose to a height of some fifteen yards.

"All the w.iy from Cape Chelagskoj the coast is thickly
studded with villages, consisting each of from five to fifteen tents,
inhabited by Tchuktclies, a tribe doubtless descended from the
Eskimo >f Greenland. These tents are roomy, and inclose one
or two sleeping places, which Ibrm. as it were, a special inner
tent oi warm reindeer skin, which is heated and lighted by a
train-oil larnii. In summer, but not in winter, a wood fire is kept
up in the mildleof the exterior tent, an opening being made in
the top of it lor the escape of the smoke.

"In the inner tent the women go quite naked with the except/-
ion of a narrow girdle. They wear their hair long, parted at the
top, and iiraided. Tliej* are tattooed with two dark-blue lines
bent inwards on either side of the face.

" The men generally have the hair shaved or clipped to the
root with tlio exception of the outer margin, whicli is left an inch
long amd combed over t*ie face. They are sometimes j)ainte(l
with a black right-angled cross placed obli<iuely on the check
bone.

" The Tchuktche has i)lack hair and eyes, a brownish-yellow
skin, and is small of statue. He is very friendly and service-
able, especially if he gets ' knitan,' a common expression for all
kinds of food. He will do almost anything for a drop of brandy.
He is a shrewd and cdouljitiri;.' inan of business, and has been
accustomed to it fro>:i childhood through the barter which i»

THE TCHUKTCHE8— AURORAL PHENOMENA.

825

carried on between America and Siberia. Many a beaver-skin
that comes to tlu' market at Irbit belongs to an animal that has
been caught in America, whose skin has since gone from hand to
hand among the wild men until it has at length reached the
Russian merchant.

" The natives live by fishinir. including whale fishing, and hunt-
ing the seal and walrus. They are dressed in reindeer skins,
with which they also cover their tents, procuring them by barter
with the nomad portion oi the population of the Tchuktche Pen-
insula, the so-called Reindeer-Tehuktches, who carry on the breed-
ing of reindeer and wander from place to place. During winter,
when fishing is impossible, the coast Tcluiktches travel along
the coast with dog-sledges and carry on barter with the natives
of other villages."

The time (luring which the Vega was frozen in was
passed by the explorers without any extraordinary
incident. There was but little sickness among them,
and no one died. Scientific investigations were kept
up, and at the observatory one of the ofllcers and two
of the crew were on cons^tant duty.

Nordenskiold devoted much attention to the obser-
vation and re^isteration of auroral phenomena, The
season was a minimun one for such ap[)earances and
Sim spots. During tlie winter ho did not once observe
that the Northern Lights attained the magnificent
development acquired by them in Scandinavia. But
whenever the sky was clear, and there was no sun or
moon, he saw, constant in the northeast horizon, and
always in the same exact spot, a faintly luminous arc
so motionless us to be susceptible of accurate measure-
ment. This phenomenon, Nordenskiold concludes,
conies from an actual aureole, or ring of light, surround-
ing the northern portion of the globe-gilding the whole
of Noi'th America with an enduring glory. Its centre
should be the spot where llall wintered, and its radius
about eight degrees.

826

THE RELEASE— HOMEWABD VjyAQE.

The ship was a constant rendezvous for the natives,
many of whom pasised that way on their travels or
simply came to gratify their curiosity. All of them
went on board and were hospitably entertained, for
which they appeared grateful and always friendly.
By studying their language the explorers, assisted by
pantomime, were able after a while to get along fairly
in the way of conversation with them. Among the
visitors was Warili Menka, a Christian Tschuktscher
whom the Russian government had appointed chief
over all the Tschuktschers. He took away letters from
the explorers, which subsequently reached their des-
tination.

At length, after 264 days detention in the ice, the
Vega was released on the 18th of July, and immedi-
ately resumed the voyage eastward. Bering's Straits
were quickly entered, Port Clarence on the American
side of the straits, Bering Island, and several other
places were visited, and thon the ex})lorer8 headed
for Yokohama, Japan, where they arrived Sept. 2nd.
Here a grand banquet was given to them by the learn-
ed societies of Tokio and Yokohama, and they were
received by the emperor at his palace.

Leaving Yokohama, the explorers started home-
ward by the way of the Suez Canal, and were most
enthusiastically received wherever they halted on the
way. They arrived at Sweden about the middle of
April, 1880.

CHAPTER LIV.

THE AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION OF

1879.

The American Arctic Expedition of 1879, which
departed from San Francisco on the 8th of July, was
projected by James Gordon Bennett, proprietor of the
New York Iferald. After the return of the last of
the two successful expeditions which he had sent to
Africa under Henry M. Stanley, he longed for new
worlds to conquer and turned his attention to the
Frozen Zone.

Mr. Bennett decided to send out, at his own expense,
an expedition to attempt to reach the North Pole by
way of Bering's Straits, and he subsequently bought
the Pandora, the English craft mentioned on pnge
816. By special acts of Congress the vessel was allow-
ed to Siiil under American colors, to assume a new
name — tlie Jeaiinette — and to be navigated bv offi-
cers of the United States Navy, with all the rights
anil ju'ivileges of a government ship. She was taken
through the Straits of Magellan to San Fi-ancisco by
Lieut. George W. DeLong, and there turned over to the
naval authorities at Mare Island, to be put in order
for the northern voyage.

The Jeannette was built in England in 1862. She
is a bark-rigged steam yacht of 420 tons burden, with

828

THE JEANNETTE AND HER OFFICERS.

an engine of 200 horse power and a wide spread of
canvas. She was constructed for service in the ice,
and in 1873 conveyed her owner to the Arctic regions
for the purpose of searching for records of Franklin's
expedition. •

While at Mare Island important repairs and im-
provements were made in the ship. Her hull was
strengthened by bracing, new boilers were put in,
together with all kinds of machinery that might
possibly be of use. The cabin and forecastle were
padded with layers of felt to keep out the cold, and
the poop deck was covered with several thicknesses of
stout painted canvas. Boats, tents, extra sails, t"''o
extra propellers, extra pumps, a distilling apparatus, a
hoisting engine rigged on the spar deck to be employed
in warping, and everything that could be deviL,ed to
give safety to the explorers and efficiency to the expe-
dition were provided.

The officers and crew of the Jeannette were as
follows : —

Lieut. GeortteW. DeLonj;, U. 8. N., Comuinndpr.
Lieut. Cliorles VV. Chlpp. U. S. N., Executive Officer.
Lii'Ut. Jiihii W. DaniilielmiT, U. 8. N., Nuvi^ator.
Gecrne W. MHlvllle, U. 8. N., Chief Engineer.
J. M. M. \inbler, U. 8. N., Surncon. Jer- iiie J. Collirs, Meteorologist.

RaMiiond L. N«wc()nil>, Naturalist. William M. Dunbar, Ice Pilot.

Will. Liudernian, Alfred Swcetinann, Carpciiters. Walter Lee, MacliinUt.

Win. Cole, Boatswain. G. VV. Boyd, 1. Iverson, Geo. Landerhaucli, Firciiu'li.

Loui.iNoittfi, Herbert W. Leach, Henry D. Warner, Juniee U. Burtlett, Geo.

StepheiKion, Adolph DrcB»ler, Carl A. GorlE, Peter E. Jobiison, Henry Wilson,

Etiwurd Star, Huns IL Ericligon, H. H. Knack, Albert O. Knihuc, Seaiuen-

Sam, Tong Sing, iind All Sing, Chinese cook, steward, and cabin boy.

Lieuts. DeLong and Chipp weie officers of the U. S.
steamer Juniata on her northern cruise in search of
the crew of the lost Polaris. (See page 770). Mr.
Melville was engineer of the steamer Tigress when
she went north on the same trrand. William Liutler-

SPEECH OF CAPTAIN DE LONG.

829

man was a member of tlie Polaris ice-drift party. All
of the crew were volunteers, selected with great care
from many applicants.

A complimentary reception was given by the Cali-
fornia Academy of Sciences to the officei'S of the
Jeannette, a few days before their departure. The
meeting was lai-gely attended, and many eminent
scientists of the Pacific Coast were present. Speeches
were made by Dr. Baehr, J. P. Moore, Charles W.
Brooks, William Bradford, J. J. Collins of the expedL
tion, and others. Dr. A. B. Stout read a veiy elabo-
rate and exhaustive paper on Arctic discovery, and in
closing said : — " May prosperous gales speed the Jean-
nette on her mission, and when her destined voyage
has achieved its good intent, may her safe I'etuni,
laden as she will be with a rich cargo of scientific
lore, be a thing of certainty. To those noble and
daring hearts that tread her deck we give our ardent
*God speed you!' and utter for them our earnest
prayer, 'God bless you an<l pi'otect you!'" In re-
sponse to an invitation to address the audience Lieut.
DeLong spoke as follows : —

" When the offlcors of the expc:lition which *I have the honor
to command were invited to be present tliis eve.iing to listen to
the discussion of the Arctic problem, I replied for lliern and my-
self that noti.ing would give us greater plcrsure than to he
present. At the same time, however, I asked that we might be
excused from any active participation in the discussion until
after our return from within the Arctic Circle. This humble pe-
culiaritj- of ours, it would seem, is not to be tolerated, and how-
ever unfit I am to reply with any degree of propriety to tlie very
kind remarks that have been made to us tliis evening, it seems
that ii is one of the duties that is forced upon the commander of
the expedition, as well as a great many other duties. As far as
48

;M'

880

OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION.

this part of the expedition is concerned, there is really very little
to say. By the act of Congress it lias been placed under the
charge of naval oflicers, and it has, since the passage of the act
of Congress, received the fostering care and encouragiment of the
Navy Department. It is peculiar as being the first expedition
fitted out to penetrate the highest regions of the north by wa}* of
Bering's Straits. Ships have heretofore passed through Bering's
Straits, rounding Point Barrow, and going to the northward to
rescue and relieve Sir John Franklin ; but this is the first purely
Polar expedition that has ever been despatched by way of Ber-
ing's Straits.

" I dare say thp.t after we have left San Francisco in our pas-
sage to the northern seas we shall experience very much the same
difflculties and hardships and trials that have been experienced by
everybody who has gone before us. It is one of the most diffi-
cult things — in fact, it is an impossible thing — for one starting
out on an expedition of this kind to say in advance what he is
going to do. The ground which we are going to traverse is an
entirely new one. After reaching the seventy-first parallel of
latitude we go out into a great blank space, which we are going
to endeavor to delineate and to determine whether it is water or
land or ice. You will excuse me, therefore, from attempting to
explain what we are going to do. If you will be kind enough to
keep us in memory while we are gone we will attempt to tell you
what we have done on our return, which, I dare say, will be more
interesting than attempting to tell you what we hope to do. I
can only return t<t j'ou mj' sincere thanks for the kind reception
you have given us and for the interest you manifest in our
peculiar undertaking."

On the 30th of June the San Francisco Chamber of
Commerce, specially convened for the purpose of ex-
pressing the deep interest felt in the expedition by
that b' dy, adopted the following resolutions : —

" Whereas the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce is desir-
ous of expressing its deep interest and good will toward ail
measures calculated to forward and extend any scientific explo-
rations likely to benefit the commerce, navigation or agricultural
interests of our country ; therefore, on behalf of the mercantile

RESOLUTIONS OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 831

industry of the Pacific slope of the United States of America,
be it

Resolved. — That we earnestly offer our cheering words of hearty
approval to encourage the well-planned American Arctic Ex-
pedition about to prosecute from our Pacific coast a continu-
ance of that noble work of Polar exploration so gallantly inaugu-
rated and fearlessly advanced by the nations bordering on the
Atlantic. On behalf of our city, as a future seat of national
weallli and extended commerce, we desire to foster scientific
enlightenment, and this Chamber views withmarlved interest an
enterprise of national importance, sailing from its Golden Gate,
fully ecpiipped with a picked band of brave and resolute men pos-
sessod of Arctic experience, whom we feel are capable of winning
a successful and glorious record for the nation whose banner floats
over them and whose blessing goes with them. While recogniz-
ing with ailiniration the fact that this expedition is whollj' paid
fur and sui)|iortcd bj- private munificence, we rejoice that this
fiiterprise is oilicially endorsed by the United States government,
who accord it the national rij;hts necessary to proper discipline,
and the suitable dignity intrusted b}- a great and growing nation
wliose knowledge it will increase and to wiiose honor it will re-
dound. As a national work it will extend the geographical
survey and topogr.'iphical knowledge of our northern boundary;
in tiie intertist of commerce, navigation and national agriculture
it in.iy determine laws of meteorology, hydrography, astronomy,
and gravitation, reveal ocean currents, develop new fisheries,
<li-icnvor liui'ls and people hitherto unknown; and by extending
til;- world's knowledge of such fundamental principles of earth
life as miigni'tism and electricity and various collateral branches
orntino>^|ilierip science solve great problems important to our
common linmanitV.

Resolved. That as the well-merited oft'ering of an apprecia-
tive nation, our people would most heartily approve of and endorse
the iisi! of a national vessel to convoy the Jeannette to her most
northern port of dei)ariure, wliencc, leaving the shores of solemn
pine, she will traverse the northern seas alone, followed by the
earnest hopes of frieiuls to progress and the world of science.

Resolved.— That we lender to her brave and acconiplished
commander. Lieutenant George W. DeLong, United States-

1^1

832

GOOD-BYB TO THE Jl'ANNETTE.

Navy, to i\is efficient staff of able specialists in various depart-
ments of science, and to his hardy and gallant crew, one and
all, our hearty good wishes fcr their safe return and for the
entire success of the American Arctic Expedition from the Pacific.

The departure of the Jeannette from San Fraucisco,
on the 8th of July 1879, was a notable event in the
history of that city. As the vessel moved slowly
toward the Golden Gate, the friendly waving of hats
and handkerchiefs from the wharves, the shipping,
and Telegraph Hill, told the explorers that the good
people of the city as well as the men of the sea, were
giving them a hearty send-off. A salute of ten guns
fired from Fort Point greeted them at the Narrows,
and several steamboats crowded with spectators, and
the white-sailed craft o^ ^e San Francisco Yacht Club,
convoyed the Jeannettv. ll she was out on the bosom
of the broad Pacific and fairly started on her voyage
to the unknown north.

The Jeannette proceeded direct to Ounalaska, one
of the Aleutian Islands, and anchored in the harbor
of Illiouliouk. This place is the headquarters of the
Alaska Commercial Company, and its agent, Mr.
Greenbaim, and other officials, showed the explorers
much kindness and attention.

On the 6th of August the Jeannette resumed her
course, and on the 12th of August anchored opposite
the little settlement and blockhouse known by Ameri-
cans as St. Michael's, Alaska, and by Russians as Mich-
aelovski. Here the explorers were welcomed by Mr.
Newmann, agent of the Alaska Commercial Com-
pany and by Mr. Nelson, an employe of the Smith-
sonian Institution and observer of the U. S. Signal
Service, who are philosophical enough to live content-

LAST WORDS FROM THE EXPLORERS.

833

edly in this isolated position. A drove of dogs were
taken on board at this place, and two native Alaskans
were hired to accompany the expedition as dog-drivers
and hunters.

On the 18th of August the schooner Fanny A. Hyde,
which was to convey coal and extra stores for the
expedition as far as St. Lawrence Bay, arrived from
San Francisco, and on the evening of the 2l8t both
vessels resumed the voyage northward. As they
started out, the guns at the olS Kussian fort and at
the agency of the Western Fur and Trading Company
belched forth a parting salute.

On the 25th the Jeannette arrived at the harbor in
St. Lawrence Bay, ^ast Siberia, some 30 miles south
of East Cape, and the schooner arrived the next day.
From this point the Jeannette continued her journey
alone. In September she was seen by whaleis, pur-
suing her lonely voyage. Just before starting from St.
Lawrence Bay, Mr. Collins, as special correspondent of
the New York Herald, wrote to that journal as follows :

"All before us now is uncertaintj-, because our movements will
be governed by circumstances over which we can have no con-
trol. If, as I telegraphed, the search for Nordcnskiold is now
needless, we will try and reach Wrangel Lund and find a winter
harbor on that new land, on which, we bplieve, the white man has
not yet put his foot. At the worst, we may winter in Siberia and
" go for " the Wrangel Land mystery next spring. I am in great
hopes we will reach there this season.

" We are amply supplied with fur clothing and provisions, so
that we can feed and keep warm in anj* event for some time.
Our dogs will enable us to make explorations to considerable
distances from the ship and determine the character of the
country. Feeling that we have the sympathy of all we left at
home, we go North, trusting in God's protection and our good
fortune. Farewell."

:li

I'.

I:.

834 MISSING WHALEBS -THE RELIEF STEAMER CORWIN.

In the autumn of 1879, two whaling boats, the
Mount WoUaston and Vigilant — which, with a score
^of others, left San Francisco in the spring — failed to
return, and were reported as having been seen im.
prisoned in the ice north of Bering's Straits, Oct.
20th, by Captain Campbell whose ship was the last
that succeeded in getting away.

Much concern for the safety of the missing barks was
felt in San Francisco, and the following petition
was addressed to the Secretary of the Navy : —

Sir — The undersigned, merchants and citizens of San Fran'
Cisco, being of a belief that the situation of the Steamer Jean-
nette and the whaling barks Mount Wollaston and Vigilant, now
in the Arctic Ocean, is one of extreme danger, would most res-
pectfully petition that as soon as navigation opens in the spring,
a government vessel may be sent to relieve them and afford them
assistance in saving the lives and alleviate the sufferings of the
oflcers and crews of the above named vessels.

The naming of the Jeannette with the whalers was
justified by the petitioners on the opinion of returned
whalemen, that the vessel did not succeed in reaching
Wrangell Land, owing to the early formation of ice
last season.

The Secretary of the Navy subsequently decided to
send the revenue steamer Corwin on a trip northward
to search for the absent vessels, and render them and
their crews any possible needed assistance. Cajitain
Hooker, of the Corwin, was also instnicted to cruise
in the waters of Alaska for the enforcement of the U.
S. Revenue laws, and to protect the interests of tlie
.government, and perform other duties of a scientific
and humane nature.

The Corwin sailed fi'om San Francisco on her mis-
sion of good-will, May 22nd, 1880.